Current affairs : November 24, 2016 for all competitive exams
PM releases book on the life of Late Shri Kedarnath Sahni
The Prime Minister, Shri
Narendra Modi, today released a book on the life of Late Shri Kedarnath Sahni.
- Kidar Nath Sahani (24
October 1926 – 3 October 2012) was a governor of the Indian states of Sikkim (2001–02)
and Goa (2002–04).
Third Protocol to the Convention between India and New
Zealand for the avoidance of double taxation
The Union Cabinet has approved the ratification and entry into force of the
third Protocol to the Convention between India and New Zealand for the
avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect
to taxes on income (Convention). The Protocol was signed on 26th October, 2016.
- The Protocol will stimulate the flow of exchange of
information between India and New Zealand for tax purposes which will help
curb tax evasion and tax avoidance.
Cabinet approves new Merchant Shipping Bill
The Cabinet has approved a new Merchant Shipping Bill by repealing the
58-year old law, a move that will promote ease of doing business, transparency
and effective delivery of services.
- The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2016, is a revamped
version of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. It provides for repealing of
the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, as well as the Coasting Vessels Act,
1838.
Apex court slams Centre over Lokpal
The Supreme Court has pulled up the Centre over the delay in appointment of
an Ombudsman or Lokpal, saying it should not allow the law to become a “dead
letter”.
- The appointment of the anti-corruption ombudsman has
been hanging in balance since the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 which
received Presidential assent on January 1, 2014 on the ground that the
legislation provides that the Leader of Opposition (LoP) has to be in
selection committee, but there is no Leader of Opposition in the present
Lok Sabha.
Himalayan projects face flood risk
According to an analysis of Himalayan glaciers and their possible future
impact on livelihoods in States adjoining the region, potential hydro power
projects in the Himalayan region would need to factor in chances of increased
floods from the formation of new lakes and the expansion of existing ones due
to melting glaciers.
- The results are part of a modelling study by Swiss
researchers on the impact of climate change in the Himalayas.
SEBI eases rules for angel funds
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has liberalised norms for
angel funds to invest in early-stage entities as part of its attempts to
facilitate fund-raising for start-ups.
- In this regard, SEBI has decided
to amend the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012.
- The regulator has increased the upper limit for number of angel investors from forty nine to two hundred.
50 organ
transplants in one day
Over 50 organ transplants
were carried out across the country on Nov 23 to generate awareness about organ
donation as part of a week-long celebration to mark Indian Organ Donation Week.
- This is the first time so many transplants have taken place in a co-ordinated manner.
IIT Kharagpur named top
university in India for jobs
For the second time in a
row, IIT Kharagpur has been named the top university in India in terms of jobs
and placements, by QS Employability Ranking of top 200 universities across the
world.
- ii. IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi and Delhi University also feature on the list. Stanford University in the US has topped the list globally.
International
Telecommunication Union released Measuring the Information Society Report 2016
UN International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) released the 2016 edition of the Measuring the
Information Society Report.
- The report was launched on 22
November 2016 during the World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium
(WTIS).
- WTIS was held in Botswana, South
Africa from 21 November to 23 November 2016.
- The ITU index prepared after
surveying 175 economies of the world was topped by the Republic of Korea
with IDI of 8.84. The Sub-Saharan Africa’s Niger with an IDI of 1.07
ranked lowest.
- India was placed at 138th rank with IDI score of 2.69. In 2015, it stood at 135th position with IDI score of 2.50.
Airtel Payments
Bank to offer 7.25% interest on savings deposits
Airtel Payments Bank – a
joint venture between Airtel M-Commerce and Kotak Mahindra Bank, will offer
7.25 per cent interest rate on savings bank deposit
- The payment bank, which received final approval from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April, launched a pilot of its operations in Rajasthan. While 11 applicants were granted in-principle licence for payments bank, three dropped out. Airtel is the first one get to a final approval from RBI.
China launches Tianlian I-04
satellite
China has successfully
launched the Tianlian I-04 satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre
in Sichuan province of Southwest China.
- This data satellite was launched
on a Long March-3C carrier rocket.
- The launch of the Tianlian I-04
marks the 241st mission of China's Long March series of rockets.
- It was developed by the China
Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and
Technology Corporation.
Turkey to chair 2017 Energy
Club of Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Turkey will chair the Energy
Club of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2017. With this, it
became the first non full member country to be the chairman of a club in
the organisation.
- Ankara's proposal for non-SCO
member countries to host the term presidency of the Energy Club was
accepted in a meeting on 22 November 2016.
- The nomination came after
officials from Russia and China gave green signal to Ankara after the
country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pointed to the SCO as
Turkey's alternative to the European Union.
Britain tightens
visa regulations
New visa regulations that
will impact Indian workers in the U.K. as well as their families are set to
come into effect on Thursday, as part of the government’s tightening of its
immigration regime, but which critics argue will be damaging to the country’s
efforts to build relations with India.
- In order to be sponsored,
experienced workers will need to earn a salary of at least £25,000 in all
professions barring a few (nurses, radiographers, paramedics, secondary
school teachers in mathematics, the sciences, and Mandarin will be exempt
until July 2019).
- The salary threshold is set to rise even higher next year to £30,000 by April. The minimum salary threshold for a Tier 2 migrant was £20,800.
Vice-Chairman of DDA designated as Real Estate Regulatory
Authority for Delhi
Vice-Chairman of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has been designated as
Regulatory Authority for National Capital Territory of Delhi under the Real
Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016.
- Ministry of Urban Development,
Government of India, the competent authority in respect of Delhi under the
Act, has issued a notification in this regard.
Government appoints new
Chairmans
The government has appointed
Yudhvir Singh Malik as the Chairman of National Highways Authority of India
(NHAI). Malik, an 83 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer, was earlier
posted as special secretary in Niti Aayog.
- The outgoing chairman Raghav
Chandra, an 82 batch Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer, has been moved to
the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes as secretary.
- Border Management Secretary
Susheel Kumar, a 1982 batch IAS officer of the U.P. cadre, has been handed
a plum posting as Secretary, Ministry of Coal.
- Rajeev Kapoor, Director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNA), has been made Secretary, New and Renewable Energy.
Donald Trump picks
Indian-American Nikki Haley as UN envoy
US President-elect Donald
Trump has chosen South Carolina's Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley as US
ambassador to the United Nations.
- Haley will be the first woman to
join Trump's administration. She would replace Samantha Power as the next
US Ambassador to the UN.
- Besides Nikki Haley, President-elect Trump also named Betsy DeVos as education secretary of the country. DeVos is a billionaire education philanthropist and activist.
Mattoo resigns
as Mehbooba’s adviser
Amitabh Matoo on Wednesday
resigned as adviser of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.
- Mr. Mattoo, a close confidant of Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, was re-appointed as the CM’s adviser by Ms. Mufti in April earlier this year.
