Current Affairs Daily Updates: 7th February 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 7th February 2017

APPOINTMENTS
Rajiv Singh takes over as acting CEO of Prasar Bharati
  • The Prasar Bharati member (Finance) Rajiv Singh has taken over as the acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the public service broadcaster of India “Prasar Bharati”.
  • He succeeded Mr. Suresh Panda.
  • Prasar Bharati is a statutory autonomous body established under the Prasar Bharati Act and came into existence on 23rd November 1997.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Arunachal Pradesh government introduces ‘Arunachal Civil Service Awards’
  • The Arunachal Pradesh government has introduced ‘Arunachal Civil Service Awards’ for excellence in public administration in the state.
  • It is an effort to encourage good governance and to recognize the extraordinary services rendered by the government employees in the state.
  • The award will consist of a medal, a scroll, and a cash award of 1 lakh rupees for an individual and 5 lakh rupees for organization /group/team.
BANKING AFFAIRS
Lok Sabha passes Specified Bank Notes Bill
  • The Lok Sabha passed the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Bill,2017 which provides for holding, transfer and receiving of old 500 and 1000 rupee notes a criminal offence which bill seeks to end the liability of RBI and the government on the currency notes demonetised in November last year.
  • The bill states that the government took the demonetisation decision on the recommendations of the RBI's central board to eliminate unaccounted money and fake currency notes from the financial system.
  • Once passed by Parliament, the bill will replace an ordinance promulgated on December 30 last year which provides for a fine of 10 thousand rupees or five times the cash held, whichever is higher, on holding of more than 10 banned notes.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Starts Pilot Operation in Bengaluru
  • The Ujjivan Small Finance Bank officially started its operation with 5 pilot branches in Bengaluru. Samit Ghosh is the MD and CEO of the Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.
  • The five pilot branches of the Ujjivan SFB would offer full services to its customers. The  Ujjivan Small Finance BankSmall Finance Bank will test its technology, channels, people and processes for a period of one month as a part of its pilot launch.
  • The Bank aims to launch about 14 branches by March 2017 and extend services across 457 branches in 24 states in a planned and phased manner over the next few months.
Bank of Maharashtra ties up with Cigna TTK
  • The Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has collaborated with insurance company “Cigna TTK Health” to market the insurer’s products in the bank’s branches across the country.
  • BoM will offer the entire gamut of Cigna TTK’s superior health insurance products to its customers through its network of over 1,896 branches and 14,000 bank employees.
  • Cigna TTK is a health insurance firm established as a joint venture between the Cigna (global insurance player) and TTK Group (Indian conglomerate).
Axis Bank ties up with Earthport
  • India’s third largest private bank, Axis Bank has tied up with Earthport Plc, a cross-border payment network, to enable faster outbound cross-border payments for its customers through Earthport’s state-of-the-art global payments network.
  • Axis Bank has become the first bank in India to connect with Earthport’s global payments network, which spans over 60 countries.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Uber launches taxi hiring service UberHIRE
  • Global taxi-hailing platform Uber announced it has launched a new category UberHIRE that allows customers to hire a taxi for the day, to cover several destinations, and is targetting senior citizens, business travellers and tourists.
  • Presently, UberHIRE works only on cash payments, a statement from Uber said.
  • After a pilot run in Kochi, starting today, UberHIRE will go live in New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vizag and Nagpur, with more cities slated for launch in the weeks to come, it added.
No queries on deposits of up to Rs 2.5 lakh: CBDT Chairman
  • According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) ChairmanSushil Chandra, no questions will be asked about deposits of up to2.5 lakh during the demonetization period.
  • Only those accounts will be probed who do not match tax returns.
  • Earlier, The Income Tax Department has segregated different kinds of deposits and accounts who do not match their income tax returnsfiled in previous years will be taken for later enforcement.
  • 3 lakh rupees are justified if a person has an annual taxable income of 10 lakh rupees and the tax department will not touch them.
  • If companies show a cash in hand in the balance sheet of 10 lakh rupees and have deposited 5 lakh rupees, the tax department will not scrutinize such entities.
DEATHS
Veteran freedom fighter Racharla Samrajyam passes away
  • Racharla Samrajyam, a veteran freedom fighter, passed away on 6 February 2017 following age-related illness at Vishakhapatnam. She was 98. She is survived by her only son Saranga Rao.
  • She was inspired by the Quit India Movement at the time when she was undergoing Hindi Pracharak training at Anantapur in 1942. It was at this point of time, she had quit the training programme and joined the Quit India Movement.
Nizamuddin driver of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose dies at age 116 
  • Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s driver and Indian National Army veteran Colonel Nizamuddin passed away at the age of 116 in his native village of Dhakwa in Uttar Pradesh.
  • Colonel Nizamuddin had proclaimed himself as one of the most trusted lieutenants of Netaji. He had claimed that Netaji was alive at the time of Independence.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India Education Fair for Sri Lankan students begins in Colombo
  • The two-day India Education Fair for Sri Lankan students has begun in capital Colombo (Sri Lanka).
  • A delegation of around 20 Universities from India participating in the fair to educate Sri Lankan students on education opportunities in India.
  • The focus of the event is to invite students to study in India under various scholarships.
  • The lndian government has provided more than 700 scholarshipslots to Sri Lankan students at various levels under the lndian Technical and Economic Cooperation Scheme.
India & Austria agree to amend bilateral taxation treaty
  • India and Austria have agreed to amend their existing bilateral taxation treaty to prevent tax evasion as well as enable mutual assistance.
  • The protocol will broaden the scope of the existing framework of the exchange of tax-related information, which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance between the two countries.
  • This will also enable mutual assistance in collection of taxes.
  • The Protocol was signed by CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra and Charge d’ Affaires of the embassy of Austria Georg Zehetner in New Delhi.
Indian Coast Guard to have Joint Exercise with UAE Coast Guard
  • In an effort to strengthen the bilateral relations between India and UAE, the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Samudra Pavak made a goodwill visit at the Mina Al Rashid (Dubai Port) from February 4 to 7, 2017.
  • The Indian Ambassador in UAE Navdeep Suri visited the Indian Navy ship on February 5, 2017. During the stay at port Rashid, a series of activities is scheduled to take place between Indian and UAE coast guard.
  • As a part of the visit, a joint exercise is scheduled to take place between Indian coast guard and UAE coast guard to enhance co-operation and exchange of operational expertise.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Andhra Pradesh: First Smart Police Station inaugurated
  • The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu has inaugurated the first smart police station at Nagarampalem in Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh). He also inaugurated the second model police station in old Guntur town.
  • The fully air-conditioned Smart Police Station has a staff room, dormitory, mini control room, a reception chamber, and individual enclosures for the Station House Officer and three Sub-Inspectors.
  • The Andhra Pradesh Police administration has planned to build another 100 such Stations across the state and to phase out congested police stations.
Andaman & Nicobar Islands to get first railway route
  • The Railway Ministry is set to develop the first ever railway line in Andaman and Nicobar Island that currently has no rail network.
  • The Ministry of Railway is set to approve the project that will construct 240-km broad gauge railway line connecting Port Blair with Diglipur, the largest town on Andaman Island. It will connect the two islands with bridges and stations along the coast.
  • Currently the Island are connected to each other through a 350-km bus service taking above 14 hours and ship taking over 24 hours. Besides, the island do not have air connectivity.
Tourism Ministry, J&K Government and NPCC sign MoU for implementation of tourism projects
  • The Union Ministry of Tourism, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government and two PSUs NPCC & NBCC on 6 February 2017 signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for implementation of tourism projects In Jammu & Kashmir.
  • This tripartite MoU was signed by Suman Billa, Joint Secretary under Ministry of Tourism; Shamim Ahmad Wani, Managing Director of J&K Cable Car Corporation; K K Sharma, Executive Director of NPCC and Alok Rastogi, Chief General Manager (BD) of NBCC.
CBDT signs four unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements
  • The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the Department of Revenue, Union Ministry of Finance has entered into four more unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs).
  • These four APAs are related to Manufacturing, Financial and Information Technology sectors. They cover international transactions such as Contract Manufacturing, Software Development Services and IT Enabled Services.
  • With this, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has reached 130. It includes 122 Unilateral APAs and 8 bilateral APAs.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS
ISRO to launch 104 satellites on Feb 15
  • ISRO will launch 104 satellites through its workhorse rocket PSLV-C37 on February 15 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
  • These 101 satellites are nano-satellites and belong to foreign nations, including the US and Germany.
  • Of these, only three are Indian.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Russia to miss summer’s World Athletics Championships
  • Russia will miss this summer's World Athletics Championships after governing body IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) voted to extend their suspension from international competition in Monaco.
  • However, some Russians may be able to compete under a neutral banner, if they can satisfy testing criteria.
  • Earlier, Russia was suspended by the IAAF in November 2015.
  • London will host the World Championships between 4-13 August.
  • More than 1,000 Russian athletes were part of a state-sponsored doping program between 2011 and 2015.