DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 29 JULY 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 29 JULY 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.INS

1. CABINET APPROVES REVISION OF GUIDELINES OF SOVEREIGN GOLD BONDS SCHEME
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the PM Narendra Modi gave approval for revision of guidelines of Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme with a view to achieve its intended objectives.
ii. The investment limit per fiscal year has been increased to 4 kg for individuals, 4 Kg for Hindu Undivided Family and 20 Kg for Trusts and similar entities notified by the Government from time to time.
iii. The ceiling will be counted on financial year basis and will include the SGBs purchased during the trading in the secondary market.The ceiling on investment will not include the holdings as collateral by Banks and Financial institutions.


2. BRICS NATIONS SIGN MEMORANDUM TO FACILITATE TAXATION COOPERATION
i. The BRICS nations have signed the BRICS Taxation Cooperation Memorandum. The document has been signed by the Heads of Tax Authorities of the five BRICS Nations.
ii. All the 5 nations agreed to work together to ensure steady employment and better quality of life for their nation as well as for their people.
iii. The aim is to establish a mechanism for taxation cooperation. It includes improving consultation procedures efficiency, boost taxation capacities and plan paths for coordination of taxation policies and tax collection.
iv. The meeting comes ahead of the 2017 BRICS Summit, which is scheduled to be held in Fujian province’s Xiamen, China from 3-5 Sept 2017.

3. RBI SETS UP SUPERVISORY COLLEGES FOR 6 SCHEDULED COMMERCIAL BANKS WHICH HAVE SIZEABLE INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE
i. RBI has set up Supervisory Colleges for six Scheduled Commercial Banks which have sizeable international presence.
ii. The objectives of the colleges are to enhance information exchange and cooperation among supervisors, to improve understanding of the risk profile of the banking group. It helps in facilitating more effective supervision of internationally active banks.
iii. The Banks which are included are State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank Ltd., Bank of India, Axis Bank Ltd. and Punjab National Bank.
iv. This was stated by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State for Finance.

4. NPCI RECEIVES FINAL NOD FROM RBI TO FUNCTION AS BHARAT BILL PAYMENT CENTRAL UNIT
i. The RBI has given a final nod to National Payments Corporation of India, the umbrella organisation for all retail payment to function as the Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit and operate the Bharat Bill Payment System.
ii. On August 31, 2016, 8 BBPS operating units, which received in-principle approval from RBI, took part in the pilot. Almost after a year of running the pilot, streamlining the technology and business processes, NPCI has now received final clearance from RBI.
iii. Total number of Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit certified by NPCI now stands at 24.
iv. The certified units include 3 public sector banks (Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank and Union Bank of India), 10 private banks, 5 Cooperative Banks and 6 non-bank biller aggregators.

5. IRAN SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES SATELLITE-CARRYING ROCKET
i. Iran has successfully launched a satellite-carrying rocket Simorgh into space on 28th of July.
ii. The launch of a “Simorgh” rocket that is capable of carrying a satellite weighing 250 kilograms. The launch took place at the Imam Khomeini National Space Station in Semnan, 220 kilometers (138 miles) east of Tehran.
iii. The launch will be seen as a major step forward for the country’s young space program.
iv. According to a US National Air and Space Intelligence Centre report from June, the Simorgh could act as a test bed for Iran to produce an intercontinental ballistic missile.

6. PV SINDHU APPOINTED GROUP-I OFFICER IN ANDHRA PRADESH
i. Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu has been appointed a Group-I officer in Andhra Pradesh. CM N Chandrababu Naidu handed over the government order to the Rio Olympics silver winning shuttler.
ii. Chandrababu Naidu had promised a Group-I post to Sindhu when she won the silver medal in Olympics. Accordingly, she was appointed the deputy collector.

7. AJAY SINGH WINS BRONZE MEDAL IN ASIAN YOUTH AND JUNIOR WEIGHTLIFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS
i. India’s Ajay Singh has won the bronze medal in Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships at Kathmandu, taking India’s tally to 3rd position. Ajay got 3rd place in 77 kgs men’s junior category lifting 143 kgs in snatch and 172 kgs in clean and jerk.
ii. S. Nirpupama Devi had won bronze in 69 kgs women youth category. Konsam Ormila Devi had won gold in 44kg weight category on an opening day.

8. WORLD HEPATITIS DAY: JULY 28, 2017
i. World Hepatitis Day has observed on 28th July every year. Viral hepatitis is one of the leading causes of death globally, accounting for 1.34 million deaths per year that’s as many as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria. Together, hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C cause 80% of liver cancer cases in the world.
ii. It aims to raise global awareness of hepatitis a group of infectious diseases known as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E and encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
iii. This Day brings the world together under a single theme to raise awareness of the global burden of viral hepatitis and to influence real change.
iv. The 2017 theme of World Hepatitis Day was “Eliminate Hepatitis” to mobilize intensified action towards the health targets in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
v. The theme is aimed at achieving elimination of hepatitis, greater awareness, increased diagnosis including universal vaccination, blood and injection safety, harm reduction and treatment.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. CABINET HAS RAISED THE ANNUAL INVESTMENT LIMIT IN SOVEREIGN GOLD BONDS FROM 500 GM TO HOW MUCH QUANTITY PER INDIVIDUAL?
a)  4 kg
b)  2 kg
c)  3 kg
d)  6 kg
Q2. WHICH COUNTRY SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED ASATELLITE-CARRYING ROCKET ‘SIMORGH’ INTO SPACE?
a)  Algeria
b)  Israel
c)  Egypt
d)  Iran
Q3. WHAT WAS THE THEME OF ‘WORLD HEPATITIS DAY’ 2017?
a)  “Hepatitis Pre-emptive Care”
b)  “Hepatitis & Modern Medicine”
c)  “Eliminate Hepatitis”
d)  “No Hepatitis – 2020″
Q4. RESERVE BANK OF INDIA HAS INFORMED THAT SUPERVISORY COLLEGES HAVE BEEN SETUP FOR 6 SCHEDULED COMMERCIAL BANKS WHICH HAVE SIZEABLE INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE. WHICH AMONG THE FOLLOWING BANKS ARE AMONG THESE SIX BANKS?
a)  State Bank of India and Bank of India
b)  ICICI Bank and Axis Bank
c)  Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank
d)  All of the above

Q5. MEMBER COUNTRIES OF WHICH MULTILATERAL ASSOCIATION HAVE SIGNED A LANDMARK DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH A MECHANISM FOR TAXATION COOPERATION?
a)  ASEAN
b)  BRICS
c)  SAARC
d)  G7

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