Daily Current affairs - October 28th, 2017 for all competitive exams
As part of the Infantry Day Celebration 2017, for the first time this year a mega event showcasing the martial traditions and extraordinary marching skills with arms by the Infantry soldiers is being organized on 28 Oct 17 from 5:00pm onwards at the lawns of the iconic ‘India Gate’.
- Infantry Day has historic relevance, as on 27 Oct 1947 Indian troops first landed at Srinagar to thwart Pakistan’s attempt to severe Kashmir.
- This event “Veerta Ka Prateek” is a tribute to the Infantry soldiers.
Phase 1 of Bharat Net project to be completed by December
Bharat Net project, which aims to deploy high-speed optical fibre cables across rural areas, will be completed by December this year, thus providing internet access to 100,000 gram panchayats,
- ‘i-Bharat 2017’ conference held in the New Delhi, based on the theme of ‘ICT Elucidations for Unserved and Unsolved’, organised by industry body FICCI in association with the ministry of electronics and information technology.
- India being the highest consumer of mobile data throws up as many challenges as opportunities.
J&K govt. plays austerity card
The Jammu and Kashmir government has banned official meetings and conferences at private hotels and directed that such events be held in government buildings and premises.
- The officials were also directed to use the facility of videoconferencing effectively to attend meetings and avoid travel for this purpose as much as possible. The government also suggested that travel expenditure be regulated to ensure each department remains within the allocated budget for the same.
Portal on Assam govt. projects launched
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched a Web portal ‘Assam Darpan’
- Assam darpan gives details of government schemes and projects would be available to the people.
Bengal moves SC against Aadhaar
The West Bengal government approached the Supreme Court against the Centre’s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for the benefits of various social welfare schemes.
The West Bengal government approached the Supreme Court against the Centre’s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for the benefits of various social welfare schemes.
- The petition is listed for hearing before a Bench comprising Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, and is likely to come up for hearing on October 30.
- On October 25, the Centre proposed to the Supreme Court its intention to extend the deadline for the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with PAN, bank accounts, mobile phones and several welfare schemes to March 31, 2018.
Andhra Pradesh CM Receives Golden Peacock Award in London
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has received the Golden Peacock Award under the category 'Global Leadership in Public Service and Economic Transformation' at a convention in London at 17th London Global Convention.
- Mr. Naidu received the award for his excellence in public service. In the 1st quarter of 2017-18, Andhra Pradesh has registered a growth rate of 11.72 percent double the country's average.
Panel to review orders of additional judges
The Supreme Court Collegium has decided that a committee of two apex court judges will evaluate the judgments of additional judges of high courts to decide their suitability to be made permanent.
- The decision by the Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, assumes significance as the government had recently urged the Collegium to have a relook at its decision to end the practice of evaluating the judicial performance of additional judges.
- A candidate is first appointed as additional judge of a High Court.
- He or she serves a probationary period before being appointed a permanent judge.
India, France Decide To Boost Co-Operation In Indo-Pacific Region
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her French counterpart Florence Parly held extensive talks covering a range of issues, including the regional security situation, joint development of defence platforms and expansion of military-to-military ties.
- France is a major partner for India in developing various key military platforms including the Scorpene submarines.
Arctic sea ice waning faster than predicted, says study
Arctic sea ice, a key indicator of climate change, could be dwindling faster than predicted.
- Research undertaken by the Cryosphere Climate Research Group, Canada found that satellite measurements over the years have overestimated the thickness of Arctic sea ice by as much as 25% because of the presence of salty snow.
- Salty snow formed when brine is expelled upward from the ice surface does not allow radar waves from satellites to penetrate, leading to skewed measurements.
Saudi Arabia, First Country to Grant Citizenship to a Robot
Saudi Arabia has become the first country to give a robot citizenship. The move is an attempt to promote Saudi Arabia as a place to develop artificial intelligence and, presumably, allow it to become a full citizen.
- The Robot is named as 'Sophia'.
- Sophia was confirmed as a Saudi citizen during a business event named Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. It is historic to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with citizenship.
Spain sacks Catalan government after independence declaration
Catalonia is one of Spain’s most prosperous regions and already has a high degree of autonomy. But it has a series of historic grievances, exacerbated during the 1939-1975 Franco dictatorship, when its culture and politics were suppressed.
- Catalonia held an Independent referendum on Oct. 1, 2017 which was declared illegal by Madrid and marred by heavy-handed national police tactics to stop it.
- The Catalan parliament had voted to make a unilateral declaration of independence.
- Shortly afterwards the Spanish Senate in Madrid approved the imposition of direct rule.
Burundi becomes first country to leave International Criminal Court
Burundi has become the first country to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.
- An ICC spokesman confirmed that the pullout took effect from October 27, a year after Burundi notified the United Nations secretary-general of its intention to leave the court that prosecutes the world’s worst atrocities.
- Burundi is the only one of three African nations to go ahead with withdrawal after they made moves last year to leave, amid accusations that the court focuses too much on the continent. South Africa’s withdrawal was revoked in March. Gambia’s new government reversed its withdrawal in February.
Australian court disqualifies deputy PM for dual citizenship
Australia’s High Court on Friday disqualified deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and four senators from sitting in Parliament in a unanimous ruling that could cost the government its slender majority in Parliament.
- The seven judges rejected the government’s argument that five of the lawmakers, including three government lawmakers, should be exempt from the ban because they had not voluntarily acquired or retained citizenship of another country.
- Section 44 of the Australian Constitution lists the grounds for disqualification on who may become a candidate for election to the Parliament of Australia. It has generally arisen for consideration by the High Court sitting in its capacity as the Court of Disputed Returns.
Scientists link new virus to kala-azar
Researchers have stumbled upon tantalizing evidence of an unknown virus that may be responsible for the persistence of kala-azar or visceral leishmaniasis, a parasite infection that has spawned epidemics and sickened thousands of Indians for over a century.
- It’s still early to pointedly blame the virus but its discovery portends a new kind of treatment regime and may aid attempts to eradicating the disease.
- Historically, the parasite Leishmania donovani is believed to be responsible for the dreaded infection. People get infected when bitten by an insect called the sandfly, which harbours the disease-causing parasite.
India Overtakes US to Become Second Largest Smartphone Market: Report
India overtakes the US to become the world’s second-largest smartphone market, trailing only China, according to a new report by analyst firm Canalys.
- In the second quarter of 2017, India’s smartphone market recovered quickly with shipments growing 23% year-on-year in the third quarter to reach just over 40 million units. Low smartphone penetration and the explosion of LTE (long-term evolution, or 4G) are the main drivers behind this.
SIDBI revamps portal for easy credit access
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has revamped its portal www.udyamimitra.in with enhanced features to provide easy access to credit and hand-holding services for micro small medium enterprises (MSME).
- The portal brings transparency and competition among lenders
- It removes the need to approach several banks individually
- The portal is mobile-enabled and provides a self-assessment module.
- It sends various information on registered MSMEs from time to time.
- It also allows loan applications to be perused and picked up by multiple lenders.
RIL, First Indian Company to Cross Rs 6 Trillion Market Capital
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) became the first Indian company to cross Rs 6 trillion market capitalization after its shares surged over 75% so far this year and hit a fresh lifetime high.
- Currently, its market cap is at Rs 6.02 trillion. The recent rally in the stock was due to tariff hike by its telecom arm Reliance Jio which, analysts expect, will improve the company’s profitability.
Jacinda Ardern Officially Sworn in as Prime Minister of New Zealand
Jacinda Ardern was officially sworn in as the Prime Minister of New Zealand. At the age of 37, Ardern is the youngest New Zealand PM in 150 years.
- She is also the country's third woman leader. This was the first time New Zealand adopted proportional voting since 1996.
Jeff Bezos Replaces Gates as World's Richest Person with $90.6-bn Fortune
According to Forbes magazine, Jeff Bezos surpassed Bill Gates as the richest person in the world.
- The fortune of Amazon's founder reached some $90.6 billion, compared with the $90.1 billion that the online edition of the magazine attributes to Gates.
Puducherry Becomes an Associate Member of BCCI
The Cricket Association of Puducherry (CAP) was chosen by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) as an associate member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
- This means Puducherry will be allowed to play the Ranji Trophy in 2018.
Amanpreet Wins Bronze at ISSF World Cup Final
India's Amanpreet Singh clinched a bronze medal in his maiden appearance in an ISSF World Cup Final, in New Delhi. Jitu Rai fizzled out to finish seventh on the fourth day of competition.
- World Cup silver medallist Amanpreet shot 202.2 to win the bronze in the final of men's 50m pistol. Rai could manage only 123.2 to finish last in the seven-man final. This was India's first individual medal in the ongoing edition of the prestigious tournament.
