Daily Current affairs - July 22nd, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Lok Sabha passed a Bill
that offers untrained teachers teaching in schools time till March 31, 2019, to
acquire B.El. Ed (Bachelor of Elementary Education) or D. El. Ed. (Diploma in
Elementary Education) qualifications to hold their jobs as teachers.
- This was done through an amendment to the Right to
Education Act, 2009, as a last chance to such teachers not to lose their
jobs.
- The Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017 Bill
will now have to pass muster in the Rajya Sabha — and get presidential
assent after that — to become an Act.
- The qualifications are deemed necessary to ensure
that teachers are well-qualified to ensure quality of education.
Government mulls insurance cover for digital transaction
frauds
The government is “very seriously” considering the recommendations of the
Chandrababu Naidu committee on digital payment security, including insurance
cover for the victims of fraudulent digital transactions.
- The Committee of Chief Ministers on Digital Payment,
chaired by Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu, has in
its interim report suggested several measures for digital payment
security, including an insurance scheme to cover losses incurred in
digital transactions on account of fraud, etc.
- The report suggests that in order to address the
apprehension of the general public in adopting digital payments, the
scheme should target low-ticket transactions to cover the vulnerable
sections like small merchants, farmers etc.
Protection of personal data a
right
Personal data is an integral
part of one’s dignity and life, the Centre told the Supreme Court.
- Any sharing of personal data by service providers or
social media platforms, which impinges on a person’s right to life under
Article 21 of the Constitution, requires regulation, the government
submitted before a five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Justice Dipak
Misra.
Finance Minister launches
Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana pension scheme with 8% fixed rate
Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley formally launched Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY), a
pension scheme exclusively for senior citizens with 8% fixed rate of interest
on their savings.
- Under this scheme, there will be an assured return
of 8 per cent over a tenure of 10 years. It can be purchased offline as
well as online through Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India which has
been given the sole privilege to operate this scheme.
Mentally retarded adult not a
child: SC
Supreme Court said
that, A “mentally-retarded” adult cannot be considered a child and given refuge
under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012.
- The case before the court was that of a rape victim,
whose biological age is 38 though medical reports conclude that her
“mental age” is that of six-year-old.
- The woman’s mother had moved the Supreme Court to
expand the definition of the term ‘child’ in Section 2 (d) of the POCSO
Act to embrace adults who are “mentally-retarded or extremely
intellectually-challenged.”
- The mother’s petition said the biological age of a
person should not be the governing yardstick for POCSO, which seeks to
protect children from sexual abuse, treat them with fragility and provide
them gentle care throughout the criminal trial and swiftly punish the
guilty.
- A holistic interpretation of the term ‘child’ to
include intellectually-vulnerable adults serves the basic purpose of the
2012 Act.
- A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Rohinton Fali
Nariman, in their separate judgments, agreed that a judge cannot take on
the role of the legislator.
- The 2012 Act recognises the phenomenon of “mental disability,” but confines its ambit to only the mental disability of minors.
First child-friendly police
station coming up
Rajasthan’s first
“child-friendly” police station will come up shortly in Dholpur, with the
provision for spreading awareness about laws against child labour, child
marriage and sexual offences and establishment of a colourful and attractive
child cell.
- State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights
chairperson Manan Chaturvedi visited the Dholpur Sadar police station to
take stock of preparations.
Zeliang wins trust vote in
Nagaland
Nagaland Chief Minister T.R.
Zeliang won the trust vote in the Assembly with a comfortable margin, two days
after he replaced Shurhozelie Liezietsu, capping a week of dramatic
developments in the State.
- He secured 47 of 59 votes in the
House which included 36 of the NPF, four of the BJP and seven from the
Independents.
NGT directs Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh to submit
guidelines on forest fire
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Uttarakhand and Himachal
Pradesh governments to submit the national forest fire prevention and control
guidelines.
- The court has also asked both the
state governments to inform it about the total number of forest fires till
date starting from 2016.
- The tribunal had earlier directed
the states to submit crisis management plan for prevention and control of
forest fires to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
India, Japan civil nuclear deal comes into force
The India-Japan Agreement for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear
Energy entered into force on July 20, 2017 with the exchange of diplomatic
notes between Dr. S. Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary and H.E. Mr. Kenji
Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India.
- The pact was signed in Tokyo
during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan on November 11,
2016.
- India is the first non-member of
the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) to have signed such a deal
with Japan. The deal will help India access Japan’s nuclear market.
- The deal includes the option that
Japan can give a year’s notice before terminating it in case India breaks
the nuclear testing moratorium that it had extended to the Nuclear
Suppliers Group in 2008.
U.S. bans citizens from
travelling to N. Korea
The United States confirmed
that it plans to ban its nationals from travelling to North Korea, in the wake
of the death of American student Otto Warmbier, who was imprisoned by Pyongyang
during a tourist visit.
- The restriction would be formally
announced in the Federal Register next week, and take effect one month
after publication.
U.K. gets its first woman
president of top court
The U.K. government
appointed Baroness Brenda Marjorie Hale, 72, as the first woman president of
the Supreme Court, the senior-most judge in the country.
- She will take charge in September.
Reliance Jio unveils low-cost
feature phone
Reliance Jio unveiled a
low-cost feature phone capable of accessing media content on its high-speed 4G
network.
- The JioPhone will be available on
payment of a refundable deposit of Rs. 1,500 and users can claim a full
refund of the amount if they opt to return it after three years.
SBI and Carlyle to jointly
acquire GE Capital's stake in SBI Card
State Bank of India
(SBI), the Carlyle Group and GE have announced that they have signed
definitive agreements, whereby SBI and Carlyle Group will acquire GE Capital's
entire stake in SBI Card, the second-largest credit card franchise in India.
- SBI Card is operated through two
joint venture companies , SBI Cards & Payment Services and
GE Capital Business Process Management Services, which issue credit cards
and process card transactions in the Indian market.
- Following the transactions, SBI
and Carlyle will own 74 percent and 26 percent respectively in each of the
two entities.
India performs miserably in war on inequality
The index and the inequality report was recently released by
the international NGO Oxfam and Development Finance International.
- It measures the efforts of governments
that had pledged to reduce inequality as part of the sustainable
development goals.
- The index mainly focusses on
redistributive actions governments can take, rather than those that would
prevent rising inequality in the first place.
- India has been ranked 132 out of
152 countries.
- OECD countries headed by Sweden
ranked the highest while Nigeria was at the bottom.
MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay
appointed Joint Secretary in PMO
Senior diplomat and External
Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay appointed as Joint
Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office.
- Baglay, a 1992 batch Indian
Foreign Service Officer.
- The Appointments Committee of the
Cabinet has approved Baglay's appointment to the post for three years.
Sean Spicer resigns as White
House Press Secretary
White House Press Secretary
Sean Spicer resigned, ending a difficult tenure during which the conventional
Republican sought to defend and explain President Donald Trump, with limited
success.
- Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Mr.
Spicer’s deputy, will succeed him.
Karamjyoti Dalal wins bronze
medal at World Para Athletics
India’s Karamjyoti
Dalal has won bronze medal at the World Para Athletics Championships 2017
in the discus-throw. In the women’s F55 category of discus-throw, she managed a
throw of 19.02 m.
- Earlier, Sundar Singh Gurjar had opened India’s account at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships by winning gold medal in the men’s javelin throw event. Later, Amit Saroha won silver medal in the club throw event in the F-51 category.
