3 November 2016 - Current Affairs

RBI directs banks to dispense more 100 rupees notes through ATMs

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed all the banks to dispense more 100 rupees notes through ATMs within the next 15 days.
  • The decision came after a review of steps taken by banks for installing ATMs dispensing lower denomination banknotes was conducted.
  • After the review, it was found that very few banks had taken initiatives in setting up ATMs dispensing lower denomination notes including 100 rupees banknotes.
  • In keeping with the objectives of Clean Note Policy and to ensure that genuine requirement of members of public for 100 rupees denomination banknotes are met, the banks should increase dispensation of 100 rupees banknotes through ATMs which are widely used for distribution of banknotes for retail use.

PM Narendra Modi launches Saur Sujala Yojana in Chhattisgarh

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Saur Sujala Yojana in Chhattisgarh.
  • The scheme aims at providing solar powered irrigation pumps to farmers at a subsidized price.
  • With the launch of the scheme, Chhattisgarh becomes the first state to implement the scheme.
  • Under the scheme, solar powered irrigation pumps of 3HP and 5HP capacity worth 3.5 lakh rupees and 4.5 lakh rupees respectively will be distributed to the farmers by 31 March 2019.
  • • The beneficiaries will also get the pumps at the subsidised price.

MoU signed for enabling online submission of applications under PMAY

  • The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has inked MoU with Common Services Centre (CSC), a SPV of Ministry of Information Technology for enabling online submission of applications under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).
  • The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu and Union Minister for IT Ravi Shankar Prasad.
  • It will enable online submission of applications by the urban poor for affordable houses under PMAY (Urban).

IISER Researchers develop Gelator to scoop out marine oil spills

  • Researchers from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram have developed a compound named gelator to scoop out marine oil spills.
  • They had produced gelators using glucose as a starting material and through several other chemical reactions.
  • The gelator molecule is partly hydrophilic and partly hydrophobic.
  • The hydrophilic part helps in self-assembling to form gelator fibres, while the hydrophobic part is responsible for its diffusion into oil layer.

Union Govt is developing National Data Registry

  • The Union Govt is developing a National Data Registry (NDR) to compile and serve metadata of different agencies and re-engineer the feature data sets for improving their use.
  • The registry will also serve as a source of authenticated information.
  • The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be the nodal coordinating agency of the NDR.
  • NDR will require all agencies state, private and academic, collecting and storing geospatial data to provide details of data they store.
  • The registry aims to create a catalogue that will prevent duplication of data sets and to help users locate the right agencies to source information.
  • It will be a ‘meta-data’ repository to only inform about the nature of the data a service provider has.

NASA completes construction of James Webb Space Telescope

  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) completed the construction of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) after more than 20 years of hard work.
  • This largest-ever space telescope is expected to launch in 2018 following the in-depth testing.
  • The telescope has 18 large mirrors that will collect infrared light, sheltered behind a tennis-court-size sun shield.
  • It is considered as the successor to NASA’s iconic Hubble Space Telescope.
  • It is a 8.8 billion US dollars worth space observatory built to observe the infrared universe like never before.

Bindheswar Pathak appointed as brand ambassador of Swachh Rail Mission

  • The Union Ministry of Railways has appointed Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of Sulabh International as a Brand Ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission of Indian Railway.
  • Indian Railways had tied up with Sulabh International to clean some important railway stations across the country as part of the mission with an aim to promote cleanliness at rail premises.
  • As a pilot project, Sulabh International had started cleaning and maintenance of five important railway stations Gorakhpur, Old Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Gwalior from September 2016.

Kristalina Georgieva appointed as CEO of IBRD & IDA of World Bank

  • Kristalina Georgieva was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group with effect from January 2017.
  • Her appointment was confirmed by the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.
  • IBRD and IDA are the lending arms of the World Bank.

Sarabjit Singh Marwah becomes Canada’s first Sikh Senator

  • India born Sarabjit Singh Marwah has become the first Sikh to be appointed to the Canadian Senate (upper house).
  • He was among six people from Ontario who have appointed to Senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
  • With this, he becomes the only Indian-origin member of the Canadian Senate.
  • He is third Sikh person in the Canadian parliament after Defence Minister Harjeet Sajjan and Science Minister Navdeep Bains.
  • There are over 20 MPs of Indian origin the Canadian House of Commons (lower house).

Pratul Joshi wins Bahrain International Challenge badminton tournament

  • Indian shuttler Pratul Joshi has won the Bahrain International Challenge badminton tournament in the men’s singles category.
  • It was his maiden international title.
  • In the final match played at Segayya in Bahrain, Pratul defeated his brother Aditya Joshi by 21-17, 12-21 and 21-15 score.
  • Women’s singles title: It was won by Sri fatmawati of Indonesia. She defeated her compatriot Asty Dwi Widyaningru.
  • Men’s doubles title: It was won by Russian pair of Evgenij Dremin and Denis Grachev. They defeated Indian pair of Vighnesh Devlekar and Rohan Kapoor by 18-21, 17-21 score.
  • Women’s doubles title: It was won by Tanisha Crasto (Bahrain) and Aprilsasi Lejarsar Variella (Indonesia). They defeated Indian pair of Farha Mather and Ashna Roy by 12-21 18-21 score.

Post a Comment

0 Comments

Top Post Ad

Below Post Ad