Facts In News : March 1 – March 15

• For National Goods & Services Tax Bill

• GST requires a Constitutional Amendment which has to be ratified by half the states also.
• Government Plans to pass it in the second half of budget session
• GST would replace indirect taxes like Excise Duty, Customs Duty, Sales tax etc.

• Bankruptcy and Insolvency Bill will give major boost to economic reforms
• Plans to pass it in coming budget session

• To guard against claims of succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan and China after the wars.
• Passed in the Lok Sabha
• It amends the Enemy Property Act of 1968

• Called Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies and Services
• Passed by Lok Sabha as Money Bill
• Rajya Sabha recommended ammendment in Aadhar Bill, but it was not accepted as Rajya Sabha does not have a say in case of Money Bill.

• Securing the interests of home buyers and developers in equal measure
• To remove corruption and inefficiency
• 70% of money to be kept in separate account and can only be used for construction activities.

• TRAI has ordered telecom operators to compensate subscribers for first 3 dropped calls every day
• Delhi High Court has upheld its validity, saying that it is not a penalty issue; it is a quality of service issue.

• Supreme court appointed committee
• Headed by former justice R M Lodha after IPL spot fixing scam to look into the functioning of BCCI

• Finance Ministry has approved the issuance of UDAY bonds by four states.

• They are UP, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

• Manipur and Tripura have agreed to join UDAY

• It was passed after 2012 Delhi gang rape case

• It brings down the age for trying a minor as an adult for serious crime from 18 to 16 years

• It is in news again because sexual offences by minor is on rise in maximum city

• Scheme to save the life of road accident victims

• By Government of Karnataka

• Will investigate into the issue of Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Mallya’s conduct who left country after defaulting on loans
•  It is a ten membered Committee, headed by Dr. Karan Singh

• Researches and monitors international religious freedom issue.
• In news because it has criticized India for deteriorating religious freedom

• Commercial Vehicles entering Delhi have to pay tax

• It will continue because it led to decline in commercial vehicles entering Delhi

• New directive by Govt Says if income > 10 lakh no LPG subsidy
• Earlier this was voluntary under Give It Up Scheme where people could by choice give up Subsidy

• A National Court of Appeal (NCA) with regional benches is being considered to be final court of appeal in all civil and Criminal Cases
• Supreme Court Bogged down by high pendency of cases
• Hence a Constitutional Bench has been set up by SC to debate need for NCA
• If NCA is set up, then SC will only hear Constitutional and Public law cases

• Passed in the Parliament as a money bill
• Money bill does not require approval of Rajya Sabha
• Opposition had concerns over mass surveillance, Govt said delivery of benefits and subsidies were more important

• Scheme approved by Cabinet committee
• To provide 5 crore subsidized LPG connections to women of BPL in next 3 years
• Rs. 8000 crore allocated

• Finance minister to include 50% of farmers under the scheme
• Low premium insurance scheme will provide relief for farmers(compensation will be higher) even if the crop is damaged by nature

• Financial assistance of 1.3 lakhs will be provided to homeless families for construction of pucca houses
• Beneficiaries will be entitled to 90 days of unskilled labour under Mgnrega
• Target to build 2.95 crore houses is 2022- India’s 75th year of independence
• Cost of unit shared between Central and state govt. Is 60:40 in plain regions and 90:10 in the north east and the hilly regions

• Karnataka developed mobile app named “MGNREGA M-platform”
• Helps officials monitor MGNREGA
• Allows beneficiaries to monitor progress at every stage
• Reduce fund diversion and interference by middlemen
• Helps collects data for the government

• Overseas citizen of India and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards were merged last year
• No visa will be required to enter India, OCI cards will be enough, but passport is necessary.
• OCI cards will be equipped with high security which cannot be tampered

• 25,000 crore allocated to agricultural sector in Maharashtra
• Farmers distress and suicides caused the Govt of Maharashtra to take this step.

• Organized by art of living foundation to celebrate its 35th anniversary on the bank of river Yamuna in Delhi.

• Controversy about this event is there because some experts believe that it will damage the topography of the area and thus has environmental concern.

• Hosted by ministry of External Affairs in Delhi

• Attended by speakers from 40 countries

• Seen as governments attempt to rival conferences like the Shangri-la dialogue in Singapore and Munich conference on national security.

• India Maldives finalising pact to fight cross border terrorism + citizens joining terror organisations such as ISIS

• Exercise drill between India and Bangladesh.
• Aims to bring more synergy in border management
• First ever joint exercise in the riverine borders of sundarbans.

• Ministerial Meeting held on March 17 in Nepal
• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an economic and geo-political grouping of 8 countries of South Asia or Indian Subcontinent.
• It has India + 7 neighbours = Pak+Nepal+SL+Bhutan+Afghanistan+Bangladesh+Maldives
• SAARC nations comprise 3% of the world’s area and contain 21% of global population

• Largest multinational Field Training Exercise(FTX) ever conducted on Indian soil in Pune

• Initially labeled as FTX-16

• Participants are ASEAN members and the observers nations

• 2 day summit in Gurgaon to attract foreign investment by Govt of Haryana

• Connectivity initiative by China in Eurasia
• Also called Silk Road Economic Belt or 21st Century Maritime Silk Route

• Now considering a regional counter terrorism measure to guard this route with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan

• To be held in Istanbul in May.

• On Friday before March Equinox (in 2016 it is March 18)
• 2016 slogan “Good Sleep is a Reachable Dream”
• To raise awareness about sleep disorders and to promote about sleep disorder prevention and management
• Annual event organised by committee of World Association of Sleep Medicine(WASM)

• 8th summit, Venue : Goa, India, Theme:Building responsive, inclusive and collective solutions for the grouping
• 7th summit: Ufa, Russia, 2015

• Fourth summit to be held in Washington from 31 march
• Iran and DPRK not invited
• Russia not participating

A biennial exhibition

• US agency for International Development and Asian Development Bank signed MoU to $848 mn funding for solar parks in India
• Ministry of Renewable energy plans to build 25 solar parks across the nation with total capacity of 20000 MW

• Govt allowed 100% FDI in Ecommerce retailing
• E Commerce marketplace may provide services like warehousing,logistics, order fulfilment,call centre, payment collection
• Such entities will not exercise ownership of the inventory

• STT has been increased from 0.017 per cent to 0.05 % on options contract
• Dividend income exceeding 10 lakhs would now be taxable

• Has been increased by 10-15% ;
• critics say – hike is lowest in last five years

• It is a government portal to improve ease of doing business in India.
• It is government’s portal on G2B = Government to Business

• It is a Smartphone priced at Rs.251. Came in news because it is the world’s cheapest smartphone. 

• Manufactured by company – Ringing Bells

• Public sector banks that will lead consolidation process. Mainly it would be done by large banks like SBI,Bank of Baroda,PNB,etc.

• Consolidation process means merging of PSU banks

• Is an e-portal for women entrepreneurs

• Launched by the women and child development ministry

• over 125,000 beneficiaries under 10,000 self-help groups have registered on the portal

• Pulse output has increased by 2.61% in the last four decades and is stable around 18 million tonnes since 2010.
• Pulses has surpassed the production of rice, wheat and cereals together
• In 2013-2014, pulse production touched all time high 19.78 million tonnes.
• Indian institute of Pulses Research is developing transgenic pigeonpea and chickpea for resistance against “Gram Pod Borer”, it will help pulse output further.

• Violations relating to the import of steel import under the MIP will be looked into by the authorities of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Enforcement Directorate(ED), and the CBI.
• On feb 5, govt. had imposed MIP ranging from $341 to $752 per metric tonne on 173 steel products to provide relief to domestic steel makers.

• A portal to authenticate the pashmina genuineness
• Phamb is originally an unprocessed wool extracted from chiru

• Cough syrup made by Pfizer;
• Among 335 drugs Banned by Ministry of Health on March 10

• Is a statutory body responsible for enforcing the competition act 2002

• All Oil companies have increased Prices of  Aviation Turbine Fuel by 12 percent.

• Airlines asked for its rollback or they will approach CCI

• Looks after the development of the cottage and other rural industries.

• In news because it has issued tax free bonds

• a trade remedy recognised by the World Trade Organisation
• temporary measure to counter the adverse impact caused to the domestic industry due to a sudden and unforeseen surge in (low-priced) imports of the item

• Cabotage is transportation of good and people along the coast
• Transhipment is offloading from one ship to another for domestic or abroad
• Govt. has eased cabotage rules to encourage transhipment
• This will enable foreign vessels bring goods at any of the Indian ports which are meant to be shipped to other destinations

• NASA’s MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) spacecraft, the first space mission  designed to orbit Mercury.
• In the news because large amounts of carbon found which causes the planet to be darker

• Sixth satellite of ISRO for independent navigational system put into orbit.
• The satellite was put in space by PSLV-C32 rocket
• IRNSS is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in India.

• Two versions of Bt- Cotton seeds, Bt means genetically modified organism
• Govt. capped the maximum price at Rs.635 and Rs.800 in financial year 2016-2017

• A bacterium which biodegrades PET(polyethylene terephthalate) identified by Japanese researchers.
• The bacterium degrades PET using two enzymes in sequence
• PET is a menace in the world known as polluting plastic because it does not decompose or degrades

• Hindustan Aeronautics ltd. will now manufacture the aircraft for “Civil purposes”
• HAl has previously manufactured Do-228’s under the licence from a Swiss OEM, RUAG, which are now being used in Air force, Navy and the Coast Guard. (OEM-original equipment manufacture)

• Magnetic chips to enhance energy efficiency of computers
• High computing power with less requirement of energy.

• A probe to identify presence of methane on the planet Mars.
• Methane is produced by microbes called methanogens that became extinct or still surviving
• Launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 14, 2016

• It is advanced radar mounted on an aircraft to give 360 degree coverage to detect incoming aircraft and missiles at long ranges.

• India has brought this technology from Israel.

• India and Israel are in the process of joint production of it.
• It is being done under make in India Programme
• Joint Venture by Israel and India’s Kalyani Group.

• Got its name from Zika forest Uganda

• Transmitted by mosquitos

• It causes birth defect(babies are born with abnormally small head)

• Heating of water in central eastern region of the equatorial pacific with average rise in temperature of 0.5 degrees celsius
• Meteorologists say 2016 will be normal monsoon (89cms of rainfall)
• 2015 was fourth time that El-Nino conditions were there in 100 years for more than successive 2 years

• Small plastic pieces measuring less than 1mm in size made of PE,PP, PET, PMMA and nylon
• National Green Tribunal wants to ban these microplastics which are now packed in cosmetic products as exfoliating agents
• Water pollution increases, they are non biodegradable, ingested by marine organisms, fish and marine mammals

This will bring cleaner and cheaper raw materials

• In news because three GIB have been seen in Tungabhadra bank, Karnataka

• New snake species has been found in Gujarat
• Its name is Wallaceophis gujaratensis

• White rumped and Red headed Vultures spotted but in few numbers in Wayanad wildlife sanctuary in Kerala
• Diclofenac seen as a reason for lowering in their population
• Diclofenac is a drug given to animals to cure them but when the animal dies it passes on to vultures who eat the carcass and it is fatal

• Tirupati wildlife division has made an action action plan to tackle forest fire and tackling smuggling of RED SANDERS.
• The national park is part of a biosphere reserve, Seshachalam Hills, declared in 2010.
• Sri Venkateswara National Park is located in Cuddapah and Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh)
• There are 103 National parks currently and 18 Biosphere reserves.

(Red Sanders is another name for red sandalwood, the tree is valued for its rich red colour wood, the wood is “not” aromatic”)

Now 669 reserves across 120 countries

16 sites spread across more than one country

Spain with largest number of sites

• 13 species Sharks and Rays have been found in Indian waters
• They have been bar coded,
• DNA barcoding was successfully used for accurate identification of chondrichthyans which included the chimaeras, sharks, rays, and skates in the Indian waters
• Recently, the government had imposed a ban on the export of shark fins

Died due to chronic arthritis

Timbo was from German zoo , received in 1976

Borneo is third largest island and is shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei

Sumatran rhino is

• Smallest rhino
• Only asian rhino with 2 horns
• Covered with long hair

Nocturnal predatory fish feeds on living and dead

High tolerance for oxygenated water

• India won Asia Cup defeating Bangladesh;India has won Asia Cup for record 6th Time
• Asia cup started in 1983 ; It is a men’s One day International and Twenty20 International tournament in Cricket

• Ottapondal is a rowing competition , held in Canoli Canal in Kozhikode
• Aim to attract official attention to the  condition of the canal (Canoli Canal)

• 120th Birth Anniversary celebrated on 29th February
• First Non Congress Prime Minister of India
• First Prime Minister to resign from office.

• Former Union Minister, and former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh
• Sentenced to prison by a CBI Court for corruption

• Formerly Chief Justice of India
• Appointed Chairman of National Human Right Commission.

• Famous for ruling “bail is the rule and jail is an exception” in 2G Spectrum case
• He replaced K G Balakrishnan who retired in 2015

• Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province
• Asked India recently to ensure that spirit of the 13th Amendment is retained in new Constitution
• 13th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution refers to federal features
• 13th Amendment was the outcome of 1987 India – Sri Lanka Accord

• TERI(The energy and resource institute) executive vice chairman
• Charge sheeted in sexual harassment case.

• Appointed as the principal of St Stephen’s college

• Manipur rights activist who is on indefinite strike for last 15 years demanding the repeal of Armed force special power act(AFSPA) in Manipur

• Former speaker of Lok Sabha, and former CM of Meghalaya, died recently

• Malayalam film actor and singer died recently
• Started career as mimicry artist

• India’s First test tube baby, born in 1986

• In news because she is now a mother herself and has given birth to a baby boy

• US software programmer who invented Email, died recently

• Elected as the new President of Nepal succeeding late Premier Sushil koirala
• He was Prime Minister 3 times earlier

• A carnatic music legend who performed at UN General Assembly hall in 1966
• Golden jubilee of the concert on March 26 will be performed by M.S’s great grand daughters.

• Is the Chief of United Nations Development Program(UNDP).
• In news as she said that “marital rape” should be made criminal offense.

• Indian born Goldman Sachs director released after completing his two year term in prison.
• He was imprisoned for insider trading

• Billionaire from Iran. Has been sentenced to death for corruption

• First women fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force in June

• Appointed as the next High Commissioner to India later this month by the British government
• Preceding him is Sir James Bevan

• Known as the “Fifth beatle” is a legendary British music producer
• He helped turn Beatles into best selling band in history, died at age of 90

Resigned because of a scam in Bangladesh Central Bank ; Governor did not inform the government ; Loss due to scam = 80 million USD

• Eminent Shehnai player, dies at 77 due to kidney related problems
• Sangeet Natak Academy award in 2009 for contribution to Hindustani instrumental music
• “Banga bhushan” award by West Bengal government in 2012

• Animal rights activist committed suicide
• He wanted that cow be declared the national animal

• Won the Abel prize, Abel prize is given in the field of mathematics ; often called the Nobel Prize of Mathematics
• For his proof of “Fermat’s Last Theorem”
• He is professor at Oxford University’s Mathematical Institute.

• Maharashtra’s Advocate General, resigned from the post after sharp disapproval from the opposition
• He demanded separate statehood for Marathwada in Maharashtra

First hire of Intel, the chipmaker company in 1968

Father of well known Santoor maestro Bhajan Sopori

Command over classical and Sufiana music shown in instrumental and vocal performances

He is from New Zealand

It’s a Guinness world record

• Geetakshi Arora, student of University of London for her dissertation on “Goddess myths in graphic novels: Reimagining Indian feminity”
• Trust awards annual prize to post graduate student from SOAS, University of London, working in the area of gender studies and south asian history
• Noor Inayat, Indian descent, was a secret agent in WW2, sent to Nazi occupied area, she was betrayed and killed.

• Is a Sri Lankan docu-drama portrays life of Tamil ethnic population in Sri Lanka after the war
• It was banned by CBFC, Chennai Appellate Tribunal has revoked the ban

• It became the first character from children’s literature to appear on British coinage.
• It was created by Beatrix Potter

• A collaborative theatrical show between India and Spain
• To mark the 60 years of diplomatic ties
• Show will be hosted at Delhi

• Recently 40 rock paintings discovered in Kondane caves in Raigarh district in Maharashtra.
• It also features Buddhist architecture such as Chaitya(prayer hall) and monastery.

• India’s most expensive and biggest National highway.

• It will provide all weather road connectivity between Srinagar and Leh-Ladakh region.

• One of few ports in south which has the capacity to handle 1.5 million tonnes of LPG Gas.
• It will get in more cargo because of government initiative of providing LPG connection to BPL(below Poverty Line) family

• Recently India’s First Rail Auto Hub took place here.
• Bar Coding on Railway tickets introduced by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu

• Ardh kumbh or Half Kumbh Kumbh Mela is held every six years at Haridwar and Allahabad.

• In 2016 it is being held at Haridwar

• First in heritage building in India to get platinum rating by Indian Green Building Council(IGBC)
• Based on site & facility management,water efficiency, energy efficiency, health and comfort and innovation
• It is a TATA group’s headquarters

• In news because Jharkhand government is setting up a film city there
• Patratu is in Ramgarh District

• In the news because eight students were rescued who were stuck in a cave for three days due to snowfall and bad weather.
• Located in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
• Connects via trekking route between Naggar and Malana.
• Kullu valley lies between Lower Himalayan, Pir Panjal and the Great Himalayan range.

• An initiative by Noyyal River Restoration Federation to clean the river. It Means “Towards Noyyal” ,
• Noyyal originates from the Western Ghats and passes through four districts of Tamil Nadu before joining in the Cauvery river

• Won the SKYTRAX award “Best airport staff in Asia and Central Asia”
• At a ceremony in Cologne, Germany

• DRDO to open a Aeronautical Test Range(ATR)
• Chitradurga is near Bengaluru
• Multi agency mega complex will also house facilities of BARC, ISRO, IISc

• A 45 Kms gap in the western ghats between Coimbatore in TN and Palakkad in Kerala
• Facing environmental destruction due to mining and deforestation
• Initiatives by Kerala Biodiversity Board have resulted nothing

• 34 killed at Zaventem airport by attack claimed by Islamic State
• Belgium has headquarters of NATO and European Union

• World’s first electric supercar ;
• Created by Croatia’s inventor Mate Rimac

• A name for trained elephants in Kerala
• Kumkis are used this time of a year to scare away other wild mammals who come near human settlements

• Found in Chhattisgarh state of India.
• Satnam means truth, the teachings and philosophy are similar to Hinduism and Buddhism.
• Satnams believe in the name of the god and “do not” worship idols.

• Abbreviation of “Civil Aviation Requirement” required from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for the manufacturing of aircrafts for civil uses.

• Women will now be recruited as assistant commandants which is a direct entry level for officers.(union home ministry published new rules)
• Among five of the central armed forces CAPF, CRPF, BSF, SSB have been allowing women to apply as direct level officers.

• US  policy to increase its influence in Asia mainly to counter China

• Terrorist organization of Nigeria

• Literally it means western education is forbidden

• In news because its violence has caused food crisis and the organization itself is fearing the heat of it.

• Longest by Air india

• From New Delhi to San Francisco

It was approved by Telecom commission after recommended by TRAI

• Fast vehicle vessel of Indian coast guard flagged off from Vishakhapatnam
• It main armament comprises 40/60 bofors gun

Built as a multi mode connectivity network

Will enable effective delivery of services like eMitra and Mgnrega

Theme:”promotion of IT startups”

• Spotlight

• The Revenant, Alejandro G. Iñárritu

• Leonardo DiCaprio,The Revenant

• Brie Larson,Room

• Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

• Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

• Son of Saul (Hungary)