Daily Current Affairs for July 4-5,2018 ( English)

2.       Cvigil mobile application for citizens to report any violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during elections has been launched by the Election Commission of India. At present its beta version has been released and will be made available for use during forthcoming Assembly elections Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Rajasthan. 

3.      NITI Aayog in collaboration with various ministries and industry partners announced to organise ‘MOVE: Global Mobility Summit’ in New Delhi on September 7-8, 2018. It will help drive Government’s goals for vehicle electrification, renewable energy integration and job growth, thus, speeding up India’s transition to a clean energy economy.

4.     The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill 2018 approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 4, 2018. The main objective behind the enactment of the bill is to expand the application of DNA-based forensic technologies to support and strengthen the justice delivery system of the country. It states that all DNA data, including DNA samples, DNA profiles and records, will be only used for identification of the person and not for any other purpose.

5.     A five-judge Supreme Court bench on July 4, 2018 unanimously held that the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi is bound by the “aid and advice” of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government and both have to work harmoniously with each other. 

6.     The Supreme Court refused to put a stay on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular prohibiting banks and financial institutions from dealing in virtual currencies, thus upholding the ban on the virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. With this ruling, all virtual currency transactions through banks would be blocked with effect from July 6, 2018, thus, resulting in a ban.

7.     The Department of Environment's proposal for a real-time study of air pollution in the national capital has approved by the Delhi Cabinet. The project, to be completed within a period of 18 months from the date of award of the study, has been granted to the Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, the University of Washington in the US on nomination basis. 

8.     The Rajasthan government announced 1 percent reservation for five communities– Gujjar, Banjara, Gadia-Lohar, Raika, and Gadariya– under the Most Backward Classes (MBC) category. The move comes after Gujjar leaders threatened to launch protests during PM Narendra Modi’s upcoming Jaipur visit.

9.     Gujarat government decided to form a high powered committee that will offer solutions for imported coal fired power plants that are underutilised due to viability issues. The committee chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice RK Agrawal will look into the possibility of “contribution by each stakeholder including banks, project developers and procurers by way of concessions for mitigating hardship”. The committee will be assisted by SBI Capital Markets Ltd and NTPC Ltd.

10.  The continuance of 8 existing schemes of Ministry of Home Affairs for relief and rehabilitation of migrants and repatriates upto March 2020 under Umbrella scheme Relief and Rehabilitation of Migrants and Repatriates has approved by the Union Cabinet. The 8 schemes are i) Central Scheme for Assistance to Civilian Victims, Family of Victims of Terrorist, Communal, LWE Violence and Cross Border Firing and Mine and IED blasts on Indian Territory ii) Rehabilitation of Bru and Reang families from Tripura to Mizoram iii) Grant-in-Aid to Tripura Government for maintenance of Brus lodged in relief camps of Tripura iv) Grant of enhanced relief of Rs. 5.00 lakh per deceased person, who died during 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots v) Grant-in-Aid to Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC) for 5 years for administrative and social welfare expenses of Tibetan settlements vi) Central Assistance for one-time settlement of displaced families from Pak Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Chhamb settled in J&K vii) Relief assistance to Sri Lankan refugees staying in camps in Tamil Nadu and Odisha viii) Rehabilitation Package and up-gradation of infrastructure of Bangladeshi Enclaves and Cooch Behar District after transfer of enclaves between India and Bangladesh under Land Boundary Agreement (LBA). The schemes will provide relief and rehabilitation assistance to refugees, displaced persons, civilian victims of terrorist, communal, Left Wing Extremism (LWE) violence and cross border firing and mine and IED blasts on Indian territory and riot victims of various incidents etc.

11.  The proposal of renaming Agartala Airport in Tripura as ‘Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore Airport, Agartala was approved by the Union Cabinet. He is considered the father of modern architecture in Tripura, as entire planning of present-day Tripura was initiated during his rule. He was the king of Tripura from 1923 to 1947 before its merger with India. Agartala Airport was constructed in 1942 on the land donated by Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore. Due to his initiative, an aerodrome at Agartala w as constructed that has evolved as second busiest airport in North East and provides crucial air connectivity to Tripura.

12.  The creation of one post each of Vice-Chairperson and Member in the National Commission for Safai Karmacharis (NCSK) has approved by the Union Cabinet. At present, it has sanctioned strength of four members and a chairperson. With these posts, sanctioned strength of NCSK will be one Chairperson, one Vice-Chairperson and five members. NCSK is statutory body established under National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993. 

13.  India’s accession to WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996 and WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty, 1996 which extends coverage of copyright to the internet and digital environment has approved by the Union Cabinet. The approval is step towards objective laid in National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy adopted by Government which aims to get value for IPRs through commercialization by providing guidance and support to EPR (End Point Royalties) owners about commercial opportunities of e-commerce through Internet and mobile platforms.

14.  The proposal for expanding the scope of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) by tasking it to mobilise Rs 1,00,000 crore for Revitalizing Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022 approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 4, 2018. The proposal also called for enhancing the capital base of the Higher Education Financing Agency to Rs 10,000 crore. 

15.  The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) organised a workshop on ‘Collaboration for Ganga Rejuvenation’ on July 5, 2018 in New Delhi on the occasion of the World Environment Day 2018. The workshop paved way for discussions over issues including the urgent need for International Cooperation for integrated water management. During the event, DG, NMCG Rajiv Ranjan Mishra while giving an overview of the Namami Gange programme, talked about the paradigm shift that has been brought about by the use of the Hybrid Annuity model in the waste water sector by NMCG.

16.   Do It Yourself (DIY)- an Online Guidance System for determining notifiability of merger & acquisitions (combinations) in terms of the Competition Act, 2002 launched by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on July 4, 2018. The online guidance system has been launched as part of CCI’s outreach initiatives and measures to simplify compliance requirements regarding combinations.

17.  A list of fuels permissible for industrial use within the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi notified by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) a move which has been hailed by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). All existing industrial units and commercial establishments who are currently using fuels that are not approved under the notification have been asked to switch over to the approved fuels within 90 days.

2.     The standing committee of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has recently added four species into Centre’s Recovery Programme for Critically Endangered Species on the recommendation by Wildlife Division of Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The four species are namely Northern River Terrapin, Clouded Leopard, Arabian Sea Humpback Whale and Red Panda.