12th June Current Affairs in English

World

Talks Resumes between Nepal & India

Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Nepalese counterpart Kamal Thapa held bilateral talks on Friday, during which they decided to resolve the differences between the nations. This was the first top political meeting after Nepal recalled its envoy and cancelled its President's visit to India.

India

Sikkim becomes India’s first State to launch open government data portal

i. Sikkim became the first state in India to have an open government data portal linked ‘sikkim.data.gov.in’.

ii. The portal was launched by Lok Sabha MP, P D Rai and also launched Open Government Data Platform (Sikkim).

Key facts

• The portal has been developed by Government of Sikkim’s Information Technology Department and NIC team from Delhi.
• The open government data portal facilitates free use, reuse and redistribution of data produced or commissioned by the government or government controlled entities by anyone.

India ranked 141 out of 163 countries on 2016 Global Peace Index

i. India was ranked 141 on a Global Peace Index (GPI) for year 2016 out of 163 countries, making it less peaceful country.

ii. The GPI ranking of 163 countries was compiled by global think Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). India has moved up two positions from 143rd rank in 2015 GPI.

Key facts from 2016 Global Peace Index

• Top 10 peaceful countries: Iceland (1st), Denmark (2nd), Austria (3rd), New Zealand (4th), Portugal (5th), Czech Republic (6th), Switzerland (7th), Canada (8th), Japan (9th) and Slovenia (10th).
• Top least peaceful countries: Pakistan (153rd), Libya (154th), Sudan (155th), Ukraine (156th), Central African Republic (157th), Yemen (158th), Somalia (159th), Afghanistan (160th), Iraq (161st), South Sudan (162nd) and Syria (163rd).
• India’s neighbours: Bhutan (13th), Nepal (78th), Bangladesh (83rd), Sri Lanka (97th), China (120th) and Pakistan (153rd).
• In 2016, the economic impact of violence on the global economy was around US 13.6 trillion dollars (13.3 % of gross world product).
• In this year, the world became a less peaceful mainly on account of increased terrorism and higher levels of political instability.

About Global Peace Index (GPI)

• GPI is an annual report published by the Sydney (Australia) based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) since 2007.
• GPI uses 22 indicators to measure levels of world peace. Indicators range from a nation’s level of military expenditure to its relations with neighboring nations and the percentage of prison population in 162 countries. It also includes safety and security in society, extent of domestic and international conflict.
• The IEP is an international and independent think tank dedicated to draw the world’s attention towards peace as a positive, achievable, and tangible measure of human well-being and development.

Sports

Abhinav chosen as flag bearer in Olympics

Olympic champion shooter Abhinav Bindra (33-year) has chosen as the flag bearer of the Indian contingent at the Rio Games’ opening ceremony on 5th August 2016.

Business & Economy

Google, Tata Trusts launch ‘Internet Sathi’ in West Bengal to empower rural women 

i. The Indian unit of search giant Google Inc and Tata Trusts have jointly launched ‘Internet Saathi’ program in Purulia district of West Bengal. 

ii. The initiative has been launched as part of Google’s ‘Helping Women Get Online’ campaign, in order to create awareness about the benefits of Internet among women in rural India. 

Key facts 

• The initiative will initially be rolled out with an objective to reach 1 lakh women in over 400 villages in Purulia district. 
• It will focus on training women and larger communities to learn and explore various uses and benefits of the Internet. 
• Tata Trusts will play a crucial role in training women master trainers called “saathis” identified from Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Women’s federations. 
• Google will provide the tablet and mobile devices along with training material. It will also train the master trainers. 
• The initiative includes an awareness module, coupled with hands-on training modules on how to use the Internet, using mobile devices in their local languages. 
• ‘Internet Saathi’ program was launched in July 2015. So far it has trained and benefitted over 2 lakh women across villages in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Google under its Helping Women Get Online has already trained over 2 million women across the country. 

Union Ministry of Power launches Surya Mitra Mobile App 

i. The Union Ministry of Power has launched Surya Mitra mobile App to serve customers in the field of renewable energy. 

ii. The app was launched by Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal at National Workshop on Rooftop Solar Power held in New Delhi.

iii. The App will serve customers at their doorsteps with quality installation, repair, and Observations and Measurements (O&M) in the field of renewable energy. 

About Surya Mitra Mobile App 

• Surya Mitra Mobile App has been developed by National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), an autonomous institution of Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE). 
• The app has been developed in a high end technology platform that can handle thousands of customers’ calls simultaneously and can efficiently monitor all visits of Suryamitra’s. 
• Using this app, customers can avail services like maintenance, serving and repairing at the click of a button on their mobiles. 
• It will help enhance the employment of trained youth i.e. Suryamitra’s in solar PV technology. Further it will also help to improve the businesses of solar entrepreneurs. 

Suryamitra initiative: It is Union Government’s skill development program to create skilled manpower in commissioning, installation, O&M of solar power plants and equipment. It primary objective is to provide entrepreneurship and employability opportunites to rural and urban youth & women.