Current affairs : January 19, 2017 for all competitive exams
The government has launched a dedicated web portal ‘ShaGun’ for the Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan.
- ‘ShaGun’ aims to capture and showcase innovations
and progress in Elementary Education sector of India by continuous monitoring
of the flagship scheme – Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).
- ShaGun, which has been coined from the words ‘Shala’
meaning Schools and ‘Gunvatta’ meaning Quality, has been developed with a
twin track approach:
Cabinet approves the repealing of the obsolete and
redundant laws
The Union Cabinet has given its nod to a Law Ministry proposal to bring the
Repealing and Amending Bill, 2017 to scrap 105 redundant laws which have been
clogging the statute books.
- The two-member committee constituted by the PMO, the
Law Commission and the Legislative Department had identified 1824
redundant and obsolete Central Acts for repeal. Four Acts have so far been
enacted to repeal 1175 Central Acts between May, 2014 and August, 2016 by
the Parliament.
Cabinet approves India’s Membership in the International
Vaccine Institute (IVI), South Korea
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the proposal for India’s taking
full membership of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) Governing Council.
- The move involves payment of annual contribution of
US $ 5,00,000 to the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Seoul, South
Korea.
Cabinet approves amendment in Modified Special Incentive
Package Scheme
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for amendment in the Modified
Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) to further incentivize investments in
Electronic Sector and moving towards the goal of ‘Net Zero imports’ in
electronics by 2020.
- The Policy covers all States and Districts and
provides them an opportunity to attract investments in electronics
manufacturing.
- The applications will be received under the scheme
upto 31st December 2018 or till such time that an incentive commitment of
Rs 10,000 crore is reached, whichever is earlier. In case the incentive
commitment of Rs 10,000 crore is reached, a review will be held to decide
further financial commitments.
Government school students move up the learning curve
The eleventh Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER), released recently, has given a glimmer of hope by acknowledging
improvements in learning levels, largely driven by government schools.
- This year there is an improvement in children’s
reading ability and arithmetic understanding — especially in early grades
in government schools. This is the first year since 2010 that there is an
upward trend in arithmetic figures.
- ASER 2016 notes that the proportion of children in
the Class 3 who are able to read at least class 1level text has gone up
from 40.2% in 2014 to 42.5% in 2016 with a substantial increase of 7% up
among children in government schools in states like Punjab, Uttarakhand,
Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana.
Only cash, deposits can be
declared under PMGKY
Undisclosed income in assets
such as jewellery, stock or immovable property or in foreign bank accounts will
not be accepted under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).
- The Central Board of Direct Taxes on stated that
only undisclosed income in domestic bank accounts, post offices or stashed
elsewhere will be accepted under the scheme.
- Only income represented in the form of cash or
deposit in an account maintained with specified entity can be declared.
India’s first
clinical trial to reduce hair loss in cancer patients
The Tata Memorial Hospital
(TMH) here has commenced the first ever clinical trial in India to address the
problem of hair loss in cancer patients during chemotherapy.
- A scalp cooling machine attached with two scalp coolers, or specialised inner silicon caps containing coolants, has been imported from the UK free of cost.
MoU between India and the United Arab Emirates on the
Mutual Recognition of Certificates of Competency
The Union Cabinet has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
between India and the United Arab Emirates on the Mutual Recognition of
Certificates of Competency.
- The proposed MoU will pave way for recognition of
maritime education and training, certificates of competency, endorsements,
training documentary evidence and medical fitness certificates for
seafarers issued by the Government of the other country in accordance with
the provisions of Regulation 1/10 of the Standards of Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention, and cooperation between
the two countries in training and management of seafarers.
- The MoU will ensure that the education, training and
assessment of seafarers, as required by the STCW Convention, are
administered and monitored in accordance with of the STCW Code for each
type and level of training assessment involved.
24th Conference of Central and State Statistical
Organisations(COCSSO):
The two day Conference of Central and State Statistical Organizations
(COCSSO) has begun at Nagpur, Maharashtra.
- This Conference is being conducted by Ministry of
Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in collaboration with the
Directorate of Economics and Statistics(DES), Government of Maharashtra.
- The theme of this year’s Conference is “Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare”.
Bengaluru beats Silicon Valley, becomes the most dynamic
city in the world:
Bengaluru has emerged as the most dynamic city in Jones Lang LaSalle’s fourth annual
City Momentum Index of cities around the world.
Bengaluru is followed by Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam and Silicon Valley in
the U.S.
- Other cities in Top 10 category include Shanghai,
Hyderabad, London, Austin, Hanoi, Boston and Nairobi.
Bengaluru Ranked Most Dynamic
City in the World in WEF Report
India’s IT Hub, Bengaluru
has been ranked at the top position in the 2017 City.
Momentum Index released the
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting being held in Davos. The index identifies
the most dynamic cities of the world.
- From India six cities have find place in top 30 most
dynamic cities.
- Besides Bengaluru other Indian cities in the list
includes Hyderabad (5), Pune (13), Chennai (17), Delhi (23) and
Mumbai (25).The rankings are based on parameters such as population,
technology and R&D, connectivity, output and corporate activity,
education, and real estate investment.
Jaipur Lit
Fest’s theme is ‘Freedom to dream’
“Freedom to dream: India at
70” will be the theme of the 10th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival
(JLF).
- The event promises to offer lively debates around
modern India in the context of its history and future.
- The five-day festival will witness participation of over 250 authors, thinkers, politicians, journalists and popular culture icons, while the number of audience is expected to surpass last year’s figure of 3.30 lakh.
Anandam Scheme Launched in
Madhya Pradesh to Help Poor
Madhya Pradesh government
lead by Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched Aanandam programme of the
newly-formed Aanand Department.
- Aanandam scheme will help the poor people to get the
daily needs like like jackets, sarees, blankets, utensils, school bags
from the wealthy people.
Meghalaya’s Mawlynnong village
becomes a role model for cleanliness
Mawlynnong village in
Meghalaya has become a role model for other states in maintaining cleanliness
known as Asia’s cleanest village.
- Under Swachh Bharat Mission, three public toilets have been constructed in the village. Over 500 tourists from across the country and abroad visit the village daily, which is located 80 kilometers away from capital Shillong.
West Bengal Set to Give Legal
Protection to Hilsa Fish
The West Bengal State
Department of Fisheries has announced to protect the endangered Hisla Fish from
getting extinct and thus has proposed to introduce law to arrest anyone found
in illegal catching, buying or selling of Hilsa fish weighing less than 500
grams.
- With the introduction of the proposed provision, Hilsa Fish would become the first fish to get legal protection.
PNB, India Post Bank team up
Punjab National Bank and
India Post Payments Bank have signed a memorandum of understanding, whereby PNB
will provide technology platform for pilot launch of IPPB on receipt of
regulatory nod from the Reserve Bank of India.
- IPPB has been incorporated under the Department of Posts with 100 per cent government equity.
NASA Set to Explore Iron-Rich
Asteroid 16 Psyche
The National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) has given its approval to explore an iron-rich
asteroid 16
Psyche as a part of its mission
to learn more about the history and composition of the celestial body.
- Scientists believe that 16 Psyche is one of the most
mysterious objects in the solar system at a distance of about 230 million
miles (370 million km) away from Earth and located in the large asteroid
belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Kapil Dev inducted into Legends
Club Hall of Fame
Cricket icon Kapil Dev was
inducted into Legends Club ‘Hall of Fame’ at the Cricket Club of India on
January 17, 2017.Former India player and Legends Club president Madhav Apte
presented Kapil with a citation.
Despite Difficulties, Indian
Women Boxers Score 6 Medals In Serbia
Stranded at the airport for
nearly 24 hours and without their luggage for a good part of the competition,
Indian women boxers had to deal with more than just opponents at the Nation’s
Cup in Serbia but showed tremendous fortitude to return with half a dozen
medals.
- The 10-member team returned to the country early this morning with 6 medals after finishing third in the competition behind powerhouses Kazakhstan and Russia.
