Daily Current affairs - September 28th, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the 13th
Formation Day of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
- The theme of this year's Formation Day is School Safety.
- NDMA released the National Disaster Management
Guidelines on School Safety Policy in February, 2016 with an aim to
strengthen the risk resilience of schools across the country. Schools are
lifeline structures of a community and their safety is important for
effective learning and teaching.
CARA launches monthly “Jan Sampark” Program to facilitate
adoption
The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) of the Ministry of Women
& Child Development has started a monthly “Jan Sampark” program to enable the public
to have interaction with its officials and staff for seeking information
related to Adoption as well as flagging their concerns.
- The first of its kind programme was held recently in
New Delhi.
- Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs), Adoptive
Parents and representatives of agencies will participate in the event.
Cabinet approves bilateral MoU
between India and Afghanistan on Technical Cooperation on Police Training and
Development
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has
given its approval for signing an MoU between India and Afghanistan on
Technical Cooperation on Police Training and Development.
- The MoU will help in capacity building of
Afghanistan National Police and improving the security apparatus in the
region.
- It has been approved for a period of 5 years from
the date of signing the MoU and shall be extended for a further period of
5 years on the condition that are not further changes and or
revision.
Cabinet approves MoU between
India and Belarus in the oil and gas sector
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given
its ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed
between India and Belarus in the oil and gas sector.
- The MoU was signed on 12th September, 2017 during
the visit of President of Belarus to India.
- The MoU will promote bilateral relationship between
India and Belarus and it is envisaged to enhance the economic and
commercial cooperation between the two sides in oil and natural gas
sector.
- Under the MoU, both sides will work towards
establishing cooperation in the areas of upstream and downstream
activities, capacity building, technology transfer, enhanced oil recovery
and development of mature fields in India.
Inter-bank Local Currency Credit Line Agreement and
Cooperation Memorandum relating to Credit Ratings
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the signing of the (i) Interbank Local Currency
Credit Line Agreement and (ii) Cooperation Memorandum Relating to Credit
Ratings by Exim Bank with participating member banks under
BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism.
- As both the Agreement and the MoU are umbrella
pacts, and are non-binding in nature, the Board of Directors of Exim Bank
has been authorized to negotiate and conclude any individual contracts and
commitments within their framework.
- The Agreements will promote multilateral interaction
within the area of mutual interest which will deepen political and
economic relations with BRICS nations.
CCS clears internal security
scheme
The Union Cabinet has
approved a Rs. 25,000-crore internal security scheme to strengthen the
country’s law and order mechanism and mordernise the police forces.
- This is the country’s biggest ever internal security
scheme. The financial outlay over the three-year period is Rs. 25,060
crore, out of which the Central government’s share will be Rs. 18,636
crore and the States’ Rs. 6,424 crore to
strengthen the country’s law and order mechanism and mordernise the police
forces
- Special provisions had been made under the scheme
for internal security, law and order, women’s security, availability of
modern weapons, mobility of police forces, logistical support, hiring of
helicopters and e-prison among others.
- The new initiatives were being introduced to provide
assistance to States for upgradation of police infrastructure, forensic
science laboratories, institutions and the equipment available with them
to plug critical gaps in the criminal justice system.
Soon, you will be able to
order diesel online
According to the Petroleum
Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, The Ministry of Petroleum is working towards
creating an e-commerce platform in which customers can order diesel online and
get delivery at their doorstep.
- The idea of doorstep delivery of fuel was first
mooted as a viable model to increase digital transactions as well as
shorten queues at petrol pumps.
Children born of void marriage
are legitimate
The Supreme Court has upheld
a Madras High Court decision that children born of an invalid or void marriage
are legitimate and eligible for appointment in the government sector on
compassionate grounds.
- Rejecting the Centre’s appeal against the September
28 High Court order, that there was no ground to deny jobs on
compassionate terms solely for the reason that the marriage of the candidate’s
parents was void.
- It held that even though the marriage was void, the
children would be legitimate and would be entitled to claim share
benefits, including family pension and death-cum-retirement
gratuity.
Karnataka Cabinet approves
Bill against superstition
The Karnataka Cabinet has cleared the much-delayed and debated Karnataka Prevention and
Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Bill, 2017, popularly known as the anti-superstition Bill.
- The Bill, if cleared by the State legislature, is
expected to put an end to various inhuman practices such as black magic,
witchcraft, or any act in the name of religion that causes harm to humans
and animals. However, acts such as Kesh Lochan (plucking of hair), vaastu
and astrology have not been barred.
The bill bans the following:
- Performing any inhumane act, evil practices and
black magic in search of treasure, bounty.
- Tantric acts including physical and sexual assault.
- Parading anyone naked.
Nirmala chairs her first DAC
meeting
Defence Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman chaired her first meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)
and reviewed the capital acquisition schemes for military modernisation.
- The meeting accorded ‘Acceptance of Necessity’ to
the Navy for buying upgraded sonars for its destroyers and frigates
through the Buy India (Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured)
route at a cost of Rs. 200 crore.
- These sonars are designed, developed and
manufactured indigenously by the DRDO and the Naval Physical and
Oceanographic Laboratory, Kochi, and will provide a significant boost to
the Navy’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Western Ghats throw up a new snake
Scientists have described a new species of non-venomous endemic snake, Aquatic Rhabdops, from the northern Western Ghats.
- Rhabdops aquaticus, was till now considered a
variant of the Olive Forest Snake, first described in 1863. However, the
new study confirms that the Aquatic Rhabdops is a different one: they
sport not only different colours and patterns, but also vary in other
features of size, shape and structure, and also genetic make-up.
- The adults are mostly associated with freshwater
forest streams and juveniles are seen in water-logged areas, mostly on rocky plateaus. The nocturnal snake hunts for prey
underwater.
Researchers find fossils on
Zealandia
A study has found
that, the submerged continent of Zealandia was not always hidden deep
beneath the water as it is today.
- Little is known about Zealandia as it is submerged
more than a kilometre under the waves.
- The discovery of microscopic shells of organisms
that lived in warm shallow seas, and of spores and pollen from land
plants, reveal that the geography and climate of Zealandia were
dramatically different in the past.
Russia, U.S. to cooperate on
lunar station
Russia and the United States
agreed to cooperate on a NASA-led project to build the first lunar space
station, part of a long-term project to send humans to Mars.
- The project envisages building a crew-tended spaceport
in lunar orbit that would serve as a “gateway to deep space and the lunar
surface.
Women rejoice as Saudi ban ends
In a historic decision, Saudi Arabia has decided to women to drive.
Campaigners in Saudi Arabia have hailed King Salman’s decree allowing women to
drive for the first time.
- The Gulf kingdom is the only country in the world
that bans women from driving – and women are still subject to strict dress
codes and gender segregation. Until now, only men were allowed licences
and women who drove in public risked being arrested and fined.
- Saudi law enforces a strict form of Sunni Islam
known as Wahhabism and is known for its gender segregation rules.
- With more than half the country aged under 25, the
latest move is seen as catering to the aspirations of younger people.
EPFO gets notice under GST
The Goods and Services Tax
(GST) Intelligence unit has slapped a notice on the Employees’ Provident Fund
Organisation (EPFO) for defaulting on payment of service tax and has sought to
examine the PF department’s records till 2016-17.
- The EPFO told Revenue authorities that the PF office
was exempted from paying service tax from April 2016 and hence, its
services were exempt from any levy under the new indirect tax system.
Twitter scraps 140-character
limit
Twitter is doubling its
character limit to 280 for all languages except Japanese, Chinese and Korean.
- At its inception, a tweet, modelled after an SMS
message, was restricted to 140 characters. Over the years, Twitter found
ways to sneak in a few more characters, first by excluding any form of media
and later the @reply from the character count.
LinkedIn unveils Career Advice
Hub, daily news digest in India
LinkedIn, which operates a
worldwide online professional network, rolled out three new features on
Wednesday in India — Career Advice Hub, LinkedIn videos and Daily Rundown, a
news capsule.
- The hub helps to connect professionals seeking
career guidance from potential mentors with LinkedIn recommending other
members.
- The videos feature is aimed at helping users create
videos that can help spotlight their professional work.
Citibank, SCB invest in SWIFT
India
Citibank and Standard
Chartered Bank (SCB) have become shareholders of SWIFT India Domestic Services
Private Limited.
- SWIFT India enables harmonised exchange of
structured financial information between domestic participants in the
domestic Indian community.
- SWIFT India opened for a second capital call that
was oversubscribed, with Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank showing
keenness to be a part of the initiative.
Madhu Koda barred from
contesting elections for 3 years
The Election Commission
disqualified for three years former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda from
contesting elections for failing to file details of expenses related to the
2009 Lok Sabha polls he fought.
- He had won the polls from the Singhbhum Lok Sabha
seat in Jharkhand.
- The Commission order signed by Chief Election
Commissioner A K Joti and Election Commissioner O P Rawat cited section 10
A of the Representation of the People Act to disqualify Mr. Koda.
UPSC member Chhatar Singh
resigns
Union Public Service
Commission member Chhatar Singh has resigned.
- He was questioned by the CBI in connection with
alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 industrial plots in
Haryana’s Panchkula.
- President Ram Nath Kovind accepted Mr. Singh’s
resignation with effect from September 22.
Mithali on BBC’s list of
powerful women
The BBC named
Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj as one of the most influential
women in India.
- Mithali is currently the highest run-getter in ODIs and also led the team to the ICC Women’s World Cup final in England, where India lost to the host.
