South Korea, Japan settle deal on wartime Korean sex slaves

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan signed a deal to resolve deadlockover Korean women forced into Japanese military-run brothels during World War II.

Deal: It includes an apology from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) aid fund from Tokyo for the elderly former sex slaves, could reverse decades of animosity and mistrust between the thriving democracies, trade partners and staunch US allies.

• Japan also offered to set up a new 1bn yen with the money, paid directly by the government, divided among the 46 former comfort women still alive, most of whom are in their late 80s and early 90s.

Key points: South Korea
Capital: Seoul
Currency: South Korean won

18th India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting held in New Delhi

The 18th session of the India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was held in New Delhi.

• The session was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister of India (EAM),Sushma Swaraj and Mr. Ali Tayebnia, Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Report of the Committee on Revisiting & Revitalizing the PPP Model of Infrastructure Development

The Report of the Committee on Revisiting & Revitalizing the PPP model of Infrastructure Development chaired by Dr. V. Kelkar has been issued by Ministry of Finance.

Key Highlights of Report:

• PPPs in infrastructure represent a valuable instrument to speed up infrastructure development in India.
• Contracts under PPP should focus more on service delivery instead of fiscal benefits.
• An assessment procedure should be laid down for efficiently managing the risks by the entity.
• Government must amend the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 in order to appropriately distinguish between genuine errors in decision-making and acts of corruption.
• An institution should be set up for providing guidance for a national PPP policy and develop a mechanism for collecting data for decision making in further developing the PPP.
• The 3P-I institute for PPPs should be set up as soon as possible.

An institutionalized mechanism like the National Facilitation Committee (NFC) should be established to ensure speedy resolution of issues.

Gujarat government to announce its 1st Medical Policy

Gujarat government is set to announce its 1st Medical Policy for providing subsidy to those who wish to set up new hospital in the state.

Main aim: To encourage as well as help doctors in setting up new hospitals and nursing homes, which is a costly affair.

Features of policy:

• Subsidy and financial assistance to those who want to set up hospitals and nursing homes anywhere in the state.
• Subsidy will be given for constructing the building and for purchasing specialised medical equipment that are very costly.
• Subsidy will depend on the location of the hospital, treatments offered and number of specialised doctors offering services in the hospital.
• Rates of subsidy will be different from a hospital being set up in urban area to another coming up in a small town.

Another objective: To encourage medical tourism as well as to provide infrastructure for new medical colleges.

Key Points:
Health Minister:Nitin Patel
Gujarat CM & Governor: Anandiben Patel,Om PrakashKohli
Capital: Gandhinagar

Goa Governor pens song for “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan”

Goa Governor MridulaSinha has written a song on ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ which would be pasted at the entrances of state government departments.

Objective: To create awareness among people about importance of cleanliness at all places.

• Governor DrMridulaSinha, the brand ambassador nominated by Prime Minister for this programme.
• She has written ‘what to do’ and ‘what not to do’regarding maintaining cleanliness.

These messages are being sent to members of the co-ordination committees which the Governor has constituted to makePanaji, Mapusa, Ponda, Margao and Vasco as model cities of cleanliness in Goa.

Key Points: Goa
Chief Minister: LaxmikantParsekar
Capitals: Panaji (Executive Branch), Porvorim (Legislature), Mumbai (Judiciary)
Largest city:Vasco da Gama
Official language:Konkani

Union Government links LPG subsidy to income

No LPG subsidy for taxpayers who earn over Rs 10 lakh annually. Union government is consideringto lift the subsidy on LPG cylinder for consumers whose annual income is above Rs 10 lakh.

Reason:Government has found many of illegal gas connections and is saving thousands of crore of rupees by stopping supply to those consumers.

• Consumers whose income is above Rs 10 lakh, gas subsidy will not be given. So far, 30 lakh people have given up LPG subsidy. That subsidy will be given to poor people.
• Currently, all households are permitted to 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rate of Rs 419.26, while the market price of each cylinder is Rs 608.
• In the assessment year 2014-15, a total of 26 lakh assesses were reported as having a taxable income above Rs 10 lakh.
• The number of LPG consumers in the country fell from 35 crore to 14.78 crore after the start of Direct Benefit Transfer on LPG (DBTL) scheme that eliminated inactive customers and duplication in the rolls.

Key point:
Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas:Dharmendra Pradhan

Civil Aviation Ministry gave clearance for 4 Greenfield Airports

In a bid to reduce air traffic load the Civil Aviation Ministry has given clearance for four Greenfield airports.

(Civil Aviation Minister – Ashok Gajapathi Raju)

• The three other Greenfield airports are proposed to be set up in Andhra Pradesh, with two of them likely to be no-frills ones.
• One airport worth Rs. 1,378 crore will be international airport at Dholera inGujarat.
• The Ministry has already given its nod for development of a Greenfield airportin Nellore and Kurnool districts of Andhra Pradesh under a public-private partnership.