Daily Current affairs - November 7th 2017 for all competitive exams
The women and child development ministry is all set to expand its online complaint system for cases of sexual harassment at the workplace to non-governmental organisations.
- The online complaint management system called Sexual Harassment electronic-Box (SHe-Box) took launch in July.
- It took launch for registering complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace.
ICIJ released Paradise Papers
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released The Paradise Papers, a global investigation that reveals the offshore activities of some of the world’s most powerful people and companies.
- The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is a global network of more than 200 investigative journalists in 70 countries who collaborate on in-depth investigative stories. Founded in 1997 by the respected American journalist Chuck Lewis, ICIJ was launched as a project of the Center for Public Integrity, focusing on issues that do not stop at national frontiers: cross-border crime, corruption, and the accountability of power.
Probe ordered into Paradise Papers
The government reconstituted a Multi-Agency Group led by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman to investigate cases relating to the ‘Paradise Papers’ data disclosure.
- The Paradise Papers include about seven million loan agreements, financial statements, emails, trust deeds and other paperwork over nearly 50 years from Appleby, a prominent offshore law firm with offices in Bermuda and also from Asiacity, a Singapore-based family-owned trust company.
- The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), and its Indian partner The Indian Express, late on Sunday night released data on offshore entities involving people and companies from 180 countries.
India ranks 19th in terms of the number of names that feature in the papers.
Railways launches the main arch on world’s highest bridge on Chenab.
The Indian Railways launches the main arch of the world’s highest bridge on the River Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir.
- The iconic bridge will soar 359 metres above the bed of the River Chenab and will be 30 metres higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris.
- The bridge forms the crucial link in the 111-km stretch between Katra and Banihal which is part of the Udhampur- Srinagar-Baramulla section of the Kashmir Railway project.
Public credit registry to speed up digitisation
Reserve Bank deputy governor N.S.Vishwanathan recently said the introduction of a public credit registry will further speed up digitisation that has already changed the way banking is done in the country.
- The PCR will be an extensive database of credit information for India that is accessible to all stakeholders.
- The idea is to capture all relevant information in one large database on the borrower and, in particular, the borrower’s entire set of borrowing contracts and outcomes.
Sitharaman visit to Arunachal Pradesh is objected by China.
China objected the defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman first visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
- China says her tour of the disputed area is not conducive to the peace and tranquillity in the region.
- The China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet and routinely objects the top Indian officials visit to that area.
- The Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China stretches to 3,488 kms.
Kohli joins Kerala police to launch anti-drug campaign
Indian captain Virat Kohli took time off for a social cause ahead of the series decider against New Zealand, urging thousands of school children to stay away from drugs and substance abuse.
- The occasion was the inaugural ceremony of the anti-drug campaign by Kerala Police titled 'Yes to Cricket and No to Drugs'.
- A special postal cover was also released on the occasion.
Sula unveils ‘Kadu’ wine in Karnataka
Sula Vineyards, a privately-owned winemaker, on Monday unveiled four varieties of wine to be initially sold in Karnataka.
- Named ‘Kadu’, the wine would be sold in two varieties of white and one each in rose and red.
India to contribute USD 100 million to UN partnership fund
India has pledged an additional USD 100 million towards the UN partnership fund, significantly scaling up its support to sustainable development projects across the developing world.
- The India-UN Development Partnership Fund was set up as a partnership between India and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).
2017 ‘very likely’ in top three warmest years on record
The year 2017 is “very likely” to be in the top three warmest years on record, according to provisional figures from the World Meteorological Organization.
- The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to meteorology (weather), climatology (climate), operational hydrology (water) and other related geophysical sciences such as oceanography and atmospheric chemistry.
- WMO coordinates the activities of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in 191 States and Territories so that basic weather, climate and water services are made available to anyone who needs them, when they need them.
COP23 conference at Bonn, Germany
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is hosting the 23rd annual conference at Bonn, Germany.
- The conference named as COP23 is being held to further the provisions of the Paris Agreement, and achieve results in the execution guidelines.
- While the aim of the event is much larger, nations attending the COP23 are scheduled to finalise the rulebook of the Paris Agreement.
- The Paris Agreement is meant to make sure that the average surface temperature all over the world does not rise above two degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial times.
China launches 2 navigation satellites
China, which is building its own navigation system to rival United States GPS, has launched two BeiDou-3 satellites into space though a single carrier rocket. The satellites were launched aboard a Long March-3B carrier rocket.
- The two newly-launched satellites represent the third phase of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.
- Named after the Chinese term for the plough or the Big Dipper constellation, the BeiDou project was formally initiated in 1994. It began to serve China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region at the end of 2012. If everything goes according to the plan, China will become the third country in the world after the US and Russia to operate its own navigation system.
Afghanistan will not block WhatsApp and Telegram says the spokesman.
The Afghan government will not block the instant messaging services WhatsApp and Telegram, a spokesman said on Monday.
- Javid Faisal, deputy spokesman says the Government of Afghanistan isn’t going to ban any social media platforms.
Proxima Centauri may host planetary system
Scientists have detected dust belts around Proxima Centauri, a finding that indicates the presence of an elaborate planetary system hosted by the closest star to the solar system.
- These new observations were made by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observatory in Chile. The new ALMA observations reveal emission from clouds of cold cosmic dust surrounding the star.
- ALMA observatory revealed the glow coming from cold dust in a region between one to four times as far from Proxima Centauri as the Earth is from the Sun.
Moody’s lifts rating outlook for 3 PSBs
Moody’s Investor Services revised its outlook for three public sector banks (PSBs) — Bank of India (BOI), Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) and Union Bank of India — to ‘stable’..
- The rating agency said announcement of the government’s capital infusion plan was the key driver of the change in outlook.
- The government had announced Rs. 2.11 lakh crore capital infusion plan for public sector banks in two fiscals — 2017-18 and 2018-19.
RCom sells DTH arm to Veecon
Reliance Communications (RCom) inked a deal with little-known group Veecon for the sale of its direct-to-home (DTH) business run under the Reliance Digital TV brand.
- The move comes days after RCom announced plans to shut down its DTH subsidiary, Reliance Big TV, as its licence was due for renewal.
Revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia takes the appointment as finance secretary.
Revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia has been designated as the new finance secretary.
- Hasmukh Adhia is a 1981 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.
- The vacancy is left After Ashok Lavasa left last month there is a vacancy for that position.
Chhetri’s strike nominated for 2017 AFC Cup Goal of the Tournament.
India captain Sunil Chhetri’s spectacular free-kick goal has been nominated as one of the four best goals in the AFC Cup tournament.
- The winner of the 2017 AFC Cup Goal of the Tournament will decide by public vote on the AFC Cup’s official Facebook and Twitter accounts
Murray and Djokovic fall out of ATP Top 10 rankings.
Murray and Djokovic dropped outside the ATP top 10 for the first time in years in the latest rankings.
- The 30-year-old Murray plummeted from third to 16th after not playing since July with a hip injury.
- The 12-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic ends the year in 12th, down five places, for his lowest ranking since March 2007.
