Daily Current affairs - August 9th, 2017 for all competitive exams
India has celebrated
the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement. This year’s theme
is “SANKALP SE SIDDHI"- the Attainment through Resolve. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in his recent Mann Ki Baat program had called for
launching the mega campaign Sankalp Se Siddhi.
- The exhibition has been organized
titled “Quit India-75-Chalo Dilli” and
it will be thrown open to public after inauguration till 1st of September.
Swachh Bharat launches Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2017
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has launched a third party
verification survey report to take stock of the progress already made by the
Mission in rural India. It also launched Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2017.
- In order to foster a healthy competition between
cities for improving cleanliness standards, the Ministry of Urban
Development (MoUD) started the “Swachh Survekshan” survey, ranking of
cities on cleanliness and other aspects of urban sanitation, in 2016 which
ranked 73 cities across the country. On the same lines, MoUD has initiated
“Swachh Survekshan” 2017 which will conduct a survey to rank 500 cities of
India.
- The Quality Council of India (QCI) has conducted a transparent third-party assessment of
the present status of rural sanitation in all States and UTs, called
Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2017.
- Under the Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2017, QCI
surveyed 1.4 lakh rural households across 4626 villages, and found the
overall toilet coverage to be 62.45%.
- At the time of the survey, i.e. May-June 2017, the
Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) MIS reported the coverage to be 63.73%. The
survey also observed that 91.29% of the people having access to a toilet,
use it.
- Kerala and Haryana have topped the survey. Northeastern States of Sikkim, Manipur and
Nagaland have performed well with 95% rural households covered by toilets.
And so were the Himalayan States of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand with
over 90% toilet coverage of the rural houses.
NITI Aayog selects 3 States for transformative change in
Health & Education sectors
In a major push to competitive, cooperative federalism, NITI Aayog has
announced partnership with three States each to radically transform their
Health and Education sectors.
- NITI Aayog has selected Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and
Karnataka to improve healthcare delivery and key outcomes in these States.
- In Education, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Jharkhand
have been selected for support to better learning outcomes.
- The six States have been chosen after a rigorous
competitive process based on comprehensive metrics to determine potential
for impact and likelihood of success.
Commerce Ministry to wind up DGS&D this fiscal
The commerce ministry has started the process of shutting down over
100-year-old government procurement arm – Directorate General of Supplies and
Disposals (DGS&D)- in this fiscal.
- The public procurement of goods and services is
being managed by the ministrys e-market platform (GeM) since last year.
- Currently, the directorate has four regional offices
including Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. It has 12 Purchase Directorates
(Commodity-wise) at its headquarters here. Besides, there are 20 offices
/sub centres and the staff strength is over 1,200.
- Before closing, the ministry has to decide upon the
issues concerning manpower, land and office spaces of the directorate,
which are present all over the country.
e-Shakti initiative of NABARD
As per information compiled by NABARD, about 69,696 SHGs of the SHGs which
have been digitised are credit linked as on 31st July, 2017. No SHG has been
de-recognised on account of, or, after digitisation.
- e-Shakti is a pilot project of National Bank
for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for digitisation of Self
Help Groups (SHGs).
- It was initiated to address certain concerns like
improving the quality of book keeping of SHGs and to enable banks to take
informed credit decisions about the group through a Management Information
System (MIS). The project covers 25 districts and 1,30,176 SHGs have been
digitised as on 31st March, 2017.
Supreme Court seeks Centre’s reply on validity of special
status to JK
The Supreme Court has sought the Centre’s response on a plea against a
Delhi high court order which had rejected a petition challenging validity
of Article 370 of
the Constitution giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The court has issued the notice to the Centre and sought its
reply within four weeks.
- The court also questioned the Centre’s decision to
delegate matters such as citizenship to the state government and the
state’s decision to have a separate Constitution, when it had ratified its
accession to India unconditionally.
Coconut regains 'tree' status
in Goa as Assembly passes bill
The Goa Legislative
Assembly passed a bill which reclassifies coconut as a `tree',
ensuring legal protection for it. Goa Forward Party, a partner in the Manohar
Parrikar-led government, had promised to reclassify coconut.
- The previous Laxmikant Parsekar-led government had
changed classification of coconut tree to a `palm'. The Assembly, on the
last day of Monsoon session, passed the Goa, Daman and Diu (Preservation
of) Trees Act, 1984 to regulate felling of coconut trees and reclassify it
as a tree.
Sri Lankan Navy commissions
India-built AOPV
Sri Lankan Navy has
commissioned an India-built state-of-the-art Advanced Offshore Patrol
Vessel (AOPV), the first-ever purchase from a foreign ship builder, to
boost its search and rescue capabilities.
- Sri Lankan President and Armed Forces
commander-in-chief Maithripala Sirisena commissioned the new patrol
vessel “SLNS Sayurala”.
- It is the largest vessel built by an Indian ship
builder for a foreign navy to date. Built at the Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) in
India, SLNS Sayurala is the first-ever brand new platform purchased from a
foreign ship builder.
Preparatory Meeting of the First ‘BIMSTEC Disaster
Management Exercise- 2017’
The two-day Preparatory Meeting of the First ‘BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017’ has begun in New Delhi. This marks the first phase of the
First ‘BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017’, being organized by the
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
- The Government of India has entrusted the
responsibility of organizing the First ‘BIMSTEC Disaster Management
Exercise- 2017’ to the NDRF.
- This Exercise will provide a platform to share the
Best Practices on comprehensive aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR),
strengthening regional response and coordination for Disaster Management
among the BIMSTEC nations.
Flipkart Launching 'Budding
Star Programme' for Staff
Flipkart has
launched 'Budding Star Programme', an exclusive programme aimed at
Flipkart employees to help them achieve their dreams by providing them
financial assistance and paid leave.
- The programme will cover all national and
international sports and non-sports competitors recognized by the govt.
authorities. Flipsters who have completed six months with the company are
eligible for the ‘Budding Star Programme’.
Indian American Appointed US
County's Deputy Comptroller For Minority Affairs
Indian American Dilip
Chauhan has been appointed to a key position of Deputy Comptroller
for Minority Affairs in New York's Nassau county.
- Chauhan had joined the Comptroller’s office in 2015
as Director for Community Affairs, South and East Asia. He has served as
senior advisor to the Comptroller since early 2017.
ICICI Bank launches instant
credit cards
The country's largest
private sector lender, ICICI Bank, launched instant credit
cards enabling its savings account customers to get a credit
card instantly, in a completely digital and paperless manner.
- The bank has opened up this offering to a few lakh
of pre-qualified customers who can apply for the card online and generate
card details and start shopping online instantly. Currently, this facility
to apply for a credit card in–a-flash is available through the Bank’s
internet banking platform. It will also be available shortly
on iMobile, the Bank’s mobile banking application.
IDFC Bank partners with Zeta
for digital payments solution
Private sector lender IDFC
Bank has partnered with digital payments company Zeta, to
launch ‘IDFC Bank Benefits’. It is a payment solution for corporates
that digitizes employee spends and claims, making the process simple, real-time
and paperless.
- The end-to-end digital solution comprises an IDFC
Bank Benefits Card and Zeta app which integrates the full suite of
allowances and reimbursements offered by an employer into one preloaded
card. Employees can also access the Benefits Card via the Zeta app on
mobile or web. The Zeta app offers employees a real time view of
spends, reimbursement limits and claims.
Syndicate Bank Cuts MCLR by
5-10 bps
Syndicate Bank has
pared its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 5-10 basis
points in certain maturity buckets.
- MCLR for six months and one year will be 8.3
per cent (8.35 per cent now) and 8.5 per cent (8.60 per
cent now), respectively, with effect from August 10.
Axis Bank Cuts Savings Account
Interest Rate by 50 bps
Private sector
lender Axis Bank reduced interest rate on savings bank accounts
by 50 basis points to 3.5 per cent for deposits up to Rs 50 lakh.
- However, the bank will continue to pay 4 per cent
interest on deposits of above Rs 50 lakh.
Netflix Made its 'First Ever'
Acquisition
Online entertainment platform Netflix announced
that it has acquired Millarworld, a comic book company.
- The acquisition was the first ever by Netflix.
Together, the two companies will bring Millarworld's portfolio of
character franchises to life through films, series and children's shows
available exclusively to Netflix members.
- Millar developed the comic books and story arcs that
inspired the first Avengers movie, “Captain America: Civil War,” and
“Logan (Wolverine).
Justice Dipak Misra to be next
Chief Justice of India
The Union government
appointed Justice Dipak Misra as the next Chief Justice of
India. He will be replacing incumbent Justice J S Khehar, who is
set to retire on August 27, 2017.
- It was Khehar who had recommended Misra's name to
succeed him as the next Chief Justice of India. Justice Misra will be
sworn in as the 45th Chief Justice of India by President Ram
Nath Kovind on August 27. Justice Misra will retire on October 2, 2018.
Dev Patel to be honored with
Asia Society Game Changers Award
Indian-origin actor Dev Patel is
to be honored by a leading educational organization for making a
“transformative and positive” difference for the future of Asia and the world.
- London-born Dev Patel, who became popular with his debut film Slumdog Millionaire, will be felicitated with the Asia Society 2017 Asia Game Changers Award at a ceremony to be held at the United Nations, New York, in November 2017.
