22 May 2016

International Day for Biological Diversity - 22 May

• The International Day for Biological Diversity (or World Biodiversity Day) is a United Nations –sanctioned international day for the promotion of biodiversity issues.Since 2001, the International Day for Biological Diversity is celebrated every year. It is  held on May 22 . 

• Biodiversity is the foundation for life and for the essential services provided by ecosystems.

• The theme for the year 2016 is Mainstreaming Biodiversity; Sustaining People and their Livelihoods

National maritime day –USA

·  National Maritime Day is a United States holiday created to recognize the maritime industry.

·It is observed on May 22, the date in 1819 that the American steamship Savannah set sail from Savannah, Georgia on the first ever transoceanic voyage under steam power.

· The holiday was created by the United States Congress on May 20, 1933.

e-Municipality building to come up in Rajasthan

·  An e-Municipal Council will be built in Bundi, Rajasthan within the next 6-8 months, which will provide digital mapping of the demographical and geographical information of the city.

· The municipality files will also be digitised which can then be accessed on phones and computers. The council will generate revenue by selling data to various agencies, officials added.

Jayalalithaa to be sworn in as Tamil Nadu CM on May 23

·Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah today invited Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to form the government after she apprised him of her election as leader of AIADMK Legislature Party.

· She will be sworn in Chief Minister along with 28 others, including her trusted lieutenant and Finance Minister in the outgoing Cabinet O Panneerselvam, on May 23 in a function at the Madras University Centenary Auditorium here.

Andhra Bank to launch Bharat Bill Payment Service soon

• Andhra Bank will launch Bharat Bill Payment Service soon to enable customers make all utility bill payments.

• The MD and CEO said Andhra Bank was focusing on delivery of services using technology under the JAM (Jandhan-Aadhar- Mobile) initiative.

Recep Erdogan loyalist to be appointed as Turkish Prime Minister

• Turkey's Transport Minister Binali Yildirim will be formally appointed as head of the ruling party and as the new prime minister on Sunday, strengthening the grip on power of his mentor President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

• Yildirim - a longstanding and faithful ally of Erdogan - is the only candidate at an extraordinary congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Sunday that will choose the party chairman, meaning he will become prime minister.

Kiran Bedi appointed Lt Governor of Puducherry

· President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday appointed former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Kiran Bedi as the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

· Bedi will succeed Lieutenant General (Retd.) Ajay Kumar Singh, who was appointed in July 2013. He was given additional responsibility of the administration of Puducherry in July 2014.

· In the recently concluded assembly elections in Puducherry, the Congress won 15 and its ally DMK won two out of 30 seats.

21 May 2016

UN appoints Mary Robinson, Macharia Kamau as special envoys for El Nino, Climate

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Mary Robinson and Macharia Kamau as UN’s Special Envoys for El Nino and Climate. These appointments come at a time of great urgency as the drought and flooding associated with El Niño have created massive needs across the world. The El Niño has worst affected four regions of East Africa, Southern Africa, Central America and the Pacific.

 Key facts

•  These UN Special Envoys will provide the leadership required to tackle challenges and responses to climate change and El Niño in order to scale up our humanitarian response. 
• Mary Robinson: She is former President of Ireland. Previously she had worked as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and as UN special envoy for climate change.
•  Macharia Kamau: He is Kenyan diplomat. Presently, he is working as ambassador to the United Nations. He is also former president of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Board. He also had served as co-chair of the UN General Assembly working group on sustainable development goals.

Ratan P Watal appointed as principal adviser for social sector in NITI Aayog

Ratan P Watal appointed as principal adviser for social sector in NITI Aayog May 21, 2016No comments Former Finance Secretary Ratan P Watal has been appointed as Principle Adviser for social sector in NITI Aayog. He has been appointed to the post for three years. His appointment comes after his two-month extended tenure as Finance Secretary ended in April 2016. He was to retire in February 2016, but got a two-month extension. Mr. Watal is a retired IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre of a 1978-batch. He had served as Finance Secretary between August 2015 and April 2016.

 About NITI Aayog 
National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) is premier policy think tank of Union Government. It has had replaced erstwhile six decade old Planning Commission. Its aim is to foster involvement and participation in the economic policy-making process of the state governments and has adopted a bottom-up approach in planning. Noted Economist Arvind Panagariya is Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog. Economist Bibek Debroy and former DRDO chief V K Saraswat are its full-time members.

SEBI tightens P-note norms to keep vigil on foreign investments to curb black money inflow

The market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has tightened the Participatory Notes (P-note) norms. The main purpose of this decision is to keep vigil on foreign investments to curb black money inflows in the country. In this regard, SEBI has introduced Know Your Client (KYC) compliance for holders of these instruments in order to bring them on a par with domestic investors. SEBI also has sought information on the ultimate beneficiaries of these products.

What are Participatory notes?

Participatory Notes are offshore/overseas derivative instruments (ODIs) issued by registered foreign institutional investors (FII) to overseas investors. They are commonly known as P-Notes. P-Notes are issued to overseas investors who wish to invest in the Indian stock markets without registering themselves with the market regulator SEBI. Investing through P-Notes is very simple and is very popular amongst FIIs. SEBI had permitted FIIS to participate and register in the Indian stock market in 1992. P-Notes are not used within the country but are mainly used outside India for making investments in shares listed in the Indian stock market. For example, India-based brokerages buy securities from the Indian stock and then issue P-Notes to foreign investors for the securities. Any capital gains or dividends collected from the underlying securities go back to the investors.
 Advantages
Ease of Trading: Trading through P-Notes is easy because they are like contract notes transferable by endorsement and delivery. Tax Saving: Some of the entities route their investment through P-Notes to take advantage of the tax laws of certain preferred countries.
Disadvantages
 Anonymity: Any entity investing in P-Notes is not required to register with SEBI. It enables large hedge funds to carry out their operations without revealing their identity. Money Laundering: P-Notes are used by money launderers. They first take funds out of country through hawala and then get it back using P-Notes.

May 21: Anti-Terrorism Day

Every year May 21 is being observed as Anti-Terrorism Day throughout India to spread awareness among the people about the danger of terrorism and violence and its effect on the people, society and the country as a whole. 

The objective behind the observance of Anti-Terrorism Day is to wean away the people from terrorism and violence. Its motive is to promote unity, peace and harmony across the nation. 

The day marks the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who was assassinated at an election rally near Chennai by a suicide bomber from the LTTE on 21 May 1991. On this occasion, debates, discussions, seminars, symposia, etc. are organized in schools, colleges and universities across the country on the threats of terrorism and violence.