Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Quick Gyan (QG) Section of D2G. QG is just a glimpse of what happened today all over the world.
Only For Serious Candidates : We strongly recommend you to read the Current Affairs in detail. For your convenience, we have provided quick links under the updates. Make use of it.
Always Keep Yourself Updated!!!
APPOINTMENTS
BS Chauhan appointed Law Commission Chairman
After a delay of more than six months, the government has appointed ex-judge of Supreme Court BS Chauhan as the chairperson of the 21st Law Commission. The post has been lying vacant since last September when the commission was constituted. Law Minister Sadananda Gowda had said that the ministry will appoint the chairperson by the end of this week. One of the key issues before the law panel is a call on amending the Indian Penal Code amid allegations of abuse and arbitrary use of the law.
Quick Link – BS Chauhan as chairperson of Law Commission
INDIAN AFFAIRS
Mumbai and Bangalore among cheapest cities in world: EIU
According to a top London-based forecast group, Mumbai and Bangalore are among the cheapest cities in the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Singapore as the priciest ahead of Zurich, Hong Kong, Geneva and Paris. The EIU also said India and Pakistan accounted for five of the 10 least expensive cities in the world. London was sixth and New York seventh on the list that compares the cost of a basket of goods across 133 cities. The cheapest were Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, followed by Bangalore and Mumbai. The expense of cities are tabled by comparing them to the cost of living in New York. Although Singapore was the most expensive, the cost of living there was 10 % cheaper when compared to New York than was the case in the EIU survey a year ago.
Quick Link – Cheapest cities in world
Uber opens Asia’s first engineering hub in India
Ridesharing services provider Uber has opened its first Asian engineering centre in Bengaluru. The centre will house software engineers, product developers and others working initially on problems specific to users in India. The centre will eventually play a role in improving Uber’s customer-facing technologies worldwide. Worldwide, Uber has about a 1,000 engineers spread over nine engineering centres. The engineering centre in Bangalore is different from the Centre of Excellence (CoE) the company opened in Hyderabad which deals with operations and provides multi-channel support via email, phone and social media to ensure seamless experience before, during and after a ride.
Quick Link – First engineering hub
Real Estate Bill passed in Rajya Sabha
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015, which intends to protect home buyers, bring in transparency and plug the flow of unaccounted money into the sector, was passed by Rajya Sabha. The Bill provides that 70 per cent of sale proceeds will have to be kept aside by the developer in an escrow account and it can be utilised for land cost and construction of the related project. An escrow is a financial instrument held by a third party on behalf of the other two parties in a transaction. It, therefore, provides greater certainty to buyers that the money they pay to the developer will be utilised for development of the project where they have bought houses.
Quick Link – Real Estate Bill passed
Cabinet approves ratification of BIMSTEC Convention
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing and ratification of the Bay of Bengal Initiative on Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters. The Ministry of Home Affairs has been designated as the Central Authority under Article 15 of the Convention. The BIMSTEC comprises of seven countries viz., Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The establishment of regional arrangements for mutual assistance in criminal matters will greatly contribute to more effective cooperation in the control of criminal activities.
Quick Link – BIMSTEC
Government clears proposal to amend NMDR Act
Government of India has cleared a proposal to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act, 1957) to allow transfer of captive mining leases not granted through auction. The move is aimed at allowing mergers and acquisitions of companies and facilitating banks and financial institutions to liquidate stressed assets where a company or its captive mining lease is mortgaged. The amendment will allow transfer of captive mining leases not granted through auction. The transfer provisions will facilitate banks and financial institutions to liquidate stressed assets where a company or its captive mining lease is mortgaged.
Quick Link – NMDR Act
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
World Kidney Day – March 10 in 2016
World Kidney Day is observed annually on the Second Thursday in March. World Kidney Day is a joint initiative of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF). World Kidney Day is a global health awareness campaign focusing on the importance of the kidneys and reducing the frequency and impact of kidney disease and its associated health problems worldwide. The blood flow in kidneys is higher than the blood flow in heart, liver and brain. Inside each kidney are right around a million nephrons. These are tiny filters that catch all of the stuff going through your blood. All of the waste from your blood goes out into your urine.
Quick Link – World Kidney Day
FOREIGN RELATIONS
MoU signed between India and UAE on Cyber Space
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its ex-post approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Technical Cooperation in Cyber Space and Combating Cyber-Crime signed last month. This agreement would provide help in handling of the issues related to the cyber-crime between the two countries. Both the countries shall cooperate in cyber space and combating cyber-crime in all forms, particularly through coordination and exchange of information in relation with cyber crime, cooperation and training in cyber-crime investigation, etc. between India and UAE.
Quick Link – India and UAE on Cyber Space
MoU b/w India & IMF for setting up of SARTTAC
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for entering into the MoU between India and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for setting up of South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC). The center will be set up in India by the IMF. The cabinet also authorised the Finance Minister to approve related decisions in respect of India’s contribution for setting up of the centre. The SARTTAC will be a collaborative venture between the IMF, the member countries that is Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Additional member countries could join SARTTAC at a later stage. SARTTAC will also selectively cater to the capacity building needs at the State level, especially in India.
Quick Link – SARTTAC
MoU between India and Bahrain on Cooperation for Prevention of Human Trafficking
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bahrain on cooperation for prevention of human trafficking especially trafficking in women and children; rescue, recovery, repatriation and re-integration of victims of trafficking. This MoU will strengthen the bonds of friendship between the two countries and increase the bilateral cooperation on the issues of prevention, rescue, recovery and repatriation related to human trafficking especially women and children expeditiously. The MoU is expected to be signed during the Home Ministers upcoming visit to Bahrain in the first week of April 2016.
Quick Link – Prevention of Human Trafficking
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
India to launch 25 Foreign satellites this year
India will launch 25 foreign satellites belonging to seven countries, with the USA topping the list in 2016-17. In written response to a question, Jitendra Singh, minister of state in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) which looks after the department of space, said till date 57 foreign satellites from 21 countries have been launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
He said Antrix – the commercial arm of ISRO – has signed agreements with Algeria and Canada for launching three satellites each, four for Germany, one each for Japan and Malaysia and 12 for the USA in 2016-17.
Quick Link – 25 Foreign satellites
Thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂
