DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : JANUARY 27, 2018

NATIONAL

‘Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana’ benefits launched in Punjab

  • Punjab chief minister launched the release of benefits under ‘Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana’.
  • The objective was to give the distressed sections the help they need, socially or economically or psychologically.
  • It was also launched with the motto “Wipe every tear from every eye” as imagined  by Mahatma Gandhi.

Punjab

Capital: Chandigarh

Chief Minister: Amarinder Singh

Governor: V P Singh Badnore

First Metro City To Get A Floating Market: Kolkata,West Bengal

  • Kolkata became the first metro city to have a floating market.
  • The market was unveiled by the Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee.
  • The Lake Patuli has been transformed into a floating market, which is 500 mts long and 60 mts wide.
  • The aim is to rehabilitate over 200 shopkeepers from a nearby market that was demolished for the widening of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.

West Bengal

Capital: Kolkata

Chief Minister: Mamata Banerjee

Governor: Keshari Nath Tripathi

Panipat to get country’s first smart grid project

  • The project has been established in collaboration with a Japanese company, New Energy Industrial Technology and Development Organisation (NEDO).
  • It is planned to built at the cost of about Rs 145 crore.
  • Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar along with the Japanese Ambassador to India and Yoshi Peru Sato, executive director of NEDO inaugurated the project.
  • In Total,14 smart grid projects had been allotted across the country and the first project had been established in Panipat city in collaboration with NEDO.

Haryana

Capital: Chandigarh

Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar

Governor: Kaptan Singh Solanki

INTERNATIONAL

India, Vietnam Release First-Ever Commemorative Stamps

  • India and Vietnam released first ever set of commemorative postage stamps.
  • It is to mark the long term friendly bilateral relationships between the two countries.
  • It is on the theme of ancient architecture which is a symbol of strong friendship between the two countries.
  • The two set of stamps released carry picture of Sanchi Stupa in madhya pradesh, India and Thien Mu Pagoda in Hue,vietnam.

Vietnam

Capital: Hanoi

Currency: Vietnamese dong

President: Tran Dai Quang

Vietnam IT and Communications Minister: Truong Monh Tuan

India to host informal WTO Ministerial gathering

  • India’s offering to host the meeting was made after trade ministers from various countries including Australia, Japan and Switzerland met in Davos.
  • Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO Deepak Jagdish Saksena attended the informal meeting
  • India announced that it will host an informal WTO Ministerial gathering in March. The meeting would be held in New Delhi.

WEF launches Global Centre for Cybersecurity

  • In a aim to safeguard the world from hackers and growing data breaches, the World Economic Forum (WEF) announced a new Global Centre for Cybersecurity.
  • The centre will be headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and it will become operational from March 2018.
  • It was announced by Alois Zwinggi, Managing Director of WEF.
  • The 48th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting took place in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, under the theme Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World.

First India-designed vaccine passes WHO test

  • For the first time, rotavac vaccine, entirely developed in India has been “pre-qualified” by the World Health Organisation.
  • The Rotavac vaccine protects against childhood diarrhoea caused by the rotavirus.
  • It is developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech Limited and it was included in India’s national immunisation programme.
  • To be “pre-qualified” means that the vaccine can be sold internationally to several countries in Africa and South America.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Payments and Small finance banks can offer Atal Pension Yojana

  • The social security scheme, the Atal Pension Yojana (APY)  will now also be available at small finance and payments banks.
  • It will provide a boost to the outreach of subscribers under APY. The APY was launched by PM Narendra Modi on May 9, 2015, open to all citizens between the ages of 18 and 40 years.
  • It provides a minimum guaranteed pension of ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 per month, after the age of 60 years, depending on the monthly contribution made by a subscriber.
  • The Reserve Bank of India had given licence to 11 payments banks and 10 small finance banks. Of these, nine small finance banks — including Ujjivan, Janalakshmi and Equitas — and four payments banks, which include Airtel Payments Bank and Paytm Payments Bank, have already started operations.

APPOINTMENTS

Usha Ananthasubramanian Becomes 1st Woman IBA Chief

  • Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD and CEO of Allahabad Bank has been elected the first woman chairman of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
  • Usha was elected as IBA Chairman for the year 2017-18 by its Managing Committee.
  • He replaces after the retirement of Jatinder Bir Singh, who was Chairman and Managing Director of Punjab & Sind Bank.
  • IBA is an association of Indian banks and financial institutions. It is a representative body of management of banking in India operating in India.

IBA

Headquarters: Mumbai.

CEO: Mohan V Tanksale

OBITUARY

Kannada actor Chandrashekhar passes away

  • Noted Kannada actor Chandrashekhar popularly known as ‘Edakallu Guddada Mele’ Chandrashekhar passed away.
  • He had acted in over 40 films to date and his last film ‘3 ghante, 30 dina, 30 second’.
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