DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 26 DEC 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 26 DEC 2017

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY LAUNCHES PILOT PROJECT 'BLUE FLAG' FOR BEACH CLEAN-UP

i. To enhance standards of cleanliness on beaches, the environment ministry has launched a pilot project 'Blue Flag' for its clean-up and development.

ii. With the prime objective of enhancing standards of cleanliness, upkeep and basic amenities at beaches, the ministry has launched a pilot project, also striving for the 'Blue Flag' certification for such identified beaches.

iii. The 'Blue Flag' is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education that a beach, Marina or sustainable boating tourism operator, meets its stringent standards.

2.      STATE-RUN BANKS' NPAS TOUCHED RS 7.34 LAKH CR- RBI DATA

i. Bad loans of Public sector banks stood at Rs 7.34 lakh cr by the end of second quarter this fiscal, a bulk of which came from corporate defaulters, private sector banks' NPAs were considerably low. Moreover, for the recovery of the bad loans, the network of Debt Recovery Tribunals have been expanded to 39 at present, as compared to 33 in 2016-17, according to data furnished by the RBI and the government.

ii. The gross non-performing assets of the public sector and private sector banks as on September 30, 2017, were Rs 7,33,974 cr and Rs 1,02,808 cr, respectively. Among the major government-owned banks, State Bank of India had the highest level of NPAs at over Rs 1.86 lakh cr, followed by Punjab National Bank (Rs 57,630 cr) and Bank of India (Rs 49,307 cr).

iii. Up to end-September, among private banks, ICICI Bank had the most amounts of NPAs at Rs 44,237 cr, followed by Axis Bank (Rs 22,136 cr) and HDFC Bank (Rs 7,644 cr).

3.      UP GOVERNMENT SIGNS MOU WITH SOUTH KOREA

i. The Uttar Pradesh government signed an MoU with South Korea to enhance cooperation in the field of tourism, skill development, culture and farming.

ii. An agreement was signed in 2000 to develop Ayodhya and Gimhae as sister cities, following which a memorial was constructed in Ayodhya which is visited by a large number of tourists from South Korea every year.

4.      MUMBAI GETS INDIA'S FIRST EVER AC LOCAL TRAIN

i. Mumbai has got India's 1st ever AC suburban local train as Christmas gift. The first service of the 12-coach EMU will commence between Borivali and Churchgate. The first and 12th coaches from Churchgate end are earmarked as ladies coaches.

ii. This will be the first train with automatic doors in the suburban system. Out of 12 services of AC Local train, 8 will run fast and will only halt at major stations. The services of AC local train will replace existing 12 Non AC services.

5.      WORLD’S LONGEST GLASS BRIDGE OPENS IN CHINA

i. The world’s longest glass bridge has been opened in China to the public. Though it has a capacity to hold 2000 people, only 500 would be allowed at a time. Located in Shijiazhuang, the magnificent bridge lies 218 meters above hanging between the two cliffs in Hongyagu Scenic Area in Pingshan county.

ii. The bridge is 488 meters long and two meters wide, with two dragon statues on top that could produce smoke.

6.      INDIA'S FIRST RUNWAY ON 'SEA BRIDGE' IN LAKSHADWEEP

i. India is all set to get its first runway on a ‘sea bridge’, as the Airports Authority of India has been given a nod to extend Lakshadweep’s Agatti Airport.

ii. The task will be carried out by building an RCC platform on the beach and shallow area which will allow bigger ATRs to operate on the island. The Project is likely to cost about Rs 1,500 cr.

7.      ATAL INNOVATION MISSION SELECTS ADDITIONAL 1500 SCHOOLS FOR SETTING UP OF ATLS

i. NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission, the Union government’s flagship program to promote innovation and entrepreneurship nationwide in schools, universities and industry, has selected additional 1500 Schools for the establishment of Atal Tinkering Labs.

ii. With the announcement, the total number of schools selected under the mission equals to 2441 across India. The AIM began its operations over a year ago. The addition of these schools will give a major boost to realize the vision of the mission to ‘Cultivate One Million children in India as the Innovators of tomorrow’.

iii. The labs aims to be innovative play workspaces for students between Grade VI to Grade XII, which stimulate innovations combining science & technology. These open-ended innovation workspaces would be equipped with state of the art technologies such as 3D printers, Robotics, Sensor Technology Kits, Internet of Things and miniaturized Electronics, which enable the students to learn and solve local community problems using emerging Technologies.

8.      BENGALURU BECOMES FIRST INDIAN CITY TO HAVE ITS OWN LOGO

i. Karnataka's capital city Bengaluru has become the 1st Indian city to have its own logo after the state government launched it. The logo was designed by a design start-up and uses both English and Kannada alphabets.

ii. The red and black logo is part English and part Kannada. With this, Bengaluru joins a select group of global cities like New York City, Melbourne and Singapore to have a tourism logo of its own.

9.      BOOK ON GAURI LANKESH’S WRITINGS LAUNCHED

i. A book containing selected writings by late journalist Gauri Lankesh was launched at the Mumbai Press Club, three months after she was gunned down.

ii. The book, The Way I See It - a Gauri Lankesh Reader, has been edited by writer and sociologist Chandan Gowda.

10.  GOOD GOVERNANCE DAY- 25TH DECEMBER

i. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birthday is being celebrated as Good Governance Day across the country on 25th December.

ii. Good Governance Day was established in 2014 to honour Mr Vajpayee by fostering awareness among the people of accountability in government.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. THE GROSS NON-PERFORMING ASSETS OF PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS AS ON SEPTEMBER 2017 WERE RS 7,33,974 CR. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING PSBS HAD THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF NPAS?

a)  Bank of India

b)  Punjab National Bank

c)  State Bank of India

d)  United Bank of India

Q2. AS PER THE DATA FURNISHED BY RBI, BAD LOANS OF PUBLIC SECTOR BANKS STOOD AT ____ BY THE END OF SECOND QUARTER THIS FISCAL.

a)  Rs 7.34 lakh cr

b)  Rs 4.65 lakh cr

c)  Rs 8.03 lakh cr

d)  Rs 5.75 lakh cr

Q3. WHICH STATE/UT IS ALL SET TO GET INDIA'S FIRST RUNWAY ON A ‘SEA BRIDGE’ AS AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA HAS BEEN GIVEN A NOD TO EXTEND ONE OF ITS AIRPORTS?

a)  Kerala

b)  Chandigarh

c)  New Delhi

d)  Lakshadweep

Q4. THE GOOD GOVERNANCE DAY WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2014 TO MARK THE BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF?

a)  Mahatma Gandhi

b)  Atal Bihari Vajpayee

c)  Dr. Rajendra Prasad

d)  Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru

Q5. THE GROSS NON-PERFORMING ASSETS OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS AS ON SEPTEMBER 2017 WERE RS 1,02,808 CR. WHICH AMONG THE FOLLOWING PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS HAD THE MOST AMOUNT OF NPAS?

a)  ICICI Bank

b)  Axis Bank

c)  HDFC Bank

d)  Federal Bank

ANSWERS: 

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