Daily Current affairs - July 21st, 2018 for all competitive exams
Indian Government has announced the launch of
a new MicroDot Technology that would help check on vehicle
thefts.
- Under
this, thousands of small dots laser etched will be sprayed with a vehicle
identification number on all over the vehicle’s body including its engine.
- This
technology is yet to be finalized by the highest automobile technical
standard making body Central Motor Vehicles Rules -Technical Standing
Committee (CMVR-TSC).
RBI will soom issue new Rs.100 note with Motif as Rani-ki-Vav
Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) will soon be releasing a new lavender Rs 100 currency note.
- The
banknote highlights the rich and diverse cultural heritage of India as it
prominently displays a photograph of ‘Rani-ki-vav’ (The Queen’s Stepwell),
an 11th century architectural wonder.
- The
new Rs 100 notes will be lavender in colour and has motif of “RANI KI VAV”
(a stepwell situated in the town of Patan in Gujarat) on the reverse. The
dimension of the new banknote will be 66mm x 142mm.
Rani- ki- vav Located in Gujarat’s Patan, the 900-year-old structure is a major tourist
attraction, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and was awarded as the
cleanest iconic place in India in 2016. It is located
on the banks of Saraswati River. It was built by the
Solanki dynasty’s queen Udayamati in the 11th century as
a memorial to her deceased husband Bhimdev I.
Rani-ki-Vav
was built in the complex Maru-Gurjara
architectural style. It highlights the sanctity of water as it
is designed as an inverted temple under the earth’s surface. The central
theme is the Dasavataras, or ten incarnations of Vishnu, including Buddha. The avatars are accompanied by sadhus,
brahmins, and apsaras (celestial dancers).
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Student Police Cadet Programme launched by Union Home minister
Union Home
Minister has launched Student Police Cadet Programme.
The programme
seeks to build a bridge between the Police and the larger
community through school students by inculcating values and
ethics in them through classes in school and outside.
- The
programme focuses on students of class 8 & 9 and special care has been taken to ensure that it does
not lead to increase in the workload of the students.
- The
programme does not have any prescribed text book nor is any exam
envisaged. Only one class in a month is proposed.
- The
programme seeks to cover broadly two kinds of topics: Crime prevention and
control and Values and ethics.
- The
Programme shall be at first implemented in Government schools in both
urban and rural areas.
- The
programme shall be steered by a State level committee to be headed by the
Principal Secretary, Home Department with the Principal Secretary,
Education and Director General of Police as members. There shall be a
similar committee at the district level headed by the District Magistrate
with the District Inspector of Schools and Superintendent of Police as
members.
Andhra Pradesh government launches e-Pragati
Core platform
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu
Naidu launched ‘e-Pragati core platform’ at Undavalli.
e-Pragati, a forward-looking digital initiative, is aimed at connecting the
citizen to 34 departments, 336 autonomous organisations and 745-plus services.
- Through
this project, the State government intends to realise the vision
of ‘Sunrise AP 2022’.
- The
e-Pragati authority will achieve the goals of the project by supporting
the seven development missions launched in the areas of e-Governance,
Social Empowerment, Skill Development, Urban Development, Infrastructure,
Industrial Development and the Services sector.
India to expand polar research to Arctic
Three decades
after its first mission to Antarctica, the government is refocusing priorities
to the other pole — the Arctic—because of opportunities and challenges posed by
climate change.
- The
government has renamed the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean
Research (NCAOR) — since 1998, charged with
conducting expeditions to India’s base stations to the continent —
as the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research.
- It’s
also in talks with Canada and Russia, key countries with presence in the
Arctic circle, to establish new observation systems, according to a
source. Now, India only has one Arctic observation station near Norway.
- India
is already an observer at the Arctic Council — a forum of countries that
decides on managing the region’s resources and popular livelihood.
- In
2015, set up an underground observatory, called IndARC, at the
Kongsfjorden fjord, half way between Norway and the North Pole.
Israel adopts as Jewish Nation-State Law
Israel’s
parliament has adopted a law defining the country as the nation state of the
Jewish people, provoking fears it could lead to blatant discrimination against
Arab citizens.
- The
law speaks of Israel as the historic homeland of the Jews and says
they have a “unique” right to self-determination there.
- The
legislation makes Hebrew the country’s national language and defines the establishment of Jewish communities as
being in the national interest.
- Arabic, previously considered an official
language, was granted only special status. It also establishes the flag, the national symbol and anthem.
- The
legislation becomes part of the country’s basic laws, which serve as a de facto constitution.
Flipkart and Hotstar join hands for Ad
platform
India’s largest online retailer Flipkart has
forged an alliance with video streaming service Hotstar and launched a
video advertisement platform. It is part of a broader strategy to
generate more revenue from the booming video advertising business.
- The
new platform, Shopper Audience Network, will allow brands to
target consumers through personalized video ads on Hotstar.
Karnataka Bank launched DigiLocker facility
Karnataka Bank launched DigiLocker facility for
its customers as part of its digital initiative. The facility is being given by
integrating bank’s MoneyClick internet banking channel.DigiLocker is a key
initiative to store the digital documents, by National E-Governance Division
under Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- The
customer can login to the bank’s internet banking account and click on
access. DigiLocker where they will be redirected to DigiLocker page where
one can access their account.
- Customers
can access their digital documents anytime, anywhere and share it online.
Digital Locker makes it easier to validate the authenticity of documents
as they are issued directly by the registered issuer.
Global slavery Index 2018 released
The report of
the Global slavery Index 2018 has been released. It is published by the Australia-based human
rights group Walk Free Foundation.
- The
estimation data were drawn from 54 surveys conducted in 48 countries which
included a module on Modern Slavery, with a total sample of 71,158
individual interviews.
- North
Korea is at the top of the list with 104.6 per 1,000 and Japan registering
the lowest prevalence rate of 0.3 per 1,000.
- Globally,
nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of modern slavery’s victims are women
and girls. There are more female than male victims across all forms of
modern slavery.
- The
10 countries with the largest number of absolute numbers of people in
modern slavery include India, China, Pakistan, North Korea, Nigeria, Iran,
Indonesia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Russia and the Philippines.
These 10 countries account for 60 percent of people living in modern
slavery.
- Among
167 countries, India ranked 53. However, in absolute numbers, India topped
the list on prevalence.
10th Delhi Dialogue held in New Delhi
10th
edition of the Delhi Dialogue (DD X) was held in New Delhi. This is the first major event to be organized after the
ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit that was held in New Delhi in January 2018.
- Theme: “Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime
Cooperation”.
Delhi Dialogue is a premier annual track 1.5
event to discuss politico-security, economic and socio-cultural engagement
between India and ASEAN.
It has been
held annually since 2009 and political leaders, policy makers, senior
officials, diplomats, think tanks and academicians from both sides
participate in the discussions pertaining to ASEAN-India relations.
It is aimed
at finding a common ground and expanding the scope of cooperation between
India and ASEAN nations.
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The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August
1967 in Bangkok, Thailand. It was established with the signing of an ASEAN
Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the ministers of the founding countries.
Its founding countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and
Thailand. Eventually, Brunei Darussalam then joined on 7 January 1984, Viet
Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30
April 1999, making up to ten Member States of ASEAN.
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4th BIMSTEC summit to be held in
Kathmandu
The 4th BIMSTEC Summit will be held in
Kathmandu, Nepal. The announcement in this regard was made by Nepal’s Minister
for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.
- The main focus of the summit will be to increase
connectivity between the BIMSTEC nations including roads, airways and
transmission lines.
28th Meeting of GST Council held in New
Delhi
The 28th meeting of the GST Council chaired by
interim finance minister Piyush Goyal was held in New Delhi.
- The Council was deliberated upon a number of key issues
on its agenda which includes rate revision on a number of items,
amendments to the GST law, simplification of return, and the setting up of
a National Appellate Tribunal in Delhi.
- The GST Council has exempted sanitary napkins from
Goods and Services Tax. Earlier, there was a 12% levy of tax on
sanitary napkins. It has also recommended reduction in the GST slab
for lithium-ion batteries used in electronic items from the current 28% to
18% along with a slew of reductions in other items like bamboo flooring,
ice making machines, vending machines, water coolers etc.
8th BRICS health ministers’ meeting held at
Durban
8th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting was held at
Durban, South Africa. Indian deligation was led by Mr J P Nadda,
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
He stated that India is committed to eliminating
TB by 2025.
- Highlighting the accomplishments of India in the health
sector, he stated India's achievement in reducing the maternal mortality
ratio (MMR) by 77%, from 556 per 1,00,000 live births in 1990 to 130 per
1,00,000 live births in 2016, was commended by the Regional Director
of WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO).
Alisson Becker becomes World's most expensive
Goalkeeper
Alisson Becker of Brazil has become
the World's most expensive goalkeeper while transferring clubs
from Italy's Roma to England's Liverpool for a world record £56 million.
- The 25-year-old Brazilian has beaten Ederson Moraes
(£34.7 million, Benfica to Manchester City).
- The deal could rise to as much as £65 million, with a
further £10 million in add-ons, which are dependent on Liverpool's
qualification for the UEFA Champions League and wins in various
competitions in the future.
Shubhankar Sharma becomes youngest Indian to
makec in a major
Shubhankar Sharma became the youngest
Indian golfer to make the cut in any Major after he capped a wonderful
back nine to achieve the feat at the 147th Open Championships at
Carnoustie, Scotland.
- Zach Johnson of the USA, the 2007 Masters and 2015 Open
champion, rose to the top of the leaderboard.
Virat Kohli held No.1 spot in the ICC ODI
player rankings
In the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI
player rankings for batsmen, India skipper Virat Kohli tops the
chart by touching a career-high 911 points.
- England Test skipper Joe Root is at the No.2 spot, with 818 ratings points. Indian Bowler Jasprit Bumrah ranked No:1 in bowling with 775 points. Kuldeep Yadav broke into the top-10 of the bowlers’ chart at sixth.
