Daily Current Affairs 26 March 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Regional Rural Banks

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for continuation of the process of recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) by providing minimum regulatory capital to RRBs for another year beyond 2019-20, that is, up to 2020-21 for those RRBs which are unable to maintain minimum Capital to Risk-weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of 9%, as per the regulatory norms prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India.
The CCEA also approved the utilization of Rs.670 crore as central government share for the scheme of Recapitalization of RRBs (i.e. 50% of the total recapitalization support of Rs.1340 crore), subject to the condition that the release of Central Government’s share will be contingent upon the release of the proportionate share by the sponsor banks.

Benefits

A financially stronger and robust Regional Rural Banks with improved CRAR will enable them to meet the credit requirement in rural areas.
As per RBI guidelines, the RRBs have to provide 75% of their total credit under PSL (Priority Sector Lending). RRBs are primarily catering to the credit and banking requirements of the agriculture sector and rural areas with a focus on small and marginal farmers, micro & small enterprises, rural artisans and weaker sections of the society. Also, RRBs provide lending to micro/small enterprises and small entrepreneurs in rural areas. With the recapitalization support to augment CRAR, RRBs would be able to continue their lending to these categories of borrowers under their PSL target, and thus, continue to support rural livelihoods.

Background:

Consequent to RBI’s decision to introduce disclosure norms for Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of RRBs with effect from March 2008, a committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Dr. K.C. Chakrabarty.
Based on the Committee’s recommendations, a Scheme for Recapitalization of RRBs was approved by the Cabinet in its meeting held on 10th February 2011 to provide recapitalization support of Rs. 2,200 crore to 40 RRBs with an additional amount of Rs. 700 crore as a contingency fund to meet the requirement of the weak RRBs, particularly in the North-Eastern and Eastern Region. Therefore, based on the CRAR position of RRBs, as on 31st March of every year, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) identifies those RRBs, which require recapitalization assistance to maintain the mandatory CRAR of 9%.
Post-2011, the scheme for the recapitalization of RRBs was extended up to 2019-20 in a phased manner with the financial support of Rs. 2,900 crore with 50% Government of India’s share of Rs. 1,450 crore. Out of Rs. 1,450 crore approved as GoI’s share for recapitalization, an amount of Rs. 1,395.64 crore has been released to RRBs, up to 2019-20 so far.
During this period, the Government has also taken various initiatives for making the RRBs economically viable and sustainable institutions. To enable RRBs to minimize their overhead expenses, optimize the use of technology, enhance the capital base and area of operation and increase their exposure, the Government has initiated structural consolidation of RRBs in three-phase, thereby reducing the number of RRBs from 196 in 2005 to the present 45.

Source: PIB

2) Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for taking up construction of Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover by the Ministry of Railways. The total length of the railway flyover will be 22 kilometers. The project is expected to be completed by 2024-25 at a cost of over Rs. 1285 crore.

Need for it

At Aligarh Junction Station a branch line Bareilly-Aligarh terminates. The trains coming from Howrah side and going to Harduaganj/Bareilly cross Howrah-New Delhi main route, which is the busiest section of Indian Railways. Due to heavy traffic, there is no path available for the surface crossing of loaded goods trains coming from Howrah side and going to Harduaganj/Bareilly. This results in the heavy detention of trains at Aligarh Junction. This location has become a bottleneck and is affecting the train working badly causing delays and detentions and also reducing the wagon turn round. Flyover at Aligarh going over the existing Delhi-Howrah main line is an operational necessity and is essentially required to remove the bottleneck to traffic movement. By construction of flyover connecting Aligarh to Harduaganj, the delays and detentions will be avoided.

Source: PIB

3) ARCI develops technology to improve the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines

International Advanced Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST), has developed ultrafast laser surface texturing technology, which can improve the fuel efficiency of internal combustion engines.
Laser surface micro-texturing, which offers precise control of the size, shape, and density of micro-surface texture features has gained momentum as a way to control friction and wear. In this technology, a pulsating laser beam creates micro-dimples or grooves on the surface of materials in a very controlled manner. Such textures can trap wear debris when operating under dry sliding conditions and sometimes provide effects like enhancing oil supply (lubricant reservoir) which can lower friction coefficients and may enable reduced wear rate.
The texture surfaces were created on automotive internal combustion engine components, piston rings and cylinder liners using 100 fs pulse duration laser. The micro dimples of 10-20 μm diameter and about 5-10 μm deep which have been created with laser beams had a regular pattern. The created textures were tested in an engine test rig under different speeds and temperatures of coolant and lubrication oil, and it was observed that there was a 16% reduction in the lube oil consumption with the use of texture on the piston rings. The 10-hour lube oil consumption test shows that the blowby substantially reduced with textured rings.
Fabrication of a pattern of micro dimples or grooves on the surface of materials results in a change in surface topography which generates additional hydrodynamic pressure, thereby increasing the load-carrying capacity of the surfaces. Hence these become useful for trapping wear debris when operating under dry sliding conditions and sometimes provide effects like enhancing oil supply (lubricant reservoir) which can lower friction coefficients and may enable reduced wear rate.
To control the friction, it is important to understand the mechanisms which occur during the conformal or non-conformal contact in dry and lubricated conditions. Ultrafast lasers create micro or nano features without vacuum conditions. These features are smaller than the diffraction-limited laser focal spot diameter - a unique property of ultrashort duration laser-matter interaction. The process is a thermal, and pulse durations are orders of magnitude smaller than thermal diffusion times.

Source: PIB

4) Glaciers in Sikkim are losing mass faster than other parts of the Himalaya

Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun an autonomous research institute for the study of Geology of the Himalaya under the Department of Science and Technology, have found that glaciers in Sikkim are melting at a higher magnitude as compared to other Himalayan regions.
The study published in Science of the Total Environment assessed the response of 23 glaciers of Sikkim to climate change for the period of 1991-2015 and revealed that glaciers in Sikkim have retreated and deglaciated significantly from 1991 to 2015. Small-sized glaciers in Sikkim are retreating while larger glaciers are thinning due to climate change.
Compared to other Himalayan regions, the magnitude of dimensional changes and debris growth is higher in the Sikkim. A major shift in glacier behavior has occurred around 2000. Contrary to the western and central Himalaya, where glaciers are reported to have slowed down in recent decades, the Sikkim glaciers have shown negligible deceleration after 2000. Summer temperature rise has been the prime driver of glacier changes.
To understand the various parameters of Sikkim Himalayas glaciers such as length, area, debris cover, snow-line altitude (SLA), and how they respond to global warming Scientists from WIHG selected 23 representative glaciers from this region. A detailed and rigorous literature survey related to the study was carried out to assess the existing knowledge in the subject. Thereafter, representative glaciers well spread over the study area were selected based on multiple criteria such as size, length, debris cover, slope, aspect, and so on. Then, the multi-temporal and multi-sensor satellite data covering selected glaciers was procured. The team analyzed the results and compared them with existing studies, and the impact of various influencing factors was systematically explored to understand the glaciers state.
The behavior of glaciers in the region is heterogeneous and found to be primarily determined by glacier size, debris cover, and glacial lakes. Though a generalized mass loss is observed for both small (less than 3 km square) and large-sized glaciers (greater than 10 km square), they seem to adopt different mechanisms to cope with the ongoing climatic changes. While the first adjust mostly by deglaciation, the latter lose mass through down wasting or thinning.
The Sikkim glaciers have been poorly studied until now, and field-based mass balance measurements have been limited to only one glacier (ChangmeKhangpu) and for a short period (1980-1987). The studies are regional in nature and do no give emphasis on individual glacier behavior. Besides, most of the existing measurements in this region have been focused on length/area changes only. Velocity estimations have also been extremely rare.
This study, for the first time, studied multiple glacier parameters, namely length, area, debris cover, snowline altitude (SLA), glacial lakes, velocity, and down wasting, and explored interlinkage among them to present a clear picture about status and behavior of glaciers in the Sikkim.
Accurate knowledge of magnitude as well as the direction of glacier changes, as highlighted in the present study, can lead to awareness among common people regarding water supplies and possible glacier hazards, particularly to those communities that are living nearby. The study can provide ample baseline data on glacier changes and systematically explore the causal relationship between glacier parameters and various influencing factors. A clear understanding of the glacier state will help to orient future studies as well as taking necessary measures.

Source: PIB

5) MoU between India and Germany in Railway sector

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi was apprised of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Ministry of Railways, Government of India with DB Engineering & Consulting GMBH of Germany for technological cooperation in the railway sector. The MoU was signed in February 2020.

Details:

This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for technological cooperation in the Railway Sector will enable cooperation in the following areas:

Freight operations (including cross-border transport, automotive transport, and logistics,)
Passenger operations (including high-speed and cross-border traffic),
Infrastructure building and management (including dedicated freight corridors and development of passenger stations),
Development of a modern, competitive railway organization (including the improvement of organizational structures and railway reformation),
IT solutions for railway operations, marketing, and sales as well as administrative purposes,
Predictive Maintenance,
Private train operations, and
Any other area which may be mutually agreed in writing between the two parties.

Background:

Ministry of Railways has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)/ Memorandums of Cooperation (MoCs)/ Administrative Arrangements (AAs)/ Joint Declarations of Intent (JDI's) for technical cooperation in the rail sector with various foreign Governments and National Railways in respect of identified areas of cooperation, which include high-speed rail, speed raising of existing routes, development of world-class stations, heavy haul operations and modernization of rail infrastructure, etc.

Source: PIB

6) Scientists of ARI, Pune develop biofortified, high protein wheat variety

Scientists from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, have developed a biofortified durum wheat variety MACS 4028, which shows high protein content.
The wheat variety developed by the ARI scientists group on Wheat improvement, shown high protein content of about 14.7%, better nutritional quality having zinc 40.3 ppm, and iron content of 40.3ppm and 46.1ppm respectively, good milling quality and overall acceptability.
MACS 4028, the development of which was published in the Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, is a semi-dwarf variety, which matures in 102 days and has shown the superior and stable yielding ability of 19.3 quintals per hectare. It is resistant to stem rust, leaf rust, foliar aphids, root aphids, and brown wheat mite.
The MACS 4028 variety is also included by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) program for United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to alleviate malnutrition sustainably and can boost the Vision 2022 “Kuposhan Mukt Bharat”, the National Nutrition Strategy. An endeavor to tackle the hidden hunger in the rural areas of India is being continued using traditional plant breeding approach to achieve “Kuposhan Mukt Bharat.”
The wheat variety MACS 4028 has been notified by the Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards, Notification and Release of Varieties for Agricultural Crops (CVRC) for timely sown, rainfed condition of Peninsular Zone, comprising Maharashtra and Karnataka. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has also tagged this variety under the Biofortified category during the year 2019.
Wheat crop in India is grown under six diverse agroclimatic zones. In the peninsular zone of India (Maharashtra and Karnataka states), wheat cultivation is majorly done under rainfed and limited irrigation conditions. Under such conditions, the crop experiences moisture stress. Hence, there is a high demand for drought-tolerant varieties. Efforts for the development of high yielding, early maturing varieties with good quality and disease resistance for rainfed conditions are carried out at Agharkar Research Institute, Pune under All India coordinated Wheat and Barley improvement program, coordinated through Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research Karnal governed by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research. The MACS 4028 is an outcome of such intervention for the farmers.

Source: PIB

7) Kurzarbeit scheme

Amid the all-round disruption caused to the economy by the novel coronavirus outbreak, a concern across the world is the possibility of a loss of jobs.
Germany’s Kurzabeit is being mentioned time and again in this context. Also, the German cabinet is planning to extend the benefit of a short-time work allowance by the first half of April through legislation.

About Kurzarbeit:

Kurzarbeit is German for “short-work”.
The policy provides for a short-time work allowance, called kurzarbeitgeld, which partially compensates for lost earnings during uncertain economic situations.
The policy was rolled out during the 2008 economic crisis while its origins date back as far as the early 20th century, before and after World War I.

How it works?

The scheme aims to address workers who are impacted by the loss of income due to shortened work hours during such times.
They can apply for short-term work benefits under the scheme, with the government stepping in to pay employees a part of their lost income.
This helps the companies retain their employees instead of laying them off, and allows the latter to sustain themselves for a period of up to 12 months.

Quantum of payment:

Payment under Kurzarbeit is calculated based on a net loss of earnings. As per Germany’s Federal Agency for Work, short-time employees generally receive about 60 percent of the flat-rate net wage, In case there is at least one child in the house of the short-time worker, he/she receives 67 percent of the flat-rate net wage.

Source: Indian Express

8) Hantavirus

Case of hantavirus in the Yunnan province of China.

Key facts:

The hantaviruses are a family of viruses spread mainly by rodents. A person can get infected if he/she comes in contact with a rodent that carries the virus.
It remains unclear whether human-to-human transmission of the virus is possible.
A person infected with the virus may show symptoms within the first to eighth week after they have been exposed to fresh urine, feces or the saliva of infected rodents.
Symptoms may include fever, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, chills, and abdominal problems. Four to ten after being infected, late symptoms of HPS may start to appear, which include coughing and shortness of breath.

9) Tokyo Olympics 2020 Postponed

The International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee have decided to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games to summer 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the Olympics Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
The decision came after some of the major sporting nations like Australia and Canada withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
The nations withdrew in the backdrop of limited international travel, difficulty in training and exposed risk of contracting or spreading the disease.

COVID-19

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has named the new coronavirus disease as ‘COVID-19’.
The new name is taken from the words "corona", "virus" and "disease", with 2019 representing the year when it emerged (the outbreak was reported to the WHO on 31st December 2019).
The word coronavirus refers to the group of viruses it belongs to, rather than the latest strain. The latest strain has been designated ‘Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)’ by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also declared COVID-19 as a pandemic.

According to the WHO, a pandemic is declared when a new disease for which people do not have immunity spreads around the world beyond expectations.

Key Points

Historic Postponement :

The organizers have postponed the event for the first time in its 124-year modern history.
The first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896 at Athens (Greece).
It is also considered as the first postponement of an Olympics in peacetime.
Earlier, the games were not held during World War II considering the turmoil across the world.
In 1940, Japan was to be the first Asian country to host the Olympics.
But its military aggression in Asia forced the annulment of the Olympics scheduled in Japan.
The 1940 Olympics is known as the “Missing Olympics” after the Games were switched to Helsinki (Finland) before finally being scrapped because of World War II.

Economic Cost:

Tokyo was spending $12.6 billion to host the Games and a postponement could cost it $6 billion as the short-term period loss.
It will also be a bitter blow to sponsors and major broadcasters who rely on this four-yearly event for critical advertising revenue.

Background

Origin:

Olympic Games originated in ancient Greece and were an intrinsic part of a religious festival. They were held in honor of Zeus (the Greek god of the sky) at Olympia in Greece.
Modern Olympics Games:
Olympic Games were revived in the late 19th century.
The first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896 at Athens (Greece).
The architect of the modern Olympics Games was Pierre, baron de Coubertin.

International Olympic Committee (IOC):

It was created on 23 June 1894 and is the supreme authority of the Olympic Movement.
It is a not-for-profit independent international organization that is committed to building a better world through sport.
It ensures the regular celebration of the Olympic Games, supports all affiliated member organizations and strongly encourages, by appropriate means, the promotion of the Olympic values.

The pattern of Olympics Games:

The Olympics have been held every four years since 1948.
The honor of holding the Olympic Games is entrusted to a city, not to a country. The choice of the city lies solely with the IOC.

Thus, the application to hold the Games is made by the chief authority of the city, with the support of the national government.

Source: The Hindu

10) Cess Fund for Welfare of Construction Workers

Recently, the Ministry of Labour & Employment has issued an advisory to all States/UTs to use the Cess Fund for Welfare of Construction Workers.

Key Points

The advisory comes under Section 60 of the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Act, 1996.

The Act regulates the employment and conditions of service of building and other construction workers.
It provides for their safety, health and welfare measures and for other matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

All-State Governments/UTs have been advised to transfer funds from the Cess Fund to the account of construction workers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
The amount to be granted to construction workers may be decided by the respective state governments and Union territories.
The financial assistance at this point in time would help to mitigate the financial crisis of construction workers to some extent and boost their morale to deal with COVID-19.
About the Cess Fund

The BOCW Cess Act, 1996, provides for the levy and collection of cess at 1-2 % of the cost of construction, as the Central Government may notify.
The cess has been levied at the rate of 1% of the cost of construction, as notified by the Central government in its official gazette.
The cess is collected by the State governments and UTs.
It is utilized for the welfare of building and other construction workers by the respective State Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Boards.

Cess

Cess is a form of tax levied over and above the base tax liability of a taxpayer.
Cess is resorted to only when there is a need to meet the particular expenditure for public welfare.
Cess is not a permanent source of revenue for the government, and it is discontinued when the purpose of levying it is fulfilled.
It can be levied on both indirect and direct taxes.
Examples :

Swachh Bharat Cess: Introduced in 2015, a 0.5% Swachh Bharat cess was imposed to fund a national campaign for clearing the roads, streets and the infrastructure of India.
Infrastructure Cess: Announced in Union Budget 2016, this cess was charged on the production of vehicles.

11) Traditional New Year Festivals

The President of India has greeted the people on the eve of Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, Ugadi, Gudi Padava, Cheti Chand, Navreh and Sajibu Cheiraoba.
These festivals of the spring season mark the beginning of the traditional new year in India.

Chaitra Shukla Pratipada

It marks the beginning of the new year of the Vikram Samvat also known as the Vedic [Hindu] calendar.
Vikram Samvat is based on the day when the emperor Vikramaditya defeated Sakas, invaded Ujjain and called for a new era.
Under his supervision, astronomers formed a new calendar based on the lunisolar system that is still followed in the northern regions of India.
It is the first day during the waxing phase (in which the visible side of the moon is getting bigger every night) of the moon in the Chaitra (first month of Hindu calendar).

Gudi Padwa and Ugadi

These festivals are celebrated by the people in the Deccan region including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
The common practice in the celebrations of both festivals is the festive food that is prepared with a mix of sweet and bitter.
A famous concoction served is jaggery (sweet) and neem (bitter), called bevu-Bella in the South, signifying that life brings both happiness and sorrows.
Gudi is a doll prepared in Maharashtrian homes.
A bamboo stick is adorned with green or red brocade to make the gudi. This gudi is placed prominently in the house or outside a window/ door for all to see.
For Ugadi, doors in homes are adorned with mango leaf decorations called toranalu or Torana in Kannada.

Cheti Chand

Sindhis celebrate the new year as Cheti Chand. Chaitra month is called 'Chet' in Sindhi.
The day commemorates the birth anniversary of Uderolal/Jhulelal, the patron saint of Sindhis.

Navreh

It is the lunar new year that is celebrated in Kashmir.
It is the Sanskrit word ‘Nav-Varsha’ from where the word ‘Navreh’ has been derived.
It falls on the first day of the Chaitra Navratri.
On this day, Kashmiri pandits look at a bowl of rice which is considered as a symbol of riches and fertility.

Sajibu Cheiraoba

It is a ritual festival of Meiteis which is observed on the first day of Manipur lunar month Shajibu, which falls in March/April every year.
On the day of the festival, people arrange a joint family feast in which traditional cuisines are offered to local deities at the entrance gates of the houses.

Meities

The Meiteis are one of the most eminent ethnic groups of Manipur, hailing from the Manipur Valley.
They speak Tibeto-Burman language and most of the people belonging to the group, follow Hindu customs.

Source: PIB

12) Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme

Recently, the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) has allowed Defence veterans with lifestyle diseases on long treatment to purchase the required medicines for April at once to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Key Points

ECHS is a flagship Scheme of the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare, Ministry of Defence. It was launched with effect from April 2003.
Aim: To provide quality healthcare for Ex-servicemen (Army, Navy and Air Force) pensioners and their dependents.

Under the scheme allopathic and AYUSH medicare is provided through a network of ECHS Polyclinics, AYUSH hospitals spread across the country.

Services Provided: ECHS Polyclinics are designed to provide 'OutPatient Care' which includes consultation, essential investigation and provision of medicines.

Specialized consultations, investigations and 'In-Patient Care' (Hospitalization) are provided through spare capacity available in Service hospitals/Government Hospitals/civil hospitals impaneled with ECHS.

Funding: The Scheme is financed by the Government of India.
Headquarters: The Central Organisation ECHS is located at Delhi in the Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army).

Source: The Hindu

13) National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)

Recently, Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) specialists have noted a growing number of patients with anosmia (the abrupt loss of smell) and ageusia (loss of sense of taste). Both anosmia and ageusia could be signs of COVID-19 in people who otherwise appear well.

The World Health Organisation lists the most common signs of COVID-19 as fever, tiredness and dry cough.

Anosmia

Anosmia is the partial or complete loss of the sense of smell. This loss may be temporary or permanent.
It is caused by swelling or blockage in the nose that prevents odors from getting to the top of the nose.
A respiratory viral infection is a common cause of loss of smell. The sense of smell usually returns when the infection is over.
Other main causes of anosmia:

Irritation to the mucous membranes lining the nose.
Blockage of the nasal passages.
Brain or nerve damage.

Complications: People with anosmia may not be able to fully taste foods and may lose interest in eating.

This can lead to weight loss or malnutrition.

Ageusia

Ageusia is a condition that is characterized by a complete loss of taste function of the tongue.

People who have a reduced ability to taste are said to have hypogeusia.

Common Causes:

Aging
Nasal airway problems.
Upper airway infection, such as sinus infection, tonsillitis, or sore throat.

Source: The Hindu

14) The burden on Companies Eased

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has made a series of announcements to ease the burden of companies during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Announcements

Increase in the threshold for initiation of corporate insolvency from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

This would prevent small businesses from being dragged into insolvency (inability to pay debts when they are due).
This would also ease the compliance burden on companies during the coronavirus outbreak.

A suspension on mandatory filings with the Corporate Affairs Ministry’s MCA-21 portal, also additional fees for late filing has been removed.
A 60-day relaxation in the rule requiring that board meetings be held once every 120 days for the next two quarters.
The companies would also be exempt from the requirement under the Companies Act that at least one director is in residency in the country for at least 182 days in the year.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016

In India, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 is a step towards settling the legal position concerning financial failures and insolvency.
It provides an easy exit with a painless mechanism in cases of insolvency of individuals as well as companies.

Applicability of the Code

The provisions of the Code shall apply for insolvency, liquidation, voluntary liquidation or bankruptcy of the following entities :

Any company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 or under any previous law.
Any other company governed by any special act for the time being in force, except in so far as the said provision is inconsistent with the provisions of such Special Act.
Any Limited Liability Partnership under the LLP Act 2008.
Any other body being incorporated under any other law for the time being in force, as specified by the Central Government in this regard.

Moreover, this code shall apply only if the minimum amount of the default is Rs. 1 lakh.
However, by placing the notification in the Official Gazette, the Central Government may specify the minimum amount of default of higher value which shall not be more than Rs. 1 crore.
Exceptions: There is an exception to the applicability of the Code that it shall not apply to corporate persons who are regulated financial service providers such as Banks, Financial Institutions and Insurance companies.

MCA21

MCA21 is an e-Governance initiative of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India.
It enables easy and secure access to the MCA services to the corporate entities, professionals, and citizens of India.
The application is designed to fully automate all processes related to the proactive enforcement and compliance of the legal requirements under the Companies Act, 1956, New Companies Act, 2013 and Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008.
This will help the business community to meet their statutory obligations.

Source: Indian Express