Current Affairs

 The 5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Intersessional ministerial meeting was held in Tokyo, Japan. It was first RCEP ministerial gathering to be held outside ASEAN countries. It was co-chaired by Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing and his Japanese counterpart Hiroshige Seko. During the meeting, ministers from member countries had in-depth discussions on issues such as trade, service, investment and rules at the meeting.
About Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in Brief (RCEP): RCEP is a proposed proposed free trade agreement (FTA) or comprehensive regional economic integration agreement between the 10-ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its six FTA partners (Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Japan and Korea).

 The Election Commission of India has launched Cvigil mobile application for citizens to report any violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during elections. The app aims at empowering people across the country to share evidence of malpractice by political parties, their candidates and activists directly with ECI. At present its beta version has been released and will be made available for use during forthcoming Assembly elections Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Rajasthan.
  • Features of cVigil
It will allow anyone in election-bound state to report violations of MCC. By using this app, vigilant citizens can immediately report on incidents of misconduct anonymously and in real-time by clicking picture or record video of upto two minutes and uploading it on the app. The identity of the complainant will be kept confidential and will be provided with Unique ID to track and receive the follow up updates on the mobile. The app also has inbuilt features to prevent its misuse. It will be active only in States where elections have been announced. The app also facilitates sharing of geo-tagged photographic and video evidence without disclosing identity of sender. The uploaded information will be transmitted to control room and from there to field units or flying squads, mapped on Geographic Information System (GIS) for further action.
  • Background
So far, complaints about violations of MCC often were not followed instantly, leading to violators escaping detection from action squads. Besides, lack of any documented evidence in form of pictures or videos was seen as hurdle in verifying complaint. Further, absence of robust response system to quickly and accurately identify scene of occurrence of violations with help of geographical location details hampered election officers’ ability to apprehend violators. The cVigil app is expected to fill in all these gaps and create fast-track complaint reception and redressal system.

 The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched its in-house developed, single-umbrella e-marketing system named Khadi Institution Management and Information System (KIMIS) in New Delhi. The system can be accessed from anywhere in the country for sale and purchase of Khadi and Village Industries products.
  • Khadi Institution Management and Information System (KIMIS)
KIMIS will serve as in-house single umbrella billing software for sale and purchase that could be monitored, round-the-clock, from any part of India. It has been developed by KVIC IT team. It will give real-time data of sales and also give updated status of stocks of khadi bhawans and godowns, allowing better planning and control of inventory. 480 Khadi institutions and showrooms of KVIC will be linked with this billing software. The software will be useful in raising demand and supply of goods in high demand.
  • Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
KVIC is a statutory body formed under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act, 1956. It is an apex organization under the aegis of Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
  • Functions of KVIC
It plans, promotes, organizes and implements programmes for development of Khadi and village industries in rural areas. It creates and manages reserves of raw materials and supplying them to producers, creating common service facilities for processing of raw material and semi-finished goods. It promotes sales and marketing of Khadi Products. It also encourages and promotes research in production techniques and equipments in Khadi Industries.

 The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched its, in-house developed,single-umbrella e-marketing system named Khadi Institution Management and Information System (KIMIS) in New Delhi.The system can be accessed from anywhere in the country for the sale and purchase of Khadi and Village Industries products. This software will give real-time data of sales and will also give the updated status of stocks of khadi bhawans and godowns, allowing better planning and control of inventory of the KVIC.
Source-  Press Information Bureau (PIB)

 Tony Award winner Liliane Montevecchi, the Paris-born dancer, actor, and singer, passed away at the age of 85 following a battle with colon cancer. Born October 13, 1932, started her ballet studies when she was nine; by the time she was 18 she had joined Roland Petit's dance company, Les Ballets de Paris, where she eventually became a prima ballerina.
Source- The New York Times

 Noted artist Anjolie Ela Menon had received the National Kalidas Samman in Delhi for visual arts from the Madhya Pradesh government. The award was conferred in recognition of her insightful and sensitive portrayal of the identity and spirit of women through her meaningful paintings in a variety of media. With her first solo exhibition being held in Delhi in 1958, Menon is counted among India’s most accomplished artists and is the recipient of numerous national and international awards including the Padma Shri. Artist A. Ramachandran was also conferred with the Kalidas Award.
Source- The Indian Express

 The Bharti Infratel, a mobile infrastructure company, has got the approval of competition watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) for merging its operations with Indus Towers. The proposed merger values Indus Towers at an enterprise valuation of Rs71,500 crore, and will create one of the largest mobile tower entities worldwide with 1.63 lakh towers in all 22 telecom circles. The combined company will own 100% of Indus Towers.
Source- The Hindu

 Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das announced that the first 'Khadi Mall' of the country will be opened in Jharkhand. The land in the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) campus will be made available to the Khadi Board to develop the country's first Khadi mall. The artisans would be provided technological aid for value addition in their products, while rural, urban and tourism 'haats' will provide them markets for their goods.
Source- The Times Now

 Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam has become the first oil public sector undertaking (PSU) to adopt an online legal compliance system by introducing 'Legatrix'. The cloud-based compliance management system was inaugurated by Managing Director S K Barua at the company’s corporate office in Guwahati recently. This initiative will boost up NRL’s contribution towards the Digital India Mission and induce a greater transparency in its operations. 
Source- The Hindu Business Line

 The International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST), the global voice of food science and technology in association with Indian National Science Academy (INSA) as adhering body, announced the 19th edition of its prestigious global event to be held in Navi Mumbai, India in October 2018. The five-day event will bring together researchers, academicians, professionals, policymakers and industry leaders from across the globe to showcase innovation, exchange breakthrough ideas and drive policy issues. The focal theme for this edition of the prestigious congress is 25 Billion Meals a Day by 2025 with Healthy, Nutritious, Safe and Diverse Foods. 
Source- ANI News


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