Daily Current affairs - April 5th, 2018 for all competitive exams
April 5 is celebrated as the National Maritime Day in India
every year.
- It
marked a red letter day in the maritime history of India, a country known
for its seafaring abilities since ancient days.
- The
National Maritime Day was first celebrated on 5th April, 1964.
- Theme:
Indian Shipping – An Ocean of opportunity
It was on this day 99 years ago in 1919 when the country's
navigation history set sail with SS Loyalty, the first ship of the Scindia
Steam Navigation Company Ltd started for the United Kingdom from Mumbai (then
British Bombay).
An
award called Varuna is conferred to those who have made an outstanding
contribution to the Indian maritime sector on this day.
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India Ratings ups India’s FY19 GDP growth to 7.4%
India Ratings and Research has revised its FY19 GDP growth
forecast to 7.4% from 7.1% earlier.
- As
per the report, FY19 growth will continue to be driven by consumption and
associated sectors such as automobiles, cargo handled at major ports.
1st bi-monthly monetary policy statement
released by RBI
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided
to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF)
unchanged at 6.0%.
- Consequently,
the Reverse Repo Rate (RRR) under the LAF remains at 5.75%,
and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at
6.25%. India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth
marginally upward to 6.6% from 6.5% in the first advance estimates.
- Retail
inflation, measured by the year-on-year change in the CPI, fell from a
high of 5.1% in January to 4.4% in February due to a decline in inflation
in food and fuel. CPI inflation excluding food and fuel remained unchanged
at 5.2%.
Competition Commission of India composition reduced to 4
Union Cabinet has given its
approval for rightsizing the Competition Commission of India (CCI) from One
Chairperson and Six Members (totalling seven) to One Chairperson and Three
Members (totalling four).
- Section
8(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 (the Act) provides that
the Commission shall consist of a Chairperson and not less than two and
not more than six Members.
The
Competition Commission of India (CCI) was established under the Competition
Act, 2002 for the administration, implementation and enforcement of the Act,
and was duly constituted in March 2009. Chairman
and members are appointed by the central government.
The
Competition Act, 2002, as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007,
prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by
enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and
M&A), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on
competition within India.
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Union cabinet approved for Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill,
2018
The Union Cabinet has given
its approval to the Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018 for better
protection and promotion of human rights in the country.
- It
proposes to include “National Commission for Protection of Child Rights”
as deemed Member of the Commission;
- It
proposes to add a woman Member in the composition of the Commission;
- It
proposes to enlarge the scope of eligibility and scope of selection of
Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission as well as the State Human
Rights Commission; and
- It
proposes to incorporate a mechanism to look after the cases of human
rights violation in the Union Territories.
The
amendment to the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 will make National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) more
compliant with the Paris Principle concerning its autonomy, independence,
pluralism and wide-ranging functions in order to effectively protect and
promote human rights.
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Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) unveils
‘Virtual ID’
The UIDAI has unveiled the beta version of ‘Virtual ID’,
which will soon be accepted by service providers in lieu of Aadhaar number.
- In
January 2018, UIDAI had announced that it will come up with a ‘Virtual ID’
for Aadhaar Card-holders in order to address privacy concerns related to
quoting Aadhaar.
- Virtual
ID (VID), which an Aadhaar-card holder can generate from UIDAI’s website
is a random 16-digit number mapped to a person’s Aadhaar number and
biometrics.
VID of the user would give any authorized agency like a
mobile company, limited details such as name, address and photograph, which
are enough for any verification. Thus VID will do away with the need of
disclosing 12-digit Aadhaar number for authentication or verification
purposes.
UIDAI had stated that all authorized agency/service
providers will have to compulsory accept VID for undertaking authentication
from June 1, 2018.
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Government planning to have more benches of the NCLT
The government is planning to
have more benches of the National Company Law Tribunal on the basis of case
load, amid rising number of insolvency cases coming up before the NCLT.
- Currently,
there are 11 NCLT benches in different parts of the country, including two
in the national capital.
National
Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is a quasi-judicial body that will govern the
companies in India. It was established under the Companies Act, 2013 and is a
successor body of the Company Law Board.
NCLT will have the same powers as assigned to the erstwhile
Company Law Board (which are mostly related to dealing with oppression and
mismanagement), Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction
(BIFR)(revival of sick companies) and powers related to winding up of
companies (which was available only with the High Courts).
The setting
up of NCLT as a specialized institution for corporate justice is based on the
recommendations of the Justice Eradi Committee on Law Relating to Insolvency
and Winding up of Companies.
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Cigarette packs to show addiction helpline number from Sept
All tobacco products and cigarette packs will have the
national toll-free number 1800-11-2356 printed on them starting September 1 to
help users quit smoking.
- Further,
enhanced pictorial images and the text messages “tobacco causes painful
death” and “tobacco causes cancer” will cover 85% of the packet area.
- As
per government data, 62% smokers thought of quitting because of pictorial
warnings.
MAA programme launched by Himachal Pradesh Health Minister Vipin
Parmar
On March 4, 2018, Himachal Pradesh Health Minister Vipin
Parmar launched Mother’s Absolute Affection (MAA) programme with an aim to
promote breastfeeding.
- Objective
of MAA programme is to create awareness among masses about the importance
of breastfeeding.
- Besides
community awareness generation, other components of MAA programme are
strengthening inter-personal communication through ASHA workers, skilled
support for breastfeeding at delivery points in public health facilities
and work places.
Breastfeeding helps in reducing the incidence of infant
mortality and early childhood mortality and provides complete nutrition to a
child.
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MoRTH submitted affidavit on Char Dham project
Ministry of road, transport
and highway (MORTH) in their affidavit submitted recently before the National
Green Tribunal(NGT) in matter of Char Dham widening road in Uttarakhand stated
that in all the total 53 projects/stretches of Char Dham, none is above 100 km
which is why no environmental clearance was obtained.
- Stretches
upto 100 km are exempted from environmental clearance under Environmental
Clearance Notification.
The project
involves developing and widening 900-km of national highways connecting the
holy Hindu pilgrimage sites of; Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri
at an estimated cost of Rs.12,000 crores. The roads will be widened from 12m
to 24m and the project will involve construction of tunnels, bypasses,
bridges, subways and viaducts.
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Panel seeks report on violence
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has written to
the governments of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to file reports
on the reasons behind the violence and deaths during the recent Bharat bandh
called by Dalit organisations against the alleged dilution of the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
- The
States have also been asked to find out if there was some “conspiracy”
that led the protests to get out of hand.
- The
protests came in the wake of the Supreme Court laying down some procedures
such as a preliminary police inquiry to ensure that a complaint under the
Act was not frivolous. It also barred automatic arrest under the Act to
balance the need to protect disadvantaged sections with the need to ensure
that no innocent citizen was harassed.
In the old Act of 1989, if there was a murder, there was
only Rs. 1 lakh compensation. But under the amended Act, there is
compensation of Rs. 8.25 lakh, and also additional compensation. There is
basic pension for the widow of the victim, and also free education up to the
graduation level
The Centre has filed a review plea in the SC seeking
reconsideration of its decision to ban automatic arrests and registration of
a criminal complaint under the Act.
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India to offer $3-4 billion development plan
for giant Iran gas field
India is set to offer a $3-4 billion development plan for the
Farzad B gas field to Iran next week.
- Relations
between the two countries, which have long held deep trade ties, were
strained last year.
- New
Delhi and Tehran have been trying to narrow differences over Farzad B
development rights since its discovery by Indian firms led by ONGC Videsh.
Pakistan informed World bank on Kishanganga project
Pakistan has informed the
World Bank about India’s completing of the Kishanganga hydropower project
during the bank’s “pause” period and has urged it to “recognise its responsibility”
under the Indus Waters Treaty.
- Pakistan
has approached the World Bank, the mediator between the two countries of
the water distribution treaty, in the past and raised issues over
Kishanganga and Ratle projects in Jammu and Kashmir.
- It
has been flagging concern over designs of India’s five hydroelectricity
projects – Pakal Dul (1000 MW), Ratle (850 MW), Kishanganga (330 MW),
Miyar (120 MW) and Lower Kalnai (48 MW) – being built/planned in the Indus
river basin, contending these violate the treaty.
The
Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant is an $864 million dam
which is part of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme that is designed to
divert water from the Kishanganga River to a power plant in the Jhelum River
basin. It is located 5 km north of Bandipore in Jammu and Kashmir, India and
will have an installed capacity of 330 MW. Construction on the dam was
temporarily halted by the Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration in October
2011 due to Pakistan’s protest of its effect on the flow of the Kishanganga
River (called the Neelum River in Pakistan). In February 2013, the Hague
ruled that India could divert a minimum amount of water for power generation.
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India-Russia to bolster defence ties
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Russian
counterpart General Sergey Shoygu held a bilateral meeting in Moscow to discuss
ways to reinforce defence cooperation between the two sides.
- The
talks were aimed to reinforce defence cooperation between the two
countries focusing specifically on Military Technical Cooperation
Turkey launches construction of first-ever nuclear plant
On April 3, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin and
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched construction of Turkey’s first
ever nuclear plant on the Mediterranean coast at Akkuyu.
- Turkey
launches construction of first-ever nuclear plant. Turkey’s first-ever
nuclear plant is being built by Russia’s nuclear energy agency, Rosatom.
- Estimated
cost for building this plant is $20 billion. First stage is likely to
become operational in 2023, coinciding with 100th anniversary of
foundation of Republic of Turkey, while the entire project will be
completed in 2026.
The USD20 billion project to build the four-unit, 4800 MWe
plant is part of Erdogan's '2023 Vision' marking 100 years since
the founding of modern Turkey and is intended to reduce the country's
dependence on energy imports.
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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).
- 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.
China to develop Bangladesh industrial zone as
part of South Asia push
China is developing a 750-acre industrial park in Bangladesh
which will largely be used by Chinese manufacturing firms.
- State-run
China Harbour Engineering Company will hold a 70% share in a joint venture
being formed for the park with the Bangladesh Special Economic Zone
Authority.
China is investing billions of dollars in building ports,
power stations and roads in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan as part
of its Belt and Road Initiative. Li said Chinese investment in Bangladesh
would soon reach $10 billion, mainly focused on power, road and
infrastructure projects.
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Monsoon likely to be normal
Monsoon 2018 is likely to be ‘normal’ with ‘zero chance’ of a
drought, according to private forecaster Skymet. “2018 is likely to remain
normal at 100% (with an [model] error margin of +/-5%) of the long period
average of 887 mm for the four-month period from June to September
- ‘Normal’
rainfall refers to India getting, within a 4% error margin, 887 mm of
rainfall during the monsoon season.
However this doesn’t mean farmers can rest easy. While June
was likely to receive excess rainfall, there is still, on average, a 30%
chance that the key monsoon months of July and August would see rain that was
‘below normal’— or a greater than 10% deficit in their normal quotas. July
and August bring in half the monsoon rains and are crucial for a good
harvest. July is forecast to get 97% and August 96% of its quota.
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Apple working on touchless control, curved
iPhone display
Apple Inc. is working on touchless gesture control and curved
screens for future iPhones, projects that may help the company.
- The
control feature would let iPhone users perform some tasks by moving their
finger close to the screen without actually tapping it.
- Apple
is also developing iPhone displays that curve inward gradually from top to
bottom, one of the people familiar with the situation.
Microsoft plans to invest $5 billion in IoT
Tech giant Microsoft would invest $5 billion over the next
four years on Internet of Things (IoT) globally. In a statement, Microsoft said
this increased investment would support continued research and innovation in
IoT.
- This
(investment) will support Microsoft’s technology platform, as well as
supporting programs, thereby enabling continued research and development
in key areas, including securing IoT, creating development tools and
intelligent services for IoT and the edge, and investments to grow our
partner ecosystem
IoT refers to a network of inter-connected sensors and
devices like smartphones, connected vehicles and appliances that harness
relevant information from massive amounts of data collected.
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Flipkart partners with MakeMyTrip to offer
travel services
Homegrown e-commerce giant Flipkart has forged a
strategic partnership with online travel company MakeMyTrip to offer travel
services on its platform.
- Additionally,
the services of MakeMyTrip's other brands, Goibibo and redBus, will be
available to Flipkart consumers as part of the deal.
Doha Bank sets up first branch in Chennai
Qatar-based Doha Bank has set up the first branch in the
Chennai taking the total number of branches in the country to three.
- Doha
Bank currently has a branch in Mumbai, Kochi and Chennai, respectively.
- The
Chennai branch will assist the bank’s growing customer base in India
offering a host of services including corporate, retail, treasury, trade,
finance and foreign exchange services.
Doha Bank
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Headquarters
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Doha, Qatar
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CEO
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Raghavan Seetharaman
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Rs. 9 Cr fine on Bank of Baroda over 2015 forex remittance scam
The Financial Intelligence Unit has imposed Rs.9 crore
penalty on Bank of Baroda. The bank failed in detecting wrongdoing and
instances of money laundering at its Delhi-based branch, where a Rs.
6,000-crore forex remittance scam was reported in 2015.
- The
bank was also held guilty for failing to file 63 integrally connected cash
transactions in seven accounts.
Bank of Baroda
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Headquarters
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Vadodara
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CEO
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P. S. Jayakumar
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Tagline
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India’s International Bank.
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Internet Security Threat Report released
‘Internet Security Threat
Report’ has been released by Symantec. Countries are ranked based on their
vulnerability.
- These
rankings are based on eight parameters – malware, spam, phishing, bots,
network attacks, web attacks, ransomware and cryptominers.
- India
is the third-most vulnerable country in terms of cyber threat risks
including malware, spam, ransomware and one of the most recent and
difficult-to-detect ones – cryptominers.
- India
continues to be second-most impacted by spam and bots and third-most
impacted by network attacks and fourth-most impacted by ransomware.
- In
terms of cryptomining activities, India has ranked second in Asia-Pacific
and Japan region (APJ), and ninth globally.
- The
US was was most vulnerable to attacks at 26.61% followed by China at
10.95%.
India is world’s second largest producer of
crude steel
India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s
second-largest producer of crude steel in February according to the Steel Users
Federation of India (Sufi).
- At
present, China is the largest producer of crude steel in the world,
accounting for more than 50 percent of the production.
- India’s
crude steel production was up 4.4 percent and stood at 93.11 million
tonnes (mt) for the period April 2017 to February 2018.
- India
overtook the US in 2015 to become the third largest producer of crude
steel.
EAM Sushma Swaraj on 3-Day visit to Azerbaijan
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has begun
her three-day visit to Azerbaijan to participate in the Mid-Term
Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Baku.
- Ms
Swaraj held bilateral consultations with the Foreign Minister of
Azerbaijan, Elmar Mammadyarov.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before
US Congress on April 11
Chief Executive of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg will testify
before the US House Energy and Commerce Committee on April 11.
- Facebook
has come under fire in recent weeks after it was revealed that political
consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.
- Facebook
said last month that it hired forensic auditors to probe whether Cambridge
Analytica still had the data.
Anupam Kher gets Best Supporting Actor nomination at BAFTA
Anupam Kher has received a nomination in the Best Supporting
Actor category at the 2018 BAFTA TV Awards.
- He
has been nominated for his performance in the show ‘The Boy with the
Topknot’, which airs on the channel BBC Two.
- The
actor had recently also featured in the Oscar-nominated film ‘The Big
Sick’.
Subrata Bhattacharjee appointed as next
ambassador of India to Serbia
Subrata Bhattacharjee has been appointed as
the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Serbia.
- He
is an IFS poffice of 1989 batch. He is currently Joint Secretary in
Ministry of External Affairs
SBI Life appoints Sanjeev Nautiyal as new MD
& CEO
SBI Life Insurance has appointed Sanjeev
Nautiyal as its new Managing Director and CEO. He replaces Arijit
Basu, who takes over a key role in the State Bank of India Group.
- Nautiyal
started his career with State Bank of India in 1985 as a probationary officer
in the bank’s Lucknow Circle.
Himanta Biswa Sarma elected BAI president
Assam Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa
Sarma was unanimously elected the Badminton Association of India
(BAI) President during its annual general body meeting in Goa.
- Ajay
Kumar Singhania was elected the Secretary General of BAI. Mr Sarma had
taken over as the interim BAI President in 2017 after the demise
of Akhilesh Das Gupta. He will serve for four years.
Study Khazana, an e-portal has been awarded “For best emerging
online Education Portal in North India
Study Khazana, an e-portal, was awarded “For best emerging
online Education Portal in North India” at the ‘World Education Summit and
Award 2018’ at New Delhi.
- Actress
Sharmila Tagore presented the award to Sana Baqai, the Founder of Study
Khazana.
- Study
Khazana helps education-deprived aspirants get access to quality education
irrespective of geographical boundaries and it encourages open knowledge
movement.
Former England football captain Ray Wilkins
dies aged 61
Former England captain Ray Wilkins died on Wednesday in a
London hospital at the age of 61 following a heart attack.
- Wilkins
won 84 caps for England between 1976 and 1986.
- He
also played more than 150 times for each of Chelsea, Manchester United and
Queen’s Park Rangers.
Aussie boxer becomes first CWG 2018 medallist
without a fight
Australian boxer Tayla Robertson has become the
first medallist of the 21st Commonwealth Games.
- She
won without even stepping into the ring after she got a bye straight into
the 51kg category women’s semi-finals.
- Robertson’s
semi-final is scheduled for April 13, while the boxing competition will
get underway at the Oxenford Studios on Thursday.
CWG 2018: Mirabai Chanu Wins India’s First Gold
Medal
Weightlifter and current world champion Mirabai Chanu
has clinched India’s first gold medal of the 2018 Commonwealth
Games. Mirabai Chanu becomes the first Indian to win a gold medal at the
Commonwealth Games 2018.
- After
finishing with the best lift of 86 kg in the snatch round, the 23-year-old
finished with a total score of 196 points. She competed in the
48 kg category.
CWG 2018: Weight Lifter P. Gururaja Wins Silver
On the first day of competitions at the Gold Coast
Commonwealth Games 2018, in Australia, India began their campaign with
a Silver Medal in Weightlifting.
- In
the 56 kilogram category, P Gururaja lifted a total weight of 249
kg to finish second in the event.
- The
25-year old Gururaja equalled his personal best. Malaysia took the
Gold, while Sri Lanka settled for the Bronze.
