DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 14 AUG 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 14 AUG 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1. INDIAN COAST GUARD SHIP ‘SHAURYA’ COMMISSIONED IN GOA
i. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan commissioned Indian Coast Guard ship ‘Shaurya’ in Goa.
ii. ICGS ‘Shaurya’ is the 5th in the series of six 105-metre offshore patrol vessels. It has been designed and built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Ltd and is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment, sensors and machineries.
ii. ICGS ‘Shaurya’ draws 2,350 tonne and is propelled by 9100 kilowatt diesel engine. ICGS ‘Shaurya’ will be based at Chennai and will be placed under the operational and administrative control of Commander Coast Guard Region (East).


2. PARLIAMENTARY PANEL HEADED BY B C KHANDURI RECOMMENDS 100% PENSION TO WIDOW OF DECEASED SOLDIERS
i. A Parliamentary Panel has suggested that 100% pension should be given to the widow of the deceased soldier. Standing Committee on Defence headed by Maj. General (Retired) B C Khanduri tabled its report in Parliament. The report said after the death of a soldier, the pension of the spouse comes down to 60% of his pension.
ii. The committee also recommended that liberalized and special family pensions to be exempted from income tax for the widows of war like counter insurgency situations or on the line of control as is being given to disabled soldiers.
iii. The panel also supported the demand of Defence Forces representative should be included in the Central Pay Commission to address the grievances in respect of pay and allowances and their issues.

3. INDIAN BANK BRINGS 2-TIER INTEREST RATE FOR SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
i. Indian Bank has introduced two tier interest rate structures for saving bank accounts. It will offer 4%  interest per annum for incremental balance over Rs 50 lakh and 3.50% per annum for balance up to Rs 50 lakh.
ii. The new interest rate will be effective from 16th August 2017. Recently SBI had bring down interest rate on savings account deposits by 50 basis points to 3.5 per on balance of Rs 1 cr and below.
iii. SBI continues to offer 4% interest on savings account balance of Rs 1 cr and above.

4. FLIPKART HAS BECOME THE THIRD MOST FUNDED PRIVATE COMPANY GLOBALLY
i. Flipkart has taken over the rein of the market by becoming the 3rd most funded private company in the world.
ii. Flipkart’s total raised capital is now almost $7 billion which is higher than that raised by global giants like online house rental aggregator Airbnb ($3.3 billion) and mobile phone maker Xiaomi ($1.4 billion).
iii. In valuation, Flipkart stands at the 9th position with about $15 billion. Uber is the most valued company at $68 billion, followed by DidiChuxing at $50 billion, and Xiaomi at $46 billion.

5. DILIP ASBE APPOINTED AS THE ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF NPCI, AFTER A.P. HOTA RETIRES
i. National Payments Corporation of India has appointed Dilip Asbe, as its Chief Executive Officer in the wake of the retirement of A. P. Hota, its founding Managing Director.
ii. Mr. Hota, who had served as the MD of NPCI since its inception, retired on August 10. Asbe who currently serves as the organisation’s Chief Operating Officer will continue in the same designation, but will also act as the Chief Executive Officer of NPCI.
iii. Dilip Asbe, had joined NPCI as its first employee in 2010 as its Chief Technology Officer and was elevated to the position of the Chief Operating Officer in 2013.

6. MAHESHWARI WINS INDIA’S 1ST SOLO MEDAL IN WOMEN’S SKEET
i. Maheshwari Chauhan has won an individual bronze medal at the 7th Asian Championship Shotgun in Astana, Kazakhstan.
ii. She becomes the 1st Indian to win a medal in women’s skeet at the top international level in Astana, Kazakhstan.
iii. Wei Meng of China has won gold in the women’s skeet title at the 7th Asian Shotgun Championships. Saniya Sheikh and Rashmmi Rathore have won the silver medal in the Team event.

7. WORLD ORGAN DONATION DAY: AUGUST 13, 2017
i. Organ Donation Day is observed every year on 13th of August. The aim of this day is to motivate people to donate organs after death, and to spread awareness about the importance of organ donation.
ii. Organ Donation is donating a donor’s organs like heart, intestines, liver, kidneys, lungs, and pancreas, after the donor dies, for the purpose of transplanting them into another person who is in need of an organ.
iii. This day aims to spread awareness to the people about the need of organ donation and remove the hesitations of the people about donating organs.
iv. There is no defined age for donating organs. The decision to donate organs is based on strict medical criteria, not age.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. UNION MINISTER FOR PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS, DHARMENDRA PRADHAN COMMISSIONED WHICH INDIAN COAST GUARD SHIP IN GOA?
a)   Indian Coast Guard ship ‘Suraj’
b)   Indian Coast Guard ship ‘Shaurya’
c)   Indian Coast Guard ship ‘Sanjay’
d)   Indian Coast Guard ship ‘Shoorvir’
Q2. WHO AMONG THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF NATIONAL PAYMENTS CORPORATION OF INDIA?
a)  Prashant Nair
b)  Praveen Joshi
c)  Dilip Asbe
d)  Manohar Das
Q3. PARLIAMENTARY PANEL HEADED BY _________ HAS RECENTLY TABLED ITS REPORT IN PARLIAMENT. IN THE REPORT, THE PANEL HAS RECOMMENDED 100% PENSION TO WIDOW OF DECEASED SOLDIER?
a)  Prahlad Dhawan
b)  Rajat Divekar
c)  Rajendra Singh
d)  B C Khanduri
Q4. WHICH BANK INTRODUCED 2-TIER INTEREST RATE STRUCTURE FOR SAVING BANK ACCOUNTS AND WILL OFFER 4% INTEREST PER ANNUM FOR INCREMENTAL BALANCE OVER RS 50 LAKH AND 3.50% PER ANNUM FOR BALANCE UP TO RS 50 LAKH?
a)  Indian Bank
b)  Vijaya Bank
c)  Federal Bank
d)  Syndicate Bank
Q5. ‘WORLD ORGAN DONATION DAY’ IS OBSERVED ON WHICH DATE EVERY YEAR?
a)  10th August
b)  13th August
c)  12th August
d)  14th August

ANSWERS: 

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