Daily Current affairs - July 18th, 2018 for all competitive exams
Nelson Mandela International Day 2018 is observed
internationally on 18th July. This year marks 100 years since the birth of
Nelson Mandela (18 July 1918).
- The Nelson Mandela Foundation is
dedicating this year's Mandela Day to 'Action Against
Poverty', honouring Nelson Mandela's leadership and devotion to
fighting poverty and promoting social justice for all.
Transport ministry proposed mandatory vehicle tracking ststem and
FASTags
The Transport
Ministry has proposed to dispense with fitness certificate for new vehicles and
make it mandatory to have vehicle tracking system and FASTags for electronic
toll collection for all commercial vehicles in its draft amendment to the
Commercial Motor Vehicles Act.
- FASTag is a device that uses Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly from
the prepaid account linked to it.
- It
is affixed on the windscreen of vehicle and enables to drive through toll
plazas without waiting.
- The
tag has a validity of 5 years and after purchase, it only needs to be
recharged or topped up. The service is applicable to all kinds of vehicles
but use of the service is currently voluntary.
Committee set up to synergise NCC and NSS
Government has
decided to set up a committee under the Chairmanship of Shri Anil
Swarup to suggest measures to strengthen National Cadet Corps (NCC)
and National Service Scheme (NSS).
- The
Committee will deal with on issues like expansion, strengthening training
infrastructure, rationalizing resources, reducing manpower deficiency
affecting NCC and NSS.
- The
Committee will also submit recommend for building synergies between these
two institutions viz. NCC and NSS and further strengthen them for
empowering the youth.
NSS is a
Centrally Sector Scheme. The Scheme was launched in the year 1969 with the
primary objective of developing the personality and character of the student
youth through voluntary community service. The ideological orientation of the
NSS is inspired by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. Very appropriately, the
motto of NSS is “NOT ME, BUT YOU”.
NSS is being
implemented in Senior Secondary Schools, Colleges and Universities. The
design of the NSS envisages that each educational institution covered under
the Scheme has at least one NSS unit comprising of normally 100 student
volunteers, led by a teacher designated as Programme Officer (PO). Each NSS
unit adopts a village or slum for taking up its activities.
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The National
Cadet Corps (NCC) is a youth development movement. It came into
existence under the National Cadet Corps Act XXXI of 1948.
It is a Tri-Services Organization, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force, engaged in grooming
the youth of the country into disciplined and patriotic citizens.
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Google teams up with UN to track environmental changes
UNEP has
entered into a partnership with Google to monitor the impacts of human activity
on global ecosystems by using sophisticated online tools.
- The aim
of the partnership is to develop a platform to enable
governments, NGO’s and the public to track specific environment-related
development targets with a user-friendly Google front-end.
- It
has its initial focus on freshwater ecosystems including mountains,
forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.
- These
areas account for 0.01% of the world’s water but provide habitat for
almost 10% of the world’s known species and evidence suggests a rapid loss
of freshwater biodiversity.
- Google
will periodically produce geospatial maps and data on water-related
ecosystems by employing massive parallel Cloud computing technology.
United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is an agency of United Nations and
coordinates its environmental activities, assisting developing countries in
implementing environmentally sound policies and practices.
It was founded by Maurice Strong, its first director, as a result of the United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference) in June 1972 and
has its headquarters in the Gigiri neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya.
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EU, Japan sign massive free trade deal
European Union (EU) and Japan have
signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). It was signed at
EU-Japan summit in Tokyo by EU Presidents Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald
Tusk and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
- It
is biggest ever trade deal negotiated by the EU and creates free
trade zone covering nearly third of the world’s GDP.
- The
trade deal is set to eliminate the "vast majority" of the $1.1
billion in duties that EU companies pay to Japan, according to the
European Commission.
Microsoft and Walmart team up to take on
Amazon
Microsoft and Walmart are teaming up for a
strategic partnership that will take on rival Amazon in both technology and
retail.
- Walmart
announced at Microsoft’s Inspire partner conference, that it’s partnering
with Microsoft to use the company’s cloud services.
- The
five-year agreement will see Walmart use Azure and Microsoft 365 across
the company, alongside new projects focused on machine learning,
artificial intelligence, and data platforms.
Flipkart’s PhonePe acquires POS platform Zopper
retail
Flipkart’s digital payment subsidiary
PhonePe has acquired Zopper Retail – a hyperlocal Point of Sale
(POS) platform for small and medium businesses.
- The
acquisition is a part of the company’s strategy to aggressively ramp up
its offline business. Zopper’s CEO Neeraj Jain and the
engineering leadership team has joined the team of PhonePe after the
acquisition.
India ranks 109th, stands behind Pakistan in 4G
speeds
According to data speed tester
Ookla, India ranks 109th in overall 4G mobile internet speeds with an
average download speed of 9.12 Mbps which is less than Pakistan (14.03 Mbps).
- Out
of the list comprising 124 countries, Qatar ranked first in the list with
63.22 Mbps average download speed.
Indo-US delegation meeting on Defence
cooperation
As part of Indo-US Bilateral Defence
Cooperation, the 7th Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI)
meeting was held between India and the US delegation in New Delhi.
- The
meeting was co-chaired by, Secretary (Defence Production), Dr Ajay
Kumar and Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment, DoD,
US Government Ms Ellen M Lord.
- The
meetings are held twice a year, alternately in India and the USA with the
aim to bring sustained leadership focus to the bilateral defence trade
relationship and create opportunities for co-production and co-development
of defence equipment.
Brij Bhushan Saran Singh to be named India's
Chef de Mission at Asian games
Wrestling Federation of India
(WFI) president Brij Bhushan Saran Singh is set to be named
the Chef de Mission (the person in charge of a national team at an
international sports event) of the Asian Games-bound Indian contingent.
- The
four deputy Chefs de Mission set to be appointed are BS Kushwaha (former
secretary of Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Federation), RK Sacheti
(Executive Director of Boxing Federation of India, DK Singh (Uttarakhand
Olympic Association) and Colonel RK Swain (Secretary of Equestrian
Federation of India).
Sangita Kalanidhi award for Aruna Sairam
Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam has been
selected for this year’s Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy.
- The
executive committee of the Academy unanimously selected her for the award,
said N. Murali, the president of the Academy.
- Sangeetha
Kalanidhi or Sangita Kalanidhi is the title awarded yearly to a Carnatic
Musician by the Madras Music Academy
JK Rowling to release next book ‘Lethal White’
JK Rowling will come out with the fourth
novel titled ‘Lethal White’ in the series about the exploits of
private investigator Cormoran Strike in September 2018 under her pseudonym
Robert Galbraith.
- Lethal
White is billed by publishers Hachette as the most epic Robert Galbraith
novel yet, a gripping mystery and a page-turning next instalment in the
ongoing story of Strike and his assistant Robin Ellacott.
Ramesh Powar appointed as interim coach of
India women’s cricket team
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
appointed former India off-spinner Ramesh Powar to look after the Indian
women’s cricket team till replacement for coach Tushar Arothe will be found.
- The
Indian womens Cricket team is scheduled to have a series in Sri Lanka in
August.
Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra wins Gold at
Sotteville athletics meet
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has clinched
a gold medal at the Sotteville Athletics Meet in France.
- The
Indian youngster secured the top spot in the podium with an 85.17m
throw.
- Moldova’s
Andrian Mardare took the silver medal after he covered a distance of
81.48m. The bronze medal went to Lithuania’s Edis Matusevicius, whose best
throw of the night was 79.31m.
