Important Current Affairs 3rd July 2017

Current Affairs 3rd July 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Mou Signed between Department of Defence Production and MDL

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), a Miniratna Schedule ‘A’ DPSU under the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the financial year 2017-18 with the Ministry. 
●    The annual MoU was signed between Secretary (Defence Production) Shri AK Gupta on behalf of the Ministry and Chairman and Managing Director, MDL Cmde Rakesh Anand. 
●    The MoU outlines the targets and various performance parameters for the company. The revenue from operations has been targeted at 4500 crore.
●    Significant milestones to be achieved under Project 75 (Scorpene Submarines) and shipbuilding projects of 15B (destroyers) and 17A (frigates) also form part of the MoU.

Registration of 1 lakh cos cancelled

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that the government is committed to more tough action against firms helping in hiding black money and added that registration of 1 lakh companies have been cancelled while 37,000 shell firms have been identified for strong action.  
●    He also pointed to the latest figures of Swiss banks to indicate the government’s steps to check black money.
●    Speaking about tax evasion that has taken a huge toll on the economy, PM Modi said that it was a bitter truth that only 32 lakh Indians have declared over Rs 10 lakh income, despite crores in high-end professions.
●    "Data mining to track the black money began on November 8, when demonetisation was announced. 
●    We haven't made this data public or questioned anyone yet. But we found as many as 3 lakh registered companies whose activities came under suspicion," he said.
 

Current Affairs 3rd July 2017: APPOINTMENT

Sanjay Gupta appointed as the Chairman of the Society and Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Management, Amritsar

Sanjay Gupta, CEO & Whole Time Director, Jagran Prakashan Limited has been appointed as Chairman of the Society and Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Management Amritsar for a period of five years w.e.f. 23rd June, 2017. 
●    Shri Sanjay Gupta is the Editor in Chief of Dainik Jagran since 2014 and has been associated with the Jagran Group for more than two decades. 
●    He also served as a Member of Board of Governors in Indian Institute of Management Lucknow from 2004 to 2009 and as Member, Board of Governors of Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad from 2003-2011. 
●    Recently Shri Gupta was also awarded with the AIMA Managing India Award in April 2017. 
●    He is also a Member of Shri Puran Chand Gupta Smarak Trust which is running several schools, colleges and Institutes in different parts of the country.

Current Affairs 3rd July 2017: PERSONS

Abhay Agarwal youngest boy to clear IIT

Abhay Agarwal, who will turn 16 in November this year, has been allotted a seat at IITBHU after scoring 2467 All India Rank. 
●    At 15, when students usually prepare for Class X Board exam, the teenager was at IIT-Kanpur to get his documents verified for admission.
●    Vice-chairman of IIT-JEE Kanpur zone Prof Shalabh said he was pleased to meet the boy when he checked in for document verification. Other staff members also expressed their surprise when they learned about his age. 
●    “He could be the youngest candidate this year to join an IIT. His class X marksheet confirms that he is 15 and a half years old. 
●    He was born on November 9, 2001,” said a JEE staffer.TOI has a copy of Abhay’s class X marksheet.
●    Abhay, who has secured admission in mechanical engineering, has not yet confirmed his seat and instead opted to `float’ the given choice of institute as he wants to study at IIT Roorkee. 
●    His father Mukesh Agar wal, who is posted as a pump attendant at Firozabad Na gar Nigam, said, “Abhay has brought us laurels at an early age. 
●    When the chief medical officer in Firozabad had to prepare his medical certificate, he was surprised. 
●    At IIT Kanpur also, JEE staff was amazed to know he was this young. He is a talented boy with high capabilities. 

Current Affairs 3rd July 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

Carrie Lam sworn in as Hong Kong's new leader

Carrie Lam has been sworn in as Hong Kong's chief executive by Chinese President Xi Jinping as the city marks the 20th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule.
●    Lam took her oath in Mandarin Chinese and not in the local Cantonese on Saturday amid scattered protests.
●    Security was tight at the same harbourfront venue where two decades earlier, the last colonial governor, Chris Patten, tearfully handed back Hong Kong to Chinese rule at a rain-soaked ceremony.
●    Minor scuffles broke out under a blue sky as pro-democracy activists - some with banners bearing the words "Democracy. 
●    Self-determination" - and pro-Beijing groups taunted each other, with hundreds of police deployed on a traditional day of protest in Hong Kong.
 

Current Affairs 3rd July 2017: REPORTS AND RANKING

Money in Swiss banks: India slips to 88th place, UK on top

India has slipped to 88th place in terms of money parked by its citizens with Swiss banks, while the UK remains on the top.
●    Also, the money officially held by Indians with banks in Switzerland now accounts for a meagre 0.04 per cent of the total funds kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss banking system, as per an analysis of the latest figures compiled by the SNB (Swiss National Bank) as on 2016-end.
●    India was placed at 75th position in 2015 and at 61st in the year before that, though it used to be among top-50 countries in terms of holdings in Swiss banks till 2007. 
●    The country was ranked highest at 37th place in the year 2004.

Current Affairs 3rd July 2017: AWARDS

CISF gets best airport security award from World Quality Congress

The security provided by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Delhi airport has been awarded the 'best airport security' by the World Quality Congress (WQC).
●    It is the first time that a central paramilitary force has been recognized by WQC for its standards and professionalism in providing security. 
●    Around 56 million passengers use IGI airport every year. 
●    The independent body usually awards private sector companies for their standards in providing quality service.
●    The award will be given to the CISF at WQC's annual event in Mumbai on July 6.
●    The achievement comes barely months after Airport Council International's airport service quality (ASQ) rating found that security at Delhi airport was better than Heathrow, Dallas, Los Angeles, Dubai and Paris airports.

Writer Preeti Shenoy bags Indian of the Year Award

Writer Preeti Shenoy bags Indian of the Year Award writer Preeti Shenoy in the last week of June 2017 was honoured with the Indian of the Year Award at a function organised in New Delhi.
●    Shenoy was awarded by Brands Academy, one of the most reputed branding companies in India.
●    The Award is given to recognise the achievements of personalities who have contributed towards building up the reputation of the country.
●    Preeti Shenoy is one of India's top five highest selling women authors.
●    She has been consistently nominated for the Forbes List of the 100 most influential celebrities in India since 2013.

Important Current Affairs 2nd July 2017

Current Affairs 2nd July 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Reliance Jio Launches Asia-Africa-Europe Submarine Cable System

Reliance Jio on Thursday launched the Asia-Africa-Europe (AAE-1) submarine cable system, which will deliver up to 40 Terabits of new capacity in the region. 
●    The AAE-1 cable will help address the rising demand for video-centric content in India, as well as outside, says Jio. 
●    The Mukesh Ambani-backed telecom operator adds that the cable will support all types of communications, applications, and content within India and beyond.
●    The new cable has been launched by Reliance Jio at a time when the India's data needs are soaring and consumers in the world's second largest telecom market are just about getting used to streaming music, watching videos and TV on-the-go. 
●    Jio has played a huge role in the increase in data consumption in the country courtesy its ultra-low cost 4G mobile service.
●    The submarine cable system will stretch over 25,000 km from Marseille, France, to Hong Kong, with 21 cable landings across Asia and Europe. 
●    The cable consortium includes China Unicom, Etisalat, GT5L, Mobily, Omantel, Reliance Jio, Telecom Egypt, TeleYemen, and many others.

Union Cabinet gives in-principle nod for Air India disinvestment

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval, in-principle, for divesting stakes in national airline Air India.
●    A group under Mr. Jaitley has been formed to decide upon the modalities of Air India’s stake sale. 
●    Refusing to give a timeline on Air India’s disinvestment, Mr. Jaitley said the group will send a proposal for the Union Cabinet’s final approval. 
●    The Finance Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take a call on the members who will be a part of this group.
●    While the Central government think-tank NITI Aayog and the Finance Ministry are in favour of an outright sale of the ailing airline, the Civil Aviation Ministry is keen that the government continues to remain a stakeholder in the national carrier after handing over the management to the private sector.
●    Air India was founded by J.R.D. Tata in 1932 as Tata Airlines which became a public limited company in 1946. Air India was later nationalised in 1953.

Chana and Chana Dal words added to Oxford English Dictionary

The words Chana and Chana Dal were on 27 June 2017 added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). 'Chana' means Chickpeas and 'Chana Dal' stands for split chickpea lentils.
●    With this, these Indian food essentials Chickpeas (chana) and the split chickpea lentils (chana dal) join the vast list of more than 600 other words and phrases that have been included in its quarterly update of the Oxford English Dictionary.
●    The other prominent new entries in the OED include a batch of tennis-related words like "Forced Error".
●    A slang 'Bagel' has also been added which refers to a score in a set of six games to love, as there is similarity of the numeral zero to the shape of a bagel.
●    A new sense of 'woke', which was shortlisted for 'Word of the Year', has also been added. It means alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice.

Current Affairs 2nd July 2017: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Indian Vice Presidential Election 2017 to be held on 5 August

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 29 June 2017 announced the election for the post of Vice-President of India. 
●    The election will be held on 5 August 2017 and the results will be announced on the same day itself.
●    The notification for the election will be issued by ECI on 4 July 2017 and the last date for filing nominations for the election is 18 July 2017. 
●    The election for the Vice President will be conducted through a secret ballot where only members of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will get to vote. 
●    The Electoral College for the present election of the Vice-President comprises of  790 members, out of which 245 are Rajya Sabha MPs and 545 are Lok Sabha MPs.

Same-sex marriage approved in Germany

The Chancellor voted against it, but same-sex marriage has been approved by a big margin in the German parliament.
●    The country has become the 14th in Europe and 23rd in the world to legalise same-sex weddings.
●    This after Angela Merkel did a u-turn and allowed MPs in her ruling conservative bloc to follow their conscience instead of vote along party lines.
●    After the vote, Merkel told reporters: “For me, matrimony protected by the constitution means marriage between a man and a woman, and therefore I did not vote for this draft law today.”
●    But Merkel added that she hopes the vote promotes “respect between different opinions and brings more social cohesion and peace”.
 

Current Affairs 2nd July 2017: SPORTS

Lasith Malinga gets one-year ban, fined for media remarks

Sri Lankan fast bowler, Lasith Malinga has been handed over a suspension ban of six months after a disciplinary inquiry found him guilty of breaching his contract by speaking to the media without permission.
●    Malinga will also be fined 50 percent of the match fee from his next one-day international.
●    He will be facing a disciplinary inquiry over his comments about Sri Lanka's Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara.
●    Malinga appeared before Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) special inquiry panel on 27 June 2017, where he accepted the charges against him and tendered a formal apology.
●    The specially convened executive committee meeting then imposed a "1 Year suspension, suspended by six months (whereby the punishment would be imposed in the event of a similar infraction within the stipulated 6 month period) and a 50% fine of his next ODI match fee.

Current Affairs 2nd July 2017: APPOINTMENT

Indian-American Krishna R Urs appointed as US Ambassador to Peru

Indian-American Krishna R Urs was on 28 June 2017 appointed as the United States (US) Ambassador to Peru by the President Donald Trump administration.
●    Krishna is currently serving as the Charge d' Affaires of the US Embassy in Madrid, Spain, where he was also the Deputy Chief of Mission. 
●    He has been a career service American diplomat since 1986.
●    During three decades of State Department service, Urs has specialised in economic issues and developed extensive policy experience in the Andean region of South America.
●    Previously, he served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs and as the Chief US Government Aviation Negotiator at the Department of State from November 2010 until June 2014.
 

Current Affairs 2nd July 2017: AWARDS

Indian Scientific Prof. Ashutosh Sharma awarded UNESCO Award

UNESCO awarded the UNESCO Award for the year 2017 to seven scientists and institutions of the world, including Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
●    In the headquarter of UNESCO's Paris headquarters, the selected scientists were honored last day.
●    Prof. Ashutosh Sharma has been selected for significant contribution in the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology.
●    This year the award was given to the scientific professor Theo Raging of the Netherlands, Dr. Han Money of Cambodia, Dr. Vladimir Bolshkov of Russia, the American Institute's Site Technology, Japanese Company, Toyoda Gossi and Moscow Technological University.
●    This award is given to scientists, eminent personalities and institutions who have worked in the development of nanotechnology and nanoscience.
●    Starting this year in 2010, 37 individuals and institutions have been honored with this award.
●    UNESCO Director General Arina Boskova said that from the development of innovative substances in drug manufacturing, reducing water pollution and nanotechnology have an important role in communication technology, which have a direct effect on our lives.
●    Nanotechnology has made significant changes in many areas including medical.

Important Current Affairs 1st July 2017

Current Affairs 1st July 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

DDA launched new housing scheme with 12,000 flats 

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA)’s much-awaited new housing scheme with 12,000 flats on offer will be rolled out on Friday, officials said on Thursday.
●    Top DDA officials said the scheme is slated to be launched by Union urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu at Vikas Sadan, the housing authority’s headquarters, on Friday afternoon.
●    “We are all set for the launch of the new scheme. Brochure for the scheme is ready. We have printed adequate number of copies. 
●    Out of the total number of flats, most of them are in Rohini, Dwarka, Narela, Vasant Kunj and Jasola. 10,000 unoccupied flats were from a 2014 housing scheme, while 2,000 flats had been lying vacant.

Govt approves amendments in Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011

The Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has approved amendments to the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, that will come into effect from January 1, 2018.
●    Under the new amended rules products on e-Commerce platforms have to display declarations required under the amended rules.
●    Use of proper, accurate and standard weights and measures are very important for effective functioning of any economy, as it plays an indispensable role in consumer protection as protection from malpractices of underweight or under-measurement, is an important function of the Government.
●    The Legal Metrology (packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 are framed to regulate the pre-packaged commodities. 
●    Under these rules, the pre-packaged commodities    have to comply with certain   mandatory labelling requirements.

Harsh Vardhan and Shri Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurate Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan and Fuel Conservation Workshop 

Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, together, inaugurated the Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan (SSA) today at Siri Fort Auditorium.
●    The Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan (SSA) is a two month long mega campaign focusing on providing preventive healthcare to the auto, taxi and bus drivers of the region. 
●    SSA, an initiative of Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), was inaugurated in the presence of various dignitaries including Members of Parliament, Officials of Delhi Police and other Senior Officials of the Ministry. 
●    The SSA event is a unique initiative to address the major issues being faced by public transport drivers of the region, with almost all of them being users of CNG.
●    Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in his address said that the drivers in the capital region are partners in the growth story of gas used as fuel in vehicles. 
●    CNG is used in vehicles for transport, domestic use, autos etc. He said that approx.. 4.5 Lakh vehicles which use CNG contribute to the Rs 3000 Cr business of IGL. 
●    He said that new aim should be to increase this business from Rs 3000 Cr to Rs 30,000 Cr.

Vivo retains title sponsorship for Indian Premier League (IPL) for five years

Chinese mobile handset manufacturer Vivo has retained the title sponsorship for Indian Premier League for the five-year period of 2018-2022 with a bid valuation of Rs. 2,199 crore, it was revealed by the cash-rich league. 
●    This is a jump of 554% on the previous successful title sponsorship bid made by Vivo for two seasons.
●    BCCI had invited bids for the title sponsorship earlier this year and the tender process was open till June 21 with the applications acceptable till noon on June 27. 
●    “Interested parties can collect the tender documents for the bids between 1 June and 21 June from the BCCI office in Mumbai upon payment of Rs3 lakh,” stated the invitation to tender document. 
●    Vivo had bagged the title sponsorship rights of the T20 League for two years – 2016 and 2017 – or the ninth and tenth edition of the league – at a reported cost of Rs 100 crore per year which was a jump of Rs 20 crore annually from what beverage giant Pepsi had paid through an earlier agreement beginning 2013.

Current Affairs 1st July 2017: APPOINTMENT 

A K Jyoti of Gujarat cadre will be next Chief Election Commissioner

Achal Kumar Jyoti will take over as the next Chief Election Commissioner of India. He would take over from Nasim Zaidi who is due to retire on July 6. 
●    Zaidi took over as the 20th CEC of India on April 19 2015.
●    A K Jyoti of Gujarat cadre will be next Chief Election Commissioner
●    A K Jyoti is currently the Election Commissioner of India along with O P Rawat. Jyoti born on 23 January 1953 is an IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre. 
●    The 64 year old Jyoti has also served as the Chief Secretary of Gujarat. 
●    He has also served as the Chairman of the Kandla Port Trust between 1999 and 2004 and Managing Director of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL). 
●    After retiring as the chief secretary in January 2013, he was appointed as the State Vigilance Commissioner of Gujarat.

RK Pachnanda appointed new Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police

RK Pachnanda, Indian Police Service officer of the 1983 batch, West Bengal cadre has been appointed as the new Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police(ITBP). 
●    The Officer is currently serving as Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), India’s specialised force for responding to natural disasters and CBRN emergencies. 
●    He will be taking over from Krishna Chaudhary, who is set to retire in June this year.
As mentioned on the official website, has previously served as Additional Director General (Operations & Works), CRPF,  Commissioner of Police, Kolkata,  Director General of Police (SCRB), West Bengal,    Additional Director General (HQ), CISF, New Delhi, Additional Director General (Airport Sector), CISF, Inspector General (HQ)& IG (Training)BSF, IG (South Bengal Frontier), BSF, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations), BSF, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Division, Kolkata.
 

Current Affairs 1st July 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

EU prolongs economic sanctions by six months on Russia

On 28 June 2017, the Council prolonged economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy until 31 January 2018. 
●    This decision follows an update from President Macron and Chancellor Merkel to the European Council of 22-23 June 2017 on the implementation of the Minsk Agreements. 
●    This paved the way for the renewal of sanctions for a further six months. 
●    The Council formalised this decision today by written procedure and, in line with the rule for all such decisions, unanimously. 
●    The measures were originally introduced on 31 July 2014 for one year in response to Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine. 
●    They were strengthened in September 2014. They target the financial, energy and defence sectors, and the area of dual-use goods.

Washington approves USD 1.42 billion arms sale to Taiwan

Donald Trump's administration has approved $1.42 billion worth of arms sales to Taiwan, a US government official said Thursday, in a move likely to provoke the ire of Beijing which considers the island a rebel province.
●    The US official emphasized that there is "no change to our longstanding 'One China' policy" -- stating that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of it -- which Beijing says is a prerequisite for maintaining relations.
●    Announcement of the sale comes at a sensitive moment for the US and China, as President Trump is working to establish a partnership over trade differences and efforts to curb North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
●    Taiwan is a self-ruling democracy but China sees it as part of its territory to be reunified, by force if necessary.
●    The US is the island's most powerful ally and arms supplier despite having no official relations with Taipei after switching recognition to Beijing in 1979.
●    The latest plans are consistent with terms of the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the US official said, under which Washington keeps trade ties and sells Taipei weapons to "maintain a sufficient self-defense capability".
●    Taiwan thanked the US for its continued commitment under the legislation and said the deal "increases Taiwan's confidence and ability to maintain the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait".

Important Current Affairs 30th June 2017

Current Affairs 30th June 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Narendra Modi inaugurates 2 water projects for farmers in Gujarat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated two water projects in Gujarat Modasa district, asserting that farmers across the state will soon get water through various irrigation schemes.
●    Speaking at the dedication ceremony, Prime Minister Modi said, “We have ensured that farmers across Gujarat get water through our various irrigation schemes. 
●    National Agricultural Market (e-NAM) is helping farmers sell their produce online at the right price across the entire country. 
●    We have introduced PM Fasal Bima Yojana to ensure maximum protection with minimum premium. 
●    We are also ensuring that bus stations in Gujarat are comparable to airports in convenience and cleanliness.”
●    Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was also present for the occasion. 
●    Later on Friday, Prime Minister Modi will have lunch at Gandhinagar Raj Bhawan, which will be followed by the inauguration of the Mahatma Mandir exhibition and conference.
●    He will also address a youth symposium.
●    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also address a textile summit, take part in a roadshow and unveil other state-centric projects.

Indians Top The List Of People Seeking Foreign Citizenship

A recent list of people opting for foreign nationality has kept Indians at the top according to the numbers in which they have applied for citizenship of other countries.
●    In 2015, 1.30 lakh people of Indian origin, comprising largely of expatriates on work visas, acquired citizenship of OECD member countries.
●    This was followed by Mexico (1.12 lakh) and the Philippines (94,000). China came fifth with 78,000 opting to relinquish their citizenship.
●    These were the findings of the report International Migration Outlook (2017) released by Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (Oecd) in Paris on Thursday.
●    The report mentioned that in 2015, just over 20 lakh people acquired the nationality of an OECD country. 
●    This was slightly above (3%) the 2014 figure, even as it remains within the OECD average of the past 10 years.

India to buy C-17 transport aircraft from US

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) today cleared a proposal to buy from the United States ten C-17 heavy-lift military aircraft worth USD 4.1 billion, the biggest-ever defence deal to be entered between the two countries.
●    Under the deal, the US defence major Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft, will have to invest 30 per cent of the contract amount for setting up defence facilities in India, they said.
●    As per the procurement procedure, offsets clause entails that a vendor winning a defence deal worth over Rs 300 crore has to reinvest at least 30 per cent of the deal amount in Indian defence, homeland security or civilian aerospace sectors.
●    The deal, which amounts to over Rs 18,000 crore, would be the biggest-ever defence contract to be entered with the US.
●    Prior to this, the biggest deal with the US was worth USD 2.1 billion for procurement of eight P-8I maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft from Boeing through direct commercial sales in 2009.

Current Affairs 30th June 2017: ECONOMY

GST launched

India’s single biggest tax reform, Goods and Services Tax (GST), will be launched nationwide in the intertwining night of 30th June and 1st July 2017. 
●    The new tax regime will be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a function in Central Hall of the Parliament.
●    The tax regime will replace more than a dozen state and central levies like excise, service tax and VAT, which were built up over seven decades. 
●    With this, GST will be unifying the country’s 2 trillion dollar economy and 1.3 billion people into a common market.
●    The special programme for the launch of the new tax regime will be attended by President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and a host of Senior Ministers and bureaucrats.
 

Current Affairs 30th June 2017: AWARDS

Indian-origin boy Arnav Sharma gets 162 IQ points, more than Einstein and Hawking

Arnav Sharma, an 11-year-old Indian-origin boy in the United Kingdom, secured the top possible score of 162 on a Mensa IQ test.
●    Sharma secured two points higher than physicist Albert Einstein and astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, making him one of the brainiest children in the country.
●    The Indian-origin boy passed the infamously difficult test a few weeks back with zero preparation. In fact, he had never seen what a typical paper looked like before taking it.
●    Sharma’s score in the exam, which primarily measures verbal reasoning ability, puts him in the top one per cent of the nation in terms of IQ level.
●    Sharma currently attends Crosfields School on the outskirts of Reading town in southern England, has been selected for Eton College and Westminster, both highly competitive and sought-after schools, with no preparation.

Current Affairs 30th June 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

Sharjah named World Book Capital 2019 by UNESCO

Sharjah, a city in the United Arab Emirates has been named as 'the World Book Capital' for 2019 by the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova for the quality of its literary and cultural activities and for its efforts to make books accessible to the entire population of the nation.
●    Bokova took the decision on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee that met at the Headquarters of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) at La Haye.
●    Speaking on the occasion, Irina Bokova said, “I applaud the nomination of Sharjah as the World Book Capital as well as the efforts undertaken by the city in order to make reading available to as many people as possible, in particular, the marginalised populations, as a motor for social inclusion, creativity and dialogue.”
●    The city was chosen because of its innovative, comprehensive and inclusive nature of the application, with a community-focused activity programme containing creative proposals to engage the very large migrant population.

Trump banned Visa application from 6 Muslim nations 

The Trump administration has set new criteria for visa applicants from six Muslim nations and all refugees that require a close family or business tie to the United States.
●    According to the new guidelines sent to all the US embassies and consulates on 28 June 2017, visa applicants from six countries- Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen-must prove a relationship with a parent, spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling in the United States in order to get a go ahead.
●    The new guidelines have been set by the State Department, according to which extended family members including grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law and fiancées are not considered to be close relationships.
●    These new measures are expected to be implemented from 29 June 2017.
 

Important Current Affairs 29th June 2017

Current Affairs 29th June 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi addresses the 76th meeting of Central Waqf Council

The Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said here that during the last three years, more than two thousand criminal cases have been filed in connection with encroachment on waqf properties by waqf mafias and strict action has been taken against several people sitting at top posts in waqf boards. 
●    Addressing 76th meeting of Central Waqf Council in New Delhi, Shri Naqvi said that waqf properties are being utilised for socio-economic-educational empowerment of the needy people of the society under the Centre’s Modi Government after making these properties free from encroachment on “waqf mafias”. 
●    Various projects related to educational, social and skill development are being initiated on these properties.

Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, Minister of Railways Lays The Foundation Stone For Five New Halt Stations Between Quazigund-Baramulla

To cater to the public demand for new halt stations in the Kashmir Valley region, Hon’ble Minister for Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu laid the foundation stone for construction of five new halt stations viz.Sangdan, Monghall, Ratnipora, Nadigam & Razwan on the  Baramulla-Qazigund Rail Section”at a ceremonial program held at Sher-i-Kashmir International, Conference Centre at Srinagar today (29th June 2017) in the august presence of Ms. Mehbooba Mufti, Hon’ble Chief Minister, J&K Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh, Hon’ble Dy. Chief Minister, J&K and Sh. Nazir Ahmed Laway, Hon'ble Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha were the distinguished guests on the occasion. 
●    Shri R.K. Kulshrestha General Manager, Northern Railway and other Senior Railway officials were also present in the function.
●    The new halt stations between Baramula-Quazigund stations are: Sangdan (Quazigund-Sadura), Monghall (Sadura-Anantnag), Ratnipora (Awantipura-Kakapora), Nadigam and Razwan stations (Budgam-Mazhom). These halts would cater to the transportation needs of residents living in these areas.
●    The all-weather special DEMU trains in the Kashmir valley has become a veritable life-line to the residents providing mobility with convenience. 
●    On an average 25,000 passengers travel each day  in these DEMUs with a corresponding tickets earnings accounting Rs. 3.5 lakh per day.

Ram Vilas Paswan approves amendments in the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011

●    Use of proper, accurate and standard weights and measures are very important for effective functioning of any economy, as it plays an indispensable role in  consumer protection as  protection from malpractices of under-weight or under-measurement, is an important function of the Government.
●    The Legal Metrology (packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 are framed to regulate the pre-packaged commodities. Under these rules, the pre-packaged commodities    have to comply with certain   mandatory lebelling requirements. 
●    Based on the experience of implementation   of the Rules and after a detailed stakeholder consultation, the Department has amended the rules, aimed at enhanced consumer protection, but at the same time balancing with the requirement of ease of doing business. Some of the salient features of the amendments are as below:
●    Goods displayed by the seller on e-commerce platform shall contain declarations required under the Rules like name & Address of the manufacturer, packer and importer, name of the commodity, net content, retail sale price, consumer care complaint, dimension etc.
●    Specific mention is made in the rules that no person shall declare different MRPs (dual MRP) on an identical pre-packaged commodity, unless allowed under any law. This will benefit consumers at large as they are having complaint regarding dual MRP for item depending upon different type of public places like Cinema Hall, Airport, Malls etc.

Union Home Minister chairs High Level Committee meeting for Central Assistance to Karnataka

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting of the High Level Committee (HLC) here today for Central Assistance to the state of Karnataka in the wake of drought (Rabi) of 2016-17.
●    The Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs and Defence, Shri Arun Jaitley and the Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh attended the meeting. 
●    Senior officers of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Finance and Agriculture were also present.
●    The Committee examined the proposal based on the report of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team which visited the drought-affected state of Karnataka. 
●    The HLC approved the assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) in respect of Karnataka to the tune of Rs 795.54 crore.

Launch of Web Application for Legal Services to Prisoners 

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) is entrusted with responsibility to provide legal aid inter-alia to all persons in custody.
●    Today, NALSA launched a Web Application for free Legal Services to Prisoners and the Legal Services Management System developed through the NIC and the conference held at Indian Law Institute, New Delhi on 28.06.2017. 
●    Through Web Application the State Legal Services Authorities and District Legal Services Authorities shall feed the data for each individual prison inmate in the jails within their jurisdiction, with regard to their being represented through a counsel in the court. 
●    The software will be able to generate reports showing total number of inmates, number of inmates unrepresented, number of inmates represented by legal services lawyers and number of inmates represented by private lawyers. 

Current Affairs 29th June 2017: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Implement Energy Efficiency Programmes, Signs MoU with EESL 

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of Ministry of Power, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Energy Services Company, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to implement energy efficiency programmes and scale-up demand side measures in the Gulf country. 
●    The MoU was signed by Mr. Waled Alghreri, Chief Executive Officer, National Energy Services Company and Mr. Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director, EESL. 
●    As per the MoU, EESL will provide consultancy and expand the capacity of the National Energy Services Company, which is instituted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to execute energy efficiency programmes. 
●    The move comes in the wake of the Arab Kingdom working ardently towards reducing its power subsidies and introducing energy efficiency initiatives. 
●    With rapidly increasing population coupled with soaring energy prices, the electricity demand of Saudi Arabia is growing at a rapid pace. 
●    According to the estimates by the World Bank, the electricity generated in Saudi Arabia completely relies on non-renewable sources like oil, gas and coal sources .

Current Affairs 29th June 2017: DAYS AND DATES

11th Statistics Day celebrated

In recognition of the notable contributions made by Late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics, statistical system and economic planning, Government of India in 2007, designated 29th June the birth anniversary of Prof. Mahalanobis. 
●    as the “Statistics Day” in the category of Special Days to be celebrated every year at the National level. 
●    The objective of celebration of this Day is to create public awareness about the importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation, to acknowledge the contribution of Prof. Mahalanobis and to pay homage to him. 
●    Every year, one particular theme of current national importance is selected for focused discussions and efforts made throughout the year aimed at bringing about improvements in the selected area.

Current Affairs 29th June 2017: SPACE SCIENCE

India's GSAT-17 Communication Satellite Launched Successfully 

Today, GSAT-17 became India’s third communication satellite to successfully reach orbit in the past two months. GSAT-17 was launched in the early morning hours using the European Ariane 5 Launch Vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana. 
●    The 3477 kg GSAT-17 carries communication payloads in C-band, Extended C-band and S-band for providing various services to the country. 
●    The satellite also carries equipment for meteorological data relay and satellite based search and rescue services. 
●    After its lift-off at 0245 hrs (2:45 am) IST and a flight lasting about 39 minutes, GSAT-17 separated from the Ariane 5 upper stage in an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 249 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 35,920 km, inclined at an angle of 3 degrees to the equator.

Important Current Affairs 28th June 2017

Current Affairs 28th June 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Election Commission to Launch First Time Nationwide “Voter Registration Reminder” on Facebook

Election Commission of India (ECI) is launching a ‘Special Drive to enrol left out electors, with a special focus on first time electors from 1st July , 2017 , so as to move in the direction of Commission’s motto that 'NO VOTER TO BE LEFT BEHIND’.
●    In order to reach out to maximum eligible voters, the ECI is collaborating with Facebook to launch first Nationwide “Voter Registration Reminder” on 1st July ,2017 .  With over 180 million people in India on Face book, the ‘Register Now’ button is designed to encourage Indian citizens to register themselves with the Election Commission of India. 
●    On 1st July, a notification of the “voter registration reminder” will be sent to people on Facebook in India who are eligible to vote. 
●    The reminder will be sent out in 13 Indian languages - English, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Assamese, Marathi and Oriya. 
●    This is the first time Facebook's voter registration reminder has been rolled out across India. In 2016 and 2017, Chief Electoral Officers made such efforts at state level during their respective state elections.

 The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) entered into Five Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreement with Indian taxpayers

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) entered into Five Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreement with Indian taxpayers during June, 2017. A Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreement (involving United Kingdom) was also signed during the month.
●    The APA Scheme endeavours to provide certainty to taxpayers in the domain of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and determining the arm’s length price of international transactions in advance for the maximum of five future years. 
●    Further, the taxpayer has the option to rollback the APA for four preceding years, as a result of which, tax certainty for a total period of nine years is provided. Since its inception, the APA scheme has attracted tremendous interest among Multinational Enterprises (MNEs).
●    The APAs signed in June, 2017 pertain to healthcare, information technology and gaming/animation (media) sectors of the economy.
●    The number of Unilateral APAs signed in the current financial year is now nine and the number of Bilateral APAs signed in the current financial year is one . 
●    With this, the total number of APAs signed since the commencement of the program till date stands at 162 (Unilateral-150 and Bilateral-12). The CBDT expects more APAs to be signed in the near future.

Launch of National Biopharma Mission 

The first ever Industry-Academia mission to accelerate biopharmaceutical development in India will be formally launched by the Cabinet Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi on 30th June 2017. 
●    The program named Innovate in India (i3) will witness an investment of USD 250 million with USD 125 million as a loan from world Bank and is anticipated to be a game changer for the Indian Pharmaceutical industry. 
●    It aspires to create an enabling ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in the sector.
●    India has been an active player in the pharmaceutical industry and has contributed globally towards making life saving drugs and low cost pharmaceutical products accessible and affordable for those in need.  
●    Be it the Rotavirus vaccine, heart valve prosthesis or affordable insulin, India has been a forerunner in these and many more. Despite, these advances Indian biopharmaceutical industry is still 10-15 years behind their counterparts in the developed countries and faces stiff competition from China, Korea and others. 
●    The lacuna primarily exists due to disconnected centers of excellence, less focus on translational research and staggered funding. 
●    There was an immediate need felt to focus on consolidated efforts to promote product discovery, translational research and early stage manufacturing in the country to ensure inclusive innovation.

Dr Harsh Vardhan and Shri Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurate Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan and Fuel Conservation Workshop

Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, together, inaugurated the Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan (SSA) today at Siri Fort Auditorium.
●    The Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan (SSA) is a two month long mega campaign focusing on providing preventive healthcare to the auto, taxi and bus drivers of the region. 
●    SSA, an initiative of Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), was inaugurated in the presence of various dignitaries including Members of Parliament, Officials of Delhi Police and other Senior Officials of the Ministry. 
●    The SSA event is a unique initiative to address the major issues being faced by public transport drivers of the region, with almost all of them being users of CNG.
●    Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in his address said that the drivers in the capital region are partners in the growth story of gas used as fuel in vehicles. CNG is used in vehicles for transport, domestic use, autos etc. He said that approx.. 4.5 Lakh vehicles which use CNG contribute to the Rs 3000 Cr business of IGL. 
●    He said that new aim should be to increase this business from Rs 3000 Cr to Rs 30,000 Cr.

22 Cabinet decisions taken in last 3 years in E&P 

Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, launched the National Data Repository (NDR) and Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) under the progressive, market driven Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) of Government of India in New Delhi today.
●    Speaking at the event, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that the launch is a historic occasion in the history of India’s Hydrocarbon Industry. 
●    Hon'ble Prime Minister gave the mandate for a modern, progressive, investor friendly world class policy for the next bidding round.
●    He said that with the experience of several litigations and not very encouraging production output from NELP rounds, the Ministry decided not to go for incremental policy change but to have a completely new policy. 
●    Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) is an outcome of this.

Current Affairs 28th June 2017: AWARDS

Indian bodybuilder Bhumika Sharma wins Miss World in Venice

Dehradun bodybuilder Bhumika Sharma has won the Miss World title in Venice. 
●    Bhumika, who was one of the 27 Indian participants who were in the competition, won the maximum points in three categories i.e., individual posing, body posing and fall. 
●    This eventually won the gold medal at the world championship in Venice last week.
●    Bhumika won the title ahead of a total of 50 bodybuilders from around the world, according to Hindustan Times. 
●    Bhumika also said that she has now set her eyes on the Miss Universe Championship that will be held in UK in December.
●    According to the Hindi publication of the Hindustan Times, Bhumika has been in the sport for the past three years. 
●    Her mother Hansa Manral Sharma is the head coach of Indian weightlifting team while her father Vishwavijay Sharma is a businessman. 
●    Her parents wanted her to take up shooting but a chance meeting with a bodybuilding coach had convinced her to take up a career in the sport.

Current Affairs 28th June 2017: APPOINTMENT

Dr. Manoj Soni takes Oath as Member, UPSC

Dr. Manoj Soni, former Vice Chancellor of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, took the Oath of Office and Secrecy as Member, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) here today. 
●    The Oath was administered by the UPSC Chairman Prof. David R. Syiemlieh.
●    Born on 17th February, 1965, Dr. Soni, a scholar of Political Science with specialization in International Relation Studies, earned his doctorate in "Post-Cold War International Systemic Transition and Indo-US Relations" from Sardar Patel University. 
●    Dr. Manoj Soni has been the youngest-ever Vice Chancellor in independent (India).
●    Dr. Soni is the recipient of several awards and recognitions including the rare honour of "Honorary Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge" by Mayor-President of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA and World Education Congress Global Award for Distance Learning Leadership.

Current Affairs 28th June 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

Facebook now has 2 billion monthly users

Thirteen years after launching and less than five years after hitting 1 billion, Facebook now has 2 billion monthly active users.
●    Facebook wants people to celebrate with a personalized “Good Adds Up” video they can make and share here. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg played it cool with this brief announcement message.
●    Two billion makes Facebook the largest social app in terms of logged-in users, above YouTube’s 1.5 billion, WeChat’s 889 million, Twitter’s 328 million and Snapchat’s estimated 255 million (extrapolated from its December 2015 ratio when it had 110 million daily and 170 million monthly users). 
●    Beyond YouTube, only Facebook’s other apps have more than 1 billion, including WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, with 1.2 billion each. Instagram might soon join that club as it recently rocketed past 700 million.
●    Despite Facebook’s size and age, at 17 percent its user count is growing as fast or faster than any year since 2012. And people aren’t using it less either. 
●    In fact, 66 percent of Facebook’s monthly users return each day now compared to 55 percent when it hit 1 billion. If the teenaged social network isn’t as cool to teenagers any more, it’s not showing in the big metrics.
 

Important Current Affairs 27th June 2017

Current Affairs 27th June 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines chairs 5th Geoscience Advisory Council Meeting

Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines, addressed the 5th Geoscience Advisory Council (GAC) Meeting in New Delhi today. 
●    Mines Secretary Shri Arun Kumar, DG GSI Shri M Raju and other Ministries’ Official members, Scientific Institutions and Non-Official members of the GAC participated in the daylong deliberations. 
●    The 5th GAC discussed issues related to Geophysical techniques for exploration of concealed/deep seated mineral deposits, Mineral System Research and advanced techniques for exploration of subsurface mineral deposits, and the strategy for exploration, augmentation of mineral resources and mining of Rare Earths/Rare Minerals and other strategic resources. 
●    Shri Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power @MinOfPower, Coal @CoalMinistry, New and Renewable Energy @mnreindia and Mines @MinesMinIndia, asked the scientific community working in the field of geosciences and mineral system research to add value to the mineral wealth of the country especially in the area of strategic and critically important metals and minerals.
●    At the same time there has to be a harmony between wealth creation and preservation of ecology and environment for sustainable development.

25 Ministries/ Departments to turn into e-office by end of June, says Dr. Jitendra Singh

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh visited the office premises of Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) here today, to review the implementation of the Swachhta Action Plan. 
●    The DARPG and Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare are observing the Swachhta Pakhwada from 16th-30th June, 2017. 
●    On the occasion, Dr. Jitendra Singh complimented both the Departments for undertaking various Swachhta related activities during this Pakhwada and also expressed happiness that the two Departments are working together as one team. 
●    He said that the habit of cleanliness should be practised by all and it should be the responsibility of everyone to keep their surroundings clean. 
●    Highlighting the steps taken by DARPG, he said that 25 Ministries/ Departments will be turned into e-office by the end of this month.
●    He also said that there has been an increase of a whopping 6000%, in the number of e-files with 4,62,000 e-files generated in 2017, compared to 8,000 e-files last year. 
●    Dr Jitendra Singh said under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Departments are committed to provide maximum Governance to the public. 
●    He said that the process involved in the Civil Services Day has been completely transformed by DARPG in the last three years, as the participation and involvement of stakeholders has increased many folds. 
●    He said that DARPG is seen as the HR department of the Government of India. All good practices originate from this Department, he added. 
●    The Minister said that an MoU between India and Portugal on Cooperation in the field of Public Administration and Governance Reforms has been recently approved by the Cabinet. 

Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu Lays the Foundation Stone for Final Location Survey of Bilaspur-Manali-Leh New Broad Gauge Line Today

After the significant progress in the completion of the rail line in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, the Indian Railways endeavours to extend the socio-economic benefits of rail transportation to other remote areas and challenging terrains of the hilly states (HP & J&K) where development is scarce. 
●    Amongst the various socially desirable projects in the country, Bilaspur-Mandi-Leh Rail Line (route length 498 Kms) constitutes great significance. 
●    The project is of both strategic and economic, development and tourism importance, with its unique distinction being the highest railway track in the world.
●    Minister for Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu laid the foundation stone for the Final Location Survey Of Bilaspur-Manali-Leh New Broad Gauge Line, at Leh today (27th June 2017) in the august presence of distinguished guests on the occasion. 
●    Shri R.K. Kulshrestha General Manager, Northern Railway and other Senior Railway officials were also present in the function.
●    Leh is the most important town in Ladakh region of J&K State having approximately 1.5 lakhs population. 
●    It has a high footfall of Indian & Foreign tourists each year. The district Leh is the second largest district in the country with elaborate Army Establishments and is the Headquarter of 14 corps. 
●    The region being a cold desert, the temperature during the winter months (Oct-Mar) plummets down to well below freezing point. 
●    The road connectivity to this area is gets cut off from other parts of country due to heavy snowfall, thus necessitating all weather rail connectivity both for strategic as well as socio-economic needs.

Highest Number of Divyangjans will be felicitated by Prime Minister at Rajkot Samajik Adhikarita Camp on 29th June 2017

The biggest ever Samajik Adhikarita Shivir for distribution of Aids & Assistive Devices to Divyangjan (PwDs) will be organized at Rajkot (Gujarat) on 29th June 2017 by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India through ALIMCO, Kanpur, a CPSU under the Department. 
●    The camp will be held at Race Course Ground in Rajkot, Gujarat where assistive Aids and Appliances will be distributed under ADIP scheme of Govt. of India to Divyangjans in the august presence of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Vijay Rupani and Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot. 
●    Besides Union Ministers of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Ramdas Athwale, Shri Krishna Pal Gurjar, Shri Vijay Sampla, Minister of Gujarat for Social Justice and Empowerment, Women and Child Development Shri Atmaram Parmar, Member of Parliament Shri Mohanbhai Kundariya and other State dignitaries will also be present during the function.
●    The camp is being conducted under the ADIP Scheme of Govt. of India. The scheme is in vogue since 1981 and has been revised with effect from 01st April 2014. 
●    The main objective of the scheme is to provide latest and modern aids mainly manufactured by Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) and distributed by National Institutes, District Disability Rehabilitation Centres, State Handicapped Development Corporations, other local bodies and NGOs. These aids are being given to the Divyangjans to promote their physical, social and psychological rehabilitation.

World Bank clears $250 million loan for Skill India mission

The World Bank has cleared a $250 million loan for making Indian youth more employable through reskilling, in a move that is seen to aid the Skill India mission
●    The multilateral lender is keen to support the Indian government in its efforts to better equip the young workforce with employable skills. 
●    It said the support will help the youth contribute to India's economic growth and prosperity.Under the programme, adults in 15-59 years of age, underemployed or unemployed, will get the skill training.
●    It will also include the 1.2 crore youngsters in the age group of 15-29 years who are entering the labour market every year.
●    The programme has a mandate to provide placement and entrepreneurship opportunities to women and increase their exposure to skill training.
●    The Washington-headquartered World Bank's SIMO is a six- year programme in support of the Indian government's National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (2017-23).
●    SIMO will be implemented through the National Skill Development Mission and will specifically target labour market entrants.According to an official skill gap analysis, India will require an additional 109 million skilled workers in 24 key sectors by 2022.
●    India continues to be on its path of structural reforms and a higher-skilled labour force can potentially serve as a catalyst in transforming it into a competitive middle income country, Ahmad said.

Current Affairs 27th June 2017: SPORTS

Halle Open: Roger Federer brushes past Alexander Zverev to win record 9th title

Swiss great Roger Federer thrashed Alexander Zverev to win his ninth title at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament in Halle on Sunday.
●    The top seed lost his first match of the grass-court season last week in Stuttgart to Tommy Haas, but was in imperious form all week at Halle, culminating in the 6-1, 6-3 final victory over the home favourite Zverev.
●    Federer will head into Wimbledon, which starts on July 3, as favourite to win an outright record eighth title.
●    Italian Open champion Zverev had won all three of his previous finals this season, but was blown away by a vintage performance from the 18-time major champion in only 53 minutes.
●    The 35-year-old Federer, who skipped the entire clay-court season in order to be fully fit for Wimbledon, has still only lost two matches this year en route to four titles, including the Australian Open in January.
 

Current Affairs 27th June 2017: INTERNATIONAL RELATION

6th Joint Trade Committee Meeting between India and Myanmar 

The 6th India – Myanmar Joint Trade Committee (JTC) Meeting co-chaired by Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Commerce & Industry from India and Dr. Than Myint, Union Commerce Minister from Myanmar was held on 27th June 2017 at New Delhi. 
●    The Joint Trade Committee plays a key role in facilitating issues related to enhancement of the bilateral economic partnership between the two countries. 
●    Addressing the meeting The Minister stated that both countries have long history of shared religious, linguistic and ethnic ties. 
●    Myanmar is India’s gateway to Southeast Asia and ASEAN with which India is seeking greater economic integration through ‘Act East’ Policy. Myanmar shares a long land border of over 1600 Kms with India as well as a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. 
●    Our bilateral relationship has been further strengthened by the high level exchanges between our countries. 
●    Prime Minister of India visited Myanmar in November 2014 for the Twelfth India-ASEAN Summit. State counsellor of Myanmar visited India in October 2016
●    Stating that Trade and Commerce play a significant role in the bilateral relationship of the two countries, Smt.Sitharaman noted that India’s trade with Myanmar grew by 6.01% from USD 2.05 bn in 2015 -16 to USD 2.18 bn in 2016-17. 
●    The total export achieved in 2016-17 was 1.11 USD Billion, reflecting an annual growth of 3.79%. The import stood at 1.06 USD Billion showing a growth of 8.43%.

Current Affairs 27th June 2017: AWARDS

Kalraj Mishra Gives Away National Awards for MSME 2015 

National Awards for MSME 2015 was organized here today. Shri Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for MSME gave away the MSME Awards 2015. 
●    Since the United Nations has declared 27th June as the UN Day for MSMEs, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has selected this day for distributing National Awards to Micro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurs for their outstanding performance, to express the gratitude of the Government to the achievers in this field which is so important for the national economy.
●    Shri Giriraj Singh and Shri Haribhai P. Chaudhary, Ministers of State for MSME were also present to grace the occasion. 
●    Shri KK Jalan, Secretary MSME, Shri Surendra Nath Tripathi, Development Commissioner, Shri. Vinai Kumar Saxena, Chairman, KVIC, Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Coir Board also were present on the occasion.
●    On this occasion the Union Minister for MSME Shri Kalraj Mishra also launched ‘Digital MSME Scheme’ and handed over three Memorandums of Understandings to SAP India, Intel and HMT respectively. 
●    These steps would further boost Ministry’s effort towards making the Digital India Mission successful. The Digital MSME Scheme is revolving around Cloud Computing which is emerging as a cost effective and viable alternative in comparison to in-house IT infrastructure installed by MSMEs. 
●    In cloud computing, MSMEs use the internet to access common as well as tailor-made IT infrastructure including software for managing their business processes. 
●    Cloud computing is free from the burden of investment on hardware/software and infrastructural facilities. Therefore CAPEX converts into OPEX. This scheme would encourage MSMEs towards this new approach i.e. Cloud Computing for ICT adoption.

 

Important Current Affairs 26th June 2017

Current Affairs 26th June 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Government constitutes a committee to prepare the final draft of National Education Policy 

The committee for preparation of final draft of National Education Policy has been constituted under the Chairmanship of eminent Scientist Padma Vibhushan Dr K. Kasturirangan. The other members of the committee are:
●    Dr. Vasudha Kamat a prominent academician from the field of education technology who has contributed extensively towards school education. 
●    She was also Vice-Chancellor of SNDT University Mumbai
●    Shri K.J. Alphonse holds administrative experience of practical challenges in implementation of school education reforms.
●    He was instrumental in achieving 100 % literacy rate in Kottayam and Ernakulam districts of Kerala.
●    Dr. Manjul Bhargava a Professor of Mathematics in Princeton University USA. 
●    He was awarded field medal in mathematics at a quite young age for his contributions to Gauss number theory.

Kenneth I Juster to be next US Ambassador to India

Senior White House official Kenneth I Juster, a top aide of US President Donald Trump, is set to become America's next Ambassador to India. 
●    The announcement regarding the appointment was made by White House on 21 June 2017.
●    Once nominated and confirmed by the US Senate, Juster will succeed Richard Verma. 
●    Verma, the first Indian-American to head this position, put in his papers when Trump replaced Barack Obama as the President of the United States.
●    Presently, Juster is serving as the Deputy Assistant to the US President for International Economic Affairs and as Deputy Director of the National Economic Council in the White House.
●    He served as Deputy Secretary of Commerce in President George W Bush’s administration.
●    As a Commerce Secretary, he launched the High Technology Cooperation Group to promote trade in sensitive dual-use goods and technology.

18 sections, 2 rules for GST notified

Few days ahead of the rollout of the GST Act across India, the Union Government on 20 June 2017 notified sections in the GST Act dealing with mandatory registration of current indirect taxpayers in the new regime.
●    It has notified as many as 18 sections related to registration of current central excise, service tax and VAT payers with the GST-Network (GSTN) as well as transitional provisions.
●    As a precursor to GST, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has also notified two rules relating to registration and composition levy.
●    All the notifications will come into effect on 22 June 2017. GST, which is to be rolled out from 1 July 2017, will unify over a dozen central and state levies into one.
●    Every business carrying out a taxable supply of goods or services with a turnover exceeding the threshold limit of 20 lakh rupees will be required to register.

Bengaluru firm 1st in India to deliver diesel at home

The 'dieselwallah' is here. Bengaluru has become the country's first city where one can have fuel delivered at one's doorstep, just like milk and newspapers, only weeks after oil ministry announced that the Centre was thinking of rolling out such a system.
●    On June 15, Mypetrolpump, a one-year-old startup, conducted a soft launch with three delivery vehicles -each with a capacity of 950 litres. 
●    It has already delivered more than 5,000 litres of diesel. 
●    Diesel is delivered at the day's running price with a fixed delivery charge.
●    For up to 100 litres, the one-time delivery charge is `99. Above 100 litres, one needs to pay the diesel price plus one additional rupee per litre. 
●    The startup has got 20 odd customers, including 16 schools (which have 250-300 buses) and a few apartments.One can place orders online, through a phone call or by downloading the free app.

Aadhaar Is Mandatory for TB Patients Seeking Government Cash Benefits

The Union health ministry has made Aadhaar a compulsory document for tuberculosis patients availing treatment under the government’s Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP). 
●    According to the government notification, “An individual eligible to receive the benefit under the Scheme, is hereby, required to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication.”
●    The notification says that the scheme offers conditional cash assistance as a benefit. 
●    The beneficiaries include TB patients, private health care providers and treatment supporters. The RNTCP says it aims to provide “universal access to tuberculosis care.”
●    India has 2.8 million cases of TB as of the data from 2015. This data was in fact revised by the WHO because India had been under-reporting TB. 
●    In 2015 alone, 6.1 million new TB cases were reported to the WHO as India had been reporting only 59% of TB cases until then.
●    However, several health workers say they were never informed of this cash assistance and TB patients have not been availing of it in the first place. 
●    They also see this order for mandatory Aadhaar cards as a way in which TB patients could be excluded and denied care.

Trains to clock 160 kmph on way to Delhi from Mumbai, Howrah

After the successful launch of Gatimaan Express, the Railways has undertaken a mammoth exercise of reducing journey time on the Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai routes by increasing the speed of trains up to 160 km per hour at an estimated cost of Rs. 10,000 crore.
●    “We have firmed up an action plan to increase the train speed up to 160 km per hour on the total 9,000-km main trunk routes across the country as part of the Mission Raftaar project. 
●    To begin with, we have started the work on two major busy routes of Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah,” said a senior Railway Ministry official involved in the project.
●    Railways has recently introduced Gatimaan Express between Delhi and Agra at 160 km per hour speed.
●    Strengthening of the track, upgrading of signalling system and fencing off vulnerable sections along the route are to be undertaken to ensure the speed on the two busy corridors, as per the plan.
●    While the Delhi-Howrah route is used by about 120 passenger trains and around 100 goods trains every day, some 90 passenger services and an equal number of freight trains run on the Delhi-Mumbai corridor daily.

Current Affairs 26th June 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

In a first, UNICEF appoints Syrian refugee Muzoon Almellehan as Goodwill Ambassador

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on 19 June 2017 announced the appointment of Muzoon Almellehan, a 19-year-old education activist and Syrian refugee, as its newest and youngest Goodwill Ambassador.
●    The appointment makes Muzoon the first person with official refugee status to become an Ambassador for UNICEF.
●    In a first, UNICEF appoints Syrian refugee Muzoon Almellehan as Goodwill Ambassador
●    Muzoon Almellehan fled the conflict in Syria along with her family in 2013.
●    She lived as a refugee for three years in Jordan before being resettled in the United Kingdom.
●    It was during her 18 months in the Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan that she began advocating for children’s access to education, particularly for girls.
●    The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 11 December 1946.

Current Affairs 26th June 2017: SPORTS

Boris Becker, former Wimbledon champion, declared bankrupt by British court

Boris Becker was declared bankrupt by a British court on Wednesday after the former tennis player failed to pay a long-standing debt.
●    A lawyer for the six-time Grand Slam champion pleaded with a Bankruptcy Court registrar in London for a last chance to pay a debt that Becker has owed to private bankers Arbuthnot Latham & Co. since 2015.
●    The registrar, Christine Derrett, said there was a lack of credible evidence that his debt would be paid soon. She refused to adjourn the case for a further 28 days and announced a bankruptcy order.
●    “One has the impression of a man with his head in the sand,” said the registrar, who said she watched Becker play on Centre Court at Wimbledon.
●    The 49-year-old Becker, who was born in Germany and lives in London, recently coached Novak Djokovic and has been a TV commentator.

Important Current Affairs 25th June 2017

Current Affairs 25th June 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

CBSE Sets up Two Panels to Study Loopholes in Evaluation Process

Amid complaints by students of evaluation faults in their class XII results, the CBSE on Tuesday set up two committees to study the loopholes in the evaluation procedure. A senior CBSE official said:
●    The board has taken a prompt decision to set up two committees comprising senior officers to look into the problems related to the evaluation processes being followed.
●    The first committee will “enquire into the evaluation process and post examination processes to identify and analyse discrepancies, and suggest corrective measures to strengthen the process.”
●    On the other hand, the second committee will “study, analyse and suggest systemic improvements in the evaluation process to make the system robust.” The official added
●    The two committees will submit their report within two and three months respectively. On basis of the findings and suggestions of the committees, major changes may be introduced in the evaluation process.
●    Amid complaints by students that they have suffered due to “faults” in the evaluation process, the CBSE had on Monday admitted that “in spite of the best efforts made by the experienced subject teachers, there may be possibilities of human error in transferring marks to the title page of the answer scripts, summation of marks and manual posting of marks in the computer system.”

From 2018 CBSE Board Exams will be Held in the Month of Feb

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has framed new schedule for the Board exams of session 2018-19. 
●    CBSE Board has planned to change the timetable of Class 10 and 12 Board exams from the upcoming session. 
●    As per the new policy of CBSE, the Board exams of 10th and 12th will be conducted one month ago from 2018. 
●    From 2018, students of CBSE Board will have to give Board exams in the month of February instead of March.
●    According to the official of CBSE Board, the decision will not affect the students as most of them take preparatory leave from the month of January only. 
●    It has also been said that the decision will also enable smooth and correct evaluation of the answer sheet of Board exams.
●    Every year CBSE use to conduct Class 10 and 12 Board exam from the month of March to mid-April that even extends upto last of April. 
●    But from the new session of CBSE Board, the Board exams are likely to be carried out from 15 February 2018. 
●    It is also expected that after the 2018 schedule of CBSE Board exams, the exams will be over by the month of March.

Ministry of Tourism releases ‘Compendium on guidelines for Ayush facilities’

The Ministry of Tourism has released the ‘Compendium on Guidelines for Ayush Facilities’ here today. 
●    The National Medical & Wellness Tourism Board under the chairmanship of Minister for Tourism Dr. Mahesh Sharma has been repeatedly stressing on the need for benchmarking of facilities offered by the various service providers in the field of Medical and Wellness Tourism on the basis of globally accepted standards. 
●    The constant endeavour of the Ministry of Tourism has been to promote institutions and processes that have achieved such standards in order to provide excellence in service quality. 
●    On the demand from the industry and stakeholders including Ministry of Tourism; the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) has brought out accreditation standards and guidelines for AYUSH facilities in the country including Wellness Centres and Panchkarma clinics that are used by tourists.
●    The Ministry of Tourism under the direction of the Minister of Tourism Dr Mahesh Sharma has therefore compiled the accreditation standards for the various AYUSH facilities and urged the industry for wide acceptance of these standards. 
●    The compendium includes accreditation available for the following facilities.
●    Ayurveda Hospitals
●    Yoga and Naturopathy Hospitals
●    Unani Hospitals
●    Sidha Hospitals
●    Homeopathy Hospitals
●     Panchkarma Clinics
●    Wellness Centres

UP gets 70,784 more houses for urban poor under PMAY(Urban) 

Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has approved construction of 70,784 affordable houses for the benefit of urban poor in Uttar Pradesh under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) with an investment of Rs.3,528 cr for which central assistance of Rs.1,062 cr has been approved.
●    Further to the discussion Minister of HUPA Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu held with the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath soon after assumption of office, the State Government sent affordable housing proposals for 145 cities and the same have been approved. 
●    Earlier, Uttar Pradesh has been sanctioned 41,954 houses including those approved under Rajiv Awas Yojana, which has been now subsumed under PMAY(Urban). 
●    With these latest approvals, the total number of houses sanctioned for Uttar Pradesh has increased to 1,12,738.
●    Of the 70,784 houses approved, 56,839 will be constructed under the Affordable Housing in Partnership component and 13,945 houses under Beneficiary Led Construction component of PMAY(Urban).
●    Under these two components, central assistance of Rs.1.50 lakh is given to each beneficiary.

Top-level bureaucratic reshuffle: Rajiv Gauba to be next Union Home Secretary

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on 21 June 2017 approved various appointments leading to the major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle. 
●    A total of 16 secretaries were appointed for various Union Government Departments.
●    Urban Development Secretary Rajiv Gauba was named as the next Union Home Secretary. 
●    He will succeed Rajiv Mehrishi, who will complete his term on 30 August 2017. 
●    Gauba, a 1982 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, will take over as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Union Home Ministry with immediate effect.
●    Durga Shanker Mishra will replace Rajiv Gauba as the Urban Development Secretary. He is the Additional Secretary in the same ministry.
●    Culture Secretary N K Sinha will be the Information and Broadcasting Secretary in place of Ajay Mittal, who will now be the DoPT secretary.

India to become most populated country in the world by 2024, says UN report

In roughly seven years, around 2024, the population of India is expected to surpass that of China, according to a UN report – the World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision--published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
●    The report stated that currently, China with a population of about 1.41 billion and India with a population of about 1.34 billion are two of the most populous countries comprising 19 and 18 percent of the total global population.
●    The 2017 Revision of World Population Prospects is the 25th round of official UN population estimates and projections. In its 24th round of estimates released in 2015, it was projected that the population of India will surpass that of China’s by 2022.
●    By 2024, India and China are expected to roughly have a population of about 1.44 billion each.
●    After that, India’s population is projected to continue growing and touch 1.5 billion in 2030 and approach 1.66 billion by 2050, while China’s population is projected to remain stable until the 2030s, after which it may begin a slow decline.

Current Affairs 25th June 2017: SPACE SCIENCE

ISRO launches Cartosat-2 along with 30 nano-satellites from Sriharikota

The National space agency, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on 23 June 2017 successfully launched India’s ‘Cartosat-2 Series’ satellite and 30 other co-passenger payloads. 
●    The satellite and its co-passengers were launched by its highly reliable polar satellite launch vehicle PSLV C-38 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota at 9.29 am.
●    This was the 40th flight for PSLV, the satellite launch vehicle and the 17th flight of PSLV in XL configuration with the use of solid strap-on motors.
●    The PSLV C38 rocket carrying India’s Cartost-2 Series satellite along with its co-passenger was launched after a 28-hour countdown that started at 5.29 hours on 22 June 2017. 
●    To give enough thrust to carry them to a 505 km sun-synchronous orbit, the rocket was armed with solid strap-on motors.

Current Affairs 25th June 2017: AWARDS

Regional Poets sweep up 16 Sahitya Academy Awards

The Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2017 was dominated by regional language poets, who took away sixteen awards for their exceptional poetry works. 
●    The other awardees included five authors for short stories, two for biographies and one for essay.
●    All the recipients would be facilitated with the Puraskar at a special function that is scheduled to be organised on 14 November 2017. The award would be presented in the form of a casket comprising an engraved copper plaque and a cheque worth Rs 50000.
●    Assamese poet Pratim Baruah was honoured with the award for his work, Xodhahe Nohol Tok o Bokul. 
●    Bodo poet Bijit Gwra Ramchiary also won the award for his book on poetry titled 'Gwrbwni Aroj'.
●    Hindi poet Taro Sindik also won an award for his book on poetry titled ‘Aksharo Ki Vinti’.
●    Other poets who got the award included Rajinder Ranjha (Dogri), Kh.Krishnamohan Singha (Manipuri), Nighat Sahiba (Kashmiri) and Amey Vishram Naik (Konkani) for their works ‘Tere Hirke Ch’, ‘Kellaba Unagi Ishei’, ‘Zard Panike Dai’ and ‘Mog Dot Com’ respectively.

Important Current Affairs 24th June 2017

Current Affairs 24th June 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Indore Becomes First City in India to Install a ‘Robocop’ for Traffic Management

A pilot project comprising a 14-foot gigantic robot that will manage traffic was revealed in Indore on Monday.
●    Apart from rotating on its axis and having mobile arms that can produce hand signals, the robot has an inbuilt public address system and a Wi-Fi enabled camera that will be able to take snaps of traffic violators and generate e-challan.
●    This is probably the first time in the country that a robot has replaced humans in traffic management.
●    “It was a successful experiment, and the robot will stay there and manage traffic every day. We also have plans to put up such robots in other squares in Indore,” Hari Narayan Chari, Indore deputy inspector general of police (DIG) .
●    Already earning the ‘Robocop’ moniker, the robot is installed on a five foot pedestal at the busy MR 9 intersection in the city and has been attracting a lot of attention for its futuristic appearance.

DHL to invest $100 million in India to meet GST challenges

Global logistics group DHL, with plans to invest $ 100 million in India, is working with its customers to prepare for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rolling out in the country from next month.
●    Well ahead of the curve, DHL is planning to invest over $100 million in its supply chain operations in India in the next three to four years to meet the expected increasing demand following the GST implementation.
●    “We are working together on how to create new solutions for the Indian market especially focusing on GST for likely immediate challenges,” said Scott Allison, President of Life Sciences & Healthcare sector, DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation.
●    “Ahead of the GST implementation, we want to help our customers to be as prepared as they possibly can be for the GST,” he said at an interview during the 17th DHL Global Life Sciences and Healthcare Conference held in Singapore from 20-22 June.

Passports to be issued in both Hindi and English

Announcing big changes in Indian passport rules, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Friday said the newly introduced passports will be available in both languages, Hindi and English. 
●    The move seems to be intended towards making the passport more convenient for the users. Earlier, passports used to be issued in English language.
●    Swaraj further announced the applicants below the age of 8 and senior citizens will have to pay 10 per cent less fee for new passports. 
●    On the fiftieth anniversary of Passports Act, Swaraj said, "We have brought improvement in passport rules, services & focused on doorstep delivery."
●    Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that married women need to change their names even after their marriage to an Indian Passport. 
●    He further said that it is entirely up the discretion of women to use their father/mother/guardian's name for renewing their passport.

Three more UP cities included in Smart City Mission

With the inclusion of Allahabad, Aligarh and Jhansi in the Smart City Mission on Friday, the number of "Smart Cities" from Uttar Pradesh reached seven. 
●    State capital Lucknow, Varanasi, Kanpur and Agra were already on the list.
●    Allahabad, Aligarh and Jhansi found their way into the list of 30 names released by Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu under the third round of the Smart City Mission.
●    Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath thanked the Central government, in particular, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Naidu, for selecting three new cities from the State.
●    Mr. Adityanath said he would make sincere efforts to get the remaining five contenders from UP —Meerut, Rae Bareli, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur and Rampur — included in the list.
●    The Chief Minister gave his assurance that the State government would work with all urgency and sincerity to complete the development work of these Smart Cities, a government spokesperson said.

Penalty upto Rs 10,000 to 5 year jail term under GST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had decided to roll outthe Goods and Service Tax (GST) from July 1. 
●    Which means from the first day of the next month, the country will be under the new game-changer tax policy.
●    Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had decided to roll outthe Goods and Service Tax (GST) from July 1.
●    Which means from the first day of the next month, the country will be under the new game-changer tax policy. 
●    According to a report by Bhaskar, if anyone who gets involved in tax evasion or fraud under GST, will have to face certain consequences, which can even mean going behind the bars. 
●    The government is going to implement laws in relation to GST and even though Centre says the intention is not to harass anyone, laws have to be obeyed. 
●    And these entail norms according to which people will be punished if they indulge in illegality. So, forewarned is forearmed, here’s what you should not to do under GST to avoid punishment.
●    People will be punished under GST law if they are found evading tax or being involved in any other fraud related to tax.

Indian Navy’s first indigenously built floating dock launched

On June 20, 2017, the Indian Navy’s first indigenously built floating dock was launched at the Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (L&T) shipyard in Kattupalli. 
●    This is a milestone in India’s quest for self-reliance in ship building.
●    According to IANS, Yard 55000 was launched by Anjali Deshpande, the wife of Vice Admiral DM Deshpande, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition. 
●    The launch was held at L&T’s shipyard.
●    The indigenous-built dock was testimony to the capabilities available in India for realising the ‘Make in India’ vision.
●    The floating dock built is 185 metres long and 40 metres wide. 
●    It will enable the docking of all kinds of vessels including submarines and Indian naval ships of up to 8,000 tonnes displacement with draughts of up to seven metres. 

Current Affairs 24th June 2017: INTERNATIONAL RELATION

US Approves Sale Of 22 Guardian Unmanned Drones To India

Just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets President Donald Trump for the first time in Washington, the US has cleared the sale of 22 unmanned Guardian drones to India, news agency Press Trust of India reported on Thursday.
●    The report added that the deal has been approved by the US State Department and has been communicated to the Indian government and the manufacturer of the drone, California-based General Atomics.
●    Securing agreement on the purchase of the 22 unarmed drones - reportedly worth more than $2 billion - was seen in Delhi as a key test of defence ties that flourished under former President Barack Obama but drifted under Mr Trump, who has courted India's rival China as he seeks Beijing's help to contain North Korea's nuclear programme.
●    PM Modi's two-day visit to Washington begins on Sunday. 
●    Mr Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in April and has also had face-time with the leaders of nations including Japan, Britain and Vietnam since taking office in January, prompting anxiety in Delhi that India is no longer a priority in Washington.
 

Current Affairs 24th June 2017: DAYS & DATES

International Widows’ Day observed globally

The International Widows’ Day was observed globally on 23 June 2017. 
●    The day is an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows, who have been living with an invisible status for too long invisible.
●    The lack of reliable data remains one of the main obstacles to developing the policies and programmes to address the poverty, violence and discrimination faced by widows. 
●    Hence, there is a need for more research and statistics separated by marital status, sex and age, in order to help reveal the incidence of widow abuse and illustrate the situation of widows.
●    Governments need to take action to uphold their commitments to ensure the rights of widows as enshrined in international law, including the Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and the Convention on the rights of the child.