Current Affairs 14th January 2016

Important Points :

• 2nd Liquid Chemical Berth of Mumbai Port Trust inaugrated by - Nitin Gadkari
• Which state has became the first to achieve 100% primary education - Kerala 
• Name the scheme approved by the Union Cabinet to boost the farming sector - Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana 
• Who has been honoured with Neerja Bhanot Award - Subhashini Vasanth 
• Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015 approved by - President 
• Who has been presented with Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award - David Beckham
• Name the committee formed on Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Corridor - Arvind Panagariya committee 

Details : 

2nd Liquid Chemical Berth of Mumbai Port Trust inaugrated by - Nitin Gadkari

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 13th January 2016, Mumbai Port Trust’s second liquid chemical berth at Pir Pau, Mumbai was inaugrated by Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari. 

From now onwards, the cargo handling capacity of the Port will increase by 2.5 MMT (Million Metric Tonnes) per annum.

About Second Liquid Chemical Berth

• 127 crore rupees are expensed in the execution of this project.
• It can handle 55000 DWT (deadweight tonnes) vessels carrying liquid bulk chemicals and POL products. 

Which state has became the first to achieve 100% primary education - Kerala 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 12th January 2016, It was announced by Vice President of India Hamid Ansari that India's first state to achieve 100 % primary education is Kerala. 

The credit to this achievement goes to various initiatives that were undertaken by the Kerala Literacy Mission in the last 20 years.

The Athulyam Scheme played a significant role in addressing the educational needs of illiterate adults. While, the second stage of the scheme, namely Mission 676, focused on ages 15 and 50.

In the year 2001, Kannur became the first district in the country to achieve total primary education.

Name the scheme approved by the Union Cabinet to boost the farming sector - Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana 

On 13th January 2016, the New Crop Insurance Scheme,‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’ was approved to boost the agricultural sector, by the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Highlights of the scheme are :

• Only 2 % for all Kharif crops and 1.5 % for all Rabi crops would be paid by farmers as a uniform premium.
• A premium of only 5 % would be paid by farmers in case of annual commercial and horticultural crops. 
• No upper limit on government subsidy even in the case of 90% balance premium.

Who has been honoured with Neerja Bhanot Award - Subhashini Vasanth 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 13th January 2016, Neerja Bhanot Award was honoured to Bengaluru-based activist Subhashini Vasanth for her aim for empowering widows of martyrs and their families and to help people in agony.

About Subhashini Vasanth

• She is the widow of Col Vasanth V who lost his life while fighting against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. He was awarded with the Ashok Chakra in 2008.
• In the memory of her husband, she started the Vasantharatna Foundation which provides outbound learning programmes, education scholarships and conducts empowerment programmes for women and children.
• The biography of Col Vasanth, titled "Forever Forty" has been co-authored by her along with Veena Prasad.

Do You Know : 

• The Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust in India presents the Neerja Bhanot Award once in a year to an Indian woman who faces the situation with grit and determination and help to other women in similar distress.
• In the year 1990, the annual Neerja Bhanot Award was instituted in honour of Senior Flight Purser, Neerja Bhanot, who sacrificed her life in September 1986 to save hundreds of lives during a Pan Am Flight 73 hijack at Karachi Airport.

Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015 approved by - President 

On 8th January 2016, the Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was approved by President Pranab Mukherjee. The bill will help sugarcane growers and cash-starved mills as the ceiling of the impost is raised from 25 to 200 rupees per quintal.

Key highlights of Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015

• It has amended the Sugar Cess Act, 1982.
• In order to meet the government’s expenditure on interventions to ensure payment of dues to sugarcane farmers, the cess was proposed to be increased.

Who has been presented with Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award - David Beckham

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 12th January 2016, the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award was presented to David Beckham at the sixth biennial UNICEF Ball for his vigorous work to save and improve the lives of children.

David Furnish and Sir Elton John presented him the award at the event. Since 2005, Beckham has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Do You Know :

The Danny Kaye Humanitarian Leadership Award is named after Danny Kaye, star of Hans Christian Andersen and White Christmas who was one of the world’s most beloved entertainers. 

Name the committee formed on Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Corridor - Arvind Panagariya committee 

Among the important National Current Affairs, On 11th January 2016, a five-member high level committee headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya was formed to monitor the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Corridor (bullet train project) by the Union Government. 

The responsibility of the committee is to look into the overall operations and technical issues, Make in India component and financial outlay of the 90000 crore rupees worth project.

Apart from this, the committee will also audit the project’s strategic importance for India-Japan bilateral relation. 

Apart from the Chairman, the members of the committee are-

• Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
• Shantikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary
• S Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary
• AK Mittal, Railway Board Chairman