Daily Current affairs - July 3rd, 2017 for all competitive exams
Nine more locations in Kerala have been identified as Important Bird and
Biodiversity Areas (IBAs).
- The new list was released by the Bombay Natural
History Society, a partner of BirdLife International, in its recent
publication, Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in India Priority sites
for conservation.
- With the latest addition, Kerala now has 33 IBAs.
Kerala IBAs are home to three critically endangered species — Whiterumped
Vulture, Indian Vulture, and Red-headed Vulture.
- The IBAs are “places of international significance
for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity” and are “distinct
areas amenable to practical conservation action,” according to BirdLife
International.
Integration of oil & gas majors is best avoided
The idea of an integrated oil major has surfaced again in 2017 even after
being rejected twice earlier.
- The idea first made its appearance during Atal
Bihari Vajpayee’s government in 1998. The proposal was then rejected for
encouraging a monopolistic scenario in distribution of essential goods
like LPG, petrol, kerosene etc. In 2005, the Krishnamurthy committee
formed by the UPA government debunked the idea as it would reduce
competition and manpower in the oil and gas sector.
An integrated oil major is good for the following reasons:
- Better capacity to bear higher risks.
- Avail economies of scale.
- Create more shareholder value.
- Make better investment decisions and be more competent globally.
India in 88th place in money
hoarded in Swiss banks
India has slipped to the
88th place in terms of money parked by its citizens with Swiss banks, while the
U.K. remains on the top.
- The money officially held by Indians with banks in
Switzerland now accounts for a meagre 0.04 per cent of the total funds
kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss banking system, as per an
analysis of the latest figures compiled by the Swiss National Bank as on
2016-end.
- India was placed at 75th position in 2015 and at
61st in the year before that, though it used to be among top-50 countries in
terms of holdings in Swiss banks till 2007. The country was ranked highest
at 37th place in 2004.
Tripura film fest to focus on
environment
Youth for Integration, a
forum of tribal youth, and six other social groups are hosting an international
film festival in Tripura to promote awareness on preserving environment.
- The Kirloskar Vasundhara International Film Festival
(KVIFF) will be held at three places, including in Agartala.
- KVIFF is just not a festival or celebration, it’s a
movement to change minds and attitudes of people and make them understand
about the need to preserve our priceless natural heritage
DRDO missile test launch
facility gets forest nod
The Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) has issued forest clearance (Stage-I) to the
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), approving diversion of
154.42 hectares of forest land for the proposed missile test launch facility at
Gullalamoda village in Krishna district.
- The land includes 46 hectares of the Krishna Wildlife
Sanctuary.
IIT Guwahati succeeds in
regenerating damaged nerve
Researchers at the Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have taken the first successful step in
treating peripheral nerve damage which can result from traumatic injuries
caused by accidents, physical conflict, bullet wounds as well as during surgical
intervention.
- The nerve conduits synthesised by the researchers
and implanted in rats with sciatic nerve injury showed “excellent”
functional recovery one year after implantation.
- The results were published in the
journal Biomedical Materials.
Sharpest laser can help test Einstein’s theory
Scientists have developed the worlds sharpest laser with record-breaking
precision that can help make optical atomic clocks more precise as well as test
Einsteins theory of relativity.
- Ideally, laser light has only one fixed wavelength
or frequency. In practice, the spectrum of most types of lasers can,
however, reach from a few kHz to a few MHz in width, which is not good
enough for numerous experiments requiring high precision.
- Researchers have now developed a laser with a
linewidth of only 10 miliHertz (mHz) — closer to the ideal laser than ever
before.
BBB identifies 15 EDs for
public sector banks
The Bank Board Bureau has
sent 15 names to the government for appointment as executive directors in
public sector banks (PSBs) in the current financial year.
- The Centre will take the final decision on the
appointments.
999: Oldest emergency helpline
turns 80 in U.K.
The world’s oldest emergency
helpline 999 on Sunday completed 80 years of its existence in the U.K., with
the Scotland Yard celebrating the “cornerstone” of British policing by
organising several events.
- It was launched after a major fire in London in 1935
resulted in five fatalities.
Facebook expands Find Wi Fi
feature globally
Facebook has expanded its
“Find Wi-Fi” feature globally on both iOS and Android devices.
- It was launched last year in select countries.
- The feature is especially “useful for travellers, and for those in areas where cellular data is
