Daily Current affairs - July 4th, 2017 for all competitive exams
The foundation stone of the country’s biggest Global Skill Park was laid in
Bhopal jointly by Union Minister of State for Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship Rajeev Pratap Rudi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chouhan.
- The park will come up on 37 acre land allotted in Narela
Shankari area of Bhopal. It will be established with the support of
Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education and Education Services
(ITEES).
- The objective of the Global Skill Park is to prepare
skilled youths who could get jobs in private companies as per their
requirements.
Modi’s book for the youth to
be out later this year
In a first-of-its-kind initiative by a serving Prime Minister, Narendra
Modi will write a book dedicated to the youth, in which he will address core
issues like overcoming examination stress, keeping one’s composure and even
what to do after the exams are over.
- The book which will be published through Penguin
Random House (PRH) India.
- The book will be in multiple languages and out in
book stores later this year. The book will cover many aspects that
students can relate to, especially with regard to the crucial class X and
XII examinations.
SC allows abortion of ailing foetus
The Supreme Court has permitted a woman, who is in her 26th week of
pregnancy, to abort her foetus that is suffering from severe cardiac ailments.
- The order came after the woman and her husband had
approached the apex court seeking permission to abort her foetus on
grounds of abnormalities which could be even fatal to her. They had also
challenged the constitutional validity of section 3(2)(b) of the Medical
Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act which prohibits abortion of a foetus
after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
- Abortion in India is legal only up to 20 weeks of
pregnancy, under specific conditions and situations, which are defined as:
- If the continuance of pregnancy risks the life of
the woman or may result in grave physical or mental injury.
- If there is a substantial possibility of the child
being born with physical or mental abnormalities, as to be seriously
handicapped.
‘A book for every hand’
‘Har haath ek kitaab’ (‘one book for every hand’) is the new scheme set in
motion by the National Book Trust. Under the scheme, people can make donations
to children in the form of books with a simple method.
- They can transfer money to online shopping site
Snapdeal with which the Trust, an autonomous organisation under the
Ministry of Human Resource Development (MoHRD), has formally tied up, and
the money will then be transferred to NBT.
- The NBT is also subsidising the cost of the books by
about 23.5%. Already, 3,726 children's books have been sent out under the
scheme.
US rolls out expedited entry for ‘low-risk’ Indian travellers
The US has started rolling out for India its Global Entry programme which allows for
expedited clearance of pre-approved, low-risk travellers.
- Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna has become
the first Indian national to enroll in the programme.
- On landing at select airports, the programme members
enter the United States through automatic kiosks, instead of queueing up
to clear the immigration by meeting an immigration officer.
Flight Test of QRSAM:
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed Quick
Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) was recently successfully flight tested
from ITR Chandipur, off the Odisha Coast.
- The QR-SAM weapon system has been jointly developed
by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Bharat
Electronics Ltd.
- It is a quick reaction, all-weather, network-centric
missile system capable of search-on-the-move.
- The missile system can also engage multiple targets
within a range of around 30 km with two vehicle configuration for area air
defence.
NASA to shoot Didmyos asteroid into new flight path in
DART test
NASA is developing the first-ever mission that will deflect a near-Earth
asteroid, and help test the systems that will allow mankind to protect the
planet from potential cosmic body impacts in the future.
- The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) – which is being designed and would be
built and managed by the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory – is
moving from concept development to preliminary design phase.
- DART would be NASA’s first mission to
demonstrate what’s known as the kinetic impactor technique – striking the
asteroid to shift its orbit – to defend against
a potential future asteroid impact.
- The target for DART is an asteroid that will have a
distant approach to Earth in October 2022, and then again in 2024. The
asteroid is called Didymos – Greek for “twin”
-because it is an asteroid binary system that consists of two bodies:
Didymos A, about 780 metres in size, and a smaller asteroid orbiting it
called Didymos B, about 160 metres in size.
No-confidence motion against
Maldives Speaker
Maldives Opposition parties launched a new bid to seize control of
Parliament through a third attempt to impeach the Speaker.
- It had submitted a no-confidence motion with the
support of 45 MPs — enough to force a vote in the 85-member Majlis, or
Parliament.
- A previous attempt to impeach Speaker Abdulla
Masheeh in April failed when the number of signatures required for a
no-trust motion against the Speaker was raised to 50% of the House, up
from one-third.
ADB, Centre ink pact for road revamp
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a
$220 million loan agreement meant to improve connectivity, transport
efficiency, and safety on the State highways of Rajasthan.
- The loan is the first tranche of the $500 million
Rajasthan State Highways Investment Program, approved by ADB Board in May
this year, that will upgrade about 2,000 km of State highways and major
district roads to two-lane or intermediate-lane standards to meet road
safety requirements.
NMCE and ICEX to merge, creating India’s third largest
commodity exchange:
National Multi-Commodity Exchange (NMCE), India’s first demutualized
multi-commodities exchange, will merge with Indian Commodity Exchange
(ICEX).
- The proposed merger will create India’s third
largest commodities exchange, offering a range of contracts including
bullion, oil, rubber and other agri-commodities.
- The exchange will also offer the world’s first
diamond futures contract, which has already received “in-principle”
approval from the regulator.
Tata Sons head is TGBL
chairman
Tata Global Beverages Ltd. (TGBL) on Monday appointed Tata Sons chairman N.
Chandrasekaran as chairman with immediate effect.
- TGBL’s board in a meeting approved the appointment of N. Chandrasekaran as an additional director and as chairman of the board of the company in place of Mr. Harish Bhat, who expressed a desire to step down as chairman.
