Daily Current affairs - August 26th, 2017 for all competitive exams
Commerce and Industry
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has constituted a Task Force chaired by V. Kamakoti
of IIT Madras to explore possibilities to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI)
for development across various fields.
- The ‘task force on AI for India’s Economic
Transformation’ will submit concrete and implementable recommendations for
government, industry and research institutions, an official statement
said.
- Ravinder, Joint Secretary, DIPP, Ministry of
Commerce & Industry is the convenor.
SC verdict to affect ban on
slaughter
The landmark judgment
declaring right to privacy a fundamental right would have “some bearing” in
matters relating to slaughter of cows, bulls and bullocks in Maharashtra, the
Supreme Court said
- The Bombay High Court had on May 6
last year struck down Sections 5(D) and 9(B) of the Maharashtra Animals
Preservation (Amendment) Act, 1995.
- While Section 5(D) criminalises
possession of flesh of cows, bulls or bullocks, slaughtered outside
Maharashtra, Section 9(B) imposed burden on the accused to prove that meat
or flesh possessed by him/her does not belong to these animals.
- The State government had filed an
appeal in the top court.
Jammu and Kashmir Government
to Set Up First Eco-Pak
The Jammu and Kashmir
government has decided to build an Eco-Park on over 34 acres of
land reclaimed from encroachers in the state's Rajouri district.
- The park is
a first-of-its-kind project in the region. It will have a botanical
garden, a cactus garden, a cafeteria and other amenities.
Nungthaang Tampak- North
East's First 100% Computer Literate Village
Manipur's Nungthaang Tampak
village has emerged as the '100 percent computer literate' not
only in the state but in the entire North East. The computer course was
organized by Mangal Rural as a part of the Digital India program.
- Nungthang Tampak has
become India's second 100 percent computer literate
village. Kerala's Chamravattom village is the country's first 100
percent computer literate village.
MPs fret over trade deficit
with ASEAN
The Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Commerce has questioned the government for suggesting that the
country’s increasing trade deficit with ASEAN nations is due to imports of
essential commodities and has strongly recommended that India seek better
market access for its products and services with the 10-nation bloc.
- The Association of South-East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises of Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines,
Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam.
- India has suffered a trade deficit
in respect of five ASEAN members — Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei
and Lao PDR — over 2015-16 and 2016-17, with the biggest deficit emerging
in trade with Indonesia
CA Institute Signs MoU with
ICA Nepal
The CA Institute of India has
signed an MoU with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN).
Nilesh Vikamsey, President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)
and Prakash Jung Thapa, President--ICAN exchanged the MoU.
- The MoU seeks to establish
mutual co-operation for the
advancement of accounting knowledge, professional and intellectual
development, advancing the interests of their respective members and
positively contributing to the development of the accounting profession in
Nepal and India.
China may attend Science
Ministers’ meet in Chennai
Despite the border tension,
China is among the countries invited by India to a Science and Technology
Ministers’ conclave to be held in Chennai next month.
- The Science Ministers of Myanmar,
Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia are among the others invited to
the meeting that will discuss how science and technology can address the
common challenges in these countries.
- The conclave is part of the India
International Science Festival (IISF), a three-year-old mela of students
and scientists, that showcases contemporary and historical achievements of
Indian science.
- It is organised by the Rashtriya
Swayam Sevak-linked Vijnana Bharti and the Ministry of Science and
Technology.
In a First, Nepal launches
Climate-Smart Snow Leopard Plan
In a first,
Nepal launched its climate-smart snow leopard landscape management
plan, leading the way in safeguarding this endangered species, also found in
India, and its habitat.
- This is the first
climate-smart landscape management plan for snow leopard conservation
in the world.
- The plan aims to safeguard the
endangered species of snow leopard and its habitat.
Pakistan population has surged
by more than half
According to provisional
results of the country’s first census in almost two decades released by the
statistics board Pakistan’s population has surged by more than half to 207
million.
- Pakistan could be set to overtake
Brazil as the world’s fifth most populous country, according to statistics
on the U.S. Census Bureau website.
- The provisional results published
by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed an average annual growth of
2.4% since 1998, when the total population was put at 132.35 million.
Coast Guard Training Ship
Varuna Decommissioned
The Indian Coast Guard Ship
Varuna, which was part of the First Training Squadron of the
Navy, was decommissioned with full armed forces honors at a ceremony. The
ship had an illustrious service spanning about 30 years.
- ICGS Varuna was the fourth of in its
class of offshore patrol vessels built by the Mumbai-based Mazagon
Dock.
- The ship had numerous operational
achievements to its credit, including a record number of apprehension of
smugglers with gold worth crores of rupees during the late 1980s.
TRAI orders Idea to pay Rs. 3
cr. for ‘overcharging’ customers
The Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) has imposed a penalty of almost Rs. 3 crore on Idea
Cellular for overcharging subscribers for calls they made to two public sector
operators — BSNL and MTNL.
- The penalty is for excess price
charged by the operator from May 2005 to January 2007.
- The amount is to be deposited in
Telecom Consumers Education and Protection Fund (TCEPF) since it cannot be
refunded to the subscribers due to non-availability of rated call detail record (CDRs).
RBI Appoints Committee to Link
Home Loan Rates to Repo Rate
Reserve Bank of India
appointed committee on Household Finance has suggested that banks
link their home loan rates to the RBI's repo rate, the rate at which it
lends to banks.
- In the past three years the
central bank has reduced the policy rate by 200 basis points, but the
weighted average lending rates have fallen by 145 basis points.
‘Digital companion’ for novel
Arundhati Roy’s new
novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness , which was published recently
to critical acclaim, now has a ‘digital companion’, the ‘Re: Reader’.
- Created and designed by visual
communication specialist Lisa Rath and her team at Itu Chaudhuri Design
(ICD), the Re: Reader is mounted on a separate website,
www.theministryofutmosthappiness.com.
- The Re: Reader platform was
launched in Delhi at a gathering marked by book readings and a
conversation on ‘literature and the digital experience’ between Ms. Rath
and artist Shuddhabrata Sengupta.
England to Host 2018 ITTF Team
World Cup
England has been
awarded the right to host the 2018 Table Tennis Team World Cup, which
will be held in London. The event will take place at the Copper Box
Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from 22-25 February 2018.
- It will be the first major table tennis-only event to be held in London since Wembley hosted the 1954 World Championships. A total of 12 men's and 12 women's teams will compete at the event.
