Today's Current Affairs: 12th July 2018

National Affairs 

1. PM Modi inaugurates new headquarter building of ASI in New Delhi

• Prime Minister ‘Narendra Modi’ has inaugurated the new Headquarter building of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at Tilak Marg in New Delhi.
• The new building is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including energy-efficient lighting and rainwater harvesting.
• It will include a Central Archaeological Library with a collection of about one lakh 50 thousand books and journals.

Note:

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is a Government of India (Ministry of Culture) organisation responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural monuments in the country.
• It was founded in 1861 by the British Raj.
• The ASI is divided into a total of 27 circles each headed by a Superintending Archaeologist.

2. Internet to remain free and fair in India as Govt approves Net Neutrality

• According to the Telecom Commission (TC) Chairman Aruna Sundararajan, The Commission has approved net neutrality rules that bar service providers from discriminating against Internet content and services by blocking, throttling them higher speed access.
• The meeting that some critical applications or services like remote surgery and autonomous cars will be kept out of the purview of net neutrality framework.  
• Telecom Commission has also approved the new Telecom policy ‘National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018’ and will now seek the Cabinet's approval.

Note:

• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended restrictions on service providers from entering into agreements which lead to discriminatory treatment of content on the Internet.
• The Department of Telecom will also set-up a multi-stakeholder body for monitoring and enforcement of net neutrality comprising government representatives, telecom operators, civil society members and others.

3. India’s first private UAV factory to come up in Kota

• India’s first private sector unit for manufacturing Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) and light bulletproof vehicles (LBPV) will be set up by DCM Shriram Industries Group on the campus of Shriram Rayons in Kota, Rajasthan.
• The new defence unit is being set up under ‘Make in India’ initiative of the union government.

4. BSNL launches India’s 1st Internet Telephony Service to enable Making Calls Without SIM

• Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) unveiled the country’s first internet telephony service that will allow users to dial any telephone number in India through its mobile app.
• Now, BSNL customers will be able to make calls using the company’s mobile app “Wings” to any phone number in the country.
• Using this service, BSNL customers will be able to make calls on any network in the country even by using BSNL wi-fi or any other service provider.

5. Global Innovation Index ranks India the 57th most innovative nation

• The Global Innovation Index (GII-2018) has ranked India as the 57th most innovative nation among 130 countries.
• Since 2011, Switzerland has been ranked at the top every year.
• Global Innovation Index is a leading benchmarking tool for business executives, policymakers and others seeking insight into the state of innovation around the world.
• India is a top performer in the lower middle-income group, where it is ranked at fifth position.

Note:

• The GII is being developed jointly by Cornell University, the Paris-based business school Insead and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva.

Obituaries

6. Spiritual leader Dada JP Vaswani passes away in Pune

• Spiritual leader and head of Sadhu Vaswani mission Dada JP Vaswani(99-year) passed away in Pune.
• Dada JP Vaswani was a universally acclaimed humanitarian, philosopher, educator, writer, a powerful orator, messiah of non-violence, and non-sectarian spiritual leader.
• Dada Vaswani's birthday (2nd August) is celebrated as a Global Forgiveness Day.
• Vaswani had authored more than 150 self-help books and a recipient of the U Thant Peace Award for his dedicated service to the cause of world peace.

International Affairs

7. Myanmar opens the five-day conference with representatives of ethnic minority groups in Yangon

• Myanmar opened a five-day conference with representatives of ethnic minority groups in Yangon to try and reach lasting peace.
• The earlier sessions failed to make much headway in resolving differences between the government, the military and ethnic rebel groups seeking greater autonomy.
• Some other major rebel groups are wary of committing to the deal until political terms are made clearer.
• Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi previously called on all armed ethnic groups to sign the ceasefire.

8. Sri Lankan govt approves capital punishment for drug offences

• The Sri Lankan Cabinet has unanimously approved a move to bring back capital punishment for drug-related crimes, paving way for the resumption of the death penalty after nearly 40 years.
• Executions have not been carried out in Sri Lanka as successive Presidents in office since 1978 have refused to issue death warrants.
• According to Gamini Jayawickrema Perera (Minister of the Buddhist Order), The government cannot allow inmates in prison to destroy the country by directing crimes adding that convicts carry out drug trade while still in prison.
• Although capital punishment is in the statute, Sri Lanka had stopped hangings since 1976.

9. India formally becomes the 69th shareholder of European development bank

• India has become the 69th shareholder of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, paving the way for more joint investment with Indian companies across the bank's regions of operation.
• The Indian government had applied for the EBRD membership in December 2017.
• The EBRD Board of Governors voted unanimously in favour of the country's application in March 2018, with the entire membership process completed this week.
• EBRD is a multilateral development bank set up in 1991 after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
• The EBRD has already cooperated with Indian enterprises on joint projects worth almost 1 billion euros, including investments with Tata, SREI, Jindal and Mahindra and Mahindra.

10. Nepal to host BIMSTEC Summit on 31st August

• Nepal is set to hold a two-day Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit in Kathmandu.
• Nepal has made preparation to discuss over the trans-border crimes, terrorism, natural calamities, extremism, and illegal trade of arms, ammunition and drugs.
• In 2014, the first-ever summit of the regional organization was held in Bangkok of Thailand.

Note:

• The BIMSTEC (founded in July 1997) has Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand as other members of the regional forum, including Nepal.
• Nepal is the host nation and the current chair of the BIMSTEC.

Sports

11. Tushar Arothe resigns as India Women's Cricket Coach

• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced, Indian Women's Cricket Team Coach ‘Tushar Arothe’ (51-years) has stepped down from the role citing personal reasons.
• Arothe was appointed last April after his predecessor Purnima Rau (the former women's captain) was sacked by the board.
• Under his stint, the team reached the final of the ICC Women's World Cup - 2017.
• International women's cricket team is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

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 Thought of the Day

 "Don't let anyone steal your dream. It's your dream, not theirs"