DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 3 JAN 2018

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 3 JAN 2018

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      CABINET NOD TO INDIA, UK PACT TO IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSPORT

i. The Cabinet has approved the signing and implementation of the MoU between Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and ‘Transport for London’ to improve public transport in the country.

ii. The MoU is aimed at improving the overall public transport system, improve passenger services and promote the use of high capacity buses in India.

2.      CENTRE UNVEILED CONTOURS OF ‘ELECTORAL BONDS’ SCHEME

i. The Centre unveiled the contours of the ‘Electoral Bonds’ scheme, which seeks to ensure the flow of clean money to political parties, without revealing the donors’ names.

ii. As per the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the electoral bonds will be a bearer instrument in the nature of a Promissory Note and an interest-free banking instrument. A citizen of India or a body incorporated in India will be eligible to purchase the bond from specified branches of the State Bank of India.

iii. The bonds can be purchased for any value in multiples of Rs1,000; Rs10,000; Rs1 lakh; Rs10 lakh; and Rs1 cr.

3.      KARNATAKA TO HOLD 'LARGEST B2B TRAVEL EVENT' IN THE COUNTRY

i. The Karnataka government announced that 'Karnataka International Travel Expo' will be held from February 28, billing it as the "largest" B2B travel event in the country.

ii. The aim of the event is to project Karnataka globally and attract tourist footfall, with emphasis on promoting the state's wildlife, luxury and adventure destinations, historical monuments and UNESCO world heritage sites.

4.      GAIL COMMISSIONS INDIA'S SECOND-LARGEST ROOFTOP SOLAR PLANT IN UP

i. State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd has commissioned the country's second-largest rooftop solar power plant in Uttar Pradesh.

ii. The firm has installed a 5.76 MWp solar plant at its petrochemical complex at Pata in Uttar Pradesh. The plant over the roofs of warehouses covers a total area of 65,000 square meters.

5.      PAKISTAN STATE BANK ALLOWS USE OF CHINESE CURRENCY YUAN FOR BILATERAL TRADE & INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES

i. Pakistan has allowed Chinese currency Yuan for exports and financing transactions. According to Pakistan, external affairs ministry, both public and private sector enterprises of Pakistan and China are free to choose Yuan for bilateral trade and investment activities.

ii. As per current foreign exchange regulations, Chinese Yuan is an approved foreign currency for denominating foreign currency transactions in Pakistan.

6.      SIX COUNTRIES ENTER UN SECURITY COUNCIL

i. Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, Peru, Poland and the Netherlands formally joined the ranks of the non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to make a difference.

ii. The UN Security Council has 15 members, including five with permanent seats who have the power to veto resolutions - Britain, France, China, Russia and the United States. The six countries who left the UN Security Council recently are Egypt, Japan, Italy, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay.

7.      NO CHARGES ON DEBIT CARD TRANSACTIONS UP TO RS 2,000: FINANCE MINISTRY

i. Customers will not have to pay any transaction charges for payments through debit card, BHIM app and other payment made for up to Rs 2,000.

ii. Union Cabinet had recently approved a proposal that government will bear the merchant discount rate charges on transactions up to Rs 2,000 made through debit cards, BHIM UPI or Aadhaar-enabled payment systems to promote digital transactions.

iii. The merchant discount rate will be borne by the government for two years with effect from January 1, 2018 by reimbursing the same to banks.

8.      INDIA'S GDP GROWTH AT 6.5% IN FY18, WILL ACCELERATE TO 7.6% IN FY20: HSBC

i. As per the HSBC report, India's growth rate is expected to accelerate at around 6.5% in 2017-18 and is likely to improve further to 7.6 percent by 2019-20.

ii. The result is expected as key sectors would revive from disruptions related to the implementation of GST and demonetisation.

9.      HDFC BANK PARTNERS WITH RAJASTHAN GOVT. TO PROMOTE STARTUP CULTURE

i. HDFC Bank has announced a partnership with Rajasthan Government to promote and nurture startups in the state.

ii. Under this partnership, HDFC Bank will team up with the state government to provide end-to-end solutions like current accounts, credit cards and other solutions to startups under its SmartUp programme

10.  SBI, NABARD TIE UP TO PROMOTE JOINT LIABILITY GROUPS IN BENGAL

i. State Bank of India and NABARD have signed an agreement with five NGOs in Bengal for the promotion of 2,500 joint liability groups in select districts of the State.

ii. JLGs are informal groups of 4-10 members engaged in similar economic activities and willing to jointly undertake the responsibility to repay loans taken by the group from a bank.

11.  FORMER RAW CHIEF RAJINDER KHANNA APPOINTED DEPUTY NSA

i. Rajinder Khanna, the former chief of India’s Research and Analysis Wing, was appointed as the new Deputy National Security Adviser.

ii. Khanna served as the chief of India’s external intelligence agency RAW for a fixed two year period from December 2014. His appointment to the new post was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by PM Narendra Modi. The employment would be on a contractual basis.

12.  G SATHIYAN BECOMES INDIA’S HIGHEST-RANKED PLAYER IN LATEST ITTF RANKINGS

i. G Sathiyan has become India’s highest-ranked player in the latest International Table Tennis Federation rankings. He surpasses his compatriot the legendary Sharath Kamal.

ii. The current ranking of Sathiyan is 49. As for the women, Manika Batra is topping the world chart among Indians at 62th.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHICH STATE WILL HOST THE "LARGEST" B2B TRAVEL EVENT IN THE COUNTRY NAMED KITE?

a)  Maharashtra

b)  Karnataka

c)  Kerala

d)  Kashmir

Q2. IN WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING STATE, THE GAS UTILITY COMPANY GAIL INDIA LTD HAS COMMISSIONED THE COUNTRY'S 2ND-LARGEST ROOFTOP SOLAR POWER PLANT?

a)  Madhya Pradesh

b)  Himachal Pradesh

c)  Uttar Pradesh

d)  Maharashtra

Q3. WHO HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS THE NEW DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER?

a)  Rajiv Jain

b)  Anil Dhasmana

c)  Dineshwar Sharma

d)  Rajinder Khanna

Q4. CUSTOMERS WILL NOT HAVE TO PAY ANY TRANSACTION CHARGES FOR PAYMENTS THROUGH DEBIT CARD, BHIM APP AND OTHER PAYMENT MADE FOR UP TO?

a)  Rs 2,000

b)  Rs 1,500

c)  Rs 2,500

d)  Rs 3,000

Q5. SIX COUNTRIES HAVE FORMALLY JOINED THE RANKS OF THE NON-PERMANENT MEMBERS OF THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL. WHICH AMONG THE FOLLOWING IS NOT ONE OF THEM?

a)  Poland

b)  Sweden

c)  Peru

d)  Kuwait

ANSWERS: 

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