Current affairs : April 16th, 2017 for all competitive exams
Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated 1980
MW of the Koradi super-critical thermal power project of
state-run Mahagenco near Nagpur in Maharashtra to the nation.
- The
1,980 MW capacity includes three units of 660 MW each. The plant currently
has one unit of 200 MW, two units of 210 MW each and with the addition of
the three units of 660 MW each, its total capacity has increased to 2,600
MW.
SC for equal pay to paramilitary officers
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to
consider a plea by an association of Central police forces seeking ‘equal pay
for equal work’ for performing duties similar to that of group 'A' services
officers.
- The
Supreme Court was hearing petitions filed by the Indian Police Services
Central Association against a December 4, 2012 decision of the Delhi High
Court.
- To
consider a batch of petitions, the court decided to frame issues including
if by virtue of issuing the office memorandum by the DoPT classifying the
categories with regard to centralized Group ‘A’ Services, as a natural
corollary, the other police organisations can have the similar benefits
with the Organized Group ‘A’ Services.
- The
court said it would also consider whether the Home Department alone was
responsible for taking the decision or other departments could confer the
benefit of equivalence subject to approval by the Cabinet.
Canberra keen on joining naval games
Australia is keen on joining the Malabar
trilateral naval exercises among India, Japan and the U.S., and has requested
observer status at the upcoming edition, scheduled for July.
- Australia
had been a part of the exercises in 2007 . But a sharp response from
China, which saw the joint exercises as a coalition against it, put an end
to the quadrilateral format.
Philippine Army plans all-Muslim units
The Philippine military announced plans to create
all-Muslim fighting units on Saturday, with quotas from the Catholic country’s
largest religious minority, as it looks to bolster efforts to tackle Islamic
insurgents.
- Five
per cent of all new applications will be allocated for Muslims under the
new order, military spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo said in a statement,
adding the eventual aim was to have a dedicated brigade or division to be
deployed in the country’s troubled south.
- Muslim
quota, which roughly reflects the proportion of the religious minority in
the population, would help the army operate in areas where it has been
previously viewed with suspicion by locals.
Income Tax department launches 'Operation Clean
Money-II'
The Income Tax department has launched
the second phase of the ‘Operation Clean Money’ to
investigate over 60,000 individuals with an aim to detect black money
generation post demonetisation.
- The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the
policy-making body of the income tax department has detected the flow of
black money into the banks amounting to over Rs 9,334 crore between
November 9, 2016 and February 28, 2017.
Quicker NEFT transactions
With electronic payments becoming the in-thing
after demonetisation, the Reserve Bank of India has taken a step forward in
making NEFT transactions more user-friendly.
- Until
recently, while RTGS and IMPS modes of electronic payment provided almost
instant transfer of funds to the payee’s account, NEFT took its own sweet
time of up to an hour to effect the transfer.
- The
RBI has now slashed this time by half. So, in a weekday, NEFT settlements
will take place in 23 batches between 8 am to 7 pm, instead of the 12 batches
earlier and, on Saturdays, there will be 11 settlements. However, you
can’t use this facility on a Sunday.
FSS unveils Aadhaar Pay product
City-based Financial Software and Systems (FSS),
which operates in the payments technology and transaction processing space, has
introduced FSS Aadhaar Pay, a biometric-enabled merchant payment acceptance
system.
- FSS
Aadhaar Pay allows merchants to accept customer payments through
Aadhaar-linked bank accounts without the need for a physical payment
instrument.
- FSS
Aadhaar Pay allows customers to pay without the hassle of carrying a
physical payment instrument or managing multiple PINs by just using their
Aadhaar number and biometrics as authentication, providing added payment
security.
IRDA asks insurers to upload point of sales persons’ data
Insurers and insurance intermediaries have been
directed to share details of the Point of Sales Persons (POS)engaged by them
with the Insurance Information Bureau of India to ensure that such
representatives deal only with their products.
- The
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has issued a
circular in this regard advising the companies and intermediaries to
upload the existing database of their POS.
- It
also referred to the recent amendments in the guidelines on the POS,
especially the clause making it mandatory for all insurers and
intermediaries to cross check with the Bureau’s database before engaging a
POS. This is to ensure that the applicant is not engaged as POS with any
other insurer or insurance intermediary.
HIV/AIDS pioneer no more
Dr. Mark Wainberg, a microbiologist who
identified a drug that later became critical to treating people infected with
HIV, and who later became a leading advocate for giving millions of people with
HIV and AIDS in Africa greater access to antiretroviral drugs, died.
- He
spent time working with Dr. Robert Gallo, the co-discoverer of HIV, who
provided Dr. Wainberg with the cells and antibodies to grow the virus in
his laboratory at McGill.
- In
1989, after studying the properties of a new antiviral drug called 3TC, or
Lamivudine, Dr. Wainberg found that it was effective against HIV. It soon
became an important part of the so-called AIDS cocktail of drugs that is
still used to treat infected patients.
Robert Taylor, Innovator Who Shaped Modern Computing, Dies at 85
Like many inventions, the internet was the work
of countless hands. But perhaps no one deserves more credit for that
world-changing technological leap than Robert W. Taylor, who died on Thursday
at 85 at his home in Woodside, Calif.
- His
idea led to the Arpanet, the forerunner of the internet.
- A
half-decade later, at Xerox’s storied
Palo Alto Research Center in Northern California, Mr. Taylor was a key
figure in another technological breakthrough: funding the design of the
Alto computer, which is widely described as the forerunner of the personal
computer.
- Mr.
Taylor even had a vital role in the invention of the computer mouse.
Srikanth, Sai Praneeth in historic all-Indian final
With K. Srikanth and B. Sai Praneeth reaching the
men singles final of the $350,000 Singapore Open badminton championship on
April 15, history was made with India becoming only the fourth nation to send
two men into the title-clash of a BWF super series event.
- These victories saw India join China, Indonesia and Denmark as the nations to have both finalists in singles of a super series. But what makes the feat all the more special is, both Indians are unseeded.
