Current Affairs Daily Updates 2nd February 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates 2nd February 2017

APPOINTMENTS
Nik Khanna appointed India MD of BAE Systems
  • Nik Khanna was appointed as the Managing Director (MD) of BAE Systems’ India operations with effect from 1 February 2017.
  • He is taking charge of the BAE Systems shortly after the company was awarded a contract from the US Department of Defense to provide 145 M777 ultra-lightweight howitzers to the Indian Army.
  • Before joining the BAE Systems, he worked as Country President at Raytheon where he led business development, marketing and strategy in India for the last four years.
Rex Tillerson sworn-in as US secretary of state
  • Rex Tillerson, the former chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ExxonMobil has been sworn in as the 69th US Secretary of State under the new President Donald Trump’s government.
  • The 64-year-old won the approval of the senate in an extremely close vote of 56 to 43.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Indian School of Business Ranked Top Indian B-School in FT Global MBA Ranking 2017
  • The 2017 Financial Times Global MBA ranking was released on January 30, 2017. This year 4 Indian Business Schoolshave been listed in the World’s 100 best Full Time MBA Programme List.
  • The Four Schools listed includes: Indian School of Business (ISB), Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) and Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC)
  • Among the Indian B-Schools, Indian School of Business (ISB) stood first with a global ranking of 27 which is up by 2 positions compared to last year’s ranking.
  • The top position was secured by INSEAD for the second consecutive year.
BANKING AFFAIRS
Banks credit growth to remain subdued at 5-6 per cent in FY17: ICRA
  • Bank credit growth is likely to remain subdued at 5-6 per cent in the current financial year on weak loan demand and as debt market continues to offer better priced, according to a report.
  • Deposit growth is likely to ease further to 12 per cent by end-March 2017, with banks cutting deposit rates and easing cash availability in the system, from 14.7 per cent as on January 6, said the report by rating agency ICRA.
Govt proposes Payments Regulatory Board in RBI
  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has proposed a creation of a six-member Payments Regulatory Board in the RBI, headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel as part of bringing about structural reforms in the payment eco-system.
  • For the purpose, necessary amendments are proposed in the Finance Bill 2017 to create a Payments Regulatory Board in the Reserve Bank of India by replacing the existing Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Foreign Investment Promotion Board scrapped to ease FDI
  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during Parliment Budget Session on Wednesday announced scrapping of Foreign Investment Promotion Board to ease the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
  • The FIPB offered a single window clearance for applications on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India that are under the approval route.
  • The sectors under automatic route did not require any prior approval from the FIPB and are subject to only sectoral laws.
  • Jaitley also announced further reforms in FDI policy.
Govt announces ban on cash transactions above Rs.3 lakh
  • Budget speech, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday announced that cash transactions above Rs. 3 lakh will not be allowed.
  • This comes after demonetisation and various other measures by the government to curb black money in the economy.
  • Jaitley also said that India is mainly a tax non-compliant economy and it puts pressure on tax payers.
Rs. 10,000 cr allocated for PSB recapitalisation
  • The Union Budget has allocated Rs. 10,000 crore towards recapitalisation of public sector banks in FY2017-18.
  • Under Indradhanush roadmap announced in 2015, the government stated to infuse Rs. 70,000 crore in state banks over four years while they will have to raise a further Rs. 1.1 lakh crore from the markets to meet their capital requirement in line with global risk norms, known as Basel—III.
  • In line with the blueprint, public sector banks has been given Rs. 25,000 crore in each fiscal, 2015—16 and 2016—17. Besides, Rs. 10,000 crore each would be infused in 2017—18 and 2018—19.
UNICEF launches appeal for $3.3 billion to aid millions of children
  • The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched an appeal for $3.3 billion to help 48 million children caught up in crises worldwide amid fears of a funding cut from top donor the United States.
  • This year’s appeal represents 18% increase from the initial request for funding in 2016.
  • According to UNICEF, Almost one in four of the world’s children now lives in a country affected by conflict or disaster.
DEATHS
Eminent theater personality Asim Basu passes away:
  • Eminent theater personality Asim Basu (82-year) has passed away after a prolonged illness.
  • He was closely associated with the art and culture scene of Odisha for over five decades and directed over 200 plays.
  • He had performed in films like Jaga Balia, Dadagiri and many others.
  • Basu has received the state Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1998.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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.
Kuwait imposes visa ban on Pakistan, 4 other Muslim countries:
  • Issuance of visas for nationals of Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran has been suspended by Kuwait.
  • Kuwait was the only nation to prohibit the entry of Syrian nationals prior to Trump's executive action. 
  • A group of terrorists bombed a Shia mosque in 2015, killing 27 Kuwaiti nationals.
New TB-resistant cows developed in China
  • Chinese scientists from Northwest A&F University have produced world’s first live cows with increased resistance to bovine tuberculosis (TB). This development shows that genetic modification technology can be better suited to producing transgenic livestock with purposefully manipulated genetic.
  • Researchers had used a modified version of the CRISPR gene-editing technology called CRISPR/Cas9n to insert a new TB resistance gene NRAMP1 into the genome of bovine foetal fibroblasts, cell derived from female dairy cows.
  • These cells were then used as donor cells in a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer. In it, nucleus of a donor cell carrying the new gene was inserted into an egg cell, known as an ovum, from a female cow.
  • These ovum were then nurtured in the lab into embryos and transferred into mother cows for a normal pregnancy cycle. During this cycle, cows were produced with no off target effects on the animals’ genetics — a common problem when creating transgenic animals using CRISPR.
British PM Theresa May receives UK Parliament's approval to begin Brexit process
  • The British PM Theresa May has received Parliament's first stage approval to begin the process of Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) after winning a crucial vote in the House of Commons.
  • Earlier, British MPs voted in favor of the European Union (Notification of withdrawal) Bill.
  • 498 MPs voted in favor of Brexit Bill, while 114 voted against it.
NATIONAL NEWS
Delhi govt to set up a ‘Punjabi chair’ at JNU
  • Delhi Minister for Tourism, Culture and Languages Kapil Mishra announced that the Delhi government has decided to set up a ‘Punjabi chair’ in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to promote research into the Punjabi language.
  • The government has been in touch with the university administration on the proposal for the last four to five years.
Union Cabinet gives nod to modify Scheduled Castes list in Odisha
  • The Union Cabinet had approved the amendments in the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of SC in Odisha.
  • It also approved amending the Constitution (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order, 1964 to change the name of the Union territory to Puducherry from Pondicherry.
  • In this regard, The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2017, incorporating the above changes, will be introduced in the parliament.
19th Bharat Rang Mahotsav begins in New Delhi:
  • The 21-day 19th edition Bharat Rang Mahotsav has begun in New Delhi with the special focus on the different genres of Indian theater.
  • NSD brings together all the theater people of India and abroad through Bharat Rang Mahotsav.
  • The festival will include 10 traditional folk theater performances.
  • The festival will feature Living Legend Series, Master Classes, Youth Forum and Director's Meet as an integral part of this theater fiesta.
  • Bharat Rang Mahotsav is the annual theatre festival of National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS
UAE Aims to Launch Its First Ever Mars Mission in 2020
  • The United Arab Emirates is planning to launch its first-ever mission to Mars in 2020, an unmanned orbiter called ‘Hope’ from Japan’s space centre.
  • According to Yuichi Yamaura, Vice President of Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency, the expected launching date of the orbiter would be sometime in July 2020 when the Earth and Mars will be aligned at their closest point. It would be the first-ever Mars Mission from an Arab country.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Amit Mishra becomes India's highest wicket taker in T20s
  • Amit Mishra, after picking up his 201st T20 wicket in the Bengaluru T20I, became India's highest wicket taker in T20 cricket, overtaking Ravichandran Ashwin's record of 200 wickets.
  • Mishra achieved the milestone in his 170th T20 match after taking the wicket of England's Jason Roy. Notably, Dwayne Bravo holds the record for the most wickets in T20s with 367 scalps.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Medals to be made from mobile phones
  • Olympic and Paralympic medals for the Tokyo 2020 Games will be made from recycled mobile phones.
  • The Japanese public will be asked to donate old phones and small appliances to gather two tonnes of gold, silver and bronze for the 5,000 medals.
  • The project hopes to promote sustainability and reduce costs.
  • A project that allows the people of Japan to take part in creating the medals is really good,
  • Collection boxes will be placed in local offices and telecoms stores from April and will remain there until the metal required has been collected.
  • Japan, which lacks its own mineral resources, is keen to take the theme of a sustainable future a step further.
Yuzvendra Chahal second bowler after Ajantha Mendis to take six-wicket haul in T20 Internationals
  • Young India leg - spinner Yuzvendra Chahal first became the first Indian bowler to record a five-wicket haul and then went on write his name in history by finishing with figures of 6 for 25.
  • Chahal is now only the second bowler after Sri Lankan mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis to snare six wickets in an innings in T20 Internationals.
  • Mendis has in fact taken six wickets in an innings in T20Is twice.
  • Chahal's timely wickets helped Virat Kohli win his third successive series against England. India had earlier defeated the visits 4-1 in the Test series and 2-1 in the ODI series