Current affairs : April 11th, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Survey
of India, the country’s oldest scientific organization completes 250
years and official maker of maps, has set up a web portal called Nakshe that allows 3,000 of its 7,000 maps to be downloaded for free. To
download the maps, one would require to provide their Aadhaar number.
- The
SoI maps —prepared for defence and civilian purposes — are considered a
standard reference for the shape, extent and geographic features of the
country.
Motor
Vehicle Amendment Bill passed by Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha
has passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016. The Bill amends the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to address issues
such as third party insurance, regulation of taxi aggregators, and road safety.
- Motor
Vehicles (Amendment) Bill authorises the government to exempt or waive off
any section to promote innovation. The provisions of the Bill talk about
improved citizen centric services, reducing the number of accidents and
several steps proposed to reduce the footfalls to regional transport
offices (RTO).
- The
bill proposes hefty penalties for various traffic offences, three-year
jail term for parents of minors caught driving and causing fatal
accidents, and a ten-fold increase in compensation for the families of
accident victims, among other things.
President of India inaugurated first NIMCARE World
Health Day Summit 2017
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee
inaugurated the first NIMCARE World Health Day Summit 2017 on April
7, 2017, in New Delhi.
- The
slogan of the first NIMCARE World Health Day Summit
was 'Unite for a Healthy Mind’. In the Summit
special emphasis was given to people suffering from the problem
of Depression.
Two-child
norm tied to jobs in Assam
The Assam
government has released the new draft population policy.
The policy
suggests denial of government jobs to people with more than
two children. Any person getting a job after meeting this condition would have
to maintain it till end of his service.
- For
employment generation schemes like grant of tractors, houses and for other
government benefits, this two-children norm will be applicable.
- Besides, all
elections such as panchayats, municipal bodies and autonomous councils
held under the State Election Commission will also have this norm for
candidates.
- The
policy also aims to make education up to university level free for
all girls.
- The
proposed population policy also seeks to debate on increasing the
legal age of marriage from 18 for girls and 21 for boys.
Reclamation
will cause ecological damage to Vembanad, says panel
A committee
constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has held
the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) responsible for CRZ violations in Vembanad, which
was classified as a Critically Vulnerable Coastal Area in the
CRZ 2011 notification.
- It
has been alleged that the CPT has reclaimed stretches of Vembanad
backwaters and has violated the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
notification.
- Vembanad
is the longest lake in India, and the largest lake in
the state of Kerala.
Healthcare
sector needs innovative modes of funding: PwC report
A Healthcare
Federation of India (NATHEALTH)-PwC report has identified the
gaps in the healthcare funding in the country and has proposed reforms to fill
the gap.
- The
Indian government spends only about 1.5% of its GDP on healthcare, which
is among the lowest globally for any country. Besides, access to capital
has been one of the biggest roadblocks to the growth of the Indian
healthcare sector.
- In
this context, there is a need to concentrate on innovative funding
methods. The New Health Policy 2017 too had highlighted that
innovative modes of funding were needed to meet the
requirements of the healthcare sector.
First
‘Silk Road’ train sets off on 18-day 7,500-mile journey from Britain to China:
The first rail
freight service from Britain to China was recently flagged off from Britain.
- Thirty
containers filled with UK-produced goods have set off on the 7,500-mile
journey from Stanford-le-Hope in Essex which will take 18 days.
- The service is part of China’s One Belt, One Road programme of reviving the ancient Silk Road trading routes with the West.
Manappuram Finance to launch co-branded prepaid
card with YES Bank
Kerala-based NBFC Manappuram
Finance will launch its own co-branded prepaid card in the tie-up
with YES Bank to promote digital financial transactions.
- The 'Manappuram
YES Bank Prepaid Money Card' can be pre-loaded up to a maximum amount
of Rs. 50,000 and then be used to withdraw money from all ATMs.
Fino Paytech inks deal with ICICI group companies
Fino Paytech, which just received the Reserve
Bank of India's licence to launch a payments bank, has inked a deal
with ICICI group companies to distribute insurance products and tied
up with Exide Life insurance to sell products via its distribution
channel.
- Fino Payments Bank will sell life and general insurance products of ICICI Prudential and ICICI Lombard.
Ajit Kumar Srivastava, Shabri Bhattasali named new
CBDT members
Senior bureaucrats Ajit Kumar
Srivastava and Shabri Bhattasali were appointed members
of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy making body of
the Income Tax department.
- The
CBDT functions under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963. CBDT has
introduced the Electronic PAN (e-PAN) card for individuals and for 19,704
newly incorporated companies as it tied up with the Ministry of
Corporate Affairs (MCA).
Malvika Sinha appointed RBI Executive Director
The Reserve Bank has appointed Malvika Sinha as
Executive Director following the appointment of B P Kanungo as Deputy Governor.
- As Executive Director, she will look after foreign exchange department, department of government and bank accounts and internal debt management wing, RBI stated in a release.
Mukta Dutta Tomar appointed India's Ambassador to
Germany
Mukta Dutta Tomar has been appointed as
the next Ambassador of India to the Federal Republic of Germany.
- She is presently Additional Secretary in the Ministry
of External Affairs. Earlier, Gurjit Singh was holding this post till in
March 2017.
Former Supreme Court judge Shiva Kirti Singh to
head TDSAT
The government has appointed retired Supreme
Court judge Shiva Kirti Singh as the next chairman of
the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal
(TDSAT) after replacing of Justice Aftab Alam who was retired
in June 2016.
- The appointment is for a period of three years from the date of assumption of office.
Kristin Davis appointed UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, announced the
appointment of internationally acclaimed actress and philanthropist Kristin
Davis as its Goodwill Ambassador.
- UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadors are celebrity representatives of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) who use their talent and fame to advocate for refugees.
Atu Zumvu becomes first Naga cop to receive
‘Shaurya Chakra’ award
For the first time since Nagaland officially
gained recognition as a state, a state Police Officer Atu
Zumvu has been awarded one of the nations'
military honour, ‘Shaurya Chakra' award at a ceremony held at
the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
- Nagaland attained statehood in 1963 and since then this is the first time a police officer from the state has been honored with this award.
Carme Chacon, Spain's first female defence
minister, dies
Carme Chacon, the first female defense
minister of Spain and a prominent socialist party leader, has died
aged 46.
- Before taking charge of the defense ministry, she had previously been the minister of housing and a national lawmaker.
