03 February 2017 - Daily Current Affairs

03 February 2017 - Daily Current Affairs

Sports

India lift Under-19 Cricket World Cup for record fourth time

• India defeated Australia by eight wickets, lifted the ICC Under-19 World Cup at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand.
• Indian bowlers bowled Australia out for 216 in 47.2 overs.
• India achieved the target of 217 runs, with 67 balls to spare.
• India's star batsman Manjot Kalra made the brilliant unbeaten century, adjudged Man of the Match and Shubman Gill (India) Man of the Series.

Note:

• The ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup is an international cricket tournament organized by the ICC contested by national under-19 teams.
• India has won the World Cup fourth times, while Australia and (3-times), Pakistan(2-times) and England, South Africa & the West Indies once each.

Banking & Finance

Retail inflation for industrial workers rises to 4% in Dec

• According to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Retail inflation for industrial workers rose to 4% for December 2017 due to increase in the price of certain food items and electricity charges.
• The food inflation stood at 4.32% in December last year against 3.91% of November.
• The year-on-year inflation measured by monthly Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers (CPI- IW) as compared to 3.97% of the previous month.
• The maximum downward pressure to the change in current index came from food group contributing 2.37% points to the total change.

Forex reserves surge by USD 3 bn to USD 417.789 bn

• According to the Reserve Bank of India, country's foreign exchange reserves rose sharply by 3 billion dollars to touch a new lifetime high of 417.789 billion dollars (in the week to 26^th January).
• In the previous week, the reserves had increased by 959.1 million dollars to 414.784 billion dollars.
• Expressed in US dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of the non-US currencies such as the euro, the pound and the yen held in the reserves.
• Gold reserves remained unchanged at 20.421 billion dollars.

National Affairs

Govt removes MEP of onion to boost exports of kitchen staple

• According to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, the union govt has removed the minimum export price (MEP) of onion to boost exports of the kitchen staple.
• The requirement of MEP on the export of onions stands removed till further orders and all varieties of onions can be exported without any MEP.
• In January, the government had cut the MEP by 150 Dollar per tonne as prices of the vegetable were moderating.

Note:

• Minimum Export Price (MEP) is the price below which an exporter in not allowed to export the commodity from India.
• MEP imposed in view of the rising domestic retail/ wholesale price or production disruptions in the country.

IWAI signs agreement with World Bank for Jal Marg Vikas Project

• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has signed an agreement with the World Bank for Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) to enhance navigation on National Waterway-1 from Varanasi to Haldia.
• The JMVP is being implemented with the financial and technical support of the World Bank, completed by March, 2023.
• The development and operations of the National Waterway-1 project will lead to direct employment in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Arun Jaitley launches India's first sentiment index ‘CriSidEx’

• Today, the Union Finance Minister ‘Arun Jaitley’ has inaugurated India’s first sentiment index ‘CriSidEx’ for micro and small enterprises developed jointly by SIDBI and CRISIL in New Delhi.
• This index will give the detailed breakup of the sentiment sentiments and analysis as the sector sees it for the current quarter and for the next quarter.
• The current parametric feedback was captured through a survey of one thousand one hundred MSEs in November and December last year.

Note:

• CriSidEx is a composite index based on a diffusion index of eight parameters and measures MSE business sentiment on a negative to positive scale.

Assam Govt signs MoU with NBCC for construction of Twin Tower Trade Centre

• Assam Government has signed a MoU with the National Building Construction Corporation Limited (NBCCL) to build a Twin Tower Trade Centre in Guwahati at a cost of Rs. 1950 crores.
• The center has enacted a pro-active ‘Act East Policy’ to elevate and harness the strengths of North- East India and reduce the isolation of the region by improving all-round connectivity and civic infrastructure.
•  This trade center will generate once established and made operational, by connecting us with South East Nations and being a major trading hub thereby increasing economic interlinkages.

Books & Authors

PM Modi's book Exam Warriors released today

• Today, the book ‘Exam Warriors’ has been released by the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the presence of the Prime Minister in New Delhi.
• The book ‘Exam Warriors’ written by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and published by Penguin India.
• Exam Warriors: To inspire youth to face the difficult moments of examinations and life with fresh and new energy.

International Affairs

Bhutan opens consulate in Guwahati

• Damcho Dorji (Bhutanese foreign minister) and Sarbananda Sonowal (Assam CM) has opened the consulate general's office in Guwahati (Assam).
• It is the second country in the Indian subcontinent, after Bangladesh.
• Dorji also announced a Bhutan-Guwahati-Singapore flight service would be launched.

New Manchester-India Partnership launched in the UK

• A new Manchester-India Partnership (MIP) to connect Indian companies with the northern regions of England has been set up to further trade, investment, science and innovation ties between India and Britain.
• Now Manchester-India Partnership backed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and will have permanent full-time teams based in Manchester, Delhi and Bengaluru.
• Jim O'Neill has officially launched the partnership at an event hosted by the Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group on the terrace of the Houses of Parliament.
• Now, Indian companies can "make in India but innovate in Manchester" (the second-largest gateway to the UK) for Indian companies.