22 December 2015 – Daily Current Affairs

India Participates in Building LNG ships

Cochin Shipyard has received a certification which qualifies the zone to build LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) ships. This event has resulted in India’s participation in ‘Select Club Nations’ to build LNG ships. The Cochin Shipyard obtained the approval from Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) through a license agreement, whereby the French company, GTT, permitted Cochin Shipyard for the same. With this development, India has joined other nations such as Japan, China and South Korea in the league. Probably, one of the biggest phase of shipbuilding development in India.

SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill passed in the Parliament

The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha after it was primarily passed in the Lok Sabha in August 2015. The Amendment bill takes into consideration factors such as actions which are treated as an offense, new offences, sexual exploitation of SC/ST women, establishment of courts, etc. The motive behind introducing the amendment is to preserve the interest of SC/ ST in India.

National Waterways Bill passed in Lok Sabha

The bill presented by Nitin Gadkari has been passed in the Lok Sabha, which declares 106 inland waterways in addition to the National waterways. The current strength of the Indian waterways is about 14500 kms, but the same has not been utilized properly. The National Waterways Bill looks forward to enhance the overall area of water under India and gives a chance to improve the overall utilization of water bodies. The bill has generated several advantages such as reducing pollution caused by water transport, reducing traffic congestion, serving as a cheaper mode of transport, etc.

New Website launched by Union Defence Ministry

The Union Defence Ministry has launched a new website with a view to facilitate the defence acquisition process. The website is: www.makeinindiadefence.com and the website has made it easier for the Government to maintain its interface with industry. The long awaited question of transparency has also been answered through this portal. The Union Defence Minister of India, Manohar Parrikar had launched this website. Additionally, the UDM also announced that a new defence procurement procedure will be launched in January 2016, whose aim is to increase the existing 30% of defence procurement to 40% under Make in India initiative in 2016. In the next five years, the same share would rise to 70%

PM Narendra Modi flagged off the first prototype bus for MPs

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi flagged off the first-of-its-kind Prototype Electric Bus for the Members of Parliament. The bus is pollution free and runs on a battery to support the Go Green message. With a potential to accommodate 15 members, the bus serves as a noiseless means of transport along with saving up to 48000 kg of CO2 emission every year. Initially, the bus was developed as a diesel machine, but later on the same was transmitted into a battery operated vehicle which was devised by a powerful lithium battery engineered by ISRO. The development took place under the Make in India initiative.