Current affairs : April 14th, 2017 for all competitive exams
Nation remembers Dr. Bhimrao Ramji
Ambedkar on his 126th birth anniversary today i.e 14 April
2017.
- Dr.
Babasaheb Ambedkar, chief architect of the Constitution of India, was born
on 14th April 1891 at Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, which is now known as Dr.
Ambedkar Nagar.
- He
was also the first law minister of India.
Presidential nod for 4 GST laws
President Pranab Mukherjee granted his assent on
April 13 to the four enabling laws to operationalise the upcoming Goods and
Services Tax regime. The indirect tax regime, expected to be rolled out from
July 1, now awaits the passage of the State GST laws by all state assemblies.
- The
legislations approved by the President include the Central GST Act, The
Integrated GST Act, The GST (Compensation to States) Act, and The Union
Territory GST Act, 2017. These bills were passed in Rajya Sabha on April 6
and by Lok Sabha on March 29.
Right
to access Internet cannot be curtailed, says SC
The Supreme
Court has clarified that a general prohibition on all online content about
pre-natal sex determination will curtail the fundamental
right to know of a genuine information-seeker.
- The
clarification came based on a petition demanding for strict adherence by
search engines to Section 22.
- Section
22 is about prohibition of advertisement relating to pre-natal
determination of sex.
Labour
code to provide social security cover to all workers
Small
entrepreneurs have raised some concerns over the government’s proposal to
provide social security coverage to its entire workforce.
- Small
entrepreneurs feel that they may have to bear a little bit of financial
burden due to contribution (towards social security schemes).
- The
Centre had last month proposed a labour code on social security which will
provide social security cover to the entire workforce in the country,
including self-employed and agricultural workers.
Karnan directs SC judges to appear before him
Calcutta High Court judge C.S. Karnan on Thursday
passed an order directing seven judges of the Supreme Court, including Chief
Justice of India J.S. Khehar, to appear before him on April 28 at 11.30 a.m. At
his residence in Kolkata.
- In
the order, the judge said that on March 31, he had pronounced a judgment
“wherein the 7 judges are accused under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribes Atrocities Act.”
- A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on February 8 issued suo motu contempt notice against Justice Karnan. He had appeared before the Supreme Court on March 31 and the court had given him four weeks to respond to the contempt notice.
National
Lok Adalat settles over 6 lakh cases in one day
The Second National Lok Adalat for 2017, conducted on April 8, through out the country from taluk
level courts to High Courts, has settled nearly 6.6 lakh cases.
- Out
of this, 3.68 lakh cases have been reduced from court pendency and about
2.92 lakh cases were settled even before they could be filed in courts.
- Lok
Adalat is a non-adversarial system, whereby mock courts
(called Lok Adalats) are held by the State Authority, District Authority,
Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, High Court Legal Services
Committee, or Taluk Legal Services Committee.
Haryana launched Operation Durga to ensure women
Safety
Similar to that of Uttar Pradesh’s ‘Anti-Romeo
Squad’, the Haryana government has launched ‘Operation Durga’ to
ensure women safety in the state.
- Under
this operation, the 'Flying Squad' is patrolling those areas where
anti-social elements are committing crimes against women.
- The
team is formed by Chief Minister of Haryana Mr. Manohar Lal Khattar.
Himachal Pradesh bags Krishi Karman Award 2015-16
The Union Ministry of Agriculture has
selected Himachal Pradesh for the Krishi Karman Award
2015-16 for the commendable increase in food grains production.
- Himachal
Pradesh is being selected for this award for the third time.
- The award would carry a trophy, citation and cash prize.
- The state was also conferred the Krishi Karman Award for 2011-12 for the increase in wheat production and in 2014-15 for increasing food grains production.
Indian wins top prize at UN challenge for open
source tool
An Indian software engineer Abdulqadir
Rashik has won the top prize at a global challenge for an open-source tool
that enables users to interactively view UN General Assembly resolutions
and gain a deeper understanding of the voting patterns of member states.
- He also won the 'Unite Ideas UNGAViz Textual Analysis and Visualisation Challenge' for his Global Policy.
Operation
Meghdoot completed 33years:
Operation
Meghdoot the code-name for an Indian Armed Forces operation, was launched 33
years ago on April 13th.
- It
was launched in 1984, when Pakistan started permitting mountaineering
expeditions into Siachen Glacier because of which India had to keep a
close watch on Siachen.
- The
operation was launched to capture the Siachen Glacier in the Jammu and
Kashmir. The military action resulted in gaining control over the world’s
highest battlefield.
Mother
of all Bombs has been dropped on ISIS complex:
The GBU-43/B –
dubbed the ‘Mother of all bombs’ – has been dropped on an Islamic State complex
in Afghanistan by the US forces.
- The
Moab or GBU-43/B is the world’s largest non-nuclear weapon.
- It
is designed to destroy heavily reinforced targets or to shatter ground
forces and armour across a large area.
Russia vetoes UN motion on Syria attack
Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have
condemned the reported use of chemical weapons in a town in northern Syria and
demanded a speedy investigation.
- The vote on the Security Council resolution drafted by Britain, France and the United States was 10 in favour, Russia and Bolivia against, and China, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia abstaining.
- It was the eighth veto by Russia, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, on a Western-backed Syria resolution and reflected the division that has left the UN body struggling to tackle the use of banned chemical weapons and to help end the six—year Syrian conflict.
RBI
tightens norms on bank performance
The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has come out with a
revised prompt corrective action (PCA) framework for banks, spelling
out certain thresholds, the breach of which could invite resolutions such as a
merger with another bank or even shutting down of the bank.
- The revised norms have set out three thresholds. The thresholds are based on capital, net
non-performing assets, profitability and leverage ratio.
Postal department, SBI join hands to promote
cashless transactions
Department of Posts has joined hands with State
Bank of India to promote 'SBI buddy e-wallet' and Point of
Sale (POS) machines for cashless transactions at post office counters
while booking speed post and registered post items.
Higher officials have dedicated SBI buddy e-wallet and SBI POS
machines at Chandigarh General Post Office for the general public.
Amazon gets RBI nod for e-wallet in India
Amazon India has received the Reserve Bank of
India’s (RBI) approval to launch its own digital wallet in India, paving the
way for the American online retail giant to gain a slice of India’s
fast-growing digital payments business.
- Amazon India, which had applied for what is called a Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) licence nearly a year ago, will now look to take on established rivals such as Paytm and Freecharge as it prepares to launch a prepaid wallet service that will be broader in scope than its Pay Balance service and will not be restricted to Amazon-based transactions.
Cisco launched 5th global and 1st in India cyber
range lab in Gurugram
US-based tech giant Cisco launched its
fifth global cyber range lab in Gurugram, Haryana with an aim to
train Indian firms and government agencies on real-world cyber
attacks.
- This is the first cyber range lab in India.
- The facility was inaugurated by National Cyber
Security Coordinator Gulshan Rai.
Rolls-Royce, DRDO to tie up
India and the U.K. on Thursday agreed to
cooperate on developing advanced defence products such as high-end gas turbine
engines and air defence missile systems and to cooperate on some aspects of
aircraft carrier technology.
- The Kaveri project, which was shelved, is in the process of being revived with help from Safran of France.
Allow
anchor investors in SME IPOs
Investment
bankers have asked the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to allow anchor investors in public issues of
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) while also enhancing the upper
limit for paid-up capital of such companies to allow relatively larger firms to
enter the capital market while ensuring institutional investor participation in
the dedicated segment.
- Anchor investors are institutional investors that can bid for
shares ahead of the IPO and have a lock-in of 30 days.
- This rule ensures that investors who want to flip shares on
listing, do not use the ‘anchor’ route.
Pranab Mukherjee released book on Draupadi by
Veerappa Moily
A book on Draupadi named 'the Flaming Tresses of Draupadi' written by senior Congress leader M
Veerappa Moily was released by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati
Bhavan, New Delhi.
- The book is an English translation by D A Shankar of
Moily’s original work in Kannada.
Dr. (Ms.) Mukulita Vijayawargiya takes charge as
Whole Time Member of IBBI
Dr. (Ms.) Mukulita Vijayawargiya took charge
as Whole Time Member of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India
(IBBI) in New Delhi.
- He will look after the fields like Administrative
Law Wing, Information Technology, Limited Insolvency Examination, National
Insolvency Examination, Finance Accounts
and Communication.
Ravi Venkatesan made co-chairman of Infosys
Infosys, which has witnessed a tussle between the
founders and the board announced the appointment of independent board member
Ravi Venkatesan as co-chairman.
- Mr. Venkatesan, a former chairman of Microsoft India, has been on the Infosys board since April 2011.
Isa Guha becomes first woman to join PCA board
Isa Guha, the former England international, has
become the first woman to join the board of the Professional Cricketers'
Association.
- Guha, who has won the World T20, World Cup and the Ashes, was appointed as a non-executive director of the pcaon Tuesday(April 11).
