Current Affairs – 21, July – Telangana      puts cap on school bag weight

    NATIONAL

Lok Sabha passes IIIT Public Private Partnership Bill 2017:

                                         The Lok Sabha passed the IIIT Public Private Partnership Bill 2017. The Bill provides to establish 20 IIITs under Public Private Partnership mode across the country and authorise them to award degrees to the students.

    The Bill intends to address the challenges faced by the Indian information technology industry and growth of the domestic information technology market. It includes developing new knowledge in information technology, providing manpower of global standards and ensuring autonomy in governance.

Punjab Govt releases Rs 90 lakh for constructed of ultra modern cattle pond:

    The Punjab Government has released Rs 90 lakh for the constructed of ultra modern cattle pond at village Kanian Kalan in Jalandhar district. This was disclosed by the chairman of Punjab Gau Sewa Commission Mr. Keemti Bhagat at Jalandhar.

Punjab

• Capital: Chandigarh
• Governor: V. P. Singh Badnore
• Chief Minister: Captain Amarinder Singh

Gujarat Govt announces to set up 60 new PHCs in rural areas of state:

    Gujarat Government has announced to set up 60 new primary Health Centers in the rural areas of the state.

Minister of State for Health Shankar Chaudhary has said that expansion of existing primary health centre networks will benefit the rural population of the state.

Gujarat

Capital: Gandhinagar

Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani

Governor: Om Prakash Kohli

Telangana puts cap on school bag weight:

    Acting on proposals submitted by the Commissioner and Director of School Education, the Telangana School Education Department issued strict guidelines to reduce the weight of school bags for children in the State. Schools including aided and un-aided private schools have to follow guidelines, according to the GO.

Telangana

Capital: Hyderabad

Chief Minister: Chandrasekhar rao

Governor:  E. S. L. Narasimhan

Gujarat continues to have highest investment potential: NCAER study

    Gujarat continues to have the highest potential to attract investment for the second year in a row, a survey by economic policy think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) revealed.

    Covering 20 States and Delhi, the second edition of the annual NCAER State Investment Potential Index (N-SIPI 2017) survey ranked states’ on their competitiveness in business and their investment climate. Gujarat led the charts, top-scoring on economic climate and perception while Delhi scored the highest on infrastructure.

Gujarat

• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
• Governor: Om Prakash Kohli

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to launch new pension scheme for senior citizens ‘PMVVY’:

    Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will launch a new pension scheme for the senior citizens, Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana, PMVVY in New Delhi. The scheme can be purchased offline as well as online through Life Insurance Corporation of India. The PMVVY scheme will be available till 3rd of May next year.

    It is a pension scheme exclusively for senior citizens aged 60 years and above. This scheme provides an assured return of 8 per cent per annum payable monthly (equivalent to 8.30 per cent per annum effective) for 10 years. It is exempt from service tax/GST.

Cabinet nod for IWAI bond issue:

The Union Cabinet gave its nod to Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for raising Rs. 660 crore in bonds for extra budgetary resources in 2017-18.

    The proceeds from the bonds will be utilised by IWAI for development and maintenance of National Waterways (NWs) under National Waterways Act, 2016. The IWAI may get Rs. 857 crore in loan from World Bank for its Jal Marg Vikas Project.

Climate projects of three States get Centre’s nod:

    Proposals for climate adaptation projects submitted by Rajasthan, Gujarat and Sikkim have been approved by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

    The three projects approved by the National Steering Committee on Climate Change will receive funds under the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC).

    The projects in Rajasthan and Sikkim are targeted at water security, while in Gujarat, the project will focus on increasing the adaptive capacity of communities dependent on natural resources in the Kachchh district.

NGT slaps 2 lakh penalty on Delhi govt:

    The National Green Tribunal rapped the Delhi government over “inordinate delay” in demarcation of forest land in the southern Ridge and slapped a fine of 2 lakh on it.

INTERNATIONAL

Israel to partner DRDO for developing missile defence system for India:

    In a major upgrade to its defences, the Indian Army has signed a MoU with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to raise one regiment of the advanced Medium Range Surface to Air Missiles (MRSAM). The army plans to have a total of five regiments of this air defence system, which will be deployed opposite to China and Pakistan.

Israel

• Currency: Israeli new shekel
• Capital: Jerusalem

BANKING & BUSINESS

India on track to grow at 7.4 per cent in 2017, says ADB report:

    India is expected to achieve the projected growth rate of 7.4 per cent in 2017 and further up 7.6 per cent next year on strong consumption demand, with South Asia leading the growth chart in Asia and the Pacific, a supplement of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Outlook 2017 said.

Rs 20 notes in Mahatma Gandhi 2005 series to be out soon:

    The Reserve Bank will shortly issue bank notes of denomination Rs 20 in Mahatma Gandhi series 2005 that will be similar in design to those currently in circulation.

• The new notes will be bearing inset letter ‘S’ in the number panel and signature of Governor Urjit R Patel, the RBI said in a notification.
• Both the number panels will have inset letter ‘S’, the RBI said, adding that the design of these banknotes to be issued now is similar in all aspects to the Rs 20.

Google Introduces Recruiting App ‘Hire’ For Businesses:

    In an apparent move to compete with Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, Google has launched ‘Hire’, a recruiting app for small- and medium-sized businesses that also integrates seamlessly with G Suite. Google announced that the launch of Hire, a new service that helps businesses more effectively manage their internal recruiting process.

ICRA, IIFCL launch rating system for infra projects:

    A new system for rating of infrastructure projects has been launched by rating agency ICRA in association with the India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL).

    The new system will focus on the overall recovery of dues by the investor/lender over the lifecycle of the project, besides retaining the valuable aspect of probability of default already adopted by the conventional rating scale.

ICICI offers up to Rs 15 lakh instant personal loan via ATMs:

    Largest private sector lender ICICI Bank will be selling personal loans of up to Rs 15 lakh through its ATMs that can be availed of by select salaried customers even if they haven’t previously applied for one.

    Using data from credit information companies, the lender will pre-qualify select customers for personal loans. Such customers will get a message on the ATM screen after completing a transaction, informing about their eligibility for personal loans.

  RBI has set up an Enforcement Department (EFD) which would serve as a centralised department to speed up regulatory compliance:

    Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed that they have set up an Enforcement Department (EFD). EFD would serve as a centralised department to speed up regulatory compliance. EFD has been set up to separate those who oversee the possible rule breaches and those who decide on punitive actions so that enforcement process operates fairly and is evidence based.

    The EFD has become functional with effect from April 03, 2017. The EFD has been entrusted with the responsibility of enforcement action on commercial banks.

Second phase of rural connectivity project BharatNet gets approval:

    Setting the stage to take forward the Centre’s flagship rural connectivity project BharatNet, the Union Cabinet is learnt to have cleared the proposal for the second phase of the project, under which 1,50,000 gram panchayats would be connected with optic fibre cable (OFC).

    In the first phase of the project, 1,00,000 gram panchayats were connected as of end March, albeit two years after it was originally intended to. The original target set by the government for laying down OFC in 1 lakh gram panchayats was March 2015, but was later advanced to March 2017.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

President Election Result 2017: Ram Nath Kovind Will Take Oath As 14th President Of India On July 25

    Ram Nath Kovind has won the presidential election after securing over two-thirds of the total electoral college votes. Mr Kovind will be sworn-in as the 14th President of India on July 25. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Ram Nath Kovind for winning the presidential election.

US: Trump nominates John R Bass to be envoy to Afghanistan

    The US President Donald Trump has nominated John R Bass, currently serving as the US ambassador to Turkey, to be his envoy to Afghanistan.

USA

• President of the United States: Donald Trump

• Currency: United States Dollar
• Capital: Washington, D.C.

Afghanistan

• • Currency: Afghan afghani
  • Capital: Kabul

Lord Davies Appointed Chair Of The UK India Business Council:

    Lord Davies is set to replace the Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt as Chair of the UK India Business Council (UKIBC). He will take up this role from 1st September 2017, initially to serve a three-year term. Patricia Hewitt will be stepping down after 8 years in the role.

Tata Sky signs actress Nayanthara as brand ambassador, South    :

    Content distribution platform provider Tata Sky said it has signed popular South Indian actress Nayanthara as its brand ambassador for the Southern market.

Mayawati’s resignation from RS unlikely to be accepted as letter breaks parliamentary procedure:

    Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati resigned from Parliament, hours after storming out of the Rajya Sabha over not being allowed time to complete her speech on alleged Dalit atrocities in Uttar Pradesh.

AWARDS

Divyanka Tripathi ,Most Admired Leader in the field of entertainment:

    The television’s much-loved mother, Divyanka aka Ishima has been honoured with the Most Admired Leader in the field of entertainment by Herald Global and has also been listed in the 50 Most Inspirational Women list. This is the second win in a month for Divyanka.\

J&K bags best award in adventure tourism destination:

    The J&K Tourism Department has received the award  in the category of ‘Best Adventure Tourism Destination and Eco-Tourism Destination’ at a 3-Day event organized by Indian International Travel Mart, Chennai Deputy Director Tourism (Publicity) Peerzada Zahoor who was representing the J&K State received the award.  

Jammu and Kashmir

• Capital: Srinagar
• Chief Minister: Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed
• Governor: Narinder Nath Vohra

IndianOil’s INDMAX technology bags Excellence Award at World Petroleum Congress:

    At the recently concluded 22nd edition of the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, Indian Oil bagged the WPC Excellence Award for its innovative and ground-breaking INDMAX technology.

    The award was presented to Mr. Sanjiv Singh, Chairman, Indian Oil, and Dr. SSV Ramakumar, Director (R&D), by Mr. Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, former Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Energy and Industry, Qatar.

Indians win gold and bronze at first global robotics Olympiad:

    A group of seven Indian students has bagged two awards at the first global robotics Olympiad in the US where 157 countries participated.

    The students, who hail from Mumbai, won gold for Zhang Heng Engineering Design Award and bronze for Global Challenge Match at the international robotics challenge organised by FIRST Global in Washington.

SPORTS

India’s Amit Saroha Bags Silver In World Para Athletics Championships:

    India’s Amit Kumar Saroha clinched a silver in men’s club throw F51 competition in World Para Athletics Championships in London.

    Saroha’s best throw of 30.25m, which came in his third attempt, fetched him a silver medal. In the process, the para-athlete from Haryana set a new Asian record in this event.

OBITUARY

Actor and songwriter Robert Gene ‘Red’ West dies at 81:

    Actor and songwriter Robert Gene “Red” West, a longtime confidant of Elvis Presley, has died in Memphis. Danita Allen of Memorial Park Funeral Home said West died. He was 81.

Indira Bai dead:

    Indira Bai, daughter of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, who was Queen Regent of erstwhile Travancore, died at the age of 90.

Current Affairs Quiz – 21 July, 2017