ConceptSimplified: Current Affairs

Date: 21/07/2017
Important Articles:
1: TRAI cuts mobile termination charges 57%; eyes waiver by ’20
2: Peer-to-peer lending platforms are NBFCs
3: The new technology,of trust :Blockchain
4: India collaborating with Russia for nuclear power plant in Bangladesh
5: India joins quantum computing race
 1: TRAI cuts mobile termination charges 57%; eyes waiver by ’20
Context:
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
slashed mobile termination charges (MTC)
by 57% to 6 paise per minute with effect
from October 1
• These charges would be completely done
away with January 1, 2020 onwards.
TRAI:
1. Independent regulator of the
telecommunication business.
2. TRAI was established by an Act of
Parliament in 1997
3. Regulates telecom services and
tariffs in India
4. Telecom Disputes Settlement
Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) was set
up to resolve any dispute between a
licensor and a licensee, between two
or more service providers, between a
service provider and a group of
consumers.
 2: Peer-to-peer lending platforms are NBFCs

1. P2P lending is a form of crowd-funding

used to raise loans which are paid back
Context:
with interest
1. Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) platforms will
2. It can be defined as the use of an online
be treated as non-banking financial
platform that matches lenders with
companies (NBFCs) and thus regulated by
borrowers in order to provide unsecured
the RBI.
loans.
NBFC:
1. Non Banking Financial Companies are those companies which
provide banking services.
2. NBFC is incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956.
3. NBFCs do the business of loans and advances, acquisition of
shares, stock, bonds, debentures, securities issued by Government.
4. RBI regulates the companies which deal in lending, accepting
deposits, financial leasing.
5. The companies that take up activities like stock broking, merchant
banking etc. are regulated by SEBI
6. NBFC cannot accept demand deposits (they can accept term
deposits)
 3 : The new technology,of trust

What is blockchain?
1. It is a digital public ledger that records every transaction.
2. Each transaction is recorded to the ledger after verification by
1. Satoshi Nakamoto, who
the network participants
invented bitcoins, released
3. Once a transaction is entered in the blockchain, it cannot be
the technology to support
erased or modified.
cryptocurrency.
4. Blockchain removes the need for using a trusted third party
2. A good fit when there is a lot
such as a bank to make a transaction by directly connecting
of data that is shared across
the customers and suppliers.
multiple parties with no trust
5. It ushers in a new paradigm comprising ‘Internet of Trust’ and
mechanism among the
‘Internet of Value’.
participants.
Applications for the technology
1. In sectors such as banking and insurance.
2. Players are coming together to form a consortium to realise
the benefits of blockchain at an industry level.
4 : India collaborating with Russia for nuclear power plant in Bangladesh

1. India is collaborating with Russia to build the Roppur nuclear

power plant in Bangladesh.
2. India’s first atomic energy venture abroad.
3. Built by the India & Russia near Dhaka, will be Bangladesh’s
first atomic energy project.
4. Two units, each with a capacity of 1200 MWs.
5. India signed a civil nuclear cooperation deal with Bangladesh
under which the two sides can supply and manufacture
equipment, material for the atomic power plant.
5 : India joins quantum computing race

Context:
Department of Science and Technology (DST) is planning to fund
a project to develop quantum computers.

1. A quantum computer, still largely a theoretical entity.

2. Employs the principles of quantum mechanics to store
information in ‘qubits’ instead of the typical ‘bits’ of 1 and 0.
3. Qubits work faster because of the way such circuits are
designed, can complete tasks much more efficiently than the
fastest comparable computers.
4. To sort a billion numbers, a quantum computer would require
3.5 million fewer steps than a traditional machine, and would
find the solution in only 31,623 steps
5. Experts from across the country are expected to gather this
month in Allahabad for a workshop to develop such a
computer.
Important Articles:
1: Revamped Khelo India Programme
2: Brahmaputra Biodiversity and Biology Boat (B4) on the Brahmaputra River
3: Phyto-Pharma Plant Mission
4: MoS Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates first ‘Pension Adalat’ & Anubhav Awards
5: BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017
6: Special Industry Initiative for J&K” (Sll J&K) – Udaan
7: Miscellanous
 1: Revamped Khelo India Programme

1. Programme aims at mainstreaming sport as a tool for individual

development, community development, economic development and
national development.
2. Would impact the entire sports ecosystem, including infrastructure,
community sports, talent identification, coaching for excellence,
competition structure and sports economy.
Salient features of the Programme
1. Pan Indian Sports Scholarship scheme, which would cover 1,000 most
talented young athletes each year across select sports disciplines.
2. Each athlete selected under the scheme shall receive an annual
scholarship worth Rs. 5.00 lakh for 8 consecutive years.
3. Will create a pool of highly competitive athletes.
Programme strives to
4. Programme aims to promote 20 universities across the country as hubs
promote “Sports for
of sporting excellence
All” as well as “Sports
for Excellence.” 5. It would enable talented sports persons to pursue the dual pathway of
education and competitive sports.
6. Programme would cover about 200 million children in the age group of
10-18
2: Brahmaputra Biodiversity and Biology Boat (B4) on the Brahmaputra River

1. Department of Biotechnology will commission a two-tiered barge

2. B4 will establish a large barge on the river with a well-equipped
laboratory for analysis of all components of the entire ecosystem of the
river and surroundings.
3. B4 will have capability to analyse soil, water, environment, plant and
animal life, human health and agriculture
4. B4 will also have a teaching laboratory for school/college children.
5. It is also proposed to have mobile satellite boat labs which will run along
the tributaries of Brahmaputra to feed in data to the main B4.
3: Phyto-Pharma Plant Mission:

1. Mission aimed at conservation and cultivation of endangered and

threatened endemic medicinal plants.
2. It aims at discovery of new botanical drugs for unmet medical needs
using the rich traditional ethno-botanical knowledge and biodiversity of
these states.
3. DBT will be the nodal coordinating and implementing department.
4. Captive cultivation of selected medicinal plants of NER.
4: MoS Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates first ‘Pension Adalat’ & Anubhav Awards

1. Pension Adalats will help in on the spot redressal of pensioners’

grievances.
2. Apart from that, ‘Anubhav’ awards 2017 were givern to 16 pensioners for
their contribution towards creating institutional memory for the
departments.
3. Under Anubhav, the retiring employees give an account of their
experiences during service.
4. Also a Mobile App that has been created to avail the services of
Pensioners’ Portal
5: BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017

1. BIMSTEC DMEx-2017) will be conducted by the National Disaster

Response Force (NDRF) as the lead agency at New Delhi.
2. Exercise will be a platform for sharing Best Practices on all aspects of
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), strengthening regional response and
coordination
3. Main focus of the BIMSTEC DMEx-2017 will be on testing the region’s
preparedness and resilience towards effective activation of inter-
Governmental interaction/dialogue/agreements for immediate
deployment of regional resources for disaster response.
4. Majority of the BIMSTEC countries are situated in the South Asian
Region (SAR), prone to natural disasters
6: Special Industry Initiative for J&K” (Sll J&K) – Udaan

1. Udaan is a Special Industry Initiative for Jammu & Kashmir.

2. It’s a partnership between the corporates of India and Ministry of
Home Affairs.
3. It’s being implemented by National Skill Development Corporation.
4. Programme aims to provide skills training and enhance the
employability of unemployed youth of J&K.
5. The Scheme covers graduates, post graduates and three year
engineering diploma holders.
6. Udaan provides exposure to the youth of J&K to the best of corporate
India and corporate India to the rich talent pool available in the State.
7. Udaan is a national integration scheme with the goal to mainstream
J&K youth with rest of the country.
7: Miscellanous

• 4-day international textile and apparel fair, 'VASTRA‘ organized in Jaipur

the mega textile fair is jointly organized by RIICO and FICCI.

• Kayakalp Launched to promote cleanliness, hygiene and infection control

practices in public health facilities.

• Kilkari – Weekly time-appropriate 72 audio messages about pregnancy,

child birth and child care directly sent to families’ mobile phones from the
second trimester of pregnancy until the child is one year old.

• Mobile Academy – free audio training course designed to expand and

refresh knowledge base of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs)
and improve their communication skills.
 MCQ Practise Questions
Q1. Muntra, recently rolled out by the Defense Research and Development Organization
(DRDO) is a/an
1. Unmanned remotely operated tank
2. Stealth land mine
3. Indigenously developed fifth generation aircraft
4. Airborne Radar system for fighter planes

Q2. Which of the following statements about ‘qubits’ is/are correct?

1. It can exist in both ‘0’ and ‘1’ states at the same time
2. It is an arrangement of four bits
3. It is the fundamental building block of a quantum computer
Select the correct statements
a. 1 and 2
b. 2 and 3
c. 1 and 3
d. All of the above