DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 17 SEP 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 17 SEP 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.   VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA LAYS FOUNDATION STONE FOR THE FIRST REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TRAINING INSTITUTE IN HYDERABAD
i. Vice President Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu laid foundation stone for Regional Vocational Training Institute, in Hyderabad.
ii. This Regional Vocational Training Institute for women is the 1st of its kind in Telangana. This would increase skill development opportunities for women and provide them with job opportunities.
iii. Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Home, Labour & Employment, Telangana, Mr. Naini Narsimha Reddy, Deputy CM, Govt. of Telangana, Mr. Mohammad Mahmood Ali and Former Minister of State for Labour & Employment and Member of Parliament Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya were also present during the occasion.
iv. It was said that one RVTI would be set up in every state. Budget of Rs.19.95 cr has been allotted for construction of building for RVTI-Hyderabad.
v. Courses such as Fashion Design & Technology, Architectural Assistantship, Front Office Assistant, Cosmetology, Secretarial Practice (English), Food and Beverages Service Assistant would be taught.


2.   ASSAM GOVERNMENT PASSES PRANAM BILL – EMPLOYEES WHO DUMP PARENTS WILL LOSE PART SALARY
i. The Assam state Assembly passed Parental Responsibility And Norms for Accountability and Monitoring bill that makes it mandatory for state government employees to take care of their parents and needy siblings or face a cut in their income.
ii. Assam is the 1st state to approve such legislation. Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma introduced the bill. The bill was backed by all the ruling and opposition MLAs.
iii. The Bill will ensure that all government employees look after their dependents including parents and Persons with disability (divyangs).
iv. The parents or needy siblings who feel neglected can lodge complaints with the head of the department of the person who, after hearing both sides, may deduct 10-15% of the salary of the employee and give it to the parents for their survival.

3.   INDUSIND BANK PARTNERS WITH ADB TO PROVIDE LOANS TO RURAL WOMEN
i. Asian Development Bank announced that it signed a deal with IndusInd Bank to provide loans for low income women in rural areas, in India.
ii. Total amount of loan allotted is $200 million. Atleast 95 % of the loan would be allotted to women borrowers. Atleast 70 % of the loans will be issued in less developed states of India.
iii. It is expected that $1 million would be allotted for technical assistance. This would enable IndusInd Bank to improve financial literacy among women borrowers and develop digitised processing methods.

4.   INDIA’S FOREX RESERVE CROSSES $400 BILLION FOR THE FIRST TIME
i. India’s foreign exchange reserve has crossed the $400 billion mark for the 1st time to hit an all-time high of $400.726 billion.
ii. There is a sharp rise in foreign currency assets, mainly huge inflows through foreign direct investments in projects and portfolio investment. The big rise in forex reserves is to due to inflows through foreign direct investment and portfolio investment in the capital market.
iii. It took the country over nine years to cross the $400 billion level after hitting the $300 billion mark in 2008. India is now in the 6th position in forex reserves ranking, ahead of Taiwan, Brazil and euro zone.
iv. China has topped the table with reserves of $3,053 billion. Japan is in the 2nd position with reserves of $1,188 billion and Switzerland is at 3rd with $743 billion.
v. According to RBI, foreign currency assets were $376.20 billion, gold reserves at $20.69 billion, SDRs of $ 1.52 billion and $2.30 billion reserves in IMF.

5.   MPEDA BAGS RAJBHASHA KEERTI AWARD FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR
i. The Marine Products Export Development Authority was awarded National level Rajbhasha Keerti Award.
ii. President of India Mr.Ramnath Kovind handed the award to MPEDA Chairman Mr.A.Jayathilak at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
iii. MPEDA bags the award for the third consecutive year. MPEDA was honoured with this award for the best implementation of official language in the organization.

6.   IAF COMPLETES DEVELOPMENT TRIALS OF ASTRA AIR-TO-AIR MISSILE
i. The final Development Flight Trials of Astra – Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile were successfully conducted over the Bay of Bengal, Off the Coast of Chandipur, Odisha. A total of seven trials were conducted against Pilotless Target Aircrafts successfully.
ii. The Astra (throwing weapon) is an active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Indian air force.
iii. Astra is designed to be capable of engaging targets at varying range and altitudes allowing for engagement of both short-range targets (up to 20 km) and long-range targets (up to 80–110 km) using alternative propulsion modes

7.   UNSTOPPABLE: MY LIFE SO FAR, BOOK BY MARIA SHARAPOVA
i. The book titled Unstoppable: My Life So Far is authored by tennis star Maria Sharapova was launched in September 2017.
ii. The book describes Sharapova’s rise of tennis stardom, and the unending fight to stay on top. The book talks about how a seventeen-year-old Maria Sharapova became popular by defeating the two-time defending champion Serena Williams to win the prestigious Wimbledon.
iii. Maria Sharapova hails from Russia and she is a Russian professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the WTA on five separate occasions, for a total of 21 weeks.
iv. She is also an Olympic medalist and bagged silver for Russia in women’s singles at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

8.   INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE OZONE LAYER: 16 SEPTEMBER
i. The World celebrates the International day for the preservation of Ozone layer as the World Ozone Day. The date was chosen because the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed on September 16, 1987.
ii. The theme of this year was “Caring for all life under Sun”

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHERE WAS VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA LAID FOUNDATION STONE FOR THE FIRST REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TRAINING INSTITUTE?
a)  Mumbai
b)  Rajasthan
c)  New Delhi
d)  Hyderabad
Q2. WHICH STATE GOVERNMENT PASSES PRANAM BILL – EMPLOYEES WHO DUMP PARENTS WILL LOSE PART SALARY?
a)  Mumbai
b)  Rajasthan
c)  Assam
d)  New Delhi
Q3. INDIA’S FOREX RESERVE CROSSES HOW MUCH BILLION FOR THE FIRST TIME?
a)  $ 200
b)  $ 400
c)  $ 300
d)  $ 350
Q4. WHO BAGGED RAJBHASHA KEERTI AWARD FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR?
a)  MPEDA
b)  NMRDC
c)  AAI
d)  NTPC
Q5. “UNSTOPPABLE: MY LIFE SO FAR”, BOOK HAS WRITTEN BY WHICH FAMOUS PERSONALITY?
a)  Josh Hazlewood
b)  Abhinav Bindra
c)  Maria Sharapova
d)  Sania Mirza

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