22-31st Aug 2017 Banking & Financial Awareness 1. RBI committee has recommended that banks should link home loan rates to repo rate_____ Tarun Ramadorai. Note: ➢ The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed committee on Household Finance has recommended that banks should link their home loan rates to the RBI’s repo rate, the rate at which it lends to banks. 2. The 17th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held in the city____ New Delhi. Note: ➢ The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has chaired the 17th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) in New Delhi. ➢ The Council discussed the issues and challenges facing the Indian economy and stressed the need to keep constant vigil to manage any external and internal vulnerability. 3. The Reserve Bank (RBI) has issued new denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, bearing signature of RBI Governor Urjit Patel____ Rs. 200 and Rs. 50. Note: ➢ Initially, the new Rs 200 notes will be circulated by select RBI offices, and some banks. ➢ The new denomination Rs. 200 has the motif of Sanchi Stupa on the reverse and its base colour is bright yellow. ➢ The base colour of the note is bright yellow. 4. Who has signed a term loan agreement for Rs. 3,000 crores with ICICI Bank Ltd for partially funding its capital expenditure___ National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC). New Appointments 1. Who has been appointed as the new Chairman of Railway Board _____ Ashwani Lohani. Note: ➢ Lohani, who is the Current Chairman and Managing Director of Air India has a degree in mechanical engineering and has also served as Delhi’s Divisional Railway Manager. 2. The union govt. has appointed senior IAS officer as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India ____ Rajiv Bansal. Note: ➢ Presently, Bansal is additional secretary and financial adviser at the petroleum ministry. ➢ Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, owned by Air India Limited and operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving 90 domestic and international destinations. 3. Who has been appointed as the Director General (DG) Railway Protection Force____ Shri Dharmendra Kumar. Note: ➢ Presently he is working in CISF as Additional DG. ➢ The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is a security force of India entrusted with protecting railway passengers, passenger area and railway property of the Indian Railways. 4. Who sworn in as new Chief Justice of India____ Justice Dipak Misra. Note: ➢ President Ramnath Kovind administered the oath of office to Justice Misra at Rashtrapati Bhawan. ➢ He replaced Chief Justice J S Khehar and hold the post till 2nd October,2018. 5. The new non-executive Chairman of Infosys____ Nandan Nilekani. Note: ➢ The Infosys co-founder and the architect of Aadhaar Nandan Nilekani has been appointed as the new non- executive chairman of the board of directors of Infosys. Honour & Awards 1 | P a g e 1. The Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence-2016______ Digambar Behera. Note: ➢ The Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence for the year 2016 to Prof Digambar Behera. ➢ The award was instituted by Odisha Bigyan Academy (OBA) and is given to any Odia scientist working anywhere in India or abroad each year for his/her lifetime research contributions in the field of science and technology. 2. Kolkata’s transwoman has crowned the first Miss TransQueen India in Gurugram, Haryana____Nitasha Biswas. Note: ➢ Currently, Biswas is pursuing Masters in Business Management in Kolkata, West Bengal. ➢ Miss Transsexual Australia 2017 Laeticia Phylliscia Raveena had crowned the first Miss TransQueen India. 3. Who has conferred national awards to Anganwadi workers for their exceptional achievements____Maneka Gandhi. Note: ➢ A total of 51 Anganwadi workers from different States and union territories will be conferred award for 2016-17. ➢ The award is given to the Anganwadi workers nominated by the States and Union Territories. ➢ The Award comprises of 25 thousand rupees cash and a citation. Important News – India 1. The board of oil and gas company has given 'in-principle' approval to acquire government's 51.11 % stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd. in New Delhi _____ Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). Note: ➢ The ONGC board also constituted a committee of directors to examine various aspects of the acquisition and to provide its recommendations to the board of directors. ➢ Earlier, the union govt. had also approved the sale of its 51.11% stake in oil refiner HPCL to India's largest oil producer ONGC. 2. Who has officially launch the Sports Ministry’s National Sports Talent Search Portal at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi ______ Venkaiah Naidu. Note: ➢ The portal will provide a three-step simple process for registration, profile creation and upload of achievements. ➢ Around 1000 kids will be selected and they will receive scholarships of Rs 5 lakh per year for eight years. 3. The task force has been constituted by the Union Government on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for India’s economic transformation_____ V. Kamakoti task force. Note: ➢ The eighteen members panel, headed by Dr. V. Kamakoti will comprise of experts, academics, researchers, and industry leaders. ➢ It will explore possibilities to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) for development across various fields. 4. The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has launched the Mentor India Campaign in _____New Delhi. Note: ➢ The campaign is a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders who can nurture and guide students at more than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs. ➢ The labs are dedicated workspaces where students from Class 6th to 12th learn innovation skills and develop ideas that will go on to transform India. 5. National Sports Museum to be established to popularize the sports as a way of life within the country in ____New Delhi. Note: ➢ The Museum will show case India’s achievements in sports and also focus on the traditional sports within the country. ➢ The proposed Museum would go beyond the classical approach of a collection of memorabilia to become an interactive venue of interest for all age groups. 6. The union External Affairs Minister ‘Sushma Swaraj’ has inaugurated the country’s first ‘Videsh Bhavan’ ____ Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai. Note: ➢ The ‘Videsh Bhavan’ in the city is the first integrated office complex of the MEA established in any state of the country. ➢ The facility will help in effective management of the MEA’s engagement with the Maharashtra government. 7. Who planning to form a national registry of skilled people to help upgrade the large number of unskilled population in the country____ Indian Society for Training and Development (ISTD). 2 | P a g e Note: ➢ ISTD has been appointed as the nodal agency for assessment for testing and certification of skills for all sectors and states. 8. Who will organize a Pan India camps in handlooms and handicrafts clusters, under the initiative ‘Hastkala Sahyog Shivir’ on 7-17th of October this year______ Ministry of Textiles. Note: ➢ This initiative is dedicated to ‘Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Garib Kalyan Varsh’, the birth centenary year of Pandit Deendayal Upadhayay. ➢ These camps will be organized in more than 200 handloom Block Level Clusters and Weavers’ Service Centres in collaboration with State Governments. 9. The union govt. extended the deadline to furnish Aaadhar to avail benefits of social welfare schemes till ____31st December 2017. 10. Who has launched its navigation satellite ‘IRNSS-1H’ from Satish Dhavan Space Centre at Sriharikotta, on board the rocket PSLV C39____ Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Note: ➢ The satellite IRNSS-1H is a part of the indigenous navigation system called ‘NavIC’. ➢ NavIC system is equivalent to the GPS service, having footprint over the whole of India and about 1500 kilometers from its borders on all sides. 11. The union Govt. has approved increase in income criteria for creamy layer for excluding socially advanced persons from the purview of reservation of other backward classes (OBC) from six lakh rupees per annum to ___ eight lakh rupees per annum Note: ➢ Now, more people to take advantage of reservation benefits extended to the OBCs in government services and in admission to Central educational institutions. ➢ The income limit is based on increase in consumer price index. Important Day 1. The 413th birthday of 11th guru of Sikhs is being celebrated with religious fervor____ Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Note: ➢ The Guru Granth Sahib (also called the Adi Granth or Adi Guru Darbar) is more than just a scripture of the Sikhs for the Sikhs treat this Granth as their living perpetual Guru. ➢ Sri Guru Arjan Dev ji completed the Aad Granth in 1604 and first Parkash was done at Sri Harmandir Sahib. 2. The 2017 International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is observed on ____23rd August. Note: ➢ The day pay tribute to all those who fought for freedom, and, in their name, to continue teaching about their story and the values therein. 3. The National Sports day in India is celebrated every year to mark the birthday of hockey player Dhyan Chand ____ 29th August. Note: ➢ Dhyan Chand was an Indian field hockey player, who is considered as one of the greatest field hockey players of all time. States News 1. The state govt. has decided to conduct a comprehensive land survey in the state to address disputes and litigations over maintenance of land records and ownership____ Telangana govt. Note: ➢ The survey would be done in 10,875 villages in the state. ➢ The surveying personnel would stay put in the villages for conducting the survey and they will update land records online. 2. The state govt. has decided to build an Eco-Park on thirty-four acres of land ____ Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).