06 December 2017 - Daily Current Affairs

06 December 2017 - Daily Current Affairs

Fifth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement Released by RBI

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced its Fifth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy statement for 2017-18 today.
• The monetary policy committee of Reserve Bank of India kept interest rates (Repo Rate) unchanged at 6 percent.
• The reverse repo rate under the LAF remains at 5.75 percent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.25 percent.
• The next bi-monthly monetary policy statement will be released on 07 February 2018.

 Current Rates are as follows –

• Repo Rate – 6%
• Reverse Repo rate – 5.75%
• Marginal Standing Facility Rate (MSF)-  6.25 %
• Bank Rate - 6.25 %
• Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) – 4%
• Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) – 19.5%

Paytm launched Paytm FASTag Across India

• Paytm Payments Bank has launched the Paytm FASTag across the India.
• As per the government directions, it is mandatory to use of FASTag on every new vehicle sold from December 1.
• FASTags are simple and reusable tags based on radio-frequency identification technology (RFID) that can be placed on a vehicle’s windscreen and enables electronic toll fee collection on highways across the country.
• The FASTags allow vehicles to pass through 380 toll plazas across India covering 55,000 km without having to stop.
• Each Paytm FASTtag is linked to a registered Paytm account to facilitate instant automatic deduction of toll charges.
• The FASTtag project is run in partnership with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and NPCI.

Death for rape of girls aged 12 or less: MP

• The Assembly of Madhya Pradesh has passed a bill awarding death to those found guilty of raping girls aged 12 and below.
• The Bill will now be sent to the President for his assent, after which it will become a law.
• If President approved the bill, then Madhya Pradesh will become the first state where those convicted of such rapes will face the death penalty.
• The Penal Law (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Bill-2017, introduced by Minister for Law and Legislative Affairs Rampal Singh.
• The bill introduced a section--376 (A) (A)--to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) under which a person convicted of raping a girl aged 12 years or below may be awarded death penalty, life imprisonment or a minimum imprisonment of 14 years with a fine.

PM Modi emerges as most tweeted about world leader after Trump

• According to the microblogging site Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as the most tweeted about world leader after US President Donald Trump this year.
• With 44.1 million followers, Donald Trump top the “most tweeted about world leaders” for the year 2017.
• Narendra Modi ranked on the second spot with 37.5 million followers about the world leader, after Donald Trump.
• Other world leaders to figure in the top 5 list are - Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Emmanuel Macron from France, Enrique Pena Nieto from Mexico, Mauricip Macri of Argentina.

3rd DRC-NITI Aayog Dialogue held in China

• The 3rd edition of the Dialogue between the NITI Aayog and the Development Research Council of China was held in Beijing, China.
• The meeting was co-chaired by Vice Chairman NITI Aayog, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, and Mr Li Wei, President (Minister), DRC.
• The meeting provides an important platform for both sides to discuss key macroeconomic issues impacting both countries and areas of mutual interest.
• The dialogue was held under the MOU between NITI Aayog and the Development Research Centre (DRC), State Council of the China.
• The MoU was signed during the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to China in May 2015.
• The 2nd Dialogue was held in New Delhi in November 2016.
•  The next 4th NITI Aayog - DRC Dialogue will be held in India in 2018.

ADB provide $580 million loans for Reliance’s Bangladesh power plant project

• The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) has approved debt financing and partial risk guarantees totalling $583 million to develop the Reliance Bangladesh Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Power Project.
• The project will increase power generation and improve energy infrastructure in Bangladesh.
• The power plan is located in Meghnaghat, near Dhaka, and an LNG Terminal, near Kutubdia Island south of Chittagong.

IOC banned Russia from 2018 Winter Olympics Games

• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics Games.
• The decision was announced by the IOC president Thomas Bach and his board members on the findings and recommendations of a 17-month investigation on the state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Games hosted by Russia in Sochi.
• The investigation is headed up by the former president of Switzerland, Samuel Schmid.
• However, Russian athletes who can prove they are clean would be allowed to compete in South Korea under a neutral flag.
• The 2018 Winter Olympics Games will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

India win first-ever South Asian Regional Badminton Team Championship

• India defeated Nepal by 3-0 to win the first-ever South Asian Regional Badminton Team Championship.
• The final match was played at Tarun Ram Phookan Indoor Stadium in Guwahati.

Jason Holder, captain of West Indies suspended for 2nd test

The Captain of the West Indies team Jason Holder has been suspended for the 2^nd test against New Zealand because of his team's slow over-rate in the opening fixture.

• According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), the sentence was forced after the West Indies were ruled to be three overs short of their target in the Wellington Test, which they lost by an innings and 67 runs.

Mohamad Al Jounde wins Children's Peace Prize 2017

• Mohamad Al Jounde (16 years old) from Syria was awarded the International Children's Peace Prize for his efforts to ensure the rights of Syrian refugee children.
• He set up a school with the help of his family in a Lebanese refugee camp which provides education to the 200 children.
• He received the prize from Malala Yousafzai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her work for children's rights.
• Malala Yousafzai won the International Children's Peace Prize in 2013, for her activist work in education, particularly for girls.

Book 'Bollywood: The Films! The Songs! The Stars!, launched by the Amitabh Bachchan

• Megastar Amitabh Bachchan launched the book, titled 'Bollywood: The Films! The Songs! The Stars!' in Mumbai.
• The books is based on Indian Cinema which provides historical insights, lesser-known facts and behind-the-scenes exclusives of the most iconic movies made in the history of the Indian film industry.
• The book is co-authored by S.M.M. Ausaja, Karan Bali, Rajesh Devraj and Tanul Thakur, the book on India's tinsel town is published by British multinational publishing company Dorling Kindersley (DK)

Akash missile successfully tested

• The Akash missile was successfully tested with indigenous radio frequency seeker from a test range in Odisha.
• The state-of-the-art indigenous missile targeting an UAV 'Banshee', was fired from the launch complex-III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur.
• Akash is Surface to Air Missile (SAM) with a range of 25 km and carries a 55- kg fragmentation warhead that is triggered by proximity fuse.
• This was the first supersonic surface-to-air missile (SAM) with indigenous seeker that has been test fired.
• The Akash missile is developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under Integrated Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).