Important Current Affairs 31st August 2018 English

Important Current Affairs 31st August 2018

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                                                                 (National News)

Arunachal Assembly passes bill for creation of 3 new districts

The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly has passed a Bill for the creation of three new districts -- Pakke-Kesang, Lepa Rada and Shi Yomi - in the State. Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein had introduced the Arunachal Pradesh Re-Organisation of Districts (Amendment) Bill, 2018, in the House. The Assembly passed the Bill by voice vote.

Indian Railways and GAIL (India) Limited sign an MoU 
 
Indian Railways and GAIL (India) signed a Memorandum of Understanding towards expanding usage of environment-friendly fuel, Natural Gas across all applications of the Indian Railways.

This historic partnership will pave the way for supply of Natural Gas to Railway workshops, integral coach factories, loco workshops, DEMU sheds, etc. located along the existing and upcoming pipeline networks of GAIL. Along the prestigious eastern India pipeline project under execution- 'Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga' network alone there is a scope to supply natural gas to over 10 workshops of Indian Railways and shall be connected in a phased manner.

MoU between the two leading organisations of the country is a step towards fulfilling Central Government's vision of developing a Gas-based economy in India and progress towards expanding the share of Natural Gas in the energy mix from 6.5 % to 15 %.

New Wage Agreement Signed for Port and Dock Workers

The Shipping Ministry on August 30, 2018 signed a new wage settlement agreement for Group C & D category of Port and Dock Workers in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The move will benefit around one lakh 35 thousand port and dock workers and pensioners in 12 major ports across the country.

Key Highlights

• The new agreement will provide 10.6 per cent wage hike to workers and pensioners.

• The lowest grade of workers would get a pay-scale of Rs 20900-43600 and the highest grade worker would get a pay-scale of Rs 36500-88700.

• The workers and pensioners will get this benefit for a period of five years, beginning in January 2017. 

• The total financial implication of the settlement for all the major ports for serving and pensioners is expected to be around Rs 560 crore per annum.

• More than 32,000 Port and Dock workers and 1, 05,000 Group C and D pensioners across all major ports will be benefitted from of this settlement. 

Other Details

The settlement was signed between six Port and Dock Workers’ Federations and the Port Management under Section 12(3) of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, before the Regional Labour Commissioner, representing Chief Labour Commissioner. 

It has been into force from January 1, 2017. This is a five-year settlement arrived at in the port sector against the ten-year periodicity in many of the major public sector enterprises.

Supreme Court defers hearing on Article 35A till January
 
Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing on the constitutional validity of the Article 35A relating to the special rights and privileges enjoyed by Jammu and Kashmir, till January 2019. The contentious issue has brought life in Kashmir to a standstill due to a complete shutdown in the state. 

What is Article 35A? 
Article 35A was added to the Indian Constitution in 1954 as part of the deal between the Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, and the republic of India to protect the privileges of Kashmiri residents. 

It has a provision that gives J&K Assembly the power to decide who all are the 'permanent residents' of the state that can have permanent settlement rights in the state, get scholarships, receive public aid and acquire immovable property. 

Launch of National Mission on Government e Marketplace (GeM) on 5th
 
National Mission on Government e Marketplace (GeM) will be launched on 5th September 2018 to accelerate the adoption and use of GeM by major central Ministries, State Governments and their agencies. 
The aim of the National Mission is to promote inclusiveness, transparency and efficiency in public procurement and achieve cashless, contactless and paperless transaction. This will increase overall efficiency and lead to cost saving on government expenditure in procurement.
GeM:
The GeM platform provides online, end to end solution for procurement of commonly used goods and services for all Central Government Departments and State Governments, Public Sector Units and affiliated bodies.
The GeM has completed two years and as on 26th of August 2018, it has crossed Rs 10,800 crore in value terms and 6.96 lakh in volume of transactions through the platform. 

                                                      (International News)

Cabinet approves Trade Cooperation Framework between India and Rwanda 
 
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for the trade cooperation framework between India and Rwanda.   The trade cooperation framework was signed on 23rd July, 2018. 
The trade cooperation framework will facilitate better trade and economic relations between the two countries.

Cabinet apprised of the MoU between India and Republic of Korea on the cooperation in the field of railways 
 
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the cooperation between Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), India and Republic of Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) to strengthen and promote scientific and technical cooperation in the field of railways.  The MoU was signedon 10thJuly 2018.
 
Impact:
 
The MoU will provide a platform for Indian Railways to interact and share the latest developments and knowledge in the railway sector with its Korean counterpart. It will facilitate exchange of technical experts, reports and technical documents, training and seminars/ workshops focusing on specific technology areas and other interactions for knowledge sharing.
 
Background:
Ministry of Railways have signed MoUs for technical cooperation in the Rail sector with various foreign Governments and National Railways. The identified areas of cooperation include high speed corridors, speed raising of existing routes, development of world class stations, heavy haul operations and modernization of rail infrastructure, etc. The cooperation is achieved through exchange of information on developments in areas of railways technology & operations, knowledge sharing, technical visits, training & seminars and workshops in areas of mutual interest.

Russia to conduct largest military exercise Vostok-2018

Russia will next month hold its biggest war games since at least the 1980s, with around 300,000 troops and 1,000 aircraft.
Vostok 2018 is a large-scale upcoming Russian military exercise, to be held from 11 to 15 September 2018, throughout Siberia and the country's Far East.  The exercise will involve units from the Army, Air Force and Navy. 
The Vostok-2018 exercises will be carried out from September 11 to 15 in the country's east with the participation of China and Mongolia. This will be something even bigger of a Zapad-81, exercise Zapad-81 was the largest military exercise ever to be carried out by the Soviet Union, according to NATO and US sources. It was conducted from September 4, 1981 and lasted approximately 8 days. 

ADB to provide $346 mn for improving Karnataka highways
 
India signed a $346 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to finance improvement of over 400 km of state highways that will enhance connectivity and access to economic centres across 12 districts in Karnataka.
This would be in addition to an ongoing road improvement project financed by the ADB with a loan of $315 million which involves upgradation of about 615 km of state roads.
The new loan will continue ADB support to the Karnataka government's statewide road improvement programme, and will also help improve road safety.
Benefits:
These state highways provide a crucial link to population and economic centres.
The support to the development of the state highway network in Karnataka through this project will promote economic activities and foster inclusiveness.
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in '1966, it is owned by 67 members--48 from the region.

India’s First Global Mobility Summit 2018

Government think tank Niti Aayog will hold on September 7-8 here the India's first 'Global Mobility Summit', to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The six themes of the summit are: Asset utilisation and service, comprehensive electrification, alternative energy, reinventing public transit, logistics and goods transport and data analytics and mobility.
Objective 
The summit will help drive government's goal for vehicle electrification, renewable energy integration and job growth and also speed up India's transition to a clean energy economy.
'MOVE: Global Mobility Summit' will be organised in collaboration with various ministries and industry partners.
Over 1,200 participants from across the world including government leadership, industry leaders, think tank and civil society organisations are likely to attend the summit.

                                                                        (Sports)
Nitu clinches second successive gold 
 

Defending champion Nitu (48kg) claimed her second successive gold at the World youth boxing championship.
Nitu, who is also an Asian champion, defeated Thailand’s Nillada Meekoon in a split decision. 
She had won her previous World championship gold last year at Guwahati.