Tatva Current Affairs

India-Russia sign comprehensive anti-terror pact India and Russia have signed comprehensive anti-terror pact agreement for enhancing bilateral cooperation in tackling all forms of terrorism and  countering threat posed by narcotics. The agreement was signed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Russia’s Interior Minister Vladimir  Kolokoltsev in Moscow after they held wide-ranging talks. Key Takeaways of visit. Both countries emphasized need to strength of relationship between them which has been consolidated in past 70 years in all areas. They underlined  cooperation in field of security is important aspect of bilateral relationship between them to further strengthen cooperation to combat terrorism,  extremism and radicalism.  They also agreed that terrorism must be fought unitedly and there were no good or bad terrorists. They also agreed to  cooperate in combating new challenges, cooperate in building a data base, and in training of police and investigative agencies and

CCEA approves expansion of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved expansion of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Yojana for a pan India coverage from  2017-18 to 2019-20. It expansion has proposed outlay of Rs.1132.5 crore. It will cover all the 640 districts (as per census 2011) of the country to  have a deeper positive impact on Child Sex Ratio (CSR). Currently the scheme is being implemented in selected 161 districts having low CSR Expansion of BBBP  The expansion of scheme was approved based on its successful implementation in 161 districts. The expansion includes multi  sectoral intervention in 244 districts in addition to existing 161 districts. 235 districts will be covered through alert district media, advocacy  and outreach, thus covering all 640 districts of the country.  Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)  The scheme was launched by Prime Minister in January 2015  at Panipat, Haryana as comprehensive programme to

Government inks Loan Agreement with World Bank for Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks Project The Union Government has signed a guarantee agreement for IBRD/CTF loan of US $98 million and Grant Agreement for US $2 million for Shared  Infrastructure for Solar Parks Project with World Bank. The objective Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks Project is to increase solar generation  capacity through establishment of large-scale parks in the country. Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks Project The project consists of two components viz. (i) Shared Infrastructure for Solar Parks and (ii) Technical Assistance. It will help to establish  large-scale solar parks and support government’s plan to install 100 Gigawatts (GW) of solar power out of total renewable-energy target of 175 GW  by 2022 World Bank World Bank is one of five institutions created at Breton Woods Conference in 1944. It is part of the United Nations system, but its governance  structure is different.

NASA LAUNCHES JOINT POLAR SATELLITE SYSTEM-1 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched a next-generation satellite called the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1)  into space. JPSS-1 is a joint venture between NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was launched into orbit atop United  Launch Alliance-built Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It will be renamed NOAA-20 when it reaches its final orbit. Key Facts JPSS-1 is first multi-day weather forecasts satellite in NOAA’s series of four, next-generation operational environmental satellites representing  advancements in observations used for severe weather prediction and environmental monitoring. It is designed to monitor weather around world and help  improve forecasts. It is highly advanced polar-orbiting satellite that will orbit Earth 14 times each day from one pole to other at 824 kms above planet, providing  scientists full global cove

INDIA's FIRST MEGA COASTAL ECONOMIC ZONE TO COME UP AT JNPT IN MAHARASHTRA The Union Government has given go-ahead for setting up India’s first mega coastal economic zone (CEZ) at Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Maharashtra The first of its kind mega CEZ will stretch along north Konkan region spread across Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik and Raigarh. About 45 companies across  Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik and Raigarh. About 45 companies across auto, telecom and IT sectors will soon bid for 200 hectares of land to set up  manufacturing units in zone. Coastal Economic Zone (CEZ) CEZs are spatial economic regions comprising group of coastal districts or districts with strong linkage to ports in region to tap into synergies with  strong linkage to ports in region to tap into synergies with planned industrial corridor projects. These zones are expected to provide  business-friendly ecosystem including ease of doing business, ease of exporting and importing, swift decisions on applic

INDIA, PHILIPPINES INK FOUR AGREEMENTS IN VARIOUS India and Philippines have signed four agreements in areas of defence, agriculture, small and medium enterprises and tie-up between think-tanks. The  defence agreement is to have private and public enterprises to cooperate in the defence sector, including on the off-shore patrolling vessels  These agreements were signed after bilateral meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on side  sidelines of the ASEAN and related summits that are underway in Philippines capital. It was first bilateral visit by Indian PM to Philippines in 36  years after visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1981, though Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had visited the southeast Asian country  in 2007  for ASEAN summit Highlights Visit PM Modi contributed two Indian rice seed varieties to gene bank of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Philippines which is working toward  mitigating

UNION CABINET APPROVES NATIONAL RURAL DRINKING WATER PROGRAMME The Union Cabinet approved continuation and restructuring of National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP). The programme will cover all the Rural  Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP). The programme will cover all the Rural Population across the country. National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) NRDWP will be continued co-terminus with 14th Finance Commission cycle till March 2020. ‎It will enable the country to reach the goal of increasing  coverage of sustainable Piped Water Supply. A sum of Rs. 23,050 crore has been approved for the programme Its focus will be on piped water supply, increase level of service delivery, thrust on coverage of water quality affected habitations, coverage of  water quality affected habitations, coverage of Open Defecation Free (ODF) declared villages, ‎Integrated Action Plan (IAP) districts, ‎Border Out  Out Posts (BOP) with piped water supply and ‎Institutional set up for pro

INDIA, RE-ELECTED MEMBER OF UNESCO's EXECUTIVE BOARD India was re-elected as member of executive board of United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO). Executive board is  UNESCO’s top decision-making body. The election was held at 39th session of General Conference of UNESCO in Paris, France. General Conference UNESCO’s General Conference consists of representatives of States Members of organisation. It meets every two years. It is attended  by Member States and Associate Members, together with observers for non-Member States, intergovernmental organisations and non-governmental  organisations (NGOs) United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) UNESCO is UN organization that helps preserve historical and cultural sites worldwide. It is special multi-country agency, formed in 1945 and based in  in France. It promotes literacy and sex education as well as improving gender equality in countries around world. It is also known f

SECOND MEETING OF ISLAND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY HELD IN NEW DELHI The second meeting of Island Development Agency (IDA) was held in New Delhi. It was chaired by Rajnath Singh. It reviewed concept development plans  and detailed master plans for holistic development of 9 islands. These 9 islands include four in Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Smith, Ross, Long, Avis) and five in Lakshadweep (Minicoy, Bangaram, Thinnakara, Cheriyam, Suheli) Key Facts  In the meeting, it was decided that Naval air station at Shibpur near Diglipur in northern Andaman & Nicobar Islands will be co-used as  as Joint User Airport.  It was also decided to develop PPP package including  airport (Joint User Airport) at Minicoy Island, to unlock the tourism  potential. It was agreed to promote tuna fishing industry for improving livelihoods in Lakshadweep. All concerned agencies were directed to expedite  implementation of ongoing key infrastructure projects in islands and develop community based tourism i

CHENNAI INCLUDED IN UNESCO's CREATIVE CITIES NETWORK FOR CONTRIBUTION IN MUSIC Chennai, capital city of Tamil Nadu was recently included in United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO’s) Creative  Cities Network for Contribution in Music. It was among 64 cities from 44 countries that were designated as UNESCO Creative Cities. With inclusion of  these cities, total count of UNESCO Creative Cities Network has now gone up to 180 cities in 72 countries. Chennai is the third Indian city on the list of UNESCO Creative Cities list after Jaipur (added as City of Music) and Varanasi (City of Crafts and  Folk Art) were added last year.  UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network  UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network was launched in 2004. It aims to foster  international cooperation with and between cities committed to investing in creativity as a driver for sustainable urban development, social  inclusion and cultural vibrancy.  It includes cities within its seven c

NIRBHAY SUB-SONIC CRUISE MISSILE TEST FIRED  SUCCESSFULLY Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted flight test of its indigenously designed and developed long range  sub-sonic cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’ from test range at Chandipur, Odisha...   It was the fifth experimental test of Nirbhay missile system. It achieved all mission objectives completely from lift-off till the final splash, boost  boosting the confidence of all scientists associated with the trial. NIRBHAY Missile It is India’s first indigenously designed and developed Long Range Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile. It has blended missile and aeronautical technologies  allows it to take off vertically like missile and cruise horizontally like an aircraft. It is two stage missile powered by solid rocket motor booster developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) It has operational range of 1000 km  and can carry warheads of up to 300 kg including nuclear warheads. It can be launched

CATOBAR:Indian Navy to use US aircraft launch system in ship Indian Navy is likely to use advanced catapult-based aircraft launch mechanism (CATOBAR) from United States for its second indigenous aircraft carrier  (IAC-II), which is on drawing board In this regard, both countries have held several rounds of discussions in joint working group (JWG) on Aircraft Carrier Technology Cooperation  (JWGACTC) under Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) set up by them. EMALS For some time, India was exploring possibility of installing US electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS). The US has offered India its latest  latest EMALS technology, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. EMALS uses electric motor-driven catapult instead, which allows  launch of much heavier aircraft and reduces stress on aircraft whereas older-generation CATOBAR is powered by steam catapult. It will allow Indian  Navy to operate heavy surveillance aircraft, in addition to heavy

SRI RENGASWAMY TEMPLE OF TAMIL NADU WINS UNESCO AWARD The Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam in Tamil Nadu has won UNESCO Asia-Pacific award for cultural heritage conservation programme in the Awards  of Merit category. It is first temple from Tamil Nadu to grab the prestigious honour from the UN body. The temple won the award in recognition of its efforts for protecting and conserving cultural heritage. The traditional method of renovating temple  premises as well as re-establishment of rainwater harvesting and historic  drainage system in preventing flooding were two key parameters that earned  temple the award....   UNESCO Asia-Pacific awards for cultural heritage conservation programme The awards were launched in 2000 by UNESCO for cultural heritage conservation  programme. They are given under four categories– Award of Excellence, Awards of Distinction, Awards of Merit and Award for New Design in Heritage  Context.  These awards aim at acknowledging eff

JNANPITH AWARD 2017 Krishna Sobti - Hindi writer Eminent Hindi Litterateur Krishna Sobti (92) was awarded the 53rd Jnanpith Award for the year 2017 for her path-breaking contribution to Indian  She will be overall eight women to win this prestigious award. She is known for experimenting with new writing styles and creating bold and daring  characters in her stories. Her language is highly influenced by the intermingling of Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi cultures Krishna Sobti  Krishna Sobti  was born on 18 February 1925 in Gujrat Punjab, British India (now in Pakistan). She also has written under the name Hashmat and has  published Hum Hashmat, a compilation of pen portraits of writers and friends. She is known for enriching Hindi literature by experimenting with new  styles and forms of writing and also by minting several words in Hindi. Her writings have dealt with plethora of issues ranging from partition,  relationships between man and woman, changing dynamics of Indian socie

India’s 1st consignment of wheat assistance to Afghanistan reaches Chabahar port  India’s first consignment of wheat assistance to Afghanistan has  reached the Chabahar port in Iran.  The Chabahar port is likely to ramp up trade between India, Afghanistan and Iran in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to India for trade with the two countries. Girish Karnad awarded 2017 Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award Veteran actor and playwright Girish Karnad will be honoured by Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award 2017 at literature festival’s annual  awards ceremony to be held in Mumbai. His critically acclaimed plays in era of 1960s are ‘Yayati’ (1961), The Historical ‘Tughlaq’ (1964).  His three seminal works ‘Hayavadana’ (1971), ‘Naga-mandala’ (1988) and ‘Taledanda’ (1990) have earned international praise.  He is also recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards.

CCEA approves Special Banking Arrangement for payment of outstanding subsidy to fertilizer The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved implementation of Special Banking Arrangement (SBA) for Rs. 10,000 crore for payment of  outstanding claims on account of fertilizer subsidy in year 2016-17. CCEA chaired by Prime Minster Narendra Modi also approved that in future,  Department of Fertilizers will avail SBA with concurrence of Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.  Key Facts Government is making available fertilizers, namely 21 grades of P&K fertilizers and Urea to farmers at subsidized prices through fertilizer  manufacturers and importers. For making funds available to fertilizer companies against their subsidy claims, Union Ministry of Finance had approved  SBA for amount of Rs. 10,000 crore with Government interest liability limited to G-Sec rate. Accordingly, SBA was worked out with State Bank of India (SBI) for an amount of Rs. 10,000 crore to