Union Government launched
Sahaj Scheme for online booking of LPG cylinders.
>>
Launched by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge)
Dharmendra Pradhan as part of Government’s 2016-Year of the Consumers
initiative.
Key
Facts:
>>
Consumers can book LPG cylinders online through the unified web portal
www.mylpg.in which is available in 13 languages.
>>
No need to visit LPG distributor, new connection can be applied directly
through unified web portal.
>>
Facility have option of online and offline payment and available round the
clock.
Tougher SC/ST Act to come
into force from Jan 26
>>
To make laws tougher to tackle atrocities against the most vulnerable sections
of the population, the Centre announced that The Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, would
come into force with effect from January 26, 2016.
>>
The SC/ST Bill was unanimously passed by the Rajya Sabha on December 21, 2015,
but without a debate, and had been awaiting a formal notification. The Lok
Sabha had already passed it on August 4, 2015.
Sundarbans buzzes with
discovery of solitary bee
>>
A “solitary bee” species was recently discovered in the Sundarbans Biosphere
Reserve.
Key
Points:
>>
The 6.2-mm-long bee, named Braunsapis chandrai , is black in colour and has
punctured legs.
>>
The 96 species of bees of the genus Braunsapis do not make combs as common
honeybees do.
>>
Solitary in nature, they nest in stems and twigs independently.
>>
What makes it distinct from other species of solitary bees is the different
patterns of the marks on its face and frontal region.
>>
The new species plays a significant role in pollination though it did not
produce honey.
Birth defects spark panic in
Latin America
>>
The United States has expanded a travel warning for pregnant women. In the last
few days, the country has seen over thousands of birth defects.
>>
The defects are blamed on the spread of mosquito-borne Zika virus.
>>
Babies across the region, and at least one in the United States, have been born
with abnormally smaller heads — a condition doctors call microcephaly, which
can cause brain damage.
>>
The scare has struck hardest in Brazil, which hosts the summer Olympic Games in
August.
>>
The virus was first identified outside of Africa on Easter Island in 2014. It attacks
the nervous system and can lead to potentially fatal paralysis.
>>
The virus is carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. There is no vaccine,
and scientists have warned that developing one could take at least five years.
>>
With the sting of a mosquito bite and a fever, many pregnant women may not know
that they caught the Zika virus — until it strikes their unborn child. The U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extended the list of territories
on its no-go list for pregnant women.
President gives assent to
Central rule in Arunachal Pradesh
>>
President Pranab Mukherjee approved the Union Cabinet’s recommendation
for the imposition of President’s rule on Arunachal Pradesh.
Pranab
gives assent to Central rule in Arunachal Pradesh
>>
The Governor (Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa) has been sending multiple reports that
even the Raj Bhavan was not safe and there was no law and order in the State.
>>
Congress determined to stall the ratification of President’s Rule in the State.
>>
A proclamation of President’s Rule needs to be ratified in both Houses of
Parliament within 2 months of notification or whenever the next
session of Parliament is held.
>>
The article 356 of the constitution which focuses on the failure of the
Constitutional machinery of the State is often termed as the President’s rule.
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