Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 05 May 2017

:: National ::

Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh have emerged as the cleanest cities in the country as per a massive cleanliness survey commissioned by the Union Urban Development Ministry.The dirtiest city is Gonda in Uttar Pradesh.
The survey, Swachh Survekshan-2017, was carried out by the Quality Council of India across 434 cities and includes the feedback of 18 lakh respondents.
The top 10 cleanest cities are Indore, Bhopal, Visakhapatnam, Surat, Mysuru, Tiruchi, Delhi’s New Delhi Municipal Council area, Navi Mumbai, Tirupati and Vadodara, respectively.
Gujarat has the maximum of 12 cities among the top 50, closely followed by Madhya Pradesh with 11 and Andhra Pradesh with eight.
Tamil Nadu and Telangana account for four each. Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh account for one each in this group.

Scientists have developed a new bionic hand that can ‘see’ objects and allow amputees to grasp things ten times faster than currently available prosthetics.
The bionic hand is fitted with a camera that instantaneously takes a picture of the object in front of it, assesses its shape and size and triggers a series of movements in the hand.
Bypassing the usual processes that require the user to see the object, physically stimulate the muscles in the arm and trigger a movement in the prosthetic limb, the bionic hand ‘sees’ and reacts in one fluid movement.
A small number of amputees have already tested the technology developed by researchers at the Newcastle University in the U.K.
Responsiveness has been one of the main barriers to artificial limbs. For many amputees the reference point is their healthy arm or leg so prosthetics seem slow and cumbersome in comparison.
Using neural networks — the basis for artificial intelligence — researchers showed the computer numerous object images and taught it to recognise the ‘grip’ needed for different objects.

Syrian regime allies Russia and Iran and rebel supporter Turkey signed a memorandum on a Moscow-backed plan to create safe zones in Syria to bolster a fragile truce.
An AFP reporter at peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana saw the heads of the delegations, representing the three countries sponsoring the negotiations, sign the document.
However, a member of the rebel delegation left the room, shouting against regime ally Iran. The Syrian government and rebel delegations are not signatories.
The Kremlin has been touting a plan to create safe zones in Syria that is aimed to “further pacification and cessation of hostilities”.
“As a result the guarantor countries agreed to sign a memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria.”
The aim is to “put an immediate end to the violence” and “provide the conditions for the safe, voluntary return of refugees” as well as the immediate delivery of relief supplies and medical aid, the document said.
But issues including which countries could police any safe zones remain unclear. Russian President Vladimir Putin said ways to monitor the zones would be an issue for separate talks.
Syrian rebels said earlier that they had resumed participation in the talks after having suspended their involvement a day earlier over air strikes against civilians.

The government plans to set up new steel plants on surplus land available with PSUs by forging partnerships with the private sector to help more than double steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030.
The Cabinet approved the New Steel Policy that aims to achieve 300 million tonnes of capacity by 2030 with an additional investment of Rs. 10 lakh crore. At present, the steel production capacity is 126 million tonnes.
Stating that the land acquisition is an issue under the new law, Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said the government plans to utilise the surplus land of steel PSUs to set up new plants through joint ventures with private firms.
The proposed joint venture between state-owned SAIL and ArcelorMittal to set up a Rs. 5,000 crore auto-grade steel plant may be finalised this month, the minister said.

The Centre will soon frame a policy on integration of various modes of transport aimed at smooth transition of cargo, Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said.
“We will frame a policy for an integrated approach for our transportation network. We will take stakeholders’ views, hold meeting with the Prime Minister’s Office and if necessary, go to the Cabinet,” he said.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu proposed a single company for multi-modal transportation of cargo. Railways is targeting an increase in freight traffic on routes beyond 400 km.

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