Daily Current affairs - August 11th, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Lok Sabha passed a
bill that approved merger of associate banks with the SBI with
the government. The Lok Sabha passed the bill to repeal the SBI (Subsidiary
Banks) Act 1959, State Bank of Hyderabad Act 1956 and to further amend the
State Bank of India Act, 1955, following the merger of five associates with the
parent SBI.
- State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT) merged with SBI on 1 April along with the Bharatiya Mahila Bank.
Bill introduced in Lok Sabha to fix a universal minimum
wage
The
Government has introduced in the Lok Sabha ‘The Code on Wages’ Bill to
consolidate and amend the laws relating to wages and bonus which also seeks to
empower the Centre to fix a “universal minimum wage” aimed to benefit over 40
crore unorganised sector workers.
- The bill seeks to amalgamate
four laws — Payment of Wages Act 1936, Minimum Wages Act 1948,
Payment of Bonus Act 1965 and Equal Remuneration Act 1976.
- The Code provides for the
government to determine the minimum wages every five years using factors like skills required for the job,
arduousness of work, geographical location of work place and other
aspects. Such wages are to be fixed on recommendation of panels comprising
an equal number of representatives of employers and employees, and
independent persons.
- The government will fix the number of hours of work that would include a day of rest every seven days. The payment for work on a day of rest will not be less than overtime rate.
Law ministry approves Financial Data Management Centre
The Law Ministry has approved a revised Cabinet proposal on the creation
of the Financial Data
Management Centre (FDMC) that would subsequently collect raw data
directly.
- FDMC will collect data in
electronic format from the (financial) regulators. Over time, it will
gradually build capacity to collect data from the regulated entities i.e.
Financial Service Providers.
- FDMC and the regulators can
also “enter into agreement” for flow of data, “stringent
confidentiality norms”. This ensures the same level of protection as
provided by various acts applicable to the regulators and guarantees that
the “data centre is at all times kept secure and effectively protected”.
- FDMC will be set up through an Act. Initially, FDMC was to be a non-statutory body to collect data from financial sector regulators, standardise and analyse them on issues relating to financial stability for onward decisions by the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC).
NGT Bans Use of
Non-Biodegradable Plastic Bags in Delhi
The National Green Tribunal
(NGT) imposed an interim ban on use of non-biodegradable plastic bags
which are less than 50 microns in the entire national capital. A bench headed
by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar also announced an environment
compensation of Rs5,000 on anyone found in possession of such banned plastic.
- It had also said that an environment compensation of Rs10,000 would be imposed on vegetable vendors and slaughter houses for throwing garbage in public places.
Panel moots defence procurement fund
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has gone back on its demand for a non-lapsable capital fund
for defence procurements, even as the Parliamentary Standing Committee
(PSC) on Defence asked the Ministry of Finance to work out the modalities for
the creation of such a fund in consultation with the MoD.
- MoD was earlier keen on such a fund to prevent the unspent amount in a financial year from being returned to the Finance Ministry as defence purchases generally tend to have long procurement cycles. On February 2 this year, the MoD had sent a proposal for obtaining an ‘in-principle’ approval of the Finance Ministry on the creation of the account.
New system for rating bureaucrats open to bias
A parliamentary standing committee, in its report, has said that the
government’s new system of rating officers on the basis of a 360-degree approach is opaque and susceptible to bias, manipulation and lacks
fairness.
- The 360-degree approach is a new multi-source feedback system for performance appraisal of bureaucrats started by the current government for future postings. The system seeks to look beyond the ratings received in appraisal reports written by their bosses. It relies on feedback of juniors and other colleagues for an all-round view.
Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra:
The New Clean Ganga Campaign Launched by UP Government
Uttar Pradesh
Government has launched a new awareness drive called Namami Gange
Jagriti Yatra. The drive will be focusing on cleanliness along the banks of
Ganga river and maintain hygiene.
- The drive will be covering a total area of around 1,025 kms. It will pass through 108 blocks of 25 districts of UP from Bijnore to Ballia alongside the Ganga river.
India and US to Co-host the Global
Entrepreneurship Summit at Hyderabad
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
has stated that India and the United States will co-host the Global
Entrepreneurship Summit at Hyderabad from November 28, 2017. President
Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka will lead the American delegation.
- The Summit is a unique opportunity
for bringing together entrepreneurs and start-ups with global
leaders.
- The summit is being organized by the NITI Aayog in coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs.
NSDC, Google India to Launch
Mobile App Development Program
National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC) and Google India launched Android Skill
Development Programme to impart mobile app development training on the
Android and Web platform and improve the quality of mobile app development
ecosystem in India.
- Under the initiative, NSDC would introduce a specific course to create applications for the mobile platform that can be used on smart phones and tablets running on the Android operating system.
Facebook Launches Youtube Competitor
Called ‘Watch’
In an apparent bid to take
on Google-owned YouTube, Facebook has rolled out 'Watch', a
redesigned video platform for creators and publishers.
- Watch is a platform for all creators and publishers to find an audience, build a community of passionate fans, and earn money for their work. It is personalized to one in discovering new shows, organized around what your friends and communities are watching.
China uses a quantum satellite to transmit potentially
unhackable data
China has demonstrated a world first by sending data over long distances
using satellites which is potentially unhackable, laying the basis for next
generation encryption based on so-called quantum cryptography.
- Last year, China launched a quantum satellite into space. Using this satellite, Chinese researchers at the Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) project, were now able to transmit secret messages from space to Earth at a further distance than ever before.
Water as propellant for tiny satellites
Engineers from US have designed and tested a micropropulsion system that
uses liquid water as the propellant for orbital maneuvering of tiny satellites
called CubeSats.
- With rapid developments in miniaturisation of technologies CubeSats — which typically weigh about two kilograms — are poised to take over the sky in the future to carry out tasks like imaging and remote-sensing currently performed by heavier satellites which are expensive to build and launch. However, today’s CubeSats cannot totally replace their larger counterparts as they are incapable of changing orbit or performing complex manoeuvres.
Amended Banking Regulation Bill gets elders’ nod
The Rajya Sabha has passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, which
empowers the Reserve Bank of India to issue instructions to the banks to act
against major defaulters. The Bill, earlier passed by the Lok Sabha, will
replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017.
- It seeks to amend the Banking
Regulation Act, 1949 to insert provisions for handling cases related to
stressed assets.
- Stressed assets are loans where the borrower has defaulted in repayment or where the loan has been restructured (such as by changing the repayment schedule). It will replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017.
SEBI Launches Online
Registration for Custodians of Securities
Markets
regulator SEBI has introduced an online registration mechanism for
custodians of securities to make it convenient for them to do business.
- The new system would help custodian of securities to complete registration and other regulatory filings with Sebi much faster and in a cost-effective manner.
Davinder Singh Kang, First
Indian to Qualify for Javelin Throw Finals
Davinder Singh Kang has
become the first Indian to qualify for the final round of the javelin
throw World Championships while his compatriot Neeraj Chopra crashed out
in the qualification round.
- He had an 82.22m in his opening throw and then came up with 82.14m in his second. No Indian has ever qualified in the men’s javelin throw final round in any world championship.
