INDIAN AFFAIRS
RCEP trade negotiating Committee
meeting held in Hyderabad
19th round of the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP) Trade
Negotiating Committee (TNC) meetings and other related meetings
were held from 17th to 28th July 2017 in Hyderabad, India.
i. The Meeting was
inaugurated by Rita Teaotia,
Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India on 24 July 2017.
ii. During the 19th round, parallel meetings were held by the three main
Working Groups on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services and Investment,
including their respective Sub-Working Groups.
Constitution 123rd Amendment Bill
passed with amendment in Rajya Sabha
On July 31, 2107, Constitution 123rd Amendment
Bill, 2017 for setting up of a National Commission for Backward Classes was
passed by Rajya Sabha after dropping an important clause.
i. Rajya Sabha passed the
bill by dropping Clause 3 which
pertains to the insertion of a new article 338B about the
constitution and powers of the National Commission for Backward Classes.
ii. One amendment sought
increase in the number of members of the proposed commission from three to five
with reservation for a member from a minority community and another for women.
Another amendment spoke about protecting the rights of states by making their
recommendations binding.
MMR vaccination campaign launched in Kangra
A campaign to protect children from major childhood diseases like measles, mumps and rubella has
been started in Kangra district of Himachal
Pradesh from August 1, 2017.
More
Information about MMR Vaccination Campaign:
i. The campaign has been
initiated by Dharamshala Municipal
Corporation Mayor Rajni Vyas.
ii. Under the Measles,
Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccination programme, all children between the age of nine months to 15 years shall be
vaccinated.
iii. All government and
private schools as well as aanganwaadis shall be covered under the programme by
well-trained health officials.
SC bans use of five metals in Firecrackers
The Supreme Court has imposed a ban on
the use of five harmful heavy metals likelithium,
antimony, mercury, arsenic and lead in the manufacturing of
firecrackers as they cause air and noise pollution.
Key
Points:
i. The Supreme Court
maintained that it is the responsibility of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety
Organisation (PESO) to ensure
compliance of ban particularly in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu where
there are a large number of firecracker manufacturers.
ii. The court also asked CPCB
(Central Pollution Control Board) and PESO to make collaborative efforts for
setting up standards with regards to air pollution caused by the bursting of
fire crackers.
iii. The Supreme Court order
came on a 2015 petition filed by three Delhi children who had requested the
court to involve regulating the use of crackers and fireworks during festivals
like Diwali.
About
Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO):
♦ PESO is a department that controls
and administersmanufacture, storage, transport and handling of explosives, petroleum,
compressed gasses and other hazardous substances in India.
♦ It is headed by Chief Controller
of Explosives and is headquartered at Nagpur, Maharashtra.
♦ It functions under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP),
Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
PM Modi announces Rs.2,350 crore relief package for floods in
North East region
The Prime Minister, Narendra
Modi has announced a package of Rs
2350 crore for relief, rehabilitation and building flood
mitigation infrastructure in the flood-affectedNorth-Eastern
states including Assam on 1st August
2017.
Key
Points:
i. The PM announced to set up a high-powered committee to
find a long-term solution to
the flood and erosion problem in
the North east region.
ii. Out of the Rs 2350 crore
announced by the PM, Rs 1200 crore will be given by the Union.
iii. He said the committee
would get in touch with even the flood-hit people in the ground.
iv. The Union Government will
also provide Rs 100 crore for
carrying out the study by the high-powered committee to synergize efforts towards
finding time-bound long term solutions to recurrent floods in the region.
v. The funds will be utilized for repair, maintenance, and
strengthening of roads, highways, bridges, and other damaged infrastructure.
vi. In the current
financial year, the Union Government has approved Rs 600 crore as central share
of SDRF for Assam.
vii. Out of this, Rs 350 crore
has already been released, and the remaining Rs 250 crore (included in the
total Rs 2350 crore package) will be released immediately, to assist the
flood-hit state in relief and rehabilitation work.
viii. The PM had already
announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia against each of the flood caused death in Assam
besides Rs 50,000 for each of the injured.
ix. The announcements came
immediately after the PM chaired a series of high-level meetings in
which the Prime Minister reviewed the flood situation and flood damages
undertaken by the flood-affected state governments in the region.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India, China home to 39% of young
Internet users – UN report
As per ‘ICT Facts and Figures 2017’,
released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),
the United Nations specialised agency for Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs), India and China are home to 39% of the 830 million young people worldwide
who use the Internet.
i. As per the report,
there has been a significant
increase in broadband access and subscriptions with China leading
the way.
ii. Youths (15-24 years
old) are at the forefront of Internet adoption. In Least Developed Countries (LDCs), up to 35% of individuals using the
Internet are aged 15-24, compared with 13%
in developed countries and 23% globally.
China opens its first overseas Military base in Djibouti
China has formally
launched its first overseas naval
facility in Djibouti, an East African nation.
Key
Points:
i. Five Chinese formations
and Djibouti’s Three Services HonorGuard took part in the launch ceremony on 1st of August 2017.
ii. The event marked the 90th anniversary of
the Chinese military.
iii. The base is set to
enable China to better support its patrols in waters off Somalia and Yemen
and carry out international humanitarian operations as well as naval exercises.
iv. More than 300 people attended the ceremony,
including deputy Chinese naval commander Tian Zhong and Djibouti’s defense
minister.
v. This year, the Chinese
military industry commissioned China’s first aircraft carrier, Liaoning, with
the second carrier of the same class on the way in coming years.
vi. According to the Chinese
press, the Navy is also expecting a third carrier, the nuclear-powered Type
003, to enter service soon.
vii. In mid-July, the Type 052D
missile destroyer Changsha, missile frigate Yungchen, and auxiliary ship
Luomahu arrived in the Baltic Sea for joint exercises with the Russian Navy.
About
Djibouti
♦ Djibouti is a tiny East African nation of around 887,000 people, is
between Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia.
♦ It also hosts US, French, and Japanese military bases, taking advantage of
the country’s strategic location at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, near
the Suez Canal.
♦ The US Navy maintains a sizeable expeditionary base, Camp Lemonnier, at
Djibouti’s Ambouli International Airport.
BANKING & FINANCE
Airtel Payment Bank ties up with HPCL for ATM services
Airtel Payments Bank, India’s
first payments bank has announced a strategic
partnership with Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) on 1st of
August 2017.
Key
Points:
i. Under which 14,000 HPCL fuel stations will act as banking
points for Airtel Payments Bank.
ii. It also offer facilities such as opening of account, cash
deposit and cash withdrawal to the payment bank’s customers.
iii. Airtel Payments Bank
customers will also be able to make digital payments for fuel purchases across
14,000 HPCL fuel stations by using their mobile phones.
iv. These cashless
payments can be made via smartphones (MyAirtel App) as well as feature phones
(USSD).
v. There is no transaction fee for these
digital payments
Airtel
Payments Bank’s range of services include:
(a) Digital Banking: Paperless account opening using Aadhaar based e-KYC.
(b)The customer’s mobile number will be his/her bank account number.
(c)Interest rate of 7.25% per annum on deposits in savings accounts.
(d)Money transfer to any bank account in India (free money transfer from
Airtel-to-Airtel numbers within Airtel Payments Bank).
(e)Free personal accidental insurance of Rs 1 lakh with every savings Account.
(f)Deposit and withdrawal facility across a wide network of Airtel retail
outlets.
BUSINESS
India-Bhutan New Trade and Transit agreement come into force
The new bilateral Agreement
on Trade Commerce and Transit between India and Bhutan came into
force on 29th July 2017.
Key
Notes:
i. The agreement was last renewed on 29th July
2006 for ten years.
ii. The validity of the same
was extended (with effect from July 29, 2016) for one year or till the new
agreement comes into force, through the exchange of diplomatic notes.
It aims to further strengthen the bilateral trade relations between both
countries.
iii. The agreement provides for a free trade regime
between the territories of India and Bhutan.
iv. The bilateral trade
relations between India and Bhutan are governed
by the Agreement on Trade, Commerce, and Transit.
v. It also provides for a
duty-free transit of Bhutanese merchandise for trade with third countries.
vi. The new agreement was
signed on 12th November 2016 by
the Minister of State (IC), Ministry of Commerce and Industry on behalf of the
Government of India.
vii. As per the pact’s
provisions, it has come into force with effect from 29 July 2017, a date that
was mutually decided by the two nations.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Mukesh Ambani becomes Asia’s 2nd richest person
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh
Ambani has become Asia’s 2nd richest
personannounced on 1st of
August 2017.Ambani Net worth is $35.2 billion.
Key
Points:
i .He has overtaken Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-shing to become Asia’s
second-richest man.
ii. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Ambani’s
wealth has seen a rise of $12.1 billion with the oil-to telecom conglomerate’s
shares.
iii. LiKa-shing is the
richest man in Hong Kong with a business empire that ranges from telecommunications
to retail and port.
iv. Mukesh Ambani has announced
the launch of the JioPhone. The phone is effectively free for buyers.
v. The buyers will have to pay
a refundable security deposit of Rs 1,500 which will be returned to the
consumers after a period of 36 months.
vi. According to government
data Jio took just nine months after launching with a free introductory offer
to rope in 117.3 million users and become India’s fourth-largest operator.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
Sameer Garde named Cisco president for India, Saarc region
Tech giant Cisco has named Sameer
Garde as President for its India and Saarc operations announced
on 31st of July 2017.
Key
Points:
i. Garde would join the
company on 1st August 2017. He succeeds Dinesh Malkani.
ii. He will be responsible for
Cisco’s senior-level external engagement, including those with government and
industry associations
NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya resigns
Arvind Panagariya, the first vice-chairman of NITI Aayog announced his
resignation from office on 1st of
August 2017.
Key
Points:
i. Arvind was considered to be
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal pick for economic reforms.
ii. He said he has written to
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to relieve him of his duties by 31st August as
he was not getting an extension of leave from Columbia University.
iii. He is an economist
and a professor of economics at Columbia University.
iv. Panagariya has earlier been the Chief Economist of the Asian
Development Bank and a Professor of Economics and Co-director,
Centre for International Economics, the University of Maryland at College Park.
v. He holds a Ph.D. degree
in Economics from Princeton University and was a vocal supporter of Gujarat
‘model’ of development.
vi. Panagariya has also worked for the World Bank, International
Monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) in various capacities.
vii. He has also written
and edited 10 books, his latest being India: The Emerging Giant, which was
published in March 2008 by the Oxford University Press, New York.
Viii. The book has been
described as the ‘a tour de horizon and a tour de force’ by Jagdish Bhagwati.
About
NITI Ayog
♦ NITI Aayog or the National Institution for Transforming India is
a Government of India policy think-tank established by the BJP
government to replace the Planning Commission which followed
the top-down model.
♦ Formed: 1 January 2015
♦ Headquarter : New Delhi
Lt.Gen. Abhay Krishna new Eastern Command chief
Lt General Abhay Krishna has appointed
as the Chief of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command on 1st of August 2017.
Key
Points:
i. Krishna succeeds Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi who
has retired from service.
ii. He was currently serving as
the Head of the Army’s Jaipur-based Southwestern Command.
iii. He has served four tenures along the Line of Actual
Control on the northern borders and commanded an infantry
battalion in Sikkim.
iv. He had also commanded an
infantry division and a Corps in the Northeast.
v. He is a gallantry award
winner in counter insurgency operations in Manipur and commanded Rashtriya
Rifles Battalion in the Kashmir Valley.
vi. He had also served two
tenures as UN observer in
Mozambique and Rawanda and another in Burundi.
vii. He was responsible for planning
operations as Brigadier General Staff of the Dimapur-based 3 Corps.
viii. The appointment of
Krishna comes at a time when India is facing a stand-off with Chinese troops
along the Sikkim sector.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Jeep Compass SUV launched in India
The all-new Jeep Compass SUV has
been finally launched in India with prices starting at a very
competitive Rs. 14.95 lakh for
the entry-level Sport petrol and
goes up to Rs. 20.65 lakh (ex-showroom) for the range-topping
diesel.
Key
Points:
i. The all-new Jeep Compass SUV will be offered in a total of three variants – Sport,
Longitude and Limited.
ii. It will be available in
both petrol and diesel engine options.
iii. The company has already
secured bookings of over 5000 units and 38000 enquiries for Compass.
iv. It is available in 10
different variants and 5 colours. The Compass SUV is available in both 4X2 and
4X4 version.
v. The vehicle is powered by a 1.4-litre multi-air turbocharged
petrol engine and 2 litremultijet Diesel engine.
vi. The Jeep Compass will be
retailed out of 50 sales outlets including FCA and Jeep Destination store
across 47 cities.
ENVIRONMENT
Earth to warm 2 degrees Celsius by end
of this century says Study
As per two different studies, using entirely different methods published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the global temperature is likely to rise more than 2
degrees Celsius by the end of this century.
i. One study used
statistical analysis to show that there
is a 95% chance that Earth will warm more than 2 degrees at century’s end,
and a 1% chance that it’s below 1.5 Celsius.
ii. As per this study, the likely range of global temperature increase is
2.0-4.9degrees Celsius and the median
forecast is 3.2 C.
SPORTS
ICC Rankings: Ravindra Jadeja maintains Top Position, Virat
stays 5th
According to the latest ICC Test Rankings Ravindra
Jadeja maintained his top positionin the bowlers’ list while India skipper Virat Kohli remained stayed at fifth
place in the batting charts released on 1st of
August 2017.
Key
Points:
i. In the batsmen’s rankings, Cheteshwar Pujara is the top-ranked Indian at
the 4thposition while
opener Shikhar Dhawan climbed 21
places to be ranked 39th.
ii. The batting list is being topped by Australia captain Steve Smith followed
by England’s Joe Root and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
iii. In the bowlers’ chart, Ravichandran Ashwin replaced
Sri Lanka captain Rangana Herath to
claim the second spot back.
iv. Herath is third in the
rankings. Pacer Mohammed Shami gained a place to be 23rd.
v. In the all-rounders’ list Jadeja and
Ashwin also maintained second and third ranksrespectively.
vi. Bangladesh’s Shakib Al
Hasan is still maintained at the top of the table.South Africa’s Vernon
Philander to take fifth position in the list of all-rounders.
vii. England all-rounder
Ben Stokes moved up 12 places to joint-25th position in the rankings for
batsmen and also gained two places to reach 19th position.
viii. Jonny Bairstow has
gained three slots to reach 9th position and Opening batsman Alastair Cook has
moved up three places to 12th position.
ix. James Anderson up one
place to joint-third and Moeen Ali up one place to 18th.
Summer Olympics Host : Paris gets – 2024 , Los Angels – 2028
Paris will host the 2024 Summer OlympicsGames. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer
Olympics after reaching a deal with Olympic organizers,
the Los Angeles Times reported on 31st of
July 2017.
Key
Points:
i. The IOC welcomes this
decision of the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Candidature Committee.
ii. The Los Angeles Olympic and
Paralympic bid committee in cooperation with the International Olympic
Committee (IOC).
iii. IOC president- Thomas Bach
OBITUARY
Eminent Dhrupad singer Ustad SayeeduddinDagar passes away at
78
Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar,
one of the foremost exponents of
the Dhrupad tradition, died on 30th of
July 2017.He was 78.
KeyPoints:
i. Sayeeduddin Dagar was born
in Rajasthan on 29th April 1939
and was part of the illustrious Dagar family of musicians.
ii. He was the youngest of the
famous seven ‘Dagar Bandhus’ and had dedicated his life to keeping the Dhrupad
tradition alive.
iii. His first guru was his
father Ustad Hussainuddin Khan
Dagar.Dagarwas also President of Dhrupad Society Jaipur and Pune.
iv. Ustad Sayeedudd in Dagar
had performed at some of the most prestigious venues and festivals in India and
abroad, including the Tansen Samaroh, Savai Gandharva, Dhrupad Samaroh.
v. He conducted workshops and
interactive lecture demonstrations on Dhrupad in India and twice a year in
Holland, Germany, France and Belgium.
IMPORTANT DAYS
Non-Cooperation Movement Day – August 1, 2017
The Non-cooperation movement was launched on 1st August 1920 by
the Indian National Congress (INC) under
the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.
It signified a new chapter in the history of Indian freedom struggle.
Key
Points:
i. On his monthly “Mann Ki Baat” programmme, Modi
said August was a month of revolution, the non-cooperation movement was
launched on 1st August 1920,
Quit India movement on 9th August
1942, and India became independent on 15th August
1947.
ii. He mentioned that this
year’s 15th August
should be celebrated as SankalpParv or the day of resolve and in
2022 marking 75 years of freedom, the nation would certainly transform into
“siddhi”.
iii .The non-cooperation movement was a decisive step in
the independence movement because for the first time, the INC was ready to forego constitutional means to
achieve self-rule.
Features of the non-cooperation movement
(a) The movement was essentially a peaceful and non-violent protest against the
British government in India.
(b) Indians were asked to relinquish their titles and resign from nominated
seats in the local bodies as a mark of protest.
(c) People were asked to resign from their government jobs and People were
asked to withdraw their children from government-controlled or aided schools
and colleges.
(d) People were asked to boycott foreign goods and use only Indian-made goods
and were asked to boycott the elections to the legislative councils and were
asked not to serve in the British army.
(e) It was also planned that if the above steps did not bring results, people
would refuse to pay their taxes.
(f) The INC also demanded Swarajya or self-government.
iv. The five years from 1942 to
1947 were decisive for country’s Independence, these five years from 2017 to 2022 must play decisive
role for future.
v. PM Modi added the younger
generations must know about the history. The sacrifices
of freedom fighters between years 1857 to 1942 inspire us to build great
nation. The nation kept on fighting to uproot the British rule.
World breastfeeding week – August 1-7, 2017
World breastfeeding week 2017 is
being celebrated from 1st to 7th August
2017 with the theme
“Sustaining Breastfeeding Together”.
About
World Breastfeeding Week (WBW):
i. World Breastfeeding
Week (WBW) is an annual celebration which is being held every year from 1
to 7 August.
ii. It was first celebrated in 1992 by World
Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) and is now
observed in over 120 countries by United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO) and
their partners including individuals, organizations, and governments.
iii. Goal of WBW is to promote exclusive breastfeeding for
the first six months of lifewhich yields tremendous health benefits,
providing critical nutrients, protection from
deadly diseases such as pneumonia and fosters growth and
development
