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  • WBCS Current Affairs 07/05/2017 to 13/05/2017 for WBCS Exam
    Posted on June 7th, 2017 in Current Affairs, Weekly Current Affairs
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     WBCS Current Affairs 07/05/2017 to 13/05/2017 for WBCS Exam

    The Importance of Current Affairs in W.B.C.S examinations is immense.Success inW.B.C.S  Prelims and W.B.C.S Mains Exam is mainly subjected to how well an aspirant is aware of the important current affairs. Preparation of current affairs for W.B.C.S is the key to unlock the exam.Continue Reading WBCS Current Affairs 07/05/2017 to 13/05/2017 for WBCS Exam.

    1. Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda has launched new Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, PCV, for Pneumonia at Lal Bahadur Shastri Medical College Hospital in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. The vaccine is a part of government’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP). Henceforth, the vaccine will be administered under routine immunization programme. The vaccine would help in controlling pneumonia and reducing the child mortality rate. In India, more than 1 lakh children die of pneumonia every year. The vaccine will provide protection against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria which results in pneumonia. This is the twelfth disease for which the Health Ministry has launched a vaccine. The vaccine Pneumococcal Conjugate protects against Streptococcus pneumonia and diseases such as pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections and meningitis. PCV was first introduced in 2000. The whole of Himachal Pradesh as well as six districts of Uttar Pradesh and seventeen districts of Bihar will be covered under the first phase of the immunisation programme. Pneumonia Pneumonia is caused by inflammation of the airspaces in the lungs. It is most commonly due to an infection. It is a leading cause of death for children under the age of five years around the world. It may be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi. The most common bacterial type that causes pneumonia is Streptococcus pneumoniae. Signs and symptoms include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, and fatigue.Continue Reading WBCS Current Affairs 07/05/2017 to 13/05/2017 for WBCS Exam.

    2. The Border Security Force will make use of a newly developed technology that is capable of detecting intrusions and relaying information to the nearest post for action to safeguard the 198 km India-Pakistan international border in Jammu and Kashmir. The technology developed by the Delhi-based defence IoT firm, CRON Systems is expected to bolster BSF’s defences amid strained ties and increase in the number of infiltration bids and ceasefire violations. The new technology called Kavach (KVx) series laser walls has been built indigeneously and are a notch higher than the existing laser walls. BSF is presently pilot testing the Kavach walls along the Samba sector border in Jammu and Kashmir.

    3. The government has released new-look index of industrial production (IIP) and the wholesale price index (WPI) , which have been built on the new series of data. The new IIP and WPI series has been released by Chief Statistician of India and Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, and Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion to usher in greater accuracy and improved synchronisation leading to better policies. Salient Highlights Instead of the earlier 2004-05, base year for the IIP and the WPI will be 2011-12. Already, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and gross value addition etc., have 2011-12 as the base year. The common base year of 2011-12 is aimed at reducing discrepancies. IIP The new series of IIP will include 809 manufacturing products and 55 mining products that are re-grouped into 521 item groups. The new series of IIP will include technology items like smart phones, tablets, LED television etc. A technical review committee has also been established to identify new items by ensuring that the series remains relevant. The committee is slated to meet at least once a year. WPI The number of items covered in the new series of the WPI has increased from 676 to 697. Overall, 199 new items have been added and 146 old items have been dropped. Under the primary articles, new vegetables and fruits like radish, carrot, cucumber, bitter gourd, mosambi (sweet lime), pomegranate, jackfruit, and pear have been added. Under the mineral group, new items like copper concentrate, lead concentrate and garnet have been added and other items like copper ore, gypsum, kaolin, dolomite, and magnesite have been dropped. Under the manufacturing items, 173 new items including conveyer belt, rubber tread, steel cables, tissue paper, and wooden splint have been added, while 135 items like khandsari, poppadom, and video CD players have been taken out. Under the new series of WPI, weight of manufactured items has decreased to 64.2 per cent from 64.9 per cent in old series. Similarly, the weight of fuel and power has decreased to 13.1 per cent from 14.9 per cent. On the other hand, the weight of primary items have increased to 22.6 per cent from 20.1 per cent. Significance The IIP has been revised after a gap of 13 years and the obsolete items which are no longer in production in the index have been replaced with contemporary products in the new index making it to be more comprehensive in nature. Introduction of the new series would make all the key macroeconomic indicators such as IIP, WPI, CPI and national accounts to have a common base of 2011-12, paving way for easier comparisons among them. The new series indices have painted a healthier picture of the Indian economy in 2016-17 than that of the old series.

    4. Sakshi Malik, Vinesh Phogat & Divya Kakran have bagged silver medals at the Asian Wrestling Championship held at the KD Jadhav Stadium in New Delhi. Though wrestler Sakshi, India’s bronze medallist at the Rio Olympics was strong in her first two rounds against Uzbekistan’s Nabira Esenbaeva and then Kazakhstan’s Ayaulym Kassymova, she was defeated by Rio Gold medallist Risako Kawai of Japan and got settled for a silver medal in the 60 kg category. Divya Kakran and Vinesh Phogat bagged silver in the 69 kg and 55kg categories respectively. In the championship, 112 freestyle,103 Greco-Roman and 83 female wrestlers are competing for 24 Gold and Silver, and 48 bronze medals. Asian Wrestling Championships are organized every year by the Asian Associated Wrestling Committee (AAWC). While the men’s wrestling tournament began in 1979, women’s tournament began in 1996.

    5. According to RBI, India’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves have increased by $2.985 billion to touch a lifetime high of $375.71 billion in the week that ended on May 5. The increase was due to increase in foreign currency assets (FCAs). The reserves had increased by $2.474 billion to $351.53 billion in the previous week.

    6. Tejas, the Light Combat Aircraft has successfully test fired Derby Air-to-Air Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile in RADAR guided mode. The test was performed on a Manoeuvrable Aerial Target at the Interim Test Range (ITR), Chandipur. The objective behind the test was to assess the Derby integration with aircraft systems on-board Tejas including the aircraft avionics, fire-control radar, launchers and Missile Weapon Delivery System and evaluate its performance. The test firing achieved all its planned objectives and the missile hit directly on the target with complete destruction of it. The flawless launch is a major step towards clearing BVR capabilities on LCA aircraft for final operational clearance.

    7. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has decided to share online scores of candidates taking competitive exams in order to boost hiring by the private sector. As per the government’s proposal, the scores of the candidates taking part in the competitive exams will be linked to the Integrated Information System for Public Recruitment Agencies, which will be a dedicated website being developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). The scores made available in the website will act as a useful database for other employers to identify good, employable candidates. Under the proposal, the UPSC has decided to disclose information such as name, date of birth, category (whether SC, ST or physically handicapped) educational qualifications, total marks obtained in the written examination and interview, address, e-mail id and mobile numbers of those candidates who have reached the final stage of examination (interview) but were “not recommended” by the commission. As per the proposal, the candidates can either opt in or out of the disclosure scheme by making an appropriate response in the application form. The UPSC will dispense information about the disclosure scheme in its notice to various exams covered by this scheme. However, candidates appearing for the recruitment exams for the armed forces and those applying for limited departmental competitive examinations and the Central Industrial Security Force will not be covered under the disclosure scheme.

    8. World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed Amitabh Bachchan as its Goodwill Ambassador for Hepatitis in South-East Asia Region. He has been appointed to boost awareness to stop the spread of hepatitis, which is one of the leading causes of liver cancer and cirrhosis. As an ambassador, Amitabh Bachchan will participate in public awareness programmes to scale up prevention measures, early diagnosis and treatment. It is estimated that around 325 million across the world suffer from chronic hepatitis which is an inflammation of the liver resulting in liver scarring, liver cancer and death if untreated.

    9. According to the 2016 Indian Exclusion Report (IXR) released by the Centre for Equity Studies (CES), in terms of exclusion from access to public goods, Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims continue to remain the worst-hit communities. The report has found out that the same historically disadvantaged groups such as Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, and persons with disabilities and age-related vulnerabilities continue to remain as the most severely and consistently excluded groups of the society.

    10. China has set up a 160-square-meter (1,720-square-foot) laboratory — dubbed as “Yuegong-1”, or “Lunar Palace” for simulating a lunar-like environment. Four Postgraduate students from the Beijing’s astronautics research university will live in the laboratory for up to 200 days in a bid to prepare for China’s long term goal of putting humans on the moon. The student volunteers would be sealed inside the cabin with no input from the outside world in order to simulate long-term, self-contained space mission. The cabin will have facilities for treatment of human wastes through bio-fermentation process. The experimental crops would also be grown in the labratory with the help of food and waste byproducts. The cabin according to Chinese agencies represents the “world’s most advanced closed-loop life-support technology so far.” The Lunar Palace is hailed as the world’s third bioregenerative life-support base and the first to be developed in China. The Lunar Palace is the first of its kind facility to involve animals and microorganisms as well as plants and humans. It has two plant cultivation modules and a living cabin consisting of four bed cubicles, a common room, a bathroom, a waste-treatment room and a room for raising animals.

    11. Scientists have detected “a strong water signature” in the atmosphere of a distant Neptune-sized planet called HAT-P-26b. The study conducted using NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes has showed that HAT-P-26b has a primitive atmosphere composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. Although the planet is not a water world, its atmosphere which is relatively clear of clouds has a strong water signature. Researchers have detected the presence of water by pooling data obtained from four transits when the planet passed in front of its host star. By studying how the signatures of the starlight changes, researchers can come up with the chemical composition of the atmosphere. The study has been published in the journal Science.

    12. The Science Express is 16 coach AC mobile train science exhibition of Department of Science & Technology (DST). The objective of the Express is to arouse interest of the young people in the field of science and technology. Since its inception, the programme is being managed by Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC). The Science Express was launched from Delhi Safdarjung Railway station on October 30, 2007. The Express has so far completed 8 phases by travelling 1,41,800 km, with 455 halts, and 1602 exhibition days. Thus, it is has become the largest, longest running and the most visited mobile science exhibition with six entries in the Limca Book of Records. Since its inception, over 1.61 crore people had visited Science Express. The 8 phases completed by the train includes 4 phases of ‘Science Express’, which had showcased cutting edge research in science and technology being carried worldwide; 3 phases of ‘Biodiversity Special’ (SEBS) which had showcased the rich biodiversity of India; and one phase of ‘Climate Action Special’ (SECAS) that highlighted the global challenge of climate change.

    13. Retired judge of Delhi High Court Justice Mukul Mudgal has been elected as the Chairman of FIFA Governance committee at the FIFA’s 67th Congress held in Bahrain’s capital city of Manama. Justice Mudgal was proposed for the vacant position by the FIFA Council after former chief Miguel Maduro was removed for his role in allegedly blocking Russian World Cup official Vitaly Mutko from retaining his seat on ruling council. Justice Mudgal will have a term of office of four years which would come into effect immediately. Olli Rehn of Finland has been elected as Justice Mudgal’s deputy. Olli Rehn is the former Vice-President of the European Commission. Justice Mudgal has served as the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court from 2009 to 2011. in May last year, he was appointed as Deputy Chairman of the governance committee during the FIFA Congress in Mexico.

    14. Indian Army has planned to re-introduce cordon and search operations (CASO) as a part of its counter terrorism operations after a gap of 15 years. The major objective behind the reintroduction of combing operations is to bring the situation in the Kashmir Valley under control. Hereafterwards, Army will carry out CASO in a major way to flush out militants in the militancy-hit areas of Kulgam, Pulwama, Tral, Budgam and Shopian in south Kashmir, indicating a change in strategy. Background CASO was a regular feature of Army’s counter-terrorism operations in the 1990s. The security forces made use of “area domination and sweep” operations in the 1990s. During those times, such operations were commonly conducted by the Indian Army. Later, following the complaints of discomfort caused to the local population, the Army switched to specific intelligence-based operations involving small teams and CASO was discontinued. The recent decision to re-introduce CASO comes against the backdrop of the recent killing of unarmed Kashmiri Army officer Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz in Shopian by militants. Recently, the Army, security forces and police had also carried out a massive cordon and combing operation in south Kashmir’s Shopian district following the recent militant attacks on policemen and banking facilities. It was the first time in 15 years that the combing operation of this magnitude involving 4,000 troops was conducted by the security forces.

    15. Diplomat Vinay Mohan Kwatra has been appointed as India’s next ambassador to France. He is currently serving as joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Kwatra will succeed Mohan Kumar who is due to retire soon. Kwatra has served in Indian diplomatic missions in China and the US and has experience dealing with the UN organisations such as International Labour Organisation (ILO) and World Health Organisation (WHO). In the MEA, he had served as the joint secretary incharge of the counter-terrorism division in the MEA.

    16. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar has begun hearing petitions challenging the practice of triple talaq. The petitions that have been filed in the past two years by Muslim women, who have been affected by the practice of Triple Talaq, has prayed for the abolition of the practice as it was discriminatory and biased and violated their right to equality. The lead petition has been titled “Quest for Equality vs Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind“. Interestingly, the case will be heard by five judges from five different communities, namely, CJI J S Khehar (Sikh) and Justices Kurian Joseph (Christian), R F Nariman (Parsi), U U Lalit (Hindu) and Abdul Nazeer (Muslim). The Supreme Court will complete hearing of the petitions before May 19. A judgment in the case can be expected to be delivered in the month of June. The Supreme Court has stated that it would determine the constitutional validity of the triple talaq and would not examine the Islamic custom of polygamy, while hearing petitions challenging triple talaq.

    17. India has protested the participation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at ‘Khalsa Day’ in Toronto that saw felicitation of Sikh separatist elements and featured Khalistani flags and posters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Mr. Trudeau has become the first Canadian PM to attend the ‘Khalsa Day’ event in a decade since Paul Martin in 2005. The Khalsa Day event was organised to mark the Sikh new year. The parade organised by the Ontario Sikhs and Gurdwara Council felicitated two legislators, who had authored a motion in the Ontario Assembly calling the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as “genocide”. The resolution was passed by the Ontario Assembly on April 6. India had issued its strong protest against the passage of the motion (34-5) terming it as a misguided motion based on a limited understanding of India. Indian government had also expressed its reservations and concerns during the meeting between Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and Canada’s Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan on April 18. Also in the event, Sikh militant leaders Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Amreek Singh and former General Shahbeg Singh who were killed in Operation Bluestar in June 1984 were also glorified. The issues over the growth of Khalistani groups in Canada is likely to be discussed during Mr. Trudeau’s expected visit to India late this year or early next year.

    18. Kochi Metro will employ 23 members from the transgender community. This is the first time a government owned company has formally appointed members of the transgender community. These 23 workers will be a part of the 530 Kudumbasree workers to be employed at 11 stations in the Kochi Metro. While the better educated workers would be posted at ticket counters, the rest will be deputed for housekeeping works, customer relations, parking, gardening and to man the coach-depot canteen. All of the workers have been appointed after written test and interview and have been imparted training in soft and technical skills.

    19. National Technology Day is being observed across India on May 11 to mark India’s technological advancements. 2017 National Technology Day Theme: ‘Technology for inclusive and sustainable growth’. Significance The day is being commemorated to celebrate the anniversary of first of the five tests of Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) nuclear test, held on 11 May 1998 in Pokhran, Rajasthan. The operation was led by the former President APJ Abdul Kalam. After conducting two more tests as a part of the Pokhran-II/Operation Shakti initiative, India was declared as a nuclear state by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. On this same day country’s first indigenous aircraft Hansa-3 was test flown at Bangalore. India also conducted successful test firing of the Trishul missile on the same day. The Trishul missile was developed as a part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The Trishul Missile got inducted by the Indian Army and Indian Airforce. Considering all these technical achievements, 11 May was chosen to be commemorated as National Technology Day. To commemorate this day, Technology Development Board (TDB) has instituted a National Award. This award is conferred on to various individuals and industries by the President for their successful achievement in commercialization of Indigenous Technology.

    20. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of 1982 West Bengal cadre IAS officer Sanjay Mitra as the next defence secretary. He will have a fixed tenure of two years. Prior to this appointment, Mitra was the secretary in the ministry of road transport and highways. Other appointments Anant Kumar Singh, a 1984 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh has been appointed as the secretary in the textiles ministry. Anant Kumar Singh is the first officer from the 1984 batch to get the secretary-level appointment. Rashmi Verma who was the secretary in the textiles ministry has been moved to a similar position in the ministry of tourism. Rajiv Srivastava, a 1981 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, will be the next secretary in the ministry of woman and child development. Leena Nair, a 1982 batch IAS of Tamil Nadu Cadre has been made secretary in the ministry of tribal affairs. Jagdish Prasad Meena has been appointed as secretary in the department of consumer affairs. BR Sharma, a 1984 batch IAS officer of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre has been appointed as additional secretary in the home ministry.

    21. Harpreet Singh has bagged bronze medal in Greco-Roman weight divisions in the Asian Wrestling Championship held at the K.D. Jadhav arena in the Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex in New Delhi. Harpreet clinched the bronze medal after beating his rival Jun Ji Na of China in 80 kg category. The other three Greco-Roman wrestlers, namely, Ravinder (66kg), Hardeep (98kg) and Naveen (130kg) failed to win any medal. The Greco-Roman category is generally not considered as Indian wrestlers forte. In the championship, 112 freestyle, 103 Greco-Roman and 83 female wrestlers will compete for 24 Gold and Silver, and 48 bronze medals. Asian Wrestling Championships are organized every year by the Asian Associated Wrestling Committee (AAWC). While the men’s wrestling tournament began in 1979, women’s tournament began in 1996.

    22. Prime Minister Modi will travel to Sri Lanka to attend the Buddhist festival ‘Vesak Day’ (Buddha Jayanti) that commemorates birth, enlighten and death of Buddha. This will be Prime Minister Modi’s second visit to Sri Lanka since becoming the Prime Minister. ‘International Day of Vesak’ celebrations will be held in Colombo from May 12 to 14. As a part of the celebrations, International Buddhist Conference will be held in which over 400 delegates from more than 100 countries will participate. Vesak is the most important day in the Buddhist calendar. This is the first time Sri Lanka will host the festival.

    23. The 30-share BSE Sensex reached its record close of 30,248. The index has surpassed its previous record closing of 30,133.35 reached on April 26. It also surpassed its intra-day peak of 30,184.22 recorded on April 27 to hit a fresh intra-day high of 30,271.60. The NSE index Nifty has breached the 9,400-mark for the first time. The NSE index registered a record high of 9,415, surpassing its previous milestone of 9,377 reached on May 5. The indices have settled at their respective closing highs after the IMD’s new monsoon forecast has predicted that India is likely to receive higher monsoon rainfall as the concern over the El Nino weather condition has eased. Earlier, IMD had predicted that this year’s monsoon rains will be at 96% of the 50-year average of 89 cm. The new forecast has raised the sentiments of the stock market as the prospects of higher agricultural and economic growth is brighter. This has resulted in the shares of consumer goods and agriculture-dependent companies to rise. Stock Market Index A share market Index shows how a specified portfolio of share prices is moving in order to give an indication of market trends. It is a basket of securities and the average price movement of the basket of securities indicates the index movement, whether upwards or downwards. BSE Sensex is one index. The BSE SENSEX is a free-float market capitalization-weighted stock market index of 30 well-established and financially sound companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange.

    24. The Indian Railways has planned to acquire the End of Train Telemetry (EoTT) equipments to run nearly 1,000 trains without guards in the current fiscal. The EoTT system is designed in such a way that it will perform the guard’s job. EoTT system comprises two units, namely, ‘cab display unit’ (CDU) which is fitted on the locomotive and ‘sense and brake unit’ (SBU) which is fitted on the last coach of the train. The units will be fitted with radio transmitter which can communicate with each other. The transmitter will send signals at regular intervals to the last coach to ensure that the train is running intact. The Indian Railways will initially acquire 1,000 EoTT equipments for its container operations and later on more units will be procured to be fitted on all trains. Accordingly, all goods trains on the proposed dedicated freight corridors will run with EoTT system. Each set of EoTT device will cost approximately Rs 10 lakh.

    25. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated Supreme Court’s Integrated Case Management Information System (ICMIS). This digital filing system will mark Supreme Court’s first towards becoming a paperless, digital court. The inaugural function was held at Vigyan Bhavan when Prime Minister Modi uploaded the Integrated Case Management System with the Supreme Court website. The event was also attended by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and other judges of the Supreme Court. ICMIS is hailed as the Biggest and highest leap in judicial system. Subsequently, all High Courts, District Courts, Sub-Division Courts will be integrated with the new system. Later on, all the jails in the country will be Integrated by ICMIS software. Significance ICMIS will help litigants access data and obtain information about the filing, delays etc. It would pave way for the integration of all courts in the country. The appellants hereafter is not required to file the records as the records will be picked up electronically from trial courts and high courts. The digital filing system will also help in ushering transparency as nothing can be manipulated with this paperless system. Also, the litigants will be able to know the progress of the case on real time basis.

    26. India has received a stay order preventing Pakistan from executing the death sentence awarded to the former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav from the International Court of Justice at The Hague. India’s team of lawyers led by senior advocate Harish Salve accused Pakistan of gross violations of international laws. They also pointed out the violations of the Geneva convention that deals with Consular relations. Pakistan had denied consular access to India despite 15 attempts. It also refused to give any details of Jadhav’s arrest and trial until the death sentence was passed. India has rarely approached the ICJ especially when it comes to Pakistan. India is always hesitatant to “internationalise” its bilateral relations. But given the nature of Jadhav’s case in which Pakistan refused to follow any established principle India was forced to take the extreme measure of taking the case to the ICJ. ICJ International Court of Justice was established in 1945 via the UN Charter and its jurisdiction is worldwide. It is located in “The Hague” in Netherlands. It is a part of the United Nations. The International Court of Justice acts as a world court. The judgement passed by the ICJ have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned. The major functions of the International Court of Justice are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to provide advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international organs, agencies, and the UN General Assembly.

    27. The government has set up a task force headed by NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya to come up with a methodology to generate timely and reliable employment data. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has initiated the process and has asked the task force to submit its recommendations at the earliest. The other members of the task force are labour secretary M. Sathiyavathy, secretary of the statistics department T.C.A. Ananth, NITI Aayog’s Pulak Ghosh and Manish Sabharwal, chairman and co-founder of staffing firm Teamlease Services Ltd.

    28. Moon Jae-in has been declared winner in South Korea’s presidential election by that country’s National Election Commission. Moon, the Democratic Party’s candidate has won with 41.08% of votes. Moon will replace the ousted President Park Geun-hye, who was ejected from office in March after a corruption scandal for which she’s awaiting trial. Moon narrowly lost to Park in 2012 election. Park was South Korea’s first female President who has been impeached in a corruption scandal. Moon is a 64 year old former human rights lawyer and a liberal who favors a more open policy toward North Korea. He is likely to overhaul South Korea’s policy on North Korea. Unlike his predecessors, Moon favors engagement with North Korea and has challenged the deployment of US missile defense system in South Korea. Moon is a strong proponent of the “Sunshine Policy”, which aimed to improve relations between the two Koreas from 1998 to 2008.

    29. Ministry of Urban Development will launch measuring of Liveability Index of cities in the next month. The index will be based on indigenously evolved methodology. The Ministry of Urban Development has already released a detailed document on “Methodology for Collection and Computation of Liveability Standards in Cities”. The index will measure the Liveability Standards of 140 cities including 53 cities with population of 1 million and above. To carry out the assessment, the Ministry has invited bids for selecting the agency. The aim of the assessment will be to instill a sense of healthy competition among cities and towns in the country and to help them focus their attention on improving governance and infrastructure availability. Cities will be assessed on 15 core parameters relating to Governance, social infrastructure pertaining to education, health and safety and security, economic aspects and physical infrastructure like housing, open spaces, land use, energy and water availability, solid waste management, pollution etc. Totally, based on 79 aspects, the Cities would be ranked on the Liveability Index.

    30. Jhulan Goswami has become the highest wicket-taker in one-day internationals. Goswami has so far taken 181 wickets in 153 matches. She has broken the world record held by Australia fast bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick who has taken 180 wickets during India’s ongoing match against South Africa in the Women’s Quadrangular Series in Potchefstroom. She achieved this feat with the wicket of No.11 batsman Raisibe Ntozakhe of South Africa. Jhulan Goswami Jhulan Goswami is a right arm fast bowler who made her one-day debut back in 2002. She is regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in the women’s cricket. Her best bowling figures is 6 for 31. So far, she has two five-wicket hauls in ODIs. She has awarded with Arjuna Award in 2010 and Padma Shri in 2012.

    31. The 29th India–Indonesia CORPAT has commenced at Port Blair under the aegis of Andaman and Nicobar Command. The bilateral exercise is scheduled to be held from 9th to 25th May. The Indonesian Naval Ship KRI Sutedi Senoputra has arrived to take part in the 29th series of IND–INDO CORPAT. An Indonesian Maritime Patrol Aircraft has also arrived with the Indonesian Naval delegation. Defence relations between India and Indonesia are growing steadily with regular joint activities and interactions between the Armed Forces of the two countries. The bilateral exercise aims to enhance mutual understanding and inter–operability between the two navies. It also reflects the shared concerns between the two navies for a peaceful Indian Ocean for the benefit of international community.

    32. The Supreme Court has held UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya guilty of contempt of court for transferring 40 million dollars to his children in violation of the court’s order. The Supreme Court has ordered Vijay Mallya who is in the United Kingdom to appear before on the 10th of July to argue on the quantum of punishment. On July 10, the apex court will decide on the quantum of punishment to be awarded to Vijay Mallya. Contempt petition against Mallya was moved by a consortium of banks in July 2016 accusing Mallya for transferring 40 million dollars which he had received from British firm Diageo to his children in violation to various judicial pronouncements.

    33. India and Japan has decided to strengthen their military cooperation and hopes to pursue a strategic partnership for ensuring regional peace and stability. The visit of Defence minister Arun Jaitley to Tokyo comes at the backdrop of rising tension in the region such as territorial rows over the South China Sea and nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. The purpose of visit of Arun Jaitley to Tokyo was to attend an annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank. India and Japan have been increasing their defence cooperation amid China’s increasing assertiveness in the region. India has welcomed the conduct of a planned trilateral naval exercise among the US, India and Japan in July as a means to strengthen cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. The Malabar trilateral exercise between Japan, the U.S. and India are slated to be held in the Bay of Bengal from July 10. Japan would send its helicopter carrier Izumo which is its largest warship to take part in the exercise.

    34. S President Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American Neil Chatterjee as a Member of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC is an agency responsible for overseeing America’s power grid and deciding on multibillion-dollar energy projects. His term will expire on June 30, 2021. US Senate has to confirm Chatterjee before he can be sworn in as member of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

    35. A seven-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar has sentenced the Calcutta High Court judge, Justice C S Karnan to six months of imprisonment for repeated incidents of contempt of court. This is the first time that the Supreme Court has sent a high court judge to jail on charges of contempt. Further, the bench also comprising Justices Dipak Misra, J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur, P C Ghose and Kurian Joseph has prohibited media, both print and electronic from publishing any further orders if any passed by Justice Karnan.

    36. The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked all the state governments to link prisons with courts through video conferencing in order to expedite trials and to save costs of escorting undertrials to courts. The Home Ministry’s advisory to the states has been issued following a national conference of heads of prisons in states and UTs on prison reforms. Salient Highlights In the conference, the state governments were advised to implement the following suggestions aimed at having an effective prison administration system: The states have been asked to integrate prison e-system with Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) as well as e-courts on a priority basis. At periodic intervals, combined training of prison, police, health department and judiciary on undertrial management should be conducted. Separate training module on deradicalisation of prisoners should also be conducted. The states should fill the existing vacancies in all ranks of prison departments expeditiously. The nomenclature of Prisons Department may be changed to “Prisons and Correctional Administration“. As per the changed nomenclature, it should have integrated prison, correctional and probation services. All states should establish a welfare wing comprising welfare officers, law officers, counsellors and probation officers, under their respective prison departments. To ensure uniformity in prison rules and regulations, all states/UTs should revise their existing prison manuals by adopting provisions of the model prison manual, 2016 prepared by the home ministry. CCTNS The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) project was initiated in 2009 as part of police modernisation programme under the national e-governance project. It was conceived to bring all 16,000 police stations in India under a single network to counter terror challenges. The core objective of CCTNS is to connect all the police stations so that any of the police stations can contact any other police station; thereby facilitate collection, storage, retrieval, analysis and transfer the information among police stations, state headquarters and central police organizations. e-Courts e-Courts is a new concept where from filing of a petition till its disposal, use of paper is restricted to bare minimum. In a full fledged e-court, the lawyers would not need to carry bulky files but would come to court with laptops, pen drives and would be able to file the petitions in PDF. E-courts help in various ways such as: Help judicial administrations of the courts, streamline day-to-day activities, assist Judicial Administration in reducing pendency of cases, provides transparency of information to litigants, and provides judges access to legal and judicial databases.

    37. The International Monetary Fund in its regional economic outlook has predicted the growth rate of India as 7.2% in the 2017-18 fiscal and 7.7% in 2018-19 fiscal. The report has stated that the disruptions caused by the demonetisation would be offset by a favorable monsoon and continued progress in resolving supply-side bottlenecks. However, it has predicted the investment recovery to remain modest and uneven across sectors. Though weaknesses in bank and corporate balance sheets is likely to affect the near term credit growth, the report cites confidence and policy credibility gains and continued fiscal consolidation and anti-inflationary monetary policy to be the factors that underpin macroeconomic stability. According to the report, IMF has recommended the removal of long-standing structural bottlenecks to enhance market efficiency. The report has revised the growth downward in India due to effects from the currency exchange initiative and in South Korea due to political uncertainty. According to the report, improving agricultural productivity in the labour-intensive agricultural sector remains a key challenge. It has said that much more needs to be done to address structural bottlenecks and improve market efficiency. Liberalising commodity markets as per the report will help in infusing more flexibility in the distribution and marketing of farm produce and will enhance the competitiveness, efficiency, and transparency in state agriculture markets. IMF has said that input subsidies to farmers should be administered through direct cash transfers as underpricing of agricultural inputs would have large negative impacts on agricultural output. IMF International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established on December 27, 1945 with stated objectives to promote international economic cooperation, international trade, employment, and exchange rate stability, including by making resources available to member countries to meet balance of payments needs. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C. The IMF works to improve the economies of its member countries.

    38. India has been unanimously elected as the President of the UN-Habitat. UN-Habitat, an organ of the United Nations’ Organisation (UNO) reports to the United Nations General Assembly. UN-Habitat promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements across the world. India has been elected as the President of UN-Habitat after a gap of 10 years. This is only the third time that India has been elected as the President of UN-Habitat after 2007 and 1988. The UN-Habitat was established in 1978. The Governing Council of UN-Habitat is an inter-governmental policy making and decision making body that aims to promote integral and comprehensive approach to human settlements, assist the countries and regions in addressing human settlement problems and strengthen cooperation among countries over the issue of human settlement. Subsequent to the election, Union Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation M.Venkaiah Naidu will preside over the deliberations of the Governing Council of UN-Habitat for the next two years. Accordingly he will chair the 26th Meeting of 58 member Governing Council of UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya. The theme of the meeting is “Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda” He will also chair the Bureau Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Ministers’ Conference on Housing and Urban Development in Nairobi. The New Urban Agenda which was adopted by the world community at Quito, Ecuador would focus on inclusive, sustainable and adequate housing for a better future and sustainable urbanization and integrated human settlements. UN-Habitat UN-Habitat, also known as United Nations Human Settlements Program is a UN agency responsible for sustainable urban development and human settlements. It was established in 1978 and has its headquarters in the UN Office at Nairobi, Kenya. It is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. It is also a member of UNDP. UN-Habitat works in more than 70 countries in five continents focusing on seven areas: Urban Legislation, Land and Governance; Urban Planning and Design; Urban Economy; Urban Basic Services; Housing and Slum Upgrading; Risk Reduction and Rehabilitation; Urban Research and Capacity Development.

    39. The strategic anti-Naxal operations command headquarters of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been shifted back from Kolkata to Raipur. In 2010, the central zone command headquarters was shifted from Raipur to Kolkata owing to logistics and connectivity issues. The recent decision comes at the backdrop of ambush in Sukma district that killed 37 jawans of the paramilitary force. The central zone command headquarters was raised on August 7, 2009, to carry out the deployment of troops to the States affected by Left Wing Extremism such as West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. CRPF CRPF is the largest central armed police force or paramilitary force in India. It functions under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It was established in 1939, under Crown Representative’s Police but after independence, it was made statutory after enactment of the CRPF Act, 1949. Its primary role is to assist States/Union Territories in police operations to maintain law and order and contain the insurgency. Apart from anti-Naxal operations, CRPF personnel also carries out several operations in situations of crisis like terrorist attacks, counter-terrorism operations, rescuing citizens during terrorist attacks among others.

    40. Thirty-nine-year-old Emmanuel Macron has been elected as the president of France. He has become the youngest President and occupant of the Élysée Palace. He is also the first President of France outside of that country’s two traditional main parties. Macron defeated Marine Le Pen, his far-right opponent by securing about 19.3 million votes, while Ms Le Pen secured about 10.4 million. With the victory, Macron is poised to become one of Europe’s most powerful leaders. Macron has a highly promising agenda of political and economic reform for France and the European Union. Unlike his opponent Marine Le Pen, who threatened to pull out of the European Union, Macron holds a business-friendly vision of European integration. This has brought huge relief to the European Union nations who feared that France may follow Britain’s steps in exiting the EU. Emmanuel Macron was the former investment banker. He had served for two years as the French economy minister. However, he has never held elected office so far. Emmanuel Macron’s movement called ‘En Marche’ counts more than 200,000 followers. Though defeated, his opponent Le Pen’s National Front (FN) has managed to secure a good performance. Le Pen during her campaign made attacks on Islamic fundamentalism, immigration, and propounded close ties with Russia. Her “France-first’ policies appealed to many poorer members of the French society.

    41. Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated India’s First Integrated Bio‐refinery for Renewable Fuels & Chemicals for producing ethanol from a variety of biomass. The plant is situated at Rahu in Pune district of Maharashtra. The demonstration plant has been built by Praj industries. The inaugurated Bio‐refinery plant is capable of producing one million litres of ethanol per annum by processing a variety of biomass like rice and wheat straw, cotton stalk, bagasse, cane trash, corn cobs & stover with superior product yields. In 2015, the Government has asked Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to target 10 % blending of ethanol in as many States as possible. The fuel doping programme that required blending of 5% ethanol had started in November 2012. It was notified under the Motor Spirits Act on January 2, 2013. The Government has also allowed the OMCs to procure ethanol produced from other non-food feedstocks, like cellulosic and lignocellulosic materials including petrochemical route. Significance Biofuel is cost‐effective and pollution‐free. Ethanol blending is the practice of blending petrol with ethanol. Globally many countries including India, have resorted to ethanol blending to reduce vehicle exhaust emissions The inauguration of the refinery paves the way for stepping up 20% ethanol blending program and can reduce the import burden of crude petroleum. Biofuels Biofuels are fuels which are in some way derived from biomass. The term covers solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases and also denotes Biodiesel, Bio-alcohol and bio-gasoline. Common Biofuel Crops The most common Biofuel crops include Corn, Rapeseed/Canola, Sugarcane, Palm Oil, Jatropha, Soyabean, Cottonseed, Sunflower seeds, Wheat, Sugarbeet, Cassava, Algae, Coconut, Jojoba, Castor Beans etc.

    42. Justice Leila Seth who became the first woman Chief Justice of a State High Court has passed away at the age of 86. She has also received the distinction of becoming the first woman to top the London Bar exam as well as the becoming the first female judge of the Delhi High Court. Leila Seth is the mother of the noted author Vikram Seth. Justice Leila Seth began her career in 1959 as an advocate in the Calcutta high court as well as in the Supreme Court. Justice Leila Seth had been on the panel of lawyers for the Bihar and the West Bengal government. Justice Leila Seth was made as a permanent judge of the Delhi High Court in 1980. In 1991, she was made as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh high court.

    43. China’s home-grown C919 passenger jet has completed its maiden flight. China’s C919 is a symbol of China’s ambitions to take market share from Boeing and Airbus in the lucrative global jet market estimated to be worth $2 trillion over the next two decades. It is a part of China’s broader “Made in China 2025” plan aimed at boosting its domestic high-tech manufacturing. As a part of its maiden flight, C919 passenger jet undertook an 80-minute flight flying over the Yangtze River delta and touched down at Shanghai’s international airport.

    44. In a major restructuring in the banking sector, Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed heads of seven public sector banks besides shifting managing directors of PNB and Bank of India. PNB Managing Director (MD) Usha Ananthasubramanian has been appointed as the head of Kolkata-based Allahabad Bank. Melwyn Rego of Bank of India will head the Syndicate Bank. Rajkiran Rai G, currently executive director of Oriental Bank of Commerce will head Union Bank of India as its MD and CEO for a period of three years. R Subramaniakumar, currently executive director of Indian Overseas Bank, has been made as its MD and CEO. Sunil Mehta, currently the executive director of Corporation Bank will head the PNB in place of Usha Ananthasubramanian. The executive director of Canara Bank Dinabandhu Mohapatra will be the MD and CEO of Bank of India. R A Sankara Narayanan, currently executive director of BoI will be the MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank. Reason Non-performance of the public sector banks in tackling the menace of non-performing assets (NPAs) is said to be the reason behind the major restructuring of the public sector banks. Bad loans of public sector banks (PSBs) surged by over Rs 1 lakh crore to reach Rs 6.06 lakh crore during April-December of 2016-17. The bulk of the NPAs have emanated from the power, steel, road infrastructure and textile sectors. Last month, NPA-laden IDBI Bank’s head Kishor P Kharat was shifted to Indian Bank and the Indian Bank’s Mahesh Kumar Jain was shifted to IDBI Bank.

     

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