Current Affairs for IAS Exams

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 18 June 2017

::National::

Centre will announce a new metro policy featuring innovative financing

The Centre will announce a new metro policy featuring innovative financing, and will add a list of new cities to the Smart Cities Mission on June 23, said Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu.
President Pranab Mukherjee flagged off the last stretch of Namma Metro’s Green Line in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Governor Vajubhai R. Vala, and a host of Union and State Ministers.
The new metro policy is to enable greater private participation and innovative financing — through Value Capture Financing — and to ensure conformity to comprehensive mobility plans.
More cities would be added to the Smart Cities Mission and names of the new cities would be announced on June 23, Mr. Naidu added.
With the commissioning of the 11.3-km line between Mantri Square Sampige Road and Yelachenahalli, metro network of 42.3 km — with 40 stations in East-West and North-South corridors for Phase I — has been completed at a cost of Rs. 13,845 crore.
With the opening of the line, the total metro length operational in the country is 370 km (including 13.4 km inaugurated by Prime Minister in Kochi) in the cities of Delhi and NCR, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Jaipur, and Mumbai.
Around 517 km is under construction in various cities, including Delhi and NCR, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Jaipur, Mumbai, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Lucknow and another around 522 km is under consideration, Mr. Naidu said.

ISRO has progressed to the testing of subsystems of a semi-cryogenic engine

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has progressed to the testing of subsystems in the development of a semi-cryogenic engine for rockets with heavier payload capacity.
The testing facilities at the ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri, are being augmented for the engine being developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre here under a project codenamed SCE 200.
Three of the four turbo pumps of the new engine have been tested and the pre-burner and thrust chamber are being readied for testing.
The semi-cryogenic engine uses a combination of liquid oxygen (LOX) and refined kerosene (Isrosene) as propellants.
One of the options before ISRO is to replace the liquid core (L110) engine of the GSLV Mark 3 with the SCE-200 to boost the payload capacity of the rocket from four to six tonnes.
Mindful of the fact that the standard size of satellites is expected to go up in the near future, ISRO is already looking much ahead.
On the cards is a proposal to develop a bigger semi cryogenic engine with a cluster of four or five engines that could generate a lift of eight to 10 tonnes.
A clustered semi cryogenic booster with a more powerful cryogenic upper stage is another possibility. ‘
But before that, ISRO needs to ensure that critical technologies such as special materials and coatings, brazing process, kerosene refinement, combustion instability and control components are mastered and key infrastructure is in place.

Challenges of linking Aadhaar with Pan card

The simple act of paying your income tax to the government — an article of citizens’ faith that is not exercised by enough Indians with incomes over Rs. 2.5 lakh a year if you go by India’s low direct tax base — will never be the same again.
Having a PAN (permanent account number) card from the Income Tax department will no longer be enough to file your returns.
Starting July 1, the government has made it mandatory for taxpayers to link their Aadhaar number to their PAN cards in order to be able to file returns. Aadhaar numbers have also been made mandatory for all those applying for a new PAN card after July 1.
Among several changes appended to this year’s Finance Bill that did not figure in the budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced a new Section, 139 AA, in the Income Tax Act of 1961.
This new Section stipulates that all PAN cardholders share their Aadhar number with the tax authorities so that the two documents can be linked, and makes quoting of Aadhaar mandatory for all PAN card applications and to file income tax returns.
The new provision also states that the existing PAN cardholders who fail to link their Aadhaar numbers will have the legal status of their PAN card revoked and those cards will be held invalid for all other purposes.
However, petitions were filed in the Supreme Court, challenging the move with the argument that it runs foul of the court’s earlier decision on Aadhaar-related petitions that the unique ID number cannot be made mandatory.