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national Current Affairs October 3rd Week 2016
Category : National Current Affairs
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1) Taj Mahal to undergo `mud-pack therapy` for yellowness.

  • Archaeological Survey of India has requested the civil department for a `no-objection certificate` to perform a mud-pack therapy on the dome of the Taj Mahal, to remove yellowness from its marble. 
  • This is the first time the therapy will be performed on the dome. which will require iron scaffolding, will take over a year.
2) Prakash Javadekar inaugurates ShatabdiKrishiBhawan, Green Building in BHU.

    Prakash Devakar

  • Union Minister for Human Resource Development PrakashJavadekar has inaugurated ShatabdiKrishiBhawan and a Green Building in Banaras Hindu University.
  • ShatabdiKrishiBhawan under the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU has been so named to commemorate the Centenary year of University.
  • University’s first green building under the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development is dedicated to PanditMadan Mohan Malviya and his vision of green campus.
3) Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding with the African Asian Rural Development Organization in the field of rural development.

    Cabinet

  • Union Cabinet gave its approval to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and African Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) for capacity building programmes in the field of rural development.
  • MoU is being signed under which capacity building programmes for AARDO member countries for the triennium 2015 – 2017.
  •  AARDO is an autonomous inter-Governmental organization with its headquarters in New Delhi. It was established in 1962.
4) Maharashtra becomes 17th State to join UDAY.

    Yojana

  • Government of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Government of Maharashtra and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. (MSEDCL) under the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) at the two-day State Power Ministers Conference in Vadodara.
  • Under UDAY, sixteen states/UT have already signed the MoU till date, Maharashtra being the seventeenth.
  • Under UDAY, Maharashtra Government has committed to take over 75% of DISCOM’s non-capex debt of around Rs. 6600 crores during the current year. Balance 25% of such debt remaining with the DISCOM would be converted into Bonds or repriced at cheaper rates. This would reduce the interest burden of the State/ DISCOM by Rs. 595 crores.
5) India’s first diamond mineral block auctioned in MP.

    Diamond

  • Madhya Pradesh’s diamond mineral block had been auctioned. The block was believed to have a precious stone deposit worth Rs. 106 crore. This is the first diamond mineral block of the country which has gone under the hammer.
  • Hatupur Diamond mineral block was successfully auctioned at Panna district in the Madhya Pradesh.
6) New Solar Powered Guard Van of Goods Train flagged off.

    Solar

  • Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu flagging-off the first freight train which featured a newly-developed guard van, which uses solar power to run fans and lights at Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station.
  • The Guard’s toilet has also been modified to a zero discharge bio toilet and also features GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) aided monitoring system.

7) Women can also be prosecuted under domestic violence law: SC.

    Domestic Violence

  • Not only men, but women can also be prosecuted under the Protection of Women against Domestic Violence (DV) Act. The Supreme Court has struck down the words ``adult male`` from the pertinent provision in the DV Act to lay down that a woman can also file a complaint against another woman, accusing her of domestic violence.
  • Under Section 2(q) of the 2005 Act, a complaint can be made only against an ``adult male person``, thereby insulating women from being accused of offences mentioned under the law.

8) India to host conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

    Disaster

  • India will host the Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) next month.
  • The three-day conference, to held from from November 3, is being organised in collaboration with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
  • This is the first AMCDRR after the advent of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRRR), adopted at the third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan in March, 2015.

9) Doordarshan, IGNOU sign agreement for telecast of Gyan Darshan channels.

    Dooradarshan

  • A MoU was signed between Doordarshan and IGNOU regarding the transmission of Four Gyan Darshan Educational channels.
  • The Gyan Darshan Bouquet of Educational TV Channels is an educational media initiative of MHRD in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Prasar Bharati and ISRO with IGNOU as the nodal agency.
  • It consists of four TV Channels namely GD-I & II (by IGNOU) GD-III - Eklava (by IIT, Delhi) GD-IV - Vyas Channel (by UGC, CEC).

10) Rs. 114 crore approved for HRIDAY projects.

Hriday

  • The Urban Development Ministry has approved projects worth Rs. 114 crore that aim to improve infrastructure facilities at different heritage sites in the country.
  • From a heritage walk at Varanasi to revival of Warangal Fort and a facelift for Dwarakadheesh Temple, the projects approved under the Heritage Infrastructure Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) will help improve facilities around core heritage sites in Varanasi, Amritsar, Dwaraka, Puri and Warangal.

11) Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in Maharashtra.

    Yojana

  • Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in Maharashtra to provide free LPG connections to BPL households. The move will benefit 91 lakh households living below the poverty line in Maharashtra over the next three years.
  • A target of 10 lakh connections has been set under PMUY for Maharashtra in 2016 - 17 out of which one lakh connections are to be provided in Mumbai.

12) Karnataka government has decided to celebrate Tipu Sultan Jayanti.

  • The long-pending demand that the government must celebrate Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary has finally been met with the Congress government issuing a gazette notification. The government, in the notification, has said that the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan would be celebrated on November 10 every year.

13) Maharashtra Government allocate land to Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to build LIGO.

  • Maharashtra Government has allocated 40.68 hectare land to Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to build LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) India Project at Dudhala village in Hingoli district.
  • With this, India will join elite league of countries consisting of US, UK, Italy, Germany and Japan that support on-going research on gravitational waves.

14) Election commission partners facebook encourage voter registration.

  • In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, social networking site Facebook is partnering with the Election Commission of India in five states going to polls next year to run a voter registration drive aimed at encouraging youth to participate in the democratic exercise.
  • Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand.

15) EC bars political parties from using public space for propagating symbol.

  • The Election Commission issued directions barring political parties from using or allowing the use of public funds, public space or government machinery for carrying out activities that amount to advertisement for the parties or propagating their election symbols.

16) India`s first international arbitration centre inaugrated by Devendra Fadnavis.

  • Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA).
  • It will be governed by a 17-member governing council.
  • The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) will initially be located at Express Towers.

17) Vizag Steel ropes in P.V. Sindhu as brand ambassador.

  • Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, the corporate entity of Vizag Steel has roped in badminton champion and Rio silver medallist P.V. Sindhu as its brand ambassador.
  • Sindhu, currently amongst the top 10 ranked players in the world, became the first Indian female athlete to win an Olympic silver medal at Rio.

18) All villages in the country to be electrified by May 2017, says Power Minister.

  • All the villages in the country would get electricity connection by May 2017, a year before the 1000-day deadline set by the NDA government ends.
  • The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines also announced soft loans to states for providing electricity connection to every household in the country.
  • Goyal also launched the Urban Jyoti Abhiyaan Mobile (Urja) app, developed by the state-run Power Finance Corporation, to enhance consumer connect with the urban power distribution sector by providing information of IT-enabled towns on parameters like outage information, release of connections, addressing complaints and power reliability.

19) Assam CM inaugurated the first Model Skill Development Centre in Guwahati.

  • Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Assam’s first Model Skill Development Centre ``Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra`` at Panjabari, Guwahati in a bid to transform the skill landscape of the State.
  • The Centre will provide training to the unemployed youths in 13 job roles. Speaking on the occasion.
  • It is an initiative of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and National Skill Development Corporation.
20) BHEL commissions another 660 Mw thermal unit in UP.
  • State-run BHEL announced the commissioning a 660 mw supercritical thermal unit in Maharashtra.
  • The unit has been commissioned at Mouda Super Thermal Power Station (STPS) at Mouda in Nagpur district of Maharashtra.
  • The unit has been commissioned at the 3*660 MW Prayagraj super thermal power project, located in Bara tehsil in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh.
21) MP to launch `Lalima Abhiyan` to make state free from anaemia.
  • Minister for Women and Child Development Archana Chitnis launched Lalima Abhiyan, With an aim to make Madhya Pradesh anaemia-free, that will be effective from November 1.
  • Under the campaign, free iron folic acid tablets will be provided in aaganwadis`, academic institutions and hospitals.
22) Samajwadi Smart Phone Yojana: Uttar Pradesh.
  • Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav launched the `Samajwadi Smart Phone Yojana`, under which smartphones will be distributed among people in the state.
  • While the chief minister launched the official web portal where the public can register to avail of the scheme.
  • The scheme makes any Uttar Pradesh resident - above 18, Class X passout, and earning less than Rs. 6 lakh per year - eligible for the offer by registering online.
23) First-special-medals-for-indo-tibetan-border-police-canines-horses.
  • For the first time, four-legged `soldiers` who accompany troops in combat zones for sanitisation exercises and logistical tasks will be decorated with special medals instituted exclusively for them on lines of those given to troops.
  • An `Animal Transport` medal would be given to its work horse `Thonder bolt` and a `k9` medal to a femal dog ``sophia``.
24) The International Energy Agency (IAE) is going to partner with India to implement its Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA).
  • The UJALA scheme is implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Union Ministry of Power. 
  • UJALA scheme is LED-based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) that aims to promote efficient lighting, reducing energy consumption and energy savings. It was launched as National LED programme by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2015. It was renamed UJALA in March 2016.
25) The Union Government has extended anti-dumping duty on import of Chinese products.
  • Revenue department has extended anti-dumping duty on import of certain Chinese products, used in garment, footwear and toys manufacturing, for another five years i.e. till 2011.
  • Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has took this decision based on recommendations of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD).
26) SC widens ambit domestic violence Act, 2005.
  • In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court has widened the scope of the Domestic Violence Act by ordering deletion of the words ``adult male`` before the word `person` in Section 2(q) of the Act making it gender-neutral from it, paving the way for prosecution of women and even non-adults for subjecting a woman relative to violence and harassment.
27) Nirmala Sitharaman Launches Enhanced Foreign Trade Data Dashboard.
  • Commerce & Industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a new enhanced Dashboard on Foreign Trade Data.
  • An initiative of the ministry to provide easy access to the public with regard to India’s export, import and balance of trade data in an analytical format, over time and space.
 
28) Haryana government is planning to link the Public Distribution System (PDS) to Aadhar cards.
  • The Haryana government is planning to link the Public Distribution System (PDS) to Aadhar cards to make it corruption-free and inject transparency in the distribution of ration.
  • Those who registered in the ration card will be able to get ration only after marking biometric attendance.
29) Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav - 2016.
  • The ``Second Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM) - 2016`` will be held from 15 crore to 23rd October, 2016 in the premises of Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), Janpath, New Delhi.
30) Ministry of Railways signs MoU with Government of Odisha.
  • Ministry of Railways signed MoU with Government of Odisha For Cost Sharing of Two New Railway Line Projects in Odisha.
  • The two new line projects viz. Jeypore - Nabarangpur and Jeypore - Malkangiri was included by Indian Railways in the Railway budget 2016 - 17.