Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 11 July 2018

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 11 July 2018

::National::

Supreme court ready to scrap IPC 377,upholds fundamental rights

  • Supreme court will uphold fundamental rights &is ready to decriminalise same sex relationships soon.
  • Choice of a partner is a person’s fundamental right, and it can be a same-sex partner, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said in the supreme court.
  • Justice Chandrachud drew his observations from the March 2018 judgment in the Hadiya case, which held that neither the State nor one’s parents could influence an adult’s choice of partner. That would be a violation of the fundamental right to privacy.
  • The judges in the constitution bench expressed different views with regard to the section 377 IPC
  • Chief Justice Misra said the test was whether Section 377 stood in conformity with Articles 21 (right to life), 19 (right to liberty) and 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution.

Ease of doing business reports released

  • Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, released the final rankings of States in Ease of Doing Business in New Delhi today.
  • The top rankers are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana. Jharkhand and Gujarat stood fourth and fifth respectively.
  • DIPP, Ministry of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the World Bank conducted an annual reform exercise for all States and UTs under the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP).
  • The aim of this exercise is to improve delivery of various Central Government regulatory functions and services in an efficient, effective and transparent manner.
  • The State reform exercise under Ease of Doing Business in India is creating a lot of interest in other countries like Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia which proves that such reforms are imperative for improving the business and regulatory environment.

Special Train Ramayana express to start soon

  • The Indian Railways will start a special train, ‘Shri Ramayana Express’, which will cover important destinations related to the epic in a 16-day journey.
  • The tour will be spread across India as well as Sri Lanka. It will be priced at Rs. 15,120 per person, which will cover all meals, accommodation, wash and change facilities in dharmashalas, all transfers, sight-seeing arrangements and a dedicated tour manager.
  • The train will be flagged off on November 14 from Delhi’s Safdarjung railway station, an official statement said.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India South korea sign new deals

  • India and South Korea on Tuesday vowed to more than double trade in the next decade, as Prime Minister NarendraModi held talks with the visiting President Moon Jae-in.
  • The two sides signed 11 MoUs and agreements, including a statement on expanding the 2010 Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and a joint vision statement that committed to more military exchanges and enhancing defence projects together.
  • According to the Ministry of Commerce, the signing of the early harvest package was in keeping with the ongoing discussions with South Korea, and was one of many objectives the two countries wanted to achieve.
  • Both countries also agreed to increase bilateral trade to $50m by 2030 from current $20m.

India & Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) boost cooperation

  • India & Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) reaffirm their commitment to further advance ties in areas such as blue economy, climate change, disaster preparedness, health, education & renewable energy.
  • In the field of education, healthcare and wellness, acknowledging the importance of yoga, RMI side showed keenness in disseminating yoga to youth through schools and to also tap into India’s expertise in overcoming physical connectivity challenges through tele-medicine and tele-education.
  • In view of the growing bilateral collaboration in the field of solar energy, RMI also shared its interest to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) at the earliest.

::ECONOMY::

Promotion of zero budget farming mooted

  • The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has called for promoting zero-budget natural in agriculture to make farming viable and sustainable.
  • He said that a series of National Consultations were being held across to seek realistic solutions to make agriculture sustainable and profitable. The Vice President called for innovative solutions to make farming profitable and the scaling up of such solutions.
  • Expressing his concern over increasing input costs and the lack of remunerative prices to farmers, he complimented the Union Government for steeply increasing the MSP for paddy and other kharif crops.

Centre to formulate action plan to boost cruise tourism

  • The central government is set to formulate an action plan to boost cruise tourism in the country.
  • The actions plan from these deliberations focuses on developing identified sites as attractive tourist destinations & generating awareness about them both within the country & abroad.
  • As Mumbai would be the hub of Cruise Tourism in the country, it was decided in the meeting that areas like Sassoon Dock and Sewree Fort in the city, and nearby areas like KanhojiAngre Island, Mandwa, Alibaug and Vijaydurg, would be developed as attractive tourist destinations.

::SPORTS::

Pak cricketer loses in dope test

  • Ahmed Shehzad has been provisionally suspended and charged with violating anti-doping regulations after he tested positive for a prohibited substance in May, the Pakistan cricket board (PCB) has said.
  • He has been given till July 18 2018 to advise whether he wishes to have his B Sample tested and till July 27 to respond to the charges levelled in the Notice of Charge,” the PCB said in a statement on its website.

New coach for Spain football team

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