Daily GK Updates - 27th September, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  President Kovind clears ordinance to set up a committee to run Medical Council of India : President Ram Nath Kovind has given assent to promulgate an Ordinance to set up a committee to run the Medical Council of India (MCI) until Parliament passes legislation to replace the body with a new commission.The notification also stated that until a new council was reconstructed board would be constituted to take over the functioning of MCI.Earlier, the union cabinet cleared the Ordinance.

2. Cabinet approves National Digital Communication Policy : The union cabinet has approved the National Digital Communication Policy 2018 which aims to provide universal broadband connectivity at 50 megabit per second (MBPS) to every citizen.It will also provide one Gbps connectivity to all Gram Panchayats by 2020 and 10 Gbps by 2022.This estimated speed is much faster than the present speed being provided to Gram Panchayats and will enable fast Internet surfing and download of data.

3. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates ‘Lok Manthan 2018’ in Ranchi : Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated a national literary and intellectual conference ‘Lok Manthan 2018’ at Khel Gaon in Ranchi.This four-day event is being organized by the Department of Culture of Jharkhand Government in association with an NGO to have discussions on present social and cultural issues facing the country.

4.  Vice president M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates Smart City Expo India-2018:

Vice president M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated three days long ‘Smart City Expo India-2018’ in Jaipur, Rajasthan.The object of this expo is to have discussions among different experts and groups to utilize benefits of new technology, town planning, capacity management, challenges before socio-economic development and development of networking in the Smart City sector.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. The World Tourism Day being observed today : The World Tourism Day (WTD) is being observed annually on 27th September (since-1980) to raise awareness about the importance of tourism.The purpose of this day is to raise awareness of the role of tourism within the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide.The theme of 2018 is ‘Tourism and the Digital Transformation’.

2.  27th September: World Maritime Day  : The World Maritime Day is being observed across the world on 27th September (last Thursday of September) to highlight the importance of shipping safety and maritime security.The theme of 2018 is ‘IMO 70: Our Heritage – Better Shipping for a Better Future’.

3.  Narendra Modi & Emmanuel Macron get UN Champions of the Earth Award : Prime Minister Narendra Modi awarded with the prestigious UN's (United Nations) Highest Environmental Award for championing the International Solar Alliance.According to UN Environment, Mr. Modi and Emmanuel Macron (French President) have been awarded in the Policy Leadership category, for their efforts regarding their International Solar Alliance.The award also recognizes the efforts for promoting new areas of co-operation on environmental action.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Govt. increases customs duties on 19 items : The union government has increased Custom Duty on 19 items, including jet fuel, ACs and refrigerators to curb imports of non-essential goods (operational since midnight).The total value of imports of these items in the year 2017-18 was about 86 thousand Crore rupees.The government has also announced an import duty of 5% on aviation turbine fuel (earlier it was nil).Curbing non-essential imports is part of the five-pronged steps announced by the government to check to widen the Current Account Deficit and capital outflows.

DEFENCE:

1.  IAF successfully test-fires air-to-air ‘Astra’ missile : The indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) ‘Astra’ has successfully test-fired by the Indian Air Force from Su-30 aircraft Air Force Station, Kalaikunda in West Bengal.Astra is the best in class weapon system and has undergone more than twenty developmental trials.This effort for building a state-of-the-art BVRAAM by Defence Research and Development Organisation together with IAF completed the development phase of the weapon system successfully.