Current Affairs July Capsule Current Affairs Today – July 1 2015 Indian Affairs Digital India Programme – An Overview The Government of India has launched the Digital India programme with the vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.This will be done by transforming the entire ecosystem of public services through the use of information technology. The project is intended for completion by 2019. The scheme will be monitored and controlled by the Digital India Advisory group which will be chaired by the Ministry of Communications and IT. The vision of Digital India is keyed on three key areas – 1. Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen 2. Governance & Services on Demand 3. Digital Empowerment of Citizens There are nine Pillars of Digital India – 1. Broadband Highways 2. Universal Access to Phones 3. Public Internet Access Programme 4. e-Governance – Reforming government through Technology 5. e-Kranti – Electronic delivery of services 6. Information for All 7. Electronics Manufacturing – Target NET ZERO Imports 8. IT for Jobs 9. Early Harvest Programmes The government has launched some initiatives in line with these objectives Digital Locker System aims to minimize the usage of physical documents and enable sharing of e-documents across agencies. The sharing of the e-documents will be done through registered repositories thereby ensuring the authenticity of the documents online. 1 | P a g e Follow Us - FB.com/AffairsCloudOfficialPage Copyright 2015 @ AffairsCloud.Com Current Affairs July Capsule MyGov.in is a platform for citizen engagement in governance, through a “Discuss”, “Do” and “Disseminate” approach. The mobile app for MyGov would bring these features to users on a mobile phone. Swachh Bharat App to be used by people and Government organizations for achieving the goals of Swachh Bharat Mission. eSign framework which would allow citizens to digitally sign a document online using Aadhaar authentication. Online Registration System (ORS) has been introduced to provides important services such as online registration, payment of fees and appointment, online diagnostic reports, enquiring availability of blood online etc. National Scholarships Portal is a one stop solution for end to end scholarship process. Digitize India Platform (DIP) for large scale digitization of records in the country that would facilitate efficient delivery of services to the citizens. Bharat Net, a high speed digital highway to connect all 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats of country. This would be the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity project using optical fibre BSNL has undertaken large scale deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the country. Literacy rate 71 percent in rural areas, 86 percent in urban areas: NSSO survey According to NSSO survey, the literacy rate in rural areas is 71% while it is 86% in urban areas. Among the age group of seven years and above, male literacy rate was 83% while the female literacy rate was 67%. The survey conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) covered entire country with samples taken from 36,479 households in rural areas and 29,447 in urban areas from 4,577 villages and 3,720 urban blocks. Mobile portability number from July 3 In a great news for mobile phone users in the country, DoT (Department of Telecommunications) has decided to implement nationwide mobile number portability from July 3. Presently, MNP has been partially implemented, it allows subscribers to change mobile network while retaining their number in the same telecom circle. This has also led to an inflated mobile subscriber base in the country, as a person is forced to get a new number when they relocate. 2 | P a g e Follow Us - FB.com/AffairsCloudOfficialPage Copyright 2015 @ AffairsCloud.Com Current Affairs July Capsule From July 3, the full MNP will allow subscribers to retain their mobile number in any part of the country even when they change their operator or state. Union Minister for Telecommunications: Ravi Shankar Prasad Automatic refund if trail cancels Soon, passengers who book their railway tickets online will get automatic refund if their train gets cancelled. Already waitlisted e-tickets gets cancelled and passengers get refunded automatically. There shall not be any requirement for cancellation/filing of ticket deposit receipt (TDR) for refund of e-tickets in case of cancellation of trains. For those who book tickets at the passenger reservation system (PRS) counters shall continue to be refunded across the reservation counter as per the existing provisions. Presently the systems needed for this facility are under upgradation. International Affairs Indian FM Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Thailand; Many agreements signed On the last day of her three-day visit, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj co-chaired the 7th meeting of the India-Thailand Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation. Her counterpart is Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister General Tanasak Patimapragorn. Agreements signed 1. The double taxation avoidance treaty: It provides for the framework to avoid double taxation And prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes This agreement promotes bilateral economic cooperation as companies from both countries would find it easier to do business in other’s countries. And as the agreement tries to prevents tax evasion, trust between the companies and their host countries would increase. 2. Extradition treaty: The two countries inked the extradition treaty inked in 2013, now they exchanged instruments of ratification with each other 3 | P a g e Follow Us - FB.com/AffairsCloudOfficialPage Copyright 2015 @ AffairsCloud.Com Current Affairs July Capsule It provides for the legal framework for seeking extradition of fugitive offenders, including those involved in terrorism, transnational crimes, economic offences etc. It applies to any person from either country who is wanted for trial or for the imposition or enforcement of any sentence concerning that person who found in the territory of the other country This would strengthen the relationship between the security agencies of the two countries 3. Nalanda University The two sides have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Establishment of Nalanda University Thailand now joins other East Asian Summit countries in the establishment of Nalanda University in Bihar 4. Ayurveda Chair An MoU on the establishment of an Ayurveda Chair in one of the Thai Universities was signed between the Ministry of Ayush and Rangsit University of Thailand Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences will set up a Chair at the Thai University to undertake academic and research activities in Ayurveda Other important developments: India and Thailand discussed the possibilities of joint ventures in defence manufacturing The discussion on defence would be taken forward when Thai defence minister Gen (Rtd) Prawit Wongsuwon would be visiting India this year This move by both countries is significant in the context of China’s military might in the region is growing to a disproportionate level The issue of the ambitious trilateral highway project between India and Thailand via Myanmar was also discussed during the meeting. Its completion is very important for India to have connectivity with ASEAN region. Presently under construction, it would be completed by 2018-19. India-Thailand relationship: Thailand as an important pillar of India’s policy and a valued partner In recent years, the relationship between the two countries has expanded to virtually all areas of bilateral cooperation 4 | P a g e Follow Us - FB.com/AffairsCloudOfficialPage Copyright 2015 @ AffairsCloud.Com Current Affairs July Capsule Our bilateral relations with Thailand are based on deep-rooted cultural, religious and neighbourly association between the people of our two nations. Our common heritage of Buddhism and the philosophy of compassion, tolerance, non- violence and peace have laid strong foundations for this relationship Thailand has a ‘Look West’ foreign policy since 1996 which complements perfectly with India’s ‘Look east policy’ adopted in 1993 The current defence cooperation between the two countries comprises regular joint exercises/joint maritime patrols near the international boundary to counter terrorism, piracy and smuggling, training of officers at each other’s armed forces training institutions and participation as observers in military exercises. 116 die as plane crashes in Sumatra, Indonesia An Indonesian military aeroplane, C-130 Hercules transporter has crashed in to the side of a building, minutes after taking off from an air force base in Sumatra, killing more than 116 people. The crash killed all passengers on the plane (most of them are family members of servicemen and women) and at least three people on the ground. Just 6 months ago, an AirAsia plane crashed into the Java Sea in Indonesia, killing all 162 people on board. The crashed C-130 Hercules was 51 years old. Acquisitions Ratan Tata buys stake in Ola Ratan Tata has bought a stake in online taxi-hiring firm Ola. Ratan Tata had previously invested in start-ups like Snapdeal and Xiaomi. Ola was founded in January 2011 by IIT Bombay alumni Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati. It is operating in over a 100 cities across India with 1.5 lakh vehicles registered on its platform. Appointment IDFC appoints former CAG Vinod Rai as independent director Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd (IDFC) has appointed former CAG Vinod Rai as independent director. 5 | P a g e Follow Us - FB.com/AffairsCloudOfficialPage Copyright 2015 @ AffairsCloud.Com Current Affairs July Capsule Vinod Rai was director on several boards including the State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank and Life Insurance Corporation of India. He was instrumental in setting up the IDFC and was also on the board of that company. Housing.com fires CEO Rahul Yadav Rahul Yadav, CEO and co-founder of Housing.com has been fired by the company’s board. He was removed with reference to his behaviour towards investors, ecosystem and the media, company said in a statement.