DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 2 AUG 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 2 AUG 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1. RCEP TRADE NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN HYDERABAD
i. 19th round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Trade Negotiating Committee meetings and other related meetings were held in Hyderabad, India.
ii. The Meeting was inaugurated by Rita Teaotia, Secretary, Department of Commerce, and Government of India. During the 19th round, parallel meetings were held by the 3 main Working Groups on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services and Investment, including their respective Sub-Working Groups.

2. CONSTITUTION 123RD AMENDMENT BILL PASSED WITH AMENDMENT IN RAJYA SABHA
i. Constitution 123rd Amendment Bill, 2017 for setting up of a National Commission for Backward Classes was passed by Rajya Sabha after dropping an important clause.
ii. Rajya Sabha passed the bill by dropping Clause 3 which pertains to the insertion of a new article 338B about the constitution and powers of the National Commission for Backward Classes.
iii. One amendment sought increase in the number of members of the proposed commission from three to five with reservation for a member from a minority community and another for women. Another amendment spoke about protecting the rights of states by making their recommendations binding.


3. PM MODI ANNOUNCES RS.2,350 CR RELIEF PACKAGE FOR FLOODS IN NORTH EAST REGION
i. The PM Narendra Modi has announced a package of Rs 2350 cr for relief, rehabilitation and building flood mitigation infrastructure in the flood-affected North-Eastern states including Assam.
ii. The PM announced to set up a high-powered committee to find a long-term solution to the flood and erosion problem in the North east region.
iii. Out of the Rs 2350 cr announced by the PM, Rs 1200 cr will be given by the Union. The Union Government will also provide Rs 100 cr for carrying out the study by the high-powered committee to synergize efforts towards finding time-bound long term solutions to recurrent floods in the region.
iv. The funds will be utilized for repair, maintenance, and strengthening of roads, highways, bridges, and other damaged infrastructure. In the current financial year, the Union Government has approved Rs 600 cr as central share of SDRF for Assam.

4. AIRTEL PAYMENT BANK TIES UP WITH HPCL FOR ATM SERVICES
i. Airtel Payments Bank, India’s 1st payments bank has announced a strategic partnership with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited.
ii. Under which 14,000 HPCL fuel stations will act as banking points for Airtel Payments Bank. It also offer facilities such as opening of account, cash deposit and cash withdrawal to the payment bank’s customers.
iii. Airtel Payments Bank customers will also be able to make digital payments for fuel purchases across 14,000 HPCL fuel stations by using their mobile phones. These cashless payments can be made via smartphones (MyAirtel App) as well as feature phones (USSD).
iv. There is no transaction fee for these digital payments. Airtel Payments Bank’s range of services includes: a) Digital Banking: Paperless account opening using Aadhaar based e-KYC.
b)The customer’s mobile number will be his/her bank account number. Interest rate of 7.25% per annum on deposits in savings accounts.
d) Money transfer to any bank account in India and Free personal accidental insurance of Rs 1 lakh with every savings Account.

5. MUKESH AMBANI BECOMES ASIA’S 2ND RICHEST PERSON
i. Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has become Asia’s 2nd richest person with Net worth $35.2 billion. He has overtaken Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-shing to become Asia’s second-richest man.
ii. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Ambani’s wealth has seen a rise of $12.1 billion with the oil-to telecom conglomerate’s shares.
iii. LiKa-shing is the richest man in Hong Kong with a business empire that ranges from  telecommunications to retail and port.

6. SAMEER GARDE NAMED CISCO PRESIDENT FOR INDIA, SAARC REGION
i. Tech giant Cisco has named Sameer Garde as President for its India and SAARC operations.
ii. Garde would join the company on 1st Aug 2017. He succeeds Dinesh Malkani. He will be responsible for Cisco’s senior-level external engagement, including those with government and industry associations

7. NITI AAYOG VICE CHAIRMAN ARVIND PANAGARIYA RESIGNS
i. Arvind Panagariya, the first vice-chairman of NITI Aayog announced his resignation from office.  Arvind was considered to be PM Narendra Modi’s personal pick for economic reforms.
ii. He is an economist and a professor of economics at Columbia University. Panagariya has earlier been the Chief Economist of the ADB and a Professor of Economics and Co-director, Centre for International Economics, the University of Maryland at College Park.
iii. Panagariya has also worked for the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in various capacities.
iv. He has also written and edited 10 books, his latest being India: The Emerging Giant, which was published in March 2008 by the Oxford University Press, New York.

8. LT.GEN. ABHAY KRISHNA NEW EASTERN COMMAND CHIEF
i. Lt General Abhay Krishna has appointed as the Chief of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command.
ii. Krishna succeeds Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi who has retired from service. Krishna was currently serving as the Head of the Army’s Jaipur-based Southwestern Command.
iii. He is a gallantry award winner in counter insurgency operations in Manipur and commanded Rashtriya Rifles Battalion in the Kashmir Valley.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. 19TH ROUND OF THE REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP TRADE NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND OTHER RELATED MEETINGS WERE IN?
a)  New Delhi
b)  Mumbai
c)  Jaipur
d)  Hyderabad
Q2. PRIME MINISTER, NARENDRA MODI HAS ANNOUNCED A PACKAGE OF RS ______ C FOR RELIEF, REHABILITATION AND BUILDING FLOOD MITIGATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE FLOOD-AFFECTED NORTH-EASTERN STATES INCLUDING ASSAM?
a)  2350 cr
b)  1350 cr
c)  4350 cr
d)  3350 cr
Q3. WHICH COMPANY HAS NAMED SAMEER GARDE AS PRESIDENT FOR ITS INDIA AND SAARC OPERATIONS?
a)  Microsoft
b)  Cisco
c)  IBM
d)  Facebook
Q4. WHO AMONG THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS THE CHIEF OF THE INDIAN ARMY’S EASTERN COMMAND?
a)  Lt General Abhay Krishna
b)  Lt General Pawan Tomar
c)  Lt General Sandeep Menon
d)  Lt General Ajay Rajput
Q5. WHO AMONG THE FOLLOWING HAS OVERTAKEN HONG KONG BUSINESS MAGNATE LI KA-SHING TO BECOME ASIA’S 2ND-RICHEST MAN?
a)  Uday Kotak
b)  Dilip Sanghvi
c)  Mukesh Ambani
d)  Anil Ambani

ANSWERS: 

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