Daily Current affairs - December 6th, 2017 for all competitive exams
India’s global initiative, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) has become the first treaty-based international intergovernmental organization to be based in India after ratified by 19 countries.
- The ISA aims at increasing solar energy deployment in member countries.
- The organisation headquartered in India, has its secretariat located in the campus of the National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram, Haryana.
- This marks the culmination of India’s efforts, which had taken a lead role in setting up the ISA—an alliance of 121 sunshine countries situated between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. ISA also signals that New Delhi would employ it as a foreign policy tool to cement its leadership among developing countries.
The initiative was jointly launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then President of France Francois Hollande on 30th November 2015 in Paris, on the sidelines of UN Climate Conference COP-21.
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22nd conference on Asian Harmonization Working Party (AHWP) held in New Delhi
The 22nd conference of Asian Harmonization Working Party (AHWP) was recently inaugurated at New Delhi.
- The conference is being conducted by Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and National Drug Regulatory Authority (NDRA) of India in collaboration with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
- The key objective of the event is to develop and recommend approaches for the convergence and harmonization of medical device regulations in Asia and beyond and to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise amongst regulators and the industry.
Asian Harmonization Working Party (AHWP) was established in 1999 as a voluntary non-profit organization of the 30 national regulators of member countries and industry members with a goal to promote regulatory harmonization on medical device regulations in Asia and other regions in accordance with the guidance issued by International Medical Device Regulators Forums (IMDRF). The AHWP works in collaboration with related international organizations such as IMDRF, WHO, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), etc
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Soil Health Card mobile app launched by Government
On the occasion of World Soil Day, Soil Health Card mobile App has been launched by the government to help the farmers.
- coordinates while registering sample details at the time of sample collection in the field and indicate the location from where the sample has been collected.
- This app works like other Geotagging apps developed for the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. The app contains farmers’ details including name, Aadhaar card number, mobile number, gender, address, crop details, etc.
It is a scheme to provide every farmer a Soil Health Card in a Mission mode. It is a scheme under which the Central Government provides assistance to State Governments for setting up Soil Testing Laboratories for issuing Soil Health Cards to farmers.
A Soil Health Card displays soil health indicators and associated descriptive terms. The indicators are typically based on farmers’ practical experience and knowledge of local natural resources.
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Railways appoints IRSDC as nodal agency for station redevelopment plan
Indian Railways has decided to appoint its joint venture company Indian Railway Station Development Corp. Ltd (IRSDC) as the nodal agency for its ambitious station redevelopment programme, in an attempt to expedite the revamp of 400 A1 and A category railway stations.
- Under the Rs1 trillion station redevelopment plan, Indian Railways plans to revamp 400 railway stations by monetizing 2,700 acres of spare railway land.
Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC) is a Joint Venture company of Ircon International Limited (IRCON) (A Govt. of India Undertaking, under Ministry of Railways) and Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), a statutory authority under the Ministry of Railways. The core purpose of IRSDC as envisioned is to build world class railway stations that apply state of the art sustainable technologies in delivering delight to the users.
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RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6%
The Reserve Bank of India left the key repo rate unchanged at 6%.
In the financial year 2017-2018, five bi-monthly policies have been announced so far.
- The central bank had reduced the benchmark lending rate by 0.25% points to 6% in August, bringing it to a 6-year low, however, kept it unchanged in October and now in December.
- The central bank has raised inflation forecast to 4.3-4.7 per cent in third and fourth quarters of current fiscal and kept the economic growth forecast unchanged at 6.7 per cent.
Repo Rate
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6%
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Reverse Repo Rate
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5.75%
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Marginal Standing Facility Rate and Bank Rate
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6.25%
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Cash Reserve Ratio
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4%
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Statutory Liquidity Ratio
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19.5%
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Rs. 8,450 crore package to boost exports
The government announced incentives worth Rs. 8,450 crore to boost exports of goods and services — mainly from labour-intensive segments and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises — and to increase employment generation and value-addition. The incentives were announced as part of the mid-term review of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP).
- The move comes at a time when India’s shipments shrank in October — the first after 14 consecutive months of positive growth — due to the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
- The FTP will continue to be reviewed and evaluated regularly for addressing concerns of the exporters, simplification of procedures and for promotion of exports.
- The FTP for the period 2015-2020 had set an ambitious target of $900 billion for India’s exports of goods and services by 2019-20. It also aimed to raise India’s share in world exports from 2% to 3.5%. The FTP mid-term review was postponed to incorporate feedback from exporters regarding GST.
Kerala’s Elapully village to house memorial for MSV
Two years after musical legend M.S. Viswanathan passed away, a fitting memorial for him will come up at his native Elapully village in Palakkad district.
- The memorial, comprising a cultural centre and larger-than-life statue of the musical genius, will come up close to the house where Viswanathan was born and spent his first eight years amidst poverty and misfortunes.
- The Department of Culture is also planning to revitalise the ancestral house that is in shambles now.
London mayor launched a global anti-pollution network.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan launched a global network to find solutions to improve worsening air quality in cities worldwide.
- Bengaluru Mayor R. Sampath Raj will co-chair with Mr Khan the newly formed ‘Air Quality Network’ under the C40 network to tackle rising air pollution.
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) connects 90 of the world’s greatest cities, representing 650+ million people and one quarter of the global economy. Created and led by cities, C40 is focused on tackling climate change and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities of urban citizens.
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SC calls for regulating hefty fees of lawyers
The astronomical fees charged by lawyers and the commercialisation of the legal profession is a violation of the fundamental right of the poor to get equal justice, the Supreme Court held in a judgment pronounced on Tuesday.
- A report filed by the Law Commission way back in 1988 to regularise lawyers’ fees continues to be in cold storage. The very essence of the legal profession is to provide inexpensive access to justice, the court observed.
- The apex court urged for a law to check the violation of professional ethics by lawyers.
- The confidence of the public in the legal profession is integral to the confidence of the public in the legal system
The judgment came in the case of B. Sunitha, a woman from Telangana whose husband died in a road accident. She was made to sign a cheque for Rs. three lakh by a lawyer who represented her accident claims case in the lower courts. This was over and above the Rs. 10 lakh she had already paid to him.
In her petition in the apex court, filed through Supreme Court advocate K. Parameshwar, Ms. Sunitha argued that the lawyer had exploited her trust.
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‘Panchayat certificate no proof of citizenship’
- The Supreme Court held that a certificate issued by the Gram Panchayat secretary or the executive magistrate by itself was “no proof of citizenship” unless it established the legacy linkages with a person who was an Indian citizen.
- The top court said the certificates issued by the Gram Panchayat secretary merely acknowledged shifting of residence of a married woman from one village to another.
- The Court set aside the Gauhati High Court order, which made such certificates invalid, and allowed the appeals against the order to a limited extent. Various individuals and organisations had challenged the High Court order.
India, China and Russia to hold trilateral meeting
The External Affairs Ministry informed that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov will visit India for a trilateral meeting.
- The meeting is expected to review global and regional issues of mutual interests and discuss trilateral exchanges and activities.
- This will be the first high-level visit from China to India after the Doklam standoff.
Russia
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Capital
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Moscow
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Currency
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Russian Ruble
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President
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Vladimir Putin
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SC allows full enforcement of Trump’s travel ban
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to fully enforce its revised ban on people from eight nations from travelling to the country. The third iteration of the travel ban — after the first two were blocked by the judiciary — has been partially in force already.
- President Donald Trump’s decision has been challenged on questions such as his legal authority to issue such an order and whether it constitutes a religious test and a Muslim ban, as promised by Mr. Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. The Trump administration has argued before the courts that the travel ban is for national security.
- Six of the eight countries barred by the order are majority-Muslim — Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad and Somalia. North Korea and Venezuela are the other two. The SC order, supported by seven of the nine judges, increases the chances of the administration winning the case on merit as and when it reaches the highest court.
Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel capital
Donald Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
- Trump will set in motion the relocation of US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
- The international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the entire city, home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions.
Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital, as the State ofIsrael maintains its primary governmental institutions there while the State of Palestine ultimately foresees the city as its seat of power; however, neither claim is widely recognized internationally.
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UAE and Saudi form new group, separate from GCC
The UAE announced it has formed a new economic and partnership group with Saudi Arabia, separate from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a move that could undermine the council amid a diplomatic crisis with Qatar.
- It wasn’t immediately clear how the development could affect the six-member GCC meeting, which is expected to focus on the Qatar issue. Half of the GCC members are boycotting Doha.
- The UAE and Saudi Arabia have cultivated even-closer ties in recent years. Emirati troops are deeply involved in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Abu Dhabi’s powerful Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nayhan, also is believed to have a closer relationship with Saudi Arabia’s young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
New Zealand kiwi birds upgraded to Vulnerable
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has upgraded the status of Okarito kiwi and Northern Brown kiwi from endangered to vulnerable.
- The number of Okarito kiwi has risen from 160 in 1995 to 400-450 now, and Northern Brown kiwi numbers are also climbing.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education.
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ADB commits $580 million to RPower’s Dhaka plant
The board of directors of Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved debt financing and partial risk guarantees totalling $583 million to help develop the Reliance Bangladesh Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Power Project.
- ADB’s financing package includes loans and partial risk guarantees for the power generation facility, as well as for the LNG terminal, being set up for $1 billion.
- ADB’s support will help Reliance Power develop approximately 750 MW of gross power generation capacity initially.
Asian Development Bank
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Headqurters
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Mandaluyong, Philippines
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President
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Takehiko Nakao
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New graphene battery charges 5 times faster
Scientists have developed a new graphene-based battery material with charging speed five times faster than today’s lithium-ion batteries.
- The breakthrough by researchers at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in South Korea provides promise for the next generation batteries, particularly related to mobile devices and electric vehicles.
- Graphene, a material with high strength and conductivity, has widely become the primary source of interest as the representative next generation material.
- In theory, a battery based on the “graphene ball” material requires only 12 minutes to fully charge.
- The battery can maintain a highly stable 60 degree Celsius temperature, with stable battery temperatures particularly key for electric vehicles
Godrej bags order for 100 BrahMos supersonic missile airframes
Godrej Aerospace said it has won an order for 100 units of airframes for the air-launch version of the BrahMos missile from BrahMos Aerospace.
- The company said the first deliveries are expected to start from 2020.
- The BrahMos missile is the world’s fastest, stealth, a universal supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from ships, submarines, aircraft and land-based platform.
Akash Missile successfully test fired from Odisha
Supersonic surface-to-air missile- Akash with indigenous radio frequency seeker was recently test fired from a test range in Chandhipur, Odisha. With the successful test firing, India has achieved the capability of making any type of surface to air missile.
- Akash, the supersonic missile, is the first surface-to-air missile with indigenous seeker to be test fired and is being inducted into the Army as short range surface to air missile.
- It has a strike range of about 25 km and carries a 55- kg fragmentation warhead that is triggered by proximity fuse.
- It is an all-weather area air defence weapon system for defending vulnerable areas against medium range air targets penetrating from low, medium and high altitudes.
IBM unveils chip for AI-driven world
IBM unveiled a chip that is designed for the new Artificial Intelligence-powered world that requires crunching of humongous amounts of data at high speeds to get the most accurate results.
- Called POWER9, it uses some of the latest technologies, resulting in two significant advantages: one, increased bandwidth, and two, ability for main processors and accelerators to work coherently and simultaneously on data.
- It has two applications. One in retail, where customers can take a photo of a dress they like and search online for the retailer who offers it. Another application is detection of fraudulent use of credit card.
Google blocks YouTube on Amazon devices in escalating feud
Google is pulling its popular YouTube video service from Amazon’s Fire TV and Echo show devices in an escalating feud that has caught consumers in the crossfire.
- The decision to block YouTube is retaliation for Amazon’s refusal to sell some Google products that compete with Amazon gadgets.
Google brings ‘Two-wheeler’ mode to Maps in India
Google has launched the ‘Two-wheeler’ mode on Maps in India, a feature which will show the fastest route and directions to two-wheeler riders to reach their entered destination.
- The feature will be available alongside the ‘Drive’, ‘Train or Bus’, and ‘Walk’ options.
- The ‘Two-wheeler’ mode is currently available on Android smart phones.
Online retail giant Amazon enters Australian market
Online US retail giant Amazon has officially launched operations in Australia.
- The brand looking to make an impact in the lead up to the busy Christmas period.
- In 2018, Amazon also plans to take on the country’s largest supermarket chains with their brand AmazonFresh, offering delivery services for fresh food online.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tops 2017 list of Most Followed Indians on Twitter
Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to be the most followed Indian on Twitter, increasing his follower base from 24.6 million in 2016 to 37.5 million this year.
- As per trends in 2017, PM Modi saw his follower base increasing by 52 per cent to 37.5 million (as of December 4).
- The Indian cricket captain made the cut in the list of 10 most followed Indians, ending the year with 20.8 million followers, as against 12.9 million last year.
- Cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar, who ranked eighth in the list, saw a growth of 56 per cent in his follower base on Twitter this year.
Indian UN Peace keeping training held in Hanoi
The opening ceremony of the Indian UN Peace Keeping Training by Mobile Training Team of CUNPK was recently conducted at the Vietnamese Centre for Peace Keeping located at Thaach Hon, Hanoi.
- The ceremony was attended by the Indian Mobile Training Team (MTT). This is in the furtherance to the ongoing training assistance being extended to the Vietnamese Centre for Peace Keeping by the Centre for UN Peace Keeping, New Delhi (CUNPK).
- United Nations Peacekeeping was created in 1948. Its first mission involved the establishment of the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), which served to observe and maintain ceasefire during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
- UN Peacekeeping maintains three basic principles: Consent of the parties, impartiality and non-use of Force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate.
One97 Communications appoints SoftBanks Kabir Misra as director
One 97 Communications, the entity that runs financial services platform Paytm, has appointed SoftBanks Kabir Misra as a director on its board.
- As per the filing to the Corporate Affairs Ministry, Misra was appointed as an additional director in a resolution passed at the companys board meeting on November 7.
Saudi Crown Prince wins poll for TIME Person of the Year
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has won a readers’ poll for TIME’s ‘Person of the Year 2017’ award, scoring 24% of the votes.
- Last year, Indian PM Narendra Modi won the poll while US President Donald Trump won the title.
Lebanon’s Saad Hariri withdraws resignation
A month after announcing that he was quitting as the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad al-Hariri officially withdrew his resignation.
Hariri had announced his resignation in a televised broadcast from Saudi Arabia, citing Iranian-backed Hezbollah’s meddling in regional affairs as the main reason.
- He had already suspended his resignation two weeks ago after returning to Lebanon.
Lebanon
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Capital
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Beirut
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Currency
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Lebanese Pound
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Lebanon President
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Michel Aoun
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Yuvraj Singh launches UNICEF-ICC’s adolescent campaign
Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh will be promoting a UNICEF sports initiative for youngsters in South Asia, which will also have the ICC’s backing.
- Yuvraj launched the “Power of Sports to Shape the Future of Adolescents” campaign in South Asia.
- Yuvraj was joined by under-19 players from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka who will compete in the ICC under-19 World Cup in New Zealand in January next year.
- A panel discussion was followed by a friendly match between the players and the youth who attended the event which was jointly organised by UNICEF South Asia and the ICC.
Last Romanian monarch passes away
Romania’s former king, Michael I, passed away Switzerland, he was 96.
- Michael, a cousin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and the last surviving head of state from World War II, retired from public life in spring 2016.
- Michael became the monarch for the first time when he was only six years old, from 1927 to 1930, after his father, King Carol, briefly abdicated.
India wins first-ever South Asian Regional Badminton Team Championship
India has won the first-ever South Asian Regional Badminton Team Championship.
- In the title clash played in Guwahati, India defeated Nepal, 3-0.
- The Indian team, which came into the Final without losing a single match, continued their good run with Aryaman Tandon drawing first blood in the boys’ singles competition. He defeated Dipesh Dhami 21-9, 21-15.
- Ashmita Chaliha continued the Indian juggernaut as she danced her way to a 21-9, 21-6 win over Rashila Maharjan in the Girls’ singles event.
IOC bans Russia from 2018 Pyeongchang Games
International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Russia has been banned from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
- It is banned after the evidence emerged of an unprecedented systematic manipulation of the anti-doping system.
- The IOC also decided to suspend Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) president Alexander Zhukov as an IOC member.
- And has ordered the Russian government to pay $15m towards a new Independent Testing Authority and reimburse the cost of their investigations.
2018 Winter Olympics Venue
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Pyeongchang, South Korea
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2018 Winter Olympics Venue
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Beijing, China
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