Latest Current Affairs – July 11 2018
1. Croatia beat England to reach World Cup final for 1st time
Croatia defeated England 2-1 after extra time in the second semi-final to reach FIFA World Cup final for the first time in history. England have now failed to reach the World Cup final in every edition they have played since winning the quadrennial tournament in 1966. Croatia will face 1998 champions France in the summit clash.
2. Internet to remain free, fair: Govt approves net neutrality
Access to internet will remain unrestricted and non-discriminatory, as the Indian government approved net neutrality. Net neutrality implies that telecom service providers must treat all internet traffic equally, without any regard to the type, origin or destination of the content. No internet access service provider can block, degrade, slow down or grant preferential speeds to particular content.
3. BSNL becomes India’s 1st network to launch ‘internet telephony’
BSNL became the country’s first telephone network to launch ‘internet telephony’ service, which makes landline work like mobile. BSNL users will be able to call on any network’s number by installing BSNL’s app ‘Wings’ on their devices including smartphone, tablet or laptop. Until now, phone calls on mobile apps were possible only within users of a particular app.
4. Delhi’s black carbon pollution 5 times more than US: Study
A study by UK’s University of Surrey has revealed average black carbon concentration on roads in New Delhi was up to five times higher compared to Europe or North America. Black carbon is produced by carbon-rich fuels like petrol and diesel. The study also found that Asian residents are exposed to nine times more air pollution than their Western counterparts.
5. WhatsApp launches ‘forward label’ feature for texts globally
Facebook-owned WhatsApp has launched a ‘forward label’ feature which will highlight the forwarded messages on the platform. The feature will help users in determining that the sender is not the creator of the message. The move is part of WhatsApp’s efforts to prevent the spreading of fake messages that prompted many mob lynching cases in India.
6. India world’s 6th largest economy, surpasses France: World Bank
India is the sixth largest economy in the world, with a GDP of $2.59 trillion in 2017, according to a recent World Bank report. India surpassed France and is behind the US, China, Japan, Germany and the UK. Further, the World Bank estimated the Indian economy to grow by 7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% in the next two years.
7. WHO classifies sex addiction as mental illness
Sex addiction has been recognised as a mental health disorder by the World Health Organisation in its International Classification of Diseases list. A person is addicted when they have a “persistent pattern of failure to control intense, repetitive sexual impulses or urges resulting in repetitive sexual behaviour”, WHO stated. Earlier, WHO declared gaming addiction as a mental health disorder.
8. Himachal CM announces ₹1.55-crore cow sanctuary project
Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur announced a ₹1.55-crore project to set up a cow sanctuary at Kotla Barog. Unlike gaushalas where the animals are kept indoors and fed in-house, the animals will be free to roam in the fenced area meant to keep a fixed number of cows. The move aims to solve the problem of stray cattle.
9. Indian Navy aircraft joins world’s largest naval exercise
In a first, Indian Navy’s P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft has been inducted at Hawaii for participating in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, which is the world’s largest international maritime exercise. As many as 26 countries will take part in the drill this year and will undertake tactical exercises, including anti-submarine warfare and maritime reconnaissance missions.
10. Farming in India has been unprofitable for 2 decades: Study
India’s agriculture hasn’t been able to generate enough revenues to keep the farmers profitable for nearly two decades, a study by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and research firm ICRIER has found. According to the study, India is one of three countries where this has happened. Keeping food prices low is the main reason, the study said.
11. Annual Conference of Intraocular Implant & Refractive Society of India
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu addressed the Conference of Intra-ocular Implant & Refractive Society of India, in Chennai. Inaugurating the Indian Intraocular Implant and Refractive Surgery Convention-2018, he said the younger generation in the country was being affected by various eye problems.
Noting that one-third of 45 million blind people in the world were from India, he said as the studies warn that the number of blind people was set to triple, it was time for ophthalmologists to look in to the concept of artificial intelligence.
12. Indian Railways to start Shri Ramayana express from November 14
The Indian Railways is planning to start a special train, ‘Shri Ramayana Express’, which will cover important destinations related to the epic in a 16-days journey in the month of November. The train will begin its journey from Delhi’s Safdarjung railway station on November 14, 2018.
The tour will be spread across India as well as Sri Lanka. The cost of the trip will be Rs.15,120 per person, which will cover all meals, accommodation, wash and change facilities in Dharmashalas, all transfers, sightseeing arrangements and a dedicated tour manager.
13. FSSAI started The Eat Right Movement
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has unveiled ‘The Eat Right Movement’. It is built on two broad pillars of ‘Eat Healthy’ and ‘Eat Safe’.
It aims at engaging and enabling citizens to improve their health and well-being by making the right food choices and to cut down salt/sugar and oil consumption by 30% in three years.
FSSAI CEO Pawan Agarwal said the movement can grow organically as a self-perpetuating movement, co-owned and co-led by various partners using the broad framework and resources put together by professionals and experts in the field of food and nutrition.
14. Western ghats is marked as the fourth best tourist spot by Lonely Planet
The Western Ghats, one of India’s Hottest Biodiversity Hotspots and UNESCO World Heritage site, has been marked fourth in the Lonely Planet’s top five ‘2018 Best in Asia’ list.
Older than the Himalayas and well known for its rich and unique flora and fauna, the Western Ghats supports the life of 7,402 species of flowering plants, 1814 species of non-flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species, 179 amphibian species, 6000 insects species and 290 freshwater fish species.
One of the flowering plant species, Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) which blooms once every 12 years and has started to bloom in the famed hill station of Munnar, has been mentioned in the report.
15. Rajasthan government signed MoU with Microsoft
Rajasthan government signed a MoU with Microsoft to provide digital training to 9,500 students of government colleges. It will also train 500 faculty members.
The initiative is to enhance the youths’ employability and empower them with technical education and to improve the standards of digital literacy in Rajasthan.
16. India and South Korea signed MoUs and pledged to double trade
India and South Korea signed MoUs and agreements and vowed to more than double trade in the next decade. The MoUs included a statement on expanding the 2010 Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and a joint vision statement that committed to more military exchanges and enhancing defence projects together.
The two countries agreed to try to increase their bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030, up from current levels of $20 billion.
India and South Korea have also agreed to cooperate on a “tripartite” basis in development assistance in third countries, beginning with a project in Afghanistan.
17. World Population Day celebrated on 11th July
Every year, July 11, is celebrated as World Population Day, to raise awareness about global population-related issues. The theme for 2018 World Population Day is ‘Family Planning is a Human Right’.
This day was celebrated for the first time in the year 1989.
According to the United Nations World Population Day webpage, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1968 International Conference on Human Rights, where family planning was, for the first time, globally affirmed to be a human right.
18. UN Security Council adopts Resolution 2427 to protect children in armed conflict
The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution aimed at a framework for mainstreaming protection, rights, well-being and empowerment of children throughout the conflict cycle.
Resolution 2427, which won unanimous approval of the 15 members of the council, strongly condemns the recruitment and use of children by parties to armed conflict as well as their re-recruitment, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and abductions.
19. Global Innovation Index (GII): India ranks 57th
India was ranked 57th in the latest Global Innovation Index (GII) rankings released in New York. India was ranked 60th in the year 2017 which shows that it has been constantly climbing up its GII rankings since 2015.
On the global front, Switzerland maintained its number one position in the Global Innovation Index rankings. Other countries that fell in the top 10 list were Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, the US, Finland, Denmark, and Germany.
China, scored the rank 17th rank this year, which is an upgrade from the previous 44th rank in 2017.
20. India, Rwanda sign MoU for promoting inter-parliamentary dialogue
For the first time, the Rajya Sabha signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its counterpart in a foreign country, Rwanda, for promoting inter-parliamentary dialogue.
Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu became the first Rajya Sabha chairman to sign such an agreement when he inked the MoU with the visiting President of the Senate of the Republic of Rwanda, Bernard Makuza.
The MoU, with six articles of cooperation, seeks to promote inter-parliamentary dialogue, capacity building of the parliamentary staff, organisation of conferences, forums, seminars, staff-attachment programmes, workshops and exchanges.
