Current Affairs 9th February 2018

Current Affairs 9th February 2018 - Important Points

• Nancy Pelosi made history of delivering longest eight-hour speech in American Senate on - 7th February 2018
• Signing of India-Australia MoU for Secondment Programme approved by - The Union Cabinet
• Which Committee has been constituted by Defence Ministry to expedite capital acquisition - Vinay Sheel Oberoi 
• Prime Minister Research Fellows Scheme approved by - Cabinet
• Hike in MSP for Copra for 2018 season approved by - CCEA

Current Affairs 9th February 2018 - Details

Nancy Pelosi made history of delivering longest eight-hour speech in American Senate on - 7th February 2018

Nancy Pelosi, Democrat Minority Leader, continued her speech for over 8-hours in American Senate on 7th February 2018. The House Historian’s Office established the lawmaker’s record of longest speech to the media.
The earlier record of longest-speech was around back to 1909 when a Missouri representative, Champ Clark, delivered speech for five hours and fifteen minutes against a tariff overhaul. Nancy Pelosi's speech was finished in eight hours and five minutes. 
Nancy Pelosi's speech

• In her marathon speech Pelosi called on lawmakers to approve the DREAM Act.
• She explained that this bill would be approving legal status to without-documentation young people, who came to the United States as children generally called Dreamers.
• In favour of DREAM Act she informed that the young generations are our future and these dreamers are part of that. They have been enriched by the greatness of our nation.
  Did you know?
• In September 2017, President Donald Trump dismissed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals-DACA program, which permits Dreamers to obtain renewable 2-year work permits.
• He formed a 6-month deadline for lawmakers to find out a legislative solution, meaning that beyond March 5th, most DACA recipients would be initiating to lose their status and will be at chance of deportation.
• On June 15th, 2012, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano formed Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is an action of prosecutorial discretion, issuing temporary relief from deferred action] and work permission to certain young undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children. 

 Signing of India-Australia MoU for Secondment Programme approved by - The Union Cabinet

The Union Cabinet passed signing of MoU for Secondment Programme between India and Australia.
The Memoranda of Understanding will be signed between Department of Economic Affairs -Indian
Economic Service Cadre and The Treasury, Government of Australia for time-period of 3 months.
Key Facts

• In the Secondment Programme, 1 officer from Australian Treasury will be approved to Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and one officer from IES proposed by IES Cadre, Department of Economic Affairs will be approved to Australian Treasury, Government of Australia, for time-period of 3 months.
• The viability of both Memoranda of Understandings will discontinue at end of the 3 months’ period of agreement and will not be extendable.
• The programme may be restarted in following years with mutual consultation and after assignments on both sides.
  Importance
• Australia is one of the crucial bilateral partners of India.
• The suggested Secondment Programme will facilitate to strengthen understanding of present economic policy issues in both nations.
• It will also aid to explore more options for future coordination and engagement. It will also supply the accepted officers with valuable and special development options and also issue exposure on global best activities.

Which Committee has been constituted by Defence Ministry to expedite capital acquisition - Vinay Sheel Oberoi 

The Union Ministry of Defence has formed 13 members Raksha Mantri Advisory Committee on Ministry of Defence Capital Projects.  It will be led by former secretary Vinay Sheel Oberoi. The committee will record and expedite capital acquisition schemes for modernisation of armed forces
and bolster armed readiness.
Terms of reference of RMCOMP

• It will take on an independent review and check rank of ongoing critical assignments worth over Rupees 500 crores.
• It will advise measures to upgrade the capital acquisition process.
• It will spot specific topics and bottlenecks that are answerable for delays, and propose the way forward.
• It will also propose any other issues concerned to project monitoring and evaluation that may be referred by Ministry of Defence.
• The committee will have tenure till the end of August 2018. It will have to submit initial status report on specified projects to Defence Minister by 31st March 2018.
• The survey shall contain, apart from present status of projects, issues, remedies and follow-up plan.
• It will propose modern management ideas that can be leveraged to decrease delays and also sufficient measures to enhance capital acquisition procedures.

Hike in MSP for Copra for 2018 season approved by - CCEA

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has passed increase in Minimum Support Price for Fair
Average Quality of Milling Copra for 2018 duration. The sanction was related to guidances
of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices.
Key Points
The increased in Minimum Support Price of Copra is believed to ensure suitable minimum prices to
farmers and increase investment in Coconut farming and thereby production and productivity in nation.
The National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India Limited and The National Agricultural
Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited will continue to proceed as Central Nodal Agencies
to undertake price support operations at Minimum Support Price in the Coconut cultivating states.
Minimum Support Price

• Minimum Support Price is a kind of agricultural market intervention handled by Central Government to make sure that agricultural producers are safeguarded against any great-fall in farm rates.
• It is declared for certain crops by Government before the sowing season.
• Its motive is to incentivize farmers to adopt modern techniques and increase productivity and eneral production in line with the prominent demand sequences in the nation.
• The rates are decided by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on the basis of guidance of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices.
  Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices
• Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices is a specialist body which propose minimum support prices to Government by taking into consideration of production cost, trends in domestic and international rates.
• It is a connected office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It was formed in
  January 1965.

Prime Minister Research Fellows Scheme approved by - Cabinet

The Union Cabinet has passed implementation of Prime Minister’s Research Fellows Scheme for doctoral students practising research in areas of technology. It objects to understand significance of innovation and technology for progress and development of the country.
PM’s Research Fellows Scheme

• The fellowship scheme was declared in the Budget 2018-19. It will be executed for 7 years starting 2018- 19 at total cost of Rupees 1650 crores.
• In this, the best candidates who have completed or are in final year of B. Tech, Integrated M.Tech, M.Sc courses in Science and Technology streams from IISc/IISERs/IITs/IIITs/NITs will be granted direct admission in PhD programme in IITs/IISc.
• Maximum of 3000 Fellows would be picked in 3-year period, starting 2018-19.
• Monthly fellowship: Picked students through selection procedure laid down in Prime Minister’s Research Fellows Guidelines will be given monthly fellowship of Rupees 70,000 for initial 2 years, Rupees 75,000 for third year and Rupees 80,000 in fourth and fifth year.
• Research grant: Every picked fellow student will be also given research approval of Rupees 2 lakh for period of five years to cover their foreign travel expenditures for submit research papers in international conferences including seminars.
  Significance
• The plan will ease tapping talent pool of nation for carrying out Indian-research in cutting edge science and technology areas.
• The research accepted by fellows in this plan will address national prime concerns at one hand and short-comings of qualified faculty in leading educational institutions of nation on the
  other.