Current Affairs 4th May 2017

Current Affairs 4th May 2017 - Important Points

• IBBI constitutes Technical Committee to lay down Technical Standards for - Performance of core services
• National Steel Policy 2017 approved by - Union Cabinet
• Central Sector Scheme SAMPADA approved by - CCEA
• Cooperation between Indian and Japan on Railway Safety approved by - Union Cabinet
• The Highway Saga & SRISHTI exhibitions inaugerated by - Gadkari

Current Affairs 4th May 2017 - Details

IBBI constitutes Technical Committee to lay down Technical Standards for - Performance of core services

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) constituted a Technical Committee to lay down technical standards for performance of core services in accordance with Regulation 14 of the IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations on 4th May 2017. RB Barman will be heading the committee, Chairman of National Statistical Commission.

The Committee will give its recommendation for laying down Technical Standards for the performance of core services and other  services under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India Regulations, 2017. It will be asked to give recommendations on the following matters:

• Application programming interface
• Risk management framework
• Porting of information
• Exchange or transfer of information between information utilities
• Inter-operability among information utilities
• Preservation of information
• Purging of information
• Registration of users
• Submission of information
• Identification and verification of persons
• Authentication of information
• Verification of information
• Data integrity
• Standard terms of service
• Consent framework for providing access to information to third parties
• Security of the system
• Security of information
• Unique identifier for each record and each user

 National Steel Policy 2017 approved by - Union Cabinet

The Union Cabinet, presided by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017 on 3rd May 2017. It aims to enhance domestic steel consumption and ensure high quality steel production and create a technologically advanced and globally competitive steel industry.

Key features 

• Creating self-sufficiency in steel production by providing policy support & guidance to private manufacturers, MSME steel producers, CPSEs.
• Encouraging adequate capacity additions.
• Developing of globally competitive steel manufacturing capabilities.
• Cost-efficient production.
• Domestic availability of iron ore, cooking coal and natural gas.
• Encouraging foreign investment                  
• Raw materials asset acquisitions.
• Increasing the domestic steel demand
• The NSP 2017 focuses to achieve 300 million tonnes of steel-making capacity by 2030.

 Central Sector Scheme SAMPADA approved by - CCEA

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the re-structuring the schemes of Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under Central Sector Scheme SAMPADA on 3rd May 2017.

SAMPADA stands for 'Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters'. SAMPADA aims to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease agri-waste. The scheme is approved for the period 2016- 2020.

Highlights of SAMPADA

• SAMPADA, with an allocation of Rs 6000 crore, is expected to leverage investment of Rs 31400 crore and will handle 334 lakh MT agro-produce valuing of Rs 104125 crore.
• It will benefit 20 lakh farmers and will generate 530500 direct and indirect employment in the country by the year 2019-20.
• SAMPADA is an umbrella scheme incorporating ongoing schemes of the Ministry like Mega Food Parks, Food Safety, Quality Assurance Infrastructure,Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters and Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages.
• These schemes aim at development of modern infrastructure to encourage entrepreneurs to set up food processing units based on cluster approach, provide effective and seamless backward and forward integration for processed food industry.
• It will result in modern infrastructure creation with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet. 
• It will also help in reducing wastage of agricultural produce, enhancing the processing level, availability of safe and convenient processed foods at affordable price to consumers.
• It will increase the export of the processed foods.

Cooperation between Indian and Japan on Railway Safety approved by - Union Cabinet

The Union Cabinet, presided by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its ex-post facto approval to the signing the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Japan on Railway Safety on 3rd May 2017. The MoC was signed in February 2017.

The MoC also provides a platform for Indian Railways to interact and share the latest development and knowledge in railway sector.

Important highlights of the MoC:

• Safety of Track
• Latest technology for railway track safety
• Rolling of stock safety
• This Cooperation under MoC will involve:
• Experts dispatch.
• core staff training in Japan
• Information and best practices Sharing

The Highway Saga & SRISHTI exhibitions inaugerated by - Gadkari

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated two exhibitions, ‘The Highway Saga: Past Present & Future’ and ‘Safe Road & Inter-State Highways Transforming India (SRISHTI)’ on 3rd May 2017 at the Vigyan Bhawan Lawns in New Delhi. 

More about the Highway Saga exhibition

• It depicts the evolution of road transport in India. The pavilion is divided into three sections – the past, present and future.
• Each of the sections displays the mode of transportation used during the time, starting right from the transportation the used during the Indus Valley Civilization to the current times.
• Some of the exhibits include the famous Bhatan Tunnel of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and live models of instruments used for road construction in the past.
• The present section has on display the best of the roadways & highways constructed in India in form of hoardings including the Golden Quadrilateral, National Highway 44 and some other unique highways.
• The highlight of the present section is the Google maps of three regions that display the development of roadways over time, rising traffic congestion and building of roads to ease the jam.
• The future section displays upcoming projects including Hyper Loop, Passenger Rapid Transit and Amphibian Buses.
• The exhibit also includes a live display of LIDAR instruments that are used for road development.
• It is an interactive pavilion that focuses to enhance the visitor’s awareness of road safety issues.
• It is designed in form of a maze and visitor are expected to negotiate through it using road signs.

4000-year-old model garden outside Egypt tomb discovered by - Archaeologists 

A group of archaeologists discovered the remains of a nearly 4000 year old model garden outside a tomb in the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes known as Luxor. The discovery was announced by Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry said on 3rd May 2017. Spanish team in the Draa Abul Nagaa necropolis across the Nile from the modern-day city of Luxor made this dicovery.

Vital Information

• The garden was discovered during an excavation of an open courtyard outside a middle kingdom tomb.
• This small rectangular garden is divided into square boxes of 30 cm each.
• Two elevated spots were found in the garden for the tree plantation.
• Thebes, located at the east of the nile , was an ancient Egyptian city.