Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 September 2019

::NATIONAL::

Vice president addresses project managers conference

•  Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today emphasized the need for developing a national policy for project and programme management. Stating that the Quality Council of India is currently working on a policy framework, the Vice President said, it will be for the first time that a formal approach has been initiated on the subject.
•  Addressing the National Project Managers’ Conference held by the Project Management Institute (PMI) in Hyderabad this morning, the Vice President said, the project managers play a vital role in growth both in public and private sectors.
•  He felt the country need over 70 lakh new project managers by 2027 to support the fast growth that is being taken place across many sectors. Stating that the country does not have good track record in executing projects, Mr Naidu said, the latest report from the Statistics and Programme implementation department revealed that 25 per cent of the Central sector projects are delayed and affecting over 150 crore rupees funds.
•  Referring to various projects that the Country executed, like setting up the tallest statue of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel in Gujarat, Aadhar, Kumbh Mela, Conducting Elections, Swachh Bharat Mission and Chandrayan, Mr Naidu said project and programme management faces challenges bringing change in public perceptions and winning support for lasting impact.
•  He also advised the programme managers to acquire right and latest skills and be constantly attuned to the demands of the future.
  Centre assures creation of national intelligence grid by 2020
•  The NATGRID - a robust intelligence gathering mechanism related to immigration, banking, individual tax payers, air and train travels - is likely to be operational by January 2020, officials said on Sunday.
•  The work on the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) set up to track any terror suspect and prevent terrorist attacks with real time data, has been accelerated after Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently reviewed the progress of the ₹3,400 crore project, conceptualised following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
•  The NATGRID will have data related to all immigration entry and exit, banking and financial transactions, credit card purchases, telecom, individual tax payers, air flyers, train travellers besides others to generate intelligence inputs.
•  The Cabinet Committee on Security had given approval to the Rs 3,400 crore project on April 8, 2010 but its work slowed down after 2012.
•  However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed its revival.Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a review meeting on the NATGRID on June 10, 2016 when the then Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi gave a detailed presentation on the ambitious project.
•  The data recovery centre of the NATGRID has been constructed in Bengaluru and its headquarters is nearing completion in Delhi.

::ECONOMY::

RBI claims rise in oil prices not to impact inflation

•  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that only a limited impact on inflation is expected in view of spiked crude oil prices amidst the ongoing crisis in Saudi Arabia.
•  Drone attacks on the world's largest oil refinery in Saudi Arabia have resulted in a massive 20 percent surge in crude prices.
•  Speaking at an economic summit in Mumbai last evening, Mr. Das said, the fiscal numbers given the lower subsidy outgo adding that the full impact will only to visible in the long run.
•  Mr. Das said, he expects inflation to remain below 4 percent in the next 12 months and there is room for more rate cuts given growth slump. He maintained that domestic economy remains resilient as foreign debt is only 19.7 percent of GDP.
•  The RBI governor said, international environment is clouded with challenging conditions. He said, global growth is slowing down and central banks across the world are bracing up to counter it by easing monetary policy; but there is no recession as yet.

Centre says postal accounts and license to be linked with Aadhar

•  IT and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said postal accounts will be linked with Aadhaar for greater transparency.He was speaking after inaugurating Bihar's first and the country's tenth Aadhaar Seva Kendra in Patna today.
•  He said on an average, one thousand Aadhaar cards will be made at this centre and other facilities will be also available. Mr Prasad said 114 such Kendra will soon be operational in 53 cities in the country.
•  The Minister also inaugurated the country's second and Bihar's first women post office in Patna. The first post office is in Mumbai.
•  Mr. Prasad announced that women post offices will be opened in every postal division of the country. He said these post offices will be a step forward towards strengthening women empowerment.
•  Minister Ravishankar Prasad has said that Driving Licence will be linked with Adahar card to check forgery. He was addressing a function in Patna yesterday.
•  Mr Prasad said duplicate driving license could not be made if Aadhar becomes mandatory for it.
•  Mr Prasad said Aadhar is playing a vital role in checking corruption. He added that one lakh 47 thousand 677 crore rupees has been saved in the government exchequer due to digital identity through Aadhar.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Saudi reiterates commitment to meet India’s energy needs

•  Saudi Arabia has said that it is committed to meet India's energy security needs and will work constructively with other oil producers to maintain market stability notwithstanding the biggest-ever attacks on its oil facilities.
•  Saudi Ambassador Dr.Saud bin Mohammed Al Sati, in an exclusive interview to PTI in New Delhi, said his country will invite the United Nations and international experts to view the situation on the ground and to participate in the investigation into the attacks.
•  The Ambassador said, Saudi Arabia has the capability and resolve to defend itself and to forcefully respond to the aggressions, and appreciated New Delhi's support and solidarity to Riyadh following the strikes which, he asserted, were against the international community as a whole.
•  Asked whether Saudi Arabia will increase oil supply to India to address the shortfall due to curb on import of oil from Iran, the envoy said, his country is committed to India's energy security and will meet any shortfall that may arise due to disruptions from other sources.
•  He said, as one of the world's leading energy producers, SaudiArabia will continue working constructively with other producers within and outside OPEC to maintain market stability, thus protecting all the interests of producers and consumers alike.

Iran to present peace plan to UN on gulf security

•  Iranian President Hassan Rouhani today denounced the presence of foreign forces in the Gulf and said that Tehran will present a peace plan to the United Nations, after arch-foe the United States ordered reinforcements to the tinderbox region.
•  Ina televised speech at an annual military parade in Tehran, he said, foreign forces can cause problems and insecurity for the Iranian people and the region. He said, in this sensitive and important historical moment, we announce to our neighbours that we extend the hand of friendship and brotherhood to them.
•  Mr.Rouhani also called on the foreign powers in the Gulf region to stay away. The Iranian President is expected to travel to New York tomorrow, a day before general debate kicks off at the United Nations General Assembly.
•  Tensions have flared in the Gulf since May, when Iran began reducing its commitments to the nuclear deal and the US said it was sending forces to waters near the Islamic Republic in response to indications of a credible threat from its forces.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

India to undertake Gaganyaan mission from 2020

•  Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, Chairman K Sivan has said the Chandrayaan-2 mission has achieved 98 per cent of its objectives.
•  He said the orbiter, with eight scientific instruments, is doing well and performing scheduled scientific experiments.
•  Talking to reporters in Bhubaneswar, Odisha today, he said, in case of technology demonstration, the success percentage was almost full.
•  The ISRO Chairman said, initially, the orbiter’s life was only one year, but due to optimum mission operations, it has increased to 7.5 years.
•  He said a national-level committee comprising academicians and ISRO experts are analysing the cause of the communication loss with Vikram. Mr Sivan said ISRO is focusing on space mission, Gaganyaan by 2020.
•  The ISRO chairman said the country is moving ahead to meet its target of sending man to space by December 2021.
•  Addressing students at IIT Bhubaneswar, Dr Sivan asked them to take calculated risks and innovate. He also called upon the IITians to come forward and contribute towards nation-building.

::SPORTS::

Deepak Punia settles for silver in world championship

•  In world wrestling championship, India's Deepak Punia today pulled out of the title clash in 86 kg category against Iran's Hassan Yazdani due to an ankle injury sustained during the semifinal bout.
•  The 20-year-old Indian will have to be content with a silver medal in his debut senior world championship.
•  Deepak had come out of the mat limping and with a swollen right eye after his semifinal against Switzerland's Stefan Reichmuth yesterday.
•  In a dream run, Deepak reached the final with wins over Reichmuth, Colombia's Carlos Arturo Mendez and Kazakhstan's Adilet Davlumbayev.

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