30 December 2017 - Daily Current Affairs
Vinay Sahasrabuddhe appointed President of ICCR
- Vinay Sahasrabuddhe appointed as the new President of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. This appointed has been approved by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
- Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is the BJP's national Vice President and a Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra.
Note:
- Indian Council of Cultural Relations was founded in 1950 by India's first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who also served as its first President.
- The post of the ICCR President post was also served by the Former Presidents Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma and K.R. Narayanan, former Prime Ministers P.V. Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
- The main objective of the ICCR is to maintain and promote cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples.
Govt. inject Rs. 7,577 cr into Six public sector banks
- The government has injected Rs. 7,577 cr into various six public sector banks to improve the financial conditions of the weaker banks.
- Bank of India which was recently placed under prompt corrective action by the Reserve Bank of India received capital of ₹2,257 crore and IDBI received ₹2,729 crore from the govt.
- The other public-sector banks which received the capital support from the govt. includes - Central Bank of India got ₹323 crore, Dena Bank has got ₹243 crore and UCO Bank got ₹1,375 crore and Bank of Maharashtra has received the capital support of ₹650 crore.
- Earlier the Reserve Bank of India imposed the prompt corrective action on eight weaker public-sector banks. The banks are - Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank, Central bank of India, DENA, Bank of Maharastra and Corporation bank.
Sebi recommends 10% cross-shareholding cap in rating agencies
- Market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed cross-holding in credit rating agencies (CRAs) will be capped at 10 percent
- The regulator also decided to raise the minimum net-worth requirement to Rs 25 crore from the current Rs 5 crore.
- The proposed norms are likely to have an impact on global rating agencies like S&P, Moody's and Fitch which have significant holdings in domestic agencies besides their direct presence.
- Under the proposal, the promoter of a CRA would have to maintain a minimum shareholding of 26 percent in the CRA for a period of three years from the date of registration.
- The move would check the menace of 'rating shopping' and 'pick-and-choose' approach in their actions.
Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated Start-up Incubation Centre in Mangalore
- Defence Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman has inaugurated a modern development centre - the Centre for Entrepreneurship Opportunities and Learning - for budding entrepreneurs in Mangalore.
- The aim of this centre is to promote Startup India initiative in the country.
- This is part of the project Startup Coast under which the minister proposed to establish innovation centres, incubation set-up, tinkering labs and co-working space for startups on the west coast in Karnataka.
China successfully tested its first Photovoltaic road
- The first photovoltaic (solar) highway based on home-grown technology was successfully tested in Shandong province of China.
- The photovoltaic highway is constructed using solar panels which have a thin sheet of transparent concrete on top of them, protecting the surface.
- It has wireless charging systems for electric vehicles (EVs). The photovoltaic panels of the highway are built to transfer energy to electric vehicles passing on top of them.
- With this, China became the second country in the world to construct a photovoltaic highway.
- Earlier, in 2016 France had introduced world’s first photovoltaic road fitted with solar panels.
Jitu Rai clinch Men's 50m pistol national title
- Indian shooting star, Jitu Rai has clinched the Men's 50-metre pistol national title 2017.
- He set a record of 233 at the 61st National Shooting Championships in Thiruvananthapuram.
- While Jitu's army teammate Jai Singh secured bronze with an effort of 198.4.
- Arjun Singh Cheema of Punjab won the junior men's 50m pistol event, shooting 226.5 in the final.
Ronaldo bagged ‘Globe Soccer's Best Player’ award for 2nd year in row
- Real Madrid player Cristiano Ronaldo has bagged the Globe Soccer's Best Player for the second year in a row.
- He received this honour for the fourth time in his career. Earlier, he had also won the award in 2011, 2014 and 2016.
- The award is organised by the EFAA (European Association of Football Agents) and ECA (European Clubs Association.