September 2018
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UNIQUE IAS ACADEMY- SEPTEMBER 2018 01st September 2018 National News 1. Prime Minister Launches India Post Payments Bank i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a payments bank of the Department of Posts that will take banking to the doorstep of every citizen through an unmatched network of post offices and almost 3 lakh postmen and „Grameen Dak Sewaks‟. ii. The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) will be like any other banks but its operations will be on a smaller scale without involving any credit risk. It will carry out most banking operations like accepting deposits but won‟t advance loans or issue credit cards. iii. The payments bank will accept deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh, offer remittance services, mobile payments/transfers/purchases and other banking services like ATM/debit cards, net banking and third-party fund transfers. The IPPB would be available through 650 branches and 3,250 access points. Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- Suresh Kumar Sethi is the Managing Director & CEO of IPPB. International News 2. AYUSH Minister Inaugurates 4th International Ayurveda Congress at Netherlands i. Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated the Fourth International Ayurveda Congress (IAvC) at the Netherlands. ii. The congress would focus on promotion and propagation of Ayurveda in the Netherlands and its neighbouring countries of Europe. A special Seminar is also organized by the Indian Embassy titled “India- Netherlands collaboration in Healthcare, including Ayurveda”. Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- Netherlands Capital: Amsterdam, Currency: Euro and USD. 3. 4th BIMSTEC Summit Concludes i. The 4th BIMSTEC Summit has been successfully concluded in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. ii. The Prime Minister of Nepal K.P. Sharma Oli presented draft Kathmandu declaration which was unanimously adopted by the all member states. iii. Key points of the Kathmandu Declaration: 1. The Kathmandu Declaration has underlined the importance of multidimensional connectivity as a key enabler to economic integration for the shared prosperity of the region. 2. The declaration also highlighted the importance of trade and investment as one of the major contributing factors for fostering economic and social development in the region. 3. The BIMSTEC leaders strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there can be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism. 4. An MoU was also signed during concluding session of 4th BIMSTEC summit on the establishment of BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection to enhance energy cooperation among the member states. 5. Sri Lanka has become the new chair of the BIMSTEC. Banking/Economy News 4. SBI Hikes Benchmark Lending Rate By 0.2% i. Home, auto and other loans would become costlier as the country‟s largest lender, State Bank of India, has increased its benchmark lending rate or MCLR by 0.2%, a development followed by other lenders. The new rates are effective with immediate effect. 0422 4204182, 9884267599 , Gandhipuram Coimbatore. Page 1 UNIQUE IAS ACADEMY- SEPTEMBER 2018 ii. SBI has increased the lending rate by 20 basis points across all tenors up to three years. Now SBI‟s overnight and one-month tenor marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) stands at 8.1% as against 7.9%. Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- SBI Chairman- Rajnish Kumar, Headquarters- Mumbai, Established on- 01st July 1955. 5. GDP Growth Soars To 8.2% In 1st Quarter Of Current Fiscal i. Indian economy grew by 8.2% in the first quarter (April-June) of the current fiscal, the highest in over two years. This announcement was made by Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley. The manufacturing sector grew by 13.5% which signals very good turnaround in the sector. ii. In a related development Reserve Bank of India stated Non-food credit growth in the system accelerated to 10.6% for July as compared to previous year, driven by loans to the services sector growing at the faster clip. iii. Credit to the services sector grew 23% for the reporting period, up from the year-ago period's 4.9%. Appointments 6. Binoy Kumar Assumes Charge of Secretary in Steel Ministry i. Binoy Kumar has taken over as Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of India. He had been posted as Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry. ii. Prior to this, Binoy Kumar held the post of Special Secretary, Logistics, in the Department of Commerce. Asian Games 2018 7. Amit Panghal Wins Gold In Boxing i. India's 22-year-old boxer Amit Panghal defeated 2016 Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov (Uzbekistan) in the men's 49kg final to bag gold at the Asian Games 2018. ii. Amit was the only Indian boxer who made it to a final at the quadrennial event. Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- The Host cities for Asian Games 2018 are Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. Bhin Bhin, Kaka, and Atung are the mascots of the 2018 Asian Games. 8. Pranab, Shibnath Wins India's 1st Ever Bridge Gold i. India's 60-year-old Pranab Bardhan and 56-year-old Shibnath Sarkar won the men's pair bridge event to bag the country's first-ever gold in bridge at the Asian Games. ii. The card game has been featured as a sport at the Asian Games for the first time, in the 2018 edition. China won silver in this event. Obituaries 9. Jain Muni Tarun Sagar Passes Away i. Jain Muni Tarun Sagar passed away at the age of 51 in Delhi's Radhapuri Jain temple due to prolonged illness. ii. The monk, who was known for his lecture series 'Kadve Pravachan', was suffering from jaundice and other ailments. 0422 4204182, 9884267599 , Gandhipuram Coimbatore. Page 2 UNIQUE IAS ACADEMY- SEPTEMBER 2018 02nd and 3rd September 2018 National News 1. India, Nepal Sign MoU on Preliminary Survey Of Railway Line Between Raxaul & Kathmandu i. India and Nepal have signed an MoU on Preliminary Engineering-cum-Traffic Survey on Broad Gauge Rail Line between Raxaul (Bihar) and Kathmandu. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri and Nepal‟s Secretary of Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, Madhusudan Adhikari signed the MoU in Kathmandu. ii. India and Nepal had agreed in April 2018 to construct a new electrified rail line with India‟s financial support connecting the border city of Raxaul in India to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli is the current Prime Minister of Nepal. Bidhya Devi Bhandari is the current President of Nepal and commander in chief of Nepalese Army. The Nepalese Rupee is the currency of Nepal. 2. Bi-Annual Talks Between Indian and Bangladeshi Border Forces Begin in New Delhi i. The bi-annual talks between Indian and Bangladeshi border forces have begun in New Delhi. Director General of Border Security Force (BSF) KK Sharma represented the Indian side while Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Major General Md Shafeenul Islam led the Bangladeshi side in the talks. ii. This is the 47th DG-level conference between the two sides since it began in 1975. Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- Bangladesh PM- Sheikh Hasina, Capital- Dhaka, Currency- Bangladeshi Taka. International News 3. President Ram Nath Kovind Embarks on 3-Nation Tour i. President Ram Nath Kovind embarked on an eight-day three-nation tour to Cyprus, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. He was accompanied by first lady Savita Kovind. ii. President Kovind will hold talks with the leaders of the three European countries to deepen ties, particularly in the economic sphere. He will hold talks with that President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades. Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- Cyprus Capital: Nicosia, Currency: Euro. Bulgaria Capital: Sofia, Currency: Bulgarian lev. Czech Republic Capital: Prague, Currency: Czech koruna. 4. International Tourist Arrivals Hit Record High In 2017: UN Report i. International tourist arrivals hit record high in 2017 with India leading the growth in South Asian region. According to data from the UN‟s tourism organisation, a total of 1,323 million international tourist arrivals recorded in destinations around the world. The figure represents an 84 million increase over 2016, and a new record. ii. According to the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), positive results in South Asia were largely driven by the strong performance of India, the subregion‟s largest destination, which benefited from increasing demand from western source markets and simpler visa procedures. iii. In India, international tourists arrivals grew from 14.57 million in 2016 to 15.54 million in 2017. International tourism receipts for India grew from 22.42 billion dollars in 2016 to 27.36 billion dollars last year. Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 0422 4204182, 9884267599 , Gandhipuram Coimbatore. Page 3 UNIQUE IAS ACADEMY- SEPTEMBER 2018 Zurab Pololikashvili is Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). UNWTO‟s membership includes 158 countries, 6 Associate Members and over 500 Affiliate Members. UNWTO Headquarters in Madrid, Spain. 5. 6th East Asia Summit And 15th India-ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting Held in Singapore i. Commerce & Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu attended the 6th East Asia Summit- Economic Ministers‟ Meeting (EAS-EMM) and 15th India-ASEAN Economic Ministers‟ Meeting (AEM) in Singapore. Singapore is currently holding the Chair of ASEAN. ii. The 6th East-Asia Economic Ministers‟ Meeting was chaired by Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore, and was attended by Economic Ministers from 10 ASEAN countries and their eight dialogue partners, Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation and the United States of America.