Current affairs : January 13, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Niti Aayog has called for a review of the provisions of the Right To
Education Act that stipulate that children who don’t perform well cannot be
held back up to class VIII. It said the good intention behind the norm is
detrimental to the learning process.
- The Right To Education (RTE) Act, which aims to
provide primary education to all children aged 6-14 years, stipulates that
no child can be held back in a grade, regardless of his performance, all
the way up to the eight grade.
- This means that a child is entitled to an eighth
grade diploma even if he cannot recognise a single letter or a number if
he has spent eight years in school.
Complete disciplinary inquiries in time: Central
Vigilance Commission to departments
Irked over delay in completion of departmental inquiries, the Central
Vigilance Commission (CVC) has asked all departments to ensure that such
proceedings are completed in time.
- The commission has observed that all departmental
inquiries need to be completed in time so that an honest employee is not
harassed.
Minimum monthly pension
increased by 9,000 for central govt employees
The Government of India has
increased the minimum monthly pension to 9,000 per person, besides a two-fold
hike in exgratia amount for central government employees.
- Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office, Dr.
Jitendra Singh stated that the exgratia amount for the employees has been
increased from 10 -15 lakh to 25-35 lakh rupees.
- There are about 50-55 lakh pensioners in the country
and almost 88% of their accounts have been seeded to Aadhaar.
NITI Aayog Estimates the GDP
Growth of 8 Percent for 2016-17
NITI Aayog has projected the
India GDP growth rate of 8 Percent for 2016-17 based on the appraisal document
for the Twelfth Five-Year Plan.
- The estimate does not take into account the impact
of demonetization.
SC refuses plea on alleged dilution of whistleblower law
The Supreme Court has refused to examine a petition alleging dilution in
the Whistleblower Protection Act and seeking interim measures to protect
whisteblowers who expose corruption in public administration and governance.
- The court also observed that Parliament is already
seized with the law and the judiciary would be encroaching on the
legislature’s turf by entertaining allegations now.
After India, other South East Asian countries opting for
fractional doses of IPV: WHO
According to a latest report by WHO, amid a global shortage of injectable
inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) polio vaccine, countries in the South East
Asian region have now opted for fractional doses of IPV, first adopted by
India, to tackle these “challenging conditions”.
- WHO also observed that by introducing fractional
doses of IPV, nations are not only saving vaccine cost but also not
compromising on the protection that it provides to the children against
polio.
Global unemployment to rise by
3.4 million in 2017: ILO
Global unemployment is
expected to rise by 3.4 million in 2017 despite a likely modest pick-up in
economic growth at 3.4% this year and 3.6% in 2018, against a six-year low of
3.1% in 2016, a new report by the International Labour Organisation.
China commissions sophisticated, round-the-clock naval
reconnaissance ship:
China’s
Navy has commissioned a sophisticated electronic reconnaissance ship, capable
of conducting all-weather, round-the-clock observation on multiple targets.
- The new ship is named CNS Kaiyangxing, or Mizar.
- The Kaiyangxing is capable of conducting
all-weather, round-the-clock reconnaissance on multiple and different
targets.
Japanese PM Shinzo Abe signs 1
trillion yen aid package to the Philippines
Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe has signed a 1-trillion yen, about 8.7 billion dollars, aid package
over the next five years to the Philippines, meant to improve economic and
political relations between the two island nations.
- The package is focused on infrastructure and
energy.
- Abe's two-day visit to the archipelago makes him the
first foreign leader to visit since the election of the Philippines'
President Rodrigo Duterte in May 2016.
Successful Test Firing of Guided Pinaka:
The Pinaka Rocket converted to a Guided Pinaka was successfully test-fired
from Launch Complex-III, ITR, Chandipur recently.
- The Pinaka Rocket Mark-II, which evolved from Pinaka
Mark-I is equipped with a navigation, guidance and control kit and has
been transformed to a Guided Pinaka. This conversion has considerably
enhanced the range and accuracy of Pinaka.
- The Guided Pinaka is developed jointly by ARDE Pune,
RCI Hyderabad and DRDL Hyderabad. ITR Chandipur provided the range and
launch support.
Retail inflation fell 3-year
low of 3.41% in Dec from 3.63% in Nov 2016
Retail inflation fell to a
nearly 3-year low of 3.41 % in December 2016, from 3.63 % in November 2016.
- Inflation eased mainly on account of falling prices
of vegetables and pulses.
- According to official data, overall food inflation
fell to 1.37% in December last year, from 2.11 % in November 2016.
Government to sell 51% stake
in Pawan Hans
Moving ahead with the
strategic sale of Pawan Hans, the government sell its entire 51% stake and
transfer the management control of the helicopter service operator.
- Pawan Hans is a joint venture where state-owned ONGC
holds 49%.
- The government has sought applications from entities to act as transaction advisor for the proposed disinvestment of its stake in the company
Dr. Jitendra Singh chairs 29th meeting of SCOVA:
Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh recently chaired the 29th meeting of the
Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies (SCOVA).
- The SCOVA meeting is organised by the Department of
Pensions & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoP&PW), Ministry of Personnel,
Public Grievances & Pensions.
- SCOVA consists of 15 Non-official members (5 Standing Group and 10 Rotating Group Members) represented by the Pensioners Associations from various Ministries/Departments/Regions/States etc.
TCS elevates Rajesh Gopinathan
as new chief executive
Tata Consultancy Services
has appointed Rajesh Gopinathan, the current chief financial officer, as CEO of
the company. He replaces N Chandrasekaran, who has been named the
chairperson of Tata Sons.
- TCS has also named N Ganapathy Subramaniam, currently President of TCS Financial Solutions, as chief operating officer.
Manish Tewari appointed senior
fellow of US think tank
Congress leader and former
Union Minister Manish Tewari was appointed as the senior fellow of US-based
think tank Atlantic Council .
- Tewari will focus on programming aimed at strengthening US-India relations.
Ashish Shelar appointed as MCA
president
BJP Mumbai unit chief Ashish
Shelar has been appointed as Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) president.
Sylar takes over from the former ICC president Sharad Pawar.
- He was elected as Vice President of MCA on 17 June 2015.
Consulate General of India in
Dubai announces launch of 'Diplomats Cricket Championship Cup'
Consulate General of India
in Dubai has announced launch of the 'Diplomats Cricket Championship Cup' in
association with the Skyline University College, Sharjah, to promote
sportsmanship, camaraderie, and harmonious relationship among the diplomatic
missions of UAE
