Daily Current affairs - July 12th, 2017 for all competitive exams
In a spirit of cooperative federalism, 5 States and a Union Territory (UT)
have formally adopted the Centre’s initiative called the Government
e-Marketplace (GeM).
- The States and the UT that signed an MoU with the
Centre include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Telangana, Puducherry and
Arunachal Pradesh.
- It aims to ensure that public procurement of goods
and services in India worth more than Rs. 5 lakh crore annually is carried
out through the online platform for transparency and to eliminate
corruption.
- It aims to transform the way in which procurement of
goods and services is done by the Government Ministries/Departments, PSUs,
autonomous bodies etc.
India to celebrate Falun Gong:
Falun Gong, the ancient Chinese holistic
system that is banned in China, will be celebrated in India
on July 15 with a parade and Human Word Formation in the capital. The event
would highlight the persecution against the practitioners in China. The
practice is banned in China.
- Falun Gong is a Chinese spiritual practice
that combines meditation and qigong exercises with a moral philosophy
centered on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.
- The practice emphasizes morality and the cultivation
of virtue, and identifies as a qigong practice of the Buddhist school,
though its teachings also incorporate elements drawn from Taoist
traditions.
Gopal Gandhi is Oppn. pick for
Vice-President’s post
Eighteen Opposition parties
announced that the 72-year-old former West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi
would be their joint candidate for the coming vice-presidential poll.
- Trinamool’s Derek O’ Brien suggested Mr. Gandhi’s
name, which was thereafter unanimously accepted.
Minimum qualifications for coop. societies’ polls:
Rajasthan has become the country’s first State to lay down the minimum
educational qualifications for contesting elections to village cooperative
societies and various other cooperative bodies.
- The State Cooperative Societies Rules, 2003, were
amended for the purpose and notified.
- The educational qualifications will range from Class
V to Class VIII for election as members of governing boards of dairy
societies, farming societies, consumer societies, weavers’ societies,
housing construction societies, urban banks, primary land development
banks, credit societies, salary earners’ societies and cooperative unions.
SC stays cattle sale rules across nation
The Supreme Court has stayed centre’s May 26th notification
banning the sale of cattle in livestock markets for slaughter and religious
sacrifices. The order came after the centre accepted that public outcry and
objections from the states about the law’s impact on livelihoods made it
realise that the rules need tweaking.
- The court was taking up a bunch of petitions
challenging the amendments to the rules framed under the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act.
- The centre, on May 26th, notified the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Market) Rules,
2017. The notification banned the sale of cattle in
livestock market for slaughter and religious sacrifices.
Sensor network to map and predict pollution, effluents in
Godavari
A group of U.S. researchers is working on a system to map undulating
pollution trends in the Godavari, India’s second longest river.
- The long-term objective is to be able to inform
State officials and citizens of a probable spike in, say, levels of
dangerous microbes or effluents, similar to weather and air pollution forecasts.
- The Godavari is the second longest river in India after the river Ganges having its source at
Tryambakeshwar, Maharashtra.
Earth facing sixth mass extinction
The sixth mass extinction of life on Earth is unfolding more quickly than
feared, scientists have warned. Scientists call this as a case of biological
annihilation occurring globally.
- Globally, the mass die-off — deemed to be the sixth
in the last half-billion years — is the worst since three-quarters of life
on the Earth, including the non-avian dinosaurs, were wiped out 66 million
years ago by a giant meteor impact. On an average, two vertebrate species
disappear every year.
- More than 30% of animals with a backbone — fish,
birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals — are declining in both range and
population.
- The mammal species that were monitored have lost at
least a third of their original habitat. 40% of them — including rhinos,
orangutans, gorillas and many big cats — are surviving on 20% or less of
the land they once roamed. The loss of biodiversity has recently
accelerated.
Sharif to move top court
against probe team report
Pakistan’s Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif has decided to file a legal challenge in the Supreme Court against
a damning report by the Joint Investigation Team, which accused him and his
family of concealing assets from tax authorities.
- The Court is expected to decide the fate of the
Prime Minister on July 17.
Pope Francis adds fourth path to sainthood:
Pope Francis has issued an apostolic letter creating a new category — a
fourth one — under which someone could possibly become a saint. The pathway focuses on people who sacrifice their lives for
others.
- The category added, called an oblatio vitae or a
“free offering of one’s life” as described by the Vatican, involves people
who freely accept an imminent death for the good of others.
U.S. may tighten rules for foreign students
US is planning to tighten rules for foreign students. A proposal is under
consideration by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
- The proposal is part of an ongoing review of the
immigration policy to ensure that it “promotes the national interest,
enhances national security and public safety and ensures the integrity of
our immigration system.”
- Under current regulations, international students
can stay in the U.S. as long as they are enrolled for a programme.
Forensic guru Chandra Sekharan
dead
Renowned forensic expert,
Pakkiriswamy Chandra Sekharan, who helped investigators crack the Rajiv Gandhi
assassination case and played a seminal role in getting back the stolen
1,500-year-old Pathur Nataraja idol from the U.K., died.
- A former director of the Tamil Nadu Forensic
Sciences Department, Professor Chandra Sekharan was awarded the Padma
Bhushan.
- Professor Chandra Sekharan deconstructed the suicide
bomb attack on Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991. He made the sensational
disclosure a day after the assassination that the killer was a woman who
acted as a human bomb.
Shastri confirmed as head
coach
BCCI has announced Ravi
Shastri as the next head coach of the Indian cricket team.
- Shastri, who has been in charge of the team twice
before for various tenures, was given charge this time of guiding the
Virat Kohli-led side for the next three years — till the 2019 World Cup.
IOC agrees on Paris, LA
The International Olympic
Committee (IOC) agreed to award the 2024 and 2028 Games at the same time,
effectively guaranteeing that Paris and Los Angeles will be the hosts.
- Bach lobbied for a double hosting plan, which won
unanimous approval at a meeting.
- The IOC now has a two-month window to negotiate with Paris and Los Angeles over which city will go first.
