Important Current Affairs 3rd October 2017

Important Current Affairs 3rd October 2017

Current Affairs 3rd October 2017: INTERNATIONAL RELATION

Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Naval Staff visits Vietnam 

Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Naval Staff is visiting Vietnam on a bilateral visit from 04 to 07 October 2017. 
●    The visit aims to consolidate cooperation between the Armed Forces of India and Vietnam and also to explore new avenues of defence cooperation.
●    During his visit, the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Naval Staff will hold bilateral discussions with His Excellency, Mr Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Hon’ble Prime Minister of Vietnam, His Excellency, General Ngo Xuan Lich, Hon’ble Defence Minister of Vietnam, Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Chief of General Staff and Vice Minister of National Defence, Vietnamese Armed Forces, and Rear Admiral Pham Hoai Nam, Commander-in-Chief of the Vietnam People’s Navy. 
●    In-addition to holding important bilateral discussions, the Admiral will also be visiting the National Defence Academy of Vietnam, where he will interact with student officers and faculty members and deliver a talk on the ‘Importance of Maritime Power’. 
●    He will also visit Vietnam People’s Navy ‘Naval Region 4’, Vietnam Naval Academy and lay a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. 
●    India has historical linkages with Vietnam that dates back many centuries, though the countries established formal diplomatic relations in 1972. 
●    Defence cooperation between India and Vietnam has been robust with the primary focus being Maritime Cooperation. India signed a Protocol on Defence Cooperation Agreement in 1994. 
●    The partnership was thereafter elevated to Strategic Partnership in 2007 and a MoU on Defence Cooperation between the countries was signed on 05 November 2009.  

Current Affairs 3rd October 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Ministry of Health adjudged best for ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’, receives award

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been adjudged as the best department for its contribution during Swachhta Pakhwada, an inter-Ministry initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. 
●    The Health Ministry observed the Swachhta Pakhwada from 1st February, 2017 to 15th February, 2017. 
●    The award was presented to the Ministry on 2nd October, 2017, the third anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission. 
●    Shri C K Mishra, Secretary (HFW) received the award on behalf of the Ministry.
●    Swachhta Pakhwada activities were organized and observed within the Ministry offices, in Central Government Hospitals and in public health facilities of the states across 36 States/UTs. 
●    More pertinently, in addition to the envisaged activities, some of the key contributions include mass awareness generation initiatives through rallies, street plays, painting competitions etc., leveraging the participation and support of public representatives, NGOs, school children and the community. 
●    These activities are considered critical for sustaining the swachhta movement.
●    During the Swacchta fortnight, all hospital/clinics were also directed to install waste bins for segregating waste and massive cleaning drives were undertaken in all the hospital wards and hospital premises. 
●    Doctors, nurses and medical staff along with patients and visitors carried out sensitization drives on the importance of safe sanitation and hygiene.
●    The Swachhta Pakhwada culminated with inspection and special sanitation drive undertaken by the Minister for Health and Family Welfare Shri J P Nadda on 15th February 2017. 

Rajnath Singh distributes scholarship cheques 

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh distributed eleven scholarship cheques at a function here today to the school going children of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles (AR) personnel who sacrificed their lives in the service of the nation. 
●    Remaining 172 scholarship funds were digitally transferred to the beneficiaries by the sponsors, Sarojini Damodaran Foundation (SDF).
●    The SDF initiated the provision of scholarship to children of CAPFs personnel in the year 2016. 
●    MHA carried out an exercise and identified 295 children from different CAPFs and AR families and decided about scholarship in consultation with SDF of Rs.6000/- per child. 
●    This year 183 children have been identified from different CAPFs and MHA and SDF decided to provide scholarship to these children for subsequent years.
●    In his brief address, the Union Home Minister complimented Shri S.D. Shibulal, Managing Trustee, Sarojini Damodaran Foundation (SDF) for undertaking a noble task and his contribution to nation-building. 
●    Shri Rajnath Singh said the SDF has been engaged in several philanthropic activities including care for the elderly and the weaker sections of society.

Chairman NHAI launches new website and PMIS Mobile App 

The Chairman of National Highways Authority of India Shri Deepak Kumar launched a world class, new multilingual website of the organization today. 
●    He said that within two months it will be possible for the general public to rate National Highways through this website. 
●    He also launched a Project Monitoring Information System (PMIS) Moblie App that will facilitate close, in-house monitoring of NHAI projects on a mobile phone. 
●    Shri Deepak Kumar said that the NHAI also plans to soon launch a public interface of the PMIS desktop and App versions, so that the general public will be able to view the real-time status of any project across the Highway network. 
●    The NHAI website has been developed using state-of-art technologies and provides a centralized platform wherein NHAI’s different software and applications are stitched together and available for browsing in a user friendly manner. 
●    Complete information about the organization, HR, projects, policies, videos and project photographs are available on the website. 
●    To maintain transparency, the information is in the public domain. 
●    Apart from this, as a single point repository of all relevant information, the enterprise applications are mapped to the website, which are for internal use of NHAI. 

Vice President Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu launches development of Muktyala – Vijaywada stretch of National Waterways-4 along with Union Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari 

Vice-President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated /laid the foundation stones  for several National Highways projects and a project for development of Muktyala to Vijayawada stretch of Krishna River (National Waterways – 4), along with Shri Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation at a function in Vijaywada today.   
●    Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu was also present on the occasion.  
●    Seven NH projects were dedicated to the nation and foundation stones were laid for six NH projects in Andhra Pradesh, the total cost of all the projects being Rs. 4,193 crore. 
●    Foundation stone for the Phase-I for development of   Krishna River (National Waterway -4) was also laid. 
●    In the first phase of the project, the stretch between Muktayala to Vijayawada will be developed for transportation. 
●    The total project cost is Rs. 7,015 crore and the length of the waterway 315 km.
●    Speaking on the occasion Shri Gadkari said  that the Union Government would spend more than Rs. 1 lakh crore on improving National Highways in Andhra Pradesh and it would give a tremendous boost to the development of the state.
●    He said a six lane access controlled greenfield Amaravathi Expressway will be built to connect the new capital city Amaravathi with Anantapur and also provide connectivity to Kurnool and Kadapa. 

Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017 to be Held in Hyderabad, November 28-30 

A high-level delegation from the Government of India and the United States met today, at NITI Aayog to plan the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which will be held November 28-30 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre in Hyderabad, India.
●    The Summit will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump, who leads the U.S. delegation. 
●    The GES is the preeminent annual gathering of emerging entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders from around the world.  
●    Through networking, mentoring, and workshops, the GES empowers entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas, build partnerships, secure funding, and create innovative goods and services that will transform societies.  
●    This year, the focus will be on women entrepreneurs and the tremendous potential women bring to entrepreneurship.
●    GES 2017 will create an environment that empowers innovators, particularly women, to take their ideas to the next level. 
●    Women represent tremendous promise for economic growth and prosperity -- but in both developing and developed countries, also face tremendous barriers to building businesses. 
●    This year’s theme is “Women First, Prosperity for All” to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in all its strengths and diversity. 

CWC sign MoU with IIT Roorkee and MNNIT Allahabad to support capacity building in dam safety areas under dam rehabilitation and improvement project 

Central Water Commission (CWC) has signed MoUs with IIT Roorkee and MNNIT Allahabad to support dam rehabilitation efforts of various implementing agencies and CWC.
●    Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has taken on board selected premier academic and research institutes, for capacity building in the areas of dam safety through World Bank assisted Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP).
●    The scope includes strengthening the testing laboratories, enhancing analytical capabilities, exposure visits to best global institutions and on ground exposure to dam safety concerns to the faculty of these institutions.
●    CWC has already signed MoUs with IIT Madras, IISc Bangaluru, NIT Calicut and NIT Raurkela for supporting these institutes for the procurement of specified equipment and software for enhancing their testing and modeling capabilities. 
●    Last month, CWC facilitated the signing of MoUs by Madhya Pradesh Water Resources Department (MPWRD) and UJVN Limited (UJVNL), Uttarakhand with the Earthquake Engineering Department of IIT Roorkee for assisting MPWRD and UJVNL in the activities related to establishment of seismic instruments, certification of these installations, generation of post seismic event report having an intensity greater than 4.0 on Richter Scale and sharing of these reports with State and Central Agencies, data collection, processing, monitoring, analysis, interpretation, integration of the State Dam Seismological Network (SDSN) with Indian Dam Seismological Network (IDSN) being maintained by National Agencies to exchange the information and help to strengthen the existing seismological network for a strong national perspective plan, and conducting training programmes for the dam owning personnel.
●    DRIP is assisting rehabilitation of 225 dams in seven States which are experiencing different levels of distress. 

President Appoints Commission to Examine Sub Categorization of other Backward Classes under Article 340 of the Constitution 

The President today i.e. on 02.10.2017, in exercise of the powers conferred by article 340 of the Constitution appointed a Commission to examine the sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes. 
●    This decision, taken on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, reinforces, in the spirit of his teachings, the Government's efforts to achieve greater social justice and inclusion for all, and specifically members of the Other Backward Classes. 
●    Sub categorization of the OBCs will ensure that the more backward among the OBC communities can also access the benefits of reservation for educational institutions and government jobs. 
●    The composition of the Commission is as follows: 
●    Chairperson -Justice (Retd.) G. Rohini, 
●    Member -Dr. J.K. Bajaj 
●    Member(Ex-officio)-Director, Anthropological Survey of India, 
●    Member (Ex-officio)-Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India 
●    Secretary of the Commission-Joint Secretary, Department of SJ&E, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment