DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: APRIL 23, 2018

NATIONAL

Vijay Goel Launches Central Project Monitoring Unit For E-Vidhan Project

Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Statistics and Programme Implementation, Shri Vijay Goel inaugurated the new office of Central Project Monitoring Unit for the e-Vidhan project of the Government.

e-Vidhan is a mission mode project to digitize and make the functioning of State Legislatures in India paperless.  It is a part of the broader Digital India Programme of the Government and is likely to contribute to the cleanliness & environment by reducing the use of papers to a great extent.

The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is the Nodal Ministry for the project.


SJVN Signs MoU With Power Ministry

SJVN Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Power, Govt. of India for the year 2018-19.

The SJVN Limited is a operator of one of the largest Hydro Power Plants in the country i.e. 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station, Himachal Pradesh.

The MoU was signed by Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Secretary (Power) and Shri Nand Lal Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director, SJVN.

As per the targets set in the MOU, SJVN shall strive to achieve 9200 Million Units generation during the year under ‘Excellent’ category.

SJVN will have Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) target of Rs. 900 crore and Turnover target of Rs. 2175 crore under Excellent category along with other targets related to operational efficiency and Project monitoring.


President signs ordinance to provide death penalty to rapists of girls below 12 years

President Ram Nath Kovind has promulgated an Ordinance to pave way for providing stringent punishment.

The Union Cabinet had approved the Ordinance to allow courts to award death penalty for those convicted of raping girls under 12 years.

The minimum punishment in the case of rape of women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of seven years to 10 years. In the case of rape of a girl under 16 years, the minimum punishment has been increased from 10 years to 20 years.


CCEA approves restructured Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan Scheme

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a restructured Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) aimed at building infrastructure and stepping up initiatives for e-governance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the scheme on National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24. The total outlay for the scheme during April 1 this year to March 31, 2022, is 7,255.50 crore, of which the Centre’s share would be 4,500 crore.

A committee under the chairmanship of the Vice Chairman-NITI Aayog, Rajiv Kumar was constituted to restructure the existing scheme of this Ministry as Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan. The scheme will focus on training, building infrastructure, stepping up initiatives for e-governance under the e-Panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP).


INTERNATIONAL

Global Findex Report 2017

The World Bank has released the Global Findex Report 2017 indicating that 55 percent of new bank accounts opened globally are from India itself.

China tops the list of unbanked population with 225 million adults who do not have a bank account, followed by India at 2nd (190 million), Pakistan at 3rd (100 million) and Indonesia at 4th (95 million).

Men still are ahead of women to have an account in a bank. Globally, 69 percent of adults now have an account at a bank or have enrolled themselves on a mobile money provider.

The report was produced by the World Bank with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and in collaboration with Gallup Inc.


BANKING AND ECONOMY

RBI Revises KYC Guidelines

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has updated its know your customer (KYC) guidelines putting responsibility on Aadhaar for customer verification and due diligence by banks and financial institutions.

Till now, an Officially Valid Document for address proof together with Permanent Account Number issued by the Income Tax department and a recent passport size photograph were the key KYC documents.

But in the amended Customer Due Diligence procedure, the Aadhaar number, the PAN or Form No. 60 need to be obtained from an individual who is eligible for applying for the biometric ID.

The move is aimed at ensuring that no account is opened in an anonymous or fictitious name.


Taipei Opens WTC In Delhi To Boost Ties With India

Taipei World Trade Centre (TWTC) launched its office in Delhi. It has been established with an aim to strengthen trade ties with India.

TAITRA is the official body of the Taiwan government for trade promotion. Bilateral trade between India and Taiwan has increased to $6.3 billion in December 2017.

Taiwan’s first ever expo will showcase cutting-edge technology and smart city solutions in Delhi.

TWTC

Chairman: James C.F Huang

Taiwan

Capital: Taipei

Currency: New Taiwan dollar


TCS, 1st Indian Company With 100 Billion Dollar Market Value

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest IT outsourcing company created history by becoming the first Indian company to reach the $100 billion market capitalisation (m-cap) mark.

The market capitalisation is the value of a company that is traded on the stock market, calculated by multiplying the total number of shares by the present share price. The market value of the company stood at Rs 6,79,332.81 crore.

TCS joined the ranks of the world’s 100 most valued organizations and now ranks 97th. The last Indian name to cross that threshold in 2007 was Reliance Industries Ltd.

TCS

Chairman: Natarajan Chandrasekaran


SPORTS

India wins 10 gold medals at South Asian Judo Championship

The eighth edition of South Asian Judo Championship was held at Kathmandu, Nepal.

India has bagged a total of 10 gold medals.

Out of the total 14 gold medals, India won 7 gold medals contested under women-single categories and the remaining 3 under men-single categories.

India, in total, claimed over 13 medals with 10 gold and three bronze.


IMPORTANT DAYS

World Earth Day – April 22

The Earth Day is observed every year on April 22. The aim is to encourage people to do things that will benefit the Earth, such as recycling more, using solar power or plant trees.

The theme of 2018 is earth day 2018 theme is ‘End Plastic Pollution’.


World Book Day – April 23

World Book Day is celebrated to provide the people with many ideas and plans to make them aware about the situation and condition in the World.

The theme of 2018 is ‘Reading, it’s my right!’.


OBITUARY

Indian Animation Expert Bhimsain Khurana Passes Away

Indian animation pioneer and multiple National Award winner Bhimsain Khurana has passed away.

In 1970, he made his debut with his first animation short “The Climb”, which earned him the Silver Hugo Award in the Chicago Film Festival. He also won National Award for Ek Anek Ekta.


DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ: APRIL 23, 2018