May 15.

DIPLOMACY:
French President Francois Hollande becomes first Western head of
state to attend GCC summit @Riyadh. France to supply 24 Rafale
jets to Qatar for 7 billion $.
Pranab Visit to Russia to commemorate 70 years of end of WW2.
Hindu gone crazier than usual, running daily report recycling the
same sentences as if nothing else to report. US and EU leaders
had attended 50th and 60th commemoration but not attending
this one to protest against Russias annexation of Crimea from
Ukraine in 2014. 25 nations including BRICS, will participate
though. India participating because Russia too had supported us
in our difficult times. Military parade on 9th May. Russia to
display latest T-14 Armata tanks. Indias Nine Grenadiers to
participate in parade, with Russias Red Army and Chinas
Peoples Liberation Army.
Modis visit to China, South Korea and Mongolia in May week2.
Hell visit Russia twice in 2015: BRICS summit @July and Bilateral
India-Russia Summit in November.
ECONOMY:
Most bank use magnetic stripe based credit / debit cards. RBI
ordered them to switch to only EVM chip-based and PIN-enabled
cards from 1st September because Sept.1 because they protect
against counterfeit (skimming) and lost and stolen card fraud.
State Bank of India (SBI) in association with National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI) launched State Bank RuPay Platinum
Debit Card for high networthy individuals. It gives 5% cash-back
on utility bill payments, 1% fuel surcharge waiver and
complimentary airport lounge access.

Cabinet approves 3 social security schemes (1) Pradhan Mantri

Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) (3) Pradhan Mantri Suraksha
Bima Yojana (PMSBY) (3) Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY): 1 year
accidental death-cum-disability cover. 2 lakh for death 2 lakh
if both eyes, hands, legs gone 1 lakh if 1 eye,hand,leg gone.
18 to 70 y.o. savings account holders eligible. Premium of Rs.
12 per annum per subscriber, auto-debited from your bank
account. Breakup: 10 Rs. To insurance company, 1 rupee to agent,
1 rupee to bank Validity 1 year, can be renewed. General
insurance companies public and private sector, will be
implementing this.
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana: (PMJJBY) 1 year
life insurance cover worth Rs.2 lakh rupees Death by any
reason eligible LIC and other life insurance companies to
implement premium: 330 per year per person, auto debited
from bank savings account. Breakup: 289 to Insurance co. Rs.30
to agent, Rs.11 to bank eligible 18-50 years savings account
holder. If he has multiple savings account- he can join only once.
Atal Pension Yojana (APY): for unorganized workers, pension
after 60 years age. Rs.1k, 2k, 3k, 4k and 5k per month,
depending on contribution by the client. eligibility: 18 to 40
years PFRDA to implement, money autodebited from your bank
account Government to contribute equal amount in the fund, if
youre not an income tax payer, and not covered in any other
social security scheme of Government such as EPFO, Coal Mines,
Tea plantation, Seamens provident fund, J&K employee PF etc.
Previous Swavlamban scheme had similar feature- Government to
co-contribute in unorganized sector workers NPS account. Now all
those Swavlamban accounts to be migrated to Atal Pension
Yojana, unless the client wants to opt out. Then hell continue in
NPS.

Kazi Nazrul Islam (KNI) Airport in West Bengal is Indias countrys

first private greenfield airport. PM Modi planning to Inaugurate it
and become first passenger.
Inland waterways: China, Europe >40% goods moved through
inland waterways, while in India hardly 3%. Weve Total inland
water way >14,000 kms. Cost of transporting goods per kms:
road- Rs.1.5, Rail-Rs.1, inland waterway just 30 paise. Till now we
had five laws for five inland water ways viz. (1) Ganga-BhagirathiHooghly
river
system
(Allahabad-Haldia-1620
km);
(2)
Brahmaputra (Dhubri-Sadiya-891 km) (3) West Coast Canal
(Kottapuram-Kollam) along with Udyogmandal and Champakara
Canals-(205 km) (4) Kakinada-Puducherry canals at Godavari and
Krishna rivers (1078 km) (5) East Coast Canal at Brahmani river
and Mahanadi delta rivers (588 km). National Waterways Bill
2015 consolidates them into a single law. 7th Sch. Entry 24
allows union to make laws on inland waterways- their shipping,
navigation. this new bill wants to create 101 waterways.
GOVERNANCE:
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2014 passed
in Lok Sabha. Teens between 16-18 ages be tried as adults for
heinous crimes such as murder and rape. But Juvenile Justice
Board (including psychologists and social experts) will decide on
case by case basis, whether given teenager should be tried a
child or as an adult. Such 16-18 y.o. juvenile will remain in
Borstal. Borstal is an institution meant adolescent offenders. If
post-21 years any signs of reform seen then their sentence will be
reduced. no provision for death sentence or life imprisonment.
If minor did crime in 16-18 age but was caught post-21 age,
then hed *not* be tried as an adult. It all depends on board
decision.
Gujarat cadre IAS officer Achal Kumar Jyoti appointed as Election
Commissioner.

1941: Delhi special police Establishment act. 1963: CBI setup via
home Ministry resolution. D.P. Kohli was the founder director of
the CBI (1963).
J Bill Pro Arguments: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
statistics says 3,887 juveniles committed heinous crimes in 2013
alone. SC itself asked Government to relook into this. Yes in
poverty and envy the teens may commit crime but its no
justification they should not be punished.
JJ Bill Anti Arguments: Teens from SC/ST and other sections will
be persecuted. hardly ~1400 juvenile rape cases. (5% of total
rape cases). And in many those cases, matter was of elopement /
consensual sex. So, its a misconception that juveniles rapists are
rising in number. 80% juveniles criminals come from <50k /per
year income group., 50% of them did not finish primary school. So
better focus on their education and vocational skills first. SC
upheld present system in Swamy vs Raju (2014) and Salil Bali vs
Union of India (2013) Juvenile criminal involved in the Nirbhaya
gangrape, was a misguided teenager with traumatic childhood,
who received no support from child welfare agencies, and
therefore and developing the bad company of crooks. Todays
ads, TV & movies encourage children towards sex, alcohol and
drugs.
119th Amendment bill 2013: was pending in Rajya Sabha since
2013. Finally passed. It operationalizes the 1974 IndiaBangladesh Land Boundary Agreement. Land transfer to occur
at West Bengal, Meghalaya, Tripura and Assam. India will get
2,777.038 acres and transfer 2,267.682 acres to Bangladesh.
90% fencing finished. But work delayed thanks to land
acquisition, wildlife clearance and protests by locals. In 1974,
India had transferred Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka. Now DMK,
CPI et al demanding Government to take it back because the
transfer was against SC verdict on Berubari case.

ENVIRONMENT/AGRO:
Antarctica is surrounded by Southern Ocean. This ocean accounts
for 10% of the worlds oceans and 50% of marine mammal
biomass. It has multiple species of pinnipeds and whales
Examples of Pinniped- walrus, sea lions and seal. They have
whiskers & legs are modified flippers. Ocean is in news because
of Adelies penguins. Adelies penguins are migratory species,
feed on krill & fish, smallest penguin in this ocean.
Threats to Taj Mahal 50k visitors a day, causing wear and tear
to the marble floor. Because of SC intervention, sulphur dioxide
emission is reduced. But still carbon particles from vehicles and
industries present. Given the heat, Mineral impurities of marble
get oxidised and create brown stains. Agra lies in a semi-arid
zone, with ~49C in Summer. Hot winds have abrasive effect on
marble Rain causes chipping, cracking and weathering effect on
marbel. The iron dowels used to fix the marble slabs on the
building are getting rusted. get rusted and the rust flows down
with rain, getting deposited on the marble.
The 2016-Simhastha Kumbha, to be held in Ujjain in Madhya
Pradesh. Following eco-friendly measures taken ban on plastic
only bicycles and battery-operated vehicles allowed.
Gotland islands belongs to Norway and located in Baltic sea. But
Facebook showing it in Norway, hence controversy. Location
becomes important for world Geography MCQ
A new concept called ecological engineering to reduce pests.
Ecological engineering concept by Hyderabad research institute.
Focus on pest management through biocontrol agents and bio
pesticides. No chemical spray is required.
At present Prime Ministers National Relief Fund gives tax
exemption to donors. But this money can be used only to help
Indian citizens. Modi asked people to donate here for Nepal

earthquake so, So than guidelines have to be amended.

Although under India-Nepal Friendship Treaty (1950), our
government can give national treatment to Nepalis for property
and commercial rights. So PM is free to use his discretionary
powers to extend the fund for Nepali citizens.
SCIENCE TECH, IT , DEFENCE, HEALTHCARE:
Indo-French naval exercise (VARUNA) concluded at Panaji, Goa.
1983: joint exercises begin. 2001: renamed as Varuna. 2015:
fourth edition of the joint exercise.
Mid 90s: Dr.Kalam proposes ballistic missile defense system
(BMD) i.e. a missile that can shoot down enemy missiles. DRDO
began working since Late 90s to provide cover for Delhi, Mumbai
etc. Anti-arguments tests failed last month will encourage
Pak. to produce more missiles, to simultaneously attack multiple
targets in India US Senate report says BMDs have only 30%
success rate, yet costs are prohibitive e.g. for Each Indian city
such missile defense shield to cost ~1 lakh crore minimum. for
a fully functional BMD, you need radars, command-control-centre
and geo-stationary satellite- we dont have that satellite yet.
Asthma: airways shrink, because of immunological response to an
allergen such as dust, food additives etc. Allergan vary from
person to person Narrowed airways means difficulty in
breathing. Asthma is not curable but fully controllable, with
proper treatment. Asthama inhalers contain Bronchodilators &
similar anti-inflammatory agents that help relaxing the airway
May 5 World Asthama Day.
Blackberry (Canadian Company) had aquired Movirtu for virtual
identity solutions provider. Blackberry now sought permission
from Indian Government to launch Virtual SIM cards that will allow
customers to use nine different numbers through a single SIM
system already started in Africa. this system works with all type
of smartphone whether android, iphone or windows based.

Autism= auto+ism. Its a complex neuro-development disorder

problem in language skills & communication. Symptoms begin
at age of 3. Government recognizes it as a disability.
Opto Circuits India is a Medical devices maker. Its product
Powerheart G5 AED got approval by USFDA AED =Automated
external defibrillator (AED). During Cardiac arrest, defibrillators
give electrical shock to revive the heart.
UN Road Safety Week: theme Children and Road Safety World
Red Cross Day: 8th May. 2015 marks 50th Anniversary.
CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) is worlds
biggest particle physics laboratory . CERN operates the Large
Hadron Collider. Until now India was an observer. Now Cabinet
clears Indias associate membership to CERN. Total 21 member
States.
The boiling point of milk (100.17C) is slightly higher than of water
(100C). When milk heated, its relatively less dense constituents
like the fat/proteins begin to float on top cream layer. So, milk
vapor cant pass through this upper layer. So, at boiling point milk
will overflow due to large quantity of milk vapor rupturing the
cream layer. Milk cooker is a double-walled vessel. Its gap has
water, which boils before milk. So, inner vessel remains at 100C.
So, cream layer forms but milk vapor doesnt form. Thats why
milk will not overflow in a milk cooker.
Government prohibits hotels and farmhouses From using laser
lights near airports because it creates confusion to the pilot.
2004: NASAs Messenger spacecraft Launched to investigate
mercury planet. It gave information about Mercurys magnetic
anomalies and ice polar craters. 2015: it crashed on Mercury,
because of the suns gravitational pull.
HISTORY AND CULTURE:

Babasaheb Purandare is a right wing historian and Shiv Sena

leader. Hes nicknamed Shiv Sahir (Shivajis poet) because of
his bestselling narrative Raja Shiva Chatrapati and Janata Raja
Maharashtra Government to give him Maharashtra Bhushan
award. Controversy because Purandares versions dont match
with other historians such as Sir Jadunath Sarkar (Shivaji and his
times) and Govind Pansare (Who was Shivaji). Purandare
says Shivajis birth date as February 19, 1630. But Sir Jadunath
Sarkar said it was April 6, 1627. Sambhaji Brigades founder
Purushottam Khedekar alleges that Purandare twisted facts about
Shivaji to stok tensions between Hindus and Muslims.
Chetan Bhagats novel Half Girlfriend. He had portrayed royal
family of Dumraon (Bihar) in poor light. Dumraon acceded to
Indian Union in 1952. Last ruler Maharaja Bahadur Kamal Singh.
His descendants went to court against Bhagats novel. Bhagat
agreed to change name of place from Dumraon to a fictional
place Simraon
Rakhigarhi village in Haryana- Harappan burial mound with 4
skeletons found from Mature Harappan period (2600 BCE-1900
BCE). 2 men, 1 woman, 1 child. S.Korean university extracted DNA
from it to predict their skin,hair colors and facial features. This
site also has Harappan painted pottery, goblets, terracotta
figurines of wild boar and dogs, and furnaces and hearthsmeaning possible bangle and bead-making industry.
Buddha Purnima celebrated on May 4th. Modi wisdom: Lord
Buddhas teaching of Atta Deepo Bhavah (Be your own light) is
one of the greatest and shortest management lessons ever,
Buddhism as the way to a world free of war and violence. 21st
Century belongs to Asia and Buddhas message will be guiding
light for Asia.