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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 30 July 2018

::NATIONAL::

PM urges to make festivals eco-friendly

Prime Minister NarendraModi’s monthly radio broadcast, Mann Ki Baat, on Sunday reflected the concerns about the admission season among young people and the human impact on the environment even in religious observances, exhorting listeners to observe a green Ganesh Chaturthi.
He referred to abundant rainfall in some areas and a lack of it in other regions, and said rains played hide and seek through partiality laced likes and dislikes.
He said that was the reason why it became people’s collective responsibility to love and protect nature and conserve it. He urged people to use eco-friendly material for the Ganesh Utsav celebrations.
The Prime Minister also congratulated athlete Hima Das, who made history by winning the gold medal in the 400-metre sprint at the World U20 Championships in Finland, as well as EktaBhyan, YogeshQathuniaji and Sundar Singh Gurjar who won medals at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2018 in Tunisia.

Yamuna floods worsens life in nearby plains

The Yamuna was flowing at 205.5 metres on Sunday evening well above the danger mark of 204.83 metres, government officials said. The water level had reached 205.30 metres on Saturday evening, prompting authorities to evacuate people from the low-lying areas.
The Delhi government has set up a flood control room and a round-the-clock emergency operation centre to monitor the river situation, according to officials as Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia took stock of the ongoing evacuation operation in the low-lying areas in east Delhi and appealed to the people to move to safer areas.
Less than a kilometre down the road, a small portion of the catchment area leading to the Old Yamuna Bridge transformed into a impromptu tourist spot with media OB vans, bikes and autorickshaws jostling for space as a steady stream of onlookers gathered to look at the expanding river.
According to the DDMA, which later ordered the closure of the Old Yamuna Bridge, the high water levels recorded at the site were 207.49 metres in 1978, 207.11 metres in 2010 and 207.32 metres in 2013.

::ECONOMY::

Centre forms panel to study stressed power sector issues

The government on Sunday announced its intention to set up a high-level empowered committee under the Cabinet Secretary to resolve the stress in the thermal power sector.
The committee is to look into the various issues in the thermal power sector with a view to resolve them and take steps to maximise the efficiency of investment, including changes in the fuel allocation policy, regulatory framework, mechanisms to facilitate sale of power, payment security mechanisms, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), asset restructuring company (ARC) regulations and “any other measures proposed for revival of stressed assets so as to avoid such investments becoming NPA.
“Stressed thermal power assets are a cause of concern for the country,” the Ministry of Power said in a statement.

Use of FASTags to make journey through highways faster

According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways officials, FASTag users can experience ‘near’ non-stop movement at 405 of the 479 toll plazas on various national highways.
This is how the device works – the tag with a quick response (QR) code and an identification number is affixed to the windscreen of a vehicle. The tag is linked to a user’s FASTag account with the bank of his or her choice.
Many plazas don’t have a dedicated lane for RFID tags, which means that one still has to wait in a queue along with other vehicles which need to stop to make cash transaction,” said Naveen Kumar Gupta, secretary general, All India Motor Transport Congress.
Ministry sources acknowledge the challenges faced by the users and say that with advancement of technology they are hopeful that in coming years the country’s highways could see free flow multi-lane plazas allowing a vehicle to zip through at higher speeds similar to some foreign countries.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Myanmar militant outfit praises India for humanitarian efforts towards rohingyas

An armed group blamed for attacks against the Myanmar military has said that it poses no threat to India and expressed “heartfelt appreciation” for Indian support to the Rohingya refugees.
ArakanRohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) said that its struggle is to ensure the rights of the Rohingya refugees and that it is not connected to the Islamic State (IS) or Pakistan’s intelligence agencies.
The statement was issued following reports in an Indian daily that the group had targeted the Assam Rifles recently near the India-Myanmar border and that it aims to build training camps in the Myanmar territories close to Indian frontiers. ARSA denied the attack and termed the news report as “blatant manipulation”.
The group also claimed that it opposes terrorist attacks and gave assurances of peace to Bangladesh. “ARSA has never carried out and will not carry out any military activity in the territories of any State except in its ancestral home land (Arakan State).

Robert Mugabe wants his former party out of office

Former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe, who was ousted by the military in November, made a surprise intervention on Sunday on the eve of key elections, calling for voters to throw his former party out of office.
In the country’s first election since Mr. Mugabe was ousted after 37 years in power, Zimbabwe goes to the polls on Monday amid mounting allegations of voter fraud and predictions of a disputed result.
President EmmersonMnangagwa, Mr. Mugabe’s former ally in the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, faces Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in the landmark vote.
Mr.Mnangagwa, 75, who promises a fresh start for the country despite being from the ZANU-PF elite, is the frontrunner with the advantage of covert military support, a loyal state media and a ruling party that controls government resources.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Air passengers to go digital soon

Having worked on the DigiYatra project for over a year, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is close to rolling out this service at airports in a few months, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu said.
Under this the moment, you enter the airport, your images will be captured and then you will be able to go through the full lifecycle of your travel in a seamless manner and once you establish your identity, you will be able to pass through the entire lifecycle of the travel and this facility is optional.
The basic objective is to reduce queues at airports and bring efficiency to the boarding process. As the civil aviation sector has started growing by 20%, airport infrastructure needs to cope up. Clarifying that the facility was in conformity with privacy guidelines of the Supreme Court.
DigiYatra is an industry-led initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in line with the Digital India programme.

::SPORTS::

Egypt wins world junior squash championship title

Egypt’s domination in the world junior squash championships here that it hasn’t lost a game, leaving opponents clueless and hapless. In the final at the EA Mall here on Sunday, it inflicted a 2-0 defeat over England to claim its sixth boys’ team title.
Marwan Tarek, who was part of the boys’ team in Poland, said it’s a great honour to have won the trophy for the country
England coach Lee Drew gave full credit to Egypt while praising his boys for their efforts.

Neeraj Chopra wins gold in savo games

Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Sunday won a gold in the Savo Games in Finland with an impressive performance.
Neeraj, the reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Asian season leader, threw 85.69m in the event held at Lapinlahti, Finland, where he is undergoing training as part of preparations for the Asian Games.