DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 7 JAN 2018

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 7 JAN 2018

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      WORLD BOOK FAIR BEGINS IN NEW DELHI WITH FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENT

i. New Delhi World Book Fair 2018 began on January 6 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

i. The main theme of New Delhi World Book Fair 2018 is ‘Environment and Climate Change’. The theme pavilion (made from environmental-friendly material like bamboo, cane and jute) highlights various environment-related issues like global warming, climate change, water pollution and other relevant matters.

ii. This fair is being jointly organised by the National Book Trust and India Trade Promotion Organisation. It is spread over 30000 sq m space and has more than 1500 stalls.

2.      NEW DELHI HOSTED CONFERENCE ON TRANSFORMATION OF ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS

i. Conference on Transformation of Aspirational Districts organized by NITI Aayog was held at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, in New Delhi.

ii. The conference focused on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a New India by 2022. PM Narendra Modi interacted with officials in-charge of transformation of around 100 districts.

iii. Government officials such as Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary have been made officers in-charge for the transformation of districts initiative. The officers in-charge work to help deliver the efforts of government in transforming districts that lag in certain parameters.

3.      ATAL PENSION YOJANA SUBSCRIBER BASE TOUCHES 80 LAKH-MARK

i. The Atal Pension Yojana’s subscriber base reached a mark of 80 lakhs subscribers. The Atal Pension Yojana is run by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India. It has reached 80 lakh subscribers.

ii. Uttar Pradesh has highest number of subscribers (11.41 lakh). It is followed by Bihar (8.87 lakh) and Tamil Nadu (6.60 lakh). The PFRDA had taken initiatives like account statement view and e-PRAN. It has also introduced online registration facility for the scheme.

4.      INDIA’S FIRST NATIONAL PARK FOR DIFFERENTLY ABLED PEOPLE INAUGURATED IN HYDERABAD

i. Telangana State Government inaugurated India’s 1st National Park for differently abled people in Hyderabad. The park has speech therapist, vocational training instructors and physiotherapist for the differently-abled children.

ii. The park was inaugurated by Telangana Municipal administration and Urban Development Minister K.T. Rama Rao.

iii. At the inauguration, Mr. Rao stated that Telangana State Government is also planning an Information technology park on similar lines.

5.      HIMALAYAN HYDRO EXPO BEGINS IN KATHMANDU

i. Himalayan Hydro Expo began at the Exhibition Hall of Bhrikutimandap, in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Himalayan Hydro Expo 2018 is jointly organised by the Independent Power Producers’ Association Nepal and Event Management Services. The expo is conducted for 3 days.

ii. The expo was inaugurated by Bidya Devi Bhandari, President of Nepal. The objective of the expo is to project the hydro power potential of Nepal and to bring together all the stakeholders at one place.

iii. Delegates from countries like India, Austria, China, Czech Republic and Norway are taking part in the expo. Hydro power related products and services are displayed in the expo. Seminars, discussions and competitions are conducted for students.

6.      TIHCL GETS RBI NOD TO OPERATE AS NBFC

i. Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Ltd, a State government initiative, has got RBI clearance to register and function as a non-banking finance company.

ii. It will be the first State promoted and co-financing NBFC. It had won the SKOCH Platinum Award in September 2017 under the smart governance category in the MSME segment.

7.      CHINA TO BUILD SECOND FOREIGN NAVAL BASE IN PAKISTAN

i. China is planning to build its 2nd foreign naval base in Pakistan. This will be China’s 2nd foreign naval base after Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa in Indian Ocean. The base in Djibouti was formally opened in August 2017.

8.      PAYTM PAYMENTS BANK, INDUSIND TIE UP FOR FD FACILITY

i. Paytm Payments Bank has partnered Induslnd Bank to introduce a facility to create a fixed deposit when the customer balance exceeds Rs. 1 lakh at the end of the day.

ii. Paytm Payments Bank customers can redeem their deposits instantly, anytime without paying any pre-closure or miscellaneous charges and can earn up to 6.85% annual interest.

9.      GOVERNMENT FORECASTS GDP GROWTH AT 6.5% IN CURRENT FISCAL

i. Central Statistics Office has announced the first advance estimates of National Income 2017-18 and stated that growth in India’s Gross Domestic Product during 2017-18 is estimated at 6.5% as compared to 7.1% in 2016-17.

ii. This has been the slowest growth in past 4 years as GDP growth was 7.1% in 2016-17, 8% in 2015-16 and 7.5% in 2014-15. GDP growth in first half of 2017-18 was only 6% owing to lingering effects of demonetisation in November 2016 and disruptions caused due to rollout of goods and services tax in July 2017.

iii. As per CSO estimates, growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing is likely to slow to 2.1% in 2017-18 as compared to 4.9% in 2016-17. Growth in manufacturing sector too is expected to slow down to 4.6% in current fiscal as compared to 7.9% in 2016-17.

10.  DIPLOMAT T S TIRUMURTI APPOINTED ECONOMIC RELATIONS SECRETARY

i. T S Tirumurti was appointed as the Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry. T S Tirumurti replaces Vijay Keshav Gokhale as Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry. Vijay Keshav Gokhale was recently appointed as Foreign Secretary.

ii. T S Tirumurti is a Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1985-batch. He is currently the High Commissioner of India to Malaysia. Earlier he has worked as Under Secretary (Bhutan), Director (Foreign Secretary’s Office), Joint Secretary (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives) and Joint Secretary (United Nations Economic and Social).

11.  ELITE WOMEN’S NATIONAL BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP BEGINS IN HARYANA

i. The 2nd edition of the Elite Women’s National Boxing Championship, began in Haryana.

ii. The Elite Women’s National Boxing Championship is considered as selection trials for the upcoming Common Wealth Games and the Asian Games. Boxers like Sarita Devi, Sarjubala, Sonia Lather are participating in the tournament. Around 300 top boxers participate in the tournament.

iii. Performance director for the Elite women’s team Raffael Bergamasco and women’s team head coach Shiv Singh are also present in the tournament.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. ATAL PENSION YOJANA SUBSCRIBER BASE TOUCHES 80 LAKH-MARK. WHICH STATE HAS THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS?

a)  Maharashtra

b)  Gujarat

c)  Madhya Pradesh

d)  Uttar Pradesh

Q2. WORLD BOOK FAIR 2018, WITH FOCUS ON ENVIRONMENT WAS HOSTED BY WHICH INDIAN STATE?

a)  Karnataka

b)  Kerala

c)  New Delhi

d)  Maharashtra

Q3. IN WHICH CITY OF TELANGANA STATE, INDIA’S FIRST NATIONAL PARK FOR DIFFERENTLY ABLED PEOPLE WAS INAUGURATED?

a)  Karimnagar

b)  Hyderabad

c)  Nalgonda

d)  Warangal

Q4. WHICH STATE HOSTED THE CONFERENCE ON TRANSFORMATION OF ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS 2018?

a)  New Delhi

b)  Punjab

c)  Karnataka

d)  Manipur

Q5. WHICH COUNTRY HOSTED THE HIMALAYAN HYDRO EXPO 2018?

a)  Pakistan

b)  Myanmar

c)  Nepal

d)  Bhutan

ANSWERS: 

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