Daily Current affairs - June 22nd, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Home Ministry has
decided not to provide any details about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose under the
Right to Information (RTI) Act.
- It will instead ask applicants to visit the website
netajipapers.gov.in, launched by the NDA government in 2015, which
contains declassified documents on Netaji’s life and death.
- The Ministry took the decision a month after it
goofed up in an RTI response that “Netaji died in 1945 in a plane crash in
Taiwan”. Later, it had to issue a clarification that the reply was based
on a “conclusion arrived at by the then UPA government in 2006”, and it
was willing to examine any new facts if they came up in future.
TB patients will need Aadhaar
for benefits
According to the Union
Health Ministry, Tuberculosis patients, hospitals and healthcare workers
availing cash assistance from the government will need to register with the
Aadhaar database by August 31.
- However Ministry sources claimed that no patient
will be denied treatment on grounds that they do not have an Aadhaar card.
Second edition of Slum Daud
The second edition of the Slum Daud was recently inaugurated.
- The Slum Yuva Daud is part of the Adopt Slum
Campaign initiated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and Nehru
Yuva Kendra Sangathan.
- The Slum Yuva Daud & Adopt Slum campaigns aim at
highlighting the government’s pro-people schemes among masses.
- the campaign will involve groups like NSS, public
schools, RWAs, NGOs, rotary clubs etc.
First train that runs on virtual tracks
China has unveiled the world’s first train that
runs on virtual tracks. The new train is part of China’s attempts to
develop “intelligent rail express system”.
- Instead of railway tracks, the train runs on rubber
tyres. The train can move at a maximum speed of 70 km/hour.
- The Autonomous Rail Transit (ART) system is fitted with sensors that detect the dimensions of the road. This enables the vehicle to follow routes without the need for metal rails.
Operation Swarn launched by Railway Ministry:
The Railway Ministry is to launch “Operation Swarn” to improve services in
Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains.
- The cleanliness and quality of food suffered a lot,
which is one of the main reasons that the Indian Railway authority has taken
the decision to give the premium trains in India a new look.
- Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express are one of the train
services in India, which was started for the people who can afford more
money to luxurious travel.
Kerala ordinance ratifies GST
The Kerala government issued an ordinance on
June 22 to ratify the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) Act in order to
enable the rollout of the new indirect tax regime in the State from July 1.
- Jammu and Kashmir now remains the only State that
has yet to pass the enabling GST legislation.
NASA Tests Flexible Roll-Out Solar Array on Space Station
NASA’s new compact high-power solar array-the Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA)– has made its debut on the International
Space Station, allowing astronauts to test the technology’s durability for
deep-space missions.
- The Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA) is one of the
options eyed by NASA that could power an advanced solar electric
propulsion spacecraftthat makes possible such endeavors as the
agency’s Asteroid Redirect Mission—plucking a multi-ton boulder from an
asteroid’s surface, and then maneuvering that object into a stable orbit
around the moon for human inspection and sampling.
- The Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) is a new type of
solar panel that rolls open in space like a party favor and is more
compact than current rigid panel designs.
NASA, Italian Space Agency to probe cosmic X-ray
mysteries
NASA
has signed an agreement with Italian Space Agency for the launch of the
Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission that will provide
important clues about the origins of cosmic X-rays, their interactions with
matter and gravity as they travel through space.
- Slated to launch in 2020, the Imaging X-ray
Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission will help explore some of the
most turbulent and extreme environments in our universe — from the hottest, messiest star factories to violent
jets screaming away from monster black holes.
- The IXPE mission will fly three telescope systems
capable of measuring the polarisation of X-rays emitted by cosmic sources.
SEBI eases norms to buy stressed assets
As part of the larger attempts of the government to resolve the massive bad
debt issue, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has relaxed norms
for investors acquiring assets in companies with stressed assets and facing
bankruptcy proceedings.
- The acquirers are exempted from making open offers
after buying stakes from lenders. Checks such as a three-year lock-in for
new investors have been included.
- A similar exemption has also been provided for
acquisitions post the resolution plans approved by National Company Law
Tribunal (NCLT) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.
- A ‘Regulatory Fee’ of $1,000 will also be levied on
each subscriber of offshore derivative instrument (ODI), which will have
to be collected by the registered foreign portfolio investor (FPI) that
issues the ODIs.
Mahindra Aero, Israeli firm
ink MoU
Elbit Systems–Cyclone of
Israel and Mahindra Aerostructures have signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) to collaborate on the production of aerostructures parts and assemblies.
- Under the arrangement, Cyclone will source content
for its existing work packages from Mahindra.
India’s population to surpass that of China’s around
2024: UN
The World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, published by the UN
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, was recently released. The
2017 Revision of World Population Prospects is the 25th round of official UN
population estimates and projections.
- According to the UN forecast, India’s population
could surpass that of China’s around 2024, two years later than previously
estimated, and is projected to touch 1.5 billion in 2030. Currently China
with 1.41 billion inhabitants and India with 1.34 billion remain the two
most populous countries, comprising 19 and 18% of the total global
population.
- The population of China is projected to remain
stable until the 2030s, after which it may begin a slow decline. India s
population may eventually see a decline in the half century after 2050 to
1.51 billion by 2100 but it will still be the most populous country in the
world.
- In India, life expectancy at birth will be 71 years
in 2025-2030, growing to 74.2 years in 2045-2050. The under-five mortality
rate will decline from 32.3 deaths under age five per 1,000 live births in
2025-2030 to 18.6 in 2045-2050.
Saudi king names son as heir
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman
ousted his nephew as crown prince on June 21 and installed his son Mohammad bin
Salman, capping a meteoric rise for the 31-year-old that puts him one step from
the throne.
- The king called on governors and other princes to pledge allegiance to his new heir and ordered a ceremony after night prayers on Wednesday at a royal palace in Mecca.
Kenneth Juster to be U.S.
Ambassador to India
Kenneth Juster, deputy
director of National Economic Council, will be appointed as the U.S. Ambassador
to India.
- Mr. Juster has been a strong advocate of India-U.S.
partnership, and was the co-chair of the U.S.-India High Technology
Cooperation Group set up during the George W. Bush presidency.
Rajiv Gauba to be Home
Secretary
Union government carried out
a reshuffle in the top bureaucracy, appointing Rajiv Gauba as Home Secretary,
and Subhash Garg as Secretary, Economic Affairs, in the Ministry of Finance
(MoF).
- In all, 17 top officials were appointed to fill vacancies in important positions like Economic Affairs, Telecommunications, Power, Personnel and Shipping.
