Current Affairs Daily Updates: 9th February 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Government appoints 3 directors on RBI Central Board
- The
Government has appointed three part-time Non-Official Directors on the
all-powerful Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India for a four-year
term.
- The
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Ashok Gulati,
Manish Sabharwal and Rajiv Kumar as part-time Non-Official Directors on
the Central Board.
- Stating
this, the Department of Personnel and Training said the appointments are
for a period of four years. Further, the ACC has also approved the
proposal of Department of Financial Services for the appointment of three
Members of the Local Board of RBI.
- Prasanna
Kumar Mohanty (Southern Local Board), Vallabh Roopchand Bhanshali (Western
Local Board) and Sunil Mitra (Eastern Local Board) have been appointed for
four years. The RBI’s affairs are governed by the Central Board of
Directors. The board is appointed by the government.
BANKING AFFAIRS
Bank of America opens branches without employees
- Bank
of America Corp has opened three completely automated branches over the
past month, where customers can use ATMs and have video conferences with
employees at other branches, according to spokeswoman Anne Pace.
- Bank
of America has been reducing its overall branch count to cut costs even as
it opens new branches in select markets.
BOOKS AND AUTHORS
Rajnath Singh releases the
book titled ‘Veerappan, Chasing the Brigand’
- The
Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh released the book titled
‘Veerappan, Chasing the Brigand’, written by K. Vijay Kumar, Senior
Security Adviser, Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Speaking
on the occasion, Rajnath Singh said that Vijay Kumar, who was the Chief of
the Special Task Force (STF) that was behind the killing of Veerappan
during “Operation Cocoon” in 2004, is a role model for the new IPS
Officers.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
PNB Housing Finance limited signs MOU with CREDAI to train
construction workers in West Bengal
- Addressing
the need of pacing up constructions with skilled labour that would result
in quicker delivery and hand over, PNB Housing Finance Limited (PNBHFL)
has signed an MOU with CREDAI West Bengal to train 1000 construction
workers in Kolkata and nearby villages.
- CREDAI-Bengal
would also be setting up permanent (off-site) skill development centres in
Medinipur and Murshidabad - places with the huge concentration of
construction labour.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Somalia's Mohamed
Abdullahi Farmajo chosen as new President
- The
Parliament of Somalia elected former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi
Farmajo, as the country's new president on 8 February 2017.
- Farmajo
was chosen after two rounds of voting, after which he immediately took the
oath of the office.
- The
large consensus for Farmajo led current President Hassan Sheikh, who was
elected to the office in 2012, to concede defeat and withdraw himself from
the contest.
India ranks at 43rd
position in 5th Annual International IP Index of USCC
- India
ranked at 43rd position out of 45 countries in the 5th Annual
International Intellectual Property (IP) Index of the US Chamber of
Commerce (USCC). The 2017 International IP Index, named as 'The Roots of
Innovation', was released on 8 February 2017.
- India
was ranked just above Pakistan and Venezuela. The United States continued
to be on the top of the index. The top four positions of the index were
fetched by the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and the European
Union.
UK House of Commons passes
Brexit bill:
- The
UK Parliament has given PM Theresa May, the authority to officially
trigger Brexit and start negotiations for leaving the 28-member European Union.
- The
draft legislation has been approved by 494 to 122 votes and now moves to
the House of Lords.
- Shadow
business Secretary Clive Lewis was one of 52 Labour MPs to defy party
orders to back the bill and he resigned from the front bench.
- Prime
Minister Theresa May wants to invoke Article 50 (the starting gun on the
two-year process of the UK leaving the EU) by the end of March.
Israel passes
controversial law on West Bank settlements
- Israel's
parliament has passed a controversial law retroactively legalising almost
4,000 settler homes built on privately-owned Palestinian land in the
occupied West Bank.
- Under
the legislation, the Palestinian landowners will be given financial
compensation or alternative land.
- The
Palestinian president called the law "an aggression against our people".
- Israel's
attorney-general has said it is unconstitutional and that he will not
defend it in the Supreme Court.
- The
legislation's passage comes amid an escalation in settlement activity
since the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president.
- Emboldened
by a new administration it sees as a more sympathetic, Israel's government
has advanced plans for thousands of new settler homes.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Union Cabinet approves
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan for rural digital literacy
- The
Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved
‘Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan’ (PMGDISHA) to make 6
crore rural households digitally literate by March 2019.
- PMGDISHA
is expected to be one of the largest digital literacy programmes in the
world. This approval comes in line with the announcement made by Union
Finance Minister in the Union Budget 2016-17.
- Under
the scheme, 25 lakh candidates will be trained in the FY 2016-17; 275 lakh
in 2017-18; and 300 lakh in 2018-19.
33-members committee
constituted for speedy completion of Andhra Pradesh’s Sagarmala Project
- A
committee comprising 33 members has been constituted for the speedy
completion of the Sagarmala Project in Andhra Pradesh. The project aims to
improve the state’s coastline and inland waterways.
- The
committee will be chaired by the state’s Chief Minister N Chandrababu
Naidu. The committee will be responsible for overseeing the entire
project.
- It
will bring together all the concerned departments and review their work on
a daily basis, in order to ensure timely completion of the project.
- The
committee’s first meeting took place on 8 February 2017 under the
leadership of Naidu.
Govt. forms committee to
expedite ‘Namami Gange programme’:
- The
Union water resources Minister Sushri Uma Bharti has announced to form the
committee to expedite the implementation of its ambitious “Namami
Gange programme” in New Delhi.
- Under
Namami Gange programme, it plans to free the Ganga river of waste by next
year.
- More
than two thousand 700 villages have been declared as open-defecation free
out of four thousand 291 marked villages along the main stem of the river.
Portal and Mobile
Application launched for Mining Operations
- With
an objective to enhance transparency and accountability as a part of the
Ease of Doing Business in the Mining sector, Union Minister of State (IC)
for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal
will launch TAMRA (Transparency, Auction Monitoring and Resource
Augmentation) portal and Mobile Application here on 10th February, 2017.
- Ministers
of Mining and senior officers from 12 mineral rich States would also be
connected through videoconferencing.
- TAMRA
will be an interactive platform for all the stakeholders to compress the
timelines for statutory and other clearances as it would help minimize the
gestation period for commencing production.
Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma Presents Rs 2,350
crore Deficit Budget 2017-18
- The
Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma presented the state Budget for
the session 2017-18 on February 7, 2017 in the state assembly. The budget
was based on the theme “Resurgent Assam”.
- As
per the Minister the state Budget, 2017-18 was Rs. 2,349.79 crore deficit
Budget. The budget presented merged Plan and Non-Plan expenditures.
- The
Government has redefined the role of Planning & Development
Department. The department has been rechristened to the Department for
Development and Transformation of
Assam (DDTA).
Govt introduces IIM Bill,
2017 in Lok Sabha
- The
government introduced the Indian Institutes of Management Bill, 2017 in
the Lok Sabha. The bill was moved by Human Resource Development Minister
Prakash Javadekar.
- It
seeks to declare certain institutes of management to be institutions of
national importance to empower them to attain standards of global
excellence in management, management research and allied areas of
knowledge.
- Law
Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the Repealing and Amending Bill,
2017 in the Lok Sabha to repeal certain enactments.
- Moving
the Bill, Mr Prasad said, so far the government has repealed 1175 obsolete
and unnecessary enactments. He said, under the proposed legislation, 105
such Acts will be repealed.
Union Cabinet apprised of
MoU between India and France in S&T and Innovation
- The
Union Cabinet has been apprised of the signing of the Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) of Cooperation in the field of Science and Technology
and innovation.
- The
MoU was signed between India’s Technology Development Board (TDB),
Department of Science & Technology and France’s public Investment Bank
Bpifrance.
- The
agreement will ensure exchange of best practices and setting up of coordinated
measures to foster technological exchanges.
- The
exchanges under it will be through collaboration between companies,
organizations and institutions of France and India.
- The
agreement also aims to carry out activities related to exchange of best practices
in the field of Science & Technology through the India’s Technology
Development Board and Bpifrance.
Union Cabinet apprised of
India-Vietnam space agreement:
- The
Union Cabinet has been apprised of the Framework Agreement between India
and Vietnam on cooperation in
the exploration and uses of outer space for peaceful purposes. The
Framework Agreement was signed in September 2016.
- It
will enable pursuing the potential interest areas of cooperation such as
space science, technology and applications between both countries.
- The
agreement covers cooperation in remote sensing of the earth, satellite
communication and satellite-based navigation; space science and planetary
exploration.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS
NASA’s Chandra satellite
detects distinct X-ray signal
- The
US space agency NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory in February 2017 detected
a very strange and distinctive X-ray signal from the Milky Way galaxy.
This observation can help the scientists in proving the existence of dark
matter in the universe.
- A
team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
and Yale Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in the US observed the
energy spectrum of X-rays coming out from the mysterious source.
- Researchers
observed extra photons with an energy of about 3500 electron volts in the
spectra. While probing the spectrum, researchers concluded that the
production of X-ray photons with particular energy level could have been
the result of decay of dark matter.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
India under-19 team
clinches One-Day International series against England, 3-1
- The
fifth One-Day International (ODI) between India Under-19 and their English
counterparts ended in a tie after India lost its final wicket on the last
ball of the match.
- The
5th match was held on 8 February 2017 at the Wankhede Stadium. With the
5th ODI ending in a tie, India won the series by 3-1.
- In
the 5th ODI, England scored a modest 227. India needed one run off the
last ball with just one wicket in hand, but pacer Ishan Porel faltered at
the last moment and was caught by Max Holden off Liam White.
Aashay Verma &
Priyanka selected in NBA-FIBA BWB
- For
the first time, two Indian cagers - Aashay Verma and Priyanka Prabhakara -
have been selected in a 67-strong international group of boys and girls
for the NBA and FIBA's third annual Basketball without Borders (BWB)
Global Camp in New Orleans, USA. The camp will be held February 17 to 19
as part of NBA All-Star 2017.
- Verma
is 7-foot 1-inch tall and plays centre while Prabhakara is a 5-foot
10-inch tall player, who hails from Kerala.
- NBA
Vice President Brooks Meek said, Basketball without Borders program was
founded on the belief that basketball brings young players from different
backgrounds together and transcends cultural boundaries.
