DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS – 29.08.2017 TO 2.09.2017 NATIONAL India is Asia’s most corrupt country with 69 per cent bribery rate: Forbes India is the most corrupt Asian country with 69 per cent bribery rates, a report by Transparency International said. The report was published in March 2017 but the official handle of the Forbes India tweeted the article again on Sep 1. According to Forbes India, in five of the six public services—schools, hospitals, ID documents, police, and utility services—more than half the respondents have had to pay a bribe. India is followed by Vietnam at 65 per cent, Thailand at 41 per cent, Pakistan at 40 per cent and Myanmar at 40 percent bribery rate. Ahmedabad gets India’s first World Heritage City certificate Ahmedabad in Gujarat has been formally accorded the status of India‘s first World Heritage City. The honour makes the walled city of Ahmedabad the first city in India, and the third in Asia after Bhaktapur (Nepal) and Galle (Sri Lanka). Arunachal Pradesh, J&K are fastest growing economies According to a new series of gross State domestic product data with 2011-12 as the base year published by the Central Statistics Office, Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh were the fastest expanding State economies in 2015-16. The two States also reported the fastest rise in per capita income in the same year. Arunachal Pradesh‘s gross State domestic product (GSDP) expanded 16.5 per cent and that of Jammu and Kashmir 14.7 per cent at constant 2011-12 prices. Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu launches talent search portal The Sports Ministry‘s National Sports Talent Search Portal ‗nationaltalenthunt.com‘ was launched by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi. Anyone over the age of eight can register and upload their bio-data or videos on the website with the talented ones shortlisted for further specialised training. Under this initiative, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) will select prospective talents from all parts of India based on a bio-data or a video uploaded on the portal by the athletes or their coaches or parents and develop them into competitive athletes. Two crore flood relief for Assam by MP The Madhya Pradesh government has contributed Rs. 2 crore to Assam Chief Minister‘s Relief Fund for the prevailing flood situation in the state. 56th annual aerospace conference inaugurated in Bengaluru The 56th annual aerospace conference was inaugurated by the Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Bengaluru. Home Minister launches SAMADHAN to control security situation A committee under the chairmanship of Rajanath singh has decided to launch a new initiative SAMADHAN (S-Smart Policing and Leadership; A -Aggressive Strategy, M-Motivation and Training, A-Actionable Intelligence; D-Dashboard for Development and Key Performance Indicators, H-Harnessing Technology for Development and Security, A-Action Plan for each Theatre and N-No access to Financing) to control the situation in the LWE affected states. Delhi police initiative for skill development Delhi Police has tied up with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to provide the job-linked skilling for selected youths under the ‗Yuva‘ programme. NSDC will be providing training to selected youths under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY). Bengaluru airport, Accenture collaborate to create ‘airport of the future’ Bengaluru International Airport Limited and Accenture has signed MoU for the development of digital solutions to create an ―airport of the future‖. 1441, Opp. IOCL Petrol Pump, CRPF Square, Bhubaneswar-750015 1 Ph. : (0674) 6556677, 8093556677. Web : www.vanik.org, E-mail : [email protected] DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS – 29.08.2017 TO 2.09.2017 ICEX launches world’s first diamond futures contracts The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) launched the world‘s first diamond futures contracts to provide exporters with a hedging tool. Shekatkar panel recommended to deploy 57000 Armymen The government has accepted the Shekatkar panel suggestion and will deploy 57,000 personnel for various other required duties. Amazon to help implement Karnataka milk scheme Amazon and Akshaya Patra Foundation joins hands to mplement the Karnataka government‘s ‗Ksheera Bhagya‘ Scheme in Bengaluru. Hnaging Bridge opend in Kota Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated a hanging bridge built across the Chambal river at Kota to the nation, which is over Chamba river and 350 metre long. Karnataka launches unified health scheme ‘Arogya Bhagya’ Karnataka government will be merging the existing seven health schemes to launch a unified scheme- ‗Arogya Bhagya‘ which will cover all 1.4 crore households of the state. Deadline for linking Aadhaar with government schemes is now Dec 31’ Adfttorney General K.K. Venugopal informed the Supreme Court that the existing deadline of September 30 for linking Aadhaar to various government schemes for benefits will be extended till December 31. Anti-Dumping Duty on Sodium Nitrite Imports from China The Union government has imposed a five-year anti-dumping duty on Sodium Nitrite imports from China. Deepak Nitrite Ltd had filed the petition, which was also supported by Punjab Chemicals & Crop Protection Ltd, seeking sunset review investigations on Sodium Nitrite imports from China. First Synergy Conference on Defence Pension The Defence Accounts Department (DAD) organized its first Synergy Conference on Defence Pensions in New Delhi. It will help to get feedback from the pensioners. The panel formed to interact with the pensioners was headed by Addl. CGDA Shri Upendra Sah. Rs 15000 cr road project for Rajasthan Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated highway and road projects worth Rs15,000 crore for the state in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Chandrababu Naidu turns Friday ‘DAY OF HELPING HAND’ The Chief Minister has fixed Friday to meet the poorest of the poor and listen to their grievances and help tide over their woes. The day is aptly described as the ―Day of Helping Hand‖. No interviews in group B,C,D in UP govt jobs The Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to do away with interview in the recruitment of non- gazetted officers from Class II to IV. Retail India Summit and Expo- RISE 2017 commenced The 2-day Retail India Summit and Expo (RISE 2017) opened in New Delhi. The Retail Expo is a definitive platform by Retailers Association of India (RAI) to help retailers find the right business partners and solutions across categories to help take their business to the next level. PM Modi inaugurated annual conference – Rajaswa Gyan Sangam, 2017 in New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the annual conference – Rajaswa Gyan Sangam, 2017 in New Delhi. He addressed the tax administrators during the conference. The objective of the Conference is to enable a two-way communication between the policy-makers and the senior officers in the field offices with a view to increase revenue collection and facilitate effective implementation of law and policies in key result areas. 1441, Opp. IOCL Petrol Pump, CRPF Square, Bhubaneswar-750015 2 Ph. : (0674) 6556677, 8093556677. Web : www.vanik.org, E-mail : [email protected] DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS – 29.08.2017 TO 2.09.2017 INTERNATIONAL Sri Lanka bans plastic amid garbage disposal crisis Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena banned plastic bags and other disposable products after one of the country‘s biggest dump collapsed in April leading to a disposal crisis. The collapse had destroyed several homes and killed 32 people. Violators could be fined over Rs 4,000 and jailed for up to 2 years. Kenya imposes world’s toughest law against plastic bags Using plastic bags in Kenya will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000, as the world‘s toughest law aimed at reducing plastic pollution came into effect. UN opens atomic fuel reserve in Kazakhstan to ensure supply The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) decided to open the Low Enriched Uranium Bank in Kazakhstan. Sushma Swaraj to attend Eastern Economic Forum in Russia External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will visit Vladivostok from September 5-7 to participate in the third Eastern Economic Forum in Russia. $1 mn for flood relief in South Asia by Google Lending a helping hand in the flood relief operations in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, Google has committed $1 million to NGOs Goonj and Save the Children. Apart from offering funds to the NGOs, Google‘s crisis response team has also activated SOS alerts in the three countries. Lebanon Adopts First Animal-Protection Law Lebanese president Michel Aoun passed the country‘s first animal welfare law. The legislature was the result of several years of lobbying by animal-rights nonprofit Animals Lebanon. The law sets forth penalties—up to four months in prison and fines up to LL100 million ($66,000)— for mistreating both companion and wild animals used for entertainment in zoos and circuses. ECONOMY ItzCash partners with HDFC Ergo for general insurance products Mumbai based digital payments company and financial exchange Ebix‘s ItzCash, has partnered with non life insurance provider HDFC ERGO to offer general insurance products through its physical retail outlets. With Ebix‘s major play as one of the world‘s largest insurance exchange, this association will further strengthen ItzCash‘s position in the Financial Exchange market. Aksh Optifibre bags contract with Bank of Baroda In accord with Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s mission of ‗Banking for Everyone and Financial Inclusion‘, Aksh Optifibre plans to setup 5,000 banking kiosks through its flagship services arm ―1 STOP AKSH‖ as the national level bank correspondent for Bank of Baroda. Under ―1 STOP AKSH ― the company is operating 10,000 plus existing e-Mitra kiosks in Rajasthan, out of which 500 plus are already serving as banking kiosks.