Current Affairs 18th February 2016

Many of the hopefuls were these days preparation for various competition examinations. Most of the examinations like IBPS Examinations, Bank Examinations, RRBs, and other competitive examinations will be containing the Current Affairs/ General Awareness as the compulsory section. Hence the candidates competing in today’s world must well aware of GK Bits/ GA Bits to crack the heavy competition. Hence for the students trying their luck by attending various examinations, here we were updating the daily current affairs on our page. Aspirants can proceed to visit our page regularly.

Union Cabinet gives supports Trade Facilitation Agreement

The Union Cabinet has endorsed a proposition to advise the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Choice in such manner was taken by Union Cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi according to India’s consonance of ‘simplicity of working together’s drive.
The proposition with respect to endorsement and acknowledgment of the instrument of acknowledgment of convention of TFA to WTO Secretariat was additionally affirmed by the Union Cabinet.
National Committee on Trade Facilitation : The Union Cabinet additionally has chosen to constitute National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) to encourage both local coordination and usage of the procurements of the Agreement.
NCTF will be set up under the Joint Chair of Secretary under the guidance of Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s Department of Revenue and Secretary, Department of Commerce.
Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) : The TFA is the WTO’s first-ever multilateral accord that intends to rearrange traditions regulations for the cross-fringe development of products. It was result of WTO’s ninth Bali (Indonesia) ecclesiastical bundle of 2013.
The understanding incorporates procurements for Lowering import levies and horticultural sponsorships: It will make it simpler for creating nations to exchange with the created world in worldwide markets.
Annul hard import standards: Developed nations would abrogate hard import portions on rural items from the creating scene and rather would just be permitted to charge duties on measure of horticultural imports surpassing particular points of confinement.
Decrease in formality at worldwide fringes: It plans to diminish red-tapism to encourage exchange by improving traditions administrations and customs.
The TFA should go into power for the advised individuals upon acknowledgment by two-third (107 nations) WTO Members. So far 69 nations of the 162 WTO individuals have endorsed this agreement.
If this agreement is appropriately actualized, it might make US 1 trillion dollars’ worth worldwide financial movement which might include 21 million new employments and lower the expense of doing global exchange by 10 to 15%.
Foundation Earlier Union Government had declined to endorse TFA till its worries about open stockholding for sustenance security are determined.
In any case, keeping in mind the end goal to address India’s worries WTO had consented to revise the Bali agreement, giving India an uncertain respite on nourishment stockholding.

Union Cabinet gives nod to LIGO-India mega science plan

The Union Cabinet has affirmed the LIGO-India venture (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory in India) proposition for exploration on gravitational waves.
The endorsement matches with the noteworthy first time identification of gravitational waves that had opened up of another window on the universe to unwind some of its most prominent puzzles.
LIGO-India venture is steered by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and Technology (DST).
It will offer stimulus to experimental exploration in the nation. It will build up a best in class Gravitational Wave Observatory in India as a team with the US based LIGO Laboratory keep running by Caltech and MIT.
The undertaking will help Indian researchers and architects to take worldwide initiative in this new cosmic boondocks by doing research into the domain of gravitational wave.
It will likewise acquire significant open doors front line innovation in India’s experimental industry as residential players will be occupied with the development of 8 kilometer long bar tube at ultra-high vacuum of observatory on a leveled landscape.
The proposition for LIGO-India venture was made under the India-United States participation understanding US LIGO lab and US National Science Foundation (NSF) in October 2011 for finding an interferometer in India. Formal proposition in such manner was submitted to the DAE and DST by the Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations (IndiGO) Consortium (shaped in 2009).
Under this proposition, US was going to give all the equipment and innovation required for task and India’s obligation will be to develop and work it.

Union Government propelled ENVIS portal

The Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar has propelled Environment Information System (ENVIS) website and versatile application. It was propelled on the sidelines of the national connection cum-assessment workshop for Environment Information System.
ENVIS Portal (http://envis.nic.in ) runs parallel with the destinations of Digital India which deals with enhancing the advanced education in the earth part and convey benefits digitally. It will assume vital part coordinating system of ENVIS focuses.
Environment Information System (ENVIS) ENVIS is focal segment Scheme of the MOEFCC actualized subsequent to 1982.
The motivation behind the plan is to incorporate nationwide endeavours in ecological data accumulation, stockpiling, grouping, recovery and spread.
The ENVIS arrange in the blink of an eye comprises of 69 focuses, of which 29 are under environment branches of different state governments/UT organizations while remaining 40 are worked by environment-related government and non-administrative associations.