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  • Current Affairs 24th May 2017

    Updated : 24-May-2017

    Current Affairs 24th May 2017 - Important Points

    • MoU signed between US, six Gulf countries to curb - Financing terror organisations
    •  UN releases the First draft of -  Nuclear Ban Treaty
    • PM Narendra Modi calls for creation of Asia-Africa growth corridor for - Development of Africa
    •  ISRO and NASA collaborate to build - Earth-imaging satellite NISAR
    • Seventieth World Health Assembly kicks off in - Geneva
    • Union Government launches SEVA mobile app for - Quick tracking of coal dispatch
    • NGT demands for data on trees in eco-sensitive zone near - Taj Mahal
    • US asks citizens to postpone non-essential travel to - Pakistan
    • Payments Bank launched - Paytm
    • Entertainment, cable, DTH to attract lower taxes under - GST

    Current Affairs 24th May 2017 - Details

    MoU signed between US, six Gulf countries to curb - Financing terror organisations

    The United States and six Gulf countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to curb financing terror organisations like Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, Hizbollah, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Taliban and the Haqqani Network on 23rd May 2017. US and six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Riyadh signed this MoU.

    Key Highlights

    • Six Gulf Countries signing the MoU are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
    • The Terrorist Financing Targeting Centers will increase existing tools and cooperation with partners in the Gulf to forcefully address evolving threats.
    • This collaboration will also address a host of other transnational threats rising throughout the Middle East, including from Iran, the Assad regime and the situation in Yemen.
    • These seven countries will identify, track and share information regarding terrorist financial networks and related activity of mutual concern.

     UN releases the First draft of -  Nuclear Ban Treaty

    The United Nations released the first draft of the nuclear ban treaty  on 22nd May 2017 that would legally prohibit the possession of nuclear weapons, in the face of strong opposition from all the nuclear-armed states including the United States.

    Costa Rican UN ambassador Elayne Whyte Gomez released the draft in Geneva, who is leading the UN conference negotiating the ban. It condemns the use of nuclear weapons as a violation of the international humanitarian law.

    Important Highlights

    • The draft requires all the nations to make every effort to prevent the use of nuclear weapons in future.
    • It would also require the states to make a pledge to never use the weapons and also to never develop, possess, stockpile, transfer, produce, acquire, or test them.
    • The states possessing the weapons would be requested to destroy them under the treaty.
    • This draft also rejects the concept of nuclear deterrence promoted by nuclear-armed countries. 
    • The next round of negotiations on the treaty is scheduled on 15th June 2017 in New York.

    PM Narendra Modi calls for creation of Asia-Africa growth corridor for - Development of Africa

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for the creation of an Asia-Africa growth corridor for the development of Africa on 23rd May 2017. Modi called for the creation of this corridor while inaugurating the 52nd Annual Meeting of African Development Bank (AfDB) at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat with the theme ‘Transforming Agriculture for wealth creation in Africa’.

    The meeting of African Development Bank is a five-day event that will witness about 3,000 delegates from 81 participating countries. While inaugurating the Annual General Meeting of the African Development Bank, he said that India is the fifth largest investor in Africa and during last 20 years it has invested $54 billion. He said India is working with the United Nations and Japan to support Africa.

    Important Highlights Annual Meeting of African Development Bank (AfDB)

    • The main focus of the meeting will be on achieving sustainable growth with High 5s- strategy that includes agriculture, energy, industrialisation, and regional connectivity as well as improved quality of life.
    • This is the first time that African Development Bank is holding its annual meeting in India with a view to bolster ties.
    • Prime Minister Modi also praised African countries for their response to the solar alliance initiative that was taken during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change.

     ISRO and NASA collaborate to build - Earth-imaging satellite NISAR

    The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have collaborated to build a satellite called NISAR. The satellite will help scientists to monitor the Earth like never before. The expanded form of NISAR is NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar,scheduled to be launched in 2021. The estimated cost of the radar is more than 1.5 billion dollars and it could possibly be the world’s most expensive Earth imaging satellite. Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator, and K Radhakrishnan, Chairman ISRO, signed two documents to launch the NASA-ISRO satellite mission in a meeting in Toronto. The mission aims to observe Earth and establish a pathway for future joint missions for Mars exploration.

    Important highlights of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar

    • NISAR will provide an unmatched detailed view of Earth by using advanced radar imaging.
    • Under the agreement terms, NASA will provide the mission's L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR), a high-rate communication subsystem for  GPS receivers, a solid state recorder, science data, and a payload data subsystem. 
    • The ISRO will be providing the satellite bus, an S-band synthetic aperture radar, the launch vehicle and associated launch services.
    • The satellite design will make use of a large deployable mesh antenna and will operate on dual L band and S band.
    • Satellite will be 3-axis stabilised and is planned to be launched into a Sun-synchronous dawn to dusk orbit with a mission life of 3 years.

    Seventieth World Health Assembly kicks off in - Geneva

    The 70th World Health Assembly (WHA) opened on 22nd May 2017 at Geneva-based UN headquarters in Switzerland. The World Health Assembly is the main decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).

    Main agenda of the 70th World Health Assembly

    • The Member States of the WHA will elect a new Director-General, who will take charge of the office for a five-year term from 1st July 2017 onwards.
    • The three nominees for the position are Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia, Dr David Nabarro of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Dr Sania Nishtar of Pakistan. They will each address the Health Assembly for 15 minutes on 23rd May 2017.
    • The election will take place by secret ballot and its result will be communicated once the process gets completed.
    • The delegates will also approve the WHO’s programme budget for 2018-19 and discuss a wide range of health-related issues.
    • Decisions related to WHO’s response to the International Health Regulations, health emergencies, and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness will also be made.
    • The WHA will also examine a number of topics related to non-communicable diseases like dementia, cancer.
    • It will also look over the preparations for the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on NCDs to be held in September 2018. 

    Union Government launches SEVA mobile app for - Quick tracking of coal dispatch

    Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal launched mobile app Saral Eindhan Vitaran App (SEVA) for quick tracking of coal dispatch on 23rd May 2017. This unique monitoring app was a joint initiative of the Union Ministry of Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy and Coal India Limited.

    Major Highlights of Saral Eindhan Vitaran App (SEVA) app

    • The app will be providing complete information of departmental functioning and transparency to the public.
    • It will be tracking coal dispatch to 118 power plants through fuel supply agreement (FSA) of around 500 MT.
    • Also, the dispatch through Special Forward E-Auction and Bridge Linkage from more than 200 dispatch points spread over eight states of the country will also be monitored.
    • It will provide coal dispatch quantity summary along with grades for the given day, month, and the latest yearly updates.
    • It will also be providing information on rake movement including latest status of indents of rake, allotment and loading which will help consumers making advance logistics planning.
    • Much of the information on the SEVA dashboard will be available in open access, however data specific to consumers would be password protected on the SEVA Dashboard.
    • The app has a dedicated backend team to monitor the status of specific consumers grievances and take action on the feedback received on the app.
    • It will, in turn, lead to rationalization of coal linkages and reduction in the power prices in the country.

    NGT demands for data on trees in eco-sensitive zone near - Taj Mahal

    The National Green Tribunal has ordered the Divisional Commissioner of Agra to provide information of planted trees in the eco-sensitive zone near the historic monument, Taj Mahal. A bench led by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar gave this directive. The bench has given the officer three weeks to provide the necessary data, in order to support MC Mehta, the local commissioner to investigate the illegal cutting and sale of around 4000 trees in the area.

    Important Details

    • The panel has also directed Mehta to submit his final report on the truth behind the allegations before 10th July.
    • The panel had directed an inquiry into the alleged falling and sale of trees in the sensitive zone after coming across a media report on the same.
    • It had immediately issued a notice to Uttar Pradesh state government and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).
    • According to the media report, a former Agra Divisional Forest Officer had allegedly cut 8,000 trees in Babarpur and around 4,000 trees in 500-metre-radius of the Taj Mahal, which is Taj Trapezium Zone.

    US asks citizens to postpone non-essential travel to - Pakistan

    The United States of America in a travel advisory issued on 22nd May 2017 has asked its citizens to postpone all their non-essential travels to Pakistan. The advisory, issued by the US Department of State, stated that Pakistan continues to experience significant terrorist violence including sectarian attacks and targeted attacks against government officials, humanitarian and non-governmental organization (NGO) employees, tribal elders, and law enforcement personnel are common there. It further added that evidences show that some victims of terrorist activity have been targeted because they were US citizens.

    Key highlights from the Advisory

    • As a result of the security issues, the consular services provided by the American Embassy in Islamabad, the Consulate General in Karachi and the Consulate General in Lahore will going to be limited.
    • The Consulate General in Peshawar won't be providing consular services.
    • The advisory states that they should vary their travel route and timing especially while taking routine trips and also minimise the duration spent in public places, government and military institutions.
    • The advisory has also warned Americans from assembling in large numbers at any location at any time and also avoiding hotels with less security measures.
    • The second decision in less than 45 days, comes because of the increased and continued terror threat in the country.
    •  In fact, the state department referred to the earlier advisory issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 30th December 2016.

    Payments Bank launched - Paytm

    Digital payment wallet service Paytm launched its Payments Bank operations by launching its first physical branch in Noida on 23rd May 2017. Paytm Payments Bank will be the first bank in the country to offer cashback on deposits. The bank will now be expanded to 31 branches and 3000 customer service centres in the first year.

    Interested Highlights

    • As a Payments Bank, Paytm will be accepting deposits up to Rs 1 lakh per customer in savings or current accounts.
    • Customers will also be offered zero charges on all online transactions and there is no minimum balance requirement.
    • For Savings Accounts, it will offer an interest of 4 percent per annum in line with the interest rates of all leading commercial banks.
    • It will also offer current accounts to its millions of merchants.
    • It will offer Rs 250 cashback to customers depositing Rs 25000 in account.
    • It will also offer other services like Debit Cards, Online Banking and Mobile Banking.
    • It cannot offer financial products of its own, but can partner with other banks to offer such services.

     Entertainment, cable, DTH to attract lower taxes under - GST

    The Union Finance Ministry announced that the taxation on entertainment, cable and DTH services will come down under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime on 23rd May 2017. 

    Important Details

    • Under GST, the Entertainment Tax has been included and hence only the taxes levied by a Panchayat or Municipality on entertainments and amusements will continue.
    • The Entertainment Services like events or cinematography films in cinema theatres will attract 28 percent GST with effect from 1st July 2017.
    • Cable TV and Direct-To-Home (DTH) services will attract 18 percent GST.
    • With regard to circus, theatre, Indian classical dance including folk dance and drama, the GST rate is 18 percent.
    • The GST Council also approved an exemption up to a consideration for admission of Rs 250 per person.