Current affairs : April 13th, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Budget session of Parliament came to an end
on April 12 after the approval of four GST bills and other legislations,
besides the Budget and the demands for grants of various Ministries.
- The two-part session, advanced this time, began on
January 31 with the President’s address to a joint sitting of both Houses.
Also, for the first time, the Railway Budget was merged with the General
Budget.
- The Lok Sabha passed The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, the Enemy Property Bill, the Mental healthcare Bill, Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2016 and the 123rd Constitution Amendment Bill (to grant constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes), among others.
Union
cabinet approved BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection
The Union
Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Power for Signing of “Memorandum of Understanding for Establishment of
the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection“.
- This MoU will provide a broad framework for the
Parties to cooperate towards the implementation of grid interconnections
for the trade in electricity with a view to promoting
rational and optimal power transmission in the BIMSTEC region.
- It will be signed among member states of BIMSTEC at the upcoming
3rd BIMSTEC Energy Ministers’ Meeting to be held in Nepal shortly.
Union
cabinet approved Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) at
Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh:
The Union
Cabinet has given its approval for setting up of Indian Institute of Petroleum
and Energy (IIPE) at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh as “an Institute of
National Importance” through an Act of Parliament.
- The Institute will have the governance structure as
well as legal mandate to grant degrees in a manner similar to that enjoyed
by IITs. A separate Act will also impart the required status to the
Institute to become a
- “Centre of Excellence” in petroleum and energy studies.
New
Taxi Policy Guidelines recommended by Ministry of Women and Child Development
The safety
measures, recommended by the Ministry of Women and Child Development,
concerning safety of women commuters availing of cab services have been included in the new Taxi
Policy Guidelines.
- These measures were recommended by the WCD Minister, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi to the
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping (MoRTH).
- The taxis should be mandatorily fitted with GPS
panic devices.
- For the safety of women and child passengers, the central locking system in the taxis should not be allowed.
Petrol,
diesel prices to be fixed daily
From May, oil
marketing companies are expected to introduce a daily revision of petrol and
diesel prices in select markets, on a pilot basis.
- The move is expected to shield the state-owned oil
companies from the volatility in global crude prices which keep changing everyday.
- Daily price change will remove the big leaps in rates
that need to be effected at the end of the fortnight, and consumers will
be more aligned to market dynamics.
Centre
files curative plea on AFSPA
The government has asked the
Supreme Court to urgently reconsider its July 2016 verdict which ripped open the cloak of immunity and
secrecy provided by the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA) to
security forces for deaths caused during encounters in disturbed areas.
- The Supreme Court had held that “there is no concept of
absolute immunity from trial by a criminal court” if an Army man has committed an offence. The judgment had held
that every death caused by security forces in a disturbed area, even if
the victim was a dreaded criminal or a militant or a terrorist or an
insurgent, should be thoroughly inquired into to address any allegation of
use of excessive or retaliatory force.
- The judgment came on a plea by hundreds of families in Manipur for a probe by Special Investigation Team.
Panel
to suggest norms for Bitcoins, virtual currencies
To examine the
existing framework for virtual currencies, the department of economic affairs
in the Ministry of Finance has constituted an inter- disciplinary committee
chaired by Special Secretary (Economic Affairs) with representatives from the
departments of revenue and financial services and the ministries of home
Affairs as well as electronics and Information Technology.
- The committee will also include experts from the RBI,
the central government’s think tank NITI Aayog and the country’s largest
bank, State Bank of India.
- The committee recommends measures to close the
regulatory gaps to keep a check on virtual
currencies, including Bitcoins.
- The panel has been asked to submit its report within
three months and its terms of reference require it to take stock of the present status of Virtual Currencies both
in India and the world over, examine the existing regulatory and legal
structures governing them and suggest measures for dealing with such
currencies.
Hold fiscal deficit at 3% till FY20, says N.K. Singh panel
The Centre can take a pause on the fiscal
consolidation front over the next three years by maintaining a fiscal deficit
to GDP ratio of 3% till 2019-20, the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget
Management (FRBM) Review Committee chaired by former Revenue Secretary N.K.
Singh has recommended.
- the panel has advocated reaching a fiscal deficit to
GDP ratio of 2.8% in 2020-21, 2.6% the subsequent year and 2.5% in
2022-23.
- The FRBM law enacted in 2003 had originally envisaged
attaining a fiscal deficit of 3% of GDP by 2008-09, but amendments over
the years had revised the year for achieving the same target to 2017-18.
India, U.K. framework to guide technology transfer
To expand the cooperation between India and the
U.K. on sharing of advanced technology, the two countries are discussing ways
to devise a government-to-government framework to facilitate transfer of such
technology, said visiting U.K. Secretary of State for Defence Sir Michael
Fallon.
- This is in line with the understanding reached between
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Theresa May
during her visit to India in November last year.
- This will be one of the specific areas of discussion
under the Defence and International Security Partnership (DISP) agreed
between the two countries in 2015 and will be taken up by the Defence
Consultative Group (DCG).
Global
interest in PSLV soars
The Indian PSLV (Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle) space vehicle has received
more than double its normal share of inquiries from prospective customers ever
since it launched a record 104 satellites in a single flight in February. ISRO
is also ramping up availability of the PSLVs.
- The PSLV, with a near impeccable 37 successes in
39 flights is a clear leader in the category of
rockets that lift small satellites to low Earth orbits or LEOs.
- On 15 February 2017, India successfully launched a payload of 104 foreign satellites in polar
orbit around the Earth using PSLV tripling the previous record held by
Russia for most number of satellites sent to space in a single launch.
Bihar
sets up court for prohibition cases
A year after
enforcing stringent prohibition laws, the Bihar government has set up a special
court for speedy trial in cases registered against violation of the law.
- Following the High Court directive, the first special court has been set up in Patna.
TTD kitchen must get licence: FSSAI
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI) has written to the Central Licensing Authority in Chennai to inspect
the ‘pottu’ in the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) in Andhra Pradesh where
the laddu is prepared, and directed it
to obtain a central licence to run the kitchen.
- FSSAI, has directed its central licensing wing to carry out inspection and direct the temple administration to obtain the license under the provision of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Harbhajan among eight Champions Trophy ambassadors
Veteran Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was on
Wednesday named one of the eight ambassadors for the ICC Champions Trophy
scheduled in England from June 1 to 18.
- Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, Bangladesh’s Habibul Bashar,
England’s Ian Bell, New Zealand’s Shane Bond, Australia’s Mike Hussey,
Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka and Graeme Smith of South Africa were
unveiled as the other ambassadors for the tournament.
MCC life membership for nine Ind. women
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has taken the
consent from nine former Indian women cricketers for its honorary life
membership.
- Last year it had bestowed the honour on Anjum Chopra.
- The nine cricketers are Diana Edulji, Shanta
Rangaswamy, Shubhangi Kulkarni, Sudha Shah, Sandhya Agarwal, Neetu David,
Gargi Banerjee, Shashi Gupta, Amita Sharma.
BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta passes away
The Badminton Association of India (BAI)
president Akhilesh Das Gupta passed away in Lucknow.
- He had become BAI president after the arrest of former
chief V.K. Verma over corruption charges in the 2010 Commonwealth Games
and was unanimously re-elected for another four-year term in 2014.
- Last year, he was also elected the vice-president of the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) for a four-year term.
