Current Affairs 28th August 2018

Current Affairs 28th August 2018 - Important Points

• India’s first flight powered by biofuel landed at IGI Airport on - 27th August 2018
• FAME India phase II to be launched on - 7th September 2018
• Online portal for common carrier capacity booking launched by - Petroleum Minister
• Government signed MoU with 6 states for construction of Lakhwar Multi-Purpose Project in Uttarakhand on - 28th August 2018
• Government announced Drone Regulations 1.0 for safe commercial usage of Drones on - 27th August 2018
• Sports policy for CPSEs launched by - Steel Ministry

 Current Affairs 28th August 2018 - Details

India’s first flight powered by biofuel landed at IGI Airport on - 27th August 2018

India’s first flight powered by Biofuel landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on 27th August, 2018 after taking off from Dehradun. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha were also present to receive the flight as it landed following its maiden run.

Important Details

• Speaking at a function in New Delhi, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu mentioned that an environment-friendly aviation sector is needed to create the positive impact on the environment.
• He also added that Spice Jet is the first Indian airline to fly on biofuel.also the action plan will be made keeping in mind the year 2035.
• Other than this, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the government is also planning to use methanol in the shipping sector.
• He said that the dependence on biofuel will be helping to boost farmer's income and is an ideal example to convert waste into wealth.

FAME India phase II to be launched on - 7th September 2018

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be launching the second phase of the FAME India scheme on 7th September, 2018. The scheme will be offering incentives for mass adoption of electric vehicles with an outlay of Rs 5,500 crore.

The Prime Minister will also be unveiling the scheme at the inaugural session of 'MOVE' – the global mobility summit, being organised in New Delhi from September 7th-8th. The summit will be seeing the attendance of several global CEOs from the automotive sector.

Important Highlights

• The modalities of the scheme have been finalised by an inter-ministerial panel and will be soon placed before the union Cabinet for its approval.
• The second phase of the scheme spanning five years will also be offering a subsidy to all categories of electric vehicles, including two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers including taxis and electric buses that are used in public transportation.
• The scheme is being launched with a motto to promote green vehicles and check pollution. It will also be envisaging to set up a massive charging infrastructure to support electric vehicles.
• However, strong hybrid vehicles, which were entitled for the incentives in the ongoing pilot phase of the scheme, would not be able to avail (SOPs) in its second phase.

Online portal for common carrier capacity booking launched by - Petroleum Minister

The Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan launched an online portal to enable easy, efficient and transparent booking of common carrier capacity for  natural gas transmission services under GAIL’s pipelines on 27th August 2018.

This portal will going to be the first step to facilitate gas trading on a hub or exchange-traded platform in India. 
Important Highlights

• This online portal is a transparent, market-friendly component in the gas trading system.
• It will be acting as a milestone in the expansion of gas marketing, without human interface, through digital means.
• It will be enabling the new entities to utilise GAIL’s infrastructure in procuring the gas in a cost-effective manner.
• Thus, it will also be helping GAIL raise the standards of consumer experience for third-party access to natural gas pipelines to consumers in India.

Government signed MoU with 6 states for construction of Lakhwar Multi-Purpose Project in Uttarakhand on - 28th August 2018

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari on 28th August 2018 signed MoU with the Chief Ministers of Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan,Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh for the construction of the Rs 3966.51 crore Lakhwar Multi-Purpose projects in the Upper Yamuna Basin
near Dehradun in Uttarakhand.

Yogi Adityanath (CM of Uttar Pradesh), Vasundhara Raje from Rajasthan, Trivendra Singh Rawat from Uttarakhand, Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana), Arvind Kejriwal from Delhi, and Jai Ram Thakur from Himachal Pradesh signed the MoU.

The Lakhwar project was approved in 1976 initially but project work was suspended in 1992.

Government announced Drone Regulations 1.0 for safe commercial usage of Drones on - 27th August 2018

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on 27th August, 2018 issued the CAR (Civil Aviation Requirements) or regulations for the public  use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System which are commonly known as drones.

The regulations were developed after extensive consultations among various stakeholders, and will come into effect starting from 1st December, 2018. Drones are a technology platform having wide applications ranging from photography to agriculture, from infrastructure asset maintenance to insurance. Drones range in size from very small to the ones that can carry multiple kgs of payload.

The regulation defines “No Drone Zones” around the airports; near the international border, Vijay Chowk in New Delhi; State Secretariat Complex in State Capitals, strategic locations and vital and military installations; etc.

Sports policy for CPSEs launched by - Steel Ministry

The Union Minister of Steel, Chaudhary Birender Singh on 27th August, 2018 unveiled the corporate sports policy for Central Public Sector Enterprises  under the Ministry of Steel in New Delhi.

The policy will be providing a framework for the promotion of sports by Steel Ministry CPSEs.
While speaking on the occasion, Chaudhary Birender Singh mentioned that sports are an indicator of a country’s economic development and strength and the CPSEs, under the Steel Ministry, will be striving to groom medal aspirants for the Olympic Games.

Important Highlights

• The Steel CPSEs will discharge their responsibility via infrastructural and institutional support for talent spotting, scholarships, training and coaching.
• The CPSEs will be first allocating a specific budget for sports activities according to their financial strength. The allocated amount will be separate from the company’s CSR funds.
• The amount would be utilised by the companies to encourage rural sports, sports for differently-abled and activities for homemakers by sponsoring annual as well as periodic sporting events.
• The public sector companies will also be sponsoring national and international sporting events.
  Other than this, all the CPSEs under the Steel Ministry will be forming an apex sports body, which will be affiliated to National Level Sports Associations and Federations,  Indian Olympic Association and Para Olympic Federation and Association.
• The Maharatna and Navaratna CPSEs may set up sports academy in at least one of the identified sports discipline and maintain infrastructure there for including facilities and general fitness equipment.