DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 11 JULY 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 11 JULY 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1. MOHUA IS THE NEW NAME FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT & HOUSING MINISTRY
i. The government has merged the ministries of urban development, and housing and urban poverty alleviation– involved in policy making in urban areas – to form the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. This is 3rd time the ministries have been merged.
ii. Venkaiah Naidu heads the ministries of urban development, and housing and urban poverty alleviation
iii. With this merger, the government now has 51. In 2004, the number was 42. The first government in independent India had just 17 ministries.
iv. Government proposes to increase urban reform incentive fund, to Rs 3000 crs.

2. MINISTRY OF HEALTH SIGNS MOU WITH GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGAL TO SET UP CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN TRANSFUSION MEDICINE
i. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Government of West Bengal to set up a state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence in Transfusion Medicine.
ii. The Centre of Excellence in Transfusion Medicine will be set up in Kolkata. The initiative helps in strengthening the blood transfusion services in the State and the surrounding region.
iii. Government of India has approved an outlay of approximately Rs.200 Cr towards equipment, manpower and running costs.
iv .The land for this initiative will be provided free of cost by the State government. A Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to set up state-of-the-art Centres of Excellence in transfusion medicine in the four metro cities of Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata.


3. UK LAUNCHES ‘GRAND TRUNK ROAD’ PROJECT TO MARK 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDIA’S PARTITION
i. The British government has launched a new project the ‘Grand Trunk Road’ to mark the 70th anniversary of India’s Partition in August 1947.
ii. The UK-wide project is launched to bring British Asians of all faiths and backgrounds together. It has launched this week to reflect their shared history through 11 special events funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
iii. The Grand Trunk Road has tied together India and Pakistan and their diverse cultures and faiths for millennia. This project will highlight the rich history that British Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus share.UK launches ‘Grand Trunk Road’ project to mark 70th anniversary of India’s partition
v. The aim is for the participants to remember lives lost and learn about the history of partition.

4. RBI AMENDS ORDER ON BANKRUPTCY ACTION ON 12 LARGE NPAS
i. The Reserve Bank of India has amended its earlier order asking banks to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against 12 companies which have outstanding loans amounting to over Rs 5,000 cr as on March 2016.
ii. The Gujarat High Court asked the RBI to remove the stipulation on its order last month that the 12 non-performing assets, would be granted priority at the National Company Law Tribunal.
iii. Essar Steel, one of the 12 large NPAs identified by the RBI, had approached the Gujarat High Court for the RBI proceedings. The Internal Advisory Committee noted that under the recommended criterion 12 accounts totaling about 25% of the current gross NPAs of the banking system would qualify for immediate reference under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016. .

5. FM LAUNCHES A NEW TAX PAYER SERVICE MODULE ‘AAYKAR SETU’
i. A new tax payer service module ‘Aaykar Setu’, was launched by the Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley. It has been launched to enhance mobile access experience and a mobile responsive android version was also released along with the desktop version.
ii. The module compiles various tax tools, live chat facility, dynamic updates and important links to various processes within the Income Tax Department in a single module.
iii. This e-initiative would help in reducing physical interface between assesses and tax assessing authorities.
iv .It would also help in minimizing the chances of any tax harassment. It will bring a new step by the Income Tax Department to directly communicate with the taxpayers.

6. IMPORT OF AIRCRAFTS, PARTS ON LEASE EXEMPT FROM GST
i. The government has exempted the import of aircraft, aircraft engines and its parts on lease from the Goods and Services Tax.
ii. The finance ministry has notified that airlines would not have to pay GST on the import of aircraft and its parts if GST was paid on their lease.
iii. Airlines are awaiting a formal clarification on several other areas of concerns such as input tax credit and the movement of spares from one part of the country to another.
iv. The aviation industry had been asking for relief as it was also facing a dual levy of 5% at the time of import and another 5% at the time of payment of lease rent.

7. SINDHU BAGS ‘SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR’ AWARD
i. During the ‘Maruti Suzuki Sportsperson of the Year’ Charity Gala Awards Rio Olympics silver medallist P V Sindhu was bagged with the Sportsperson of the Year award.
ii. P Gopichand received the Coach of the Year award and Sikh Milkha Singh was given the Living Legend of the Year award.
iii. Young India cricketer K L Rahul was awarded with Game changer of the Year award.
iv. The 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.

8. CRYPTO CURRENCY GURU AMIT BHARDWAJ LAUNCHES E-BOOK
i. Amit Bhardwaj, the founder of Amaze Mining & Research Limited, has launched his 3rd e-book ‘Cryptocurrency for Beginners ‘ in the series, after ‘Cryptocurrency Trading for Beginners’ and ‘Cryptocurrency Mining for Beginners’.
ii. ‘Cryptocurrency for Beginners ‘provide context and clarity on cryptocurrencies. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are set to transform the world with their efficient solutions.
iii. This book make readers can realise that blockchain is just like the internet or a motorbike. The book empowers readers with requisite knowledge of the concept of blockchain.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. THE GOVERNMENT HAS MERGED THE URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION MINISTRIES. THE MERGED MINISTRY WILL NOW BE KNOWN AS?
a)  Ministry of Housing Assistance  and Urban Development
b)  Ministry of Housing and Urban Revival
c)  Ministry of Affordable Housing and Poverty Alleviation
d)  Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Q2. MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE HAS SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH WHICH STATE GOVERNMENT TO FORMALIZE ITS SUPPORT TO SET UP A STATE-OF-THE-ART CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN TRANSFUSION MEDICINE IN STATE’S CAPITAL?
a)  Madhya Pradesh
b)  Assam
c)  West Bengal
d)  Andhra Pradesh
Q3. FINANCE MINISTER ARUN JAITLEY LAUNCHED A NEW INCOME TAX PAYER E-SERVICE MODULE CALLED?
a)  Aaykar Stambh
b)  Aaykar Setu
c)  Aaykar Nivaran
d)  Aaykar Sahayak
Q4. GOVERNMENT HAS EXEMPTED THE IMPORT OF WHICH ITEMS FROM THE GOODS AND SERVICES TAX?
a)  Aircrafts, aircraft engines and other aircraft parts
b)  Building construction material
c)  Hybrid car engines and components
d)  Heavy engineering machines
Q5. WHO AMONG THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN BESTOWED WITH THE SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD AT THE ‘MARUTI SUZUKI SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR’ CHARITY GALA AWARDS?
a)  Saina Nehwal
b)  M S Dhoni
c)  P V Sindhu
d)  Virat Kohli

ANSWERS: 

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