Civil Service Bytes

The French President’s Francois Hollande visit to India for the India-France Business Summit and as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations. The 2016 Indian Republic Day parade has included the first-ever participation of a contingent of foreign troops in the march-past. US President Barack Obama was the chief guest of the 2015 Republic Day parade. France has announced an investment of $10 billion (Rs 67,540 crore) in India over the next five years, which will largely cater to the industrial sector in the country. France is the 9th largest foreign investor in India. The two countries have sealed 19 deals, including 13 Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs): 1. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Centre National D’études Spatiales (CNES) implementation agreement on hosting Argos-4 payload on board India’s Oceansat-3 satellite. 2. ISRO and CNES implementation agreement on a future joint Thermal Infrared earth observation mission. 3. Letter of intent on CN...

India and France on signed a Memorandum of Understanding over the purchase of 36 Rafale jets. The Indian Air Force’s quest for a Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) is finally over with the Indian government confirming the order for 36 Rafale jets with the French government. There were a lot of hiccups, over costs of the aircraft — over $100 million-plus per aircraft — and offsets from the Indian side and responsibility over the quality of production in India from the French side. Finally, keeping in mind IAF’s urgent requirements, the prime minister intervened to order 36 aircraft, or two squadrons, in a direct government-to-government deal during his visit to Paris in April. In brief: The  Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft  ( MMRCA )  competition , also known as the  MRCA tender , was a competition to supply 126 multi-role combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The Defence Ministry has allocated  ₹ 55000 crore  (US$8.1 b...

The government has modified the gold monetisation scheme (GMS) after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a master direction on the scheme on January 21. What is Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) with modified changes? 1.It replaces the existing Gold Deposit Scheme, 1999. 2.The deposits outstanding under the Gold Deposit Scheme will be allowed to run till maturity unless the depositors prematurely withdraw them. 3.Any Resident Indians can make deposits under the scheme. 4. The minimum deposit at any one time shall be raw gold  equivalent to 30 grams of gold. 5.There is no maximum limit for deposit under the scheme. (Amended :The quantity of gold collected under the scheme will be expressed up to three decimals of a gram) 6.The gold will be accepted at the Collection and Purity Testing Centres (CPTC) . (Amended:Gold depositors can also give their gold directly to the refiner rather than only through the Collection and Purity Testing Centres (CPTCs) 7.The d...

Children would be encouraged to visit soldiers on the borders to develop a better understanding and convey the nation’s gratitude for their services by ‘Seema Darshan’ programme for students for a period of five days starting from 22nd January 2016. What is ‘Seema Darshan’ programme? ‘Seema Darshan’ is a unique initiative in which school children are visiting the border areas of our country and present before our soldiers and troops an array of performances showcasing the tradition and culture of our country through traditional songs and dances. Who is organizing the programme? The Ministry of Human Resource Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Home affairs. Objective: To provide the students with a first-hand experience of the prevailing security environment in the border areas. To foster patriotism and nationalism among the students. To provide an opportunity for the children to experience the border environment. To...

The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 will come into force today. The Act has more stringent provisions for prevention of atrocities against SCs and STs. What does the The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment act, 2015  says? New offences added under the Bill include: (a) Garlanding with footwear, (b) Compelling to dispose or carry human or animal carcasses, or do manual scavenging, (c) Abusing SCs or STs by caste name in public, (d) Attempting to promote feelings of ill-will against SCs or STs or disrespecting any deceased person held in high esteem (e) Imposing or threatening a social or economic boycott.  The Act seeks to amend the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Forcing an SC or ST individual to vote or not vote for a particular candidate in a manner that is against the law is an offence under the Act....

Greek islanders are to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize with the support of their national government. A petition on the website of the grassroots campaign group, Avaaz, in favour of the nomination has amassed 280,000 signatures. Greece has an extremely large number of islands, with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 to 6,000,depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166   and 227. The largest Greek island by area is Crete, located at the southern edge of the Aegean Sea. With many thousands of refugees—most of them from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sub-Saharan Africa—still trying to reach Europe on a daily basis, the sea crossing remains the most dangerous part of any journey. Why Greek islanders are to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize? For their compassion and courage, for treating those in danger with humanity, and for setting an example for the rest of ...

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Department of Telecommunication (DoT) with vision to make India the skill capital of the world. MoU Envisages: To  fulfill skilled manpower requirement of the telecom sector and at the same time providing quality opportunities for employment / entrepreneurship. Mobilization of financial support for various activities under the National Ecosystem for Development of Telecom Skills. They utilize old telephone exchanges which are no longer in use or exchanges which have ceased to occupy major space in telecom sector,   for skill development initiatives and upgrade the same on need basis. To develop ‘National Institute for Policy Research Innovation and Training (NTIPRT)’ for training and skill up gradation in Telecom Sector. Recent development in telecommunication sector: The Telecommunications Sector in India is expected to show a strong growt...