Important Current Affairs 4th July 2017

Important Current Affairs 4th July 2017

Current Affairs 4th July 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Dr. Subhash Bhamre Chairs CAC of National Cadet Corps 

Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre chaired the 50th Central Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) here today. 
●    Dr. Bhamre, in his presidential address complimented the NCC on the performance of its cadets in various activities pertaining to training, adventure, social service and community development. 
●    The committee deliberated on various issues in order to optimise training efforts so that NCC continues to perform in an excellent manner towards character and leadership building of the youth of the nation. 
●    The Minister complimented efforts of the NCC in nation building and urged it to continue ‘Grooming Future Leaders’. 
●    The NCC presently has cadet strength of 13 lakhs and plans to expand to 15 lakhs and beyond. 

Environment Minister to Lead Plantation Drive to Celebrate Van Mahotsav 

Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan will lead a month-long drive to plant saplings to mark Van Mahotsav here starting on July 5.   
●    The plantation drive will be organised at Ram Lila Park, C. C Colony, Model Town tomorrow and in District Park, Paschim Vihar on July 6.  
●    The Minister will plant saplings and also distribute saplings for plantation to local residents. 
●    Dr. Harsh Vardhan has advised the people to plant native trees because they readily adapt to local climate, integrate into the ecosystem, have a high survival rate and are helpful in supporting local birds, insect and animals.
●    Recollecting the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s emphasis on ‘Van Dhan’ to enhance the country’s forest-based economy, while improving the biodiversity and living in harmony with nature has been a part of our culture for thousands of years, the Environment Minister requested all States and the people at large, to hold plantation drives during the monsoon season.  
●    Dr. Harsh Vardhan also referred to India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDCs) to create additional Carbon Sink of 2.5 to 3 Billion Tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030, as has been submitted to UNFCCC under the able guidance of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.  

Ministry of Railways sanctioned New BG line between Jeypore & Navarangpur in Odisha 

As per the announcement of Budget 2016-17, Ministry of Railways sanctioned New BG line between Jeypore & Navarangpur  in Odisha. 
●    The length of the new BG line is 38 Kms. The cost of the project is 747.91 Crores. 
●    The project will be completed in 3 years. The project shall be implemented on Cost-sharing basis (50% by Ministry of Railways under GBS and 50% by State Govt. of Odisha)
●    The Project is important for connecting Navarangpur District of Western Odisha, with Jeypore, an existing Station on Kottavalasa- Kirandul line. 
●    This line will provide connectivity to important towns viz. Koraput, Jeypore, Jagdalpur, Dantewada. 
●    Further, the line is useful for connecting Navarangpur to Junagarh/Kalahandi District and result in short lead to many other places of Odisha, Chhattisgarh & Andhra Pradesh.
●    Further,  State Govt. of Odisha will be bearing entire cost of land and 50%  of the construction cost of the project.

All cities of MP, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Telangana to become ODF by October 

All the 1,137 statutory cities and towns in six States of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Kerala and Telangana are set to be declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) by October 2 this year marking the completion of three years of Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). 
●    This is based on the regular reports being received from States/UTs. 
●    With Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Chandigarh having already declared all the 281 cities and towns under their jurisdiction ODF, a total of 1,418 cities and towns would become ODF by this October, two years ahead of the mission deadline of October 2, 2019. 
●    These nine States account for 39% of the total 4,041 mission cities. 
●    This was revealed during the review of progress of Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) by Shri D.S.Mishra, Secretary(Urban Development) yesterday. 
●    The number of mission cities in Maharashtra are 384, followed by Madhya Pradesh -378, Chattisgarh-168, Kerala-93, Telangana -73 and Jharkhand-41. 
●    Gujarat had already declared all 170 cities and towns ODF while Andhra Pradesh had done so in respect of 110. Chandigarh is the only UT to have become ODF.

J P Nadda chairs high level review meeting on control of vector borne diseases

Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, held a high level meeting to review the preparedness of the Ministry for prevention and control of vector borne diseases (dengue, malaria, chikungunya) in the country, here today. 
●    During the meeting, Shri Nadda asked the States for mounting aggressive IEC campaigns to enhance awareness on prevention and control of vectors in their surrounding areas and neighbourhoods. 
●    Shri C K Mishra, Secretary (Health), Dr Saumya Swaminathan, Secretary (DHR) and DG (ICMR), Dr. (Prof) Jagdish Prasad, DGHS and other senior officers of the Union Health Ministry, National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) were also present in the meeting along with Directors/ MS from the Central Government hospitals. 
●    Taking stock of the situation, Shri Nadda was briefed on the preparations of the Health Ministry and was informed that Technical Guidelines for prevention and control and clinical management were developed and shared with the states for implementation. 
●    The Ministry has also conducted review meeting with the states and more than 13 advisories have been sent to all States as early as January for strengthening their preparedness before the vector borne disease season. 
●    The Health Minister was further informed that the Ministry has requested the States/UTs to declare Dengue as notifiable disease for improving reporting and for taking preventive measures in the affected areas. 
●    Under the guidance and direction of the Union Health Minister, Government of India has initiated several awareness programmes through print and electronic media and issue advertisements for controlling these diseases. Besides, for sensitization of the masses on the subject, the National Dengue Day was celebrated on 16th May, 2017.

India successfully test-fires short range surface-to-air missile

India on 3 July 2017 successfully test-fired indigenously developed quick reaction surface-to-air missile (QR-SAM) off the Odisha coast.
●    This short range missile with a strike range of 25 to 30 km was test fired from a truck-mounted canister launcher from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur. 
●    It was the second developmental trial of the state-of-the-art missile with an aerial target. 
●    The first developmental trial of the missile was carried out on 4 June 2017 from the same base.
●    Designed to be a quick reaction missile, it is capable of engaging multiple targets and involves an all-weather weapon system capable of tracking and firing. 
●    It was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other establishments.

Manipur government declares flood situation a 'State Calamity'

An emergency review meeting held on 3 July 2017 to assess the flood situation in Manipur decided to declare the present disaster as a ‘State Calamity.’
●    The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, was held at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. 
●    It was attended by Irrigation & Flood Control Department (IFCD) Minister Letpao Haokip, Education Minister Th. Radheshyam, Chief Secretary O. Nabakishore, Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Commissioners, DCs and Directors of different Departments.
●    The meeting was called due to the worsening of the flood situation in many localities of the state. 
●    The decision was brought upon after thoroughly reviewing the reports presented by the concerned officials and DCs.
●    Besides this, Biren Singh also informed at the meeting that he has requested the Central Government to declare Manipur’s flood situation as a calamity of ‘severe nature’.

Current Affairs 4th July 2017: AWARDS

Indian-Americans Shantanu Narayen and Vivek Murthy to be honoured with Great Immigrants Award

Two Indian-Americans, Adobe Chief Shantanu Narayen and former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, are among 38 immigrants to be honoured with the Great Immigrants Award.
●    They will be honoured for their role in helping advance the country's society, culture and economy on 4 July 2017, the Independence Day of the United States of America.
●    Among other honourees include Canadian-origin social entrepreneur Jeff Skoll, who has been awarded the 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, PayPal cofounder of Ukrainian origin Max Levchin, Iranian-origin philanthropist and entrepreneur Hushang Ansary.
●    Born on 27 May 1963, Shantanu Narayen is an Indian-American business executive and the CEO of Adobe Systems.
●    Prior to this, he was the President and Chief Operating Officer since 2005.