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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 04 July 2018

::NATIONAL::

The Supreme Court on Tuesday restrained the State governments from appointing Directors-General of Police without first consulting the Union Public Service Commission.
The State government concerned has to send to the service commission the names of the probables three months before the incumbent DGP is to retire. The UPSC will prepare a list of three officers fit to be DGP and send it back.
The state shall, as far as practicable, choose the people who have got a clear two years of service and must give due weightage to merit and seniority. The State, in turn, shall ‘immediately’ appoint one of the persons shortlisted by the commission.

Amid reports of lynchings across the country over fake messages on WhatsApp, the government said on Tuesday that it had told the service provider “in no uncertain terms” to take immediate measures to ensure that its platform was not misused.
Instances of lynching have been reported in Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tripura and West Bengal by mobs provoked by “irresponsible and explosive messages” on WhatsApp.
The government also directed that the spread of such messages be immediately contained through the application of appropriate technology. “While the law and order machinery is taking steps to apprehend the culprits, the abuse of platforms like WhatsApp for repeated circulation of such provocative content is equally a matter of deep concern.

Acting on regular complaints of electoral malpractices on voting and counting days, the Election Commission on Tuesday launched a mobile app for citizens to report any violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during elections.
The app, called "cVIGIL", launched by Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat, is set to be used in the forthcoming assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Rajasthan on a pilot basis before it is put to extensive use during the next LokSabha elections.
To report a violation, one would need to click a picture or record a video of up to two minutes' duration of the scene of violations of the model code. The photo or video is to be uploaded on the app. The automated location mapping will be done by the app using the Geographic Information System.

The government has sought Kathmandu’s assistance for the ongoing evacuation of hundreds of Indian pilgrims, enroute to KailashMansarovar, stranded near Nepal’s border with China, amid heavy downpour and landslips.
An official source confirmed that out of 1,575 pilgrims, two died in difficult circumstances along the high-altitude Nepalganj-Simikot route.
For quicker coordination, the Indian embassy sent a four-member team to Nepalganj on Tuesday evening. It will reach Hilsa and Simikot to intensify evacuation efforts.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister NajibRazak was arrested by anti-corruption investigators on Tuesday, officials said, the latest dramatic development in a widening graft probe that has engulfed the ex-leader.
The arrest is the latest in a series of stunning moves by investigators that suggest the legal noose is tightening around Mr.Razak, his family and many of his close political and business allies.

Finance minister PiyushGoyal on Tuesday said the government is open to discuss the issues that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had raised recently over the lack of powers in regulating state-run lenders.
Amidst criticism that the apex bank had failed in its regulatory oversight over government-owned banks following the Rs. 13,500-crore PNB scam, RBI governor Urjit Patel had recently blamed it on the lack of powers to control them.
While PSBs had faced political interference in the past, Mr.Goyal said under the present government, no minister was interfering in the operational matters of lenders.

The Centre has implemented the tariff concessions agreed to under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement by cutting duties on the import of 3,142 items from the signatories to the accord, including China.
APTA is a preferential trade agreement, under which the basket of items as well as the extent of tariff concessions are enlarged during the trade negotiating rounds that are conducted periodically.
The results of the fourth round of negotiations under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) among six countries namely, Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka, have been implemented with effect from July 1.