Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 20 July 2018

::NATIONAL::

NITI Aayogorganises Workshop on Empowering Women

NITI Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform( WEP) and Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Office of International Programmes (OIP) University of Delhi, jointly organised a Two-Day International conference on "Empowering Women: Fostering Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability".
The Vice President in his address emphasized on increasing education and skilling for the economic empowerment of women and stressed on the need for propagating an attitudinal change for the same. Based on the mantra given by the Prime Minister, he underscored the ‘Reforming, Performing and Transforming’ role to be played by NITI Aayog.
Shri Amitabh Kant CEO NITI Aayog stated that for India to grow at 9-10 per cent for three decades consistently and reap the dividend of demographic advantage, promoting entrepreneurship among women has to be the key strategy.
The conference saw the participation of remarkable national as well as international luminaries & representatives from across the globe.

NGT disappointed over ganga rejuvenation

Expressing displeasure over the steps taken to clean the river Ganga, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday asked the Uttarakhand government to take “effective measures” and take into account the views of the general public.
A bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel, said that the information provided “on paper” was different from the “ground reality.”
It is the most prestigious river in the country which 100 crore people respect but we are unable to protect it. Let us try to make the mechanism as strong and effective as possible,” the bench said during the hearing.
Taking note of the compliance report submitted by the State government, the green panel said that though the compliance affidavit may claim that all steps have been taken, the object of the directions in letter and spirit and the effect on the ground was not adequate.the NGT sought district fortnightly reports from Ganga committees.

BRICS news portal to be unveiled soon

A decision to establish a BRICS Media Academy and a BRICS news portal were among those taken at the 2018 BRICS Media Forum at Cape Town in South Africa on Thursday.
The Forum, which opened on former South African President Nelson Mandela’s 100th birth anniversary on July 18, unanimously agreed to adopt the Cape Town Declaration 2018.
It pledged to strive to create a media landscape that upholds the integrity of news that is created and shared through the BRICS nations.
It also committed itself to limit the spread and effect of fake news and increase people-to-people exchanges between journalists and others employed in the media

::ECONOMY::

IBBI looking into cross border insolvency cases

The government is keen to introduce a globally accepted and well-recognised cross-border insolvency framework, which would also make India an attractive investment destination for foreign creditors, given the increased predictability and certainty of the insolvency process.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) is a nodal body that implements the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
Asked about the status of cross-border insolvency, Mr.Sahoo said, comments have been invitedand have also been received. The IBBI are conducting round-table meetings to understand (the situation), and the process is to move forward.

TRAI to regulate pesky calls & spams

TRAI on Thursday revamped the regulations on pesky calls and spam as it spelt out new rules mandating subscribers’ consent for receiving telemarketing messages.
The regulator also asked telecom operators to ensure that commercial communication takes place only through registered senders.
“The objective of the regulation notified today is to effectively deal with the nuisance of spam experienced by the subscribers,” the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement.
New regulations provide the subscriber with complete control over their consent and the ability to revoke the consent already granted, at their option,” TRAI said.
TRAI said that every access provider should establish ‘Customer Preference Registration Facility (CPRF)’ and make necessary arrangements to facilitate customers by providing ways and means to record consent (or its revocation) related to commercial communication.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

INDIA-SRILANKA Joint Venture case to be dealt based on expert opinion

The Sri Lankan government is awaiting a report from experts to finalise its joint venture with India, to run the loss-making Mattala airport in the island’s Southern Province.
According to the proposed joint venture between the Airports Authority of India and the Airport & Aviation Services in Sri Lanka, India will own a 70% stake and pump in $225 million to revamp and run the airport, while the Sri Lankan side will invest the rest.
As per the draft agreement, fine-tuned over three formal rounds of negotiations in Colombo, India will operate the airport on a 40-year lease.
The Mattala joint venture will explore options like setting up a flying school, running a training academy, and re-routing air traffic, because the aim is to somehow make the facility commercially viable.
India only wants to take charge of the commercial aspects of the airport. They fully appreciate Sri Lanka’s sole responsibility in security matters and have not asked for any role in that,” the Civil Aviation Ministry official said.

Isreal adopts law defining the country as a jewish state

Israel’s Parliament on Thursday adopted a law defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people, provoking fears that it could lead to blatant discrimination against Arab citizens.
Arab lawmakers and Palestinians said it legalised “apartheid.” Others said it neglected to specify equality and Israel’s democratic character, implying the country’s Jewish nature comes first.
A range of Opposition politicians denounced the vote. The head of the mainly Arab Joint List alliance AymanOdeh called it “the death of our democracy”.
Arab citizens account for some 17.5% of Israel’s more than eight million population. They have long complained of discrimination.
But others pointed out that references to “Jewish and democratic” in earlier versions of the law had been removed and that the law lacked references to equality as specified in the country's 1948 declaration of independence.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

JAPAN to demonstrate shooting stars upon demand

A Japanese start-up developing “shooting stars on demand” says it will be ready to deliver the world’s first artificial meteor shower in a spectacular show over Hiroshima in early 2020.
The first satellite will hitch a ride into space on a rocket being launched by Japan’s space agency by March 2019.
Each satellite will be able to carry 400 tiny balls whose chemical formula is a closely-guarded secret.
Ejected from the satellite, the balls will glow as they plunge through the atmosphere. The 400 balls will be enough for 20-30 events, according to the company, and the satellites will be able to stay in space for around two years.

::SPORTS::

TTFI to pass additional revenue to players

While the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) has been increasing the entry fee for a national-ranking table tennis tournament every year recently, it has been stingy when it comes to rewarding the players.
Since 2011, the entry fee has seen a rise of at least 200%, with the TTFI charging more for at least a bunch of players with every passing year.
While the total prize money has been raised by 30% since 2011, the largest individual prize purse that of the men’s singles champion in each of the five national-ranking tournaments every year has increased only by 17%.
During the Central Zone National-ranking tournament, which concluded on Wednesday, a plethora of players, coaches and parents voiced their displeasure over the TTFI’s apathy towards players.
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