Current Affairs 9th May 2017

Current Affairs 9th May 2017 - Important Points

• Union Home Minister addresses the Review Meeting of - Left Wing Extremism affected States
• Undetonated World War II bombs found - in Germany
• Justice Karnan is the first High Court judge to be sentenced to jail by - Supreme Court
•  NBT to host book fairs in - Panchayats
• Which country is elected as President of UN-Habitat, the United Nations’ Human Settlements Programme? - India

Current Affairs 9th May 2017 - Details

Union Home Minister addresses the Review Meeting of - Left Wing Extremism affected States

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced a new doctrine or strategy against Maoists SAMADHAN on 8th May 2017. The doctrine was spelt out by Singh during the Review Meeting of Left Wing Extremism affected State on 8th May 2017. The meeting was called to discuss an integrated security strategy and development works in 35 worst-affected districts. This doctrine was released two weeks after the martyrdom of 25 CRPF personnel by the Maoists at Sukma in Chhattisgarh.

Important highlights 

• During the meeting, Rajnath Singh explained that steps taken by the union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the meeting. Some of the key areas highlighted during the meeting include -
• Mobile Towers in 10 LWE affected states: The home minister highlighted that for the Union Government development in 2014 sanctioned a plan to establish 2199 mobile towers in these states at an expense of Rs 3567.58 crores. Out of these, 2187 mobile towers have been made operational.
• Road Requirement Plan: It is being implemented by the union government to improve connectivity in 34 LWE affected districts of eight States. 
• 4290 Kms of the sanctioned 5422 Km of the road has already been completed.
• Road Connectivity Project for LWE Affected Areas Scheme: The scheme under which 5412 Kms of roads and 126 bridges are envisaged to be constructed in 44 districts of 09 affected States was approved recently by the government. The scheme will be implemented at an expense of Rs 11725 crores.
• Financial Inclusion: Rajnath Singh informed during meeting that special efforts have been implemented in last two financial year to financial inclusion of the residents of the 35 worst affected districts. Under these efforts, 385 bank branches and 752 ATMs were opened in these districts.  1789 new Post Offices have been sanctioned for these districts.

Undetonated World War II bombs found - in Germany

After the discovery of multiple unexploded World War II bombs, more than 50,000 people were evacuated from the German city of Hanover. While two of the suspected bombs were found from a construction site in the Vahrenwald district, three more were found from another suspected site near the location.

Important Highlights

• The evacuation of the city started early in the morning on 7th May 2017
• The residents were only allowed to return to their homes on 8th May 2017.
• The bombs, all British ones were diffused successfully by experts.
• It was the second largest evacuation of its kind carried out in the country.
• The total number of affected people are about one-tenth of the city's population.
• Hanover was the target of extensive bombing from the Allied forces during World War II, in 1943.
• The city alarmed the residents about the evacuation by handing out leaflets in German, Polish, Turkish, English and Russian languages.
• The city museums opened their doors for the free admission of residents with no place to go and a senior citizen's agency organized a Scrabble gathering.
• These undetonated bombs will become more dangerous with time because of the breaking down of its components.

Justice Karnan is the first High Court judge to be sentenced to jail by - Supreme Court

A seven-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court (SC), headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar, sentenced Justice C S Karnan, the Calcutta High Court judge, to six months of imprisonment on 9th May 2017. Justice Karnan has been sentenced for imprisonment of repeated incidents of contempt of court. It is the first time that the Supreme Court has sent a high court judge to jail on contempt charges.

Key Highlights

• The Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice of India J S Khehar issued a contempt notice to Justice C S Karnan in February 2017.
• Justice Karnan was accused of contempt after he named 20 "corrupt judges" of India earlier in 2017 and asked for an investigation alleging corruption in the judiciary.
•  He also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting for an inquiry.
• The SC ordered the Calcutta government hospital to constitute a medical board to examine the medical condition of Justice Karnan and submit a report to the court on 1st March 2017.
• Instead, he sentenced eight judges of the Supreme Court to five years of “rigorous imprisonment” and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lac each under the Scheduled Castes and the 
• Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 and the amended Act of 2015.

 NBT to host book fairs in - Panchayats

The National Book Trust (NBT) is planning to launch Panchayat Pustak Mela with the objective of organising regular book fairs in rural areas across the country. The main motto behind introducing this new scheme at the panchayat level is to encourage the reading habit in villages.

Important Highlights

• The NBT is planning to kick-start the process with a book fair across the panchayat bodies in the Maoist-hit areas of Chhattisgarh.
• The organisation recently brought out eight books in local language used in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, in Devnagri script.
• The NBT already has a stock of books that is likely to connect with the rural audience of the region.
• The books on display would showcase the freedom fighters lives and heroes and there would also be children’s books.
• The NBT hopes that the books, especially the ones that are close to the people of the region and the ones that have inspiring national themes, can help align the local adivasis there with the mainstream. The main aim is to instil a sense of pride among rural youth.
• To make the scheme a success, NBT is collaborating with the state governments and also invite Panchayat representatives to these book fairs. The NBT will also be extending a request to the state governments to provide libraries at the panchayat level.

Legendary Sitarist Rais Khan passed away on - 6th May 2017

Renowned Sitar maestro Ustad Rais Khan passed away on 6th May 2017 in Karachi, Pakistan. Ustad Rais Khan was born in Indian city of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on 25th November 1939. The Sitarist’s maternal grandfather Inayat Ali Khan was also considered one of the finest sitar players in the subcontinent.

More about Ustad Rais Khan

• Ustad Rais Khan was one of the greatest sitar players of all times.
• He grew up in Mumbai.
• In 1986, he moved to Pakistan, seven years after marrying his fourth wife - a Pakistani singer named Bilqees Khanum.
• He belonged to the Mewati gharana connected to Indore gharana.
• He gave his first public concert at Sunderbai Hall in the presence of the Governor of Bombay Sir Maharaja Singh.
• In 1955, He was chosen to represent India in the International Youth Festival in Warsaw in 1955.
• He was also a vocalist and was the first sitar player to record the super-hit song Ghungroo toot gaye for BBC London in 1978 as an instrumental song.
• In 2017, he was awarded Pakistan's third highest civilian honour, the Sitara-i-Imtiaz.

Which country is elected as President of UN-Habitat, the United Nations’ Human Settlements Programme? - India

India was unanimously elected as the President of the UN-Habitat, an organ of the United Nations’ Organisation (UNO) on 8th May 2017. India has been elected to head the body after a decade. Four day meeting of the 58 member Governing Council of UN-Habitat theme is “Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda.”

More about UN-Habitat

• The United Nations Human Settlement Programme established in 1978, is the United Nations agency for human settlements and sustainable urban development.
• It is headquartered at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Kenya.
• The mandate of UN-Habitat derives from the Habitat Agenda, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul in 1996.
• In addition to that, Naidu also chaired the Bureau Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Ministers’ Conference on Housing and Urban Development beginning in Nairobi on 8th May 2017.