Exam Power : 13 July 2018 Today Current Affairs

Exam Power : 13 July 2018 Today Current Affairs

Odisha Govt ordered to ban use of plastic in phases from October 2

The ban will be imposed in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Berhampur and Sambalpur municipal corporations and Puri town in the first phase.

The entire state will be covered in separate phases over the span of two years.

♦ Odisha Chief Minister - Naveen Patnaik.

♦ The Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra governments have also announced a ban on plastic.

♦ In Maharashtra, the plastic ban came into effect on June 23 with the state government imposing fines of Rs 5,000 for a first offence, Rs 10,000 for the second, and up to Rs 25,000 and a three-month jail term for repeated violations.

♦ The plastic ban in Uttar Pradesh is set to be implemented from July 15.

Maharashtra will launch 'One farmer one transformer' scheme from 15th August

In order to reduce electricity losses, the Maharashtra government will launch a new scheme allocating "one transformer per farmer".

Two lakh farmers will be given electricity connection for high voltage distribution line which will ensure uninterrupted power supply.

Farmers who lose their cattle in attack by wild animals will now get Rs 40,000, up from Rs 25,000 earlier.

Rs 2 lakh hike in the compensation given to the kin of people killed in an attack by wild animals was announced. Each affected family will now get Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 8 lakh earlier.

Varanasi to host Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2019

The 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention is being organized by Ministry of External Affairs in association with the State Government of Uttar Pradesh in January 2019 (Jan. 21 – 23, 2019).

Theme of 2019 event is "Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India".

Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is annually celebrated on January 9 to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community towards their homeland.

Andhra govt launched 'Anna Canteens', meals at just Rs 5

Andhra Pradesh government launched 60 'Anna' canteens serving breakfast, lunch and dinner at just ₹5, in nearly 25 municipalities across the state in the first phase, and will be run by Akshaya Patra Foundation.

Chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated a canteen in Vijayawada.

In the second phase of the project worth ₹83 crore, another 103 canteens would be inaugurated by August 15.

India's first private UAV factory will be set up in Kota

DCM Shriram Industries Groupwill set up India’s first private sector unit for manufacturing Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) and Light Bullet Proof Vehicles (LBPV), on the campus of Shriram Rayons in Kota, under ‘Make in India’ initiative of the union government.

Total 3000 LBPVs and 500 UAVs will be manufactured annually once the plant is set up and starts its manufacturing.

These UAVs and LBPVs are likely to be used by defence and para-military forces in India.

Global Innovation Index: Switzerland Tops, India Ranks 57th

This year, India ranked as the 57th most innovative nation in the world, and has improved its ranking from 60th position last year.

Since 2011, Switzerland has been ranked at the top every year.

Top 10 Countries in Global Innovation Index 2018 are: 

1. Switzerland, 

2. The Netherlands, 

3. Sweden,

4. The United Kingdom,

5. Singapore,

6. United States of America,

7. Finland,

8. Denmark,

9. Germany,

10. Ireland.

BSNL launched India's first internet telephony service, to enable making calls without SIM

Now BSNL customers will be able to make calls using the company’s mobile app “Wings” to any phone number in the country.

Registration for the service will start this week and the services will be activated July 25 onwards.

Telecom Commission, the highest-decision making body of the Department of Telecom, had allowed companies who hold valid telecom licence, to provide app-based calling service even by using wi-fi connection.

Amrita University, Coimbatore has developed a self-driving wheelchair

Amrita University Coimbatore, under a project of the University's Humanitarian Technology Lab, has developed self-driving wheelchair to help orthopaedically challenged persons to overcome problems in moving from one place to another and to ease the way they move. 

The self-driving wheelchair functions in both automated as well as manual mode. The fully automated mode allows the user to move anywhere in a mapped area. The fixed automatic mode takes the user from his or her current position to a specific point in a mapped area. In manual mode, the user has the freedom to move around anywhere using a navigation system under his control.

Government approved Net Neutrality, new telecom policy

To ensure open and free Internet in India, the government has approved the principle of net neutrality, which means that telecom and Internet service providers must treat all data on the Internet equally, and not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, site, platform, or application.

They cannot engage in practices such as blocking, slowing down or granting preferential speeds to any content.

♦ Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in November 2017, batted in favour of net neutrality - which has been one of the most hotly debated topics in India for over 4 years now.

♦ TRAI Chairman - R S Sharma.

India bagged 4 medals in the Asia Cup World Archery Ranking Tournament

12 July 2018 Current Affairs:

India has bagged 3 silver medals and a bronze in the Asia Cup World Archery Ranking Tournament Stage 3 in Taipei, Taiwan. India also finished joint third with Iran in the championship.

India ended their campaign behind toppers Korea and hosts Chinese Taipei. Korea topped the tally with 14 medals, 8 of them being gold. Taipei bagged 5 medals, two of them being gold.

India and UK signed an agreement on exchange of experience by legal professionals

India and the United Kingdom signed an agreement on the exchange of experience by legal professionals and government functionaries for resolution of disputes before various courts and tribunals. The agreement was signed by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and UK’s Secretary of State for Justice David Gauke in London. 

The MoU sought to enhance bilateral cooperation in legal affairs which would provide a framework for promoting greater cooperation between the judicial and legal professionals in both countries through the exchange of expertise and training. The MoU was cleared by the Union Cabinet.

Goa University has discovered a pigment in wild edible mushroom that may help fight cancer

The mycological laboratory of the Department of Botany, Goa University has discovered a new pigment from wild mushrooms in Goa. The chemical nature of the brown or black color pigment in wild edible mushrooms Roen alamis or Termitomyces species has a new sulphur-rich melanin pigment with immense bio-industrial, biomedical and biotechnological potential. This may help to fight against cancer and tumors.

People of Goa who consume these mushrooms are actually eating sulphur-rich melanin. 

The Goa University has declared it as world’s first sulphur-rich edible melanin. Its structure is similar to black pigment found in human hair.

With more than 50 teams working on these mushrooms, globally, Goa got the lead now.

Aurobindo Pharma gets USFDA approval for manufacturing Azithromycin tablets

Aurobindo Pharma, a drug firm, has received its final approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Azithromycin tablets, in strengths of 250 mg and 500 mg, which is used for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate infections, in the US market.

The company said the product would be introduced this month. The product has an estimated market size of USD 132 million for the 12 months ended May 2018. The tablets are an AB-rated generic equivalent of Pfizer Inc's Zithromax tablet.

Sources : The Hindu, ANI, TOI, Indian Express, HT,PIB, Economic Times