Sashastra Seema Bal signed MoU with NSDC & NSDF

Sashastra Seema Bal signed MoU with NSDC & NSDF for skill development The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and the National Skill Development Fund (NSDF) for execution of skill development programmes. The MoU was signed on 10 March 2017 in the presence of Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju in New Delhi. During the event, Kiren Rijiju launched an an android based and in-house developed mobile application “MySSB”.Features of the MoU
• Under the MoU, the SSB will be able to provide gainful employment to the retiring and retired personnel of SSB.
• It will help the personnel in resettlement through the generation of second career option. • The MoU will establish a framework under which the dependents of SSB personnel as well as locals, school dropouts, victims and potential victims of human trafficking will also be benefited directly in the area or the region where SSB is deployed.
• Under the MoU, skill development training programmes will be organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
• Sectors like apparel, food processing, beauty and wellness, automotive, security and sports will be given emphasis for the said programme. Features of MySSB app
• The mobile application will cater to the general requirements and information of force personnel.
• It facilitates accessibility to details of salary and allowance, general provident fund (GPF) subscription, service particulars including posting profiles and annual performance assessment report (APAR). About Sashastra Seema Bal
• The Special Service Bureau (now Sashastra Seema Bal) was conceived in November 1962 and eventually created in March 1963.
• It was established with the sole objective of achieving ‘total security preparedness’ in the remote border areas for performing a ‘stay-behind’ role in the event of a war.
• Presently, SSB has been deployed with its mandate to guard 1751 kilometers of Indo-Nepal and 699 kilometers of Indo-Bhutan borders. • The force is also active in Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh for anti-Naxal operations (ANO) duties.

Lee Chong Wei wins All England Open Men's Singles

Lee Chong Wei wins All England Open Men's Singles title Top-ranked Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia on 12 March 2017 won his fourth All England Open crown. Lee defeated first-time finalist Shi Yuqi of China 21-12, 21-10, to grab the Men’s Singles title at the tournament. About Lee Chong Wei • Born on 21 October 1982, Lee Chong Wei is a Malaysian professional badminton player.
• From 21 August 2008 to 14 June 2012, he was ranked first worldwide for 199 consecutive weeks as a singles player.
• He is the fourth Malaysian player after Rashid Sidek, Roslin Hashim and Wong Choong Hann to achieve such a ranking.
• He is the only Malaysian badminton player to hold the number one ranking for more than a year.
• He is triple silver medallist at the Olympic Games. He is also the sixth Malaysian to win an Olympic medal. About All England Open
• The All England Open Badminton Championships is the world's oldest badminton tournament.
• It is held annually in England.
• The tournament was given Superseries status in 2007. It upgraded to Superseries Premier status in 2011.
• The world's first open tournament was held in the English town of Guildford in 1898.
• The tournament halted for two instances: from 1915 to 1919 (due to World War I) and from 1940 to 1946 (due to World War II).
• The 2017 All England Open Badminton Championships had a total purse of USD 600000.
• In 2016, the Men’s Singles title was won by China’s Lin Dan.

Seema Verma to be chief of Centres for Medicare and Medicaid

Seema Verma to be chief of Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services The US Senate on 13 March 2017 confirmed healthcare consultant Seema Verma as administrator of the 1 trillion dollars Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The Senate voted 55-43 to approve Seema Verma to run the US health program. Seema Verma was a nominee of President Donald Trump. The Indian-American woman will be running the US government’s health program for the elderly, poor and disabled. Donald Tusk re-elected as President of European Council The CMS is an agency that oversees health insurance programmes that cover more than 130 million Americans. Seema Verma
• Verma is the owner of SVC Inc, a healthcare consulting firm
• She has helped redesign Medicaid programs in several States, including Indiana when Vice President Mike Pence was Governor.
• Verma will report to US Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
• Verma is a first-generation American, whose parents emigrated from India to the US.
• In 1993, she received her bachelor’s degree in life sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park.
• In 1996, she earned a master’s degree in public health with a concentration in health policy and management from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Cultural festival 'India by the Nile' starts in Egypt She was nominated to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on 29 November 2016, by Donald Trump, who was the President-elect at that time. Earlier, the House Republicans released the text of a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The health care bill backed by Trump will roll back the key elements of Obama’s health care law and will limit the overall federal financing for Medicaid in the future.

Malayalam filmmaker Diphan passes away

Malayalam filmmaker Diphan passes away Malayalam film director Diphan also known as Deepan passed away on 13 March 2017 following liver cirrhosis and kidney failure in a private hospital at Kochi. He was 47. He is survived by his wife and two children. Diphan is known for his films namely Puthiya Mukham, Hero and SIM. About Diphan
• A native of Thiruvananthapuram, Diphan was the son of dubbing artist Anandavally.
• Diphan worked as an assistant director for several years in the Malayalam film industry before venturing out on his own.
• Diphan, in his brief career, directed six films after turning an independent director in 2003 when he directed the political thriller The King Maker: Leader.
• After a gap of six years in 2009, he returned with Puthiya Mukham movie starring Prithviraj.
• In a career spanning about 14 years as a director, he helmed seven films including Hero, SIM and D Company.
• His last directorial venture was Dolphin Bar in 2014 which featured actor and BJP Rajya Sabha member Suresh Gopi.
• His upcoming movie Sathya, which has Jayaram in the lead, was in the post production stage.

Japan to send its largest warship to South China Sea

Japan to send its largest warship to South China Sea in its biggest show of military power In its biggest show of naval force since World War II, Japan is planning to send its largest warship, JS Izumo on a 3-month tour through the South China Sea, starting from May 2017.   The main aim is to test the capability of the warship by sending it out on an extended mission. Key Highlights
• The warship, which was commissioned two years ago, is an Izumo helicopter carrier.
• It will be stopping over in Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka before joining the Indian and US naval vessels for a joint naval exercise in the Indian Ocean in July 2017.
• The carrier will return to Japan by August 2017. According to sources, Japan is looking to invite Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to visit the carrier when it reaches the Subic Bay, about 100 km west of Manila, the capital of Philippines. The water of the South China Sea is disputed with China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei all claiming parts of it. While China claims almost all of the disputed water, the other countries claim parts that have rich fishing grounds, oil and gas deposits and through which around $5 trillion of global sea-borne trade passes each year. Though Japan does not have any claim to the waters of the South China Sea, it does have a separate maritime dispute with China in the East China Sea. India successfully test-fired BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile INS Tillanchang commissioned at Karwar Besides this, Japan’s move comes at a time when China’s growing military presence in the sea has fuelled concern in both Japan and the West. About JS Izumo
• Based in Yokosuka, near to Tokyo, the warship’s primary mission is anti-submarine warfare.
• The 249m long carrier is as large as Japan’s World War II-era carriers and can operate up to 9 helicopters.
• While it resembles the assault carriers used by US Marines, it lacks their well deck for launching and landing craft and other vessels. • The carrier has been designated as a destroyer.

CAS bans Sergei Portugalov for lifetime

CAS bans Sergei Portugalov for lifetime in doping case The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on 13 March 2017 upheld a lifetime ban levied against Sergei Portugalov for his role in providing illicit substances to Russian athletes. Portugalov is former Chief of the Russian Athletics Federation's Medical Commission. The CAS upheld the ban as part of an arbitration involving the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) and the Russian Athletics Federation. In a statement, the CAS stated that there is a "clear evidence" that Portugalov violated IAAF doping rules governing possession and trafficking of prohibited substances. In a 2015 report, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has stated that Portugalov supplied performance enhancing drugs to athletes and coaches, administered doping programmes and "even injected athletes himself". About Court of Arbitration for Sport
• The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international quasi-judicial body.
• It was established to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration.
• Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• Its courts are located in New York City, Sydney and Lausanne.
• The CAS was originally conceived by International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch to deal with disputes arising during the Olympics.
• In 1984, the body was established as a part of the International Olympic Committee in 1984.

Narendra Kumar appointed as Chairman of Central Water Commission

Narendra Kumar appointed as Chairman of Central Water Commission Narendra Kumar was on 9 March 2017 appointed as the new chairman of the Central Water Commission (CWC). He succeeded GS Jha, who retired on superannuation on the same day. Who is Narendra Kumar?
• He is a Central Water Engineering Service (CWES) officer of 1979 batch.
• He has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from IIT-Roorkee.
• He also completed his M.Tech with structural engineering as a specialization from the IIT-Delhi.
• He worked in the Central Water Commission in various capacities such as an assistant director, deputy director and director.
• He also had served as the senior joint commissioner in the Union Ministry of Water Resources between 2002 and 2005.
• He worked as the commissioner, Brahmaputra and Barak wing of the ministry between 2011 and 2014. About Central Water Commission
• It is a premier technical organization of India in the field of water resources.
• At present, it is functioning as an attached office of the Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
• The commission is headed by a chairman, with the status of Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India.
• The work of the commission is divided among 3 wings, namely, Designs and Research (D&R) Wing, River Management (RM) Wing and Water Planning and Projects (WP&P) Wing.
• Each wing is placed under the charge of a full-time member with the status of Ex-Officio Additional Secretary to the Government of India and comprising of a number of organizations responsible for the disposal of tasks and duties falling within their assigned scope of functions.

Arun Jaitley gets charge of defence ministry after Manohar Parrikar resigns

Arun Jaitley gets charge of defence ministry after Manohar Parrikar resigns Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was given the additional charge of the defence ministry on 13 March 2017. He was given the charge after Manohar Parrikar resigned from the post to take on the role of Chief Minister of Goa. A Rashtrapati Bhawan communiqué said that “Shri Arun Jaitley shall be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Defence, in addition to his existing portfolios”. Jaitley was given the additional charge of the defence ministry in addition to his existing portfolios on the recommendation of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the second time that Jaitley is holding the additional portfolio of Defence Ministry during the present NDA government. Earlier, he was the in charge of the ministry from 26 May to 9 November 2014. Congress emerged as the largest party in 2017 Assembly Elections of Goa A different communiqué said that “President Mukherjee has accepted the resignation of Shri Manohar Parrikar from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect”.   Earlier, Parrikar submitted his resignation from the office of defence ministry after BJP staked claim to form an alliance government in Goa. As per reports, Parrikar will be sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Goa on 14 March 2017. As a chief minister, he will be heading the BJP-led ministry which has the support of regional outfits and Independents.

Union Government launches Mission Fingerling

Union Government launches Mission Fingerling to achieve Blue Revolution The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer's Welfare on 11 March 2017 launched Mission Fingerling, a programme aimed at achieving the Blue Revolution by enabling holistic development and management of fisheries. The main motive behind this programme is to enhance the fisheries production from 10.79 mmt (2014-15) to 15 mmt by 2020-21. Key Highlights
• In order to recognize the potential and possibilities in the fisheries sector, the Union Government envisaged a program named Blue Revolution.
• The Blue Revolution focuses on creating an enabling environment for an integrated and holistic development and management of fisheries for the socio economic development of fish farmers.
• This program with a total expenditure of around Rs 52000 lakh will facilitate the establishment of hatcheries and Fingerling rearing pond to ensure the fish production of 426 crores fish fingerling, 25.50 crores Post Larvae of shrimp and crab in the country.
• This will converge in the production of 20 lakh tonnes of fish annually and will benefit about 4 million families.
• It lays greater emphasis on infrastructure with an equally strong focus on management and conservation of the resources through technology transfer.
• Productivity enhancement will also be targeted through integration of various production oriented activities such as production of quality fish seeds, cost effective feed and adoption of technology etc. Background
• Fish Fingerling production is the single most important critical input visualised to achieve fish production targets under the Blue Revolution.
• Use of high yielding verities of brooders is another significant aspect to be addressed on priority. • The Union Agricultural Ministry identified 20 States based on their potential and other relevant factors to strengthen the Fish Seed infrastructure in the country.
• The implementation of this programme will supplement the requirement of stocking material up to a large extent to achieve the enhanced fish production.

Sri Lanka seeks two-year extension from UNHRC

Sri Lanka seeks two-year extension from UNHRC to deliver war probe Sri Lanka has sought an extension of two more years from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to probe into the alleged war crimes that were committed during the three-decade long civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In October 2015, the UNHRC had given Sri Lanka 18 months to launch a proper probe into the crimes committed during the war with LTTE. The foreign ministry of Sri Lanka however, is seeking an extension in the timeline for the fulfilment of its commitment at the International body’s 34th session. Key Highlights
• According to the data collected by the United Nations, around 40000 civilians were killed by Sri Lankan security forces during former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's regime, which brought an end to the long conflict after defeating LTTE in 2009.
• Sri Lanka’s proposition for an extension follows UNHRC’s criticism of the country’s slow progress in addressing its wartime past.
• In fact, earlier this month, the international body repeated its call for a hybrid court of international and local judges to investigate the allegations of human rights violations during the civil conflict.
• The demand was rejected by Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe who called it impractical. South Korean President Park Geun-hye removed from office India, Belgium signed Protocol amending Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and Protocol While Sri Lanka’s main party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has demanded for more time from the UN to meet all obligations, the party’s rival groups oppose the demand saying that the TNA has excluded the opinion of the majority of Tamils and even after one and half years, the government has not made any progress in its investigation.