Daily Current affairs - August 22nd, 2017 for all competitive exams
A digital police portal under the CCTNS project, which aims to create a
national database of crimes and criminals, was recently launched by Home
Minister Rajnath Singh.
- The Digital Police Portal will enable citizens to
register FIRs online and the portal will initially offer seven Public
Delivery Services in 34 States & UTs, like Person and Address
Verification e.g. of employees, tenants, nurses etc, permission for hosting
Public Events, Lost & Found Articles and Vehicle theft etc.
- Besides, the portal will enable restricted access to
law enforcement agencies on topics such as Antecedent Verification and
make assessment of FIRs.
Kovind dedicates Leh trip to
jawans
President Ram Nath Kovind
awarded the Presidential Colours to Ladakh Scouts, and reminded the troops of
their pledge to protect the sovereignty of the nation at any cost.
- The Ladakh Scouts, or “Snow Warriors”, is a regiment
of the Army stationed in Ladakh and serves as the first line of border
defence. Dedicating his Leh visit — his first official trip outside Delhi
— to the armed forces
- Mr. Kovind’s visit comes just a week after Indian
and Chinese troops got into a scuffle following an attempt by the Chinese
soldiers to cross the Line of Actual Control near the Pangong Lake.
PM reviews progress of Soil Health Cards
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, recently reviewed the progress of
Soil Health Cards scheme. So far, 16 States/UTs have completed the first cycle
of Soil Health Cards distribution, and the remaining States are likely to
complete the same within weeks.
- Appropriate checks should
be undertaken for variation, both within a sampling grid, and across
different soil testing labs. This would help ensure quality in the
reports.
- Soil health cards should be printed in the local
dialect of the area, so that the farmers
are able to read and understand them easily.
- Soil testing should eventually be possible through
hand-held devices. Officials were
encouraged to explore the possibility of involving start-ups and
entrepreneurs in this exercise.
- A Soil Health Card displays soil health indicators
and associated descriptive terms. The indicators are typically based on
farmers’ practical experience and knowledge of local natural resources.
‘Swasth Bachche, Swasth Bharat’
‘Swasth Bachche, Swasth Bharat’ Programme, an initiative of Kendriya
Vidyalaya Sangathan to prepare a physical Health and
Fitness Profile Card for more than 12 lakhs of Kendriya Vidyalaya students was recently launched in Kochi.
- Swasth Bachche, Swasth Bharat programme will
provide a comprehensive and inclusive report card for children
covering all age groups and children of different abilities.
- Objective of the programme: Making
students, teachers and parents aware about the importance of good health
and fitness and encouraging 60 minutes of play each day is an objective of
the programme.
Govt. urged to speed up
Constitution drafting
The pending agreement
between the two parties in the government is the main challenge to drafting Sri
Lanka’s new Constitution, according to Jayampathy Wickramaratne, a government
parliamentarian, who co-chairs a committee overseeing the exercise.
- Constitutional reform was a key election promise of
the Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe combine that formed the
national unity government in 2015, bringing together the Sri Lanka Freedom
Party (SLFP) and the rival United National Party (UNP).
India’s Exclusive Rights to Explore Polymetallic Nodules
Extended
India’s exclusive rights to explore polymetallic nodules from seabed in
Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) have been extended by five years. This has
been approved unanimously in the 23rd session of International Seabed Authority
(ISA) concluded recently at Kingston, Jamaica.
- The rights extended are over 75000 sq. km of area in
international waters allocated by International Seabed Authority for
developmental activities for polymetallic nodules.
- The estimated polymetallic nodule resource potential
in this region is 380 million tonnes, containing 4.7 million tonnes of
nickel, 4.29 million tonnes of copper and 0.55 million tonnes of cobalt
and 92.59 million tonnes of manganese.
Cloud-seeding project of Karnataka takes off at Jakkur
Airfield
Karnataka has launched the much-touted cloud seeding project- named Varshadhare.
- Cloud-seeding is a technique employed to increase
precipitation in clouds. Experts say precipitation in clouds has been
affected recently due to increase in particulate matter in the atmosphere,
among other factors.
- Cloud-seeding aims at catalysing the process of
precipitation, so that rainfall could be increased by 15-20% in
drought-affected areas of the State
China to relaunch one of
world’s fastest bullet trains
After cutting back the speed
of the Beijing to Shanghai bullet train following a deadly crash, China is set
to again make it one of the world’s fastest.
- New generation trains will service the route
starting next month, making the 1,250-km journey from the capital to
Shanghai in just 4 hours, 30 minutes.
- The latest trains were unveiled in June and have a
top speed of 400 kmph.
- China first ran trains at 350 kmph in August 2008,
but cut speeds back to 250 – 300 kmph in 2011 following a train collision
near the city of Wenzhou that killed 40 people and injured 191.
- China has laid more than 20,000 km of high-speed
rail, with a target of adding another 10,000 km by 2020.
Commissioning of Second Ship of Landing Craft Utility
MK-IV
IN LCU L52, the second ship of landing craft utility MK- IV, was recently
commissioned into the Indian Navy.
- IN LCU L52 is
the second Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV class to be inducted into the
Indian Navy.
- The ship has been indigenously designed and built by
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata.
- The commissioning of L-52 is yet another
manifestation of the potential of the country’s indigenous design and ship
building capability.
ICMR inks deal to promote vaccine development
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has signed an MoU with the
International Vaccine Institute (IVI) for collaborating on vaccine research and
development. India will commit $5,00,000 (₹3.20 crore) annually for a
stake in IVI— an amount approved during a Cabinet meeting in January.
- International Vaccine Institute (IVI), Seoul, South
Korea, established in 1997 on the initiatives of the UNDP, is an international organization devoted to developing and
introducing new and improved vaccines to protect the people, especially
children, against deadly infectious diseases.
- IVI has been partnering with Indian vaccine
manufacturers, research institutes, government, and public health agencies
on vaccine development, research, and training. One of the most successful
collaborations was with Shantha Biotech on the development of Shanchol,
the world’s first low-cost oral cholera vaccine.
Aurobindo Pharma gets USFDA
nod for HIV drug
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd has
received tentative approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA)
under the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for its new
drug application for Dolutegravir, Lamivudine and Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate
(TLD) tablets.
- The approved product is used for the treatment of HIV-1 infection as a complete regimen in adults and paediatric patients weighing 40 kg and greater.
