Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Daily Current Affairs, 27th August 2019

1) National Digital Library of India launched by HRD Ministry

•Human Resource Development Ministry has launched the National Digital Library of India project to develop a framework of virtual repository of learning resources with a single-window search facility. It has been launched under the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology, NMEICT.

•Currently, there are more than 3 crore digital resources available through the National Digital Library. National Digital Library is also integrated with UMANG App.

2) Indo Pacific Chiefs of Defence Conference 2019 to be held in Thailand

•The 2019 Indo Pacific Chiefs of Defence (CHOD) Conference will be held in Bangkok, Thailand’s. In this conference, India will be represented by Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and Chief of the Air Staff- Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa.

•The conference will provide perspectives on common challenges faced by attending nations and elicit open discussions on the same. The theme for the conference is “Collaboration in a free and Open Indo – Pacific”.

3) 4th edition of Internet of Things (IoT) India Congress 2019

•The 4th edition of India’s largest confluence of digital technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) India Congress 2019 held in Bengaluru, Karnataka with the theme of ‘Mainstreaming the Internet of Things’.

•It was inaugurated by Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India(GoI). The IoT India Congress 2019 will include tracks on segments such as healthcare, manufacturing, telecom, smart cities, energy, retail, cybersecurity, skills and development, IoT Standards, legal and regulatory, and agriculture.

4) 7th ‘Community Radio Sammelan’ to be held in Delhi

•The 7th ‘Community Radio Sammelan’ will be held in New Delhi. The ‘Sammelan’ will witness the representatives of community radio stations which will discuss experiences and possibilities of programming. This Sammelen will be held to raise awareness of sustainable development goals.

•The theme of this year’s Sammelan is ‘Community Radio for SDGs’. It is organized by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting will witness the participation of all operational Community Radio Stations across the country.

5) Intel launches first artificial intelligence chip Springhill

•Intel Corp launched its latest processor, it’s first using artificial intelligence (AI), designed for large computing centres.

•The chip developed at its development facility in Haifa, Israel. The name of the chip is Nervana NNP-I or Springhill and it is based on a 10 nanometre Ice Lake processorthat will allow it to cope with high workloads using minimal amounts of energy.

6) Department of Social Justice & Empowerment and NACO signed an MoU

•The Department of Social Justice signed an MoU with the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO). The signed MoU will enhance outreach on AIDS prevention, address the risk of HIV transmission among all substance users and empower the discriminated and vulnerable groups such as victims of HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and female sex workers.

7) RBI to transfer Rs 1.76 lakh crore to government

•The Reserve Bank of India has approved the transfer of record Rs 1.76 lakh croredividend and surplus reserves to the government. The sum of Rs 1,76,051 crore comprises Rs 1,23,414 crore of surplus for the year 2018-19 and Rs 52,637 crore of excess provisions identified as per the revised Economic Capital Framework.

•The receipts from the RBI will give a stimulus to the government’s efforts to boost the economy from a five-year low. It is the highest-ever surplus amount transferred by the RBI to government.

8) Amazon India launches Military Veterans Employment programme

•Amazon India has launched a Military Veterans Employment programme in the country. This programme will create employment opportunities for military veterans and their spouses across the company’s fulfilment centres, sort centres and delivery centres in India.

•Amazon India is partnering with the office of the Director-General of Resettlement (DGR) and the Army Welfare Placement Organisation (AWPO) to create continued work opportunities for military families across the country.

9) Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium to be renamed as Arun Jaitley Stadium

•The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) decided to rename Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium as Arun Jaitley Stadium in the memory of its former president of DDCA. Jaitley was the president of DDCA from 1999 to 2013. The renaming of the stadium will take place in September.

The HINDU Notes – 27th August 2019

the hindu notes

VisionIAS 16:49

📰 PM rejects scope for third party mediation in Kashmir

Trump: Discussed issue with Modi — India, Pakistan can resolve it on their own

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday categorically rejected any scope for third party mediation between India and Pakistan on Kashmir, saying the two countries can discuss and resolve all issues bilaterally and “we don’t want to trouble any third country.”

•Mr. Modi made these remarks while interacting with the media alongside U.S. President Donald Trump, who ahead of his meeting with the Prime Minister had said that he will discuss the Kashmir issue with him on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the French town of Biarritz.

•Mr. Trump in the recent past has offered mediation between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

•“All the issues between India and Pakistan are bilateral in nature, and we don’t want to trouble any third country. We can discuss and resolve these issues bilaterally,” Mr. Modi said.

•He said India and Pakistan were together before 1947 and he was confident that the two neighbours can discuss their problems and solve them.

•“When I had called Prime Minister Khan after the elections, I told him that Pakistan has to fight against poverty, India has to also fight against it. Pakistan has to fight against illiteracy and disease, and India has to also fight against them...I told him we should work together for the welfare of our people,” he said.

•On his part, Mr. Trump said he and Mr. Modi spoke about Kashmir “at great length” on Sunday night and he feels that both India and Pakistan can resolve it on their own.

•“We spoke about Kashmir, the Prime Minister really feels he has it [situation] under control. They speak with Pakistan and I’m sure that they will be able to do something that will be very good,” Mr. Trump said.

•“I have very good relationship with both the gentlemen [Modi and Khan] and I’m here. I think they can do it [resolve the issue] themselves,” he added.

•“We are talking about trade, we’re talking about military and many different things. We had some great discussions, we were together for dinner & I learned a lot about India,” the U.S. President said. Mr. Modi also thanked Mr. Trump for congratulating him after his recent election victory.

•Their meeting came against the backdrop of the Indian government revoking the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories on August 5.

•Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, evoking strong reactions from Pakistan.

•India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality.

•Briefing reporters after the talks between Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said the two leaders had a “very warm, very positive meeting” which lasted 40 minutes.

•This was their third interaction since Prime Minister Modi was re-elected in May this year for a second five-year term.

•Asked about the discussion on the Kashmir issue during the talks, the Foreign Secretary said there was “no discussion” on it during the bilateral meeting.

•To another question, Mr. Gokhale said India had not taken any steps to harm regional stability. “Normalcy is returning to Jammu and Kashmir,” he said, adding that certain restrictions will remain in place in the State to maintain law and order.

•“Their meeting principally focussed on trade and energy,” Mr. Gokhale said.

📰 Plea in Supreme Court seeks online RTI portals in States

THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 27.08.2019

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VisionIAS 07:00

FRONT PAGE

PM rejects scope for third party mediation in Kashmir

RBI showers Rs. 1.76 lakh crore bonanza on government

NATIONAL

PM highlights war on single-use plastic

Maharashtra links GST sops in policy to ‘sons of the soil’ clause

Imports from U.S. to grow, trade Ministers to meet soon

Chandrayaan-2 scans Mitra crater

INTERNATIONAL

G7 leaders back Hong Kong autonomy

Signs of hope as Trump says U.S.-China trade talks are on

Panel formed to execute FATF tasks

OPINION

Time to strike the gavel

India’s culture of toxic masculinity

Giving wings to better air connectivity

A judicial overreach into matters of regulation

Talking trade with the EU

Earth’s burning lungs

Gold winner

The morning after

BUSSINESS

Exchange rate driven by capital flows, says RBI

Indices see biggest gain since May

SSC CGL 2018 Tier -1 Marks Released

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VisionIAS 18:18

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Daily Current Affairs, 26th August 2019

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VisionIAS 17:50

1) Union Minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurates National Centre for Avian Ecotoxicology

•Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated the National Centre for Avian Ecotoxicology at Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural Sciences (SACON) in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

•The centre would study the movement of environmental contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls and drugs through the food chain, and their harmful effects on birds.

2) SRK launches heritage postal stamp of Bandra station

•Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan launched heritage postal stamp of Bandra station in Mumbai, Maharashtra on the completion of 150 years of the railway station. He urged the people present at the launching event to use the postal stamps instead of online texting.

3) President Kovind inaugurates the First World Youth Conference

•President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the first-ever World Youth Conference. Which was organised by the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) at Vigyan Bhavan, Delhi.

•The theme of the conference was ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Gandhi for the Contemporary World: Celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The conference was in commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi and aimed at providing youth with creative, effective methods of engaging and realising the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

4) 24th Meeting of Western Zonal Council held in Panaji

•The 24th Meeting of Western Zonal Council was held in Panaji, Goa. It was chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Goa being host state.

•Western Zonal Council is a forum for the Centre and the states to cooperate and exchange ideas and experiences on issues related to health, security and social welfare.

5) Harsh Vardhan inaugurates FSSAI’s National Food Laboratory

•Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurated FSSAI’s National Food Laboratory (NFL) in Ghaziabad on the occasion of 13th anniversary of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. This national lab is a result of a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), the first-of-its-kind in the food laboratory sector.

•The lab is equipped with the latest technologies and facilities to conduct analysis as per global accreditation standards for testing and calibration. NFL is one of the two premier referral laboratories under the direct administrative control of the apex food regulator named- Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI).

6) Russia launches floating nuclear reactor in Arctic

•Russia launched the world’s first floating nuclear reactor. The vessel weighs 21,000 tons and has two reactors with a capacity of 35 megawatts each. This reactor loaded with nuclear fuel, the Akademik Lomonosov left the Arctic port of Murmansk to begin its 5,000 kilometres (3,000-mile) voyage to Pevek in northeastern Siberia.

7) NASA honours Rolling Stones by naming rock on Mars

•NASA announced that it has named rock on Mars in honour of the iconic English band, The Rolling Stones. The space agency revealing that the “Rolling Stones Rock” was a stone that was sent rolling after NASA’s InSight lander touched down on the Mars’ surface.

8) ‘Statue of Unity’, Mumbai’s Soho House among Time’s 100 greatest places in the world

•The 597-ft tall ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat and Mumbai’s Soho House have been featured by the Time magazine in its second annual list of the 2019 World’s greatest places, in a compilation of 100 new and newly “noteworthy destinations.

•The ‘Statue of Unity’, the world’s tallest statue, is a tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, independent India’s first home minister as well as deputy prime minister. Soho House Mumbai is Asia’s first Soho House that puts a local spin on the “formula that has allowed Nick Jones’ members-¬only clubs to blossom across the US and Europe”.

9) CVC sets up 4-member Advisory Board for Banking Frauds

•The Central Vigilance Commission has constituted a 4-member Advisory Board for Banking Frauds. The ABBF will be headed by former Vigilance Commissioner T.M. Bhasin.

•The panel will function as the 1st level of examination of all large fraud cases. Lenders will refer all large fraud cases above Rs 50 crore to the board and on receipt of its recommendation or advice, the bank concerned would take further action in such matters.

•The other members of the panel are Madhusudan Prasad, former Urban Development Secretary; D.K. Pathak, former Director General of the Border Security Force; and Suresh N Patel, former MD and CEO of Andhra Bank.

•The panel was previously called the Advisory Board on Bank, Commercial and Financial Frauds.

10) 45th G7 Summit begins in Biarritz, France

•The Group of 7 or G7 Summit has begun in Biarritz, France. It is an informal meeting between France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada as well as the European Union. These world powers, which represent 50% of the global economy, also share the values of freedom and democracy, as well as a collective ambition to deal with the world’s major issues.

•India has been invited as a special guest in the summit. PM Narendra Modi will address sessions on environment, climate, oceans and digital transformation at the G7 Summit.

11) P.V. Sindhu: Indian Sports New Sensation!!

•Padma Shri Awardee, Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is an Indian professional badminton player. She was born on July 5, 1995, in Hyderabad. Her father PV Ramana and mother P. Vijaya are former Indian Volleyball Players. P.V. Ramana was also awarded the Arjuna Award in 2000 for his contribution to the sports in India. She started playing badminton at the age of 8 years and joined Pullela Gopichand’s Badminton Academy.

•Sindhu’s game was initially recognized during the 5th Servo All India ranking championship in the under-10 category. Later, she won the doubles titles at the Sub-Junior Nationals and the All India Ranking in Pune in the Under-13 Category.

•Sindhu made her International debut in 2009 Sub-Junior Asian Badminton championship held in Colombo and won the bronze medal. She defeated Singapore’s Gu Juan to won the Malaysian Open title which was her first Grand Prix in 2013 and also became the first Indian women’s singles player to win a medal at the Badminton World championship. In 2013, she was presented with the Arjuna Award, which is one of the highest honours for any sportspersons in India.

•Going ahead in her international career, she won successive women’s singles titles at the Macau Open Grand Prix in the year 2015 and was honoured with India’s 4th highest civilian honour “The Padma Shri Award”. In Rio Olympics 2016, she made her country proud after becoming the first athlete from India to win the silver medal at Olympics, as she lost the finals against the Spanish badminton star Carolina Marin.

•Later in year 2017, Sindhu went on to win the Indian Open Super Series after defeating Rio Olympics gold medallist Carolina Marin. She further went on to win a silver medal at the BWF World Championships in the same year. After reaching the final of the 2018 World Championships, she became the first shuttler in the world to reach the finals of three successive major events. Later in 2018, she was appointed as the Deputy Collector by the Andhra Pradesh government.

•But, in 2019’s BWF World Championships, she created history and become the first Indian shuttler to win the title. She defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara with 21-7, 21-7 to win the elusive gold in her 3rd successive final.

•Sindhu has made her country feel proud and will continue to do so.

The HINDU Notes – 26th August 2019

the hindu notes

VisionIAS 17:30

📰 Manmohan Singh set to lose SPG cover

Decision taken after review involving the Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Home Affairs with inputs from intelligence agencies.

•The Narendra Modi government is likely to withdraw the Special Protection Group (SPG) from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s security detail shortly, according to several sources.

•The decision, reportedly taken after a three-month review involving the Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Home Affairs with inputs from intelligence agencies the Research and Analysis Wing and the Intelligence Bureau has not yet been formally communicated in writing, but was “orally” conveyed to the former Prime Minister, the sources confirmed to The Hindu.

•This would mean that the elite protection force of about 3,000 officers meant for the Prime Ministers, the former Prime Ministers and their families would now be tasked with protecting only Mr. Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

•According to an official privy to the development, who asked not to be identified, the government had, according to the procedures laid down by the SPG Act, 1988, renewed Dr. Singh’s SPG detail for a year after he demitted office in 2014, and subsequently, on an annual basis after reviewing the threats faced by him and his wife Gursharan Kaur. (Dr. Singh’s daughters, who were also eligible, had given up SPG cover voluntarily in 2014).

•However, on May 25 this year, the government decided not to fully renew the SPG cover, and instead ordered a three-month review process, which ended on Sunday. Dr. Singh’s SPG unit was also told about the decision and asked to await a final decision. “I can confirm that the government has informed Dr. Singh that he is no longer eligible for SPG protection,” another well-informed source said, adding that this was conveyed by a senior intelligence official directly to the former Prime Minister. However, no written order had been sent as yet, and the 200-plus strong SPG force at Dr. Singh’s Motilal Nehru Place residence in Delhi remains in place, indicating that there may yet be a change in decision.

•The Hindu contacted several government agencies, including the Cabinet Secretariat, the Ministry of Home Affairs and intelligence agencies, in order to prepare this report, but received no official response. Dr. Singh also declined to comment on the development.

•Plans for the move raised some eyebrows within the security establishment. One official said that while the government was technically within the law to withdraw SPG protection to any former Prime Minister, it had chosen not to do so for Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who demitted office in 2004 and had SPG protection until he passed away in 2018. A prolonged illness had kept Vajpayee home-bound for the past decade. Dr. Singh is more “exposed” as he frequently travels. for political engagements and was just re-elected a member of the Rajya Sabha, the official explained.

•A retired SPG officer said the SPG cover would only be reduced on the basis of threat levels as defined in the SPG Act of 1988. “No govt. in power would take the risk of scaling down security without analysing the threat perception closely. No govt. would like to be discredited in taking a decision purely for political considerations,” he said, citing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, which brought much criticism to his successor V.P. Singh, whose government had withdrawn Mr. Gandhi’s SPG protection.

•The SPG was set up in 1985 after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and Parliament passed the SPG Act in 1988 dedicating the group to protecting the Prime Minister of India. At the time, the Act did not include former Prime Ministers, and when V.P. Singh came to power in 1989 his government withdrew SPG protection to the outgoing PM Rajiv Gandhi. After Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991 the SPG Act was amended, offering SPG protection to all former Prime Ministers and their families for a period of at least 10 years.

•During his tenure that began in 1999, PM Vajpayee’s government conducted a major review of the SPG’s operations, and decided to withdraw SPG protection to former PMs P.V. Narasimha Rao, H.D. Deve Gowda, and I.K. Gujral. In 2003, the Vajpayee government also amended the SPG Act to bring the period of automatic protection down from 10 years to “a period of one year from the date on which the former Prime Minister ceased to hold office and beyond one year based on the level of threat as decided by the Central Government.”

📰 Shock at G7 summit as Iran's Foreign Minister lands in Biarritz

Raus IAS Mains Compass 2019 Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude PDF

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VisionIAS 13:14

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