Daily Current affairs - April 18th, 2017 for all competitive exams
Every year on 18 April, ICOMOS
(International Council on Monuments and Sites) celebrates
the International Day for Monuments and Sites (also called as World
Heritage day).
The theme for 2017 is “Cultural Heritage & Sustainable Tourism".
Air India proposes Rs. 15 lakh fine on unruly passengers
Air India plans to impose fines of up to Rs. 15
lakh on unruly passengers for causing flight delays.
- Under
the proposal, the national carrier will impose a financial cost of Rs. 5
lakh on unruly passengers causing a delay of up to one hour, Rs. 10 lakh
for a delay between one and two hours and Rs. 15 lakh for delay beyond two
hours.
- The
proposal comes in the wake of the incident last month of Shiv Sena MP
Ravindra Gaikwad manhandling an Air India staffer. The airlines then
imposed a travel ban on him which was subsequently lifted following a
directive from the government.
Plastic bullets to replace pellets in J&K
The Union Home Ministry said on Monday it would
introduce less lethal “plastic bullets” to be used against protesters in Jammu
and Kashmir.
- The
Centre said it was exploring options to initiate a dialogue in Kashmir,
including with the separatists, but no one had came forward in the past
and it had hit a dead end.
- The
government also said it was considering enhanced use of “bunkers” to
protect security forces from stone throwers after the annual shift of the
capital from Jammu to Srinagar in the next few days.
TS-Haryana initiative to promote tourism
Telangana and Haryana will work for mutual
promotion of tourism and culture in line with ‘Ek Bharat- Shresht Bharath’
concept of unity in diversity.
- ‘Ek
Bharat-Shresht Bharat’ of Union government to give boost to the existing
cultural connect between different parts of the country and enhance
interaction among people living in different States.
Channakeshava temple turns 900
The Channakeshava temple in Belur — a masterpiece
of Hoysala architecture — turned 900 this year.
- Religious
programmes to mark the 900th anniversary of the idol installation were
held on Sunday, attracting hundreds of people.
- The temple, constructed by Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala dynasty, is a monument recognised by the ASI.
U.S. NSA arrives for first high-level Trump outreach
U.S. National Security Adviser Lt. General
(retired) H.R. McMaster arrived in Delhi, the first such visit by a senior
official of the Trump administration for talks that are expected to set the
course of bilateral relations.
- The
visit will be watched particularly closely for its timing, as it comes
close on the heels of the Russian conference on Afghanistan in Moscow on
April 14 and 15, which India attended and where Russia offered to mediate
between the Taliban and the Ashraf Ghani government; and the detonation of
the U.S.’s largest non-nuclear weapon, the MOAB, over Afghanistan.
Pakistan army refuses consular access to Jadhav
The Pakistan army on Monday ruled out consular
access to former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, days after India made
a strong case for access to him, who is now on death row.
- Jadhav,
46, was awarded death sentence by the Field General Court Martial last
week, evoking a sharp reaction in India, which warned Pakistan of
consequences and damage to bilateral ties if the “pre-meditated murder”
was carried out.
China to launch its first cargo spacecraft for space lab
China is set to launch its first cargo spacecraft
between April 20 and 24.
- The
Tianzhou-1 has been transferred with a Long March – 7 Y2 carrier rocket
from the testing centre to the launch zone in Wenchang, Hainan province.
Philippine President Duterte wins TIME 100 Reader
Poll
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has
won Time magazine's readers' poll of the 100 most influential
people in the world.
- Rodrigo
also known as Digong, is a Filipino politician and jurist
who is the 16th and current President of the Philippines.
Indian firm’s Zika virus vaccine 100% efficient in animal trials
The Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech’s ‘killed Zika
virus vaccine’ using an African strain has shown 100% efficacy against
mortality and disease in animal studies, a study has shown. A ‘killed virus
vaccine’ or ‘inactivated vaccine’ contains virus that has been grown in culture
and then killed using physical or chemical processes.
- The
vaccine was found to confer 100% protection against infection caused by an
Asian Zika virus strain as well as by the African Zika virus strain.
- The
results of the study has been published in the Nature group journal Scientific Reports. Two doses (5 and 10 microgram) of the vaccine
given through intramuscular route on days 0 and 21 to mice were found to
protect the animals against Zika virus seven days after the second
vaccination.
Ultralight device can be charged with movement
Scientists have developed a light-weight,
paper-based device that can harvest energy from body movements to power sensors
and watches.
- Despite
the many advances in portable electronic devices, one thing remains
constant — the need to plug them into a wall socket to recharge.
- Portable
electronic devices, such as watches, hearing aids and heart monitors,
often require only a little energy.
Wholesale inflation decelerates to 5.7%
A decline in the prices of fuel and manufactured
products helped inflation, as measured by the wholesale price index (WPI), to
moderate to 5.7% (provisional) for March 2017 despite hardening of food prices.
- The
WPI inflation had touched a 39-month high of 6.55% (provisional) in
February while it was -0.45% in March 2016.
- Compared
to last month (February), WPI Inflation declined by 85 basis points (bps)
to 5.70% in March’17 due to sharp decrease in prices of items like potato
(-17.07%), onion (-10.78%), non-food articles (4.91%), oil seeds (-0.9%).
CAD to widen to 1.6% of GDP
in 2017: Nomura
According to Nomura report, India’s current
account deficit (CAD) is expected to widen to 1.6 % of GDP this year from 0.5 %
in 2016, owing to higher commodity prices and an expected strong domestic
recovery.
- Stronger
global demand and higher export prices are driving exports recovery, while
the recovery in imports reflect higher commodity prices and likely
improvement in domestic demand, the report said.
Reliance Defence, S. Korean major in pact
Reliance Defence has entered into a strategic
partnership with leading South Korean defence major LIG Nex1 to jointly explore
opportunities in the supply of weaponry and ammunition systems to the Indian
Army.
- As
part of the agreement, both companies will explore opportunities in the
identified range of defence products required by the armed forces,
according to a company statement.
- LIG
Nex1 is emerging as a leader in smart heavy weapons in the category of
anti-ship missiles, anti tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and guided rockets,
the statement said.
IRDAI sweetens the pill for vehicle owners
Insurance regulator IRDAI notified revised third
party motor insurance premium rates for 2017-18 that are higher compared with
those in the previous fiscal for most categories of vehicles but lower than
what it had proposed. The order on the revised rates, to apply
retrospectively with effect from April 1.
- As
per notification, for private cars with engine capacity between 1,000 cc
and 1500 cc, the cover will cost Rs.2,863.
This is almost 28% more compared with the previous year’s Rs.2,237.
- For
private cars above 1500 cc, the rate will be Rs.7,890 against Rs.6,164 in 2016-17.
- However,
there will be no change in the premium payable for cars below 1000 cc.
- The
premium remains the same for two-wheelers of upto 150 cc. For those in the
150-300 cc category, it had been increased to Rs.887.
N. Srinivasan cannot represent BCCI in ICC meet: SC
The former Board of Control for Cricket in India
(BCCI) president, N Srinivasan, cannot represent the Board at the International
Cricket Council (ICC) meeting next week as he has been held guilty for conflict
of interest.
- SC
allowed BCCI’s acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary to represent the board
at the ICC meeting on April 24 and directed BCCI CEO Rahul Johri to
accompany him.
Gayatri Pullela wins twin crown at Pembangunan Jaya
Raya Junior Grand Prix
National Badminton coach Pullela Gopichand's
daughter Gayatri Pullela has bagged both the singles and doubles
crown at the Pembangunan Jaya Raya Junior Grand Prix in Jakarta.
- Gayatri
eked out a hard-fought win over her doubles partner Samiya
Farooqui to win the girls U-15 singles
title.
- She
later teamed up with Samiya to clinch the U-15 doubles title with a
straight-game 21-17, 21-15 win over Indonesian pair of Kelly Larissa and
Shelandry
Sebastian Vettel wins Bahrain Grand Prix 2017
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) won the Bahrain
Grand Prix 2017 by defeating Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes).
- It was Sebastian's 3rd victory in Bahrain and 44th of his career. Sebastian Vettel belongs to Germany.
