Daily Current affairs - April 21st and 22nd, 2018 for all competitive exams
12th Civil Services Day was celebrated on April 21st, 2018.
- It focussed on ‘Evolving Strategies for Transforming
Aspirational Districts’.
- The Government of India celebrates April 21 every
year as ‘Civil Services day’ as an occasion for the civil servants to
rededicate themselves to the cause of citizen and renew their commitments
to public service and excellence in work.
- This date is chosen to commemorate the day when
first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 at
Metcalf House, Delhi.
As part of Civil Servant Day, Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in
Public Administration are presented to Districts/Implementing Units for
implementation of Priority programme and innovation categories.
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April 22 – World earth day
Earth Day is an annual event celebrated
on April 22. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day events in more than 193
countries are now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network
- Earth Day 2018 theme is 'End Plastic Pollution'. It
is dedicated to providing the information and inspiration needed to
fundamentally change human attitude and behavior about plastics.
- Aprill 22 was chosen as Earth Day by Gaylord Nelson,
the founder of Earth Day. The importance of Earth Day is to increase the
awareness among common public, especially among youngsters, to get full
effect of the campaign of environmental safety.
Earth Day is significant as it's a day
of political action and civic participation towards preserving the planet.
People march, sign petitions, meet their elected officials, plant trees,
clean up their towns and roads. Earth Day Network is the organisation that
leads Earth Day worldwide.
On Earth Day 2016, the landmark Paris
Agreement was signed by the United States, China, and some 120 other
countries.This signing satisfied a key requirement for the entry into force
of the historic draft climate protection treaty adopted by consensus of the
195 nations present at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Paris.
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Cabinet approves the
restructured Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan
The Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs has given its approval for restructured Centrally Sponsored Scheme
of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA).
- The Scheme will be implemented during the period
from 01.04.2018 to 31.03.2022 at the total cost of Rs. 7255.50 crore with
the Central Share of Rs. 4500 crore and that of State Share of Rs. 2755.50
crore
- This scheme will extend to all States and UTs of the
Country and will also include institutions of rural local government in
non-Part IX areas, where Panchayats do not exist
- The implementation and monitoring of the activities
of the scheme will broadly be aligned for achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) with main thrust on Panchayats identified under
Mission Antyodaya and 115 Aspirational districts as identified by NITI
Aayog.
- The approved scheme of RGSA will help more than 2.55
lakh Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to develop governance capabilities
to deliver on SDGs through inclusive local governance with focus on
optimum utilisation of available resources.
The Finance Minister, in his budget
speech for 2016-17, announced the launch of new restructured scheme of
Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), for developing governance capabilities
of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to deliver on the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). A Committee under the Chairmanship of the Vice
Chairman-NITI Aayog was constituted to restructure the existing scheme of
this Ministry as Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
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Cabinet to discuss death penalty for rape of minors
The Union Cabinet is planning on bringing an Ordinance to award death
penalty to those convicted of sexually assaulting a child.
- The criminal law amendment ordinance seeks to amend
the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Evidence Act, the Code of Criminal
Procedure (CrPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
(POCSO) Act to introduce a new provision to sentence convicts of such
crimes punishment of death.
- Law Ministry has approved a proposal received from
the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) to amend the
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and a final
decision on whether to bring it in the form of an Ordinance will be taken
by the cabinet.
The demand for death penalty for sexual crimes stems primarily from a
society’s desire for revenge, not redress. A growing body of literature now
emphasises that the death penalty is not a deterrent against any kind of
crime — better policing, social welfare and effective implementation of the
due processes are. Also, separate courtrooms exclusively for child abuse
cases should be established.
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Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have passed a Bill providing for death
penalty to those convicted of raping girls of 12 years and below.
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Cabinet approves
promulgation of fugitive economic offenders ordinance
The Union Cabinet approved the
promulgation of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance 2018, which
would empower the government to seize the domestic assets of those deemed by a
relevant court to be fugitive economic offenders.
The Ordinance has a provision for a
‘Special Court’ under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 to declare a
person as a Fugitive Economic Offender.
- The move comes on the back of instances of economic
offenders fleeing the jurisdiction of Indian courts after committing
fraud. The multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud is the latest
among such incidents, with alleged fraudster jewellers Nirav Modi and
Mehul Choksi leaving Indian shores just days before the scam was detected.
- The provisions of the ordinance will apply for
economic offenders who refuse to return, persons against whom an arrest
warrant has been issued for a scheduled offence as well as wilful bank
loan defaulters with outstanding debt of over Rs 100 crore.
The ordinance defines a fugitive
economic offender as a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued
for committing offence like counterfeiting government stamps or currency,
cheque dishonour for insufficiency of funds, money laundering, and transactions
defrauding creditors.
According to the ordinance, a director
or deputy director (appointed under the PMLA, 2002) may file an application
before a special court (designated under the 2002 Act) to declare a person as
a fugitive economic offender.
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Vijay Goel launches
central project monitoring unit for e-Vidhan Project
Minister of State for Parliamentary
Affairs Vijay Goel inaugurated the new office of Central Project
Monitoring Unit for the e-Vidhan project of the Government at the
Parliament House Annexe.
- e-Vidhan is a part of the broader Digital India
Programme of the Government and is likely to contribute to the cleanliness
and environment by reducing the use of papers to a great extent.
- e-Vidhan is a mission mode project to digitize and
make the functioning of State Legislatures in the country paperless.
- It is a part of the broader Digital India Programme
of the Government and is likely to contribute to the cleanliness &
environment by reducing the use of papers to a great extent.
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is the Nodal Ministry for the
project.
In 2014, Himachal Pradesh became the first state in the country to
implement e-Vidhan as a pilot project.
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Madras High Court
introduces e-court fee payment
The Madras High Court became the first
court in south India and eighth in the country to introduce e-court fee payment
facility.
- Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Chief
Justice Indira Banerjee jointly launched the facility at the principal
seat of the High Court here as well as its Madurai Bench.
Aamir raises army of 1
lakh ‘jalmitras’
Aamir Khan is asking people in
Maharashtra to unite, on May 1. He wants all citizens concerned about falling
water tables and parched wetlands to join him as ‘jalmitras,’ ready to fight
drought by donating their labour.
- The actor, who is the founder of Paani Foundation,
was at the Symbiosis International University, appealing to students and
urban citizens to join the campaign. His mission is now in the competition
phase, with 4,025 villages in 24 districts in the drier regions enrolling
in the Satyameva Jayate Water Cup 2018, that will go on till May 22.
- The initiative focuses on decentralised watershed
management and asks city dwellers to contribute a day’s labour in the
villages.
- People who are unable to visit villages to
participate can donate, to build watershed management structures. Nearly
1,500 villages across Maharashtra have participated in Paani Foundation’s
Satyamev Jayate Water Cup, since it was launched in 2016.
PM Modi joins world
leaders for CHOGM retreat in the UK
Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined
other heads of government for the leaders’ retreat at Windsor Castle, which
will conclude the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the UK.
- The closed-door meetings comprise the informal
segment of CHOGM, where the leaders meet without any pre-set agenda and
without the presence of their close aides.
- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will be
absent from the group of 53 heads of government as he had to rush back to
Cape Town after violent clashed broke out in the country.
Sushma Swaraj left for
China on 4-Day visit for SCO Meet
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj
has left for China to participate in a meeting of the foreign ministers of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on April 24.
- Swaraj will hold talks with her Chinese counterpart
Wang Yi.
- This will be Ms Swaraj’s first meeting with Wang
after he was elevated last month to be the state councillor.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, also known as the Shanghai Pact,
is a Eurasian political, economic, and military organisation which was
founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Apart from Uzbekistan, the other five
countries have been a part of the Shanghai 5 since 1996. The cooperation was
renamed to Shanghai Cooperation Organisation after Uzbekistan joined the
organisation in 2001.
New members: India and Pakistan
joined SCO as full members in June 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The SCO counts four observer states, namely the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of
Belarus, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Mongolia.
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Commonwealth Countries
unanimously agree to take action on Cybersecurity by 2020
The Commonwealth
countries have unanimously agreed to take action on cybersecurity by
2020.
- In a landmark declaration at the end
of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London,
the leaders of 53 countries agreed to work closely to evaluate
and strengthen their cybersecurity frameworks and response mechanisms.
- A release issued, termed the declaration as the
world's largest and most geographically diverse inter-governmental
commitment on cybersecurity cooperation.
Taipei opens WTC in Delhi
to boost ties with India
With an aim to strengthen trade ties
with India, Taipei World Trade Centre (TWTC) launched its office in
Delhi, ahead of Taiwan’s first ever expo that will showcase
cutting-edge technology and smart city solutions in Delhi in May 2018.
Presence of TWTC in Delhi will further
help strengthen business ties with India.
- Bilateral trade between India and Taiwan has
increased to $6.3 billion in December 2017.
Saudi Arabia set for the
first public film screening at the theatre
Saudi Arabia will host its first public
film screening in over 35 years. United States movie giant AMC said, two days
after it unveiled the kingdom’s debut theatre in Riyadh.
- Tickets for an 8.30 pm show of the blockbuster
action film “Black Panther” appeared to have sold out minutes after AMC
Entertainment began online sales.
- Saudis currently splurge billions of dollars
annually to see films and visit amusement parks in neighbouring tourist
hubs like Dubai and Bahrain.
North Korean leader
suspends nuclear and missile tests
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has
declared he will suspend nuclear and missile tests starting April 21.
- Jong says he will shut down the site where the
previous six nuclear tests were conducted.
- Both Moon and Trump have been saying that North
Korea is now willing to “denuclearize,” a term which means different
things to the different sides.
NASA planning to Lunar ‘Gateway’ space station in
2019
National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) is planning to award
its first contract for the lunar “Gateway” program in 2019.
- The Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway is Nasa’s planned
“staging” area intended for studies of the moon and the deep-space environment.
- Eventually, it will function as a way station for
astronauts travelling to and from Mars.
- The Gateway would also further Nasa’s goal of
another human landing on the moon and will help determine whether water
near the surface could be used to manufacture propellant for deep-space
missions.
- The moon’s gravity could also help a spacecraft
reduce the blistering speeds used for six-month voyages back-and-forth to
Mars, thus facilitating re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere.
Finland-headquartered Nokia invoked MAP under IFDTAA
Finland-headquartered Nokia has invoked the mutual agreement procedure
(MAP) under the India-Finland Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, to resolve
the Rs 2,000-crore tax dispute with the Indian tax department.
- Now, the competent authorities of the two countries
— India and Finland — will sit at the negotiating table and decide how the
dispute should be resolved.
- Indian income tax department had slapped a Rs
2,000-crore tax demand on Nokia India over alleged default on tax
deduction at source (TDS) on software-related payments made to Nokia
Finland for six years. The IT department had concluded that payments made
by Nokia India to Nokia Finland for software downloads — which got
embedded in the Nokia handsets manufactured in India — were taxable in
India as royalty.
MAP is an alternative available to taxpayers to resolve disputes giving
rise to double taxation, whether juridical or economic in nature. An
agreement for avoidance of double taxation between countries would give
authorisation for assistance of Competent Authorities (CAs) in the respective
jurisdiction under MAP. The main benefit of pursuing MAP is the elimination
of double taxation (either juridical or economic). The MAP resolution, once
accepted, eliminates protracted litigation.
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SJVN signs MoU with
Ministry of Power
SJVN Limited has signed an
MoU with Ministry of Power for the year 2018-19. The MoU was signed
by Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Secretary (Power) and Shri Nand Lal Sharma, Chairman
& Managing Director, SJVN.
- As per the targets set in the MOU, SJVN shall strive
to achieve 9200 Million Units generation during the year under ‘Excellent’
category.
- Further, SJVN will have Capital Expenditure
(CAPEX) target of Rs. 900 crore and Turnover target of Rs. 2175 crore
under the Excellent category.
TCS set to become first
Indian company with $100 billion market cap
TCS moved closer to the $100 billion
mark in market capitalisation as its share price surged nearly seven% on
Friday.
- The IT major is set to be the first listed Indian
company to achieve this milestone.
- TCS market valuation had on January 24 this year
surged past the Rs 6 lakh crore mark.
- The stock jumped 6.76% to settle at Rs 3,406.40 on
BSE. During the day, it soared 7.22% to its 52-week high of Rs 3,421.25.
RBI notifies Aadhaar-KYC
guidelines
The Reserve Bank of India directed
commercial banks to make linking of Aadhaar to bank accounts mandatory, at a
time when the Supreme Court is in the final leg of hearings on the contentious
issue.
- However, the banking regulator clarified that these
guidelines were subject to the verdict in the Supreme Court.
- What has surprised RBI watchers is the circular’s
timing. While the Centre had notified norms on June 1, 2017, RBI had till
now not issued guidelines to banks.
PFRDA makes sharing of
bank a/c, mobile number mandatory for NPS subscribers
Pension fund regulator PFRDA has made
bank account details and mobile number mandatory for subscribers of national
pension scheme (NPS).
- Further, in compliance with the Prevention of Money
Laundering Act (PMLA) guidelines, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development
Authority (PFRDA) has also made Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)
and Central Registry of Securitization Asset Reconstruction and Security
Interest (CERSAI) mandatory for new and existing subscribers.
- PFRDA takes various initiatives from time to time in
order to simplify and improve the operational issues in National Pension
System (NPS), like new functionality development under NPS architecture,
simplification of account opening, withdrawal and grievance management.
ICICI Bank launches
digital form for opening current accounts
Private sector lender ICICI Bank has
introduced a ‘digital form’ which will help open current accounts in a few
hours.
- Bank officials can now capture information about the
customer and the business digitally and verify KYC documents in real-time,
at the premise of the customer.
- Claiming that this is a first of its kind service by
any lender in India, it will help it secure more clients as its helps in
‘ease of doing business’ and help increase the bank’s market share.
ICICI Bank
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Headquarters
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Mumbai
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Tagline
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Hum Hai Na, Khyal Apka
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MD and CEO
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Chanda Kochhar
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SEBI disposes of charges
against Karur Vysya Bank
Markets regulator SEBI disposed of the
charges against private player Karur Vysya Bank as it did not find any
violation of shareholding disclosure norms.
- It was alleged that the bank’s shareholding had
aggregated to 5.91 per cent (crossed 5 per cent ceiling) in Arvind
Remedies on October 15, 2014.
- Further, it was alleged that the lender had 9.29 per
cent stake in the company on January 27, 2015, which is more than 5 per
cent and subsequently changed by over 2 per cent.
- On both the occasions, the bank allegedly did not
make disclosure about this to the stock exchanges and violated SAST
(Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) and PIT (Prohibition of
Insider Trading) norms.
Karur Vysya Bank
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Headquarters
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Tamil Nadu
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Tagline
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Smart Way to Bank
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MD and CEO
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P R Seshadri
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Prince Charles to succeed
his mother Queen Elizabeth II as head of Commonwealth
Britain’s Prince Charles will
succeed his mother Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of the
Commonwealth after the heads of government agreed on his succession.
- The Commonwealth leaders have reached an agreement
on the succession of the 69-year-old heir to the British throne at a
closed-door Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting retreat in Windsor
Castle.
Diljit wins Int'l award
for most trending personality
Singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh has
received an international award for the 'Most Trending Personality' for this
year at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival.
India's 4 CWG medals
winner recommended for Arjuna Award
The Table Tennis Federation of India
(TTFI) has recommended Manika Batra, the country's only quadruple medallist at
the Commonwealth Games, for the prestigious Arjuna Award.
- Batra, who twice beat three-time Olympic medallist
Feng Tianwei at the CWG 2018, will next represent India at the World Team
Championships in Sweden from April 29.
Mukesh Ambani in World’s
greatest leaders’ list
Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani and human
rights lawyer Indira Jaising have been named by Fortune magazine as the World’s
Greatest Leaders of 2018.
- The Fortune’s 2018 ranking of the 50 Greatest
Leaders released also has architect Balkrishna Doshi in the list which
includes Apple CEO Tim Cook, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and
football coach Nick Saban.
Former Delhi High Court
Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar passes away
Human rights activist and former Chief
Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice Rajinder Sachar passed away in New
Delhi. He was 94.
- Justice (retd.) Sachar was the Chief Justice from
August 6, 1985, to December 22, 1985. After his retirement, he was
associated with rights group People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).
- He completed his early education in Lahore’s D.A.V.
High School and graduated in law from the Law College of that city.
- After enrolling as an advocate in 1952 in Simla, he
began practising on all types of civil, criminal and revenue cases.
Indian Animation expert
Bhimsain Khurana passes away
Indian animation pioneer and
multiple National Award winner Bhimsain Khurana had passed away. He
was 82. Khurana was known for films like “Gharaonda” and for iconic
animation shorts like “Ek Anek Ekta”.
- His unforgettable work
includes “Ek chidiya, anek chidiya” song. In 1970, he
made his debut with his first animation short “The Climb”, which
earned him the Silver Hugo Award in the Chicago Film
Festival.
Scientist at US lab that
made 1st-ever atom bomb passes away
Turkey-born scientist Nerses Krikorian,
who worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which developed the atomic
bomb, has passed away aged 97.
- Krikorian fled to the US as a boy to escape the
aftermath of Armenian genocide by Ottoman Turks.
- In his over four-decade-long career, he worked with
uranium in the Manhattan Project and also helped develop a nuclear-thermal
rocket.
Ed Smith named new England
cricket selector
Former Test batsman Ed Smith takes
the appointment as England’s new national selector.
- The ECB said Smith, who succeeds James
Whitaker, would be part of a “new approach to scouting, assessing and
selecting players.
- A former Kent and Middlesex captain, batsman Smith
played three home Tests for England in 2003 after a prolific run of county
form.
- He scored 64 in his first Test innings but managed
only 23 more runs in his next four innings and was dropped.
8th South Asian Judo
Championship begins in Lalitpur, Nepal
In Nepal, the 8th South Asian Judo
Championship began in Lalitpur near Kathmandu. Besides host Nepal, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are participating in the three-day
championship.
- A total of 102 players, including 13 from India,
will compete for 7 gold, as many silver and 14 bronze medals each in men’s
and women’s individual categories.
- The players will also contest for one gold, one
silver and two bronze each in men’s and women’s team events.
- There will be seven categories in men’s event from
-60 kg to above 100 kg.
- The women’s section will have categories from -48 kg
to above 78 kg. This is the fourth time Nepal is hosting South Asian Judo
Championship.
Shane Watson slams fourth
T20 hundred, second of IPL 2018
Shane Watson hit the second century
of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) against
Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Pune.
- This was also Watson’s third IPL hundred and fourth
in T20 cricket.
- Incidentally, Watson’s has hit two centuries for
Rajasthan Royals but scored one against them for CSK.
- He has played 106 matches and scored more than 2700
runs at an average of 32.07.
16th Federation Cup Junior
National Athletics Championship Begins
The 16th Federation Cup Junior
National athletics championship has begun in Coimbatore, Tamil
Nadu. Over 800 athletes from 32 states across the country will take part
in this tournament.
- The meet will serve as the selections trials for the
18th Asian Junior Athletic Meet to be held at Gifu, Japan, in June.
