Current Affairs-GK 16 April 2016: Daily GK updates

Daily Current Affairs-GK from www.centralgyan.blogspot.in covers the every aspect of Current Affairs and GK.  All types of current affairs like international, national, sports, economy, science & technology are covered below.

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PM Narendra Modi launches National Agriculture Market portal eNAM

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched National Agriculture Market portal eNAM to connect e-mandis in several States.
• eNAM is an online inter-connectivity of e-mandis, aimed at ushering in much needed agriculture marketing reforms to enable farmers to get better price of their produce.
• e-National Agriculture Market (NAM) is a pan-India e-trading platform. It is designed to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
• Farmers can showcase their produce online from their nearest market and traders can quote price from anywhere. It will result in increased numbers of traders and greater competition.
• It will also ensure open price discovery and better returns to farmers. During the launch, 21 mandis from eight states were connected to this unified portal. The States include Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkahnd, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• Initially, online trade will be allowed within the state and inter-state trade will be possible once all states and mandis are integrated. 25 commodities including onion, potato, apple, wheat, pulses, coarse grains and cotton, have been identified for online trading.
• To integrate a wholesale mandis across the country with the online platform, the state governments have to amend their Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act.
• eNAM will be implemented in different phases with an aim to integrate 585 regulated markets across the country with the common e-market platform by March 2018. So far 365 mandis from 12 states have been granted approval.

BRICS bank disburses $250 million loan for renewable energy project to Canara Bank 

• India was among the first four countries to get a loan from the newly established BRICS New Development Bank which gave a USD 250 million funding to Canara BankBSE 3.31 % for a renewable energy project.
• The China-based NDB has approved four green renewable energy projects from India, China, Brazil and South Africa entailing Bank financing of USD 811 million.
• The project from India entails provisioning of a multi-tranche loan of USD 250 million to Canara Bank for lending to renewable energy ventures .
• The project will result in generation of 500 MWs of renewable energy and savings of about 800,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.
• The New Development Bank was formed by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leadership with the objective of funding infrastructure projects in emerging economies and to meet the aspirations of hundreds of millions of people through sustainable development.
• The NDB which commenced operations in July, 2015, is headquartered in the eastern Chinese metropolis Shanghai and its initial authorised capital is USD 100 billion. 

Second phase of odd-even scheme rolls out in Delhi

• The second phase of the fortnight-long odd-even scheme today rolled out in Delhi with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appealing to the people of the city to join hands and make the road-rationing plan a success.
• The government has prepared a plan to implement Odd-even scheme with deployment of 5,000 civil defence volunteers, 400 ex-servicemen and 2,000 traffic police personnel.
• Government has formed 120 teams of the enforcement wing of transport department which will prosecute those violating the odd-even rule with imposition of a fine of Rs. 2,000 on errant car drivers.
• Under the scheme, odd-numbered cars are allowed to run on odd dates while even-numbered cars are allowed on even dates.

Delhi ranked 44th among world’s 50 ‘future-ready cities’

• The national capital has been recognised as one of the 50 future-ready cities around the world that are embracing technology to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing and globalised future, according to a report by IT major Dell.
• Delhi is ranked 44th on the list which is topped by San Jose, followed by San Francisco.
• The ‘Future-Ready Economies Model’ scores large, high-growth global metropolitan areas based on attributes that enable people and organisations to access new tools and ideas that deliver better connectivity, better economic performance and a greater ability to attract talent.
•  The cities positioned in the list were evaluated along three dimensions — human capital, infrastructure and commerce.

Nuclear-capable K-4 ballistic missile successfully tested from INS Arihant

• Nuclear capable submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLMB) code named K-4, was successfully test fired from an undisclosed location in the Bay of Bengal.
• Test: It was conducted by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) along with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) which provided all logistics.
• The missile was fired from 20-meter deep from onboard silos of the Ship Submersible Ballistic, Nuclear (SSBN) submarine.
• During the test it successfully hit with high accuracy after covering more than 700 km distance.
• The K-4 is part of the K-family of missiles, a series of SLBMs (Submarine-launched ballistic missile). The series is named after former president and scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
• It under development by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to arm the Arihant-class submarines.
• It is a derivative of nuclear capable Agni series (medium to intercontinental range) missile which are already in service.
• It has reduced length compared to Agni series. Features: The K-4 missile is an Intermediate range SLBM with effective range of over 3500 km. It is 12 metres long and has a diameter of 1.3 metres.
• It weighs nearly 17 tonnes. It is powered solid rocket propellant. It can carry a nuclear as well as conventional warhead weighing up to 2 tonnes.
• First test: In 2010, the first gas-booster of K-4 missile was successfully tested from a submerged pontoon. The first test was carried out in 2014 from a depth of 30 metres.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Maritime India Summit 2016

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Maritime India Summit 2016 (MIS 2016) in Mumbai. While inaugurating the summit, the PM invited investors to come to India.
• Maritime India Summit 2016 is a maiden flagship initiative of the Ministry of Shipping, Government of India that provides a unique platform for participants to explore potential business opportunities in Indian Maritime Sector.
• The two-day summit, which will conclude on 15 April 2016, will host forums to foster interaction between stakeholders through B2B and G2B meetings. It will also organise special sessions on investment opportunities in maritime sector, setting up of new ports and capacity augmentation of existing ports, development of inland waterways for cargo and passenger transportation, coastal shipping and other services related to Indian Maritime Sector.

Maharashtra becomes first state to pass law against social boycott

• The Maharashtra legislature has unanimously passed the Maharashtra Prohibition of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2016 to end the menace social boycott practiced by extra-judicial institutions like caste and community panchayats.
• With this Maharashtra became first state in the country to adopt a comprehensive law to root out oppression carried out by parallel justice delivery system (kangaroo court) in the name of age old traditions, caste and religion.
• The Bill terms social boycott as a crime and says anybody indulging in it would face imprisonment maximum upto three years and a fine of 1 lakh rupees or both.
• It disallows social boycott of any individual or groups by caste panchayats or groups of individuals or gavki or by its members or by social or economically influential persons. Persons involved in practice of social boycott for reasons like rituals of worship, inter-caste marriage, any connection to lifestyle, dress or vocation will face stringent punishment.
• The offence registered under the act will be congnizable and bailable. It will be tried by a judicial magistrate of the first class.
• The victim of social boycott or any member of the victim’s family can file a complaint either to police or directly to the magistrate.
• The bill has indicated speedy trial within six months of filing chargesheet in such cases in order to ensure time-bound results.
• Government will recruit social boycott prohibition officers to ensure monitoring and to detect offences and assist the magistrate and police officers in tackling such cases.

British playwright Arnold Wesker passed away

• Renowned British playwright Arnold Wesker was died with Parkinson's disease. He was 83.
• He wrote more than 40 plays that were translated into 18 languages, first gained prominence with a trilogy about the lives of Jewish socialist intellectuals: Chicken Soup with Barley (1958), Roots (1959) and I’m Talking about Jerusalem (1960).