Daily Current affairs - April 4th, 2018 for all competitive exams
All medical units of the Indian army,
including those in Pune, celebrated the 254th raising day of
the Army Medical Corps on April 3.
The history of the Indian Medical Services dates
back to 1612 when on the formation of the East India Company.
The Corps was renamed as “Army Medical Corps”
(AMC) on adoption of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950.
Ministry withdraws order on ‘fake news’
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry withdrew its order;
under which accreditation of any journalist found guilty of disseminating “fake
news” could be cancelled.
- This
came on directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after outrage from the
media and the Opposition.
The notification, which did not define the phrase “fake
news,” said complaints would be referred to the PCI if they pertained to the
print media and to the News Broadcasters Association if they related to the
electronic media. The regulatory agencies would have 15 days to dispose of a
complaint. During the period of probe, the journalist’s accreditation would
be suspended
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Suresh Prabhu launches digital initiative for
ease of export
Union Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation Minister,
Suresh Prabhulaunched digital initiatives by Export Inspection Council
(EIC) for ease of export at New Delhi.
- EIC
is the official export certification body of Government of Indiaand
has launched this flagship project of Digital India Initiative to keep
pace with changing dynamics of the world.
- In
order to continue the vision for credible inspection and certification,
three portals have been developed to reduce transaction time and cost in a
transparent manner.
- The
portals will play an important role in the Go Green initiative by reducing
paper usage and saving millions of trees.
Helmets compulsory for Haryana students
The Haryana Higher Education Department has made wearing of
helmets and fastening of seatbelts in cars mandatory for all college students
even when they are inside the campus.
- The
decision was taken at a review meeting on Road Safety Programme held under
the chairmanship of Rakesh Gupta, Additional Principal Secretary to the
Chief Minister of Haryana, an official spokesman said.
- Students
who do not abide by the rules would not be allowed to enter the campus
World-class tourist amenities Unveiled at
Konark Sun temple
A world-class interpretation center and other
tourist facilities for visitors were inaugurated at the Konark Sun Temple,
Odisha.
- It
coincided with Utkal Diwas, Odisha's foundation day.
- The
facilities were inaugurated by the Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra
Pradhan.
Multi modal logistic park inaugurated at Balli,
Goa
Multi Modal Logistics Park at Balli Station near Madgaon in
Goa was recently inaugurated.
- The
part is located on Konkan Railway route. It has been set as per MoU
entered between Konkan Railway & Container Corporation of India Ltd
(CONCOR).
- It
will benefit trade and industry from economic transport solutions and
state of art facilities.
Article 370 has acquired permanent status:
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court said Article 370 of
the Constitution, conferring special status on Jammu and Kashmir had
acquired permanent status through years of existence.
- The
observation came from a bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and R F Nariman on
a petition by Kumari Vijayalakshmi Jha.
- Mehta
said the Centre would study the implication of the 2017 judgment, which
was on the applicability of Sarfaesi Act (bank securitisation law) to
J&K.
Govt. seeking review on SC/ST Atrocities Act
The government
has filed a petition seeking review of the Supreme Court order diluting the
provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, which protects marginalised communities against discrimination
and atrocities.
- On
March 20, the Supreme Court banned automatic arrests and registration of
criminal cases under the SC/ST Act, triggering widespread criticism and
outcry from the dalit community.
- The
apex court said public servants can’t be prosecuted without the approval
of the appointing authority, and private citizens too should be arrested
only after an inquiry under the law.
- It
further ruled that preliminary inquiry in a case under the Act would be
conducted by the Deputy Superintendent of Police to ensure the allegations
are not frivolous.
- The
amendment in the law was a bid to protect honest public servants
discharging bona fide duties from being blackmailed with false cases under
the Act.
The
Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is popularly known
as POA, the SC/ST Act, the Prevention of Atrocities Act, or simply the
Atrocities Act. The SC/ST Act was enacted on September 9, 1989. The rules for
the Act were notified on March 31, 1995.
The SC/ST
Act lists 22 offences relating to various patterns or behaviours inflicting
criminal offences and breaking the self-respect and esteem of the scheduled
castes and tribes community. This includes denial of economic, democratic and
social rights, discrimination, exploitation and abuse of the legal process.
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EC supports One candidate, one seat
The Election
Commission has told the Supreme Court that it supports the proposal to allow
one candidate to contest from only one constituency in an election.
The EC
expressed this view in an affidavit it filed in the petition over the matter.
- The
Supreme Court had in December 2017 issued notices seeking replies from the
Election Commission and the Centre on the issue. At the time, the Supreme
Court had said the practice of one candidate contesting multiple seats was
a drain on the exchequer since it necessitated bypolls.
- A
petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging Section 33(7) of
the Representation of the People Act of 1951 that allows a person to
contest elections to Parliament and state assemblies from two
constituencies and sought an end to the practice.
Section
33(7) of the Representation of People’s Act permits a candidate to contest
any election (Parliamentary, State Assembly, Biennial Council, or
bye-elections) from up to two constituencies. The provision was introduced in
1996 prior to which there was no bar on the number of constituencies from
which a candidate could contest.
The ECI has
alternatively suggested that if existing provisions are retained then the
candidate contesting from two seats should bear the cost of the bye-election
to the seat that the contestant decides to vacate in the event of his/her
winning both seats. The amount in such an event could be Rs 5 lakh for
assembly election and Rs 10 lakh for parliament election.
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Modi, Oli to lay the foundation of a 900MW
power project in Nepal
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his
Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli will jointly lay the foundation stone of the
900 MW Arun III hydropower project.
- Some
key agreements are expected to be signed along with the remote laying of
the foundation stone of the hydroelectricity project.
- This
is the largest hydroelectric project undertaken by the India government in
Nepal and it gained momentum after Modi came to power in 2014.
Trial run of 1st India-Bangladesh container
train flagged off
The trial run of the first container train
between India and Bangladesh was flagged off from Kolkata city.
- The
train left for Bangladesh with 60 containers loaded with almost 1,200
tonnes of de-oiled cake, used as a raw material for animal feed.
Indian envoy meets Pakistan NSA
India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria called on
Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Nasir Khan Janjua and had “constructive
discussions” with him.
- However,
while the Indian statement on the meeting referred only to “issues of
Indian concern”, Pakistan’s statement said the two sides had discussed the
“worsening situation” in Kashmir and the possibility of reviving bilateral
dialogue, something New Delhi has refused to return to since 2016 .
Indo-Kyrgyzstan joint training exercise
KHANJAR-V concludes
The fifth Indo-Kyrgyzstan Joint Training Exercise KHANJAR-V
culminated on 29 March, after a joint tactical validation exercise and a
closing ceremony held at Counter Insurgency Jungle Warfare School.
- Two
week of joint training that commenced on 16 March included understanding
tactics of platoon level, developing inter operability and sharing of best
practices.
China to launch two remote sensing satellites
for Pakistan in June
China will launch two remote sensing satellites
for Pakistan in June, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT)
said.
- It
will be the first international commercial launch for a Long March-2C
rocket after it carried Motorola’s Iridium satellites into orbit in 1999.
- The
rocket will also carry the China-France Oceanography Satellite into space
in September this year, state-run Xinhua news agency reported quoting
CALVT.
- China
had launched Pakistan’s communication Satellite PAKSAT-1R in 2011.
NASA’s Hubble Telescope discovered Icarus- farthest star
NASA’s Hubble
Space Telescope has discovered the farthest individual star ever seen — an
enormous blue stellar body nicknamed Icarus located over halfway across the
universe.
- The
star, harboured in a very distant spiral galaxy, is so far away that its
light has taken nine billion years to reach Earth. It appears to us as it
did when the universe was about 30% of its current age.
- The
star, located in a distant spiral galaxy, is at least 100 times further
away than any other star previously observed, with the exception of things
like the huge supernova explosions that mark the death of certain stars.
- These
observations by astronomers from NASA provide a rare and detailed look at
how stars evolve, especially the most luminous stars. Detecting the
amplification of a single and pinpoint background star has provided a
unique opportunity to test the nature of dark matter in the cluster.
The Hubble
Space Telescope is a large telescope in space. NASA launched Hubble in 1990.
It was built by the United States space agency NASA, with contributions from
the European Space Agency. Hubble is the only telescope designed to be
serviced in space by astronauts.
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IndusInd first bank to use WhatsApp for basic
services
IndusInd Bank has become the first lender to
start using WhatsApp enterprise solution to provide basic banking
services to customers.
- Using
the widely-used messaging service, customers can check their balance,
obtain a mini statement, check reward points as well as
update Aadhaar.
- In
India, BookMyShow recently started using the platform to
communicate with customers.
IndusInd bank gets RBI nod to acquire IL&FS
Arm
Private sector lender IndusInd Bank has
received RBI's approval to buy the securities services arm of
IL&FS.
- In
March 2017, the bank entered an agreement with Infrastructure Leasing and
Financial Services, the promoter shareholder of IL&FS Securities
Services Ltd (ISSL), to acquire 100% stake in ISSL.
Infrastructure
Leasing & Financial Services Limited is an Indian infrastructure
development and finance company. Its projects includes the Asia's longest
tunnel, Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, which was opened for traffic on 2 April 2017
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Indian
army, HDFC Bank ink MoU on defence salary package
A Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) tailor-made to
suit the requirements of serving soldiers was signed between the Indian Army
and HDFC Bank.
- The
first MoU between HDFC Bank and the Indian Army was signed in 2011 and was
renewed on 13th March 2015.
- At
present, Indian Army has MoUs on defence salary package with 11 public and
private sector banks.
Jio payments bank limited commences operations
Jio Payments Bank Limited has commenced
operations as a payments bank. The Reserve Bank has issued a licence to the
bank under Section 22 (1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to carry on the
business of payments bank in India.
- Reliance
Industries Limited, Mumbai was one of the 11 applicants which were
issued in-principle approval for setting up a payments bank.
Payments banks is a new model of banks conceptualised by
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). These banks can accept a restricted deposit,
which is currently limited to Rs.1 lakh per customer and may be
increased further. These banks cannot issue loans and credit cards. Both
current account and savings accounts can be operated by such banks. Payments
banks can issue services like ATM cards, debit cards, net-banking and
mobile-banking. Bharti Airtel set up India's first live payments bank.
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HRD Ministry constitutes Committee to prevent
exam paper leakages
The Ministry of Human Resource
Development has constituted a High Powered Committee to examine
the entire system of conducting Class X and Class XII examination conducted by
the CBSE with a view to prevent leakages.
- Mr
Vinay Sheel Oberoi, Retd. Secretary (Higher Education), MHRD will be
the Chairperson of the 7 member High Power Committee.
India Ranks 37th in global startup ecosystem:
Startup blink Report
According to report released by global startup ecosystem map
Startup link, India was ranked 37th out of 125 countries in global startup
ecosystem in 2017.
- Startup
link is a global startup ecosystem map with tens of thousands of
registered startups, coworking spaces, and accelerators. The list,
measuring startup ecosystem strength and activity, was topped by the
United States followed by the United Kingdom.
NIRF India Rankings 2018
The National
Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) India Rankings 2018 have been announced.
- NIRF
Indian Rankings 2018 was the third edition of the rankings that were
introduced in the year 2016.
- The
National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) outlines a methodology to
rank institutions across the country.
- The
parameters for ranking broadly cover “Teaching, Learning and Resources,”
“Research and Professional Practices,” “Graduation Outcomes,” “Outreach
and Inclusivity,” and “Perception”.
- The
2018 rankings include nine different categories-overall, universities,
engineering, colleges, management, pharmacy, medical, architecture, and
law. Out of which sections like medical, architecture and law have
been introduced this year.
Performance
of various institutions:
- The
Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru and Delhi’s Miranda House are
India’s best university and college this year.
- All
India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, Nalsar University of
Law in Hyderabad and Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur ranked
number 1 in their respective categories.
- Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras was declared the best engineering
college.
- Delhi
University’s Miranda House topped the college category this year as well.
- Indian
Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad occupied the top position among
management institutions this year also.
- Osmania
University Rank – 45 ; HCU - 11
Ranking
promotes competition among the Universities and drive them to strive for
excellence. The rankings assume significance as performance of institutions
has been linked with “Institutions of Eminence” scheme.
The institutes of eminence scheme under the Union human resource
development (HRD) ministry aims to project Indian
institutes to global recognition. The 20 selected institutes will enjoy
complete academic and administrative autonomy.
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India-Japan-US trilateral talks held in New
Delhi
The crucial dialogue between the three leading democratic
powers (viz. India, Japan and the USA) of the Indo-Pacific region was held in
New Delhi.
- It
comes a fortnight ahead of the summit between US President Donald Trump
and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Florida.
- The
India-Japan-US trilateral was launched in December 2011. It was elevated
to ministerial level in September 2015. The last ministerial dialogue was
held in New York in September 2017.
Pakistan PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to participate
in Boao Forum for Asia
Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will
be among the foreign leaders attending this year’s Boao Forum for Asia.
- Chinese
President Xi Jinping will deliver the keynote speech at the opening
ceremony of the 2018 BFA.
The BFA was formed by China in 2001 on the
lines in the World Economic Forum’s annual June meeting, also called Summer
Davos.
Xi has invited leaders of the industry from
different countries to deliberate on regional and global issues.
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Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) meeting held in Vizag
Second lead-up
Conference to 3rd Annual Meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
on ‘Enhancing Port and Coastal Infrastructure’ is being held Visakhapatnam.
- The
Regional Conference is being organized by the Ministry of Finance,
Government of India in collaboration with AIIB, CII and Research and
Infrastructure System (RIS) for Developing Countries.
- The
panel discusses various issues relating to trade promotion through sea
route, building-up robust port & coastal infrastructure and revising
& relaxing maritime regulatory issues to promote blue economy in
India.
Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank with
a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia and beyond. It
is headquartered in Beijing. It
commenced operations in January 2016 and has now grown to 84 approved members
from around the world. By investing in sustainable infrastructure and other
productive sectors today, it aims to connect people, services and markets
that over time will impact the lives of billions and build a better future.
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Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
The world’s
chemical watchdog is meeting after a British laboratory said it had not proved
that Russia manufactured a deadly nerve agent used to poison a former Russian
spy.
- The
talks at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
have been requested by Moscow which said it wanted to “address the
situation around the allegations in regards to the incident in Salisbury.”
- The
OPCW is an independent, autonomous international organisation with a
working relationship with the United Nations.
The
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is the implementing body
of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in 1997.
As of today OPCW has 192 Member States, who are working together to achieve a
world free of chemical weapons. The organisation was awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize “for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons”.
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41 take oath as Rajya Sabha members, Jaitley
back as leader of House
Finance minister Arun Jaitley was once again
named the leader of the House as 41 members, including 18 who were re-elected,
took oath in the Rajya Sabha.
- Among
the ministers who took the oath of affirmation were Union ministers Ravi
Shankar Prasad, Prakash Javadekar, Jagat Prakash Nadda and Dharmendra
Pradhan.
Himanta Biswa Sarma takes the appointment as
president of Badminton Association of India
Himanta Biswa Sarma has been elected as the
president of the Badminton Association of India.
- He
took over as the interim president of BAI last year after the
demise of former president Akhilesh Das Gupta.
- Former
Tamil Nadu Badminton Association president and former Union
minister, Anbumani Ramadoss was elected as the treasurer
uncontested.
M L Srivastava appointed protem chairman of
Lalit Kala Akademi
On 31st March 2018, it was announced that, M L Srivastava has
been appointed as the protem chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi.
- M
L Srivastava – protem chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi.
- M
L Srivastava is Joint Secretary (Akademies) at the Ministry of Culture. He
has been appointed the Protem Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi with
immediate effect by the President based on the recommendation of the
Minister of Culture.
- He
will hold this post until a regular chairman is appointed. The previous
administrator of Lalit Kala Akademi is CS Krishna Setty.
Aashish Kapoor replaces Venkatesh Prasad in
BCCI junior selection panel
Former India player Aashish Kapoor was named as a
replacement of Venkatesh Prasad in the three-member All-India Junior Selection
Committee of the BCCI.
- Kapoor
was a part of the original five-member panel selected in 2016 but was
later kept out as BCCI pruned it to three as per Lodha panel diktat.
- Gyanendra
Pandey and Rakesh Parikh are the other two members of the selection panel.
- The
former off-spinner, Kapoor played four Tests and 17 ODIs for India,
including the 1996 ICC World Cup.
- He
has also played 128 first-class games and 93 List A matches.
Commonwealth games 2018 starts at Gold Coast in
Australia
The 21st edition of the Commonwealth
Games begun in Gold Coast, Australia, with a colourful opening
ceremony
- Carrara
Stadium has been chosen as the venue to host the opening ceremony.
These Games marked the 5th time that Australia has hosted the games. India
was represented at the opening ceremony by a contingent of over 200
athletes who were led by flag-bearer P V Sindhu.
