Top 5 Current Affairs: 31 August 2017

Union Cabinet approves MoU on India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund

Union Cabinet has approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Israel. The MoU is on India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F), which was concluded in July 2017.

The approval was given on 30 August 2017 at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As per the terms and conditions of the MoU, India and Israel will make a contribution of four million US dollars each for the Fund annually for five years.

Biggest X-ray laser gun on Earth opens in September 2017

The biggest X-ray laser gun on earth named, European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL), will begin operating in September 2017.

The European XFEL will shoot 27000 laser pulses per second, 200 times more per second than the next highest-performing gun in California. The first laser pulses were produced in May 2017.
The 1.5 billion-euro laser replaces its predecessor, FLASH, in Germany.

EU, India agrees to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation

The European Union and India have agreed to strengthen cooperation between their security and intelligence agencies to combat the threat of terrorism and check terror financing.

During the 10th India-European Union Counter Terrorism Dialogue in New Delhi on 30 August 2017, the two sides deliberated extensively on combating terror financing and challenges posed by radicalisation and violent extremism.

Amazon to help implement Karnataka’s Ksheera Bhagya Scheme

Amazon has announced a partnership with the Akshaya Patra Foundation to implement the Karnataka Government’s Ksheera Bhagya Scheme in the city. Under the scheme, the school children of the city would be provided with a glass of milk each five days a week.

This scheme ensures that children start their day in school with a healthy glass of milk, which is rich in protein and fat, essential for healthy growth and all-round development of children.

India, China jointly propose removal of US, EU farm subsidies

India and China have jointly submitted a proposal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) calling for the elimination of the most trade-distorting form of farm subsidies, known as Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) as a prerequisite for consideration of other reforms in domestic support negotiations.

The proposal is significant in view of the ongoing negotiations for the upcoming 11th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, which is scheduled to be held in Buenos Aires in December 2017. It counters the efforts of some countries to target the subsidies of the developing countries while letting the developed countries retain their huge farm subsidies.