Daily Current affairs - April 19th, 2018 for all competitive exams
The Indian Government has
launched the ‘Study in India’ initiative to attract international
students to study in India.
- The website of Study in India can
be accessed at www.studyinindia.gov.in. External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for Human Resources
Development Satya Pal Singh jointly launched the initiative in New
Delhi.
- The portal will enable students
from 30 countries across South Asia, Africa and West Asia to select and
apply for different courses from 150 select Indian institutions which are
high on NAAC and NIRF ranking.
- ‘Study in India’ portal is aimed at making India a preferred
destination for the foreign students to pursue their education.
- Aim to provide students across the
world an opportunity to study in Indian educational institutions, the
Union HRD Ministry has launched “Study in India” programme.
The “Study in India’ is an innovative initiative to attract students from
countries in South Asia, South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa to come and
experience the very best of academic learning from the top institutions in
India.
Under the programme, meritorious students would also be provided with fee
waiver and scholarship. The Institute concerned will bear the expenditure on
the fee waiver based on cross-subsidisation or through its existing funding.
One of the objectives for the programme is to improve global ranking for
Indian educational institutes.
India’s system of higher education is the third largest in the world.
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UIDAI introduces QR code
for offline Aadhaar verification
UIDAI has introduced an
updated ‘QR code’ that holds non-sensitive details like name, address, photo,
and date of birth, and can be used for offline user verification without the
12-digit ID number.
- The new QR code that now comes
with a photo can be used in the offline mode in a way that will safeguard
against any tempering of documents.
A QR code is a form of barcode label
which contains machine-readable information. Users can manually blacken the
Aadhaar number and use the printout with the new QR code for establishing
their identity, offline too.
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PM Modi invites Norway
pension fund to invest in new sectors in India
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has invited Norway’s pension fund to invest in new sectors in India citing the
complementarity of the economies of the two countries.
Modi encouraged the
Norwegian State Pension Fund Global to consider investing in new sectors in
India.
- The Pension Fund had invested
$11.7 billion in India at the end of 2017, an increase of $2.5 billion
from 2016.
- The areas of cooperation during
the discussion include energy, green transport, environmental
technologies, innovation, maritime and marine economies.
Rape of a child is a crime
against society, says PM
The rape of a little girl
was a ‘crime against society’ but playing a ‘blame game’ was an even ‘bigger
mistake’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a diaspora event in central
London.
- ‘Rape is rape,’ declared the Prime
Minister, referring to the Kathua and Unnao incidents, insisting that the
rape of ‘India’s young daughters’ could ‘never be accepted.’ ‘Who is
responsible for this is a matter of concern to the country.’
- Mr. Modi also spoke on the
decision to launch surgical strikes in Kashmir in 2016.
Bharat-22 ETF follow-on
offer may be worth Rs. 10,000 crore
The Finance Ministry might
bring up a Rs 10,000-crore follow-on fund offer of the Bharat-22 exchange
traded fund (ETF) as it plans to dilute stake in Coal India to meet the minimum
public holding norm.
- The finance ministry is also
focused on using the ETF route to sell off government shares held through
SUUTI (Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India) in private companies
– ITC, Axis Bank and L&T.
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund
traded on stock exchanges, much like stocks. An ETF holds assets such as
stocks, commodities, or bonds and generally operates with an arbitrage
mechanism designed to keep it trading close to its net asset value, although
deviations can occasionally occur. Most ETFs track an index, such as a stock
index or bond index. ETFs may be attractive as investments because of their
low costs, tax efficiency, and stock-like features. By 2013, ETFs
had become the most popular type of exchange-traded product
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Law commission suggested to make BCCI as a public
body
The Law Commission has suggested to the government that it turn the Board
of Control of Cricket in India into a government-controlled body.
- The Commission has asked the
government to classify BCCI as a national sports federation and bring it
under the ambit of the Right to Information Act (RTI).
- BCCI should be classified as
“state” under Article 12 of the Constitution so that it is answerable to
authorities like the Supreme Court.
- RTI Act should be made applicable
to BCCI along with all of its constituent member cricketing associations,
provided they fulfill the criteria applicable to BCCI.
Integration of e-SANAD portal and NAD – National
Academic Depository launched by HRD ministry
In a bid to make education system in India more transparent, the
integration of e-SANAD portal and NAD – National Academic Depository has been
launched by the Union HRD Ministry.
- e-Sanad is a project aimed at
online submission/verification of documents with an ultimate object to
extend contact less, cashless, faceless and paperless document attestation
service for apostille and normal attestation to applicants in India (to be
extended to Indians residing abroad as well in a phased manner).
- The project is being implemented
by NIC in coordination with CBSE, States/UTs and the Ministry of External
Affairs in a phased manner.
National Academic Depository (NAD) is a 24X7 online store house of all
academic awards viz.certificates, diplomas, degrees, mark-sheets etc. duly
digitised and lodged by academic institutions / boards / eligibility
assessment bodies. The UGC has signed a tripartite agreement with NSDL
Database Management Limited (NDML) and CDSL Ventures Limited (CVL) for
operationalising NAD.
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National Commission for Minority Educational
Institutions (NCMEI)
The Supreme Court has ruled all questions relating to conferring minority
status on educational institutions are to be decided by the National Commission
for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) and quashed the order of the
Calcutta high court, which had said the body had no original jurisdiction on
the issue.
- NCMEI has the power to decide any
question that might arise, which relate directly or indirectly, with
respect to the status of an institution as a minority educational
institution.
- As per Section 11 of the Act,
NCMEI could declare an establishment as a minority educational institution
“at all stages.”
- Only the Commission has the power
to decide on granting a ‘no objection’ certificate to an institution that
wanted to convert into a minority institution.
- The NCMEI Act empowers the
Commission “to decide all questions relating to the status of an
institution as a minority educational institution and to declare its
status as such.”
The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions was set up
in 2004. The Government brought out an Ordinance in November 2004
establishing the Commission. Later a Bill was introduced in the Parliament in
December 2004 and both Houses passed the Bill.
The Commission is mandated to look into specific complaints regarding
deprivation or violation of rights of minorities to establish and administer
educational institutions of their choice.
The Commission is a quasi-judicial body and has been endowed with the
powers of a Civil Court.
It is to be headed by a Chairman who has been a Judge of the High Court
and three members are to be nominated by Central Government.
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NABARD approves Rs 14,690
cr funding to Rajasthan
National Bank for
Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has extended total credit
support of Rs 14,690 crore to Rajasthan for 2017-18.
- Rajasthan has been one of the
biggest beneficiaries under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund
(RIDF) of NABARD, under which NABARD disbursed concessional loan of
Rs 1,851.29 crore to the state government during 2017-18.
National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex development financial institution in
India, headquartered at Mumbai with branches all over India. The Bank has
been entrusted with "matters concerning policy, planning and operations
in the field of credit for agriculture and other economic activities in rural
areas in India". NABARD is active in developing financial inclusion
policy and is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion
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National portal to share
research facilities soon
Soon researchers in any
college or institution and research organisations can check, reserve and have
easy access to even expensive research equipment and facilities anywhere in
India, thanks to the efforts by the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering
(CeNSE) at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
- The centre is in the process of
collating information about scientific and research equipment and
facilities available at academic institutions and research organisations
across the country.
- The portal — Indian Science,
Technology and Engineering Facilities Map (I-STEM) — will soon become
operational. The government green signalled the project last month.
- The institutions and organisations
that have the equipment and facilities will provide access to researchers
for both academic and non-academic work through an online reservation
system.
This initiative will have many
benefits. It will provide access to researchers to any equipment or facility
that has been procured using public funds, the equipment will be better
utilised and it will avoid duplication of expensive equipment as much as possible
The idea of starting a national
network was shared with Dr. R. Chidambaram, former Principal Scientific
Adviser.
The proposal was formally sent to the
government in November last year.
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Venkaiah Naidu launches
Assam govt’s cashless health scheme
Vice President M Venkaiah
Naidu has launched a health scheme of the Assam government named Atal
Amrit Abhiyan that offers free medical care of up to 2 lakh rupees
for every individual from Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line
(APL) families.
- The state government has earmarked
400 crore rupees for the scheme in the financial year 2018-19.
- The cashless scheme Atal Amrit
Abhiyan will cover 92 percent of the state’s population with
annual income below 5 lakh rupees.
Smriti Irani launches
GNFC’s Neem project in Uttar Pradesh
Union Cabinet Minister
Smriti Irani inaugurated Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals
Limited (GNFC’s) Neem Project in Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh.
- Under this project, GNFC intends
to collect 8,000 to 10,000 MT Neem seeds from Uttar Pradesh, which in turn
will provide additional income of Rs 12-15 crore for over one lakh rural
woman from 2,500 villages in the State.
Bihar has highest rate of
crime against SC/ST
Bihar reports the highest
rate of crimes against Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe population, while West
Bengal reports the lowest, according to latest data released by National Crime
Records Bureau.
- For crimes against SCs
specifically, Madhya Pradesh is highest at 43.4 per cent, and West Bengal
is lowest at 6 per cent.
- For crimes against the ST
population specifically, Rajasthan is the highest at 12.9 per cent, with
West Bengal being the lowest at 1.6 per cent.
- States with low prevalence of
violence include West Bengal (0.3%), Jharkhand (1.3%) and Kerala (2%).
Coimbatore and Chennai have emerged with the lowest prevalence of violence
against SCs amongst all metropolitan cities, with 0.2% and 0.6%
respectively.
- In 2016, a total of 39629 cases
were filed by SCs, with the highest number being disposed of in
Chhattisgarh (5479). A total of 6490 cases filed by STs were disposed of,
with the highest disposal occurring in Madhya Pradesh (1805).
National Crime Records Bureau,
abbreviated to NCRB, is an Indian government agency responsible for
collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code
(IPC). NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi and is part of the Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA), Government of India. The current Director of NCRB is Ish Kumar
(IPS), who replaced Shri Radha Krishna Kini A (IPS) in January 2017. NCRB was
set-up in 1986 to function as a repository of information on crime and
criminals so as to assist the investigators in linking crime to the
perpetrators. It was set up based on the recommendation of the Task force and
National Police Commission by merging the Directorate of Coordination and
Police Computer (DCPC), Statistical Branch of BPR&D, Inter State
Criminals Data Branch of CBI and Central Finger Print Bureau of CBI.
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China moots
India-Nepal-China economic corridor through the Himalayas
China proposed the
construction of India-Nepal-China economic corridor with multi-dimensional
connectivity through the Himalayas.
- China’s proposal came after
visiting Nepalese foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali held talks with
his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
- Gyawali is on his maiden visit to
Beijing after the Oli-led government came to power in recent elections.
- Wang said China and Nepal have
already signed a MoU on China’s multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road
Initiative (BRI), which includes connectivity cooperation.
Saudi Arabia all set for
opening of new cinema with trial movie runs
Blockbuster action flick
“Black Panther” will play at a cinema test screening in Saudi Arabia.
- The conservative kingdom lifted a
35-year ban on cinemas last year as part of a far-reaching liberalisation
drive.
- But officials this week it would
be a test screening at the new cinema in the King Abdullah Financial
District and movie theatres are expected to open to the public in May.
Abu Dhabi gets new theme
park
Abu Dhabi will open a $1
billion indoor Warner Bros. amusement park this July, officials announced, the
latest offering in a crowded market in the United Arab Emirates where one
marquee park already faces financial problems.
- The Warner Bros. World Park, built
by the Abu Dhabi government-owned Miral Asset Management, encompasses
1.65million sq.ft. on Yas Island, a leisure destination for the Emirati
capital.
- Inside, the park is separated into
Bedrock of “The Flintstones’” fame, Superman’s Metropolis, Batman’s Gotham
City, Cartoon Junction and Yosemite Sam’s Dynamite Gulch.
Russia blocks Google,
Amazon IP addresses in the bid to ban Telegram
Russia’s state
communications regulator said it had blocked IP addresses owned by Google and
Amazon.
- They were being used by the
Telegram messaging service which Moscow moved to ban this week.
- Roskomnadzor’s head Alexander
Zharov said it had blocked 18 sub-networks and a significant number of
IP-addresses belonging to Google.
- Blocking the IP addresses have
prevented Russian internet users from accessing Telegram and other
services that route content through Google and Amazon servers.
Olive ridley turtles second time mass nesting at Rushikulya
In a rare occurrence, olive ridley turtles have turned up for mass nesting
for the second time at Rushikulya rookery on Odisha coast.
- The Rushikulya coast, in Ganjam
district of Odisha, is considered to be a major nesting site in the world
and lakhs of olive ridleys come here every year to lay eggs.
Also known as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, Olive turtles are a
medium-sized species of sea turtle found in warm and tropical waters,
primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are best known for their
behavior of synchronized nesting in mass numbers.
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The olive ridley is classified as Vulnerable according to the
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN),
and is listed in Appendix I of CITES.The Convention on Migratory Species and
the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea
Turtles have also provided olive ridleys with protection, leading to
increased conservation and management for this marine turtle.
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Major technology companies signed onto a pledge
called Cybersecurity Tech Accord
Dozens of major technology companies including Microsoft, Facebook, Cisco,
and SAP have signed onto a pledge, known as Cybersecurity Tech Accord, to
protect their users around the globe against cybersecurity threats and to
abstain from helping any government launch a cyber attack.
- This is hailed as a “watershed
agreement” among companies representing every layer of internet
communication.
- The tech sector accord will help
companies take a principled path towards more effective steps to work
together and defend customers around the world.
- The accord declares that the
signatories will protect all of their customers from threats and will not
“help governments launch cyberattacks against innocent citizens and
enterprises from anywhere.”
India, World’s 6th largest
economy at $2.6 trillion: IMF
India’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), the worth of the economy, clocked in at $2.6 trillion for
2017, according to the database of the International Monetary Fund’s
World Economic Outlook (WEO) for April 2018.
- India is now the world’s sixth
largest economy, displacing France. The Top 3 economies of the world
are: The United States,China and Japan.
SBI allows cash withdrawal
through PoS machines
The country’s biggest
lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has come up with an alternate and
convenient method of cash withdrawal for its customers.
- The bank is now providing facilities
of cash through ‘Cash@POS’ initiative.
- Under this, the debit card holders
of SBI and all other banks can withdraw cash from PoS machines installed
by SBI across various merchant locations.
- A customer can withdraw Rs 1000 in
Tier I and Tier II cities whereas Rs 2000 can be withdrawn in Tier 3 to
Tier 6 cities per day per card.
1st workshop on Smart rating of
garbage free cities
The ministry of urban affairs has launched the first workshop on star
rating of garbage-free cities under the Swachh Bharat Mission. The star rating
of garbage-free cities would create healthy competition among cities across the
country.
- The star-rating initiative,
developed by the Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban will be rating cities on a
7-star rating system based on multiple cleanliness indicators for solid
waste management.
- These include Door to Door
Collection, bulk generator compliance, source segregation, sweeping,
scientific processing of waste, scientific land filling, plastic waste management,
construction and demolition management, dump remediation & citizen
grievance redressal system etc.
- Cities can be rated as 1, 2, 3, 4,
5 and 7 star based on their compliance with the protocol conditions
specified for each of the rating. Further city should be ODF(Open
Defecation Free) before it could be given rating of 3 star or above. While
cities may self-declare themselves as 1-star, 2-star or 4-star, MoHUA will
carry out an additional verification through an independent third party to
certify cities as 3-star, 5-star or 7-star. Cities will need to get
recertified themselves every year to retain their star-status.
Vision statement of the
star-rating protocol states that “All cities achieve “Garbage Free” status
wherein at any point of time in the day, no garbage or litter is found in any
public, commercial or residential locations (including storm drains and water
bodies) in the city (except in litter bins or transfer stations)
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The Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) focuses on two key objectives-
eradication of open defecation and 100 per cent scientific solid waste
management across all 4,041 statutory towns and cities.
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1st meeting of National
Council on India’s nutrition challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan held
The first meeting of
National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan was
held today in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Dr Rajiv Kumar,
Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.
- The Council which has been set up
under POSHAN Abhiyaan is the apex body to formulate overall policies,
guide and monitor all nutrition based schemes. Some of the important
decisions taken in the meeting are :
235 Additional Districts have been
confirmed as part of Phase II of POSHAN Abhiyaan in the financial year 2018-19.
Provision of Smartphones instead of Tablets to Lady Supervisors. Direct
transfer of Funds to States/UTs for Cash Award to Frontline Functionaries,
instead of Creation of Corpus Fund.
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Miguel Diaz-Canel set to
be Cuba’s first non-Castro president in six decades
Cuba selected 57-year-old
First Vice President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez as sole candidate to
succeed Raul Castro as president of Cuba.
- The 86-year-old Castro will remain
head of the Communist Party, designated by the constitution as the
superior guiding force of society.
- Nominated as new first vice
president was Salvador Valdes Mesa, a 72-year-old Afro-Cuban former union
official who has held a long series of high posts in the Cuban government
Trump confirms CIA chief
met Kim Jong Un in North Korea
US President Donald Trump confirmed
that the CIA director had met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on
a secret visit to Pyongyang.
Trump tweets meeting went
very smoothly and a good relationship is made.
- The tweet came after the
Washington Post reported that Pompeo made the trip over the first weekend
of April.
Madhya Pradesh conferred
most Film friendly award
State of Madhya
Pradesh was conferred the award for the Most Film Friendly
State for its efforts towards easing filming in the State by creating a
well-structured website and film-friendly infrastructure. Total 16 states have
participated in this award.
- The Most Film Friendly
State Award was announced by the Chairman of the Jury, Shri
Ramesh Sippy.
- The State of Uttarakhand is
given a Special Mention Certificate to recognize the efforts made by the
Uttarakhand towards creating a film-friendly environment. The award will
be conferred by the President of India in May 2018.
Filmmaker Bhimsain Khurana
dies at 81
Pandit Vinay Chandra
Maudgalya wrote the famous patriotic song celebrating the unity in diversity
that is India: Hind desh ke niwaasi sabhi jan ek hain, rang roop vesh
bhasha chaahe anek hain (Indians are one despite the heterogeneity of
colour, look and language) passed away.
- However, for an entire generation
of viewers, growing up on Doordarshan, it was Bhimsain Khurana who brought
alive the thought and feeling of togetherness intrinsic to the song
through his animation, design and production work in Ek Anek Aur
Ekta (1974), a short film directed by Vijaya Mulay for NCERT’s Centre
for Education Technology.
Gayle has hit 280 sixes in
IPL, 101 more than the 2nd best
With his 11 sixes against
SRH, KXIP opener Chris Gayle took his tally of sixes in the IPL to 280, 101
more than the next best.
- Further, the 38-year-old has smashed
10-plus sixes in a T20 innings 16 times. Gayle, who scored 104*(63)
against SRH, has hit 21 T20 tons, three times more than the next best (7)
