Prelim Bits 24-02-2018

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)

ICAI, the chartered accountants regulator will look into the PNB scam to ascertain if there was professional misconduct or wrongdoing by auditors.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory body established by an Act of Parliament, viz. The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.
The Institute, functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.
The ICAI is the second largest professional body of Chartered Accountants in the world, with a strong tradition of service to the Indian economy in public interest.
Some of the functions of ICAI are,

Chardham Mahamarg Pariyojana

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval to the construction of 4,531 km long 2-Lane Bi-Directional Silkyara Bend - Barkot Tunnel with escape in Uttarakhand.
The project will be built under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Model which will provide all weather connectivity to Yamunotri, one of the dham on Chardham Yatra.
It will encourage regional socio-economic development, trade and tourism within the country.
The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), through National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL).

World Congress on Information and Technology (WCIT)

The World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2018 was concluded recently in Hyderabad, India.
The First edition held in 1978 and is conducted by WITSA (World Information Technology & Services Alliance).
India hosted the congress for the first time.
The theme of the conference was 'Future Enterprises.'

The congress is held every two years, during which senior global business, government and academic leaders discuss emerging markets, legal and policy issues, political and economic trends.

International Mother Tongue Day 2018

The United Nations' (UN) International Mother Language Day annually celebrates language diversity and variety worldwide on February 21.
This year theme is ‘Linguistic diversity and multilingualism count for sustainable development’.
At least 43% of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered.
It encourages people to maintain their knowledge of their mother language while learning and using more than one language
International Mother Language Day also supports target 6 of Goal 4 (Literacy) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Operation Greens

Our Finance minister in his budget speech announced the ‘Operation Greens’ on the lines of Operation Flood.
The main objective of the project, according to the finance ministry, is to reduce price volatility in agri commodities such as vegetables.
Operation Greens aims to promote farmer producers organizations, agri-logistics, processing facilities and professional management.
Operation Flood was launched in 1990 by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), India to boost the milk production and income of cattle owners.

Artificial Intelligence – Pwc India Report

The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on employment is expected to be severe, but the benefits outweigh its concerns, says the Pwc India report.
Some of its findings

68% of Indian business decision-makers believe AI will help their business in boosting productivity, generating growth and addressing societal issues.
AI will open up opportunities for people to do more value-added work.
Will allow for greater flexibility and work-life balance.

In the budget speech finance minister said that Niti Aayog would set up a national program to direct efforts in research and development of different AI applications.
Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems.

Source: PIB, The Hindu, Business Standard.