TRIUMPH IAS ACADEMY MUMBAI

In view of the large network of inland waterways in India, there is vast potential in IWT to act as an alternate and supplementary mode of transportation. However, so far, in the last 30 years, only the following five waterways have been declared as National Waterways :- (i)            Allahabad-Haldia stretch of Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system (1620 km); (ii)     Dhubri-Sadiya stretch of River Brahmaputra (891 km); (iii)    Kottapuram-Kollam stretch of West Coast Canal along with Udyogmandal and Champakara Canals (205 km);   (iv)    Kakinada-Puducherry stretch of canals along with designated stretches of Godavari and Krishna rivers (1078 km);          (v)     Designated stretches of East Coast Canal, Brahmani river and Mahanadi delta (588 km).   Due to very little investment made so far on developmentof this mode compared globally and to the road and rail modes in the country, IWT mode remains under developed and its share in overall inte

Presently, Indian ports handle more than 90% of India’s total EXIM trade volume. However, the current proportion of merchandize trade in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India is only 42%, whereas for some developed countries and regions in the world such as Germany and European Union, it is 75% and 70% respectively.  Therefore, there is a great scope to increase the share of merchandising trade in India’s GDP.  With the Union Government’s “Make in India” initiative, the share of merchandise trade in India’s GDP is expected to increase and approach levels achieved in developed countries.  India lags far behind in ports and logistics infrastructure.  Against a share of 9% of railways and 6% of roads in the GDP the share of ports is only 1%. In addition high logistics costs make Indian exports uncompetitive.  Therefore Sagarmala project has been envisioned to provide ports and the shipping the rightful place in the Indian economy and to enable port-led development.  Amon

The Government today notified the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014 and the Constitution (Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 for bringing in a change in the existing system for appointment of Judges in Supreme Court and High Courts. The National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014 (40 of 2014), the Central Government appoints the 13th day of April, 2015, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force. The Constitution (Ninety Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 provides for the composition and the functions of the proposed NJAC. The Acts provide for a transparent and broad-based process of selection of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts by the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC). The NJAC would be chaired by the Chief Justice of India as in the earlier collegium system. The NJAC membership would include two senior most Judges of the Supreme Court, the Union Minister of Law and Justice, two eminent person

We, the Prime Minister of India and the Federal Chancellor of Germany, met in Hannover and Berlin to exchange views on upgrading and further strengthening our Strategic Partnership. We view each other’s development as mutually reinforcing and offering significant opportunities for expanding cooperation between the two countries. Our common objective is to encourage greater synergies between German engineering, experience in sustainable development, innovation and skills, and the new opportunities available in India and through ‘Make in India’, ‘Clean India’, ‘Digital India’ and other initiatives towards achieving economic growth and sustainable development. India’s participation as Partner Country at Hannover Messe 2015 is a welcome expression of our common desire to strengthen this cooperation. We are exploring ways of expanding our dialogue on foreign policy and security issues. We welcome the proposed visits of the Defence Minister of Germany to India and the Externa

PM’s gift to President Francois Hollande The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, during his visit to France, gifted the French President a painting titled Tree of Life, reflecting traditional societal respect for nature in India. France will be hosting the meeting of Conference of Parties on UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2015. The tree as a divine gift central to human life is a recurring element in Indian artistic practice. The Tree of Life, with multiple roots and branches like a banyan tree, is a motif for a tree’s benevolence, fruit, seeds, shelter, healing, procreation and regeneration faculties that sustain life and clean the environment. The painting (pigments on silk) has been done by an Odisha artist, Bhaskar Mahapatra, who has been practicing the art form for the last thirty years along with the rest of his family, and works from his home in the heritage crafts village of Raghurajpur. Bhaskar Mahapatra, who has been honoured by Lalit

NPCIL and France’s AREVA Sign Pre-Engineering Agreement for Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL), a PSU under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, and M/s AREVA of France have entered into a Pre-Engineering Agreement (PEA) on April 10, 2015 in connection with the proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project for setting up of two EPR (Evolutional Pressurised Reactor) rectors of 1650 MWe each to be set up in collaboration with France. The PEA mainly pertains to assessment of licenseability of the EPR project as per Indian laws, codes, guides, regulations, manuals, practices and general acceptability, as well as an informed understanding of the EPR technology itself. The PEA will, therefore, facilitate NPCIL to obtain details of the EPR technology, make a detailed safety assessment of the plant and take up the licensing process with Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), as soon as the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, and Chairman NEC, Dr Jitendra Singh said that this was one of the best times for India, particularly for the Northeast which was part of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s “India vision”. The Minister was addressing Governors and Chief Ministers of the eight States on the second day of 64th Plenary Meeting of North-Eastern Council (NEC) here today. Dr. Jitendra Singh said, it is a golden opportunity when on the one hand, the entire world is looking up to India as a place of happening and on the other hand, Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, who has emerged as a world leader of international reckoning, inspires a renewed feeling of national esteem through his concept of “Make in India” which is envisaged to be achieved through “Make in Northeast”. In this context, he referred to Pr

President of India to inaugurate the first edition of a cultural festival titled ‘songs and dances of North East’ tomorrow The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate a cultural festival of the North East organized by Government of Meghalaya and sponsored by the North Eastern Council in New Delhi tomorrow (April 11, 2015). This initiative is one of the outcomes of the recommendations of the M.P. Bezbaruah Committee on the North East, set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs to work out modalities for building a strong social bond between the people of North East and the rest of the country. The festival will showcase the rich cultural ethnicity and diversity of North East India. Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland and Manipur will set up their stalls and display a plethora of products. Leading music bands of the North East will perform. There will also be a tourism exhibition, food festival and free dance lessons for

Economic ties high on Modi’s Europe agenda: http://m.thehindu.com/news/national/narendra-modi-to-hard-sell-make-in-india-during-germany-visit/article7081468.ece

Malaysia passes anti-terror bill: http://m.thehindu.com/news/international/malaysias-lawmakers-passed-an-antiterrorism-bill/article7076460.ece

‘Building ties for the 21st century’: http://m.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/building-ties-for-the-21st-century/article7054501.ece

A Persian handshake with promise: http://m.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/a-persian-handshake-with-promise/article7074436.ece

For some fresh air: http://m.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/centres-move-on-national-air-quality-index/article7078261.ece

Modi launches MUDRA bank: http://m.thehindu.com/news/national/modi-launches-mudra-bank/article7080418.ece