DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 17 DEC 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 17 DEC 2017

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      ANDHRA PRADESH CABINET APPROVES PENSION FOR STATE'S TRANSGENDERS

i. The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approved a scheme to provide a pension of Rs 1500 to transgenders above 18 years of age in the state.

ii. Under this scheme, the transgenders will be provided ration cards, plots, and scholarships, also skill development for financial stability. After Kerala and Odisha, Andhra Pradesh becomes the next state to sanction pension scheme for the transgender community.

2.      UIDAI TEMPORARILY BARS AIRTEL FROM CONDUCTING AADHAAR LINKED E-KYC CERTIFICATION

i. The Unique Identification Authority of India has temporarily barred Bharti Airtel and Airtel Payments Bank from conducting Aadhaar-based SIM verification of mobile customers using eKYC process.

ii. The action follows allegations of Bharti Airtel using the Aadhaar-eKYC based SIM verification process to open payments bank accounts of its subscribers without their informed consent.

3.      GST COUNCIL CLEARS E-WAY BILL MECHANISM

i. The GST Council has decided to implement the e-way bill mechanism throughout the country by June 1^st after reviewing the readiness of the IT network. Under the Goods and Services Tax regime, the waybill is replaced by an e-way bill.

ii. It aims at mitigating the problems caused by waybill compliance. E-way bill is an electronic way bill for movement of goods which can be generated on the GSTN portal. The decision was taken in the 24^th meeting of the GST Council via Video-Conferencing.

4.      GOVERNMENT ROPES IN ICICI BANK TO ENABLE CASHLESS PAYMENTS ON E-NAM

i. The government has engaged private lender ICICI Bank to enable online payments at 470 mandis integrated with the national portal of electronic National Agriculture Market.

ii. At present, e-NAM participants are doing payments through traditional ways via bank branches, debit cards, and net banking. ICICI Bank will enable BHIM and Unified Payments Interface on the e-NAM portal for making cashless payments.

5.      GOVERNMENT TO BEAR MDR CHARGES ON DIGITAL TRANSACTIONS UP TO RS 2,000

i. As per the IT Ministry, the government will bear the Merchant Discount Rate charges on transactions up to Rs 2,000 made through debit cards, BHIM UPI or Aadhaar-enabled payment systems to promote digital transactions.

ii. MDR is charged on payments made to merchants through BHIM UPI platform and Aadhaar enabled Payment System. The merchant discount rate will be borne by the government for two years with effect from January 1, 2018 by reimbursing the same to the banks.

iii. Merchant Discount Rate is a charge to a merchant by a bank for accepting payment from their customers in credit and debit cards every time a card is used for payments (like swiping) in their stores. The MDR is expressed in percentage of the transaction amount.

6.      SUSHIL KUMAR CLINCHES GOLD AT COMMONWEALTH WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

i. Double Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar clinched a gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in South Africa. Sushil defeated New Zealand's Akash Khullar via a pinfall in the final of the 74kg freestyle category to clinch the medal.

ii. Parveen Rana also won a bronze medal in the same category. Another Olympic medalist, Sakshi Malik also clinched a gold medal in the championships. Sakshi defeated New Zealand’s Tayla Tuahine Ford in the final of the 62kg women’s freestyle category.

7.      REAL MADRID PRESENTED WITH THE FIFA WORLD CHAMPIONS BADGE

i. Real Madrid has earned the honor of being able to wear the official FIFA World Champions Badge on their competition jerseys for the duration of 2018 by defeating Gremio in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2017.

ii. Real Madrid will be able to display the emblem all the way up to the next FIFA Club World Cup, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates in December 2018.

8.      SEBASTIAN PINERA WINS CHILE’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

i. A conservative billionaire and former president, Sebastian Pinera, has won Chile's presidential election run-off.

ii. With nearly all votes counted, Mr Pinera has polled more than 54%. Left-winger Alejandro Guillier was his closest opponent. Sebastian Pinera has replaced Michelle Bachelet.

9.      WHO CERTIFIES GABON AS POLIO FREE

i. The World Health Organisation has declared Gabon a "polio-free country", given the lack of new reported or suspected cases in the central African country. According to WHO, the UN health agency nonetheless recommended taking the necessary steps to continue monitoring for possible signs of the disease.

ii. Cases of polio have decreased by 99 percent since 1988 when polio was endemic in 125 countries and 350,000 cases were recorded worldwide.

10.  MAN SAILS AROUND THE WORLD IN 42 DAYS, BREAKS WORLD RECORD

i. Frenchman Francois Gabart smashed the world record for the fastest non-stop solo navigation of the globe, completing the mammoth feat in 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 35 seconds.

ii. The 34-year-old sailor crossed a virtual finish line drawn between the island of Ushant off France's northwest tip and Lizard Point in southwest England at 0145 GMT, comfortably beating the previous record set by compatriot Thomas Coville last year by six days and 10 hours.

11.  SAMSUNG, UNESCO PARTNER FOR VIDEOS ON INDIAN HERITAGE SITES

i. Samsung India has entered into a partnership with UNESCO to launch virtual reality content and 360-degree videos on Indian heritage sites.

ii. Indian heritage sites include the Sun Temple in Konark, Odisha and Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The project will provide experiential educational content to students across the country. There are 36 UNESCO heritage sites in India at present.

12.  SATHEESH REDDY CONFERRED WITH NATIONAL DESIGN AWARD

i. G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri and Director General, Missiles and Strategic Systems, has been conferred with the prestigious National Design Award.

ii. He has bagged this award for his significant national contribution towards indigenous design and development of diversified missile systems, guided weapons, avionics technologies.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHICH BANK WILL ENABLE BHIM AND UNIFIED PAYMENTS INTERFACE ON THE E-NAM PORTAL FOR MAKING CASHLESS PAYMENTS?

a)  HDFC Bank

b)  ICICI Bank

c)  SBI

d)  Axis Bank

Q2. WHO HAS WON THE 2017 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF CHILE?

a)  Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle

b)  Michelle Bachelet

c)  Sebastian Pinera

d)  Ricardo Lagos

Q3. SUSHIL KUMAR HAS CLINCHED GOLD AT WHICH FREESTYLE CATEGORY IN THE 2017 COMMONWEALTH WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SOUTH AFRICA?

a)  84kg freestyle category

b)  64kg freestyle category

c)  54kg freestyle category

d)  74kg freestyle category

Q4. WHICH COUNTRY HAS RECENTLY DECLARED POLIO-FREE COUNTRY BY THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION?

a)  Gabon

b)  Pakistan

c)  Nigeria

d)  Afghanistan

Q5. THE UNION CABINET HAS APPROVED CONTINUATION OF WHICH CENTRALLY-SPONSORED SCHEME?

a) Morth

b) NAM

c) NASCO

d) NESIDS

ANSWERS: 

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