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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 September 2019

::NATIONAL::

SC asks centre to restore normalcy in Jammu & Kashmir

The Supreme Court today asked the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir administration to make all endeavours to restore normalcy in Kashmir Valley as soon as possible. However, the court made it clear that the restoration would be on a selective basis keeping in mind national interest.
When the top court was told about the alleged shutdown of mobile and Internet services in the Valley, the bench said these issues could be dealt with by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for petitioner and Executive Editor of Kashmir Times AnuradhaBhasin, told the bench that mobile, Internet services and public transport are not working in the Valley and it would be difficult for them to approach the high court.
Venugopal, however, said that issues raised by the petitioner do not appear to be genuine as Kashmir-based newspapers are being published and the government has been offering all kinds of assistance to them.
The Supreme Court today also allowed senior Congress leader GhulamNabi Azad to visit Jammu and Kashmir, but said he cannot hold any political rally.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice said Mr Azad can visit four districts -- Srinagar, Jammu, Baramulla, Anantnag -- to meet people.The bench was told by senior advocate A M Singhvi, who was appearing for GhulamNabi Azad, that he wants to meet the people and inquire about their welfare.

Doordarshan to celebrate 60 years of existence

Doordarshan is celebrating its 60 years today. The public broadcaster started its journey on this day in 1959 from Delhi. Today, over 90 percent of Indian population receive DD programmes.
Over the years, Doordarshan has grown into a network operating 34 satellite channels, besides providing free-to-air DTH service having 104 in its bookings. Doordarshan has served people as a major source of information, education and entertainment since years.
Entertainment shows like Chitrahaar, Mahabharat, DekhBhaiDekh, Fauji, Malgudi Days, among others, captured the imagination of the Indian public in the late 80s and early 90s, and still remains etched in people's minds as pure entertainment that brought people together.
In a tweet, PrasarBharati CEO ShashiShekharVempati said, it is a moment to recognise that it is not that Doordarshan has gotten older, but it is getting newer for digital audiences.
He said, it is not only that Doordarshan has turned 60 but the history of television broadcasting in India now spans six decades - a milestone for all of TV industry in India.Director General, Doordarshan, PrasarBharati, SupriyaSahu said, Doordarshan is in the DNA of India.

::ECONOMY::

Centre asks tech giants to ‘Make in India’ and export

Stating that its investments in India till now were just a ‘tip of the iceberg’, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday called upon tech giant Apple to create a ‘robust’ presence in India.
The Minister, who holds the portfolio of Electronics and IT, was speaking to reporters after a day-long conference with over 50 top executives from the electronics manufacturing sector.
Promising all support from the government, including sops for making in India and exporting from here, Mr. Prasad pitched for making India a hub for electronics manufacturing. India has set a target of creating $400 billion electronic manufacturing ecosystem by 2025.
Mr. Prasad has also instructed his Ministry to set up a taskforce that would regularly interact with the industry, take their suggestions and address concerns.
Monday’s meeting, which was also attended by NitiAayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Revenue Secretary Ajay BhushanPandey, saw representatives from all major segments of electronics sector, including mobile handsets, consumer electronics, medical devices, components, telecom and LED lighting.

Centre to extend support to ECGC in next 5 years

Commerce Minister PiyushGoyal has said the Central government will give support of 8,500 crore rupees to Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India, ECGC, in the next five years.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi today, Mr Goyal said interest rates will now be just close to 3.5 per cent. The Minister said banks have been advised to extend this new facility to all exporters.
Mr Goyal also said ECGC has introduced a scheme called NiryatRinVikashYojana - NIRVIK to enhance loan availability to exporters.
The scheme will also help ease the lending process. He said ECGC provides credit guarantee to exporters up to 60 per cent of loss.
Under the new scheme NIRVIK, up to 90 per cent of the principal amount and interest will be covered through insurance. It will cover both pre and post-shipment credit.
The Minister said, those exporters who will avail insurance cover up to 10 crore rupees need not face inspection. Mr Goyal said, the steps announced today will help India achieve one-trillion dollar export target.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India to train Maldivian civil servants

India will conduct a two-week special training programme for Maldivian civil servants from tomorrow in Delhi and Mussoorie.
It is part of a bilateral MoU on Training and Capacity Building Programme between the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and the Maldives Civil Service Commission (CSC). A 32-member delegation from the Maldives reached the NCGG campus in Mussoorie.
Senior policy makers, including Director LalBahadurShastri National Academy of Administration, would address participants in the training programme.
Prime Minister NarendraModi, during his visit to the Maldives in June, had emphasised India's Neighbourhood First policy.
He assured India's full support to the Maldives in realising its aspirations for broad based socio-economic development and strengthening of democratic and independent institutions.
AIR correspondent reports that one of the MoUs envisages capacity building activities for 1,000 civil servants of the Maldives at the National Centre for Good Governance over the next five years.

India-Slovenia expands cooperation in various fields

India will conduct a two-week special training programme for Maldivian civil servants from tomorrow in Delhi and Mussoorie.
It is part of a bilateral MoU on Training and Capacity Building Programme between the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and the Maldives Civil Service Commission (CSC). A 32-member delegation from the Maldives reached the NCGG campus in Mussoorie.
Senior policy makers, including Director LalBahadurShastri National Academy of Administration, would address participants in the training programme.
Prime Minister NarendraModi, during his visit to the Maldives in June, had emphasised India's Neighbourhood First policy. He assured India's full support to the Maldives in realising its aspirations for broad based socio-economic development and strengthening of democratic and independent institutions.
AIR correspondent reports that one of the MoUs envisages capacity building activities for 1,000 civil servants of the Maldives at the National Centre for Good Governance over the next five years.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

New eco-friendly method to degrade plastics discovered

Three years ago researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras observed silver slowly dissolving in a glucose solution when heated to 70 degree C.
Now, the team has demonstrated an environment-friendly strategy to degrade the chemically inert and physically stable plastic fluoropolymer — polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) of which Teflon is made.
All that is required to degrade the fluoropolymer into molecules is continuous stirring of it in water containing 1,000 ppm glucose and metal ions for about 15 days at 70 degree C.
The team tested Teflon in different forms — pellets, tapes and plates. They repeated the experiment using a Teflon beaker and tried different metals too and still got the same result each time.
The only difference was that the particles did not show bright red luminescence when copper, silver and iron were used instead of gold.
According to the paper, similar chemistry can possibly lead to micro and nanoplastics in food during cooking as many modern cookware are coated with Teflon.
“Triboelectric degradation of PTFE, polypropylene and other polymers might be occurring in nature in large water bodies such as oceans where metal ions are found in abundance and waves provide constant agitation,” Prof. Pradeep says. “This must be one of the ways by which microplastics get generated.”

::SPORTS::

India advances in world boxing championships

In Boxing, Asian silver-medallist Kavinder Singh Bisht (57kg) and Sanjeet (91kg) advanced to the pre-quarterfinals with hard-fought wins in the World Men's Championships in Ekaterinburg, Russia yesterday.
While fifth-seeded Bisht edged past China's Chena Zhihao 3-2, Sanjeet defeated Scotland's Scott Forrest in an equally draining contest for a 4-1 verdict in his favour. Now Bisht will square off against Finland's ArslanKhataev in the round of 16.
Earlier, Asian champion AmitPanghal (52kg) and Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Manish Kaushik (63kg) advanced to pre-quarterfinals after winning their respective second-round bouts.