19th March 2016

A.Union Government unveils Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016

1.The Union Government has unveiled a Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016 for granting permission for construction of buildings. 

2.It was released by the Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi. 

3.It seeks to provide an online single window framework for approval process. 

Key facts 

1.Model Building Bye-Laws, 2016 intends to improve ease of doing business regarding issuance of construction permits. 

2.The time limit for all kinds of single window approvals is 30 days and if it is not done by the concerned agencies within this time-frame then it will be deemed as approved. 

3.Different set of environmental conditions are provided for each category of building ranging from 5000 square meters to 1.5 lakh square meters.

B.Ashley Judd appointed as Goodwill Ambassador of UN Population Fund appointed

1.Acclaimed humanitarian, actor, writer and political activist Ashley Judd from US has been appointed as Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). 

2.As a Goodwill Ambassador, she will support the UNFPA’s efforts to empower women to choose when and how often to become pregnant and to stop women dying giving life. 

3.She will also play important role at generating awareness about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

4.It should be noted that Goals 3 and 5 in the 2030 Agenda for SDGs seek to end discrimination against women in all forms and promote their well-being. 

About United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 

1.UNFPA is the nodal UN agency to address reproductive health and population issues, and raises awareness of these issues in all countries. 

Established: It was formerly known as the United Nations Fund for Population Activities. 

Headquarters: New York, US. It supports programs in more than 150 countries spread across 4 geographic regions viz. Arab States and Europe, Asia and Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa.

C.Venkaiah Naidu conferred with Skoch Lifetime Achievement Award

1.Union urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu has been conferred with the Skoch Lifetime Achievement Award. 

2.He was bestowed with this award at 43rd SKOCH summit held in New Delhi for his contributions to inclusive growth and towards poverty alleviation in India. 

3.Besides, Information Technology (IT) Minister of Telangana State KT Rama Rao was also awarded the Skoch Award in the Startup India category. 

4.He was bestowed with this for his initiative in establishing the path breaking tech incubator T-Hub. 

About Skoch Challenger Awards 

1.Instituted in 2003. 

2.These are the highest independently instituted civilian honours. 

3.They have been conferred on some of the best brains from across India for their efforts in the area of digital, social and financial inclusion.

D.General Lori Robinson nominated as first US female combatant Chief

1.United States (US) Air Force General Lori Robinson has been selected as the next head of the US military’s Northern Command. 

2.With this she becomes the first woman to head a US combatant command as the position is one of the most senior in the US military. 

3.Currently, she leads US air forces in the Pacific and Executive Director of Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. 

4.She had enrolled in the US Air Force in 1982. Earlier in September 2007, Robinson had made history after she became the first Air Battle Manager and first woman 552nd ACW commander to be frocked to brigadier general. 

5.Her appointment comes after US Government had announced to open all combat roles in the US military to women in December 2015. The move had opened up about 220,000 positions to women.

E.Union Government bans repeat animal testing of drugs

1.The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has scrapped repeat tests on animals for drugs which already have been approved by other countries. 

2.In this regard, the ministry has as amended Schedule Y of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. 

3.The new rules state that There is no need for repeat tests on animals for new drug registrations if complete data from similar toxicity experiments already exists for drugs approved abroad. 

4.However, no permission will be required to conduct clinical trial intended for academic purposes in respect of approved drug formulation. 

5.The amendments come after repeated appeals by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India and Union Women & Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi who is a well-known animal rights activist.

F.IAF conducts day-night exercise ‘Iron-fist 2016’ at Pokhran firing range

1.The Indian Air Force (IAF) has conducted its flagship day-night exercise ‘Iron-fist 2016’ at Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan. 

2.The day-night exercise demonstrating IAF’s combat and fire power was conducted in the presence of Hon’ble President Shri Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

3.The event comprised 6 packages depicting 6 different themes in which more than 180 aircraft, including fighters, transport and helicopters of IAF participated. 

4.They are Fly Past: It depicted the great journey of the IAF over 8 decades with the aircraft of yesteryear flying wing to wing along with the latest acquisitions of the IAF. 

Net Enabled Operations: 

It showcased the indigenously developed Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEWCS) of aircrafts. It also displayed multiple aircraft weapon delivery demonstration of precision based bombing at simulated enemy targets. Air Defence 

Operations: 

The multi-layered Air Defence Operations of the IAF was demonstrated by the Flight Refuelling aircraft (IL-78 FRA) along with two Su-30 aircraft and the indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’. 

Combat Support Operations: It showcased the very important role played by the IAF in support of the ground forces using live weapons.

G.Surat cleanest A-1 Railway Station in India: IRCTC Survey

1.As per recently published survey of Indian Railways Surat (Gujarat) was declared the cleanest railway station in the country. 

2.The survey was conducted by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) at 407 railway stations, which included 75 A-1 stations and 332 A-category railway stations across the country based on feedback from around 1.34 lakh passengers. 

3.It was conducted as part of Union Government’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Union Railway Ministry’s ‘Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat’ mission. 

4.The survey was conducted in January-February 2016 and passengers were asked questions on 40 cleanliness parameters. 

Key facts 

1.75 A1-category cleanest railway stations: Surat (Gujarat), Rajkot (Gujarat), Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), Solapur (Maharashtra), Mumbai Central (Maharashtra), Chandigarh, Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) and Vadodara (Gujarat). 

2.‘A’ Category cleanest stations: Beas (Punjab), Jamnagar Gandhidham (Gujarat), Gandhidham (Gujarat), Vasco-Da-Gama (Goa), Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu) and Nasik (Maharashtra). 

H.Geetakshi Arora wins inaugural Noor Inayat Khan Prize

1.An Indian student Geetakshi Arora has been awarded the inaugural Noor Inayat Khan Prize for her excellent dissertation on “Goddess Myths in Graphic Novels: Reimagining Indian Feminity”. 

2.Currently, Geetakshi is a post-graduate student of the South Asia Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. 

About Noor Inayat Khan Prize 
1.The award has been instituted in the memory of Noor Inayat Khan, famous World War II heroine. 

2.The award was established by Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust that promote the message of peace, non-violence and religious and racial harmony The award consists of 1,000 pounds and certificate. 

About Noor Inayat Khan 
1.Noor Inayat Khan (also known as “Nora Baker” and “Madeleine”) was of Indian Sufi origin and believed in non-violence and religious harmony. 

2.Born in Moscow to an Indian father, Hazrat Inayat Khan and an American mother, Ora Ray Baker. 

3.Her father was great-grandson of Tipu Sultan.


I.Indian Railways, ISRO ink MoU for Remote Sensing, GIS Technologies

1.The Union Ministry of Railways and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have signed a MoU for Effective use of Space Technology in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) based Governance Application for Indian Railways. 

2.It was signed after the Union Railway Minister in his Budget had announced that Indian Railways will use geospatial and space technology in various sectors of governance. 

Key facts 
1.The MoU aims at developing applications in the field of Remote Sensing and GIS for Remote Sensing at unmanned railway crossing using ISRO’s advance space technology. 

2.It also seeks to develop geospatial solutions and customized software solutions for providing reliable, efficient and optimal solutions to Railways in it various areas of operation. 

3.ISRO will also provide its best technology to solve all the day to day problems of Indian Railways. 

4.It will in turn benefit adopt with the new technologies. 

5.Currently, Indian Railways is using Space technology for providing Passenger Information System (PIS) in Mumbai Sub-urban trains.