Current Affairs Update - 31 August 2016

Updated on : 15:24, 6 September 2016

— NATIONAL —

– Defence Ministry sanctioned construction of National War Memorial, War Museum in New Delhi

• The Defence Ministry has sanctioned the construction of a National War Memorial and National War Museum in New Delhi. The National War Memorial will honour the memory of all soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation.
• An official release said, it would combine architectural aesthetics and public sentiment and serve as a place for people to show their respect for soldiers, for their extraordinary efforts.
• The National War Museum will be an institution to collect, preserve, interpret and display military artifacts, portray significant events of our nation’s wars and related objects of historical importance for education and promoting patriotism.

– Velankanni Basilica annual fest starts in Tamilnadu

• The world famous Velankanni our lady of health basilica 11 day long annual feast started last night with the hoisting of flag in Tamil Nadu. Lakhs of devotees are expected to throng the shrine for the ten day long festival.
• Pilgrims from various parts of the country witnessed the flag hoisting ceremony. Rev.Fr.A.M.Prabakar, Rector, and other priests of the shrine were present. The illuminated and colourful car procession carrying the idol of Our Lady of Health would be held on September 7 and the lowering of Our Lady’s flag on September 8.

– Govt panel clears 16 highway projects across 11 states

• The Government has approved 16 highway projects in 11 states to be executed at a cost of 7,457 crore rupees. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Road Transport and Highways Secretary Sanjay Mitra said, the standing Finance Committee has cleared these projects for 622 km.
• The projects are in Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Sikkim. These include Rs 248 crore and Rs 200 crore projects for Geometric improvement and widening of stretches on NH 58.

– Delhi: Najeeb Jung appoints 3-member committee to examine irregularities in files submitted by AAP Govt

• Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has set up a three member committee to examine irregularities in the files submitted to him by the AAP government, after the Judgement of Delhi High Court.
• The High Court had ruled that the Capital continues to be a Union Territory under the administrative control of the Lt Governor and does not acquire the status of a State.
• The committee will comprise former Comptroller and Auditor General V K Shunglu, Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami and Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar.

– Majuli in Assam to become India’s first island district on 8th September

• Majuli in Assam is all set to become the first island district of the country. Chief Minister SarbanandSonowal said, the river island will be upgraded to a district from sub-division on 8th September. He said, in a move to take governance to the people, a Cabinet meeting will be held at Majuli on the 7th.
• Majuli covers an area of around 340 miles and is one of the prime tourist destinations of North East. Nearly 1 lakh 60,000 people reside in the island. The first cabinet meeting of SrabanandSonowal government decided to upgrade Majuli as a district.

– Gujarat becomes the first state to distribute 2 crore LED Bulbs under UJALA

• Under the Government of India’s by UnnatJyoti Affordable LEDs for all (UJALA) scheme, Gujarat has become the first state to distribute 2 crore LED bulbs.
• Gujarat has reached this milestone in just 96 days and over 42 lakh households have already benefitted from the scheme.
• Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India, is distributing approximately 2 lakh bulbs daily in Gujarat which is again a record in itself.
• The distribution of 2 crore LED bulbs has led to an annual energy savings of 259 crore kWh which is equivalent to lighting up 5 lakh Indian homes for an entire year.
• In Gujarat, 9W LED bulbs are being distributed under the UJALA scheme. These energy efficient bulbs come with a free 3 year replacement warranty for any technical defect.

– Haryana Assembly passes Sports Council Bill, CM ManoharLalKhattar will head the body

• The Haryana Assembly on Monday passed the Haryana Sports Council Bill, 2016 to constitute statutory sports councils at state, district, block and municipal levels.
• It was moved by state Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anil Vij and the House was adjourned by the Speaker for 20 minutes after Leader of Opposition and INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala sought time to go through the bill.
• After the House re-assembled, Vij, who had drawn flak from various quarters for allegedly wasting a huge sum of money by leading a delegation to the Rio Olympics recently, said he had prepared a 80-page report on his visit which would be submitted to Chief Minister ManoharLalKhattar soon.

– The Health Minister launches “MeraAspataal / My Hospital” initiative

• Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched the “MeraAspataal / My Hospital” initiative at the third National Summit on Good and Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Health Facilities at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, here today.
• Speaking on the occasion, the Health Minister stated that for any innovation we must think of scale, skill and speed as has been said by the Hon’ble Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi.
• “Patient satisfaction is the ultimate test for assessing quality of services, provided by a healthcare facility. To further build upon the gains so far, we are now making a paradigm shift and expanding the programmes from grassroots upwards to build the continuity of care” stated ShriNadda while launching the new initiative.
• ShriFaggan Singh Kulaste, Hon’ble Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, ShriKamineniSrinivas, Minister of Health, Medical and Family Welfare, Government of Andhra Pradesh were also present at the occasion, along with other senior officials.

– Cabinet approves dissolution of Central Inland Water Transport Corporation Limited

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi has given its approval to proposal for dissolution of Central Inland Water Transport Corporation Limited (CIWTC). The Voluntary Retirement Scheme for CIWTC was implemented in the year 2015 as per decision of ‘the Cabinet on 24.12.2014.

• CIWTC, a company incorporated on 22nd February 1967 under the Companies Act 1956 by the Government of India, when it took over the assets and liabilities of the erstwhile River Steam Navigation Company Limited under a scheme approved by the Calcutta High Court.
• Due to inherent limitation and infrastructure bottle necks, the operations of CIWTC could never become viable and company has been incurring losses since inception. The Company has only five employees at present.

– Cabinet approves creation of a Project Development Fund to catalyse Indian economic presence in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to create a Project Development Fund (PDF) with a corpus of Rs 500 Crore for catalysing Indian economic presence in the Cambodia, Laos Myanmar and Vietnam.
• The PDF shall be housed in Department of Commerce and operated through the EXIM Bank. The PDF shall be governed by an Inter-Ministerial Committee under the chairpersonship of the Commerce Secretary.

– Cabinet approves grant of Permanent Residency Status for Foreign Investors

• The Union Cabinet has approved the scheme for grant of Permanent Residency Status (PRS) to foreign investors subject to the relevant conditions in the FDI Policy notified by the Government from time to time.
• The scheme is expected to encourage foreign investment in India and facilitate Make in India Programme. Under the scheme, suitable provisions will be incorporated in the Visa Manual to provide for the grant of PRS to foreign investors.
• The PRS will be granted for a period of ten years with multiple entry. This can be reviewed for another 10 years if the PRS holder has not come to adverse notice. The scheme will be applicable only to foreign investors fulfilling the prescribed eligibility conditions, his/her spouse and dependents.

 

— INTERNATIONAL —

– Bangladesh SC rejects review petition against death sentence to Mir Quasem

• The Supreme Court of Bangladesh today rejected the review petition of death convict war criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami top leader Mir Quasem.
• A five-member bench of the Appellate Division of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the verdict. The court had heard the petition on Sunday and reserved the judgement for today.
• The International Crimes Tribunal had handed down capital punishment to 63-year old Mir Quasem, a top financier of the outfit in November 2014.

 

— BANKING —

– Canara Bank launches UPI app ‘empower’

• Canara Bank has launched customer-centric digital initiative which enables ‘any Bank customers to link and operate their various Bank accounts using a single app’.
• Bank launched Unified Payment Interface [UPI] App named ‘empower’, at its board of directors’ conclave held at Bengaluru on August 29. The mobile app works on NPCI platform and enables any bank customers to pay and collect using this single app.
• The mobile app was launched by T N Manoharan, Chairman, and Rakesh Sharma, MD & CEO, in the presence of board of directors of the Bank.
• According to MG Ajayan GM (IT) and CIO of bank ,Canara Bank is one of the pioneer bank in launching UPI app for the public. This mobile app is available for download from Google play store.

– ICICI Bank launches Unified Payments Interface apps, more banks to follow shortly

• ICICI Bank sector bank on Tuesday announced the launch of ‘Unified Payments Interface’ (UPI) on two of its customer facing mobile banking applications – ‘Pockets’ and ‘iMobile’.
• UPI enables bank account holders (of banks participating in UPI) to send and receive money using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) without entering additional bank account details.
• More banks are expected to announce their UPI enabled app soon. The National Payments Corporation of India had last week announced the 21 banks would go live with UPI shortly.

– Kotak Bank gets nod for selling up to 10% to Canada pension fund

• Kotak Mahindra Bank has said it has received approval of the Reserve Bank of India to sell less than 10 per cent of its stake to Canada-based pension fund CPPIB.
• “The Reserve Bank of India has informed that the bank that it has granted approval to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for acquiring shares in excess of 5 per cent and below 10 per cent of the paid-up capital,” Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a regulatory filing to stock exchanges.
• CPPIB has picked up stake of the bank from Japanese multinational Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) through an open market operation earlier this year. CPIIB bought 1.81 crore shares from SMBC.
• As per the norms, a foreign investor cannot own more than 10 per cent in a private sector bank.

 

— BUSINESS AND ECONOMY —

– ‘GST rate above 18% could stoke inflation’

• Industry lobbies are backing the Congress Party’s demand that the standard rate of Goods & Services Tax (GST) should not be allowed to breach the 18 per cent mark as it would stoke inflation.
• The demand was made during an interaction with the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Tuesday.
• They said higher rates could fuel price gains. The chambers of business also said they required sufficient time to put in place the IT infrastructure.

– NABARD sanctions Rs 204.67 cr for Haryana

• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned a loan of Rs 204.67 crore under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for rural infrastructure in Haryana.
• The project aims at improving the facilities in the field of agriculture and rural development, improve the quality of life in villages through provision of better transportation system and round-the-year better connectivity to villages with nearby hospitals, educational institutes, godowns and marketing centers.
• While stating this here today, a spokesman of NABARD said that out of the total loan sanctioned, Rs 147.18 crore has been sanctioned to the state government under the 22nd tranche of RIDF for 2016-17 for construction of three rural bridges, construction and upgradation of 26 rural roads in 10 districts namely Ambala, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Hisar, Jind, Karnal, Mahendergarh, Panchkula, Rewari and Yamunanagar.
• Nabard has sanctioned Rs 57.49 crore for a 10 MW Photo Voltaic Solar Power Plant at Panipat Thermal Power Station (PTPS), Panipat. He said that the aggregate length of the proposed three rural bridges is 329.20 m and that of proposed 26 rural roads in 10 districts is 184.78 Km.

– Goa government signs memorandum with Google India

• The Goa government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Google India to
• promote digital literacy,
• develop internet safety education for students,
• promote android development and
• make government websites mobile friendly.
• The MoU was signed by Chief Minister LaxmikantParsekar and Vice-President Google South East Asia and India RajanAnandan in Panaji.

– NPCI launches Bharat Bill Payment System pilot project

• National Payments Corporation of India on Wednesday said it has launched the pilot project for Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) with 26 Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units.
• BBPS is the Reserve Bank mandated system which will provide interoperable bill payment services to customers.
• In the first phase, BBPS will cover repetitive payments for everyday utility services such as electricity, water, gas, telephone and direct-to-home (DTH), NPCI said in a statement here on Wednesday.

 

— APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGN—

– State Bank of Travancore appoints new Chief GM Ashok Kumar Pradhan

• Ashok Kumar Pradhan has taken over as its Chief General Manager of State Bank Of Travancore. He succeeds S Adikesavan, whose transfer to Hyderabad had kicked up a controversy recently.
• Pradhan, who is from Cuttack in Orissa, started his banking career in 1985 as a Probationary Officer in State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.
• He has handled various key assignments as Controller and Zonal Head and has functioned Zonal Head and also Deputy General Manager (Credit) at State Bank of Hyderabad.
• State Bank of Travancore (SBT), is a subsidiary of the State Bank Group, but also has private share-holders. It is the premier bank of Kerala, where it handles the majority of its business. Overall, SBT as of March 31, 2015 has a network of 1,157 branches and 1,602 ATMs, covering 18 states and three union territories.

 

— SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY —

– Cabinet apprised of MoU between CERT-In India and CERT-UK

• The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 20th May, 2016 between Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and Ministry of Cabinet Office, UK.
• The MoU intends to promote closer cooperation between India and the United Kingdom for exchange of knowledge and experience in detection, resolution and prevention of security-related incidents.
• Cyber Security was one of the agenda items for discussion during Hon’ble Prime Minister’s visit to UK in November, 2015. With this MoU, participating countries can exchange technical information on Cyber attacks, response to cyber security incidents and find solutions to counter the cyber attacks.

 

— SPORTS —

– Bhutan set to host Asian Tennis Tour

• Bhutan is set to become the 4th Asian country to host a tournament on the Asian Tennis Tour (ATT) in September which will be country’s 1st ever international tennis tournament.
• India, Thailand & Iran have already hosted a series of tournaments, both men and women, on ATT.
• Bhutan is scheduled to host its maiden event from Sept. 16 to 18.
• Performance on ATT is considered for the Asian rankings.

– 100-Year-Old Runner From India Gets Gold Medal

• Man Kaur from India needed almost a minute-and-a-half to cross the finish line in the 100-meter dash, but she still picked up a gold medal Monday at the American Masters Games.
• That’s because the 100-year-old Kaur was the only femalecompetitor in her age category at the competition for older athletes. When she crossed the finish line in Vancouver, her competitors many of them in their 70s and 80s, were there to cheer her on.
• Earlier, she won gold medals in the javelin and shot put. Kaur has now won more than 20 medals in Masters Games across the globe.
• The World Masters Games take place every four years, with regional games in between. The average age of the athletes is 49, and there’s one man who is even older than Kaur 101-year-old Nihal Gill of Richmond, British Columbia.

– England beat Pakistan in 3rd one-day after scoring record 444, Highest-ever team total in one-day international

• England after scoring the highest-ever 444 runs for three in 50 overs, defeated Pakistan by 169 runs in the 3rd ODI Cricket at Nottingham. Chasing the mammoth target of 445 runs to win the match, Pakistan were all out for 275 in 42.4 overs last night.
• England’ total surpassed the previous record of 443 for nine by Sri Lanka against the Netherlands at Amstelveen in 2006. It was also the highest ODI total in a match between two Test playing nations, topping South Africa’s 439 for two against the West Indies at Johannesburg last year.