Current Affair 7 Feb 2016

Sushma Swaraj visit to Sri Lanka – An Overview

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was on two day visit to Sri Lanka to discuss the fishermen’s issue and rights of minority Tamils.

• 9th Joint Commission meeting
• Both Nations signed MoUs on education and health sectors
• Rise of Digital India

Govt consented to Heritage Development Projects for AP & Telangana

In a bid to improve tourist infrastructure in heritage places of Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh and Warangal in Telangana, urban development ministry has given its stamp of approval to the projects worth of Rs. 12 crore.

• An inter-Ministerial HRIDAY National Empowered Committee approved development ofHeritage Park in Amaravati and 1000 Pillar Temple, Kazipet Durgah andPadmakshi Temple in Warangal.

Project Sunrise launched for prevention of AIDS in NE states

Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had launched Project Sunrise on for prevention of AIDS in the 8 North-Eastern states. The funding of project is done by theCentre for Disease Control of the United States. First cases of HIV were diagnosed in 1986 among sex workers in Chennai.

• The objective of this AIDS prevention project is to diagnose 90 per cent of such drug addicts with HIV and put them under treatment by 2020.

Maiden Kerala Literature Festival held at Kozhikode

The maiden Kerala Literature Festival was hosted in Kozhikode at which key topics like spirituality, social media, women’s issues, Dalit issues, freedom of expression, environment issues and media activism were discussed.

• Dalit issues were also discussed in a session “Dalit Literature Past and Present”and “Consciousness of Indian Religion and the Suicide of Rohith Vemula”.
• Noted documentaries, feature films and documentary fictions were also screened on various contemporary topics.

50 leading writers from across the country took part in the four-day festival, which was organized by the Department of Culture and Kozhikode Corporation in alliance with D.C. Books.

PM dedicates NISER to the nation

National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) at Bhubaneswar, Odisha has been dedicated by PM Modi to the nation.

• The Prime Minister urged the students of NISER to work towards making NISER India’s greenest campus, and a zero-emission, zero-discharge campus which uses only renewable energy.

India has over 15 lakh registered companies

As per the latest data compiled by the Corporate Affairs Ministry, India has more than 15 lakh registered companies but only 10.7 lakh of them were active at the end of 2015.

• This is higher than 14.39 lakh companies registered at the end of December 2014.

The Corporate Affairs Ministry is implementing the Companies Act, 2013 whose most provisions came into force in April 2014.

Akhilesh Yadav launches new UP Revenue Code

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had launched a new UP Revenue Code.

• The aim of this launch is to eradicate old lawsrelating land revenue and land reforms and greater dispute resolution.
• The old revenue laws will be abolished and now new simplified and rapid laws were maintained and implemented.
• The new code 39 Acts is implemented which includes Land Revenue Act 1901 and after this Zamindari and Land Reform Act 1950 will be abolished.

India’s first fully solar-powered educational institute now in Puducherry

ndia’s first fully solar-powered educational institute had been launched by Sri Aurobindo International Centre for Education Puducherry.

• The institutes produce three times of the electricity it consumes through solar power plants.
• The institute saves Rs 10,000 every month on the electricity bill.
• The solar plant system is installed on the roofs of the dining room, primary school, library and high school of the campus.
•  The institute has been self-sufficient in energy since September 2014.