Current affairs : March 7th, 2017 for all competitive exams
Union Cabinet
has approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and
the United Nations Entity of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
(UN-Women).
- The
proposal seeks to provide technical support to the Ministry of Panchayati
Raj in strengthening capacities of governance institutions including
Panchayati Raj Institutions(PRIs) to better leverage opportunities created
for gender equality through legislation, policies and programmes.
Cabinet
approves India’s accession to the Customs Convention on International Transport
of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention)
The Union
Cabinet has given its approval for India’s accession to the Customs Convention
on International Transport of Goods under cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention)
and for completion of necessary procedures for ratification, for its entry into
force.
- The
Convention will help Indian traders to have access to fast, easy, reliable
and hassle free international system for movement of goods by road or
multi- modal means across the territories of other contracting parties.
- By joining the convention, the need for inspection of goods at intermediate borders as well as physical escorts en route shall be obviated due to reciprocal recognition of Customs controls. Customs clearance can take place at internal Customs locations thereby avoiding clearances at Border Crossing Points and ports that may often be congested.
Cabinet approval to MoU on energy efficiency
between India-UAE
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, gave ex-post facto approval to the MoU between India's National
Productivity Council (NPC) and UAE's Al Etihad Energy Services for various
services in the field of energy management and conservation.
- Under the MoU, the NPC, an autonomous body of the Commerce and Industry Ministry's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion will provide energy assessment services, training and certification of energy auditors and demand side management.
Cabinet approves India-Portugal MoU on renewable
energy
The Indian cabinet gave post facto approval to
the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on renewable energy between India and
Portugal.
- The MoU was signed on January 6, 2017. The MoU aims to promote bilateral technical cooperation on new and renewable issues.
Two
insolvency professional entities gets IBBI recognition
The Insolvency
and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has given recognition to two insolvency
professional entities- IRR Insolvency Professionals Pvt Ltd and AAA Insolvency
Professionals LLP.
- The
Insolvency Professionals (IPs) are registered and regulated by the IBBI.
They have a critical role in transactions under the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code). The Code and regulations made there under
provide for strengthening their capacity on a continuous basis.
Trade
Mark Rules 2017
The Trade Mark
Rules, 2017 have been notified by the government. These Rules, which replace
the erstwhile Trade Mark Rules 2002, will streamline and simplify the
processing of Trade Mark applications.
- Number
of Trade Mark (TM) Forms have been reduced from 74 to 8.
- To
promote e-filing of TM applications, the fee for online filing has been
kept at 10% lower than that for physical filing.
- Based on stakeholders feedback, the fees for Individuals, Start-ups and Small Enterprises have been reduced from that proposed in the draft Rules – i.e. only Rs 4,500 as against Rs 8,000 for e-filing of TM applications proposed at the draft stage.
PM Narendra Modi to release Special Commemorative
Postage Stamp
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release
commemorative Postage Stamp on 100th Anniversary of the Yogoda Satsang Society
of India at a function in New Delhi
- Yogoda
Satsanga Society is a non-profit religious organization founded by
Paramahansa Yogananda in 1917.
- Yogoda
Satsanga Society of India (YSS) will celebrate its 100 years journey on
10th March 2017.
PM Narendra Modi to dedicate to nation
Petrochemicals Complex
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the
nation a Petrochemical Complex of ONGC Petro Additions Limited at Dahej,
Gujrat.
- During
his two-day visit to Gujarat, he will also dedicate a four-lane bridge
over the Narmada at Bharuch on NH-8. The 1.4-kilometre 'extradosed' cable-stayed
bridge is reportedly the longest
in the country.
- The
Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone of Bharuch Bus Port.
National Conference on Jal Kranti Abhiyan to be
held
Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti will
inaugurate a national conference on Jal Kranti Abhiyan in New Delhi .
- About
700 participants representing various stakeholder groups such as farmers,
panchayat members, NGOs and students will attend the day-long conference.
- Ministry
of Water Resources and River Development had launched Jal Kranti Abhiyan
on June, 2015 to consolidate water conservation and management in the
country through a holistic and integrated approach involving all
stakeholders.
NIIF
in talks with two sovereign funds
The National
Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has begun talks with two sovereign
wealth funds to become the first investors to come on board, following the
recent signing of a government commitment to infuse ₹20,000 crore into the
fund.
- The
NIIF plans to leverage the Centre’s financing – equivalent to $3 billion –
to invest a far higher amount in infrastructure firms and projects, in
partnership with global, long-term investors eyeing infrastructure assets,
and fund managers that could create dedicated infra sector funds.
Donald
Trump signs ‘Muslim Ban 2.0’ order
The Donald
Trump administration has issued a new executive order, temporarily banning
travel from six Muslim-majority countries to the U.S., after an earlier order ran
foul of the country’s judiciary.
- The new executive order bans travel from six countries — Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, leaving out Iraq that was also in the list of barred countries in the January order.
Finance Minister gives in-principle nod to ESOPs by
PSU banks
The Union Finance Ministry has given its
in-principle nod to allow Public Sector Banks (PSUs) to offer stock options to
their employees from 2017-18.
- However,
the Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) can only be given by those banks
which have earned a substantial profit as well as made a remarkable
improvement in managing NPAs.
HDFC Bank launched chatbot Eva for customer
services
Mumbai-headquartered HDFC Bank has launched
India’s first artificial intelligence based banking chatbot Electronic Virtual
Assistant (EVA) for customer services .
- Eva
is India's first AI-based banking chatbot and can answer millions of
customer queries across multiple channels instantly. It can assimilate
knowledge from thousands of sources and provide answers in simple language
in less than 0.4 seconds.
M P Veerendra Kumar presented Moortidevi award
Eminent Malayalam author and journalist M P
Veerendra Kumar presented the 30th Moortidevi award by Bharatiya Jnanpith organization.
- Mr. Kumar was chosen for the prestigious award for his Malayalam travelogue 'Hymavathabhoovil', which dwells upon ancient trails of Indian culture, myth, literature, and people strewn in the plains, valleys, and mountains of India.
Dr K Srinath Reddy appointed as adviser to the
Odisha Govt
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced
appointment of Prof Dr K Srinath Reddy as the adviser to the Odisha government.
- Prof
Dr K Srinath Reddy will advise the state government on proper
implementation and smooth delivery of the ongoing health service programs
so as to better the indicators.
Vaikom Vijayalakshmi becomes first to play Gayathri
veena for record five hours
Kerala’s playback singer Vaikom Vijayalakshmi
created a new world record by playing the maximum number of songs in the
shortest time (5 hrs) on Gayathri veena during a program in Kochi.
- She
played a total of 69 songs including various classical and filmy songs on
the Gayathri veena became the first person to achieve the feat in the
world.
Rabi Ray, former Lok Sabha Speaker, passes away
Eminent socialist leader, former Union Minister
and former Speaker of Lok Sabha Rabi Ray passed away after a prolonged illness.
- He
was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1967, from the Puri parliamentary
constituency, and was the leader of the Samyukta Socialist Party in the
Lok Sabha.
OPPO wins Indian cricket team sponsorship rights
for five years
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that mobile manufacturing company Oppo Mobiles India Private Limited will be the new team sponsor of the Indian cricket team from April 1, 2017 for a period of five years.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that mobile manufacturing company Oppo Mobiles India Private Limited will be the new team sponsor of the Indian cricket team from April 1, 2017 for a period of five years.
- It has replaced Star India.
