Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the Daily Current Affairs 26 April 2018. These are important for the upcoming SBI Clerk, SBI PO & Dena Bank Examination.
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India
India’s first industrial solar microgrid commissioned in Gujarat
- Swedish-Swiss multinational giant ABB today announced it has commissioned India’s first industrial solar microgrid at its Vadodara manufacturing facility in Gujarat.
- Microgrids with integrated battery energy storage allow cutting down of planned and unplanned power outages. When often connected to renewable energy are sources and provide more control to companies on how and when to deploy the stored power. A key benefit is the reduction in overall operational costs and reduced electricity bills.
- The microgrid’s rooftop photovoltaic field and its battery-energy storage system will support the factory’s productivity and enable green power supply. A sophisticated control and automation system serves as the brain of the microgrid which ensures maximizing renewable energy use. The facility’s carbon footprint is expected to be reduced by around 1,400 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Bihar government launches scheme for prohibition-affected families
- Bihar government on Thursday rolled out “Graduation Approach to Sustainable Livelihood” scheme which will provide alternative employment opportunities to families who have been affected by the implementation of total alcohol prohibition in the state.
- A decision to this effect was taken at the meeting of state Cabinet ministers chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday evening.
- The scheme will cover families who were earlier in the business of brewing country-made or spiced liquor or selling toddy but were rendered without any means of livelihood following prohibition in April 2016. Sources said few such families are present in every village of Bihar.
- According to state government officials, the scheme will cover one lakh poor families in the state. The government will help them in finding alternative employment opportunities, capacity building, skill development, or provide them with livestock for rearing etc apart from financial help so that they can earn their bread and butter.
AIIMS sets up India’s first Virtual Bronchoscopy Navigation system
- In a first in the country, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) today set up Virtual Bronchoscopy Navigation (VBN), an advanced facility for diagnosis and treatment of patients with small tumour-like spots in lungs.
- The VBN system was installed in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Disorders at AIIMS, Karan Madan, additional spokesperson of AIIMS, said.
- Very few countries like China, Singapore besides the US and Europe have this facility, he said.
- These small lung lesions can very commonly be lung cancer and if not diagnosed on time, they can increase in size and the cancer can spread to other body parts, he said.
- Not only cancer, these small lung lesions can also be related to diseases like Tuberculosis.
Bureau of Indian Standards grants first license for Liquid Chlorine on All India Basis
- Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) granted the first licence to M/s Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd for Liquid Chlorine on All India basis.
- Liquid Chlorine is usually used as a gas obtained by evaporating the liquid from the metal container.
- It is used mainly in paper, pulp, textile bleaching, water sterilization and manufacture of chemicals.
Commissioning of Third Ship of Landing Craft Utility Mk-IV
- The third ship of the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mk-IV project was inducted into the Indian Navy on April 25, 2018 at Port Blair.
- The ship was commissioned as INLCU L53 by Vice Admiral Bimal Verma.
- Designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, the ship showcases the immense potential of the country’s indigenous shipbuilding capability and is in line with India’s ‘Make in India’ goal.
Indo-Malaysian Armies to conduct defence exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI 2018
- Indian and Malaysian armies will be conducting the joint training exercise ‘HARIMAU SHAKTI 2018’ in the dense forests of Sengai Perdik, Hulu Langat, Malaysia from April 30, 2018 to May 13, 2018.
- The exercise will be a part of ongoing Indo-Malaysian defence cooperation and will be aimed at boosting cooperation and coordination between the armed forces of both the nations.
- As a part of the exercise, both the nations will be sharing the expertise of each other’s contingents to conduct counter insurgency operations in the jungle terrain of Malaysia.
- Indian contingent will be represented by 4 GRENADIERS, one of the oldest infantry battalions having rich operational experience in conventional as well as counter insurgency warfare.
- While, the Malaysian contingent will be represented by soldiers from 1 Royal Ranjer Regiment and the Royal Malay Regiment; both are known for their experience in Jungle Warfare.
HRD Ministry launches second edition of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan
- The Union Human Resource Development Ministry on April 25, 2018 launched the second edition of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan in New Delhi.
- Under the program, students from 750 higher educational institutions from across the country will adopt nearby villages and visit them to get acquainted with the regular lifestyle of village people and the problems faced by them in their day to day life.
- Speaking at the launch ceremony of the program, Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar said that the students are the real agents of change who can develop, empower and brighten the future of the country.
- Javadekar added that the unique initiative will provide an opportunity to the students to learn about the basic challenges faced by rural people and to bring out practical solutions for their betterment.
- He advised the students to involve local village people at every stage of problem identification and solving issues relating to health, cleanliness, waste management, plantation, financial inclusion, women and child development.
Appointments
Indu Malhotra, first senior woman advocate to become SC Judge
- In a first, senior advocate Indu Malhotra is set to become the first woman lawyer to be appointed as Supreme Court Judge.
- The Union Law Ministry has reportedly cleared her name for the position. With the decision, Malhotra will be the first woman lawyer to be directly appointed from the Bar as a Judge in the Apex Court. She is expected to be sworn into the new position on April 27, 2018.
- Since Independence, only six women judges have been appointed to the Supreme Court.
- In fact, in the first 39 years of the Supreme Court, no woman judge was appointed to it.
- In 1989, Justice Fathima Beevi was appointed as the first woman judge of the Supreme Court.
- The other woman judges appointed to the top court in subsequent years include Justice Sujatha Manohar, Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra and Justice Ranjana Desai.
- At present, the Supreme Court has only one woman Judge- Justice R Banumathi.
Index
2018 World Press Freedom Index released: India falls to 138th rank
- The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on April 25, 2018 released the World Press Freedom Index 2018, reflecting growing animosity towards journalists.
- Published annually by Reporters Without Borders since 2002, the World Press Freedom Index measures the level of media freedom in 180 countries.
- India’s rank dropped down to 138th this year from 136th in 2017, two points below the previous year.
- The report blames PM Narendra Modi’s “troll army” for sharing and intensifying hate speeches targeting journalists on social networks. Moreover, India also saw ‘physical violence’ against journalists this year including the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in 2017.
- India’s radical nationalists encouraged the self-censorship in the mainstream media and belittled the journalists as the targets of online hate campaigns.
- This year, the index has been topped by Norway again for the second year, followed by Sweden at second and the Netherlands at third. Although Nordic countries dominate the index, they too were affected by the overall decline.
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Team Exampundit
