Daily Current affairs - September 11th, 2017 for all competitive exams
Defence
Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman recently flagged-off all-women crew of Navika
Sagar Parikrama at the INS Mandovi naval training base near Panaji. The crew
of the ‘Sagar Parikrama’ comprises of six-member all women team on board the
sailing vessel INSV Tarini and will circumnavigate the globe in approximately
165 days.
- This is the first ever Indian circumnavigation
of the globe by an all-women crew. The project is
considered essential towards promoting Ocean Sailing activities in the
Navy while depicting Government of India’s thrust for ‘Nari Shakti’.
- The expedition has been aptly titled ‘Navika Sagar
Parikrama’, aimed at promoting women empowerment in the country and ocean
sailing by the Indian Navy.
Refugees go to SC against Article 35A
Some refugees from West Pakistan, who had migrated to India during
Partition, have moved the Supreme Court challenging Article 35A of the
Constitution relating to special rights and privileges of permanent residents
of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Nearly 1.25 lakh WPRs, who migrated from the then
West Pakistan after partition of the country in 1947 to settle in Kathua,
Samba and Jammu districts of the state, are seeking citizenship rights,
employment rights and right to vote and contest the state assembly polls
for the past 70 years.
- According to official data 5,764 families comprising
47,915 persons had migrated from West Pakistan in 1947 and settled in the
three districts of the state. Today their population increased to nearly
1.25 lakh.
- These refugees are not considered permanent
residents of the state, cannot vote in assembly polls and cannot do state
government jobs even though they are living in the state for generations.
However, they can vote in parliamentary elections.
- Article 35A protects certain provisions of the
J&K Constitution which denies property rights to native women who
marry from outside the State. The denial of these rights extend to her
children also.
Giving a digital touch to
Durga Puja
Kolkata is making a ‘smart’
move as its peak tourism season opens with the Durga Puja on September 26, to
be followed by the Fifa Under-17 World Cup finale in October.
- West Bengal’s Tourism Department is sprucing up the
city’s brand image at airports and railway stations, and has launched a
mobile app to help tourists do some serious pandal-hopping during the
festive season. Information about high-profile Durga Pujas in the city and
how to get there are included in the app.
Data base soon on Bonda
migration
The Bonda Development Agency
(BDA) has started an inquiry and survey in the remote Bonda-inhabited villages
in Malkangiri district of Odisha following reports that these primitive tribals
are migrating to other States in search of employment and that some of their
women are being sexually exploited.
- Bondas are considered to be one of most primitive
tribes in the world.
- As per an official survey in 2015, around 8,000
Bonda tribals live in 32 villages of four panchayats under Khairaput
block. Their villages are located in remote and isolated hilly region
north-west of the Machhkund river. Their habitat in Khairaput block is
called the Bonda valley.
Uttarakhand to bring special
heritage law
The Uttarakhand government
is planning to bring a special legislation to cover unprotected heritage in the
state.
- The Uttarakhand Heritage Act seeks to conserve
landmarks such as the Almora Jail, where Pt Jawaharlal Nehru was
imprisoned, the colonial-era Raj Bhawan in Nainital, historic precincts
and trees, groves and natural fields of environmental significance
- The Uttarakhand Heritage Act seeks preserve
buildings and sites of historic, aesthetic, cultural or environmental
value.
Brahmin federation for quota
based on economic status
The All India Brahmin
Federation (AIBF) has demanded abolition of caste-based reservation and
implementation of a new reservation policy based on economic status.
- The demand was made at the two-day conference of the
national executive of the AIBF that concluded in Berhampur. The AIBF is
the apex body of Brahmin organisations in the country.
India, U.S. in talks for C-17
deal
India is in talks with the
U.S. for buying another Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft to be added
to its fleet of 10.
- Since induction in 2013, the aircraft has become the
mainstay of India’s humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.
- The aircraft, along with associated equipment,
technical support and warranty, is estimated to cost $366.2 million.
- In 2011, India purchased 10 C-17s under the Foreign
Military Sales programme worth $4.1 billion, which had a follow-on clause
for six more aircraft. However, the delay in decision-making in the
Defence Ministry meant the IAF missed out on the opportunity. The last
C-17 aircraft left Boeing’s Long Beach plant in California in 2015.
China looks to ban petrol,
diesel cars
China is joining France and
Britain in announcing plans to end sales of gasoline and diesel cars.
- China’s Industry Ministry is developing a timetable
to end production and sale of traditional fuel cars and will promote
development of electric technology
- China is the biggest auto market by number of
vehicles sold, giving any policy changes outsize importance for the global
industry.
- France and Britain announced in July that they will
stop sales of gasoline and diesel automobiles by 2040 as part of efforts
to reduce pollution and carbon emissions that contribute to global
warming.
DRDO successfully test fires ‘Fire and Forget’ Nag missile
In a boost to Indian Armed Forces, Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) recently successfully tested Nag, the 3rd generation Anti
Tank Guided Missile (ATGM).
- DRDO has been trying to ramp up country’ military
capability in sync changing security dynamics in the region.
- The third-generation Fire and Forget ATGM Nag is
equipped with many advanced technologies including IIR Seeker with
integrated avionics, a capability possessed by few nations in the world.
- The missile is developed to support both mechanised
infantry and airborne forces of the Indian Army.
Bharti Airtel eyes low-priced
smartphones to take on Jio
India’s largest telecom
operator Bharti Airtel is in talks with multiple handset makers to bring a 4G
smartphone for a price as low as Rs. 2,500—Rs. 2,700 to take on Reliance Jio.
- While Mukesh Ambani—led Jio has announced plans to
offer Internet—enabled feature phone for a refundable deposit of Rs.
1,500, Airtel is placing its bet on a full—fledged smartphone as it
believes people would be ready to shell out a little more to get a loaded
handset.
Flipkart eyes ‘anti-theft’
shipments
Flipkart had built an
innovative ‘anti-theft packaging’ solution to deliver parcels securely to its
customers.
- Its unique packaging would ensure that customers do
not receive stolen or damaged shipments.
- The innovation, awaiting patent grant, has special
security features in shipment, which are 100% tamper-proof and
tamper-evident.
- The move comes at a time when e-commerce firms have
faced flak for shipments containing bricks, soap bars and wood, instead of
ordered products.
RBI: new machines counting
banned notes
The central bank has said in
an RTI reply,is not using ‘counting machines’ for tallying the total number of
demonetised notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 in any of its offices,
- Rather, it is using “sophisticated Currency
Verification and Processing (CVPS) machines for checking the numerical
accuracy and genuineness of the currency notes, including SBNs (Specified
Bank Notes that have been scrapped)
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe official visit to India
At the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Mr. Shinzo Abe,
Prime Minister of Japan, will undertake an official visit to India on September
13 and 14, 2017.
- They will hold the 12th India-Japan Annual Summit,
at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on the 14th of September.
- This will be the fourth Annual Summit between Prime
Minister Modi and Prime Minister Abe. The two leaders will review the
recent progress in the multifaceted cooperation between India and Japan
under the framework of their 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership'
and will set its future direction.
The Shape of Water bags Golden
Lion
The Shape of Water , a
dazzling sci-fi romance by Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro, won the coveted
Golden Lion at the Venice film festival.
- Best screenplay went to British-Irish Martin
McDonagh for Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri , a dark
comedy about a grieving mother who takes on the town’s police chief when
he fails to solve her daughter’s murder.
- Best actor went to Kamel El Basha in Ziad Doueiri’s
Lebanese film The Insult , a tale of a spat, which escalates and
lands a Lebanese Christian and Palestinian refugee in court.
Prominent historian of Afghan
culture dead
American historian Nancy
Hatch Dupree, who dedicated most of her life to preserving Afghanistan’s
heritage, died.
- Ms. Dupree and her husband lived in Afghanistan until the late 1970s. Her husband died in 1989 and she moved back to Afghanistan after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the ruling Taliban in 2001.