Daily News Analysis for IAS / UPSC (18th July, 2016)

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Transforming India Website launched

a repository for sharing the impact of various governance initiatives with citizens in real-time.
website provides information in a user-friendly format enabling citizens to view the content in the form of Infographics, e-books etc.
Key Features: Performance Dashboard, Infographics, Voice of India, Live Events, Videos
Weekly Summary, Citizen Speak, Social Media Corner.

Virtual, digital classrooms across 32 ITIs in state

new facilities of virtual and digital classrooms in 32 ITIs across the state on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day.
facilities will be soon extended to all ITIs which will and bridge the rural, urban connect the gap between rural and urban areas.
An initiative to make these classrooms and course content 3D enabled and useof simulators to give hands-on training to youths.

‘Ramayana month’ begins in Kerala

traditional annual Ramayana Monthbegan in Kerala with temples and Hindu houses resonating with the chanting of the epic Ramayana.
Karkkidakam is the last month in the Malayalam calendar, is observed as the auspicious Ramayana month across the state
a decade-old tradition that devotees and spiritual classes and discourses on Ramayana by doyens would be conducted in various temples, as well as at the famed Sree Krishna Temple in Guruvayur till the end of the month.

UNESCO declares Nalanda Mahavihara(Nalanda University) as World Heritage Site

5th Century ancient seat of learning, ‘Nalanda Mahavihara(Nalanda University)has been declared as a Heritage Site by UNESCO finally.
This will be 33rd site to get this tag.
decision was taken at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s 40th session, at Istanbul, Turkey.
would be the second UNESCO heritage site in Bihar after Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya.
Tentative List of World Heritage:
♦ Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Landscape (China)
♦ Persian Qanat (Iran)
♦ Nan Madol (Eastern Micronesia)
♦ Nalanda Mahavihara (India)

Gandhi’s stone statue in Mongolian monastery

seen as symbol of India-Mongolia cultural and spiritual ties.
Pethub Monastery,considered as symbol of India-Mongolia cultural and spiritual ties, was inaugurated in August, 1999

11th ASEM summit begins in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

11^thedition of Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM11) or ASEM2016 began with World leaders including from the leaders of 51 member countries and the representatives of European Union
Summit is held with the theme of 20 Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future through Connectivity.
Indian delegation is led by Vice President Mohmmad Hamid Ansari with an agenda to push the efforts to boost inter-continental connectivity.

India’s Biking Queens fight against female foeticide

Four Indian women motorcyclists are campaigning against female foeticideand raising awareness by taking a trip around Asia covering 10 nations and over 10,000km in about 40 days.
They visited schools and universities as well as non-government organisations in countries such as Bhutan and Thailand.
Psychologist Sarika Mehta, headed the team, which ended in Singapore. With her were interior designer Yugma Desai, travel agent Durriya Tapia, and MsKhyati Desai, who works in human resources.

Lifeline Express, world’s first hospital train, celebrates 25 years of service

Lifeline Express, the world’s first hospitalon a train, aka the Magic Train of India, today celebrates 25 years of service.
Five-coach train provided medical facilities to poor and rural peoplewhere there were no hospitals available.
has completed 173 projects in 18 stateand also covered two lakh kilometers distance.
was given by the Indian Railways in 1991 and served more than 10,00,000poor in rural India.

Chinese bullet trains cross at high speeds in world’s first

two trains Golden Phoenixand Dolphin Blue travelling at 420 km per hour crossed on lines between Zhengzhou in the central Henan Province and Xuzhou in the eastern Jiangsu Province.
This feat using homegrown trains, demonstrated that China has fully mastered the core technology of high-speed trains.
country has built over 16,000 kmsof high-speed train tracks connecting most of the major cities also it is very significant for the branding and export of Chinese high-speed trains.

NASA’s Next Mars Rover Progresses towards 2020 Launch

NASA is in the final design and constructionof its next Mars rover, aimed to launch in 2020
Will probe for evidence of past life on the red planet and help prepare for future manned missions.
Rover is set to arrive on the planet in 2021 to studya region of Mars where the ancient environment may have been favorable for microbial life.
Mission is the first step in a potential multi mission campaign to return carefully selected and sealed samples of Martian rocks and soil to Earth.
Important milestone in NASA’s Journeyto Mars to find whether life has ever existed on Mars, and to advance our goal of sending humans to the Red Planet.

RBI allows foreign players to hike stake in Axis, IDFC Bank

allowed foreign investors to up their stakes in Axis Bank and IDFC Bank to up to 74 per cent and 46 per cent.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs)/Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) can now invest up to 74 per cent of the paidup capital of Axis Bank.
India’s central Bank in a separate note said FIIs/RFPIs can now invest from the existing 24 per cent up to 46 per cent of the paidup capitalof IDFC Bank Limited under PIS.
Both the lenders agreed on enhancing the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs/RFPIs.

India slips to third place on business optimism index

According to the latest International Business Report (IBR) carried out by London based Grant Thornton
India ranked third duringthe April June quarter of 2016 on the scale of business optimism because of delays in key reforms like the GST and bad loans facing state owned banks.
report went on to say that the growth in employment expectations dropped to second position during this period from top rank in the previous quarter (January-March this year),
India continues to top the chart on expectationsof increasing revenue as 96 per cent of the respondents within the survey have voted in favor of increasing revenue.
business confidence in India has plummeted, there is a tremendous rise in the optimism for an increase in exports and 35 per cent of respondents expect a rise in exports
India however, continues to rank number 2 in citing regulations and red tape as a constraint on growth for two consecutive quarters.

Tata Advanced Systems, Bell Helicopter sign chopper deal

Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL)and Bell Helicopter has signed an agreement to manufacture helicopters under “Make in India” initiative
The pact includes Production, Training, Research & Development, Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul(MRO) and technology sharing.
agreement covers both Commercial and Government rotary wing markets in the light utility and reconnaissance segments.