Daily Current affairs - September 27th, 2017 for all competitive exams
United Nations World Tourism
Organization has celebrated World Tourism
Day as international observances on September 27.
- This date was chosen as on that day in 1970, the
Statutes of the UNWTO were adopted.
- The purpose of this day is to raise awareness on the role of tourism within
the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social,
cultural, political and economic values worldwide.
- The Theme in 2017 of the day is "sustainable tourism".
Centre forms group to work on
plans for 5G roll-out by 2020
The government has formed a
high-level panel to evaluate and approve road maps and action plan to achieve
the target of rolling out 5G technology in India by 2020.
The Centre has created a
support fund of about Rs. 500 crore to facilitate research and development for
5G.
- The forum, which comprises secretaries of the
ministries of Communications, Information Technology and Science and
Technology, and representatives from the industry and academia, will aim
to have Indian participation in the process of defining global standards
for the next generation of wireless technology.
- The ‘5G 2020’ forum will also aim to strengthen
domestic telecommunication equipment manufacturing that is necessary for
the technology, with the aim that local manufacturers should be able to
capture 50% of the Indian market and 10% of the global market over the
next five to seven years.
- Under the 5G technology, the government aims to
deliver about 10,000 megabit per second (10 gbps) in urban areas and 1,000
mbps (1 gbps) in rural areas.
‘Panel to review
industrial policy hurdles’
The Centre will soon set up
a ‘regulatory review committee’ to address policy-related roadblocks and other
factors inhibiting the country’s industrial growth as well as impacting the
‘ease of doing business’ and private investments.
- The government is also mulling a new mechanism to
monitor domestic and foreign investment proposals.
- The idea is to fast-track decisions on such
proposals, in coordination with State governments and the Centre’s
investment facilitation and promotion arm, ‘Invest India’.
‘Divyang Sarathi’ mobile application launched
The government has launched ‘Divyang Sarathi’—The accessible and
comprehensive mobile application for easy dissemination of information to
‘Divyangjans’. According to the Census 2011, there are over 2.68 crore
‘Divyangjans’ in India which constitute more than 2.2% of the population.
- This mobile application aims at providing all
relevant information pertaining to the Department of Empowerment of
Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment, including its various acts, rules, regulations and
guidelines, schemes, information about the various outreach institutions,
employment opportunities, and the disability market in an accessible
format.
Government launches negotiable warehousing receipts in
e-format
The
government has rolled out negotiable warehousing receipts in electronic format
that farmers can use to avail of bank credit easily and without fear of losing
or misusing it.
- Till now, the receipts were issued manually. Now, it
will be given in an electronic format, which will not only benefit
farmers, but banks and other stakeholders.
- Farmers will not have to worry about losing the
receipt — which has details of the quantity, quality and the warehouse
where the commodity is stored — as it will be uploaded online and will be
accessible to banks while sanctioning loan.
- This will also stop farmers from taking multiple
bank loans on a single receipt.
Sale of tobacco only through
licensed shops
In a blow to free-ranging
sale of tobacco, the Health Ministry is tightening the screws on marketing,
which will curb access and shield children.
- As part of the regulation of sale, the Ministry has
asked all the State governments to develop a mechanism through the
municipal authority to provide “permission/authorisation” to retail
outlets selling tobacco products.
- Shops authorised to sell tobacco products will not
be permitted to sell any non-tobacco products such as biscuits, toffees
and chips that are essentially meant for non-tobacco users, especially
children.
States will have to compete for central projects
The Centre has decided to adopt the so-called challenge method for awarding all projects to states so as to bring in speed,
efficiency and transparency, besides putting an end to allocation of big
projects on political consideration.
- Under this method, prospective states will be rated
on more than half-dozen parameters prescribed in the guidelines issued and
the project will go to the state with the highest score on a scale of zero
to 100.
- The challenge method for selecting the state as well
as the site for the projects, which can be both brownfield and greenfield
projects, will now be applicable across sectors such as aviation, roads,
railways, health, education, IT, power and textiles.
- It will also be used for awarding all national
events such as national games and youth festivals to states.
A.P. opts for green fleet of
e-buses
Andhra Pradesh State Road
Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has set in motion plans to replicate similar
e-bus services in the State, starting with the ghat road connecting Tirupati
and Tirumala.
- The buses are manufactured by the Hyderabad-based
Goldstone Infratech Limited.
- Recently, Himachal Pradesh flagged off India’s first
commercial electric bus (e-bus) service on the Kullu-Manali-Rohtang pass.
Aadhaar mandatory for teachers
eligibility test in Haryana
Haryana School Education
Board has made Aadhaar card mandatory for appearing in the state's eligibility
test for teachers
- The application forms of such candidates whose
original documents do not match with Aadhaar cards would be treated as
incomplete and would be cancelled.
Banaras Hindu University
orders probe by ex-judge
The Banaras Hindu University
formed a high-power inquiry committee headed by a retired judge to probe the
incident of lathicharge on protesting students and arson in the campus, which
left several students, journalists and policemen injured.
- Head - Retired Allahabad High Court judge Justice
V.K. Dikshit
Solar scam: Chandy’s office
blamed
The G. Sivarajan Commission
which had probed the solar scam has submitted its report, reportedly blaming
the vulnerability of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s office for the scam.
- The Sivarajan commission was appointed on October
23, 2013, following a massive Opposition furore over the allegation that
Biju Radhakrishnan and Saritha S. Nair, posing as solar power
entrepreneurs, had befriended some of the personal staff members of the
then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and used his office to gain credibility
and get many persons trapped in the scam.
Written test compulsory for
teachers’ appointment
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet
approved changes in the appointment process of primary school teachers making
written examination compulsory for aspirants.
- A written examination of 60 marks has been made
compulsory while 40 marks will be for educational qualifications.
- Only those candidates who have cleared TET
(Teacher’s Eligibility Test) exam will be eligible for the written exam.
Fiji, Niger and Tuvalu ratified International Solar
Alliance
Fiji, Niger and Tuvalu have deposited instrument of ratification of the
Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in the recently
held 5th meeting of International Steering Committee (ISC) of the ISA.
- Till date 40 countries have signed and 11 countries
have ratified the Framework Agreement of the ISA. With ratifications by 15
countries, the ISA will become a treaty based inter-governmental
international organization.
- The ISA is an Indian initiative jointly launched by
the Prime Minister of India and the President of France on 30 November
2015 at Paris, on the sidelines of COP-21.
Kurds signal desire for
independence
The Iraqi government ruled
out talks on possible secession for Kurdish-held northern Iraq and Turkey
threatened sanctions after a referendum in the region showed strong support for
independence.
- Initial results of Monday’s vote indicated 72% of
eligible voters had taken part and an overwhelming majority, possibly over
90%.
- Iraqi Kurds — part of the largest ethnic group left
stateless when the Ottoman empire collapsed a century ago — say the referendum
acknowledges their contribution in confronting Islamic State after it
overwhelmed the Iraqi Army in 2014 and seized control of a third of Iraq.
Macron offers vision for a united Europe
French President Emmanuel
Macron offered an ambitious vision for European renewal, calling for the EU to
work more closely on defence and immigration and for the eurozone to have its
own budget, ideas he may struggle to implement.
- He portrayed Europe as needing to relaunch itself,
saying that on issues as diverse as asylum, border protection, corporate
tax, intelligence sharing, defence and financial stability it needed much
deeper cooperation.
- The only path that assures our future is the
rebuilding of a Europe that is sovereign, united and democratic.
INS Tarasa commissioned into Indian Navy
INS Tarasa, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft was recently commissioned into
the Indian Navy.
- INS Tarasa is the fourth and last of the follow-on
Water Jet FAC’s built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
(GRSE), Kolkata.
- The first two ships of the class i.e. IN ships
Tarmugli and Tihayu were commissioned in 2016 and the third ship INS
Tillanchang was commissioned earlier this year.
Flipkart acquires F1 Info
Solutions
E-commerce major Flipkart
has acquired mobiles and IT products repair services company, F1 Info Solutions
for an undisclosed amount.
- F1 is a service partner of brands like Apple,
Samsung, HP, Lenovo, Sony and Asus among others.
- The acquisition will significantly expand Flipkart’s
offerings to the entire lifecycle of mobiles, IT products and consumer
electronics, from sales to after sales to repair services.
World’s biggest uncut diamond
sells for $53m
British jeweller Graff
purchased the world's largest uncut diamond —roughly the size of a tennis ball
— for $53 million.
- Canadian miner Lucara Diamond sold to Graff the
1,109-carat gem, the Lesedi La Rona, which was found in Botswana's Karowe
mine in late 2015.
India Ranked 40th on World Economic Forum’s Global
Competitiveness Index
India has been ranked as the 40th most competitive economy – slipping one place from last year’s ranking – on the World
Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index.
- The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) is prepared
on the basis of country-level data covering 12 categories or pillars
of competitiveness.
Institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary
education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour
market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness,
market size, business sophistication and innovation are the 12 pillars.
- The score has improved across most pillars of
competitiveness. These include infrastructure (66th rank), higher
education and training (75) and technological readiness (107), reflecting
recent public investments in these areas.
- The list is topped by Switzerland. The US and
Singapore are in the second and third places, respectively.
- Among the BRICS nations, China and Russia (38) are
placed above India. South Africa and Brazil are placed at the 61st and
80th spots, respectively.
Workshop on ‘Sports for all’
inaugurated
The Union Sports Minister,
Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, further emphasised the concept of ‘Khelo India
School Games,’ at the inauguration of the national workshop on ‘Sports for
all”, in New Delhi.
- It would be the platform for the
best to showcase their talent. From that large pool 1000 players would be
selected for support with resources to the tune of about Rs. 5 lakh per
year, for eight years.
- Every year, 1000 athletes would be added to the list to open the avenues for talent spread across the country.
