Daily Current affairs - December 20th, 2017 for all competitive exams
The United Nations’ (UN) International Human Solidarity Day is annually held on December 20 to celebrate unity in diversity.
- The General Assembly, on 22 December 2005, by resolution 60/209 identified solidarity as one of the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the Twenty-first century, and in that regard decided to proclaim 20 December of each year International Human Solidarity Day.
International Human Solidarity Day is:
- A day to celebrate our unity in diversity;
- A day to remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements;
- A day to raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity;
- A day to encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the sustainable development goals including poverty eradication;
A day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication
The concept of solidarity has defined the work of the United Nations since the birth of the Organization. The creation of the United Nations drew the peoples and nations of the world together to promote peace, human rights and social and economic development. The organization was founded on a basic premise of unity and harmony among its members expressed in the concept of collective security that relies on the solidarity of its members to unite “to maintain international peace and security”.
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IIM Bill unanimously passed in Parliament
Parliament has unanimously passed the IIM Bill, 2017 that grants the Indian Institutes of Management the power to grant degrees instead of post-graduate diplomas.
- The bill introduced in Parliament on February 9, 2017. In Loksabha passed on July 28,2017.
- IIMs would become institutes of national importance with power to grant degrees.
- The boards of the institutes are proposed to be vested with full autonomy including the power to appoint chairperson as well as the director.
- Power to review the performance of each IIM is also vested with the board.
Chairperson of the board will be appointed by the board for a period of four years.
Central Road Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2017
The Lok Sabha has passed the Central Road Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2017. The Bill seeks to amend the Central Road Fund Act, 2000, through which the cess levied and collected on high speed petrol and diesel is distributed for development of rural roads, national highways, railways, state roads and border area roads.
- The Bill defines national waterways as those that have been declared as ‘national waterways’ under the National Waterways Act, 2016. Currently, 111 waterways are specified under the 2016 Act.
- Under the Act, the central government has the power to administer the fund. The central government will make decisions on the: (i) investments on national highways and expressways projects, (ii) raising funds for the development and maintenance of national highways, and rural roads, and (iii) disbursement of funds for national highways, state roads and rural roads. The Bill provides that central government will make all the above decisions for national waterways as well.
The Central Road Fund was established by the government as per the Central road fund act 2000 to fund the development and maintenance of National Highways, State Highways and Rural roads.
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E-cigarettes
The government is examining the legal implications and health effects of e-cigarettes.
- The Health Ministry has constituted three groups to study the various aspects of e-cigarettes. One was to study the legal implications of this e-nicotine drug induce system, another was to go into the health effects and the other was to study advocacy.
An electronic cigarette (or e-cig) is a battery-powered vaporizer that mimics tobacco smoking. It works by heating up a nicotine liquid, called “juice.”
Nicotine juice (or e-juice) comes in various flavors and nicotine levels.
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Amendments to Companies Act
The Rajya Sabha has passed the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2017. It was adopted by the Lok Sabha in July this year. The Bill provides for more than 40 amendments to the Companies Act, 2013.
- The amendment seeks to strengthen corporate governance standards, initiate strict action against defaulting companies and help improve ease of doing business in the country.
- The major changes include simplification of the private placement process; rationalization of provisions related to loans to directors; replacing the requirement of approval of the central government for managerial remuneration above prescribed limits by approval through special resolution of shareholders and aligning disclosure requirements in the prospectus with the regulations made by Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India).
- The Bill also provides for maintenance of register of significant beneficial owners and makes offence for contravention of provisions relating to deposits as non-compoundable.
Niti Aayog is planning to set up Methanol Economy Fund
Niti Aayog is planning to set up a Methanol Economy Fund worth Rs 4,000-5,000 crore to promote production and use of the clean fuel.
- The government think-tank is aiming at generation of the fuel by converting high ash content coal into methanol and such a plant is expected to be set up by Coal India.
- Niti Aayog plans to move a Cabinet note soon on the methanol economy and the plans to set up production plants. It expects that two plans can be commissioned in the next 3-4 years.
Methanol is a promising fuel as it is clean, cheaper than fossil fuels and a good substitute for heavy fuels. India imports methanol from Saudi Arabia and Iran at present. Across the world, methanol is emerging as a clean, sustainable transportation fuel of the future.
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LS passes Bill repealing 245 old laws
The Lok Sabha passed two Bills repealing 245 obsolete and archaic laws including the 1911 Prevention of Seditious Meeting Act.
- Parliament had repealed 1,029 laws in 1950. Such an exercise was undertaken even during the Vajpayee government. Some of the repealed laws were the Calcutta Pilots Act of 1859 and the Dramatic Performance Act 1876.
The Prevention of Seditious Meetings Act was the Imperial Legislative Council of the British Raj enabling the government to prohibit political meetings.
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UIDAI tightens norms for Aadhaar linking
Following the Airtel India-Aadhaar subsidy fiasco, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has tightened norms for mapping Aadhaar number to a different bank account.
- According to the latest rules, ‘explicitly informed consent’ from customers is now a must.
- The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will disable the override feature that the UIDAI said is being misused by many banks while seeding Aadhaar to accounts, without the informed consent of residents.
- As a result, subsidy from the government is being credited to new accounts without their knowledge.
U.P. scraps free pilgrimage scheme for elderly Hindus
The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has scrapped the Shravan Yatra, a scheme under which elderly citizens could undertake pilgrimage free of cost.
- Under the scheme, the government bore the entire boarding and lodging expenses for pilgrimage trips undertaken by senior citizens.
- The name of the yatra was inspired by the mythological character Shravan Kumar, who had carried his blind parents on his shoulders for a pilgrimage.
The Shravan Yatra was started in 2015 by the previous Samajwadi Party government.
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Aadhaar crosses 1 cr. mark in J&K
Aadhaar enrolment in Jammu and Kashmir has crossed the one crore mark against a total population of 1.25 crore as per 2011 census and cards of 97 lakh residents have been generated to date.
- Secretary, Information Technology department, Saugat Biswas
- Chief Secretary B.B. Vyas
Haryana gets ready for mega mock drill for earthquake
Haryana is getting ready for a mega mock drill on earthquake which will even involve six columns of Army.
- The exercise will be carried out in the eventuality of a hypothetical earthquake occurring “West of Gurugram along Jaipur Ridge and the Sohna Fault Line”.
- This is first time when an exercise of this magnitude will be conducted in Haryana.
Earlier in 2013, a major exercise was conducted by the NDMA involving the Northern state in which Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Union Territory of Chandigarh had participated.
During the upcoming exercise, central agencies like Army, CRPF, NSG and ITBP will also take part apart from the state machinery.
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New scheme to curb graft in Karnataka
With the existing Sakala scheme (2011) failing to curb corruption and deliver services effectively in some of the key departments, the Siddaramaiah government has now proposed to launch Sakala-2.
- The new draft gives more teeth to Sakala by steeply increasing the fine for delays — from the present Rs. 20 to Rs. 250 — and by setting up a commission to implement the scheme.
- This will address shortcomings in the existing Act by including a provision for imposing penalty up to Rs. 50,000 on officials, if they fail to discharge duties/deliver services within a stipulated period.
- The proposed Bill includes mandatory display of citizens’ charters and job charts in all government departments, social audits and weekly public hearings, information and facilitation centres and independent structures at the district and State-levels to hear appeals related to grievance redress processes.
The existing Sakala Mission has been given only supervisory position without powers to collect penalty. More than 725 services are being provided under the Sakala Act. It does not have any statutory power of implementing the provisions of the Act.
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Hamesha Vijayee
Hamesha Vijayee is an exercise by armed forces being conducted in the deserts of Rajasthan to evaluate the capability of the armed forces to strike deep into enemy territory in an integrated air-land battle.
- Unique in scope and scale, the exercise being conducted in battle like conditions, aims at fine tuning surveillance and destruction mechanisms to support precision strikes and manoeuvres by network enabled forces.
- With emphasis on joint operations, the exercise would test robust sensor to shooter grids by employing a vast array of surveillance and air assets networked with land based strategic and tactical vectors.
Ensure access for disabled in higher education: SC
Higher educational institutions, both government ones and those which take government aid, should ensure a level-playing field for disabled persons or face action for discrimination, the Supreme Court warned.
- Reminding the government that the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act provides for not less than 5% reservation in seats during admissions and this law has not so far been complied with, a Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan cautioned that appropriate legal action would be initiated against defaulting educational institutions.
- It was delivering a judgment on an 11-year-old PIL plea filed by the Disabled Rights Group.
- The apex court, in a 26-page judgment, directed the University Grants Commission to constitute a committee to come up with possible guidelines for facilitating access for students with disabilities in universities and colleges.
- It also wanted the panel to consider an in-house body in each educational institution for taking care of the day-to-day needs of differently abled persons. The Bench said the exercise should be completed by June 30 next year.
India, Sri Lanka complete 2nd phase of joint oceanographic survey
Indian Navy in collaboration with its Sri Lankan counterpart has successfully completed the second phase of the joint oceanographic survey conducted off the South Western Coast of Sri Lanka.
- The survey commenced on 26 October with the arrival of Indian Naval Ship Sutlej in Sri Lanka. The Indian side handed over the survey charts to the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy.
- The survey extended to a depth contour of 200 m from the coastline, ranging from Colombo to Galle.
- The move is expected to benefit the international shipping traffic passing the southern coast of Sri Lanka and will pave the way for the blue economy.
- The first phase of the survey was conducted from 29 March to 11 May this year and the third phase is scheduled to be carried out next year
Srilanka
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Capital
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Colombo
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Currency
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Srilankan rupee
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President
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Maitripala Sirisena
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India-US hold first meet on designations of terrorists, groups
India and the US concluded their first dialogue on designations of terrorist groups and individuals through domestic and international mechanisms.
- The establishment of the ‘India-US designations dialogue mechanism reflected their commitments to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats.
- The dialogue took place to discuss increasing bilateral cooperation on terrorism-related designations.
China plans world’s biggest carbon market to curb emissions
The world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, China, has launched the world’s biggest ever mechanism to reduce carbon, in the form of an emissions trading system.
- China’s top governmental bodies gave their approval to plans for a carbon trading system that will initially cover the country’s heavily polluting power generation plants, then expand to take in most of the economy.
- As many as 1,700 companies would be part of the market initially, where they would trade credits for the right to emit greenhouse gases. Notably, China is the world’s biggest polluter.
France imposes world’s 1st ban on oil and gas production
France’s parliament has approved a law banning all exploration and production of oil and natural gas by 2040 within the country and its overseas territories.
- Under that law that passed a final vote, existing drilling permits will not be renewed and no new exploration licenses will be granted.
- The French government claims the ban is a world first.
- However, it is largely symbolic since oil and gas produced in France accounts for just 1 percent of domestic consumption. The rest is imported.
- The ban is part of a larger plan to wean the French economy from fossil fuels and to fulfill France’s commitments under the Paris climate agreement to curb global warming.
France
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Capital
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Paris
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Currency
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CFP Franc, Euro
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President
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Emannuel Macron
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Panel formed for return of Rohingya
Bangladesh and Myanmar have formed a 30-member Joint Working Group (JWG) which will oversee the repatriation of Rohingya refugees. The formation of the JWG, a follow-up to an agreement signed on November 23
- Bangladesh’s Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque and his Myanmarese counterpart, U Myint Thu, led their respective teams.
- The JWG is likely to take assistance from UN agencies. It will develop appropriate arrangements for the refugees’ return.
- Though, as per the November 23 deal, the repatriation was to start from January 21,, it is likely to begin in February.
Bangladesh
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Srilanka
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Capital
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Dhaka
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Colombo
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Currency
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Bangladeshi taka
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Srilankan rupee
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Sheikh Hasina(PM)
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Maitripala Sirisena
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Reserve Bank of India puts Bank of India under ‘Prompt corrective action’
The RBI has initiated a ‘prompt corrective action’ against Bank of India for mounting bad loans, placing various restrictions on it including issuing of fresh loans and dividend distribution.
- At the end of March 2017, the bank’s asset quality worsened with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) at 13.22 per cent, as against 13.07 per cent in the previous year.
- Net NPAs, however, improved to 6.90 per cent from 7.79 per cent.
- Earlier, similar action was initiated against other lenders — Dena Bank, IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and UCO Bank. The bank’s non-performing assets were reported over 6% for two consecutive years.
To ensure that banks don't go bust, RBI has put in place some trigger points to assess, monitor, control and take corrective actions on banks which are weak and troubled. The process or mechanism under which such ac tions are taken is known as Prompt Corrective Action, or PCA.
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Ola acquires Foodpanda India from German firm for $200 million
Cab aggregator Ola will acquire Foodpanda India business from Germany-based global online food ordering and delivery marketplace Delivery Hero Group for $200 million.
- According to the cab aggregator platform’s statement, the deal includes the transfer of Foodpanda’s India business to Ola in an acquisition deal in exchange for Ola stock.
- The company also said Founding Partner at Ola, Pranay Jivrajka takes the appointment as interim CEO of this business unit.
Justice UD Salvi appointed as officiating chief of National Green Tribunal
The government has appointed Justice U D Salvi as officiating chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) following the superannuation of Justice Swatanter Kumar.
- The selection panel is headed by the Chief Justice of India or his nominee, with other members recommended by or from the Environment Ministry.
- Earlier, the Chief Justice had the exclusive domain to recommend a judge for the post. While deliberating, the new panel will do away with the earlier condition that the NGT can only be headed by a former Supreme Court judge or Chief Justice of a High Court.
The National Green Tribunal has been established on 18.10.2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
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Trump nominates Susan Thornton as top diplomat for East Asia
President Donald Trump has nominated a career foreign service member, Susan Thornton, as top US diplomat for East Asia.
- Thornton has been serving in the position in an acting capacity since soon after Trump took office.
- Thornton joined the department in 1991 and has been posted previously in China and former Soviet republic
Samiran Panda takes charge as NARI chief
Dr Samiran Panda, a tropical medicine specialist who has played a key role in supporting AIDS programmes, takes charge as director of the Pune-based National AIDS Research Institute (NARI).
- Panda, who was earlier the deputy director at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (Kolkata), has been appointed full time director at NARI.
- He will take charge from Dr R R Gangakhedkar, who was the officiating director in-charge at NARI for the last three years.
National AIDS Research Institute [NARI] was established in October 1992 in Bhosari, Pune
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National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year announced
Selected from over 11,000 entries, a photo of an orangutan crossing a river in Indonesia, captured by Jayaprakash Joghee Bojan of Singapore has won him the 2017 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year carrying a $10,000 cash prize.
- After waiting a day and night, Bojan captured the photo as the orangutan peeked to see if he was still there.
- Bojan took the winning photo while he was about five feet deep in water after waiting patiently in the Sekoyner River in Tanjung Puting National Park in Borneo, Indonesia.
Messi receives awards for top scorer, best player in La Liga
Barcelona star Lionel Messi has received La Liga’s top scorer and best player awards for the 2016-2017 fooball season.
- The Argentine striker scored 37 goals in league action last season to earn his fourth Pichichi award.
- Messi overtook Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo to win his record fifth Alfredo Di Stefano Trophy, given to the best footballer in the league.
