Important Current Affairs 28th August 2018

Important Current Affairs 28th August 2018

                                                              (National News)

Committee on review of penal provisions of Company Act 2013 submits final report 

The Committee constituted by Government of India in July 2018 to review the existing framework dealing with offences under the Companies Act, 2013 and related matters and make recommendations to promote better corporate compliance, has submitted its report to the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley by Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Shri Injeti Srinivas, who chaired the committee. 
The main recommendations of the Committee are as follows:
(i)    Restructuring of Corporate Offences to relieve Special Courts from adjudicating routine offences
(ii)   De-clogging the NCLT
(iii)  Recommendations related to corporate compliance and corporate governance.

Government announces regulations for drones
 
The Government announced regulations which will enable the safe, commercial usage of drones. The regulations will be effective from 1st of December this year. 
Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said, the regulations are intended to enable visual line-of-sight daytime-only and a maximum of 400 feet altitude operations. 

Also air space has been partitioned into Red Zone in which flying is not permitted, Yellow Zone that is controlled airspace and Green Zone for automatic permission.

These progressive regulations will encourage a vast Made in India drone industry. He expressed confidence that many new and exciting applications will emerge which will take India’s economy forward.
 

MoU signed for skill development of Arogyamitras under the PMJAY

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and National Health Agency (NHA), to provide capacity building for Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) to ensure effective rollout and continued quality implementation. 
As per the MoU, NSDC will ensure quality training of Arogyamitra through its network of Skill Development Centres functioning under PMKVY and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras(PMKK). All the currently recruited/ deputed Pradhan Arogyamitras will be certified by health care sector skill council, the body notified as non-statutory body for health sector under the aegis of NSDC.
National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) 
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is an Indian not-for-profit company set up to address the need for providing skilled manpower across various industry sectors. It was founded in 2009 by the Ministry of Finance, and is currently under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India.
Important
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan is the Minister of skill Development and entrepreneurship & Petroleum and Natural Gas and Shri J.P.Nadda, Minister of Health and family Welfare

Railways planning to enable WiFi in 6 thousand railway stations

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal addressing a Smart Railways Conclave in New Delhi has said that the railway is planning to enable wifi in six thousand railway stations in the next 6 to 8 months. 

Figure & Facts

Currently railway is offering free wi-fi service at more than 700 stations across the country. 
Government is taking fibre optics to country's remotest corners and on the other hand, Railways is working to get technology across the Railways network. 

In May 2014 the optic fibre cable was about 358 kilometres and today it is about two lakh 30 thousand kilometres in four years. Also 60 per cent of villages are already connected with optic fibre. 

Centre signs MoU with 6 states for Lakhwar Yamuna basin project in Uttarakhand

The Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the six Upper Yamuna basin states for the construction of Lakhwar multi-purpose project in Uttarakhand. 

The states are Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,  Haryana,  and Delhi.  Union Minister for Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari inked the MoU with the Chief Ministers of these states in New Delhi for the project worth 3966.51 crore rupees.   

Lakhwar Project

The Lakhwar project envisages construction of a 204-metre high concrete dam across river Yamuna in Uttarakhand with a live storage capacity of 330.66 million cubic metre, MCM.

This storage will provide 78.83 MCM water for domestic and industrial use in the six basin states. It will also irrigate  33,780 hectares of land and generate 300 Megawatt of power.  

Background:
 
Upper Yamuna refers to the stretch of River Yamuna from its origin to the Okhla Barrage in Delhi. The six Upper Yamuna Basin states had signed a MoU on 12th May 1994 regarding allocation of surface flow of River Yamuna. 

                                                            (International News)

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman calls on Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha

The Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called on Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in Bangkok. The delegation led by Mrs Sitharaman also called on the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Thailand. 

Both the leaders discussed matters concerning strengthening India-Thailand strategic ties. Earlier, Smt Sitharaman inspects the Guard of Honour in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Fourth Asian electoral stakeholders forum in Colombo 
 

Sri Lanka, the fourth Asian electoral stakeholders forum (AESF-IV) will begin in Colombo tomorrow to discuss the state of elections and democracy in the region. The two-day forum is being held for the first time in South Asia with support from the Election Commission of Sri Lanka and the Asian network for free elections (ANFREL). The AESF will be attended by more than 250 delegates from 45 countries. 

The theme is, 'Advancing Election Transparency and Integrity: Promoting and Defending Democracy Together'. The forum gives an opportunity for Asian election commissions, election observers, non-government organizations, and interstate bodies to gather and discuss the state of elections and democracy in the region. India is being represented by Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra Ashwini Kumar and an NGO.

Nashik Police Commissioner Ravinderkumar Singhal wins the Ironman triathlon

Nashik Police Commissioner Ravinderkumar Singhal has successfully completed the Ironman triathlon which involves a set of physically gruelling activities.

The event, which includes cycling for a staggering 180 km, swimming for around 4 km and a 42-km full marathon, was held in France.

Singhal, 53, completed the triathlon in 15 hours and 13 minutes as against the stipulated time of 17 hours.

Earlier, model-turned-actor Milind Soman had successfully completed the race in 2015 and Maharashtra's senior IPS officer Krishna Prakash participated in it last year.

                                                      (Sports News)
Asian Games: Neeraj Chopra becomes first Indian to win gold in javelin throw
 
Neeraj Chopra became the first Indian javelin-thrower to win an Asian Games gold medal as he shattered his own national record by clearing a distance of 88.06m in Jakarta. The 20-year-old’s winning throw came in his third attempt. He began with 83.46m and fouled the second attempt.
Neeraj Chopra’s gold is only the second medal India has won in javelin throw in Asian Games history after Gurtej Singh won bronze in 1982 in New Delhi.
Neeraj won the Federation Cup in March with 85.94m, clinched a gold in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games with a throw of 86.47m. He was the 2016 IAAF World U20 Champion and holds world junior record setting 86.48 m at the U20 championships. 

Asian Games: P V Sindhu becomes first Indian shuttler to win Silver medal

PV Sindhu became the first Indian to win a Silver medal in Badminton at the Asian Games.
In the Gold medal match at the 18th Asiad in Indonesia, Sindhu seeded 3rd, lost to world number one Tai Tzu-Ying of Chinese Taipei in straight games, 13-21, 16-21 to give India its third Silver of the day. Earlier, India bagged two Silver medals in Archery. 
About PV Sindhu
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu born on 5 July 1995 is an Indian professional badminton player. She became the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal, and one of the two Indian badminton players to ever win an Olympic medal – other being Saina Nehwal. Sindhu won silver in Women's singles at Commonwealth Games 2018 . She was also a silver medalist at the 2017 BWF World Championships and 2018 BWF World Championships consecutively.