CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR IBPS PO & RRB: 29TH AUGUST 2017

NATIONAL

Ministry of Textiles to organize Pan India camps from 7th-17th October:

          Ministry of Textiles has decided to organize Pan India camps in handlooms and handicrafts clusters, under the initiative –Hastkala Sahyog Shivir. According to an official release, the camps will be organized during 7th to 17th of October this year.

This initiative is dedicated to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Garib Kalyan Varsh, the birth centenary year of Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay.

In these camps, services including credit facilities through MUDRA scheme, assistance for technological upgradation under Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayat and distribution of modern tool kits and equipments will be provided to the weavers and artisans.

 KSTDC announces special Golden Chariot packages for Dasara:

The Department of Tourism through Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) has planned to launch “Dasara Special Tour Package” in Golden Chariot Luxury Train to promote the State festival. Golden Chariot is the South India’s first and only luxury tourist train run by KSTDC. The train will depart from Yeshwantpur railway station.

Karnataka

• Capital: Bengaluru
• Chief Minister: Siddaramaiah
• Governor: Vajubhai Vala

 Supertech gets green nod for Rs1,130 crore Sports Village project in Greater Noida:

           Realty firm Supertech has received green nod for developing a sports-centric housing project in Greater Noida that would entail an investment of Rs.1,130 crore. The proposed residential project ‘Sports Village’ will be launched during Diwali this year and will be completed in four years.

The 62-acre project will be developed in Sector 27 of Greater Noida (west), known as Noida Extension. The Union Environment Ministry has given its clearance (EC) to the proposed ‘Sports Village project’ after taking into account the recommendations of its expert panel, said the EC letter issued to the company.

 MNRE & GIZ Signs Agreement to Improve Framework Conditions for Grid Integration of Renewable Energies:

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH India on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany signed an agreement on technical cooperation under the “Indo-German Energy Programme – Green Energy Corridors (IGEN-GEC)”.

The main objective of this programme component is to improve the sector framework and conditions for grid integration of renewable energies.

In the distinguished presence of Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines Shri Piyush Goyal and the German Ambassador to India, H.E. Dr. Martin Ney, the agreement was signed by Dr. Wolfgang Hannig.

 Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu Launches Sports Talent Search Portal:

                   Ministry of Youth Affairs and sports has launched Sports Talent Search Portal to spot the best talent from among the young population of the country. The portal was launched by the Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu at a function at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi.

Any person interested in registration on the portal can visit www.nationalsportstalenthunt.com Or www.nationalsportstalenthunt.in by following the registration procedure to upload their achievements and videos etc.

 Prime Minister to inaugurate National Highway projects in Rajasthan:

          Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate various National Highway projects in Rajasthan. The projects include six Lane Cable Stayed Bridge across River Chambal at Kota, four laning of Gomati Chauraha – Udaipur section and four laning of Rajsamand – Bhilwara section.

Mr Modi will also lay the foundation stone of various projects including the Jaipur Ring Road. The total outlay on these projects is estimated to be over 15,000 crore rupees.

Rajasthan

• Capital: Jaipur
• Chief Minister: Vasundhara Raje
• Governor: Kalyan Singh

Smriti Irani to inaugurate 92nd foundation course programme for civil services probationers:

          Information and broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani will inaugurate 92nd foundation course programme for civil services probationers at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of administration in Mussoorie.

First Synergy Conference on Defence Pension Organised by Defence Accounts Department:

The Defence Accounts Department (DAD) organized its first Synergy Conference on Defence Pensions. The conference was attended by all Defence Pensioners Associations and was open to all Defence Pensioners. Additional Controller General of Defence Accounts (Addl. CGDA) Shri Prashant Sukul, emphasized the importance of stakeholder consultations by way of Synergy Conferences initiated by DAD.

The objective of the conference was to obtain feedback from the pensioners that would help the department to serve them better with constantly improving systems and procedures. Digitization of pension data and implementation of a pensionsapp were also discussed in detail.

Mumbai: Railway Police to launch special helpline for reporting crime

The Government Railway Police (GRP) in Mumbai is going to set up a special emergency railway helpline to respond to passengers’ complaints quickly.

Commuters can dial 1512 to directly report thefts, harassment of women, fights, etc. to the nearest officer. Within five minutes, a GRP team will arrive outside the complainant’s compartment at the next station.

Maharashtra

• Capital: Mumbai
• Chief Minister: Devendra Fadnavis
• Governor: C. Vidyasagar Rao

 INTERNATIONAL

Kenya imposes world’s toughest law against plastic bags:

          Kenyans producing, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000, as the world’s toughest law aimed at reducing plastic pollution came into effect.

The East African nation joins more than 40 other countries that have banned, partly banned or taxed single use plastic bags, including China, France, Rwanda, and Italy.

Kenya

• Currency: Kenyan shilling
• Capital: Nairobi

 India and China agree to end border standoff:

          India and China have agreed to an “expeditious disengagement” of troops in a disputed border area where their soldiers have been locked in a stand-off for more than two months, India’s foreign ministry said.

The decision comes ahead of a summit of the BRICS nations – a grouping that also includes Brazil, Russia and South Africa – in China beginning, which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend. Indian and Chinese troops have been confronting each other at the Doklam plateau near the borders of India, its ally Bhutan, and China, in the most serious and prolonged standoff in decades along their disputed Himalayan border.

China

• Currency: Renminbi
• Capital: Beijing
• Prime minister: Li Keqiang
• President: Xi Jinping

Ocean forecasting system for Madagascar and Mozambique:

          The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences here inaugurated the Ocean Forecasting System for Comoros, Madagascar, and Mozambique at the third Ministerial Meeting of Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Asia and Africa (RIMES), held at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

 BANKING & BUSINESS

DIPP releases next edition of consolidated FDI policy:

The Commerce and Industry Ministry released the next edition of its consolidated FDI policy document, incorporating all the changes made over the past year.

The DIPP, which deals with FDI related matters, compiles all policies related to foreign investment regime into a single document to make it simple and easy for investors to understand. The whole exercise is aimed at providing an investor friendly climate to foreign players and, in turn, attract more FDI to boost economic growth and create jobs.

During the last one year, the government has liberalised FDI policy in over a dozen sectors, including defence, civil aviation, construction and development, private security agencies and news broadcasting. Foreign investments are considered crucial for India, which needs around 1 trillion US Dollars for overhauling its infrastructure sector such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth.

ICEX launches world’s first diamond futures contracts:

The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) launched the world’s first diamond futures contracts to provide exporters with a hedging tool.

The merger of Ahmedabad-based National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE) into ICEX was also announced. ICEX will soon approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Ahmedabad, to initiate the merger procedure. After merger clearance, ICEX would automatically get approval for the launch of some agricultural commodities like rubber, coffee. The launch will also lead to efficient price discovery based on demand and supply and nationwide market participation.

 I-T Dept once again warned people against cash dealings of Rs 2 lakh & more:

The Income Tax Department once again warned people against cash dealings of 2 lakh rupees and more, saying any violation of this cap will invite strict penalty under law. In a public message, the department said accepting 2 lakh rupees or more in aggregate from a single person in a day for one or more transactions relating to one event or occasion is prohibited. The department in the past has issued similar public advertisements.

Similarly, receiving or repaying 20,000 rupees or more in cash for transfer of immovable property and paying more than 10,000 rupees in cash relating to expenditure of business or profession is also banned. The newly inserted section 269ST in the Income Tax Act bans such cash dealings on a single day, in respect of a single transaction or transactions relating to one event or occasion from an individual.

The tax department has also asked the public to report such violations or those pertaining to black money to their jurisdictional principal commissioner of I-T department or email the same to blackmoneyinfo@incometax.gov.in. The central government had banned cash transactions of 2 lakh rupees or more from April 1, 2017, through the Finance Act 2017.

 Twitter launches digital education program for media agency professionals:

Twitter launched a new media agency program named “#TweetToTheTop”, dedicated to young media executives. Eleven agencies from global media and advertising networks including Dentsu, GroupM, IPG and Omnicom would participate in the initiative in five nations of Asia Pacific that includes India, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia.

It aims to attract hundreds of young media planners and executives from the five markets to showcase their best work using Twitter solutions. The top 25 among them will compete to have their work entered into The Cannes Festival of Creativity in July 2018.

 Airtel, Symantec partner to fight cyber wars:

           Bharti Airtel has entered into a partnership with Symantec Corporation to protect businesses in India from online threats. The partnership comes amid a spike in cyber attacks over the past few months, including ransomwares such as Petya and WannaCry that disrupted systems across the world.

According to the agreement, Airtel will be the exclusive Cyber Security Services partner for Symantec in India, and will distribute the US-based software firm’s enterprise security software. Through the partnership, the two companies will target the IT security requirements of large enterprises, small and medium businesses, as well as the government.

AWARDS

NMCG Awards Contracts for Three STPs on Hybrid Annuity Mode:

In a big push to Namami Gange programme, National Mission for Clean Ganga under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has awarded for the first time contracts for three STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants) under hybrid annuity model. Two STPs of 68 MLD and 14 MLD will be set up at Haridwar and one STP of 15 MLD at Varanasi.

This Hybrid Annuity model is first of its kind in the country’s waste water management sector. The Central Government will completely fund the STPs construction ensuring that there is no shortage of resources for the project. The unique financial model will ensure the transparency and accountability of the running of sewage treatment infrastructure. The contractors will not only establish the sewage treatment plant but they will also operate and maintain it for a period of 15 years.

 13-year-old Indian-origin boy in UK gets top score in Mensa IQ:

A 13-year-old Indian-origin boy Dhruv Garg, from Wokingham in south east England, in the UK has got the highest possible score of 162 on a Mensa IQ test, placing him in the top one per cent people in the world who achieved this feat.

 RESIGNS

HSBC India investment banking head Sunil Sanghai resigns, joins Dhruva Advisors:

Foreign lender HSBC India’s vice chairman and investment banking head Sunil Sanghai quit the British banking giant and joined hands with the Dinesh Kanabar-promoted tax and regulatory firm Dhruva Advisors to start a merchant banking division.

HISTORIC EVENTS OF THE DAY

National Sports Day: August 29th

National Sports day, the Day is celebrated on 29th august every year to mark the birthday of Dhyan Chand. To celebrate the day various programs are being conducted through the country.

On this occasion, President Ram Nath Kovind will give away the sports Awards this evening. A total of 29 players have been selected to receive the honours from President. The President will confer Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award and Dronacharya Award at Rashtrapati Bhawan.

 OBITUARY

Legendary footballer and Olympian Ahmed Khan dead at 90:

Ahmed Khan, a member of India’s gold winning football team at the first Asian Games in 1951, passed away at the age of 91 after prolonged illness.

Previous Day Current Affairs:

Current Affairs August 28, 2017

Current Affairs August 27, 2017

Current Affairs August 26, 2017