5th April 2017, Important Daily Current Affairs

Important Current affairs dated 5th April 2017 for Competitive Exams in India.
Hello Readers, We bring you another issue of current affairs that covers the important news in Current Affairs Today Section.
Current Affairs help in your preparing yourself for the various Competitive Exams in India. UPSCSuccess.com wishes all the readers best of luck. These Current Affairs coverage will help you to Score Good Marks in Competitive Exams such as UPSC, and other PSCs.

Indian Affairs

Uttar Pradesh government today, CM Yogi Adityanath waived farmers’ loan of up to ₹1 lakh

• During the first Cabinet meeting of the new Uttar Pradesh government today, CM Yogi Adityanath waived farmers’ loan of up to ₹1 lakh.
• The state will spend around ₹36,000 crore to fund the loan waiver which will benefit around 86 lakh farmers.
• Adityanath has also directed officials to take steps to make Yoga, along with a self-defense programme for girls, compulsory in all state government-run schools.

WhatsApp case for Constitution Bench

• WhatsApp was acquired by the Facebook.
• Facebook got access to users’ details of WhatsApp]
• Privacy hurt, High court uphold, Now in SC Constitutional bench to decide whether larger bench should hear Under article 21 or under Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution.?
• Notice to all including TRAI. Telecom Regulatory authority of India (TRAI) was established on 20 February
  1997 by an Act of Parliament to regulate telecom services and tariffs
  in India.

BC Commission set to get constitutional status

• Social Justice Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot introduced the Constitution (123rd Amendment), Bill
• Give constitutional status to the National commission of other backward classes.
• The proposed commission will have a chairperson, vice-chairperson and three other members
• Will hear the grievances of socially and educationally backwards classes,
• a function discharged so far by the Scheduled Castes commission.
• At present, the functions of the commission are limited to examining the requests for inclusion of any class of citizens as a backwards class
• and hear complaints of over inclusion or under-inclusion of any backward class in the existing quota
• advise the Central government, the Constitution Amendment Bill said.
• Needs special majority

National Biodiversity Congress 2017

• The National Biodiversity Congress (NBC) 2017 was held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
• The event was hosted by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board.
• It aims to identify practical, evidence-based case studies at the regional level to support the plan of action.
• 2017 theme “Mainstreaming Biodiversity for Sustainable Development”.
• Members of academic and research institutions, civil society, biodiversity management committees, NGOs, farmers and students
  participated in the event.

Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore today announced a new category of visas for foreign filmmakers.

Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore today announced a new category of visas for foreign filmmakers.

Rs.40,000 Crore Expressway Project In NE

• The first express highway project in the northeast region will be developed along the Brahmaputra river in Assam at an estimated investment of Rs. 40,000 crore.
• 1,300 km-long express highway is likely to incur an investment of Rs. 40,000 crore,
• The Centre will dredge the Brahmaputra river from Sadia in Upper Assam to increase navigational channels up to Chittagong port in Bangladesh.

West Bengal gets 22nd district: Jhargram

• West Bengal govt declared Jhargram as the 22nd district of the state.
• It was formed on 4 April 2017, after splitting from the Paschim Medinipur district as the 22nd district of West Bengal.
• The west bengal govt also announcd that April 4 will now be celebrated as Jhargram Diwas.

International Affairs

Russia has sought India’s EVM technology presidential elections

Russia has sought India’s EVM technology for 2018 presidential elections.During the Uttarakhand Assembly polls, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Election Commission, Nikolai Levichev, had visited the state to closely monitor the functioning of EVMs and the electioneering process.
Malaysian PM Mohd Najib Tun Razak today announced the launch of multiple-entry e-visas

• Malaysian PM Mohd Najib Tun Razak today announced the launch of multiple-entry e-visas, allowing Indians to fly to Malaysia and visit South Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia using just one visa.
• Malaysia will serve as the gateway to ASEAN for Indians, officials said.
• Malaysia also decided to not charge visa fees and approve online applications within 48 hours for Indians.

China to build a new city Hebei province larger than New York city

• China has announced plans to build a new city, a special economic zone, in Hebei province to decongest its capital Beijing.
• The city will cover an area nearly three times that of the US city of New York.

Banking and Finance

Aditya Birla Group gets licence to start payments bank

• The Aditya Birla Group today announced that it has receivd a licence from the Reserve Bank of India to start its payments bank.
• Headed by Kumar Mangalam Birla, Aditya Birla Nuvo had set up a joint venture with telecom major Idea called Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank.
• Important Note : At present, Airtel and India Post are offering payments bank services in the country.

Awards and Recognition

Tim Berners-Lee has won the 2016 Turing Award

• World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee has won the 2016 Turing Award.  Turing Award is regarded as computing’s highest award.

Virat Kohli has been named as the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2016

• Virat Kohli has been named as the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2016, in this year’s edition of the Wisden Cricketer’s Almanack. Kohli becomes the 3rd Indian to be bestowed with the honour, with Virender Sehwag winning it twice in 2008 and 2009, and Sachin Tendulkar in 2010.

Appointments & Resigns

Geetha Johri has been appointed as the Director General of Police of Gujarat

• Geetha Johri has been appointed as the Director General of Police of Gujarat. With this she became the state’s first woman police chief.

Acquisitions & Mergers

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Business

Govt approves setting up of Rail Development Authority to fix rail fares

• Rail Development Authority (RDA), will be based in Delhi with an initial corpus of Rs. 50 crore and Will be set up through an executive order later this month.
• The RDA will act within the parameters of the Railway Act, 1989
• Independent rail regulator that will be responsible for recommending passenger fares, setting performance standards for rail operations and creating a level playing policy for private sector participation.

Environment

Taj mahal colour is changing

• Culture minister Mahesh Sharma said efforts are also being made to reduce the impact of insects on the 17th-century structure.
• Mud therapy, involving the application of a paste of ‘multani mitti’, was being undertaken to preserve the colour of the monument.
• It has been applied on three-fourths of the structure and is “showing results.
• National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has also submitted a report about the upkeep of the Taj.
• Irrigation department had proposed creating a barrage to raise the water level of the Yamuna, approved by the Archaeological Survey of India.

About NEERI:

• The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) is a research institute created and funded by Government of India.
• It was established in Nagpur in 1958 with a focus on water supply, sewage disposal, communicable diseases and to some extent on industrial pollution and occupational diseases found common in post-independent India.
• NEERI is a pioneering laboratory in the field of environmental science and engineering and part of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
• NEERI falls under the Ministry of Science and Technology (India) of central government

Glaciers, forests ‘living entities’

• HAVING declared the Ganga and the Yamuna as “living entities”, Uttarakhand HC has now declared glaciers, forests and lakes also as similar “biologically living” entities.
• The bench said that like human beings, they also have a right to exist, persist, maintain, sustain and regenerate their vital ecology system.
• These are scientifically and biologically living.

Science and Technology

Seawater into drinking water by Graphene

• Researchers have developed a graphene-based sieve capable of removing salt from seawater, an advance that may provide clean drinking water for millions of people.
• When immersed in water, graphene-oxide membranes become slightly swollen and smaller salts flow through the membrane along with water, while larger ions or molecules are blocked.

‘Pax’ for cross-licensing of Google Android

• Google has announced Pax, a new licensing agreement group for patents across Android devices.
• Google is calling it ‘Pax’, which means peace in latin, in the hope of creating some peace around patents and licensing terms.
• Google’s Android is already an open-source OS, with licenses being free for all manufacturers or anyone really.

‘Grassoline’ may power future flights

• In the quest of more sustainable energy sources, scientists have developed ‘grassoline’  a bio-fuel derived from grass that could one day power aircraft.
• Researchers investigated methods that can disintegrate and treat grass until it can be used as a fuel.
• The current process is very expensive, and engines should be adapted to this new kind of fuel.

5D ultrasound system to detect cancer

• Amaravati-born Nishikant Deshmukh claims to have developed the world’s first 5D ultrasound system that will help surgeons in detecting cancerous tumours.
• The 33-year-old Indian developed the 5-D technology as a part of his PhD thesis.
• His research findings were 1st presented at the 2015 Information Processing in Computer Assisted Interventions.

Geotagging of assets created under RKVY

Therefore, it is proposed to prepare inventory of the assets created in the last one decade (2007-2017) under RKVY through Geotagging technique.  National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), wing of Indian Space Research Organisation is providing technical support to RKVY division and has come up with a detailed procedure for the same. The institute is involved in preparation of the required app, imparting training to the states etc..The trained officers at the field level will take the photographs (with details of latitude, longitude, year of creation etc.) of the assets and upload on to the Bhuvan-RKVY platform of NRSC.
National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) , ISRO at  Hyderabad : This  centre of ISRO has a software platform,Bhuvan that allows users to explore a 2D/3D representation of the surface of the Earth. It also acts as a platform for hosting government data. Bhuvan Application Services that are diversified and relevant for many ministries were released.
The assets created under RKVY could be monitored by Geotagging them using BHUVAN, a geoplatforn of National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of ISRO, Hyderabad.
A formal MoU is proposed to be signed between DAC&FW and NRSC regarding use of BHUVAN for launching BHUVAN-RKVY platform. It is proposed to sign the MoU on 6^th April. Minsters of Agriculture, Department of Science, Secretary (DAC&FW), Director ISRO, Director NRSA and other senior officers from both the sides are expected to be present during the ceremony.
So far NRSC has developed RKVY app, training manual, imparted training to 17 states regarding use of the app. The organisation will provide technical backstopping till the Geotagging exercise is completed. Pilot work has been initiated in 4 sattes of Orissa, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka.

Sports

10th Edition of Indian Premier League starts

The Indian Premier League‘s 10th edition is set to begin today, with defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad beginning their title defence against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Bangladesh’s Mashrafe Mortaza to retire

Bangladesh cricket team’s limited overs captain Mashrafe Mortaza has announced that he will retire from T20 international cricket after the end of the series against Sri Lanka.

Obituary

Hindustani classical singer Kishori Amonkar dies at 84

• Hindustani classical singer Kishori Amonkar (84), who received the Padma Vibhushan in 2002, passed away. Amonkar, who sang in the Jaipur gharana style, was also a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, Rashtrapati Award, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and Sangeet Samragni Award.

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