[CA] News - June 24, 2017

Around INDIA

# ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C38 successfully launched the 712 kg Cartosat-2 Series Satellite along with 30 co-passenger satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota

- This is the thirty ninth consecutively successful mission of PSLV.

- With this successful launch, the total number of customer satellites from abroad placed in orbit by India’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV has reached 209

# ICGS Kanaklata Barua, a fast patrol vessel was officially decommissioned after two decades of service in a traditional ceremony at the Chennai Port

# Tamil Nadu and Kerala may top the country in literacy rates, but account for the highest proportion of its literate child workers ­ most of them labouring in cities: UN Report

# “Northeast Connect 2017” will be held at Kohima in the month of September

# A commemorative postage stamp released on completion of 50 years of Passport Act (“The Passports Act, 1967”)

# Union Power Ministry launched Weather Portal [‘MERIT’ (Merit Order Despatch of Electricity for Rejuvenation of Income and Transparency)] for Power Sector in association with POSOCO and IMD at the meeting of the Forum of Regulators

# Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have maintained the first, second and third rank respectively in terms of DTVs (Domestic Tourist Visits) in 2016.

# Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have maintained the first, second and third rank respectively in terms of FTVs (Foreign Tourist Visits) in 2016.

# Ministry of Urban Development launched the ‘City Liveability Index’ for measuring the quality of life in 116 major cities including smart cities, capital cities and cities with a population of above one million each. Andhra Pradesh topped the list scoring 96.06% marks.

# Central government announced another list of 30 cities for development as smart cities taking the total cities picked up so far to 90 under Smart City Mission launched on June 25, 2015. Thiruvananthapuram tops the list

# Child victims of cyber crimes can now lodge their complaints at National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)’s POCSO e-box.

# BJP’s Presidential nominee, Mr. Ram Nath Kovind files nomination papers; election is scheduled for July 17

TAMIL NADU

# As many as 32,570 of the 83,859 candidates from Tamil Nadu who took the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET)-UG qualified in the examination for admission to MBBS courses, giving the state an overall pass percentage of 38.84%. Not a single student from Tamil Nadu made it to the all India top 25 rank list in the NEET-UG results

# For the third straight year, Tamil Nadu topped the country in attracting tourists, both foreign and domestic, in 2016.

# In the latest list of Smart Cities by the Central Government, 4 cities form the State has been listed

- Thiruppur (17th), Tirunelveli (23rd), Thoothukudi (24th) and Tiruchirapalli (25th)

# State received just Rs. 29,615 crore in investments of the Rs. 2.42 lakh crore promised by various industrialists at the global investors meet in September 2015

# Tamil Nadu is considering a Business Facilitation Act to ease up procedures for investors: Industries Minister, Mr. M. C. Sampath in Assembly

# State is in talks with Google CEO Mr. Sundar Pichai on setting up Google Centres in the State: Information Technology Minister, Mr. M. Manikandan in Assembly

# Tamil Nadu government may reserve 85% of MBBS/BDS seats for state board students, after ranking them according to their National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2017 scores, if it fails to the get an exemption for the state from the common entrance exam.

# The Madurai bench of the Madras high court directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to set up a site museum near the archaeological excavation at Keezhadi village in Sivaganga district, and wanted to know if the state government was interested in protecting ancient articles

STATES SCAN

# Punjab: becomes the first state to take the amendment route to make way for liquor sale near Highways as the Assembly passed a legislation enabling hotels, restaurants and clubs to serve alcohol within 500m of highways

# Sikkim: the new railway line project Sivok-Rangpo (44 km) has been sanctioned.

BILATERAL ISSUES

# Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi will embark his visit to Portugal, USA and The Netherlands from today (June 24 - 27, 2017)

# 67th Japan Self-Defense Forces Day Program, in New Delhi

WORLD

# China: asked India and US not to disturb peace in SCS (South China Sea)

MISC

# Wipro Chairman Azim Premji is among the recipients of this year’s Carnegie Media, considered the most prestigious prize in philanthropy, for his efforts to reform India’s public school system