Current Affairs 14th December 2017

Current Affairs 14th December 2017 - Important Points

• Hotels, restaurants can sell bottled water above MRP stated  by Supreme Court on - 13th December 2017
• Amarnath Cave shrine declared  a Silent Zone by - NGT
• INS Kalvari, first Scorpene-class submarine commissioned into Indian Navy on - 14th November 2017
• Sri Lanka hands over Hambantota port to China on - 9th December 2017
• MoU signed between India and Morocco - for enhanced cooperation in healthcare

Current Affairs 14th December 2017 - Details

Hotels, restaurants can sell bottled water above MRP stated  by Supreme Court on - 13th December 2017

The Supreme Court on 13th December 2017 gave orders that hotels and restaurants are not bound by MRP in selling packed bottled water. Thus, hotels and restaurants can sell the packed bottled water more than MRP.
A bench led by Justice Rohinton F Nariman governed the provisions of Legal Metrology Act, 2009 will not be significant on hotels and restaurants selling packed water bottles and therefore, hotels cannot be put on trial for selling mineral water more than MRP.
The apex court noticed that selling packed water bottles is not a case of a simple sale because none of person goes to the hotel to buy a bottle of mineral water. There are composite factors of sale and service in hotels and restaurants wherein customers also enjoy the ambience formed by these commercial buildings. 
Did you know?
The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India against Delhi High Court orders which explained that hotels and restaurants in the NCR cannot sell packed water bottles mineral water more than MRP. 
Therefore, the Union Government released affidavit against FHRAI explaining that selling bottled mineral water more than MRP will allured monetary penalty and jail term for the management staff of restaurants, hotels and multiplexes according to Legal Metrology Act, 2009.

Amarnath Cave shrine declared  a Silent Zone by - NGT

In order to protect the eco-sensitive Amarnath cave, the National Green Tribunal announced it a silence zone and banned religious offerings such as hymns chanting and ringing bells near the entry point.
The Amarnath cave temple is located in the Himalayas in the state of J&K.
The NGT bench headed by chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar instructed that Amarnath Shrine Board should make it sure that adequate infrastructural solutions are given to the pilgrims so that they are not deprived of a sound and comfortable darshan, and the ecosystem of the area is not affected.

Important key points

• The NGT stated that nobody would be permitted to bring anything off the stairs towards the sacred cave and everybody should be properly examined at the entry gate.
• The green panel instructed the shrine board to withdraw the iron grills in front of the ice stalagmite similar to the Shiva Linga so that followers could get a better visibility of it.
   
• The NGT prohibited any personal material, including phones, after the last checkpoint. It instructed the shrine board to build a safe place for keeping devotees belongings.
• The green panel also instructed the committee of experts led by an additional secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to submit an action plan on giving facilities to the devotees within 3 weeks.
  Did you know?
• The NGT, In November this year, knocked the Amarnath Shrine Board for not giving proper facilities to pilgrims going to Amarnath.
• The green panel also questioned the Amarnath Shrine Board about non-compliance with the instructions issued by the Supreme Court in 2012 and asked the board about their what actions taken in following years.
• The bench instructed the experts committee to submit a details on providing a adequate path and announcing the cave shrine a silence zone

INS Kalvari, first Scorpene-class submarine commissioned into Indian Navy on - 14th November 2017

INS Kalvari, the 1st of the Scorpene-class submarines, was hired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14th December 2017.
The hiring ceremony was held at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, which was witnessed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and leading defence officers.
Key Highlights

• The war ship is the first of 6 such submarines that will be installed into the Indian Navy. It appears as a significant victory for the Make in India initiative.
• The submarines are being indigenously manufactured by the Mazagaon Dockyard Ltd in Mumbai under Project 75 in cooperation with French industrial group DCNS.
• Kalvari, a diesel-electric attack submarine, is recommended as India’s deadliest submarine and is supposed to bolster India’s maritime skills.
• The vessel had undergone around 120 days of extensive sea test and trails for different equipment’s.

Did you know?

• It is named after the 1st Foxtrot-class submarine Kalvari that was introduced into the Indian Navy on 8th December 1967.
• It was withdrawn on 31st May 1996 after almost 3 decades of service.

More about Scorpene-Class Submarines

• The submarines are outlined by French naval defence and energy company DCNS and are being assembled by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai.
• India selected the Scorpene blueprint in 2005, purchasing 6 submarines for US$3 billion under Project 75.
• The Scorpène class submarines have the ability to fire Exocet anti-ship missiles.
• India idea to include the DRDO-developed air independent propulsion system onto the previous 2 submarines being manufactured.

Sri Lanka hands over Hambantota port to China on - 9th December 2017

Sri Lanka on 9th December 2017 officially handed over the strategic southern port of Hambantota to China on a 99-year lease and got USD 292 million out of USD 1.12 billion contract signed between both the nations in July 2017.
2 Chinese firms Hambantota International Port Group and Hambantota International Port Services handled by the China Merchants Port Holdings Company and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority will retain the port and the investment areas around it. 

Important Highlights

• Hambantota as a major port in the Indian Ocean
• Hambantota will now be changed to a major port in the Indian Ocean. There will be an economic area and industrialisation in the zone will lead to economic progress and will promote tourism.
• The port is supposed to play an important role in China’s One Belt and One Road initiative, which will connect ports and roads between China and Europe.
• However, Sri Lanka elucidated that the port will not be utilized as a military base by any foreign nation. This comes as a relaxation for India’s security concerns over the Chinese navy’s existence in Sri Lanka.
• Hambantota Port: A Medium for Sri Lanka to pay off its debts .With this deal dubbed as a sell-out by the criticism and trade unions, Sri Lanka focuses to shed off the debts of USD 8 billion it owes to China.
• The USD 1.5 billion port was inaugurated in 2010, but was incurring losses because of lack of commercial actions.
• Sri Lanka, currently, decided to give 80% stake to the Chinese organizations. However, this triggered resistance by trade unions and opposition groups pressurising the government to bound China’s role to run commercial activities.
• After that, both the sides negotiated to redraw the agreement and signed a USD 1.12 billion agreement in July 2017 in which Sri Lanka sold 70% stake in the Hambantota port to China.

MoU signed between India and Morocco - for enhanced cooperation in healthcare

India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Morocco on 14th December 2017 to enable enhanced cooperation in the health areas.
The accordance was signed by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda and Morocco’s Health Minister, Abdelkader Amara in the presence of top officials from the Union Health Ministry and the visiting high- level commission from the North African country.
Talking on the occasion, J P Nadda told that both the countries share a strong and healthy traditional
relationship. He underlined that India is the manufacturer of quality generic medicines and drugs that are exported to approximately 200 countries and has a powerful public health system observed through National Health Mission.
The MoU will facilitate both the countries work together in recognized areas of cooperation as there is a lot that each can provide to the other in the area of health.
Following are the main areas of cooperation:

• Non-communicable diseases, for example child cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
• Drug Regulation and Pharmaceutical Quality Control.
• Communicable Diseases.
• Maternal, child and neonatal health.
• Hospital twinning for the interchange of good practices.
• Training in administration and management of health facilities and Hospitals.
• Apart from this, another MoU was signed between India’s Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry and Morocco’s Marrakech Mohamed VI University Hospital in the presence of both the Politicians.
• Under the accordance, both the Institutes agreed to cooperate in the field of telemedicine with main aimed areas being Tele-Health Care, technical support in controlling epidemics, Health Education and help in rendering the 2nd opinion on different complicated cases.