Current Affairs 2, August 2017 – India and Somalia sign agreement on transfer of sentenced persons
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Current Affairs : 2, August 2017 – India and Somalia sign agreement on transfer of sentenced persons
NATIONAL
Modi announces Rs 2,350-crore flood relief for North-East
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a package of Rs.2,350 crore for all North-East states for mitigating the impact of floods on short- and long-term basis.
From this special package Rs. 2,000 crore to the region for relief and rehabilitation and Rs. 100 crore rupees corpus to study and find a permanent solution to the flood problem in the north eastern states. Remaining Rs 250 crore was immediately to carry out relief and rehabilitation.
Additional fund of Rs 110 cr allocated this fiscal for Border areas development: Kiren Rijiju
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju informed the Lok Sabha that additional fund of 110 crore rupees has been allocated this fiscal for the development of border areas, taking the total amount to 1,100 crore rupees.
Govt approves establishment of PG Institutes for Research in Yoga at Nagmangla, Jhajjar:
The Government has approved establishment of Post Graduate Institutes for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy at Nagmangla in Karnataka and Jhajjar in Haryana. Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik said.
Haryana
- Capital: Chandigarh
- Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar
- Governor: Kaptan Singh Solanki
- Capital: Bengaluru
- Chief Minister: Siddaramaiah
- Governor: Vajubhai Vala
Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurates National Conference for Young SPs of States/UTs and Commandants of CAPFs:
The Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated the National Conference for Young SPs of States/UTs and Commandants of CAPFs in New Delhi. The two-day Conference is being organised by Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D), Ministry of Home Affairs.
Jharkhand Cabinet approves Religious Freedom Bill 2017:
Jharkhand Cabinet has approved Religious Freedom Bill 2017 in which forceful or allurement induced religious conversion will be a non-bailable criminal offence.
In the event of violation of section three, there will be up to three years imprisonment or 50,000 rupees penalty or both. The release added, if the crime involved a minor, woman or person from SC or ST community then the prison term would be up to four years and a penalty of one lakh rupees.
Jharkhand
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- Capital: Ranchi
- Chief Minister: Raghubar Das
- Governor: Draupadi Murmu
Govt launched portal e-Rashtriya Kisan Agri Mandi:
The government launched a portal e-Rashtriya Kisan Agri Mandi (e-RaKAM) which will provide a platform to sell agricultural produce. e-RaKAM is a first of its kind initiative that leverages technology to connect farmers of the smallest villages to the biggest markets of the world through internet.
Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Union Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh jointly launched the portal in New Delhi.
About e-RaKAM:
e-RaKAM is a digital initiative bringing together the farmers, PSUs, civil supplies and buyers on a single platform to ease the selling and buying process of agricultural products.
Under this initiative, e-RaKAM centres are being developed in a phased manner throughout the country to facilitate farmers for online sale of their produce. The farmers will be paid through e-Payment directly into their bank accounts.
Every Child In Kangra To Be Covered For Rubella Vaccination:
For the total eradication of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella a signature campaign was started from the district hospital.
District Medical Officer Dr. Rajesh Guleri announced that the awareness campaign about Rubella Vaccination was started by Ms Rajni Vyas, the mayor of Dharamshala Municipal Corporation.
Himachal Pradesh
- Capital: Shimla
- Chief Minister: Virbhadra Singh
- Governor: Acharya Dev Vrat
INTERNATIONAL
India and Somalia sign agreement on transfer of sentenced persons:
India and Somalia signed a bilateral agreement for transfer of sentenced persons. The agreement was signed between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia Yusuf Garaad Omar.
An important step in deepening humanitarian cooperation, India and Somalia sign bilateral agreement for transfer of sentenced persons, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.
Somalia
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- Currency: Somali shilling
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Capital: Mogadishu
19th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Meeting:
The 19th round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) meetings and other related meetings were held from 17 to 28 July 2017 in Hyderabad, India.
RCEP is a proposed comprehensive regional economic integration agreement amongst the 10-ASEAN countries (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) and its six Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) partners, viz. Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Korea and India.
During the 19th round, parallel meetings were held by the three main Working Groups on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services and Investment, including their respective Sub-Working Groups.
Telangana
- Capital: Hyderabad
- Chief Minister: Chandrasekhar rao
- Governor: E. S. L. Narasimhan
China opens first overseas base in Djibouti:
China has formally opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti with a flag raising ceremony and military parade.
The event was timed to coincide with the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the establishment of China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army, on August 1.
China
- Currency: Renminbi
- Capital: Beijing
- Prime minister: Li Keqiang
- President: Xi Jinping
BANKING & BUSINESS
Third Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2017-18 Resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Reserve Bank of India:
On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to:
- Reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 6.25 per cent to 6.0 per cent with immediate effect.
- Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 5.75 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.25 per cent.
- The decision of the MPC is consistent with a neutral stance of monetary policy in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth.
| Policy Rate | Previous | Current |
| Repo Rate | 6.25 | 6.0 |
| Reverse Repo Rate | 6.0 | 5.75 |
| Marginal Standing Facility | 6.50 | 6.25 |
| Bank Rate | 6.50 | 6.50 |
| CRR | 4 | 4 |
| SLR | 20 | 20 |
India, China home to 39% of world’s young Internet population: UN report
Neighbouring countries India and China are home to 39 per cent of the 830 million youngsters worldwide who use the Internet, according to the data released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialised agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
Airtel Payments Bank, HPCL tie-up for digital payments:
Aiming to further boost digital payments in the country, Airtel Payments Bank announced a strategic partnership with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). All 14,000 HPCL fuel stations will act as banking points for Airtel Payments Bank. These cashless payments can be made via smart phones (MyAirtel App) as well as feature phones (USSD).
Mukesh Ambani overtakes Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing to become second richest man in Asia: report
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has overtaken Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-shing to become Asia’s second-richest man. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Ambani’s wealth has seen a rise of $12.1 billion with the oil-to telecom conglomerate’s shares seeing a surge with investors rallying behind his decision to launch the cheapest 4G phone, according to a Bloomberg report.
Flipkart completes eBay India merger:
E-commerce major Flipkart said it has completed the merger with eBay India’s operations. With this, eBay.in will now be a Flipkart Group company. The deal was announced in April when the Flipkart group raised $ 1.4 billion from global technology majors eBay, Tencent and Microsoft.
Samsung Pay now available for higher variants of State Bank of India debit cards:
The State Bank of India (SBI) and Samsung India announced the availability of payment platform Samsung Pay for higher variants of SBI debit Card. This will allow SBI debit card holders to make payments using Samsung smart phones at Point of Sale (PoS) card machines at merchant outlets. SBI debit card users can also avail introductory cash back benefits upto Rs 500.
SBI
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Chairman: Arundhati Bhattacharya
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGN
US Senate confirms Christopher Wray to lead FBI:
The US Senate has confirmed Christopher Wray to lead the FBI, replacing James Comey, who was abruptly fired by President Donald Trump amid the investigation into Russia meddling in last year’s presidential election.
USA
- President of the United States: Donald Trump
- Currency: United States Dollar
- Capital: Washington, D.C.
Justice Krishna to head expert group on Data Protection Framework for India:
Recognising the importance of data protection and keeping personal data of citizens secure and protected, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India has, on 31st July 2017, constituted a Committee of Experts under the Chairmanship of Justice B N Srikrishna. The committee will also suggest a draft Data Protection Bill. Protection of Data is expected to provide big boost to Digital economy of the country.
Shashi Tharoor will be the first chief of the All India Professionals’ Congress:
Shashi Tharoor will be the first chief of the All India Professionals’ Congress organisational departments — All India Professionals’ Congress and Unorganised Workers Congress — in the AICC.
SEBI approves Dhirendra Swarup’s appointment as BSE chairman:
Leading stock exchange Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) said markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved the appointment of Dhirendra Swarup as the bourse’s new chairman.
Swarup, former Chairman of the Pension Funds Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). He also a public interest director at the BSE, replaces incumbent Sudhakar Rao.
SEBI
Headquarters: Mumbai
Chairman: Ajay Tyagi
Lt Gen Abhay Krishna named chief of eastern command:
Lt. Gen. Abhay Krishna has been appointed as head of the Army’s crucial Eastern Command which guards a major part of Sino-India border including the Sikkim sector where armies of India and China have been locked in a face-off.
Lt. Gen. Krishna, who was heading the Army’s South Western Command and has vast experience of the Sikkim sector, succeeds Lt. Gen. Praveen Bakshi.
NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya quits:
Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya said he will leave the government think tank on August 31 and return to Columbia University.
The Indian-American, who joined as the first Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog in January 2015, is the second high profile academic-economist after former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan to quit a top job in India to return to the teaching profession in the US.
NITI Aayog
- Niti Aayog CEO: Amitabh Kant
- Head Quarters: New Delhi
AWARDS
Tata Power awarded for excellence in cost management at the 14th National Awards for Excellence in Cost Management 2016:
Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company announced that the Company has been awarded for excellence in cost management in the ‘power distribution and transmission’ category at the 14th National Awards for Excellence in Cost Management 2016.
About Award:
The award is given by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI) is in recognition of Tata Power’s continued efforts towards cost reduction and cost competitiveness. The award was presented to the Company by Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines.
Indian Air Force felicitates India women’s cricketer Shikha Pandey:
Shikha Pandey, member of India women’s cricket team which ended as runners-up at ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, was felicitated by the Indian Air Force. The cricketer received a cheque and medal from Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa at Air Headquarters in New Delhi.
SPORTS
Two Indian wrestlers in bronze-medal round of Jr World C’ships:
Two Indian wrestlers, Veer Dev Gulia and Ravinder, made it to the bronze medal round of their respective weight categories on day one of the Junior World Wrestling Championships in Tampere, Finland.
Finland
- Currency: Euro
- Capital: Helsinki
Jadeja maintains top position, Virat stays 5th in ICC Test Rankings:
Star spinner Ravindra Jadeja maintained pole position in the bowlers’ list while India skipper Virat Kohli remained static at fifth place in the batting charts in the latest ICC Test Rankings released.
In the batsmen’s rankings, Cheteshwar Pujara is the top-ranked Indian at the fourth position while opener Shikhar Dhawan climbed 21 places to be ranked 39th.
HISTORIC EVENTS OF THE DAY
World Breastfeeding Week: August (1-7) 2017
WBW2017 celebrates working together for the common good, which produces sustainable results, greater than the sum of our individual efforts. This year’s Breastfeeding week is August (1-7), 2017.
We learnt in WBW2016 how the protection, promotion and support for breastfeeding are a key to sustainable development.
August 1st 2017 – Non-Cooperation Movement Day:
The non-cooperation movement was launched on this day in 1920. It was aimed to resist British rule in India through non-violent means.
OBITUARY
Assam: former union minister Santosh Mohan Dev passes away
In Assam, senior congress leader and former union minister Santosh Mohan Dev passed away in Silchar. He was 83.
Assam
- Capital: Dispur
- Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
- Governor: Banwarilal Purohit
Pushpa Bhargava, Scientist And Activist, Dies At 89:
Veteran molecular biologist and a vehement critic of genetically modified crops, Pushpa Mittra Bhargava, died in Hyderabad. He was 89.
Sam Shepard, Actor and Pulitzer-Winning Playwright, Is Dead at 73:
Sam Shepard, Actor and Pulitzer-Winning Playwright whose hallucinatory plays redefined the landscape of the American West and its inhabitants, died in Kentucky. He was 73.
Current Affairs Quiz : August 2, 2017
