CURRENT AFFAIRS : SEPTEMBER 26,2017
NATIONAL
PM Switches on Rs 16kcr Scheme to Light Up Bharat:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a 16,320-crore Scheme to supply electricity to all households by December 2018, providing free connections to the poor and at very low cost to others.
The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojna, named `Saubhagya‘, which will be executed just before the next general elections, aims to improve the environment, public health, education and connectivity with the help of last-mile power connections across India. It will help reduce the use of kerosene lamps in non-electrified households.
Odisha Government launched ‘Sampurna Yojana’:
Odisha government has launched a programme making provision of Rs 1,000 as transport cost for pregnant women to hospital from inaccessible areas.
The government launched ‘SAMPURNA’ (Sishu Abond Matru Mrityuhara Purna Nirakaran Abhijan) programme under the state budget to increase institutional deliveries in order to reduce infant mortality rate (IMR) as well as mother mortality rate (MMR).
Odisha
- Capital: Bhubaneswar
- Chief Minister: Naveen patnaik
- Governor: S.C. Jamir
Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd gets IOC nod to set up G27k crore refinery:
The board of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has approved the setting up of a Rs 27,460 crore refinery by its subsidiary, Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CPCL). This will be CPCL’s third refinery. It currently operates a 10.5 million tonnes Manali refinery in Tamil Nadu. It also has a smaller 1 million-tonne Nagapattinam refinery.
First ever National Conference on ‘Mission Mode to address Under-Nutrition’ held in New Delhi:
The Ministry of Women and Child Development will hold the first ever National Conference in New Delhi on Mission Mode to address Under-Nutrition in the country. The Secretary WCD, Shri Rakesh Srivastava said that this conference is being organized by the Ministry of Women & Child Development in collaboration with Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, keeping in mind the goal of “Malnutrition Free India-2022”.
INTERNATIONAL
Pakistan, Russia begin joint military drills DRUZBA 2017:
A two-week long joint exercise named ‘DRUZBA (Friendship) 2017’ between the special forces of Pakistan and Russian armies kicked off in Minralney Vody, Russia.
The joint exercise will enhance and further strengthen military ties between both the countries and share Pakistan Army’s experience in war against terrorism.
Pakistan
- Currency: Rupee
- Capital: Islamabad
- Prime Minister: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Russia
- Russian President: Vladimir Putin.
- Currency: Russian ruble
- Capital: Moscow
World’s smallest squirrel discovered in Indonesia:
Indonesian scientists have found the world’s smallest squirrel in the country’s Borneo rain forest.
The Bormean pigmy squirrel or exilisciurus exilis was found in Meratus mountain of South Kalimantan province, Xinhua news agency quoted a senior scientist as saying.
Indonesia
- Currency: Indonesian rupiah
- Capital: Jakarta
BANKING & BUSINESS
TRIFED inks MoU with Amazon to sale tribal products online:
The government of India has partnered with Amazon to sell tribal products through the online marketplace. Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED), a PSU under Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, and Amazon would sign a MoU next week for the same. TRIFED is also expanding its operations through other ecommerce portals.
China Real Estate Developer Hui Ka Yan Becomes Asia’s Richest Man:
Hui Ka Yan, the chairman of big China real estate developer China Evergrande Group, has become Asia’s richest man following a run-up in the company’s Hong Kong-listed shares.
Among mainland Chinese, Hui’s estimated fortune of $42.2 billion puts him ahead of Tencent Holdings Chairman Ma Huateng ($39.1 billion), Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma ($38.9 billion), and Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin ($30.4 billion), according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List.
China
- Currency: Renminbi
- Capital: Beijing
- Prime minister: Li Keqiang
- President: Xi Jinping
Irdai panel to help move to risk-based capital norms in 3 years:
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has formed a ten-member steering committee to help implement by March 2021 the new risk-based capital (RBC) regime that will also enhance protection to policyholders.
The RBC committee headed by Dilip C Chakraborty in its report to Irdai suggested that the industry should move ahead with RBC to ensure that capital held by a company will take into account its overall risk profile.
IRDAI
- Headquarters: Hyderabad, Telangana
- Chairman: S. Vijayan
SEBI allows realty, infra trusts to issue bonds:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Real Estate investment Trusts (REITs) to raise capital by issuing debt securities.
The move could help attract investors to the capital-starved property sector.In addition to allowing bond issuances, SEBI also introduced the concept of strategic investor for REITs, similar to InvITs.
InvITs and REITs are vehicles that allow investors to take exposure to an income-generating infrastructure project or real estate property.
SEBI
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Chairman: Ajay Tyagi
SBI training institute in Kolkata to be unveiled:
Country’s largest lender, State Bank of India will be unveiling its sixth apex management training facility in Kolkata.At present, of the five such institutes run by the bank, three are in Hyderabad and one each in Gurgaon and Indore.
SBI
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Chairman: Arundhati Bhattacharya
SBI cuts minimum average balance from Rs 5,000 to Rs 3,000:
SBI has lowered the average minimum balance requirement under its savings account for metro customers to Rs 3,000 from Rs 5,000 earlier following protests. Minimum balance for urban, semi-urban and rural centres continues to be at Rs 3,000, Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000, respectively, as per the bank’s website.
For non-maintenance of Minimum Average Balance (MAB), the charges have been revised downward, ranging from 20% to 50% across all population groups and categories. The new charges at semi-urban and rural centres range from Rs 20 to Rs 40, and at urban and metro centres from Rs 30 to Rs 50. The revised MAB requirement and charges will become applicable from the month of October 2017. The above revision will benefit 5 crore account holders.
Following categories of savings bank accounts are excluded from MAB requirement:
- Small Accounts
- Basic Savings Bank Deposit Accounts
- Financial Inclusion Accounts
- Phela Kadam and Pheli Udaan accounts.
- Minors up to the age group of 18 (Primary Account Holder)
- Pensioners, all categories, including recipients of social welfare benefits
APPOINTMENTS
Bibek Debroy to head PM Modi’s Economic Advisory Council:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi constituted an Economic Advisory NITI Aayog member and a former professor at the Centre for Policy Research, Bibek Debroy has been appointed as Chairman of Economic Advisory Council.
Other members of the Economic Advisory Council constituted by PM Modi are Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy, Ashima Goyal and Ratan Watal.
Balraj Joshi appointed as new NHPC chairman:
Balraj Joshi was appointed the chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of NHPC Ltd, the country’s premier hydro power utility.
Joshi is at present director (technical) in the organisation. The appointments committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post till 31 December, 2019
AWARDS
Rajkummar Rao bags GQ Actor of the Year Award:
Rajkummar was elated with the announcement that his new release ‘Newton’ is India’s official entry for the coveted Academy Awards 2018, he had another reason to rejoice as, the same day, he also bagged the GQ Actor of the Year Award.
Maryna Viazovska to receive 2017 Sastra Ramanujan Prize:
Maryna Viazovska of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland, will receive 2017 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize for her contribution to number theory.
SASTRA Ramanujan Prize was established in 2005 and is awarded annually for outstanding contributions by young mathematicians to areas influenced by Srinivasa Ramanujan. The age limit for the prize has been set at 32 because Ramanujan achieved so much in his brief life of 32 years.
SPORTS
Sourav Kothari wins gold in billiards at Asian Indoor Games:
India’s Sourav Kothari overcame a stiff challenge from former World Billiards champion Praprut Chaitanasakun of Thailand to win the gold medal in the Asian Indoor Games.
ICC Launches Anti-Corruption Probe into Sri Lanka Cricket:
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched an anti-corruption investigation in Sri Lanka but did not specify if any particular series involving the country is under the scanner.
The ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) officers had recently visited the country as part of the probe.
Srilanka
- Currency: Sri Lankan rupee
- Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
- Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe
OBITUARY
Egypt national Eman Ahmed, world’s ‘heaviest’ woman, dies in Abu Dhabi:
Eman Ahmed, the world’s heaviest woman who underwent a weight-loss surgery in Mumbai earlier this year, passed away in Abu Dhabi.
