Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 28 July 2018


Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 28 July 2018


::NATIONAL::

Draft personal data protection Bill 2018, submitted by expert panel

  • The draft personal data protection Bill 2018, submitted by the Justice B.N. Srikrishna-headed expert panel on Friday, has proposed that critical personal data of Indian citizens be processed in centres located within the country.
  • Other personal data may be transferred outside the territory of India with some riders. However, at least one copy of the data will need to be stored in India. The draft Bill, which India hopes will become a model framework for protection of personal data for the world, will apply to processing of personal data within India, including the State.
  • The Act will apply to those carrying on business in India or other activities such as profiling which could cause privacy harms to data principals in India.
  • It has suggested a penalty of Rs. 15 crore or 4% of the total worldwide turnover of any data collection/processing entity, for violating provisions. Failure to take prompt action on a data security breach can attract up to Rs. 5 crore or 2% of turnover as a penalty.

India designated as nodal centre for preparing flash-flood forecasts

  • India has been designated as a nodal centre for preparing flash-flood forecasts by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
  • That means India will have to develop a customised model that can issue advance warning of floods in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand, according to Dr.MadhavanRajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences.
  • Like India, several southeast Asian countries depend on the monsoon and are prone to its vagaries. The proposed model would provide forecasts by computing the likelihood of rainfall and the soil moisture levels to warn of possible floods.
  • The Central Water Commission, which monitors India’s dams, warns of rising water levels in the reservoirs, which are usually taken to be signs of imminent floods
  • The organisation has recently tied up with Google to develop a software application to visualise rising water levels during heavy rains.

::ECONOMY::

Railway launches mission sathyanishtha

  • In first of its kind event held by any government organization, the Indian Railways organized a programme on Ethics in Public Governance and Launched “Mission Satyanishtha”.
  • The Senior Officers and Staff members of Railways also participated in the event. The event was webcast live to all Zonal, Divisional and Production Units from the National Rail Museum.
  • The issue of Ethics, Integrity and probity in public life have been a matter of concern all over the government sector. In this context it is also extremely important that all railway servants adhere to impeccable conduct and integrity at all times.
  • “Mission Satyanishtha” launched on 27th July 2018 aims at sensitizing all railway employees about the need to adhere to good ethics and to maintain high standards of integrity at work.
  • It also aims to help understand the policies of Indian Railways on ethics and integrity and the employee’s role in upholding the same.
  • Panel says government flouting with anti-dumping measures on chinese goods.
  • Companies in India are side-stepping the anti-dumping measures imposed by the government by deliberately misclassifying items imported from China, according to a report tabled by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce.
  • The report also notes that the government has been reluctant to review the effectiveness of its anti-dumping measures.
  • The unscrupulous elements are able to import the Chinese goods by circumventing the goods put under the anti-dumping framework through misclassification of products.
  • This mis-declaration while importing the goods which otherwise have been put under anti-dumping measures nullify the whole effort to protect the domestic industry from unfair trade practices,” the report added.
  • The committee noted that though nearly 75-80% of Chinese steel imports are covered under the anti-dumping duty, the import of such steel products have increased 8%.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

PM had a productive meeting with chinese president at BRICS summit

  • Prime Minister NarendraModi had a “very productive” meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday during which he emphasised the need to maintain the “momentum” generated by their recent meetings and provide “proper instructions” to their militaries to maintain peace at the border.
  • Prime Minister Modi said they have given a new strength to India-China ties and also provided new opportunities for bilateral cooperation.
  • At Wuhan, both Mr.Modi and Mr. Xi had decided to issue “strategic guidance” to their militaries to strengthen communications to build trust and understanding, a move aimed at avoiding a Doklam-like situation in the future.
  • One of the important issues which Prime Minister Modi raised with President Xi at his previous meetings is of how the two sides can enhance Indian exports to China particularly agricultural exports.
  • Prime Minister Modi also mentioned the pharma sector and cited a Chinese movie titled ‘Dying to Survive’, which is based loosely on the role that the Indian cancer drugs play in saving the life of the main character of the movie, foreign secretary said.

EU observers claim pak election campaign was one sided

  • A European Union election observer mission to Pakistan has said the July 25 election was “negatively affected” by the political environment in the country and suffered from an “unequal opportunity to campaign”.
  • The Opposition — ranging from the PPP and the PML(N) to the religious parties grouped under the MuttahidaMajlis-e-Amal (MMA) have questioned the results as having been rigged and manipulated.
  • The election was overshadowed by restrictions on freedom of expression, and while voting was transparent, counting was “somewhat problematic” with staff not always following procedures, the 120-strong EU observer mission said.
  • The shocking mismanagement of the process of counting votes and announcing results at the polling station has made it necessary that the entire ECP [Election Commission of Pakistan] senior leadership resign after the election formalities are completed and a high-level inquiry be conducted at the earliest.”

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

The longest “blood moon eclipse sighted

  • The longest “blood moon” eclipse this century coincided with Mars’ closest approach in 15 years to treat skygazers across the globe to a thrilling celestial spectacle on Friday.
  • A total lunar eclipse happens when the earth takes position in a straight line between the moon and sun, blotting out the direct sunlight. The moon travels to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means it normally passes above or below the earth’s shadow so most months there is a full moon without an eclipse.
  • When the three celestial bodies are perfectly lined up, however, the earth’s atmosphere scatters blue light from the sun while refracting or bending red light onto the moon, giving it a rosy blush.
  • During a very dark eclipse, the moon may be almost invisible. Less dark eclipses may show the moon as rust-coloured or brick-red.

In lines of global tiger day celebrations,centre claims tiger numbers increasing

  • Pointing to the possibility of an increase in the number of tigers according to the preliminary indications from the on-going countrywide Tiger estimation/Census, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan has reiterated the need to build a social movement for tiger conservation.
  • In this context, the Minister quoted the example of spreading awareness on the spread of dengue some years ago and the movement for polio eradication.
  • The Minister emphasised that tiger conservation must become a part of the Green Good Deeds movement. He added that though major steps need to be taken, the importance of small, green deeds to protect the environment must never be forgotten.
  • In the run-up to Global Tiger Day that is celebrated on July 29 every year, this year, several events had been organised to raise awareness amongst the younger generation. These events included story and poem writing, painting, skits and ‘NukkadNatak (street play), besides a quiz competition and an exhibition at the Environment Ministry’s premises.

::SPORTS::

India U-19 wins series against Sri lankan U-19

  • India U-19 completed its domination of Sri Lanka with another emphatic result a victory by an innings and 147 runs in the second ‘Youth Test’ here on Friday.
  • While the Lankans conceded a 297-run lead to the Indians after being bowled out for 316 in the first innings, it was abject surrender in the second essay.
  • India U-19 613 for eight decl. bt Sri Lanka U-19 316 & 150 (Nishan Fernando 25, Nuwanidu Fernando 28, SandunMendis 26, Siddharth Desai four for 40).
  • Philipines basketball team pulls out of Asian games
  • The Philippines national basketball team said on Friday it has pulled out of the Asian Games as it prepares to appeal sanctions handed down over a nasty on-court brawl with Australia at a World Cup qualifier.
  • Basketball’s governing body FIBA suspended 10 players and two coaches from the Philippines national squad over the melee, which saw players and fans exchanging wild punches and flying kicks at the July 2 match in Manila.

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