Daily Current affairs - January 19th, 2018 for all competitive exams
National Disaster Response Force, NDRF is celebrating its 13th Raising Day on January 19 2018.
- The Force was raised on 19th January, 2006, as a specialised force capable of responding to any type of disaster in the country and abroad.
- It is strategically deployed across the nation as per the vulnerability profile.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), a specialized multi skilled, humanitarian force of the country, came into existence on January 19th, 2006 has been playing a vital role in Disaster Management and Community awareness for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the country.
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Government launches 100 accessible websites for Divyangs
Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot launched 100 accessible websites for Divyangs. These 100 government websites are now divyang friendly.
- The divyang-friendly websites, especially for visually impaired, use features such as screen readers and screen magnifiers, which can relay website content to the user in audio format.
- 900 such websites will be launched in a phased manner.
Government brings nine more cities under Smart City Mission
The government decided to add nine more cities to its existing list of proposed Smart Cities.
- The nine new cities added by the Housing and Urban Affairs in the proposed list includes Silvassa, Erode, Diu, Biharsharif, Bareilly, Itnanagar, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Kavaratti.
Under the Smart City Mission, ninety cities have so far been identified through three rounds of competition for implementing various projects.
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GST rates on 29 goods, 53 services cut
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has reduced the rates on 29 goods and 53 categories of services.
- Some of the services for which the rates have been cut include tailoring (18% to 5%), admission to theme parks (28% to 18%), and petroleum and natural gas mining and exploration (18% to 12%).
- The goods on which the rates have been reduced include biodiesel buses used for public transport (28% to 18%), sugar boiled confectionery, biodiesel, drinking water packed in 20 litre containers (all from 18% to 12%), and LPG supplied to domestic consumers by private distributors (18% to 5%).
- The new rates would come into effect on January 25.
Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) crossed 1crore checkups
Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) has crossed one crore mark in antenatal check-ups.
- The programme has been successful in reaching out to the difficult and remote areas of India, since out of the 1 crore checkups across the country, more than 25 lakh check-ups were conducted in high priority districts identified by the Health Ministry for focussed attention.
The Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan has been launched by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India.
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Disaster warning system for Odisha by March
The Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS), a project that aims at establishing a fool-proof communication system to disseminate disaster warning up to the community level, is expected to be commissioned by this March.
- The EWDS had missed several deadlines before being fast-tracked recently.
The EWDS is a first-of-its-kind automatic public address system in the country. It will help the State to warn a vast population residing along its coast from the State headquarters through loud sirens from towers installed at 122 locations in the event of occurrence of natural disasters like a tsunami or cyclone
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Tamil Nadu to host first ever Defence Expo in April
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Tamil Nadu will host its first-ever bi-annual defence exhibition in April.
- The exhibition will take place from April 11 to 14 and nearly 80 countries are expected to take part in it.
- Sitharaman said the ministry officials had earlier visited several states to hold the event and the Tamil Nadu government immediately came forward and allotted land for the event.
Kashmiri publishing house enters Limca Book of Records
Gulshan Books, a Kashmiri publishing house at Jammu and Kashmir’s Nehru Park has found its way into the Limca Book of Records 2018 for its wide collection of 80,000 books.
- A division of Sheikh Muhammad Usman and Sons, Gulshan Books is the only bookshop-library on a lake.
Gulshan books have a reading room and a cafe, where a reader can enjoy their favourite books over a cup of tea or coffee for as long as they want.
The publishing house has displayed a wide variety of books and literature based on the valley.
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Maharashtra govt. rolls out 1% reservation for orphans
In an unprecedented move, Maharashtra government has announced a 1% reservation in the open category for orphans in the state. Officials say Maharashtra is, perhaps, the first state to bring such a policy.
- Only children who have no idea who their parents were and what their caste is will be covered under this reservation.
- The historic decision is aimed at social and economic empowerment of such children. This will help orphans get education and employment, especially in government services.
Maharashtra unveils Public cloud policy
Maharashtra has unveiled a public cloud policy, virtually mandating its departments to shift their data storage onto the cloud, which intends to make them available for free to the general public.
- The policy, a first by any State, will create a $2 billion opportunity for the industry. Under the framework, the government will make it mandatory for the data to be stored within the country.
- The objective is to use public cloud in cases wherever the Right to Information Act is applicable, and then go in for enhanced security features for private and sensitive data, which will also be stored on the cloud.
Supreme Court stays ban on screening of Padmaavat
The Supreme Court stayed the notifications and orders passed by certain States to prohibit the exhibition of the Censor Board-certified moviePadmaavat , saying its “conscience is shocked” that States have guillotined creative rights.
- The apex court ordered all States to ensure that the law and order situation is maintained during the screening of the film across the country.
Gujarat and Rajasthan had issued notifications on January 5 and 17, respectively, prohibiting the screening while Haryana had in principle agreed to a ban on exhibition. Madhya Pradesh had made statements that it intended banning the screening of the movie in theatres.
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2017 Was the Second Hottest Year on Record?
Earth’s global surface temperatures in 2017 ranked as the second warmest since 1880, according to an analysis by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS).
- Continuing the planet’s long-term warming trend, globally averaged temperatures in 2017 were 0.90 degrees Celsius (1.62 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the 1951 to 1980 mean.
- That is second only to global temperatures in 2016. In a separate, independent analysis, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) concluded that 2017 was the third-warmest year in their record.
UN Environment Management Group
The Secretariat of the UN Environment Management Group (EMG) is planning to hold a new series of ‘Nexus Dialogues,’ create two new Issue Management Groups and launch a campaign for waste management in the UN, among its activities in 2018.
- Upcoming dialogues will address sustainable consumption and production (SCP), biodiversity, and UN system support for SDG implementation at the national level. The dialogues seek to contribute to a common understanding of the integrated SDGs and targets on selected “nexus” themes.
- The EMG also will launch a waste management campaign dubbed ‘Say yes to less,’ to raise awareness of waste reduction and management among UN staff.
The EMG is a UN system-wide coordination body on environment and human settlements. It was established in 2001 pursuant to a UN General Assembly resolution, supporting a proposal of the UN Secretary-General.
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WhatsApp Business app launched
Facebook-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp formally announced the launch of a new ‘Business’ application.
- Called WhatsApp Business, it’s a free-to-download Android application for business users. The application, which was available in beta for almost a month, is currently available in Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Britain and the US.
- The app will roll out for other countries, and in India, in the coming weeks. WhatsApp Business will make it easier for companies to connect with customers, and more convenient for its 1.3 billion users to chat with businesses that matter to them.
- The app will help customers with useful information such as a business description, email or store addresses and website
Paytm Payments Bank starts physical debit card delivery
Paytm Payments Bank Savings Account holders can now order physical debit cards from the Paytm app.
- Earlier the bank provided only a Digital Rupay card which was linked to a user’s Paytm Payments Bank savings account.
- The users will be charged a one-time fee of Rs.120 to get the card.
Paytm Payments Bank
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Headquarters
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Noida
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Tagline
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Simplifying Payments For India
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CEO
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Renu Satti
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India beats US, takes 2nd spot in most app downloads in 2017
India overtook the US to take the second spot for the number of app downloads in 2017, as per the App Annie 2017 Retrospective report.
- The report also said a user in India has nearly 80 apps and accesses over 40 of them per month.
- Globally, the app downloads exceeded 175 billion, while consumer spending exceeded $86 billion.
President unveils ‘Fake News’ awards
U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled the winners of his much-touted “Fake News Awards”
- Mr. Trump announced his top-ten list — which included his regular targets The New York Times, CNN and The Washington Post — using his preferred medium of Twitter
Modi to visit Palestine in February
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to the Palestinian capital of Ramallah on February 10
- The visit to the Palestinian territory is likely to be part of Prime Minister Modi’s outreach to the Arab world in the second week of February, during which he will hold a meeting with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
- This will be the first time that an Indian Prime Minister will visit the Palestinian capital.
Nirman Samvaad held in New Delhi
It is A one-day Mega Conclave, a first ever interaction between the Ministry of Railways and the Construction Industry. The conclave was held recently in New Delhi.
- It was a major event aimed at taking measures to ensure expeditious implementation of ambitious Railway Infrastructure Development Plans. It aims to streamline procedures and remove bottlenecks to ensure the fast track implementation of projects on the railways.
- This Conclave was organized by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL), a dedicated arm of Ministry of Railways for fast track implementation of railway projects.
Niklaus-Samuel Gugger becomes first Indian-origin MP in Switzerland
Niklaus-Samuel Gugger the first Indian to be elected to the Swiss parliament.
- Samuel was among 143 People of Indian Origin (PIO) parliamentarians from 24 countries who took part in the conference organised by the Ministry of External Affairs.
- In 2002, he was elected town councillor from Winterthur city northeast of Zurich near the German border.
Indian origin MP is first female Muslim minister to address British parliament
Nus Ghani, an Indian-origin parliamentarian in the UK, became the first female Muslim minister to speak from the British Parliament dispatch box.
- The 45-year-old takes the appointment as Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Transport by British Prime Minister Theresa May.
- In 2015, she became the first Conservative party Muslim female candidate to be elected to Parliament.
Actor-director Kashinath passes away
Veteran Sandalwood director, actor and producer Kashinath died at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Thursday.
- In his over a four-decade career, Kashinath is in association with nearly 50 films.
- From Kundapur in Udupi district, he debuted in 1976 as a director with Aparoopada Athitigalu.
Kohli becomes second India batsman to reach 900-point mark
Virat Kohli has become only the second India batsman after Sunil Gavaskar to reach the 900- point mark in the latest ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.
- Gavaskar, one of the ICC Cricket Hall of Famers, had achieved the milestone in his 50th Test when he scored 13 and 221 at The Oval in 1979 to jump from 887 points to 916 points, which remained his career-best.
- Kohli, who recorded his 21st century at Centurion, got to the rare feat in his 65th Test after vaulting from 880 points to 900 points.
- Kohli is only the 31st batsman in the history of Test cricket to reach 900 points. Don Bradman sits on top of the table with 961 points, followed by Steve Smith (947), Len Hutton (945), Ricky Ponting and Jack Hobbs (both 942 points).
