Daily Current affairs - July 21st, 2017 for all competitive exams
Former Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind is the 14th President of India. He
won with over 7 lakh votes against Opposition candidate Meira Kumar.
- Article 54 of
the Indian Constitution lays the guidelines about voters in a Presidential
election. It says, “Election of
President The President shall be elected by the members of an electoral
college consisting of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament;
and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States.”
Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) scheme has
launched
Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY), a pension scheme exclusively
for senior citizens, has been launched.
- PMVVY is a Pension Scheme exclusively for the
senior citizens aged 60 years and above.
- The Scheme can be purchased offline as well as
online through Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India which has been
given the sole privilege to operate this Scheme.
- Scheme provides an assured return of 8% p.a. payable
monthly (equivalent to 8.30% p.a. effective) for 10 years.
- Pension is payable at the end of each period, during
the policy term of 10 years, as per the frequency of monthly/ quarterly/
half-yearly/ yearly as chosen by the pensioner at the time of purchase.
- The scheme is exempted from Service Tax/ GST.
Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana is underDeendayal
Antyodaya Yojana
The Ministry of Rural
Development is all set to launch a new sub-scheme under Deendayal Antyodaya
Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) which will be named as
“Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY)”.
- The main objectives of AGEY are to provide an
alternative source of livelihoods to members of Self Help Groups (SHGs)
under DAY-NRLM by facilitating them to operate public transport services
in backward rural areas.
- This will provide safe, affordable and community
monitored rural transport services like e-rickshaws, 3 and 4 wheeler
motorised transport vehicles to connect remote villages with key services
and amenities including access to markets, education and health for the
overall economic development of the area.
Guidelines for implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matru
Vandana Yojana
Draft guidelines for implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana
(PMMVY) have been prepared by the Ministry.
- The draft guidelines inter-alia provide Aadhaar
linkage, Direct Benefit Transfer of Rs. 5000 in beneficiary’s bank/post
office account in three instalments at the stage of early registration of
pregnancy, after six months of pregnancy on at least one antenatal
check-up and registration of child birth & first cycle of immunisation
of the child.
- Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana (PMMVY),
previously Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY), is a maternity
benefit program run by the government of India.
- It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for
pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of age or above for first two
live births.
- It provides a partial wage compensation to
women for wage-loss during childbirth and childcareand
to provide conditions for safe delivery and good nutrition and feeding
practices.
200th anniversary celebrations of the Paika Rebellion
The President of India Shri Pranab Mukharjee recently inaugurated the “Bicentenary celebration of
the heroic Paika Rebellion of Odisha, a valiant uprising of Paikas
against the British rule” organised by the Ministry of Culture.
- Two-hundred years ago in 1817, a valiant
uprising of soldiers led by Buxi Jagabandhu (Bidyadhar Mohapatra) took
place in Khurda of Odisha. This is known as Paika
rebellion.
- The Paikas were the traditional land-owning militia
of Odisha and served as warriors.
First meeting of Integrated Monitoring and Advisory
Council (IMAC)
Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra
Pradhan recently chaired the first meeting of apex body for policy formulation
and implementation of ‘Roadmap to achieve target of 10 % reduction in import
dependency in oil and gas by 2021-22 under an institutional mechanism
‘Integrated Monitoring and Advisory Council’ (IMAC).
- IMAC was envisaged to facilitate better
coordination and comprehensive strategy for all energy resources by
focusing on supply and demand side management.
Major solar flare detected in dwarf star close to
sun
The Sun’s closest star
neighbour, Proxima Centauri, a cool dwarf star situated a little over four
light years away, may not be inclined to harbour habitable planets, if its
temperament is anything to go by. AstroSat, along with other space and
earth-based observatories, has detected a powerful solar flare sent out by this
star.
- On 31 May 2017, three space-based observatories, the
Astrosat, Chandra and Hubble Space Telescope, and the ground-based High
Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) observatory, participated
in a multi-wavelength simultaneous observation campaign.
- Last year’s discovery of Proxima Centauri b — a
planet orbiting Proxima Centauri and, more importantly, lying in its
habitable ‘Goldilocks’ zone — had set everyone wondering if it could host
life.
India-Japan agreement on
peaceful uses of N-energy comes into force
India-Japan agreement
for Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy has come into
force recently. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Ambassador of Japan to India
Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu exchanged diplomatic notes in this regard.
- The agreement was signed on 11th November
2016 in Tokyo during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan.
- The agreement is a reflection of the strategic
partnership between the two sides and will pave the way for enhanced
cooperation in energy security and clean energy.
Poland: top court reform plan adopted
Polish lawmakers adopted a
controversial reform of the Supreme Court, despite days of street protests,
concern from the Opposition over judicial independence and EU threats of
unprecedented sanctions.
- The lower house of Parliament, which is controlled
by the ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, voted 235 to 192 —
with 23 abstentions — in favour of the law giving the justice minister
power to select candidates for the court.
SEBI inks pact with ESMA for
information exchange on CCPs
Markets
regulator SEBI has entered into a pact with the European Securities
and Markets Authority (ESMA) for exchange of information concerning Central
Counterparties (CCPs). CCPs are entities that help facilitate
clearing and settlement activities.
- The MoU establishes cooperation arrangements,
including exchange of information regarding CCPs which are established and
authorised or recognised in India by SEBI and which have applied for EU
recognition under EMIR.
DoT, telcos to discuss new policy
The Telecom Department will
meet operators and industry associations to brainstorm on the new telecom
policy
- The meeting is expected to be chaired by Telecom Secretary
Aruna Sundararajan, and service providers as well as prominent industry
bodies have been invited to place their ideas and inputs on the upcoming
policy.
- The policy will focus on areas such as Internet for
all, next-generation technologies (like 5G and IoT), skills development,
and security, among others.
IRDAI’s admission as a signatory to International
Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS)
The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for IRDAI’s
admission as a signatory to International Association of Insurance Supervisors
(IAIS), Multilateral Memorandum
of Understanding (MMoU).
- MMoU provides a formal basis for cooperation and
information exchange between the Signatory Authorities regarding the
supervision of insurance companies where cross-border aspects arise.
- The scope of the IAIS MMoU is wider than the
existing agreements as this agreement also provides for supervision of
other regulated entities such as insurance intermediaries under Anti Money
Laundering, (AML) and Combating the Finance of Terrorism (CFT).
- The International Association of Insurance
Supervisors is a global framework for cooperation and information
exchange between insurance supervisors.
LinkedIn unveils Android app
LinkedIn, one of the world’s
largest professional networks with more than 42 million members in India,
announced the introduction of the ‘LinkedIn Lite,’ an Android app which was a
faster and lighter version of its flagship app.
- The app offers a seamless and intuitive experience
of LinkedIn to users on Android’s operating system that accounts for 97%
of India’s smartphone market, the company said.
- LinkedIn Lite app is first being rolled out for
members in India. LinkedIn may roll out the mobile web version and the
Android app in more than 60 plus countries shortly.
‘Facebook set to test news story paywalls’
Facebook will test limiting
the number of published news stories that can be read for free on its Instant
Articles platform for premium publishers.
- A paywall is under construction in Facebook’s Instant Articles section, where the social network has agreements already struck with select outlets to publish directly to the platform.
ICICI Bank offers up to Rs 15
lakh instant personal loan via ATMs
Largest private sector
lender ICICI Bank will be selling personal loans of up to Rs 15
lakh through its ATMs that can be availed of by select salaried customers
even if they haven't previously applied for one.
- The facility offers a bouquet of features - swift
application in simple steps, multiple eligible loan amount options up
to Rs. 15 lakh based on pre-checked CIBIL scores and instant
transfer of the money to the customer’s account.
Indira Bai passes away
Indira Bai, daughter of
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, who was Queen Regent of erstwhile Travancore, died in
Chennai.
- She is the wife of the late K.K. Varma,
founder-chairman of the erstwhile India Meters Ltd; and long-time chairman
of the Madras Kerala Samajam.
- She would become the first woman from the royal family to enrol for college education. Some of her short stories have appeared in a few magazines and two anthologies of her stories have been brought out.
