Current affairs : April 17th, 2017 for all competitive exams
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has requested
the Union Law Ministry for urgent release of funds, given the “prevailing
environment,” to facilitate procurement of VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit
trail) machines for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
- VVPAT
stands for Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail. VVPAT system maintains a
physical trail of all votes cast. Small slips of paper records the details
of the vote. The Election Commission (EC) first introduced VVPAT in the
2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Indian Railways’ draft policy aims at boosting tourism
The Indian Railways (IR) plans to introduce dedicated
train services for domestic and international tourists, catering to customers
at all income levels.
IR’s
draft Tourism Policy 2017:
- The
proposal is part of the draft tourism policy which IR is bringing out for
the first time in a bid to increase private partnership in running tourist
trains.
- A
concept of tourist train with differential tariff will be worked out. The
train will comprise different classes of accommodation like Sleeper 3A, 2A
and 1A coaches, as per demand.
- IR
proposed introducing Astha Circuit Trains and State Tirth Trains. While
the former will be operated by the IR at its own expense, the latter will
be run on request from state governments at their cost.
- Advance
booking of seats for foreign tourists will begin a year in advance so that
they can plan their journey.
Both the houses of Telangana Legislature have
cleared a bill which increases the reservations for Scheduled
Tribes and backward sections among the Muslim community in government jobs and educational institutions.
- Under
the bill, quota for STs will be increased to 10% from the existing 6%,
while that for BC-E category (the backward sections among the Muslim
community) will go up to 12% from the existing 4%.
- The
total reservations in the state, consequently, will go up to 62% from the
existing 50%.
Indian Railways has launched the country’s first
ever Vistadome coach services on Visakhapatnam-Araku route.
- Features
of the coaches include glass roof, LED lights, revolving seats and
GPS-based info system.
The Telangana Legislature on April 16 passed a legislation aimed at
broadening the tax base and resulting in better tax compliance due to robust IT
infrastructure.
The proposed legislation, introduced on the
instructions of the GST Council which circulated a draft of the State GST,
would confer power on the State Government to levy goods and services tax on
the supply of goods and services or both which take place within the State.
- The new
legislation would provide for levy of tax on all inter-State supplies of
goods or services except for liquor and petroleum products.
- It
would also provide for elaborate provisions for smooth transition of
existing tax payers to good and services tax regime.
Air India to crack down on unruly fliers
Air India plans to provide more autonomy to its
managers at airports under a stricter framework being prepared to deal with
unruly fliers.
- Under
the new guidelines, the airport manager would be empowered to take any
“action” against an unruly passenger either onboard or on the ground,
without waiting for approval of the CMD.
- He
draft guidelines also have a provision for seeking financial compensation
from any such passenger for the loss of revenue if the flight is held up
due to such incidents.
IITs to introduce 4% more seats for girl students
The Indian Institutes of
Technology (IITs) will add more seats to be filled by girl students for four
years starting 2018 to increase the representation of women in the prestigious
institutions.
- While
there are just eight-per cent women in the IITs right now, the idea is to
increase the proportion to 20 per cent and then discontinue the practice
of additional seats for women.
- “Four
per cent seats will be added each year for the next four years in order to
bring the represention of women in the IITs from the present eight per
cent to 20per cent
Turkey president Erdogan poised to win referendum
Turkey was conducted referundem for shifting their rule
from parliamentary democracy to presidency. In that, Turkey
PM Binali Yildirim declares victory for ‘Yes’ camp, which is leading with 51.7%
in final stages of counting.
- A ‘Yes’
vote would replace Turkey’s parliamentary democracy with an all-powerful
presidency and may see Mr. Erdogan in office until at least 2029, in the
most radical change to the country's political system in its modern
history.
- The
outcome will also shape Turkey’s strained relations with the European
Union. The NATO member state has curbed the flow of migrants - mainly
refugees from wars in Syria and Iraq - into the bloc but Erdogan says he
may review the deal after the vote.
- The
referendum has bitterly divided the nation. Mr. Erdogan and his supporters
say the changes are needed to amend the current constitution, written by
generals following a 1980 military coup, confront the security and
political challenges Turkey faces, and avoid the fragile coalition
governments of the past. “This is our opportunity to take back control of
our country,”
Shanghai’s ambitions ride with Yangshan deep water port
Atop a hill — a part of the Yangshan islands in the
East China Sea — a panoramic view of a vast deep water port opens out, which
serves as gateway for Shanghai’s outreach to the rest of the world.
- The
Yangshan deep water port is the core of the larger Shanghai international
shipping center. It accounts for 40 per cent of container traffic
channelled from the city.
- This is
largest rail cum road bridge in the world which will reduce travel time
between cities such as Nanjing, Suzhou, Shanghai and Hangzhou to less than
an hour.
Last known survivor of 19th century dies at 117
Emma Morano, at 117 the world’s oldest person who is
also believed to have been the last surviving person born in the 1800s, died.
- Morano,
born on Nov. 29, 1899, had been living in a tidy, one-room apartment,
where she was kept company by her caregiver and two elderly nieces.
- A woman
in Jamaica, Violet Brown, who was born in that Caribbean island on March
10, 1900, is now considered the oldest known person in the world.
Sai Praneeth won his 1st ever Singapore open title.
Playing his
maiden super series final for the Singapore Open title, Sai bounced back
strongly to beat sparring partner K. Srikanth in a historic all-India final for
a first major international title .
- This was Sai’s fifth victory over Srikanth in six meetings.
