Important Current Affairs 9th July 2017

Important Current Affairs 9th July 2017

Current Affairs 9th July 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Foundation stone of country's largest Global Skill Park laid in Bhopal

In continuation of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Skill India programme, foundation stone of Global Skill Park was laid in Bhopal, on Monday, July 3.
●    Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Pratap Rudi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan laid the foundation stone of India's biggest Global Skill Park in Bhopal, at the Academy of Administration.
●    Madhya Pradesh is the first state in the country which has undertaken all programmes and schemes of centre's skill enhancement simultaneously.
●    The park will be spread in 37 acre land, which has been allotted in Narela Shankari area of Bhopal.
●    The construction of the Global Skill Park is estimated to cost around 645 crore rupees
Training will be imparted to 1000 students every year by trainers of international standard.
●    The park will function on the spirit of 'With Industry-For Industry.
●    Trained students will be given placement in India and outside India at international level Provision of international joint certification will also be there.

India ranks 23rd among 165 nations in cybersecurity index

India is ranked a high 23rd out of 165 nations in a global index that measures the commitment of nations across the world to cybersecurity. 
●    The second Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), released by the UN telecommunications agency International Telecommunication Union (ITU), said only about half of all countries have a cybersecurity strategy or are in the process of developing one and urged more countries to consider national policies to protect against cybercrime. 
●    India is ranked 23rd on the index with a score of 0.683 and has been listed in the "maturing" category, which refers to 77 countries that have developed complex commitments to cybersecurity and engage in cybersecurity programmes and initiatives
●    The index has been topped by Singapore with a 0.925 score. 
●    The report said about 38 per cent of countries have a published cybersecurity strategy and an additional 12 per cent of governments are in the process of developing one. 

Snapdeal joins hand with the NBT for online books donation drive

In a bid to inculcating reading habit among underprivileged children, e-commerce major, Snapdeal,  announced the launch of ‘HarHaathEkKitaab’ campaign, in partnership with The National Book Trust (NBT).
●    The campaign aims at nationwide online books donation drive especially targeting underprivileged children, and aims at inculcating a reading habit among them. 
●    Snapdeal’s partnership with the NBT is the first time the latter has come on-board an e-commerce platform.
●    As a part of the campaign, Snapdeal will encourage its customers to buy and donate books published by the National Book Trust India. 
●    People can choose to donate anywhere between 10 to 2000 books by simply visiting https://www.snapdeal.com/offers/har-haath-ek-kitaab and clicking on the donation plan one prefers. 
●    The average price of the books available is approximately Rs. 25. Books in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English are available for the first phase of the campaign. 
●    NBT will dispatch books to NGOs across India working towards educating India’s underprivileged children including Teach for India, Goonj, Bhumi, Aarti, Idea, Impact, 17000 ft, Books For All, Turnstone Global, Guzarish, Educate Girls, PYDS, Pratham, Vimukti Sansthan, Deepalaya, Shikshanandan and the Indian Dreams Foundation.

Union Minister Shri Vijay Goel and Wrestler Shakshi Malik Flag off 7th Slum Yuva Daud 

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports shri Vijay Goel today flagged off the 7th Slum Yuva Daud with Ramesh Bidhuri, MP and Olympic medalist ace wrestler Sakshi Malik. 
●    Today’s Daud started from Tughlakabad Fort village and ended at Karni Singh Shooting Range. More than 3000 youth from Delhi slums participated in it. 
●    Addressing the participants shri Goel said, that This is not just any other run but we are running for a better tomorrow, a ‘New India’ where each youngster is a capable being and sports being one field in which we must grow big and powerful. 
●    The Minister also interacted with the participants via quiz contest and songs etc. He asked them to retain their shirts, medals and certificates as these would help them gain access to a mega Programme being planned with all the participants of 11Slum Runs. 
●    Olympic medal winner wrestler Sakshi Malik urged the youth to participate in sporting activities and promote healthy living and cited sports and youth as two pillars of India’s greatness. Sakshi Malik gave a thumbs up to the Sports Ministry’s initiative of Slum Yuva Daud and called it a ‘great way” to tap young talent.

Current Affairs 9th July 2017: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India and Israel sign 7 Agreements

India and Israel have signed 7 agreements on areas including space, tech and agriculture during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel. 
●    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. 
●    Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit marks the 25 years of establishment of diplomatic relationship between India and Israel.
●    In the joint statement released after talks between India and Israel, both the countries have called for taking strong measures against terror organisations and also against those who encouraged, supported and financed terrorism.
●    MoU for setting up of India-Israel Industrial R&D & Technological Innovation Fund (I4F)
●    MoU for conservation of water in India
●    MoU on State Water Utility Reform in India
India-Israel Development Cooperation- 3-year work program in Agriculture (2018-2020)
●    Plan of cooperation regarding cooperation in atomic clocks
●    MoU regarding cooperation in GEO-LEO optical link.
●    MoU regarding cooperation in electric propulsion for small satellites.

Giant crocodile teeth found In Madagascar

Paleontologists found on the island of Madagascar the remains of a potentially ancient giant crocodile seven to ten meters in length and weighing a tonne that lived on land and could compete with the size of teeth and the power of a bite with tyrannosaurs, according to an article published in the PeerJ magazine.
●    “Like many other giant crocodiles of the Jurassic period, Razana could battle and defeat many carnivorous dinosaurs, including those that were on the top of the food pyramid,” says Cristiano dal Sasso of the Natural History Museum History in Milan (Italy).
●    The first dinosaurs, as paleontologists think today, appeared at the end of the Triassic period, about 240 million years ago, after the disappearance of all the large animal monsters that dominated the Earth in the Permian period. 
●    The main competitors of the dinosaurs for the crown of the most successful animals on earth were crocodiles, which at that time were huge in size and inhabited not only in water bodies, but also on land.
 

Current Affairs 9th July 2017: PERSONS

Indian-American student wins top original oratory contest in US

An Indian-American student in the US has won this year's National Speech and Debate Tournament, considered to be the most prestigious high school competition in the country.
●    J J Kapur, a Sikh, composed his own persuasive speech titled 'Let's Dance' addressing a social issue.
●    His speech, which won the competition in the category of original oratory, started out with a lively Bollywood dance and focused on his experiences as a Sikh-American youth. 
●    He earned top rankings in the semifinal and final rounds of the tournament of champions before earning the championship trophy, the West Des Moines community schools reported.
●    Kapur, who is a Valley High School junior in West Des Moines, Iowa, shared his experience to highlight the stereotyping of Sikh and Muslim identities post-9/11 attacks
●    He said he was two years old when the September 11, 2001, attacks happened. His family was watching the news when he thought he saw a picture of his father on the screen and pointed it out to his family.