1- Emami Limited acquired hair care brand Kesh King

Emami Limited on 2 June 2015 acquired ayurvedic hair and scalp care brand Kesh King for 1651 crore rupees. With this acquisition, Emami forays into the fast-growing haircare segment. Emami’s current oil portfolio includes Navratna Cool Oil and Emami 7 Oil in One Damage Control Hair Oil. Under this acquisition, Kesh King’s business will be transferred to Emami and now Emami will include brand portfolio of ayurvedic medicinal oil, herbal shampoo, conditioner and ayurvedic capsules, along with its respective formulations and all related assets.

Introduced in 2009 by Sanjeev Juneja, Kesh King brand offers products such as oil, herbal shampoo and conditioner and ayurvedic capsules. The brand has presence in 5.4 lakh outlets across India and has a turnover of around 300 crore rupees in 2014-15.

2- India, Belarus ink 6 agreements to boost co-operation

India and Belarus signed six agreements to enhance bilateral co-operation. The agreements were signed in presence of President Pranab Mukherjee during his state visit to Belarus. President Pranab Mukherjee is on two nation’s tour viz Sweden and Belarus. The tour had started from Sweden on 31 May 2015 and later in Belarus on 3 June.

The signed agreements are

• Roadmap for India-Belarus Cooperation: for strengthening bilateral relations and co-operation in the field of trade, culture and other areas.
• Protocol to amendment: To amend the agreement between two countries for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Property (Capital) of September, 1997.
• MoU on Cooperation in the field of Standardization and Information Support: It was signed between Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the State Committee for Standardization of the Republic of Belarus.
• MoU for cooperation on Broadcasting: It was signed between Prasar Bharati (PB) and the National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (Belteleradiocompany).
• MoU on Bilateral Cooperation between the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Ministry of Finance of Belarus.
• MoU for Manufacturing and Marketing of Light Industry Goods (concern Bellegprom): It was signed between the Union Ministry of Textiles of India and the Belarusian State.

3- Irwin Rose, 2004 Nobel Chemistry winner passes away

Irwin Rose

Renowned biochemist Irwin Rose who was awarded 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering molecule Ubiquitin passed away. He was 88. He had shared this noble prize with Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko. Discovery of Ubiquitin Rose, Ciechanover and Hershko had discovered a molecule called Ubiquitin which destroys or cleans up unwanted proteins. This discovery had served as the basis for developing new therapies for diseases such as cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis which are caused by failure of the clean-up mechanism. The Ubiquitin molecule is also involved in repairing faulty DNA and quality control of newly made proteins. It should be noted that each human cell contains around100,000 different proteins, which carry out  different jobs such as speeding up chemical reactions and acting as signals etc.

About Irwin Rose

Rose was born on July 16, 1926 in New York, United States. He had spent much of his career as a researcher at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, US. His Nobel-winning work was done in this cancer centre in late 1970s and early 1980s.

4- Union Government launches IAP HealthPhone programme

Union Government has launched IAP HealthPhone programme, world’s largest digital mass education programme to address malnutrition in women and children. It was launched by Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi in New Delhi. This programme is initiative of Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in partnership with Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD). United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Supported by Vodafone India. It should be noted that Bolloywood Actor Aamir Khan is support partner and brand ambassador of this programme.

Facts about IAP HealthPhone programme

IAP HealthPhone aims to tackle the challenge of malnutrition in mothers and children across India. It is a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative that seeks to educate over 6 million girls and women between 13 and 35 years of age and their families on better health and nutrition practices by 2018 by leveraging penetration of mobile phones in the country. It will promote and distribute four re-edited videos from the Poshan (nutritional videos) series in 18 Indian languages, which are jointly produced by Union Ministry WCD and UNICEF. These videos addressed issues of status of women, care of pregnant women and children, breastfeeding. It also seeks to spread awareness and importance of balanced diet, health and simple changes in nutritional care practices to enhance nutritional levels. Vodafone India will encourage the viewing of the four videos by enabling its customers to view/download them for free. It will also provide its users with incentive talk time of Rs.10 on viewing the 4 videos. It will also send around 300 million awareness text messages to its subscribers every year to promote the viewing of the four videos. Vodafone India will also help for comprehensive communication campaign to promote the programme across the country via print and social media. The three-year intensive awareness campaign under IAP HealthPhone programme is expected to benefit to improve health of around 60 million children born by 2025 in India and also play important transformative role in India’s fight against malnutrition.

5- Life insurance Corporation gets clearance to do business in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has granted permission to India’s state-owned insurance group Life insurance Corporation (LIC) to do business in the country. It was announced by M Shefaq Ahmed, Chairman of Bangladesh Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA). LIC will start its operations in Bangladesh as a joint venture (JV) entity to be called LIC Bangladesh Ltd with a paid up capital of one billion Taka. In this JV entity LIC will hold half of the amount while the rest would be owed by its Bangladeshi partners. The capital will be raised from the Bangladesh’s capital market and local entrepreneurs.

Earlier in 2013, Bangladesh IRDA had rejected LIC’s proposal to operate in the country citing small capital base. It should be noted that LIC will be the second foreign insurance company to operate in Bangladesh after the US-based MetLife-ALICO. LIC has been in the insurance business for six decades after it was established in 1956. It was established after Indian Parliament had enacted Life Insurance of India Act, 1956 for nationalising the private insurance industry in India. Presently, LIC is worth over 15,000 billion Indian rupees and operates in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Singapore apart from India.

6- Maharashtra government approves new Renewable Energy Policy

Maharashtra government has approved a new Renewable Energy Policy which aims at achieving 14,400 MW of installed capacity over a period of five years i.e. till 2020. The approval decision of new policy worth 4,156.43 crore rupees was taken by state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra in Mumbai. The policy aims at achieving installed capacity of renewable energy of 21,100 MW by 2020 from current installed capacity of 6,700 MW. The target will be achieved through public-private partnerships (PPP) and captive power projects and rolled out of slew incentives for developers for these renewable power projects.

Key facts from new policy

Policy aims at achieving the installed capacity of 7,500 MW solar energy, 5,000 MW of wind energy, 1,000 MW of bagasse based co-generation by 2020. It also seeks to achieve installed capacity 400 MW small hydro, 200 MW of industrial waste and 300 MW of agriculture waste-based products by 2020. In order to promote installation of new renewable projects, the state government has simplified consent norms and reduced the number of clearances. State government will also provide financial incentives including electricity duty exemption for ten years apart from various other capital subsidies. Procurement process for these projects will be done through competitive bidding with an assurance that consumers will benefit in terms of affordable tariff.

7- Edward Snowden awarded Freedom of Expression prize in Norway

Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden, former US security contractor and electronic surveillance whistleblower has been awarded a Norwegian prize for freedom of expression (also known as Bjornson Prize). The award was bestowed upon him by the Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression for his work protecting privacy and for shining a critical light on US surveillance of its citizens and others. In 2013, Snowden had uncovered the most extensive US global electronic surveillance programmes carried out by National Security Agency (NSA). Presently, he is leaving his exile in Russia. Earlier, Snowden was awarded Sweden’s Right Livelihood Award in 2014 but chose to accept it by video link. He was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the second year in a row.

About Norwegian prize for freedom of expression

Norwegian prize for freedom of expression is also known as Bjornson Prize named after a Norwegian Nobel literature laureate. It is given by Norwegian Academy of Literature and Freedom of Expression which promote understanding of cultures other than our own and for literary free speech. The award carries cash prize of 100,000 kroner (approximately US 14950 dollars).

8- Union Government launches Khoya Paya web portal to trace missing kids

Union Government has launched Khoya Paya web platform for people to directly report, track and upload information on missing children. It was jointly launched by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi and Union Minister of Communication & IT Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi. Khoya Paya is joint initiative of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) and the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY). The first-of-its-kind web portal will serve as a platform for people to not only report a missing child but also track the efforts towards his or her recovery.

Khoya Paya website has three sections

My child is missing- where citizens can report missing children. I have sighted a child- where citizens can report sightings and whereabouts of missing children without wasting much time. Search a missing child and the found children can also be reported on it. The reporting to the KhoyaPaya site can be done through text, photographs, videos and other means of transmitting and uploading information. The website will also provide links to court orders wherein police have been mandated to register an FIR in the matter of a child gone missing and treat it as either abduction or trafficking unless it is proved otherwise in the investigation.

9- FIFA President Sepp Blatter resigns

FIFA President Sepp Blatter resigns

President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Sepp Blatter has resigned amid a corruption scandal which under investigation in United States. Earlier on 30 May 2015, he was re-elected as the FIFA President for a fifth term by defeating his rival candidate Prince Ali bins Al Hussein of Jordan. FIFA, world soccer’s governing body was hit with worst crisis in its history after U.S. investigation agency FBI had alleged its officials were involved in widespread financial wrongdoing in past years. Swiss authorities also had stared their own criminal probe into FIFA’s decision of awarding 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively. Blatter, a Swiss football administrator had ruled FIFA since 1998 after he was elected for first time. Prior to his Presidency, Blatter was a public relations executive representing various organizations and had served as the general secretary of FIFA since 1981.

10- RBI lowers repo rate to 7.25 per cent

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 7.5 per cent to 7.25 per cent with immediate effect. It was announced in the second bi-monthly policy of RBI. It says that Cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks has kept unchanged at 4 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). Continuation of providing liquidity under overnight repos at 0.25 per cent of bankwise NDTL at the LAF repo rate. Liquidity under 14-day term repos as well as longer-term repos of up to 0.75 per cent of NDTL of the banking system through auctions. Continuation with overnight/term variable rate repos and reverse repos to smooth liquidity. This the third time RBI has cut interest rates in 2015. RBI has reduced the rates in order to take advantage of subdued inflation and to give more support to an economy.

11- Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje inaugurated Phase 1A of Jaipur Metro Rail Services

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on 3 June 2015 inaugurated phase 1A of metro rail services in Jaipur. With this, the pink city became the sixth city in the country to have metro service; other five cities are Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata. In the first phase, the metro will run on 9.6 kilometer stretch covering nine stations from residential area Mansarovar to business hub in Chandpole.

Jaipur Metro has added three unique features in its service, and they are

• Passenger will enjoy jerk free journey because of Wheel Mounted Disk Braking System.
• Each Coach is equipped with LCD which will continuously display information for the passengers.
• It also carries facilities for special challenged people and senior citizens.

The Jaipur metro work is publicized as one of the fastest-built metros in the country as it has been developed in a time period of four-and-a-half years. One most important fact of Jaipur metro service is that six out of 24 Metro train operators, that is, 25 percent of metro drivers, are women.

Jaipur Metro Rail Project has been developed by Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (JMRCL) which was set up as a wholly owned subsidiary by the Government of Rajasthan.

12- US President Barack Obama signed USA FREEDOM Act 2015 into law

US President Barack Obama on 2 June 2015 signed the USA FREEDOM Act 2015 in law. The USA FREEDOM stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015. With this, the National Security Agency (NSA) lost its authority to collect the phone records of millions of Americans.

The Act was approved by the Senate on 1 June 2015 by 67-32 votes and was passed by the House of Representatives on 13 May 2015. The Act will remain in effect until 15 December 2019.

Main Highlights of the Act

• It reauthorizes USA PATRIOT Act 2001 that expired on 1 June 2015.
• It require the government obtain a targeted warrant to collect phone metadata from telecommunications companies
• It amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Act of 1978 to establish a new process so as to make the process of submitting of warrant by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to a FISA court more transparent. FISA Court reviews the warrant requests submitted by the FBI for an order requiring the production of business records or other tangible things for an investigation.
• It amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 to require the Inspector General of the Department of Justice to audit the effectiveness and use of FISA authority to obtain production of tangible things from 2012 to 2014, so that the constitutional rights of U.S. persons is adequately protected.

Comment

It is the first piece of legislation to reform post 9/11 surveillance measure known by the name USA PATRIOT Act which was adopted in October 2001, six weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attack. The USA PATRIOT stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.

The Act is the culmination of efforts to reform the NSA that blossomed out of NSA leaker Edward Snowden’s 2013 revelations. Snowden is the former NSA contractor who released secret information about U.S. spying in June of 2013

13- Punit Renjen appointed as CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited

Punit Renjen

Indian-American Punit Renjen was on 1 June 2015 appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global) with immediate effect. Renjen succeeded Barry Salzberg, who retired from Deloitte Global on 31 May 2015.

Renjen has a total of 28-year career with Deloitte. Prior to this appointment, Renjen was working as Chairman of the Board of Deloitte United States. However, Renjen will remain with the Deloitte U.S. firm until he transitions to the role of Deloitte Global CEO. Moreover, Punit is a member of the Boards of Directors at United Way Worldwide and at the US-India Business Council as well. He was named as an honoree to the 2012, 2013 and 2014 National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Directorship 100.

Punit was born and raised in India. He moved to the United States after winning a Rotary Foundation Scholarship to Willamette University, where he earned a master’s degree in management.

About Deloitte Global

• Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited is a UK private company with a network of 47 member firms operating in 150 countries, employing more than 210000 people worldwide.
• Deloitte that serves 79 percent of the Fortune Global 500 companies provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries.

14- Fishing ban of 61 days along the Western Coast became effective except in Kerala

Fishing ban along the Western Coast became effective from 1 June 2015. The ban will be in place for 61 days till 31 July 2015 in all the western coast states except in Kerala. Kerala decided to stick to the 47-day ban, as in previous years, and allowed its fishermen to continue operating till June 15.

Against the order of the Union Government, Kerala had sought some relaxation as it would affect the livelihood of its fisherfolk along the 450-km coastal belt of the state. Hence, as a special case, the Union Government  has allowed only traditional fishermen of Kerala to sail into the sea and that too up to a distance of 12 nautical miles ( country’s territorial waters).

Earlier, the Union Government had issued a notification imposing uniform fishing ban for 61 days in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends up to 200 nautical miles from the coast, from 1 June to 31 July 2015 along the Country’s Western Coastal Zone. The ban is intended to safeguard fish in their breeding season and increase the fish catch.

Similarly, along the East Coast including Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the Union Government imposed a 45-day ban on fishing by all fishing vessels in the EEZ between 15 April and 31 May 2015.

15- The Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015

President of India

The term the Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015 was in news in the fourth week of May 2015 as the President of India Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill, 2013 that related to the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) between India and Bangladesh.

List of recent amendments to the Indian Constitution

• The Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2004: Restricted the size of the Council of Ministers (CoM) to 15 percent of legislative members & strengthened the Anti Defection laws.
• The Constitution (92nd Amendment) Act, 2004: Included Bodo, Dogri, Santali and Maithali as official languages.
• The Constitution (93rd Amendment) Act, 2006: Provided for 27 percent reserrvation for other backward classes in government as well as private higher educational institutions.
• The Constitution (94th Amendment) Act, 2006: To provide for a Minister of Tribal Welfare in newly created Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh States including Madhyapradesh and Orissa.
• The Constitution (95th Amendment) Act, 2010: To extend the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha and states assemblies from Sixty years to Seventy years
• The Constitution (96th Amendment) Act, 2011: Substituted Odia for Oriya
• The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2012: Added the words “or co-operative societies” after the word “or unions” in Article 19(l)(c) and inserted article 43B related to promotion of co-operative societies and added Part-IXB that is The Co-operative Societies.
• The Constitution (98th Amendment) Act, 2013: To empower the Governor of Karnataka to take steps to develop the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region.
• The Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014: The amendment provides for the formation of a National Judicial Appointments Commission.

16- Harley-Davidson tied-up with Myntra for online merchandise sale

Cult bike maker Harley-Davidson on 2 June 2015 tied up with fashion portal Myntra to sell its casual merchandise through an exclusive online store. Known for rebellious designs and bold urban styling, Harley-Davidson will now offer its casual merchandise on an exclusive online store on Myntra. The online store will offer Harley-Davidson jackets, denims, shirts, t-shirts, caps, wallets and other accessories.

With this partnership, Harley-Davidson merchandise will now be easily accessible to over 12000 pin codes in India. Harley-Davidson merchandise and accessories are also offered through the brand’s dealership network across 17 locations in India.

About Harley-Davidson

• Harley-Davidson India is a subsidiary under Harley-Davidson Inc. that commenced its operations in August 2009.
• Since early 2011, Harley-Davidson has been assembling motorcycles in India at its assembly unit at Bawal in Haryana.
• Harley-Davidson India sells a range of Harley-Davidson genuine parts and accessories along with general merchandise including clothes apparel and collectibles.

17- South Korea and China signed bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

South Korea and China on 1 June 2015 signed the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Seoul, South Korea. The agreement was signed by the South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick and Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng. The negotiations for the agreement that began in May 2012 formally concluded in November 2014.

Features of Korea-China FTA

• It aims to gradually remove tariffs on more than 90 percent of traded goods between both the countries within 20 years.
• China will remove tariffs on 71 percent of South Korean exports in 10 years and 91 percent in 20 years.
• South Korea will remove tariffs on 79 percent of Chinese imports in 10 years and 92 percent in 20 years.
• Many of South Korea’s major farming and fisheries goods like rice, beef, pork, pepper and squid are excluded from the agreement. This decision taken was taken in the backdrop of protests against the inclusion of these products by the agricultural community of South Korea.
• China excluded or delayed the opening of its relatively less-developed manufacturing segments such as the auto sector and display panel production.
• It would recognize products made in Kaesong Industrial Region (KIR) of North Korea as South Korean products for the purpose of trade between the two countries. However, final modalities for operationalisation of this provision are still underway.

Significance of the Korea-China FTA

• The FTA is expected to augment trade between China and South Korea, Asia’s largest and fourth-largest economies respectively.
• It will allow small and medium-sized South Korean firms, especially in consumer goods in fashion, cosmetics, home appliances and high-end food products, greater access to China’s vast consumer market and help create more than 50000 jobs in South Korea.
• It would provide momentum not only to efforts to expand trade and investment between the two nations but also to help enhance bilateral cooperation in a wide range of areas, including industries, culture and energy.
• The FTA is expected to create a large-scale regional economic community worth 12 trillion US dollars by removing trade barriers, going beyond a simple increase in trade.
• The pact will also greatly contribute to the economic integration of East Asia, the Asia-Pacific region and the development of the world economy. For this, negotiations for a trilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) among China, South Korea and Japan were launched in November 2012.

Comment

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, the trade volume of both countries increased over the past 23 years from 5 billion US dollars to 235.3 billion US dollars in 2014. The volume of mutual investment also multiplied, from 0.11 billion US dollars to 61.64 US billion dollars.

China is already Korea’s largest trade partner and its largest destination for investment which stood at 1.6 billion US dollars between January-March 2015. South Korea is China`s third largest trade partner and is the fifth largest investment destination.

18- Union Government simplified defence rules to woo foreign companies

The Union Government on 1 June 2015 simplified the defence rules to boost defence manufacturing in the country and encourage foreign players to explore business in India. In order to provide a level-playing field to private players, the government withdrew excise and Customs duty exemptions enjoyed by the Ordinance Factory Board and defence Public Sector Undertakings.

It will encourage more private sector firms to collaborate with foreign partners  such as Boeing, Airbus and Lockheed Martin and enter the defence equipment manufacturing business.

Defence Sector of India

Defence manufacturing is one of the key sectors among the 25 sectors identified under the Union Government’s Make-in-India campaign. The Indian aerospace and defence market is among the most attractive as the country is the highest importer of defence items in the world. The Government has recently opened up this sector for private investment by increasing FDI cap in defence to 49 percent and rationalizing conditions. Almost 60 percent items required for industrial licence have now been de-reserved.

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