DAILY CURRENT
AFFAIRS: 21 AUG 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
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
