Current Affairs 29th January 2019

Current Affairs 29th January 2019 - Important Points

• Fastest Indian Cricketer to reach 100 ODI wickets - Mohammed Shami 
• Delhi to award MSP as per - Swaminathan Committee Report
• India to participate in the International Student Assessment (PISA) in - 2021
• India replaces Japan to be world’s second largest steel manufacturer behind - China
• Iran Trade Promotion Plan by - 3 European Powers
• 75 years since WWII siege of Leningrad known as - ST. Petersburg
• Vande Bharat Express train under - Make In India Project
• Supreme Court refuses to stay modifications to SC/ST Act as per - Amendment Bill, 2018
• Indonesia Masters Badminton Tournament 2019 planned by - Badminton Association of
  Indonesia

Current Affairs 29th January 2019 - Details

Fastest Indian Cricketer to reach 100 ODI wickets - Mohammed Shami 

Fast Bowler Mohammed Shami has become the quickest Indian to get 100 wickets in ODIs. Mohammed Shami got this feat in his 56th One-Day International game. Mohammed Shami’s wicket number 100 was New Zealand’s opener, Martin Guptill.
Prior to Mohammed Shami, the record was with Iran Pathan who had attained the 100 wickets mark in 59 One-Day Internationals. Other Indians in the list of quickest Indians to reach 100 One-day International wickets are Zaheer Khan in 65 matches, Ajit Agarkar in 67 matches & Javagal Srinath in 68 games.
More about Mohammed Shami

• Mohammed Shami is a reverse swing specialist, who completed his 1st-class debut in 2010
  against Assam.
• He was chosen for the West Indies tour of India-A squad in 2012.
• Mohammed Shami played his One-day International debut against Pakistan in January 2013 & Test
  debut against West Indies in November 2013.

Delhi to award MSP as per - Swaminathan Committee Report

The Delhi government has finalised to announce the Minimum Support Price- MSP for farmers grounded on the sanctions of the National Commission on Farmers led by M.S.Swaminathan.
Swaminathan Committee sanctions on MSP

• The National Commission on Farmers was formed on November 18th, 2004 under the leadership of
  Professor M.S.Swaminathan. 
• The committee completed some significant sanctions on land reforms, irrigation, credit & insurance, food security, employment, the productivity of agriculture & farmer competitiveness.
• On the matter of Minimum Support Price, the committee recommended delivering farmers with a MSP at 50% profit more than the cost of production classified as C2 by the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices.
  Production costs in Agriculture
  The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices suggests 3 definitions of production costs in agriculture.
  They are:
  A2: It is the actual paid-out expenses experienced by farmers which is in cash & kind on seeds, fertilisers,
  pesticides, hired labour, fuel, irrigation & other inputs from outside.
  A2+FL: It comprises A2 cost +an credited value of unpaid family labour.
  C2: It accounts for the rentals/interest loans, owned land & fixed capital assets more than A2+FL.

India to participate in the International Student Assessment (PISA) in - 2021

The Programme for International Student Assessment- PISA, is a triennial international survey which goals to assess education systems around the world by testing the skills & knowledge of 15 years old students. India would be participating in the Programme for International Student Assessment in 2012.

More about PISA

• Programme for International Student Assessment co-ordinated by the Organization for Economic
  Cooperation & Development is a 2-hour long test. Programme for International Student Assessment calculates the 15 years old students reading, mathematics, & science literacy.
•  Programme for International Student Assessment does not assess a student’s memory & curriculum-based knowledge rather Programme for International Student Assessment highlights functional skills that students have attained as they near the end of compulsory schooling. 
• Programme for International Student Assessment calculates the student’s ability to utilise their ability to tackle the real-life challenge.
• Students who are 15 years old & have completed/near the end of their compulsory education & those have finished minimum 6 years of formal schooling would be assessed.
• Programme for International Student Assessment is criticised for the fact that it is preoccupied with standardised testing relying deeply on quantitative calculates.
  India & PISA
• India had participated in Programme for International Student Assessment 2009.
• The performance of Indian students was terribly poor & India was placed 72nd rank among 74 participating nations.
•  Then government of India refused Programme for International Student Assessment, blaming “out of context” questions for India’s dismal performance.
• India would be participating in the 2021 test. KVs, Navodaya Vidyalayas, all schools, private &
  government, in Chandigarh will take part in the 2021 test.
• Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development would also be conducting Programme for International Student Assessment- like assessment for students of KVs & Navodaya Vidyalayas yearly from 2019 to familiarise themselves with their testing outline in the run-up to the grand assessment in 2021.

India replaces Japan to be world’s second largest steel manufacturer behind - China

India has replaced Japan as the world's 2nd-largest steel producing nation, only behind China, which is the largest manufacturer of crude steel accounting for above 51% of production, according to the latest report by World Steel Association.
The report informed that India's crude steel production in 2018 was at 106.5 MT, which is up by 4.9% from 101.5 MT in 2017.
Significant Highlights

• The increase in India’s crude steel production in 2018 means that India has swapped Japan as the world's 2nd-largest steel producing nation, as Japan manufactures 104.3 MT in 2018, which is less by 0.3% as compared to 2017.
• On the other hand, China's crude steel output increased by 6.6% to 928.3 MT in 2018 from 870.9 MT in 2017.
• China's share also raised from 50.3% in 2017 to 51.3% in 2018.
• The global crude steel production remained 1808.6 MT for the year 2018 from 1729.8 MT in 2017, displaying a rise of 4.6%. 
• The other nations in the list of top 10 steel producing nations are the United States of America, which is at the 4th position as the nation manufactured 86.7 MT of crude steel in 2018, trailed by South Korea at the 5th place with 72.5 MT of crude steel, Russia at 6 th place with 71.7 MT, Germany at 7 th place with 42.4 MT, Turkey at 8th place with 37.3 MT, Brazil at 9th with 34.7 MT & Iran at the 10th place with 25 MT crude steel in 2018.
• Among other nations, Italy manufactured 24.5 MT of crude steel in 2018, France manufactured 15.4 MT & Spain produced 14.3 MT & Ukraine manufactured 21.1 MT of crude steel in the same year.

Iran Trade Promotion Plan by - 3 European Powers

3 European Powers United Kingdom, France & Germany are about declare a plan to assist organisations trading to Iran to rebel the permissions on Iran.
US permissions on Iran
United States President Trump had unilaterally walked out of the Joint comprehensive Plan of Action
pact & re-imposed the permissions on Iran. Under the Joint comprehensive Plan of Action pact, Iran had
decided to curb its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of permissions that had been imposed by the United Nations, United States & European Union.
This unilateral action of United States developed a lot of resentment &other parties to pact China,
Russia, United Kingdom, France & Germany reiterated their pledge to the deal. The permissions would
restrict the organisations with a presence in Iran to utilise the dollar as a medium of exchange.
Iran trade promotion plan
Iran trade promotion plan has been suggested by the United Kingdom, France & Germany as part of their promises to save the nuclear deal with Iran.
This plan suggests a special purpose vehicle to receive payments from organisations that want to trade
with Iran, by receiving waivers for oil imports/permissible trade in goods like food & medicine. With no direct transfer of funds between Iran & European organisations, it would hypothetically insulate companies from United States penalties.
This plan would protect European organisations intense to do business with Iran from United States
permissions that could result from dollar-based transactions.

75 years since WWII siege of Leningrad known as - ST. Petersburg

Russian noticed the 75th anniversary of the end of the shocking World War-II siege by Nazi forces with a large military parade at ST. Petersburg which was then known as Leningrad.
Siege of Leningrad
After the incursion of Soviet Union by Nazi Germany in June 1941, the German Army move toward
Leningrad from the west & their ally Finish Army move toward the city from the south, down the Karelian Isthmus.
Leningrad’s population combined hands to build antitank fortifications along the city’s area in the
support of the Red Army defenders. Even though the defence devices soon stabilised, the city was almost entirely encircled, with all the vigorous rail & other supply lines cut off by early November.
This barrier & siege claimed above 650000 lives in 1942 alone. The nominal supplies which were coming kept the city’s arms factories working & its 2 million inhabitants barely alive in 1942.
Soviet released an offensive in early 1943 &cracked the German encirclement & permitted
more copious supplies to reach Leningrad along the shores of Lake Ladoga. By January 1944, an effective Soviet offensive drove the Germans westward from the city’s outskirts, finishing the siege.
The government of the former Soviet Union awarded the Order of Lenin to Leningrad in 1945 &
conferred the title Hero City of the Soviet Union in 1965. A monument to celebrate the victims &
heroism of the siege was revealed in 1975.

Vande Bharat Express train under - Make In India Project

India’s fastest indigenous train, Train-18 christened as Vande Bharat Express will run between Delhi & 
Varanasi. Train-18 is an indigenously produced world-class train under Make in India initiative. The 16-
coached train has been developed completely in India by Indian engineers in a time span of 18-month at
the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.
Features of the Vande Bharat Express

• Vande Bharat Express is the energy efficient & the 1st engine-less train in the nation & will be fully air-conditioned.
•   These trains operate on electric traction like Metro trains & will begin replacing the Shatabdi Express fleet from coming year.
• The fares in these world-class trains are 40-50% higher than the Shatabdi Express. The train will cover 755 kilometres distance in 8 hours with stoppages at Kanpur & Prayagraj making it as the fastest train on the route.
• The new train delivers number of features to improve passenger comfort which consist inter-connected fully sealed gangways, automatic doors with retractable footsteps, onboard Wi-Fi & data, GPS-based passenger information system, linked toilets with bio-vacuum systems, rotational seats which can be positioned in the direction of travel, only in the executive class, roller blinds, diffused LED lighting &  disabled-friendly toil.

Supreme Court refuses to stay modifications to SC/ST Act as per - Amendment Bill, 2018

The Supreme Court has declined to stay the modifications to SCs & the STs (Prevention of Atrocities)
Amendment Bill, 2018. These modifications were brought in to nullify the protections instituted by the
Supreme Court to avoid its misuse.
Safeguards proposed by Supreme Court
Expressing concerns over the misappropriation of the various provisions under the SCs & the STs
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Supreme Court had proposed some safety mechanisms including-
-Provision of anticipatory bail.
-Sanction of SSP to arrest those accused under this act.
-Deputy Superintendent of Police to conduct an initial enquiry to find out whether there is a prima facie
case under Act.
Scheduled Castes & the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018
Investigating officer-IO will not need the sanction of any authority for the arrest of an accused.
Initial enquiry will not be needed for the registration of a FIR against a person accused under the Act.
Persons suspect of committing an offence under the Act cannot go for anticipatory bail.

Indonesia Masters Badminton Tournament 2019 planned by - Badminton Association of
Indonesia

The Indonesian Masters Badminton Tournament 2019 is planned by the Badminton Association of
Indonesia. It was the 3rd tournament of the 2019 BWF World Tour.
The tournament was organised at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, Indonesia from 22nd-27th
January 2019 presented a total purse of $350000.
The winners under the various categories are registered-
Women’s Singles title to Saina Nehwal, from India.
Men’s Singles title to Anders Antonsen from Denmark.
Women’s Doubles title to Misaki Matsutomo & Ayaka Takahashi from Japan.
Men’s Doubles title to Marcus Fernaldi Gideon & Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo from Indonesia.
Mixed Doubles title to Zheng Siwei &Huang Yaqiong from China.