Daily Current affairs - March 10 and 11, 2018 for all competitive exams
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi inaugurated National Legislators Conference on the theme ‘We For
Development’ in New Delhi.
- The
motive of the conference is to bring MPs and MLAs on a single platform
where ideas and plans for development can be exchanged.
- The
conference will hold discussions on how women help in the development work
being done for the country where ideas on projects and plans can be
debated.
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant will give a
presentation on the first day and the plenary will be presided over
by Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai.
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E-waybill to be rolled out on April 1, says
Arun Jaitley
The Goods and Services Tax Council, at its 26th meeting,
decided to go forward with the April 1 rollout of the e-waybill system for
inter-State transport of goods. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the
system would be implemented in phases.
- The
Council discussed in detail the options to ease the return filing process,
but did not arrive at a conclusive decision.
- The
e-waybills will have to be generated for the transport of goods of a value
of more than Rs. 50,000.
Union Government makes passport mandatory for
bank loans of Rs. 50 crore and above
The government has made providing passport details mandatory
for taking loans of 50 crore rupees and above to ensure a swift action in case
of fraud and prevent fraudsters from fleeing the country.
- Financial
Services Secretary, Rajiv Kumar in a tweet for all existing loans of over
50 crore rupees, banks have been asked to collect passport details of
borrowers within 45 days.
- The
Passport details will help banks to take timely action and inform the
relevant authorities to prevent fraudsters from fleeing the country.
Last week, the Cabinet has approved the Fugitive Economic
Offenders Bill to impound and sell assets of escapees with a view to quickly
recover dues. The proposed law will also apply to defaulters who have
an outstanding of Rs 100 crore or more and have escaped from the
country. Several big defaulters like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay
Mallya and Jatin Mehta have fled the country putting the recovery mechanism
in quandary.
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Telangana launches India's 1st state-led
Incubator for Women
The government of Telangana launched Women
Entrepreneurship Hub (WE-Hub), India's first state-led incubator for women
entrepreneurs.
- The
incubator will help women entrepreneurs establish their own enterprises by
providing services including seed funding, mentoring, and business
guidance.
- Deepthi
Ravula is heading the incubator as its Chief Executive Officer.
Mumbai set to be the global hub for Fintech
The state government plans to make Mumbai the
global hub for Financial Tech or Fintech businesses.
- State
finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said that it has been decided to launch
an innovative Fintech Policy to promote innovative financial services.
- The
state also allocated Rs3.5 crore for the strengthening and up gradation of
Haffkine Institute.
- Maharashtra
FM Sudhir Mungantiwar says govt will launch a policy to promote innovative
financial services particularly to the poor.
Rajasthan passes Bill to give death penalty for child rape
Rajasthan has
passed a Bill providing for death penalty to those convicted of raping girls of
12 years and below. The State Assembly passed the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan
Amendment) Bill, 2018 seeking to amend the Indian Penal Code with the insertion
of new provision by voice vote.
- The
Bill is aimed at protecting the girl child by laying down a deterrent
punishment, including death sentence, to the offenders.
- The
Bill provides for capital punishment or rigorous imprisonment ranging
between 14 years and lifelong incarceration.
- It
also makes a similar provision for gang-rape of a girl child, while laying
down death penalty or imprisonment from 20 years to lifelong incarceration
for those convicted of the offence. Each of the persons constituting the
gang will be deemed to be guilty of the offence.
- The
Bill will become a law after it gets the Presidential assent.
According to
the National Crime Records Bureau’s 2016 report, the cases of crimes against
children have seen a steady increase in Rajasthan. The State recorded 4,034
such cases in 2016, which was 3.8% of the crimes against children registered
across the country. In 2015, the State had registered 3,689 cases of crimes
against children.
Rajasthan
has become the second State, after Madhya Pradesh, to pass a Bill providing for
death penalty to those convicted of raping girls of 12 years and below.
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India, France join hands for Indian Ocean
security
India and France joined hands in ensuring freedom of
navigation in the Indo-Pacific region.
- Both
sides also announced a new phase of cooperation in space security focussed
on the maritime domain and a fresh logistics agreement that will allow
their defence forces to closely cooperate on mutually agreed operations.
- The
Joint Strategic Vision of India-France Cooperation in the Indian Ocean
Region’ stated that India and France share common concerns on freedom of
navigation in the region and will tackle challenges to over-flight and
threat of weapons of mass destruction.
- The
agreement has a vast scope stretching from “countering maritime terrorism
and piracy” to “building maritime domain awareness” said a joint statement
issued at the end of the official talks. The statement also said it would
support “greater coordination in regional/international fora in the
region.
This is the second major maritime agreement India has
signed in the last six months following the Quadrilateral agreement with
Australia, Japan and the U.S. in October 2017.
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ISA-ADB, NDB, GCF, AfDB and AIIB Joint
Declarations of Financial Partnership
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and
the African Development Bank (AfDb), the Asian Development Bank
(ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Green climate
fund (GCF), and the New Development Bank (NDB) signed Joint financial
partnership Declarations in New Delhi.
- The
International Energy Agency (IEA) also signed a Joint partnership
Declaration with the ISA. The objective of the agreements is to deepen
their cooperation in support of Renewable Energy.
- ISA
is working for deployment of over 1000 GW of solar energy and mobilising
more than US$ 1000 billion into solar energy by the year 2030.
The
International Solar Alliance initiative was launched by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi at the India Africa Summit, and a meeting of member countries
ahead of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in
November 2015.
The
Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance opened for signatures
in Marrakech, Morocco in November 2016, and 121 countries have joined.
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Passive Euthanasia legalised by Supreme Court
The Supreme
Court has delivered a landmark judgment allowing “living will” where, an adult
in his conscious mind, is permitted to refuse medical treatment or voluntarily
decide not to take medical treatment to embrace death in a natural way. In
- Its
judgment, the court has laid down a set of guidelines for “living will”
and defined passive euthanasia and euthanasia as well.
- According
to the Supreme Court rules, it can be executed only by an adult who is of
a sound and healthy state of mind and in a position to communicate, relate
and comprehend the purpose and consequences of executing the document.
- It
must be voluntarily executed and should have characteristics of an
informed consent given without any undue influence or constraint.
- The
document should be signed by the executor in the presence of two attesting
witnesses, preferably independent, and counter-signed the jurisdictional
Judicial Magistrate of First Class (JMFC) so designated by the concerned
district judge.
- The
JMFC shall preserve one copy of the document in his office, keep another
in digital format, forward one copy of the document to the registry of the
jurisdictional district court, inform the immediate family members of the
executor.
Right to die
peacefully is part of Fundamental Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21
of the Constitution. Article 21 provides that “no person shall be deprived of
his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by
law”.
Passive Euthanasia: When
doctors don’t provide, or remove patients from, lifesustaining treatment.
Includes: Disconnecting life-support machines, feeding tubes, not carrying
out life-saving operations, not providing life-extending drugs, Non-treatment
not seen as cause of death; patient understood to have died because of
underlying condition.
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First ever ‘crime-free zone’ along international border launched
In a first for
both countries, the director generals of the Border Security Force (BSF) and
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have declared an 8.3 km stretch of the
Indo-Bangladesh border as a ‘crime-free zone’.
- The
stretch covers the Gunarmath and Kalyani Border out Posts (BOPs) in India
and the Puthkhali and Daulatpur BOPs across the border.
- This
stretch is one of the most vulnerable with cattle smuggling and other
criminal activities prevalent.
- Both
border guarding forces with the help of the civil administrations of the
two countries, NGOs and the local populance will help in ensuring that no
crime takes place along the stretch. Both the forces will work together to
ensure that no crime or anti-social activity occurs along this stretch.
Bangladesh
and India share a 4,156 km long international border. This includes 262 km in
Assam, 856 km in Tripura, 180 km in Mizoram, 443 km in Meghalaya, and 2,217
km in Bengal.
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Sirisena forms panel to probe riots
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena appointed a panel
to probe the recent anti-Muslim attacks in Kandy district.
- The
committee, comprising three retired judges, will investigate the causes of
the incident that claimed at least two lives and severely damaged
property, official sources said.
- The
recent violent episode has sparked concern among many Sri Lankans who see the
incidents as part of a growing anti-Muslim sentiment in the country since
2012. Activists and Buddhist monks staged demonstrations in Colombo
condemning the violence against the Muslim minority and asking the
government to end impunity for such attacks.
President Xi Jinping becomes china's leader for
life as parliament abolishes presidential term-limit
China's Parliament has abolished the decades-old
two-term limit for the President, allowing Xi Jinping to remain as the
country's leader for life.
- The
constitutional changes were passed in Beijing by the annual sitting of the
National People's Congress - the country's legislature - with the
two-thirds majority.
- Of
the 2,964 delegates, only two voted against the change, while three
abstained.
Earlier, the seven-member Standing Committee -
the topmost body of the ruling Communist Party of China - had unanimously
approved the amendment. 64-year old Xi Jinping is currently in his second
five-year term and due to retire in 2023 under the current two-term system.
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U.S. council urges green norms for mass housing
Green Business Certification Inc., (GBCI) a part of the U.S.
Green Building Council (USGBC), has initiated discussions with the Indian
government to make policy changes for incorporating green norms in mass housing
projects.
- The
objective is to ensure that a larger section of society can avail of the
economic, social and environmental benefits
- GBCI
is urging the government to help incorporate green solutions at the
initial stage in projects.
GBCI certifies buildings with LEED, or Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design rating which is developed by its parent USGBC.
LEED is a widely used green building programme that aims to
help buildings, homes, communities and cities achieve high performance in key
areas of environmental and human health, he said.
Meanwhile, GBCI has also introduced its global rating
system called Performance Excellence in Electricity Renewal (PEER) in India
with an aim to issue certification for the power sector, as it has done with
LEED for buildings.
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Mauritius’ first female President Ameenah
Gurib-Fakim resigned
Mauritius’ President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim will
resign from her post next week amid allegations that she used a credit card
provided by an NGO for personal shopping, the government has announced.
- Gurib-Fakim,
who became Mauritius’ first female President in 2015, allegedly bought
duty-free clothes and jewellery worth tens of thousands of dollars using
the credit card during her foreign trips.
WHO steps up fight against tobacco
The World Health Organization has launched new guidelines on
the role that tobacco product regulations can play in reducing tobacco demand,
saving lives and raising revenues for health services to treat tobacco-related
diseases.
- The
new guide, titled ‘Tobacco product regulation: Building laboratory testing
capacity’, and a collection of country approaches to regulation of menthol
in tobacco products, presented in the publication, titled ‘Case studies
for regulatory approaches to tobacco products — Menthol in tobacco
products’, were launched at the 2018 World Conference on Tobacco or Health
recently.
- The
new guidelines provide practical, stepwise approaches to implementing
tobacco testing. Such guidance is relevant to a wide range of countries in
various settings, including those with inadequate resources to establish a
testing facility.
- The
laboratory guide has comprehensible information on how to test tobacco
products, what products to test, and how to use testing data in a meaningful
way to support regulation.
A new species of butterfly discovered
A new species of Himalayan moth (Eucyclodes gavissima) has
been discovered in Papikonda National Park.
- This
was announced by Anant Shankar, Divisional Forest Officer (wildlife),
during the valedictory of a three-day workshop on butterflies by AP Forest
Department, Wildlife Management, Rajamahendravaram
- India
has 1,318 known variety of butterflies and most of them still need to be
studied further.
RBI slaps Rs.5 Cr fine on Airtel Payments
Bank over KYC norms
The RBI has imposed a penalty of 5 crore on
Airtel Payments Bank for breaching Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.
- The
fine was imposed after the RBI found it guilty of opening payments bank
accounts of subscribers without their consent.
- More
than 23 lakh customers reportedly received over 47 crore in their payments
accounts, which they didn’t know were opened.
Paytm Money receives SEBI nod as registered
investment adviser
Financial services platform Paytm has
announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Paytm Money, has received
approval of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) to become a registered investment advisor.
- The
nod from SEBI will allow the company to roll out investment and wealth
management products to consumers across the country.
India's Biggest M&E Services Market,
enTTech 2018 Inaugurated
India's biggest Media & Entertainment
Services Market - enTTech 2018 was inaugurated in Mumbai.
- The market,
spread over two days saw fast matchmaking between 100 international
delegates and their Indian counterparts.
- The
event was organized by Service Export Promotion Council
(SEPC) in association with MEAI (Media & Entertainment Association
of India) and supported by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of
Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
Defence dialogue on the anvil
India and France inked a strategic pact providing for the use
of each other’s military facilities including opening naval bases and warships,
an agreement that comes amid China’s growing military expansionism in the
Indo-Pacific region.
- Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have also
decided to create an annual defence dialogue at the ministerial level to
explore ways to further deepen defence and strategic ties.
- There
were indications that the French side pitched for procurement of another
batch of 36 Rafale jets by India during the talks.
President release the book ‘Fulfilling Bapu’s
Dreams – Prime Minister Modi’s tribute to Gandhiji’
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind,
received the first copy of the book ‘Fulfilling Bapu’s Dreams – Prime Minister
Modi’s Tribute to Gandhiji’ from Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, who formally released
it at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 9, 2018
President
Kovind to visit Mauritius and Madagascar from March 11-15
President Ram Nath Kovind will embark
on a six-day visit starting March 11 to the island nations
of Madagascar and Mauritius.
- Kovind
will be the chief guest at the celebrations commemorating the 50th year of
the independence of Mauritius.
- The
visit of the president to Madagascar, from March 14-15, will also be the
first-ever visit by an Indian VVIP to the island nation.
- Kovind
will also inaugurate the World Hindi Secretariat that is coming up in
Mauritius.
French President Emmanuel Macron in India on
4-Day Visit
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in New
Delhi on a four-day visit to India. The visit aims at strengthening the
bilateral economic, political and strategic dimension of engagement between the
two countries.
- During
the visit, India and France will sign agreements in different fields
tomorrow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Emmanuel Macron will co-chair
the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance.
France is the 9th largest foreign investor
in India with a cumulative investment of 6.09 billion dollars from April
2000 to October 2017.
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Samajwadi Party is the richest regional party
with Rs. 635 crore assets
Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) declared
assets worth nearly Rs. 635 in 2015-16.
- It
is topping the list of 22 regional parties, according to a report by the
Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
- During
the financial year 2011-12, the declared assets of SP
was Rs. 212.86 crore which increased by 198%
to Rs. 634.96 crore.
- In
terms of liabilities, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and Telegu Desam
Party (TDP) were the top two regional parties.
Fans hail Sachin Tendulkar as his film wins
another award
Fans have been hailing Sachin Tendulkar since his film, 'A
Billion Dreams' won another award.
- The
2017 docudrama-biographical film won an Award of Excellence at The
Accolade Global Film Competition 2018.
- 'Sachin:
A Billion Dreams' captures Tendulkar's cricket and personal life in
substantial detail, as well as reveals few aspects of his life which have
never been heard of or seen before. The film was directed by James Erskine
and was released on May 26, 2017, in five languages - Hindi, English,
Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu.
Virat Kohli Named 1st Brand Ambassador for Uber
India
Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has
been named cab-hailing startup Uber's first Brand Ambassador in India.
- Kohli
will also be involved in a series of marketing and customer experience
initiatives.
Tejaswin Shankar Smashes National Record in
High Jump
Delhi youngster Tejaswin Shankar smashed his
own national record to claim the high jump gold as three athletes
booked their Commonwealth Games berths on the third and penultimate day of the
22nd Federation Cup Senior National Athletics Championships.
- The
19-year-old Shankar sailed over the bar at 2.28m to marginally improve his
own national mark of 2.26m.
Australia beat England 2-1 to Lift 27th Sultan
Azlan Shah Cup
World champions Australia have lifted the coveted
Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey title. In the final at Ipoh, Malaysia, they beat
defending champions England by a narrow 2-1 margin.
- Australia
has now won the prestigious tournament for the 10th time.
- Earlier,
in the classification match for the 3rd place, Argentina finished third
after beating Malaysia 3-2. The hosts ended at the 4th spot.
