DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 20 OCT 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 20 OCT 2017

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      ARUNACHAL ASSEMBLY APPROVES KAMLE AS 23RD DISTRICT

i.  Arunachal Pradesh State Assembly passed Arunachal Pradesh (Re-Orgaisation of Districts) Amendment Bill 2017 to create a new district named ‘Kamle’. The bill was introduced on October 14, 2017 by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prema Khandu.

ii. Kamle is the 23rd district of Arunachal Pradesh. It has been created by bifurcating the present Upper and Lower Subansiri districts.

iii. It has six administrative units (three each from Upper Subansiri and Lower Subansiri).

iv. Amid rising concerns that this decision would encourage creation of more districts in future and will thereby affect state’s exchequer, Chief Minister Prema Khandu stated that government is planning to re-visit the district creation policy of 1983.

2.      TWO DAY “AYUSH FESTIVAL OF STAMPS 2017” HELD AT PANAJI, GOA

i. The “AYUSH Festival of Stamps 2017” was held at Panaji, Goa. The “AYUSH Festival of Stamps 2017” was inaugurated by Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar at Maquinez Palace in Panaji, Goa.

ii. The two-day exhibition event is jointly organised by the Goa Postal Region, Indian postal department and the Ministry of AYUSH.

iii. This festival is the first of its kind. Its objective is to promote healthy hobbies such as stamp collection among students and healthy lifestyle habits.

iv. Stamps related to ayurveda, yoga and related traditional practices from India and abroad were displayed at the event. About 150 schools and 5,000 students participated in the festival.

3.      MAHARASHTRA GOVERNMENT RELEASES RS 4,000 CRORE IN PHASE 1 OF LOAN WAIVER SCHEME

i. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis announced that the State Government has released a sum of Rs 4,000 cr under the first phase of the farm loan waiver scheme.

ii. Out of Rs 4000 cr which has been released under Phase I, Rs 3200 cr is for writing off the loans of 4.62 lakh farmers and  Rs 800 cr will be distributed as incentive for 3.78 lakh farmers who are paying their loans on time.

iii. It is to be noted that total farm loan waiver (announced in June 2017) which will be provided to the farmers has been estimated at Rs. 34000 cr. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has mentioned that amount under Farm Loan Waiver scheme will be released in phased manner and by November 15, 2017, 75-80% disbursement will be completed.

iv. Maharashta State Government believes that farm loan waiver is not a temporary solution for farmers’ problems. Along with it, continuous investment in agriculture for next five years will ensure sustainable development.

4.      CANADA CHOSEN AS PARTNER COUNTRY FOR 2017 TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT, NEW DELHI

i. Canada has been chosen as the partner country for the 23rd edition of Technology Summit which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi. This event is India’s largest knowledge and technology conference and exhibition.

ii. It is jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Indian Department of Science and Technology. This edition of the Technology Summit will highlight range of research and innovations areas where India and Canada are world leaders.

iii. The theme of this summit will be ‘Advanced Manufacturing’ focusing on advances in various sectors including aerospace, Aviation, Artificial Intelligence and Life Sciences.

iv. Role of women in science and business as well as promoting the start-up and incubator communities in India and Canada will also be highlighted at the summit.

5.      INDRA – 2017: INDO-RUSSIA’S FIRST-EVER TRI-SERVICE JOINT EXERCISE BEGINS IN VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA

i. Exercise INDRA-2017, the first ever Tri Services Joint Exercise between Indian and Russian Armed Forces begun in Vladivostok, Russia. The previous editions of INDRA Exercise between India and Russia were single service bilateral exercise. ‘INDRA-2017’ marks the first bilateral exercise in which all the three Services of the Armed Forces viz. Army, Navy & Air Force of India and Russia will participate.

ii. Indian contingent comprising of 350 personnel from Army, 80 from Air Force, two IL 76 aircraft and one Frigate and Corvette each from the Navy are participating in INDRA – 2017. Whereas from Russian side nearly 1000 troops of the 5th Army, Marines and Ships of Pacific Fleet and aircraft from Eastern Military District will participate in INDRA-2017.

iii. INDRA-2017 is a landmark event in the history of Indo-Russian defence cooperation and will strengthen mutual confidence and inter-operability of the armed forces.

iv. During the course of INDRA-2017, armed forces of both the countries will be engaged in professional interactions, will establish joint command and control structures and will train in counter terrorism operations in a joint tri service environment.

6.      SBI FOUNDATION COMMITS RS.10 CR FOR CONSERVATION OF CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ TERMINUS

i. SBI Foundation granted Rs.10 cr for the conservation and restoration of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus of Mumbai over the period of 3-5 years. Central Railway’s Divisional Railway Manager SK Jain and SBI Managing Director PK Gupta signed a MoU. As per the MoU, SBI Foundation will provide Rs.10 cr for the project under the “SBI-Project Swachh Iconic CSMT”.

ii. CSTM railway station is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Through this project, the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of SBI aims to contribute in development and preservation of world heritage structures.

iii. Restoration work of CSTM heritage building will be done by INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) an expert agency.

7.      BANKS TO PROVIDE FUNDS AT 7% TO WOMEN SHGS UNDER DAY-NRLM: RBI

i. Reserve Bank of India issued revised guidelines on Interest Subvention Scheme under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission, stating that banks will provide funds to women Self Help Groups in rural areas at 7% under the DAY-NRLM in current fiscal, 2017-18.

ii. RBI issued above mentioned revised guidelines as received from the Ministry of Rural Development. These guidelines will be implemented by 21 public sector banks and 19 private banks.

iii. As per the scheme, banks will be subvented to the extent of difference between the Weighted Average Interest Charged and 7% subject to the maximum limit of 5.5 per cent for the year 2017-18. Women SHGs availing credit up to Rs. 3 lakh rupees will be eligible for this interest subvention scheme.

iv. Benefits of this scheme will be applicable on credit to women SHGs across 250 districts of India.

8.      KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK LAUNCHES PAYMINT

i. Kotak Mahindra Bank in collaboration with financial technology firm Zeta has launched a multi-wallet digital prepaid solution for salaried employees named ‘Paymint’. Through Paymint’s single digital interface, which is powered by Zeta, corporate entities will be able to manage multiple reimbursements and allowances offered to employees including meal vouchers, medical reimbursements, travel allowances, conveyance and other similar allowances.

ii. Paymint will not only help corporate to get rid of cumbersome process of executing employee benefits programme but will also simplify the process for employees.

iii. Processing allowances and reimbursements typically involves lot of paperwork. Paymint makes all these processes paperless and that too by providing a secure and customised system.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHICH STATE ASSEMBLY RECENTLY PASSED RE-ORGAISATION OF DISTRICTS AMENDMENT BILL 2017 TO CREATE A NEW DISTRICT NAMED ‘KAMLE’?

a)  Tripura

b)  Arunachal Pradesh

c)  Kerala

d)  TamilNadu

Q2. WHERE DID AYUSH FESTIVAL OF STAMPS 2017 TOOK PLACE?

a)  Kolkata, West Bengal

b)  Agartala, Tripura

c)  Panaji, Goa

d)  Chennai, TamilNadu

Q3. WHICH STATE GOVERNMENT HAS RELEASED A SUM OF RS 4,000 CR UNDER THE FIRST PHASE OF THE FARM LOAN WAIVER SCHEME?

a)  Manipur

b)  Madhya Pradesh

c)  Odisha

d)  Maharashtra

Q4. WHICH COUNTRY HAS BEEN CHOSEN AS THE PARTNER COUNTRY BY INDIA FOR THE 23RD EDITION OF TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT WHICH IS SCHEDULED TO BE HELD IN NEW DELHI?

a)  Canada

b)  Finland

c)  France

d)  Holland

Q5. BETWEEN WHICH TWO COUNTRIES INDRA – 2017, THE FIRST-EVER TRI-SERVICE JOINT EXERCISE BEGAN?

a)  India-Japan  

b)  India-Myanmar

c)  India-Russia

d)  India-China. 

ANSWERS: 

1 - A    2 - D    3 - C    4 - B    5 - A