Current Affairs – 2nd March 2017

Hello Readers, We bring you another issue of current affairs that covers the important news in Current Affairs Today Section.
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Indian Affairs

Kerala’s Capital Thiruvananthapuram Ranks Best City in Urban Governance Survey

• According to the fourth edition of the Annual Survey of India’s City Systems 2016 by Bengaluru-based advocacy group Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala has been ranked as the top Indian city to manage urban governance.
• Thiruvananthapuram which also ranked No. 1 in 2015 was evaluated against 21 major cities across 18 states of India.

Top 3 Cities in the List

Rank	City	Score
01.	Thiruvananthapuram	4.4
02.	Pune	4.2
03.	Kolkata	4.1

Kerala Tops Among All Other States In GST Registration

•  Kerala has achieved the maximum number of registrations under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime with at least 60 per cent of an estimated 2.5 lakh traders migrating to the new platform.
• Its record becomes even more significant considering the fact that these registrations are complete in all respects, including the crucial provision of digital signatures.
• All traders with concurrent registrations with the Kerala Value-Added Tax Information System (KVATIS) are expected to upload their individual and business particulars.

100 districts in India Declared ODF under Swachh Bharat Mission

Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, made the national launch of Swachh Shakti Saptaah in Gurugram, Haryana, at a joint event with the Government of Haryana. Over 1000 women swachhta champions from grassroots in Haryana attended the event.
Deputy Commissioners of 11 ODF districts of Haryana were honoured on the occasion.
The Minister also announced that the number of ODF (Open Defecation Free) districts in the country has now crossed 100. Over 1.7 lakh villages have become ODF.

Ministry of Women & Child Development Observes Swachhta Pakhwada Throughout India

• The Ministry of Women & Child Development is observing the Swachhta Pakhwada from 1st March 2017 to 15th March 2017, to raise awareness about Swachh Bharat Abhiyan among women and children.
• The Swachhta Pakhwada is observed by various Ministries of Government of India to achieve the goal of universal sanitation, hygiene and ‘open defecation free’ India by 2019.
• As a part of nationwide activities, the Ministry has written to all the states to observe the Swachhta Pakhwada through the wide network of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) across the country.
• Special programmes for girl child under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao would be undertaken.

Ministry of Women & Child Development

• Headquarters: Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi
• Cabinet Minister: Maneka Gandhi
• Minister of State: Krishna Raj

Madhya Pradesh Presents 2017-18 Budget, Announces Deendayal Rasoi Yojna for Poor

Meal for Rs 5 to the urban poor, pension to widows and Seventh Pay Commission benefits to employees were key highlights of Madhya Pradesh’s Budget for 2017-2018 presented in the Assembly today.

Finance Minister Jayant Malaiya presented a Rs 1,85,564.27-crore Budget for the State, which goes to the polls in end-2018, with a revenue surplus of Rs 4596.40 crore He hiked VAT on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) sold for fuelling at Indore and Bhopal airports, thus making the air travel dearer from these two cities.

The Government has proposed to raise VAT on ATF from 4 per cent to 25 per cent for fuelling at Indore and Bhopal airports. However, VAT on ATF sold at Gwalior, Jabalpur and Khajuraho airports would remain at 4 per cent, while the jet fuel will be 1 per cent at the remaining airstrips.

In order to provide food at subsided rate to the poor in urban areas, the Minister announced Deendayal Rasoi Yojna and allocated a sum of Rs 10 crore for creating necessary infrastructure to implement the scheme.

Other Allocations

Sr. No.	Department	Fund
01.	Education	Rs 19,872.89 crore
02.	Energy Sector	Rs 16801.62 crore
03.	Rural Development	Rs 14387.50 crore
04.	Urban Development	Rs 11489.03 crore
05.	Public Works Department	Rs 8576.17 crore
06.	Pension to unemployed widows	Rs 1,501 crore
07.	Swachh Bharat Abhiyan	Rs. 600 crore
08.	Subsidy to MP residents for pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar hiked from	Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000.

Centre Approves Rs 756 cr scheme for Treating Cataract Patients

With an aim to free India from cataract by 2022, the government has approved a Rs 756 crore scheme to treat over 700 lakh such patients in the next five years.
The scheme would render Rs 2,000 as financial assistance for each operation, including cost of lenses. In addition to it, a mobile application will be developed to bring the government, private doctors, clinics and NGOs together for monitoring the endeavour.
What is Cataract?
A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye which leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry vision, halos around light, trouble with bright lights, and trouble seeing at night.

NMCG Signs MoU with Rotary India for the Success of Namami Gange

• To make Namami Gange programme a mass movement with the involvement of more and more voluntary organisations, National Mission for Clean Ganga under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation signed an MoU with Rotary India in New Delhi.
• Rotary India will support clean Ganga mission through their ‘WASH in Schools’ program in various schools.
• The program includes the implementation of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services in the targeted government schools and sensitizing all the stakeholders including school children, teachers, school management communities and communities etc.
• Rotary India has planned to undertake WASH in Schools programme in 20,000 Government Schools.
• The MoU was signed by Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga Shri UP Singh and Vice Chairman of Rotary India Shri PT Prabhakar.

PM Modi addresses International Yoga Festival

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed a mass gathering at the International Yoga Festival via a video conferencing. During his address, PM Modi stressed on the importance of Yoga on everyday life and said Yoga is a way to create harmony and peace within individuals, families, societies and nations.
• The celebrations of International Yoga Festival, which began on March 1, will conclude on March 7 in Rishikesh.

International Affairs

Ukraine region to use Russian ruble as currency

Ukraine’s self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic will use the Russian ruble as its official currency.
The use of the ruble, which is already used informally in the pro-Russian territory along with the Ukrainian hryvnia, serves to stabilise the volatile economic situation in the region.
Luhansk’s central bank will announce the value of the ruble against the US dollar, euro, and hryvnia .

Banking and Finance

HDFC, ICICI, Axis to charge Rs 150 after 4 free transactions

• India’s leading private banks said on Wednesday they will charge a minimum of Rs 150 for cash deposits and withdrawals after four free transactions in a month.
• The new charges aimed at reducing cash transactions at banks at the rate of Rs 5 for every Rs 1,000 transacted or Rs 150, whichever is higher.
• However there is no change in the transaction fee at ATMs and the charge changes would apply to savings as well as salary accounts with immediate effect.

 

Awards and Recognition

INHS ASVINI Mumbai Receives Raksha Mantri’s Trophy for Best Service Hospital in the AFMS

 

• Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar presented the Raksha Mantri’s Trophy and Citation for the best Service Hospital in the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) for the year 2016 to INHS Asvini, Mumbai.
• Commandant of INHS Asvini Mumbai, Surgeon Rear Admiral Ravi Kalra received the awards from the Minister on behalf of the Hospital.
• The Command Hospital (Southern Command), Pune and Command Hospital (Northern Command) Udhampur were jointly adjudged the second best Service Hospitals.
• The Defence Minister gave away the trophies and citations to the Commandant, Command Hospital (Southern Command) Pune, Maj General R Grewal and Commandant, Command Hospital (Northern Command) Udhampur, Maj General N Naithani.

Raksha Mantri’s Trophy
The Raksha Mantri’s Trophy was instituted in the year 1989 to create a healthy competition among the Command Hospitals of the Army and its equivalent Hospitals in the Navy and Air Force.

JNU Bags ‘Visitor’s Award’ For Best Varsity Amid Controversies

• Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which has been at the centre of controversies for over a year, has bagged the annual Visitors Award for the best varsity in the country.
• JNU has been hogging limelight for all the wrong reasons since last February when three of its students were arrested on sedition charges in connection with an event on campus during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.
• The winners of Visitor’s Award for Innovation and Research will receive a citation and cash award of Rs 1 lakh. The awards will be presented during a function as part of the Festival of Innovation.

Appointments & Resigns

JS Deepak named India’s next Ambassador to WTO

 
Telecom Secretary J S Deepak was appointed as India’s next Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) from June this year.
Deepak is IAS Officer of Uttar Pradesh Cadre 1982 batch, presently is on official visitor to the World Mobile Congress at Barcelona.
During his earlier period in the Commerce Ministry, he was India’s chief negotiator at the WTO and for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.
WTO :
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
Founded: 1 January 1995
Head: Roberto Azevêdo

Pakistan diplomat Sial assumes office as new Sec Gen of SAARC

• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has named Amjad Hussain B Sial, as secretary genera lwith immediate effect from March 1, 2017.
• Sial from Pakistan succeeds Nepal’s Arjun Bahadur Thapa as the Saarc secretary general who was appointed the Secretary-General in 2014.
• Prior to this appointment sial was Special Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, from Pakistan Foreign Service with over 33 years of career in the diplomatic field.

Acquisitions & Mergers

Cognizant buys Japanese digital firm Brilliant Service Co

• Cognizant Technology Solutions has acquired Brilliant Service, a Japan-based intelligent products and solutions company.
• This will expand its digital transformation portfolio and capabilities to enable clients to build connected and collaborative businesses.

Navy successfully test-fires anti-ship missile from Kalvari submarine

 

• The Indian Navy, successfully conducted the maiden firing of an Anti-Ship missile from the first of the indigenously built Kalvari class submarines, during a test firing in the Arabian Sea.
• The missile successfully hit a surface target at extended ranges during the trial firing, held this morning. This missile launch is a significant milestone, not only for the Kalvari, which is the first in a series of Scorpene class submarines being built in India, but also in enhancing the Indian Navy’s sub-surface warfare capability.
• All six Kalvari class submarines being built in India will be equipped with this anti-ship missile, which has a proven record in combat. These missiles will provide the submarines the ability to neutralise surface threats at extended ranges.

Sports

Kripa Bishnoi Appointed as International Match Referee by UWW

• Former India wrestler Kripa Shankar Bishnoi has been appointed an international match referee by United World Wrestling (UWW).
• Bishnoi was selected by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) for the annual training course for match referees conducted by the UWW.
• Bishnoi is the first international match referee from his native Madhya Pradesh.
• The 40-year-old had trained Bollywood star Aamir Khan and other actors for their roles in the wrestling-based film ‘Dangal’.

United World Wrestling 
United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling. UWW is the body responsible for supervising Olympic wrestling

• Formation: 1912
• Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
• President: Nenad Lalovic

AIFF Appoints Luis Norton de Matos New Head Coach of India U-17 Football Team

• The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Wednesday appointed Portugal’s Luis Norton de Matos as the head coach of the India U-17 World Cup team for the forthcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017.
• Portuguese De Matos had earlier coached the Portuguese sports club Benfica.

 
 

Australian cricketer Sarah Coyte announces retirement