DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 21 AUG 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 21 AUG 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1. GOVERNMENT DOUBLES CHILD CARE ALLOWANCE FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES
i. Government has doubled monthly child care allowance for women with disabilities. At present, the allowance of Rs 1500 per month is given to differently-abled female employees for taking care of their newborn child. This has been raised to Rs. 3000 per month.
ii. The allowance will be payable for a maximum of 2 eldest surviving children from the time of the child’s birth till the child is two years old.
iii. As per the order issued by Department of Personnel and Training, the limit would be automatically raised by 25% every time the Dearness Allowance on the revised pay structure goes up by 50%.
iv. The decision to hike the allowance is based on the recommendations of seventh central pay commission.

2. GOVERNMENT TO CONDUCT ‘WORLD’S LARGEST SAMPLE SURVEY’ FOR STUDENTS
i. Human Resource Development Ministry will be conducting National Assessment Survey for the students of class 3, 5, and 8 for assessing various learning outcomes. So far, during several rounds of the survey, a total of 4.45 lakh students have been tested for various learning outcomes.
ii. This time, approximately 30 lakh students will be assessed in the year 2017-18 making it the world’s largest sample survey of student learning achievement.
iii. On basis of this survey, for the first time, teachers will have a tool to understand what exactly the child should be learning in various classes. Besides, for the 1st time there will be a detailed district-specific report card for all the districts in the country.
iv. It is to be noted that so far, National Council of Educational Research and Training has conducted 4 rounds of National Achievement Survey for Class 5, three rounds for classes 3 and 8 and one round for Class 10.

3. A TWO DAY CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICERS CONFERENCE OF ALL STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES HELD IN NEW DELHI
i. A two day Chief Electoral Officers’ Conference of all States and Union Territories commenced in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Shri. A.K. Jyoti, Chief Election Commissioner of India and Shri. O.P. Rawat, Election Commissioner of India.
ii. The emphasis is on the need of providing E-services to stakeholders and also emphasised the requirement to develop E-Payment gateways for various election services of Election commission of India.
iii. The need for extensive training programmes on Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail as ECI has decided to conduct all future elections using VVPAT along with Electronic Voting Machines.
iv. CEC also stated that Systematic Voter Education and Electoral participation be developed as core area of election management.

4. DELHI METRO OPENS PLANT TO RECYCLE CONSTRUCTION WASTE
i. Delhi Metro has opened a facility to recycle the waste produced during its demolition and construction work. The construction waste generated by DMRC is generally dumped at pre-designated sites identified and approved by the government.
ii. According to the Delhi Metro Rail Corp to utilize this waste, this new facility has been constructed. A plant in Rohini in north Delhi will manufacture green products like aggregates, manufactured sand, concrete bricks, tiles, paver-blocks and kerb stones.
iii. The facility, which will be managed by IL&FS Environment, will have the capacity to process 150 tonnes of waste every day. By adding the use of “wet technology” employed during the processing of materials will be able to minimize the dust and noise pollution.
iv. It is provided to “recover and recycle” about 95%  of incoming waste like cement concrete pile heads, re-bars, concrete blocks, broken bricks, cement plaster and many other materials.

5. INDIA, US ESTABLISH TWO-BY-TWO MINISTERIAL DIALOGUE
i. India and US have established TWO-BY-TWO Ministerial Dialogue with an aim to elevate their strategic consultations. The new format would include External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary James Mattis.
ii. Two-BY-TWO Ministerial Dialogue will replace India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, once described by the US State Department as the signature mechanism for advancing the United States’ and India’s shared priorities.
iii. The shared priorities include job creation, improving the business and investment climate and sustaining a rules-based global order.
iv. The 1st Strategic and Commercial Dialogue was held in 2015 in Washington, US and the 2nd in New Delhi in 2016. It was seen as an elevation of the US-India Strategic Dialogue in place since 2009 and which focused on regional security, economic cooperation, defence, trade and climate challenges.

6. IOC TO INVEST RS 52,000 CR IN PARADIP REFINERY POST PACT WITH ODISHA GOVERNMENT
i. State-owned Indian Oil Corporation will invest about Rs 52,000 cr in expanding Paradip refinery in Odisha and setting up petrochemical complex after the Odisha State Gvernment agreed to restore part of tax incentives.
ii. In February 2017, Odisha State Government withdrew 11-year VAT or sales tax deferment on Paradip refinery products sold in the state by IOC.
iii. Now, Odisha Government has agreed to restore part of tax incentives and has agreed to give Rs 700 cr per annum of an interest-free loan for 15 years to make up for the withdrawn incentive.

7. PREETHI SRINIVASAN RECEIVES KALPANA CHAWLA AWARD
i. Preethi Srinivasan, the former State under-19 cricket captain, who braved a debilitate accident to support those suffering from spinal cord injuries like her was presented with the ‘Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage and Daring Enterprise’.
ii. The award was presented by CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami during the 71st Independence Day celebrations at Fort St. George in Chennai.
iii. Preethi, confined to a wheel chair, started a trust called ‘Soul Free’ to create a help group for others like her. Her organisation strives to provide all-round support.

8. TELANGANA CM CHOSEN FOR AGRICULTURE LEADERSHIP AWARD
i. According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office the Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao has been selected for the prestigious Agriculture Leadership Award-2017.
ii. A committee is headed by agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan has recommended the CM’s name.
iii. The award will be presented on 5th September at Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi. The CM has been selected for the award for his innovative services rendered to the welfare of farmers and the farm sector.
iv. The award, instituted by Indian Council of Food and Agriculture in 2008 since then it is presented every year.

9. KARUR VYSYA BANK APPOINTS P R SESHADRI AS MD AND CEO
i. The Reserve Bank of India has accorded their approval for the appointment of Shri P R Seshadri as Managing Director & CEO of the Karur Vysya Bank.
ii. He replaced K Venkataraman. He is appointed for the period of three years.
iii. It has 715 branches and network of 1748 ATM’s and around 446 cash deposit machines as on 20th APRIL 2017.

10. SADBHAVANA DIWAS – BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF RAJIV GANDHI
i. The birthday of Shri Rajiv Gandhi is celebrated on 20th August every year. It is called Sadbhavana Diwas. The Sadbhavana Diwas 2017 is the 73rd birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.
ii. At this day, a variety of cultural festivals and competitions are held in various states of the country. People celebrate this day by conserving the greenery, planting the tree, preserving the natural beauty, protecting the environment as well as conserving the natural resources.
iii. This day is celebrated in order to make aware the people about the necessary environment topics. People pay respect and honor to the memorial Veer Bhumi of the Rajiv Gandhi.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHICH ONE FROM THE FOLLOWING HAVE ESTABLISHED BETWEEN INDIA AND US WITH AN AIM TO ELEVATE THEIR STRATEGIC CONSULTATIONS?
a)  TWO-BY-TWO Ministerial Dialogue
b)  India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue
c)  TWO-BY-ONE Ministerial Dialogue
d)  India-US power and Commercial Dialogue
Q2. HOW MUCH OF PERCENTAGE WOULD BE RAISED EVERY TIME THE DEARNESS ALLOWANCE ON THE REVISED PAY STRUCTURE GOES UP BY 50% AS PER THE CHILD CARE ALLOWANCE FOR WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES ISSUED BY DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL AND TRAINING?
a)  30 per cent
b)  20 per cent
c)  25 per cent
d)  30 percent
Q3. WHO WAS PRESENTED WITH THE ‘KALPANA CHAWLA AWARD FOR COURAGE AND DARING ENTERPRISE’?
a)  Mariyappan Thangavelu
b)  Preethi Srinivasan
c)  Deepa Malikh
d)  Varun Singh Bhati
Q4. WHICH CHIEF MINISTER HAS BEEN SELECTED FOR THE PRESTIGIOUS AGRICULTURE LEADERSHIP AWARD-2017.?
a)  Dr. Mukul Sangma,Megalaya
b)  Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala
c)  Shri Siddaramaiah,Karnataka
d)  Shri K Chandrasekhar Rao,Telengana
Q5. WHO HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS MANAGING DIRECTOR & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE KARUR VYSYA BANK?
a)  P R Seshadri
b)  K Venkataraman
c)  Dr. N. Kamakodi
d)  R.Subramaniakumar

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