Current affairs : April 3rd, 2017 for all competitive exams
Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana was recently launched by the
government. It was launched in District Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.
- The Scheme aims at providing Senior Citizens, belonging to BPL category and suffering from any of the age related disability/infirmity viz. Low vision, Hearing impairment, Loss of teeth and Locomotor disability, with such assisted-living devices which can restore near normalcy in their bodily functions, overcoming the disability/infirmity manifested.
Centre may remove cap on parent maintenance
The government is mulling bringing legislative changes to remove
the monthly ceiling of Rs.10,000 on
the maintenance paid by children to parents and introduce a rating
mechanism for organisations providing home care services to the elderly.
- If the proposed amendments to the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (MWPSC) Act come through, the maintenance amount to be decided by senior citizen tribunals for the neglected parents will depend on their need and the economic condition of their children.
Govt withdraws subsidy to mild hybrids cars
The government has withdrawn incentives given to mild hybrid
vehicles under FAME India scheme.
- A mild hybrid vehicle has an
electric motor, which on its own cannot run a vehicle but assists
normal engine by using recovered energy stored in a battery and helps save
fuel.
- With an aim to promote eco-friendly vehicles, the government had launched the FAME India scheme in 2015 offering incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles of up to Rs 29,000 for bikes and Rs 1.38 lakh for cars.
19th commonwealth forestry conference
to begin in Uttarakhand
19th Commonwealth Forestry
Conference (CFC) 2017 will begin today at Forest Research
Institute (FRI) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
- Uttarakhand
Governor Dr. K.K. Paul will inaugurate the 19th Commonwealth Forestry
Conference at the FRI in Dehradun.
- The 5-day conference is being organized on the theme ‘Forests for Prosperity and Posterity’.
Madhya Pradesh CM launches 'MP
e-nagarpalika' app
The Madhya Pradesh
government has launched an app named ‘MP e-nagarpalika’ to
provide various municipal services online.
- The mobile app was launched by state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. This app would offer 378 services like online payment of property tax, seeking building permission, birth/ marriage/death certificates etc. It will also register complaints related to garbage, water, streetlights etc.
Mizoram signs MoU to join in
UDAY
Mizoram has become the
27th State to join the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY).
- Mizoram
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the scheme on March 31
for operational improvement of the State’s Power Distribution Department.
- According to government estimates, the State will derive an overall net benefit of approximately Rs. 198 crore by opting to participate in UDAY, by way of cheaper funds, reduction in AT&C and transmission losses.
India-Malaysia signs seven
agreements
Malaysian Prime
Minister Najib Razak is on a 6-day visit to India. Two countries
sign seven agreements including air services agreement and MoUs in
education and sports.
- The pacts were signed after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Najib Razak at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. This is Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's third visit to India since 2009.
Under GST regime, tax evasion
over Rs 5 crore a non-bailable offense
Tax evasion of over Rs
5 crore under the GST regime would be a non-bailable offense and the
police would have the authority to make an arrest without a warrant.
- The Central GST (CGST) Bill provides that if the offenses relating to taxable goods and/or services where the amount of tax evaded or the amount of input tax credit wrongly availed or the amount of refund wrongly taken exceeds Rs 5 crore, it shall be treated as cognizable and non-bailable.
Fungus that eats plastic may help clean
environment
Scientists have identified a soil fungus, which uses
enzymes to rapidly break down plastic materials.
- Aspergillus
tubingensis is a fungus, which
ordinarily lives in the soil. In laboratory trials, the researchers found
that it also grows on the surface of plastics.
- It secretes enzymes onto the surface of the plastic, and these break the chemical bonds between the plastic molecules, or polymers.
‘Grassoline’ may power future flights
In the quest of more sustainable energy sources, scientists
have developed ‘grassoline’ — a biofuel derived from grass that could one day power
aircraft.
- Researchers investigated methods that can disintegrate and treat grass until it can be used as a fuel. Due to its vast abundance, grass is the perfect source of energy.
Day cruise, forest trails planned at Chilika
lagoon
The Odisha government is pushing for massive infrastructure
improvement around the Chilika lagoon.
- IPE
Global, which has been asked to prepare a tourism master plan for the
Chilika Lake and its catchment area, with emphasis on preservation of the
ecosystem and natural habitat, has proposed 10 key projects with an
estimated investment of Rs.757
crore.
- Chilika,
with a wetland spread over nearly 1,165 sq. km and more than 25 pristine
islands, has been attracting tourists from all corners of the globe, but
its tourism potential could not be harnessed due to huge infrastructure
gap.
- It is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second largest lagoon in the world after The New Caledonian barrier reef in New Caledonia.
Rajiv Kumar Chander appointed
as India's Ambassador and permanent representative to the UN
Rajiv Kumar Chander has
been appointed as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to
the United Nations Offices in Geneva.
- Mr. Chander belongs to the Indian Foreign Services batch of 1983. He is currently the consul general of India in Vancouver since August 2015.
Indira Banerjee appointed as
new Chief Justice of Madras High Court
Justice Indira Banerjee, a
sitting judge of the Delhi High Court, has been appointed as the new Chief
Justice of the Madras High Court.
- She succeeded Sanjay Kishan Kaushal. With this, Justice Banerjee became the second woman to head the Madras High Court. Justice Kumari Bhatnagar was the first lady to head the Charted court in 1992.
Vipul takes charge as new
Consul General of Dubai
Diplomat Vipul, a 1998
batch Indian Foreign Service officer took up the charge as the new Consul
General of Dubai.
- Mr. Vipul has succeeded Anurag Bhushan. Before joining the Consulate at Dubai, he was working in the office of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Sindhu lifts India Open
badminton title 2017
Olympic
silver-medallist P.V. Sindhu has defeated Carolina Marin
(Spain) in straight sets 21-19, 21-16 in 47 minutes at the India Open
badminton championship 2017 in New Delhi.
- This was the second Superseries title win for Sindhu. The Indian shuttler has shown character in the tournament and she entered the final after beaten Saina Nehwal and Sung ji-Hyun.
Roger Federer wins Miami Open
2017
Roger
Federer (Switzerland) defeated Rafael Nadal (Spain) to win Miami Open
2017 Singles title. Miami Open 2017 was held in Florida,
USA.
- A
fourth straight win over Nadal was his longest winning streak in
their 13-year professional rivalry which makes Federer the oldest
winner of the Miami Open.
