Current Affairs Daily Updates 1st February 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates 1st February 2017

APPOINTMENTS
Alok Verma takes charge as new CBI Director
  • Former Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Verma today took charge as the new CBI Director. He will hold the charge of the premier investigating agency for a period of two years.
  • A 1979-batch IPS officer, Mr Verma was selected by a three-member committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice J S Khehar and Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.
  • The post of the CBI Director was lying vacant for over a month following retirement of Anil Sinha.
Lt General Suresh Sharma takes over as Engineer-In-Chief 
  • Lieutenant General Suresh Sharma took over as Engineer-in-Chief of the Indian Army today (01 Feb).
  • In his capacity as Engineer-Chief, in addition to steering the Corps of Engineers, he will serve as the Principal Advisor to Chiefs of Army, Navy, Air Force and the Ministry of Defence on all matters pertaining to engineering works services, being head of Military Engineering Services (MES).
  • Prior to taking over as the Engineer-in-Chief, he served as the 24th Director General of the Border Roads Organisation (DGBR), where he provided direction and renewed impetus to number of strategic border area projects.
Rupak Kumar Dutta appointed as DGP of Karnataka
  • Rupak Kumar Dutta was on 31 January 2017 appointed as the Director General of Police (DGP) of Karnataka. Dutta succeeds Om Prakash, who retired from his service as Director General and Inspector General of Police on superannuation.
  • Prior to this appointment, Dutta was on a central posting as Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Dutta will hold the post for a period of 9 months as he will superannuate in October 2017.
  • Dutta was in the race for this top post along with the other IPS officers including Neelamani Raju, M N Reddi and H C Kishore Chandra.
Moussa Faki Mahamat appointed as new AU head
  •  Chadian foreign affairs minister Moussa Faki Mahamat has been elected as the head of the African Union Commission. He will replace Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

AWARDS AND HONOURS
Rajasthan and Telangana bag eGov awards
  • Rajasthan and Telangana states emerged Winners of Excellence under the state category while the award of recognition went to Odisha and Nagaland.
  • eGov awards instituted by the Computer Society of India’s (CSI) Special Interest Group with sponsorship from Nihilent Technologies.
  • The award help recognise the efforts of eGovernance practitioner from across central and state departments, projects and in district administrative units.
National Entrepreneurship Awards 2016 presented by Home Minister Rajnath Singh
  • Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh presented the First National Entrepreneurship awards 2016 in New Delhi
  • The awards have been presented in order to recognise the entrepreneurial spirit of India’s youth and encourage more young Indians to become entrepreneurs.
  • The Entrepreneurship Awards system has been created through a partnership between MSDE and a number of reputed institutions across the country including, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT - Delhi, Mumbai, Kanpur and Chennai), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai and XLRI, Jamshedpur. Every year, one such institution will play the role of the lead institution to anchor the awards. For 2016-2017, the lead institution is IIT, Delhi.
BANKING AFFAIRS
Lakshmi Vilas Bank Partners with Fisdom for Mission FINFIT
  • Lakshmi Vilas Bank has tied up with Fisdom, a Bangalore-based fin-tech startup, to launch financial planning and wealth management services based on robo-advisory platform.
  • The platform called Mission FINFIT will also include services like getting the KYC done, investing money in various platforms, viewing the account summary, withdrawing the invested money, etc.
  • Going cash less and digital is the way to the future and hence our bank has introduced this online platform to our retail customers.
Reserve Bank Lifts ATM Withdrawal Limits Effective From February 1
  • Reserve Bank of India has removed the daily withdrawal limit from ATM from 1st February 2017.
  • But the weekly limit to withdraw Rs. 24000 from the savings account will still continue. Also, the Central bank has also removed the cash withdrawal limit from current accounts.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Reliance Defence Signs Contract with Ministry of Defence to Construct 14 Fast patrol Vessels for Indian Coast Guard
  • Reliance Defence and Engineering Ltd (RDEL), a wholly owned arm of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra), has signed a contract worth Rs. 916 crore with the Ministry of Defence to design and construct 14 Fast Patrol Vessels for the Indian Coast Guard.
  • The medium range, high speed vessels would be deployed for patrolling within the exclusive economic zone, costal surveillance, anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, search and rescue operations. It will also provide support as front-line warships during emergencies.
Fiscal deficit reaches 94% of the budget estimate
  • Fiscal deficit in the first nine months of 2016-17 touched 93 (point) 9 per cent of the Budget estimate. The fiscal deficit had stood at 87.9% in the corresponding nine months a year ago. The fiscal deficit is the gap between expenditure and revenue.
  • According to data released by the Controller General of Accounts, tax revenue was 71.4% of the full-year budget estimate.
  • Total expenditure, Plan and Non-Plan, was 74.3% of the government's full-year estimate. The revenue deficit during April-December 2016 stood at 100.1% of the budget estimate.
FICCI’s Economic Outlook Survey Projects GDP to grow 6.8 Percent in FY 17
  • Based on the latest Economic Outlook Survey report released by FICCI on January 30, 2017, the India’s GDP is projected to grow 6.8 percent this fiscal which is 0.5 percent points less than FICCI’s previous estimate of 7.3 percent.
  • FICCI conducted the last round of survey between December 2016 and January 2017 and collected responses from leading economists representing industry, banking and financial services sectors.
  • Earlier, the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) had estimated a GDP growth of 7.1 percent for 2016-17.
DEATHS
Former Union Minister E Ahmad passes away
  • Former Union Minister E Ahmad (78-year) has passed away in the wee hours of after suffering from heart attack.
  • He took ill in the Central Hall of Parliament during the President's address.
  • Ahmad represented the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency of Kerala.
  • Earlier, he served as the Minister of State for External Affairs in the Manmohan Singh
Veteran journalist Devdutt passes away
  • Veteran journalist Devdutt passed away. He was 88. He was Gandhian since his early days and was present at Birla House in the lawn when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948.
  • He was seasoned political commentator, who had brought out a journal of political opinion called Point of View.
IMPORTANT DAYS
Basant Panchami is being celebrated today
  • The festival marks the beginning of the spring season. The festival is celebrated every year on the fifth day of the month of 'Magha'. Basant means spring and Panchami means "the fifth day".
  • On this day, Hindus wearing yellow clothes visit temples and pray to Goddess Saraswati - the goddess of knowledge, and celebrate the day as Saraswati Puja.
  • Schools and educational institutes celebrate Saraswati Puja. Kite flying competitions will also be held. The festival is mostly celebrated mostly in northern states of Punjab and Bihar.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Ireland became the world’s first country to stop investing in fossil fuels
  • Ireland has become the first country in the world to divest coal, oil and gas investments from Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.
  • The bill was passed in the Irish parliament by gaining 53 votes out of 90. It was introduced by Deputy Thomas Pringle.
  • The law regarding fully divest public money from fossil fuels expected in the upcoming month.
  • If the bill is enacted, it would force the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to sell its investment in fossil fuel industries over the next five years.
India, Russia holds high-level consultations on counter-terrorism
  • India and Russia have held high-level consultations on counter-terrorism issues in New Delhi. Both sides shared views and assessment on the threats posed by increasing terrorist activities including India’s concern on state-sponsored, cross-border terrorism.
  • The Indian delegation was led by Preeti Saran, Secretary (East) in the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) while the Russian delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Oleg V. Syromolotov.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Prasar Bharati CEO inaugurates Aakasavani Shirdi FM
  • Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer Suresh Chandra Panda inaugurated the Aakasavani Shirdi FM Centre. The event took place at the Sai Samadhi temple area in Shirdi in Nasik district.
  • Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Panda said that the Aakashwani FM station will prove very useful for the Sai devotees in the region. He stated that besides running devotional songs, bhajans Maha-artis daily, the station will also be effective tool of communication during the peak season and for disaster control measures.
  • Saibaba trust president Suresh Haware said that it is one of the happiest moments in the history of Shirdi as now the Aakashwani service will facilitate a direct connect with Sai devotees with its various programs.
“SWAYAM” Platform will be launched to leverage Information Technology
  • The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting the General Budget 2017-18 in Parliament today said that the Government proposes to leverage information technology and launch SWAYAM Platform with at least 350 online courses.
  • Access to SWAYAM would be widened by linkage with DTH channels, dedicated to education.
Income Tax Department (ITD) launches Operation Clean Money
  • Income Tax Department (ITD) lead by ‎Sushil Chandra has launched Operation Clean Money on January 31, 201 to verify the cash deposited in the banks during November 9th to December 30th 2016.
  • An online Verification process will be carried out by comparing the demonetisation datawith information in ITD databases.
  • This information will be available at the portalhttps://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.The PAN holder can view the information using the link ‘Cash Transactions 2016’ under ‘Compliance’ section of the portal.
  • The verification will be closed if the cash deposit is declared under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY).
31st Surajkund International Crafts Mela to begin today
  • The 31st Surajkund International Crafts Mela is scheduled to begin today on 1 February 2017 in Faridabad, Haryana.
  • The event will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal. This year Jharkhand has been chosen as the theme state and the partner nation will be Egypt.
  • The mela will be open for public from 10.30 am in the morning till 8.30 pm in the evening till 15 February 2017.
Government clarifies Beti Bachao Beti Padhao has no provision for cash transfer component
  • The Union Ministry of Women & Child Development has clarified that Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (B3P) Scheme has no provision for individual cash transfer component.
  • It has warned the unauthorised websites/organisations, NGOs, individuals that are distributing forms in the name of cash incentives under B3P Scheme.
  • It also has mentioned that it is illegal and serious matter as there is no cash incentive associated in any form.
  • Government’s clarification came following reports that certain unauthorised sites, organisations, NGOs and individuals were found distributing forms in the name of cash incentive under the scheme.
E-paathsala launches technology-backed services for higher education institutions in India 
  • E-paathsala, a Bangalore based startup, launched its first-of-its-kind, end to end integrated accreditation and ERP technology solution for managing colleges and universities with multiple accreditations for standards such as NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) and NBA (National Board of Accreditation) etc. The accreditation assists institutions to get access to more funding, improve the quality of education and get higher student enrolment ratio.
  • E-paathsala provides software and consultancy solutions to the institutions to help them improve their college management with an emphasis on how to improve their compliance with the accreditation standards.
  • In addition, it also provides a full-fledged Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to align the institution processes as per benchmark standards and improve efficiency of operation.