Current affairs : April 1st, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Reserve Bank of India is the
central bank of the country. The Reserve Bank of India was set up on the basis
of the recommendations of the Hilton Young Commission.
- The
Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (II of 1934) provides the
statutory basis for the functioning of the Bank, which commenced
operations on April 1, 1935.
Cabinet approves signing of Agreement for CIRDAP
establishment Centre in Hyderabad
The Union
Cabinet has given its approval for signing of an Agreement between
Ministry of Rural Development and Centre on Integrated Rural Development for
Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) for establishment of
CIRDAP Centre at National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj
(NIRD&PR), Hyderabad.
- CIRDAP
Centre in NIRD&PR premises would give NIRD&PR an advantage of
having first-hand knowledge of networking with organizations specialized
in rural development programmes which in turn would help in building
a repository of institutional knowledge for NIRD&PR.
- This
Centre will also help NIRD&PR to enhance its status in the
region through linkages with other Ministries/Institutes in the
CIRDAP Member Countries (cmcs).
- The
CIRDAP is a regional Inter – Governmental and autonomous
institution which came into existence in 1979 at the initiative of
the countries of Asia Pacific region and the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) with support from
several other UN bodies and donors.
Cabinet
approves ratification of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 and Worst Forms of
Child Labour Convention, 1999
The Union
Cabinet has given its approval for ratification of the two fundamental
conventions of the International Labour Organization namely:
- Minimum
Age Convention concerning minimum age for admission to employment:
- Worst
Forms of Child Labour Convention concerning the prohibition and
immediate action for elimination of the worst forms of Child Labour.
SASEC
Operational Plan 2016-25 includes nine projects worth $2.4 Billion
The Asian
Development Bank (ADB) has approved a total of nine projects costing $2.42
billion as part of the Operational Plan (OP) 2016-2025 of the
South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program.
- The
nine projects comprise of two rail projects in Bangladesh worth
$890 million, two economic corridor initiatives (a project and program
loan) and a bridge project in India worth an aggregate of $1.2
billion, trade facilitation and airport projects in Bhutan worth
$27 million and key SASEC road and energy projects
in Nepal worth $302 million.
- All
these projects are aligned with the SASEC OP’s thrusts of developing road
and rail links aligned closely with trade routes toward the east,
streamlining trade procedures, and improving energy infrastructure.
Cabinet
approves mou between Forum of Regulators and the National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners
The Union
Cabinet has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
(mou) between Forum of Regulators (FOR) and the National Association
of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC)
in the area of large-scale Grid Integration of Renewable Energy.
- The
mou envisages to promote information exchanges in the areas of Renewable Energy integration regulations and
balancing using gas, storage, and demand-side approaches, energy imbalance
markets.
- It
will enhance the efforts of India’s power system for
better management of large-scale integration of Renewable Energy into
the power grid.
Cabinet
approves the fixation of Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) rates
The Cabinet
Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the Fixation of Nutrient
Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers for
the year 2017-18.
- As
compared to 2016-17, the subsidy for the period 2017-18 has decreased from
Rs. 13.241/kg to 11.997/kg (decrease of Rs. 1.244/kg) for P, from Rs.
15.470/kg to 12.395/kg (decrease of Rs. 3,075/kg) for K whereas the
subsidy of N has increased from Rs. 15.854/kg to 18.989/kg (an increase of
Rs. 3.135/kg) and of S from Rs. 2.044/kg to 2.240/kg (an increase of Rs.
0.196/kg).
Railway Minister released Book Titled 'Indian
Railway- The weaving of a National Tapestry'
Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu
released the book titled 'Indian Railway- The weaving of a National
Tapestry' jointly authored by Shri Bibek Debroy (Member, NITI Aayog) Shri
Sanjay Chadha (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce) & Ms. Vidya
Krishnamurthi.
- The theme of this book is the historical development of railways in India, organized into chapters dealing with different periods of development in chronological order.
Notify HIV-hit
children as disadvantaged group: SC
The Supreme
Court has ordered State governments to consider issuing a notification
under the Right to Education law, declaring children living with/affected by
HIV as a ‘disadvantaged group’ deserving additional rights to help them
gain free and compulsory education, a fundamental right under the Constitution.
- The
court has given States four weeks to issue the notification under Section
2 (d) of The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of
2009, which mandates the State governments concerned to issue a notification
that a child belongs to a disadvantaged group based on reasons ranging
from caste, social, cultural, linguistic, geographical, gender, etc. The
Act makes education compulsory for children between six and 14 years of
age.
Government launched two mobile apps- echallan and
mparivahan
The government has launched two mobile
apps, echallan and mparivahan, that provide access to various
services and information, and enable citizens to report any traffic
violation or road accident.
- 'Echallan'
is an integrated enforcement solution to manage traffic violations.
- 'Mparivahan' is an empowering app for the citizen which provides access to various services, information and utilities related to the transport sector.
Government has
approved Project Saksham:
The Government
has approved Rs. 2,256 crore outlay for Project Saksham to bolster the
information technology network for the new GST regime.
- Project
Saksham is the name given to CBEC’s IT Infrastructure Project.
- This
IT Infrastructure project will enable not just the implementation of Goods
and Services tax (GST) but also support all existing services in Customs,
Central Excise and Service Tax.
Hyderabad
becomes first city to have 1 GBPS internet speed:
Internet
Service Provider (ISP) ACT Fibernet has announced the launch of 1Gbps (gigabits
per second) wired broadband internet services in Hyderabad, making the `City of
Pearls’ India’s first `Giga City’.
Kanha tiger reserve becomes first in India get official
mascot
Kanha tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh has
become the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot of its
own.
- The Mascot has been named 'Bhoorsingh the Barasingha' to present the hard ground swamp deer as the spirit of the reserve and spread awareness to save it from possible extinction. Barasingha or Swamp Deer is the State animal of Madhya Pradesh.
IIT-Madras signs mou with Indian Army
The Indian Army has entered into a
Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras
(IIT-M).
- The objective of the agreement is to identify and enhance the critical technological areas that can be enhanced in the armed forces.
El Salvador
makes history as first nation to impose blanket ban on metal mining:
El Salvador
has made history after becoming the first country in the world to ban
metal mining.
- El
Salvador is the most densely populated country in Latin
America and, while rainfall is plentiful, holding on to the water is
a major issue because of unsustainable farming practices and inadequate
industrial controls that have led to widespread soil erosion and the
almost total destruction of its forests.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak Visits India
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib
Razak is on a 6-day visit to India.
- This
year marks the 60th anniversary of formal diplomatic
relations. Malaysia’s father of independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman,
visited India in 1962.
Japan commits 371 bn yen assistance for infra
projects in India
Japan has committed an 'Official
Development Assistance' (ODA) of 371.345 billion yen (about Rs 21,590
crore) under 2016-2017 for various infrastructure projects, including the
dedicated freight corridor, in India.
- The
notes in this regard were exchanged in New Delhi between S
Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Kenji
Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India.
SBI gets new logo and enters in the league of top
50 Global Banks
From April 1, the associate banks which will be
merging with State Bank of India will sport the lender's signage and logo, with
its iconic keyhole set against the background of inky blue.
- On
the design, “SBI” legend will be seen in white colour and will be written
in a new font called Effra.
Kotak Mahindra Bank launches 8-11 app to double
customer base
Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched
the '811 banking app' which is part of the lender's vision to
double customer base in 18 months.
- Customers
will be able to open an account on the 811 banking app with zero
balance.
- Only
Aadhaar and PAN card would be required to open 811 account which
would provide access to over 100 features on mobile. The account offers up
to 6 percent interest rate on savings deposits.
Vanaja Sarna appointed as CBEC's new Chairman
Vanaja N. Sarna was appointed as the new
chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC).
- She
has replaced Najib Shah after his retirement. Prior to becoming Member of
the CBEC, she held the charge of Director General of Vigilance and Chief
Vigilance Officer of the Department.
