Facts in News (FIN): June 1-June 15

• The Code provides a 180-day time-bound insolvency resolution process for companies, partnerships and individuals.
• It repeals two Acts and amends 11 laws, including the Companies Act, 2013
• The resolution processes will be conducted by licensed insolvency professionals (IPs). These IPs will be members of insolvency professional agencies (IPAs).
• The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) will adjudicate insolvency resolution for companies
• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India will be set up to regulate functioning of IPs, IPAs and IUs.

• Bill seeks to establish Compensatory Afforestation Funds at the national and state levels.
• These Funds will receive payments collected to compensate for loss of the forest ecosystem, when forest land is diverted for non forest uses (such as industrial projects). The Bill regulates administration and use of the monies in the Funds.
• Under the Bill, the Funds will include compensation for loss of ‘environmental services’ provided by the forest
• Under the Bill, the national authority will approve the annual plans of operations prepared by state authorities.

• The Act regulates the mining sector in India and specifies requirements for obtaining and granting mining leases.
• Amends the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957
• Act allows for the transfer of mining leases which have been granted through an auction process.
• Act allows for the transfer of mining leases which have been granted through procedures other than auction, and where the minerals are used for captive purpose
• Captive purpose has been defined as the use of the entire quantity of mineral extracted in the lessee’s own manufacturing unit

• Ordinances provide for a uniform entrance examination for all MBBS, BDS and postgraduate courses
• In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the MCI and DCI regulations of 2010 and 2012, that provided for the National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (NEET) as a single common
  entrance test for admission to MBBS, BDS and postgraduate courses in all government and private medical colleges

• The Bill repeals the Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982 to give effect to the Beijing Protocol, 2010.
• The Protocol regulates the scope of hijacking, exercise of jurisdiction by countries, and extradition in these matters
• The Bill provides for: (i) capital punishment, where the offence results in death of any person, and (ii) life imprisonment in all other cases

• The scheme has been introduced by Ministry of Railways Under Janani Sewa, hot milk, hot water and baby food will be available at railway stations.

• Launched by Vice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari and Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane in Rabat, Morocco
• To strengthen their relations in trade and investment
• Motto of IMCCI is “Shake hands, strengthen ties, go with IMCCI”

• The Hindi Journalism Day is celebrated every year on May 30 in India to mark the beginning to journalism in Hindi language.
• On this date, in 1826, the first Hindi-language newspaper of India “Udant Martand” was published from Calcutta by Pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla

• A voluntary, legally, non binding multilateral body
• To contain the spread of ballistic missiles, which can deliver weapons of mass destruction
• HCoC was estd. in 2002
• Austria serves as the Immediate Central Contact (Executive Secretariat) and therefore coordinates the information exchange of the HCOC

• New Development Bank of the BRICS countries is set to issue its first Yuan denominated bonds with plans to release more bonds in local currencies including in Indian Rupee

About New Development Bank:

• Head: M V Kamath
• Location: Shanghai
• China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) tied up with the NDB was expected to contribute to infrastructure development in the Asian region along with IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank

• Surpassed Japan to become 3rd largest
• Demand is 4.1 million Barrels Per Day behind US(19.39 mn bpd) and China(11.96 mn bpd)
• India accounts for 4.5% of world’s oil consumption
• By BP Statistical Review of World Energy

• The 10-day long military training exercise, Anakonda 2016 (AN16) has started in Poland from June 7, 2016.
• It is the most important and the largest training exercise of the Polish Armed Forces in 2016.
• The purpose of Anakonda–16 is to check the abilities of NATO to defend the territory of the eastern flank of North Atlantic Alliance.
• It involves 31,000 soldiers from 19 NATO countries and five partner countries, including approximately 12,000 Polish troops.

• India ranked 141st position out of 163 countries (Iceland-1st, Denmark-2nd, Austria-3rd)
• Performance checked by: Institute for Economics and Peace in discussion with International panel of Peace experts from Peace Institute Established: 2007

• June 13 to raise public awareness on albinism and to prevent attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism.
• Albinism is a congenital disorder characterized by the partial or complete absence of the pigment melanin in the skin, hair, and eyes.
• The lack of melanin in the skin makes albinos more prone to sunburn and skin cancers. Albinism is also associated with visual problems such as photophobia, amblyopia (lazy eye),nystagmus, etc

• Observed across world on 12 June
• 2016 Theme: ‘End child labour in supply chains – It’s everyone’s business.’

• India Post’s payments bank get Union Cabinet nod
• IPPB will start operations in March 2017
• Payments bank can hold max of 1 lakh per customer
• Issue debit cards/atm’s, but not credit cards
• Offer payments , remittances services, deal in mutual funds, insurance products
• Cannot undertake lending services

• India has been ranked 2nd position as per 2016 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI)
• India has jumped 13 positions from last year to rank 2nd among 30 developing countries this year on ease of doing business
• Sharp pick up in GDP growth and better clarity regarding FDI regulations have helped India achieve a second ranking

• Gross Domestic Product grew at 7.9% in the fourth quarter(Jan-March) of 2015-2016
• The Annual GDP growth for the year is 7.6%, at constant prices, as compared to 7.2% in 2014-15

• The annual conference of tax administrators 2016
• It is for the first time that two Revenue Boards “Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) & Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC)” are holding the conference simultaneously.
• The purpose of the conference is to motivate the revenue officers towards achieving high standards in taxpayer friendly services in view of fast paced changes in the world economy and to address some of the challenges that these Departments face in this scenario.

• China has launched a new civilian high-resolution mapping satellite from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi province.
• For land resource surveys, natural disaster prevention, agricultural development, water resources management and urban planning

• A distorted image of a very distant galaxy termed as “the source”
• Distortion is produced by bending of the light rays from the source due to a massive galaxy lying in between the distant galaxy and the observer
• Phenomenon is also called gravitational lensing

• Derived from maltose, a sweetening agent found in sugar free foods, such as ice creams
• Scientists at IISc Bangalore have developed a technique in bone fractures and bone reconstruction method by mixing maltitol with other substances that become plastic and can be used to fill the bone gap, maltitol reacts to water, and as time passes it disintegrates and comes out.
• Advantages are that it has fewer side effects and drugs can be injected to hasten healing

Bahadur Sub – 1

• Rice variants for submerged areas such as Barak Valley in order to yield during the monsoon season where the valley is liable to periodical floods
• Improved version of the Ranjit and Bahadur varieties
• The rice variants have been developed which ensures productivity even if the crops submerged during floods
• The variants are suitable for kharif season which is from July –October during the south-west monsoon in Barak Valley
• Developed by researchers from Assam Agricultural University

• A planet which orbits two stars instead of one
• NASA and San Diego State University have found the largest planet yet to orbit a double-star system
• Kepler-1647b is 3,700 light-years. the planet’s mass and radius are nearly identical to that of Jupiter

• A grant agreement between the Govt. of India and World Bank
• A 9.2 million US dollar grant agreement under the World Bank-Global Environment Facility (GEF)
• The project aims at improving the efficiency and attractiveness of bus services in select Indian cities

• One of the rarest Indian mammals discovered in the Satpura Tiger Reserve Madhya Pradesh and Kanha Pench corridor
• Species is listed as NEAR THREATENED by IUCN Red list
• Smooth coated otter and Asian small clawed otter are also present in India

• Theme: Healthy oceans, healthy planet
• The main focus of this year’s theme is on curbing the plastic pollution

• First country to ban deforestation
• Deforestation is estimated to contribute around 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions
• Any product that contributes to deforestation will not be used in the Scandinavian country
• Earlier Norwegian government gave $250 million to protect Guyana’s forest, a south American country, which has its forests zoned for logging
• In 2015, Norway paid $1 billion to Brazil, home to 60 percent of the Amazon forest, for completing a 2008 agreement between the two countries to prevent deforestation

• Declared extinct, first mammal species wiped out due to human-induced climate change
• A rodent found only on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
• Also called the mosaic-tailed rat
• Sea-level rise and weather events in the Torres Strait region, which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea, was determined as the root cause of the loss

• Appointed as a member of UPSC
• It is a constitutional post
• He was a former Delhi Police Commissioner
• 1977 batch of AGMUT( Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-UT’s] cadre

• Assumed charge as the new Chief of the Naval Staff
• 21st Navy chief

• Appointed as the Director General (DG)/ Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA
• 1986 batch IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre
• NADA is the national organization responsible for promoting, coordinating, and monitoring the doping control program in sports in all its forms in India

• PM Narendra Modi was conferred the Afghanistan’s highest civilian honour
• He received while inaugurating the Rs. 1700 crore dam built in the Herat province

• Former heavyweight boxing champion died at 74
• Considered to be one of the greatest sportspersons of all time
• Born as Cassius Clay

• Former Mr. Universe(1952) died at 104
• Born in Bangladesh, joined Royal Indian Air Force in 1942
• Was nicknamed “Pocket Hercules” due to his 4ft 11 inch frame

• Named the ambassador for Swachh Bharat mission’s youth based “Swachh Saathi”(student internship programme)
• 2000 interns will be enrolled
• Coordinate with around 10000 schools to ensure that all students take pledge for clean India

• Honoured with Russia’s Order of Friendship by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
• Purpose:  To award foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts were aimed at the betterment of relations with the Russian Federation and its people

• NR Visakh, the Tamil Nadu teenager and International Master, has created history by becoming the first Indian to won the 9th edition of Mumbai Mayor’s International Open Chess Tournament 2016

• An Indian born-American author, has won the prestigious 2016 International Dublin Literary Award for his novel “Family Life”.
• The novel is the autobiography of the author, which mirrors the author’s own experience of emigrating from India to America as a child. The prize of €100,000 is awarded to the author of the winning book. Though, if the winning book is in English translation, €75,000 is awarded to the author and €25,000 to the translator

• Additional Solicitor General of India and former Parliamentarian, has been appointed as a part-time member of the 21st Law Commission of India

• Appointed Chief Executive of Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC)
• He succeeded N Saibaba.
• Prior to this assignment, Kalyanakrishnan was the Deputy Chief Executive of NFC.
• The NFC is a major industrial unit of India’s Department of Atomic Energy, for the supply of nuclear fuel bundles and reactor core components. It has its headquarters at Hyderabad

• The Haryana government has recently launched Asia’s first ‘Gyps Vulture Reintroduction Programme’ at Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore

• Sikkim has become the first Indian state to launch open government data website to promote transparency.
• The data portal ‘Sikkim.data.gov.in’ and Open Government Data Platform (Sikkim) has been launched by Sikkim Government.
• On the open government data portal, the data produced or commissioned by the government or government controlled entities can be freely used, reused and redistributed by anyone.

• Observed every year on May 31
• Theme 2016:Get ready for plain packaging
• WHO-sponsored

• Retirement age of doctors in central services increased to 65 from 62
• Aim to strengthen the healthcare sector in the country
• Proposal was made by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, approved by the Union Govt
• Haryana govt also decided to increase the gae to 65

• World’s longest and deepest rail tunnel opened in Switzerland
• 57 km (35-mile) twin-bore Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) will provide a high-speed rail link under the Swiss Alps between Northern and Southern Europe
• The tunnel has overtaken Japan’s 53.9 km Seikan rail tunnel as the longest rail tunnel in the world.
• The full service will begin in December 2016

• A collector of matchbox or matchbook labels

• The biannual index was founded by Simon Anholt, a British government adviser whose aim is to find ways of encouraging countries to collaborate and co-operate a lot more, and compete a bit less
• India has been ranked 70th out of 163 countries in the 2015 Good Country index
• Taking 35 different UN and World Bank indices into account, including global contributions to science, culture, peace and security, climate change and health and equality

• Class 11 and 12th ISC Science syllabus to be aligned to CBSE syllabus
• It will affect Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics

• France is the host nation of the 15th edition of UEFA European football championship 2016 (Euro 2016).
• It is scheduled from 10 June to 10 July 2016.
• For the first time, the European Championship final tournament will be contested by 24 teams.
• Under this new format, the finalists will contest a group stage consisting of six groups of four teams, followed by a knockout stage including three rounds and the final.
• The winning team of Euro 2016 earns the right to compete at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup hosted by Russia.

• Authored by Ruskin Bond

• A field guide compiled by naturalist photographer Isaac Kehimkar
• The book covers more than 1000 species of butterflies and 1800 pictures of insects from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar
• It will be published by Bombay Natural History Society(BNHS)
• Isaac Kehimkar is popularly known as “Butterfly man of India”