Daily Current affairs - March 24 and 25, 2018 for all competitive exams
World Tuberculosis Day,
observed on 24 March each year, is designed to build public awareness about the
global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease.
- World
TB Day commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his
discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB.
- The
theme of World TB Day 2018 – “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world”.
According to
WHO, World TB Day provides a platform for affected persons and communities,
civil society organizations, health-care providers, policy makers,
development partners and others to advocate, discuss and plan further
collaboration to fulfil the promise of reaching all people with quality TB
prevention and care services, as well as enabling TB prevention through
multisectoral development efforts.
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World TB Day- Health ministry launches new
initiatives
At the function in New Delhi, the Health Secretary Smt.
Preeti Sudan, released the TB INDIA 2018
Report and National Drug Resistance Survey Report.
- She
also launched the 'NikshayAushadi Portal' and shorter regimen
for Drug Resistant TB.
- She
further stated that the global target to end TB is 2030 but India will end
it by 2025.
The first-ever survey of drug-resistant (DR) tuberculosis
(TB) has found that over a quarter of patients in India could be resistant to
one or more drugs that can cure them. India is home to 2.8 million TB
patients, the largest in the world.
Union Health Ministry released the National Anti-TB Drug
Resistance Survey report where it shows that India is home to 2,666 cases of
extensively drug resistant (XDR) TB, which is being infected by the deadliest
strain of the airborne disease and resistant to all known medicines. While
this is the largest study of its kind, the survey does not reveal the
national burden of DR-TB as it does not include data from patients being
treated in the private sector.
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Earth Hour observed on March 24
Earth Hour is
being observed on March 24 from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
- Earth
Hour is also a “part and parcel” of the “Green Good Deeds” movement, in
which every individual ought to take small, voluntary green actions to
protect and conserve the environment and the earth.
- On
the occasion of Earth Hour, the World Wide Fund India has made a strong
pitch for “Give Up to Give Back”.
- The
“Give Up to Give Back” initiative to inspire organisations, institutions
and individuals to make the choice to curb some habits, practices and
lifestyles that burden our lives and the environment. It includes taking
steps like giving up single-use plastics, giving up fossil fuels, giving
up lonely car rides for your employees, give up e-waste.
Dating back
to 2007, Earth Hour is an annual event organized by the World Wildlife Fund
that promotes conservation and sustainable energy. During this time,
civilians are encouraged to switch off their lights for one hour to help
reduce the effect of global warming and raise awareness for climate change
and wildlife conservation. It was famously started as a lights-off event in
Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then it has grown to engage more than 7000
cities and towns worldwide. Today, Earth Hour engages a massive mainstream
community on a broad range of environmental issues. The one-hour
event continues to remain the key driver of the now larger movement.
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Government releases draft policy on defence
production
The Defence Ministry has come out with a draft policy which
envisages achieving a turnover of Rs 1,70,000 crore in military goods and
services by 2025 by promoting the domestic defence industry.
- The
policy says the aim is to make India one of the top five manufacturers of
defence platforms with active participation of public and private sectors.
- The
policy lists as a major aim achieving export of Rs 35,000 crore in
military equipment and services by 2025 by promoting the domestic defence
industry.
- The
defence ministry has sought comments and suggestions of experts and
stakeholders on the policy. At present, India is one of the world’s
largest importer of military platforms and weapon
Muslim parties want review of 1994 ruling
Almost 24 years after the Supreme Court said a mosque has no
“unique or special status” and is not an essential part of the practice of
Islam and namaz , Muslim parties involved in the Ramjanmabhoomi title
dispute want the court to first reconsider its stand before going ahead with
the hearing in the Babri Masjid case.
In 1994, the Supreme Court observed that “Muslims can offer
prayer anywhere, even in the open”.
- The 24-year-old Ismail Faruqui vs Union of
India case dealt with the acquisition of 67.703 acres of land in
Ayodhya after the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.
The constitutionality of the Acquisition of Certain Area at
Ayodhya Act, 1993 was under scanner. The government justified it as a step to
promote harmony. But the Muslim parties suspected it to be a veiled attempt
to “perpetuate the consequences of the demolition of the mosque”.
It was in this background that the Supreme Court observed
in 1994 that a mosque cannot restrict the state’s sovereign power to acquire
land for an “undoubted national purpose.”
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Delhi high court quashed notification issued by President
The Delhi High
Court has quashed a notification issued by President Ram Nath Kovind
disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs for holding offices of profit as Parliamentary
Secretaries.
- The court has reinstated all 20 MLAs, holding that the
opinion of the Election Commission of India to the President to disqualify
the legislators was “vitiated and bad in law for failure to comply with
the principles of natural justice”.
- The High Court noted that the Election Commission failed
to give oral hearing and opportunity to address arguments on merits to the
AAP MLAs before arriving at its opinion that they held ‘office of profit’.
The Delhi
government, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, appointed the
parliamentary secretaries attached to government ministries after coming to
power in March 2015. The Election Commission had recommended that 20 MLAs of
the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi be disqualified as they held offices of profit
while being legislators.
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If an MLA or
an MP holds a government office and receives benefits from it, then
that office is termed as an “office of profit”. A person will be
disqualified if he holds an office of profit under the central or state
government, other than an office declared not to disqualify its holder by a
law passed by Parliament or state legislature.
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Chandrayaan-2 mission will be in October
A recent
report has confirmed that the launch of Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission
to the moon will be in October this year.
- Chandrayaan-2 includes soft-landing on Moon and moving a
rover on its surface. It is an advanced version of the previous
Chandrayaan-1 mission. It consists of an orbiter, lander and rover
configuration.
The Orbiter
spacecraft when launched from Sriharikota will travel to the Moon and release
the Lander, which will in turn deploy a tiny Rover to roam the lunar surface
— all three sending data and pictures to Earth.
It is
planned to be launched as a composite stack into the earth parking orbit
(EPO) of 170 X 18,500 km by GSLV-Mk II.
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Chandrayaan-1
was India's first lunar probe. It was launched by the Indian Space Research
Organisation in October 2008, and operated until August 2009. The mission
included a lunar orbiter and an impactor. India launched the spacecraft using
a PSLV-XL rocket, serial number C11
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Reliance signs deal to merge JioMusic with
'Saavn'
Reliance Industries (RIL) is merging its digital music
company JioMusic with Saavn. The merger will create a $1-billion entity.
- Reliance Jio will get access to a large library of music
content with the merger.
- Earlier this month RIL had acquired a 5% stake in media
firm Eros International. The combined entity is valued at over $1 billion,
with JioMusic’s implied valuation at $670 million.
HDFC bank signs MoU with Government
e-Marketplace
Private sector lender HDFC Bank signed an agreement with
the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) under which the bank will
facilitate a host of services to the public procurement portal for Central and
state government organisations.
- The MoU is significant as Government e-marketplace will
bring transparency and efficiency in the procurement process with assured
and timely payment to the sellers.
KISS to host ‘Commonwealth Big Lunch’
Kalinga
Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar, in partnership with British
Council, India, is hosting the ‘Commonwealth Big Lunch’.
- KISS is the only organisation from Asia to be selected
by British Council to host the Commonwealth Big Lunch.
British Council is celebrating 70 years of
inception in Commonwealth countries. On this occasion, it has organised a
mega lunch. The initiative launched by UK PM Theresa May. The motto of the
programme is to encourage people to get together to celebrate their
Commonwealth connections through food.
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The
Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 53 independent and equal sovereign
states. It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which
established the member states as “free and equal”.
The
Commonwealth operates by intergovernmental consensus of the member states,
organised through the Commonwealth Secretariat and non-governmental
organisations, organised through the Commonwealth Foundation.
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Union Agriculture minister addresses 5th India
Maize Summit 2018
Union Agriculture Minister, Radha Mohan Singh had addressed
the 5th India Maize Summit in New Delhi.
- The aim of the summit was to harness the potential
of maize, technological innovations, promoting producer aggregation and
linkages that are required.
7th India-Egypt joint commission meeting held
in New Delhi
The 7th India-Egypt Joint Commission Meeting led
by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Egyptian Foreign
Minister Sameh Shoukry was held in New Delhi.
- Both the sides reviewed the progress in the areas of
political, trade & investment, S&T, cybersecurity, capacity
building, security, space and culture.
- India and Egypt are two of the world's oldest
civilisations that have enjoyed cordial relations based on commonality of
views on regional and international issues.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin officially declared
winner in presidential vote
Russian electoral officials have officially declared
incumbent President Vladimir Putin the winner of the presidential election.
- The Central Election Commission issued final results,
showing that Putin won nearly 77 percent of the vote.
- Communist candidate Pavel Grudinin came second with
nearly 12 percent. The vote was tainted by widespread reports of
ballot-box stuffing and forced voting. This win will keep Putin in office
until 2024.
Arun Jaitley elected to Rajya Sabha for 4th
consecutive term
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been elected to the
Rajya Sabha for the fourth consecutive term.
- Jaitley, who was nominated as the BJP candidate from
Uttar Pradesh, has served as a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat for 18 years.
- Another Telugu is entering Rajya Sabha. The BJP
candidate and famed psephologist GVL Narasimha Rao for the Rajya Sabha.
So, he has the seventh Telugu to get elected to Rajya Sabha in this
biennial elections.
Elections
for 25 Rajya Sabha seats were held recently. The Rajya Sabha has the strength
of 245 members of which 233 are representatives of the states and Union
Territories of Delhi and Puducherry. The remaining 12 members are nominated
by the President.
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Martin Vizcarra Sworn In As Peru's New
President
Martin Vizcarra has been sworn in as the country's
new president of Peru. Before the appointment, he was Peru's first vice
president and ambassador to Canada.
- He has replaced Pedro Pablo Kuczynski who has
resigned from the post recently.
Praveer Sinha appointed as the CEO of Tata
Power
Tata Power announced Praveer Sinha as the Chief Executive
Officer of Tata Power from May 1.
- Praveer Sinha will succeed Anil Sardana, according to
the company’s January statement, was leaving due to personal reasons.
- Sardana is a former NTPC executive who joined Tata
Power’s New Delhi distribution company in 2002.
Union government appoints Rakesh Bhatnagar as
the Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University
Union government JNU professor Rakesh Bhatnagar as the new
Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University
- Bhatnagar is a professor of biotechnology at JNU.
- He will be succeeding G C Tripathi, who retired in
November 2017.
- President Ram Nath Kovind approved Bhatnagar’s
candidature forwarded by the search-cum-selection committee headed by
economist Vijay Kelkar.
Bhatnagar has been at JNU for two decades and his areas of
interest include molecular biology of infectious diseases, recombinant
vaccine development and programmed cell death in prokaryotes. He is a JC
Bose National Fellow and has won the ICMR award for developing a recombinant
vaccine against anthrax. Along with patents to his name, In 2016, he
was given the Visitor’s Award in the innovation category. He was V-C of
Kumaon University from 2012 to 2013.
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in to
visit Vietnam
Vietnam and South Korean aim to deepen bilateral trade
relations during President Moon Jae-in’s three-day visit to Vietnam.
- South Korea has become Vietnam’s largest foreign
investor and second-biggest trading partner since 1992.
- Bilateral trade between the two countries last year was
$61.5 billion.
- The two leaders signed several agreements promoting trade,
transport, labor and infrastructure cooperation.
G.K. Reddy award for journalist Karan Thapar
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented the G.K.
Reddy Memorial National Award for journalism to senior journalist and
television presenter Karan Thapar.
Manu Bhaker wins gold in ISSF Junior World Cup
shooting
Pistol sensation Manu Bhaker continued her terrific run of
form, again claiming the individual as well as team gold medal, while Gaurav
Rana bagged a silver, as Indian shooters set the stage ablaze in the ISSF
Junior World Cup in Sydney.
- Coming off a double gold in her maiden senior World Cup
in Mexico recently, the 16-year-old Manu clinched the individual gold
medal after prevailing over Thailand’s Kanyakorn Hirunphoem in a thrilling
final of the women’s 10m air pistol event.
- India tasted success in the 10m air pistol men’s event
too with Gaurav Rana winning a silver medal while Anmol Jain grabbed the
bronze.
Virat
Kohli to play County Cricket in England after IPL 2018
Indian Skipper Virat Kohli will play county cricket this
summer in England.
Kohli is set to fly to England immediately after the Indian
Premier League (IPL) final on May 27.
- The moves of Kohli have been carefully planned and the
county stint is thought to be central to Team India’s strategy for the
July- September England series.
- Virat will not be able to take part in the Test against
Afghanistan, scheduled in Bangalore from June 14.
Hamilton takes record 7th pole at Australian
Grand Prix
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton set a blistering time in
his final lap of qualifying to take pole position at the season-opening
Australian Grand Prix for a record seventh time, outpacing his nearest
rival Kimi Raikkonen by a sizable 0.664 seconds.
- It’s the 73rd pole of Hamilton’s career.
PV Sindhu to be India's Flag-Bearer at 2018 CWG
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chooses PV
Sindhu as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the opening
ceremony of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. The opening ceremony will
be held on April 4.
- Having won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics two years
ago, the Hyderabad-based World No. 3 Sindhu is one of the favourites to
win the badminton women's singles title in Gold Coast.
