Current Affairs July 21, 2017

1. Centre, Haryana Govt. ink pact to revive River Saraswati

The Centre and the Government of Haryana joined hands to revive the long lost River Saraswati and provide water to the drought-prone areas of India.

Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas (Independent Charge) Dharmendra Pradhan and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement.

2. FM formally launched Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana

The Union Minister for Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs has formally launched the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) in the national capital.

PMVVY is a Pension Scheme announced by the Government of India exclusively for the senior citizens aged 60 years and above which is available from 4th May, 2017 to 3rd May, 2018.

The Scheme can be purchased offline as well as online through Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India which has been given the sole privilege to operate this Scheme.

Scheme provides an assured return of 8% p.a. payable monthly (equivalent to 8.30% p.a. effective) for 10 years.

3. Telangana puts cap on school bag weight

Acting on proposals submitted by the Commissioner and Director of School Education, the Telangana School Education Department issued strict guidelines to reduce the weight of school bags for children in the State.

Schools including aided and un-aided private schools have to follow guidelines.

The guidelines limit the number and weight of books and notebooks students bring to the classroom.

4. Telangana: Janahitha launches to receive complaints from public

In Telangana, an innovative programme christened Janahitha was launched to receive complaints from public through a special portal.

The programme, kickstarted in Suryapet district on pilot basis is aimed at facilitating the public to submit their complaints on line and get speedy redressal.

5. ICICI Bank offers up to Rs. 15 lakh instant personal loan via ATMs

ICICI Bank has launched a facility whereby its existing salaried customers can avail personal loans at ATMs.

These customers can get pre-qualified personal loans up to 15 lakhs in their savings account instantly.

Through this offering, a customer can get personal loans of upto Rs. 15 lakh for a fixed tenure of 60 months.

6. ADB cuts India inflation outlook to 4% in 2017-18

India’s inflation is likely to average 4% in 2017-18, sharply lower than the estimate made at the beginning of the financial year of 5.2%, Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in its outlook supplement.

ADB also said that India is expected to achieve its earlier April forecasts of 7.4% growth in 2017-18 and 7.6% in 2018-19, primarily due to strong consumption.

7. Ram Nath Kovind elected India’s 14th President

Ram Nath Kovind was declared elected as India’s 14th President polling 65.6% of the vote defeating the Opposition’s joint candidate, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who secured 34% of the vote.

Mr. Kovind will be the second Dalit President of India after late President K.R. Narayanan

Also, he will be first from Uttar Pradesh and the first person from the BJP to hold the office of President since Independence.

He entered politics in 1994 when he became a member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh and served as an MP for two consecutive terms till 2006.

He had represented India in the United Nations in New York and addressed United Nations General Assembly in October 2002.

On August 8, 2015, Kovind was appointed governor of Bihar.

8. Lokmat Parliamentary Awards 2017  

Lokmat newspaper has taken a step towards honouring best Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members for their achievements by introducing the Lokmat Parliamentary Awards 2017.

Lok Sabha:

Lifetime Achievement Award - LK Advani

Best Parliamentarian Award 2016 - NK Premachandran

Best Woman Parliamentarian Award 2016 - Kumari Sushmita Dev

Best Debut Woman Parliamentarian Award 2016 - Meenakshi Lekhi

Rajya Sabha:

Lifetime Achievement Award - Sharad Yadav

Best Parliamentarian Award 2016 - Sitaram Yechury

Best Woman Parliamentarian Award 2016- Jaya Bachchan

Best Debut Woman Parliamentarian Award 2016 - Rajani Patil

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Current Affairs July 20, 2017

1. South Korea launches contest in Chandigarh to promote tourism

To promote South Korea as a tourist destination, its government is involving school students in Chandigarh and of nearby cities in a contest.

Tourism contributes five per cent to South Korea's Gross Domestic Product. On an average 200,000 tourists from India visit the country every year.

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has been the Goodwill Ambassador of South Korea since April 2014.

2. India among 5 countries that faced most terror attacks in 2016

More than half of the terror attacks in the world in 2016 took place in five countries, including India and Pakistan, a senior US counter-terror official has said.

The total number of terror attacks in 2016 were lower than in 2015.

Fifty-five per cent of all attacks took place in Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines, and 75 per cent of all deaths due to terrorist attacks took place in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria, and Pakistan.

3. Australia joins International Solar Alliance

Australia became the 35th country to join the International Solar Alliance, an initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2015 in Paris.

It is co-led by India and France.

The aim was to support developing countries to boost their solar production capacity.

The solar alliance, whose head office is in India, has grown stronger in the past two years with more countries joining the group and signing the agreement.

4. Shala Siddhi Prohatsan Yojana started in 25,000 MP schools

In order to provide qualitative education to the students, 'Hamari Shala Kaisi Ho' and 'Shala Siddhi Karyakram' are being implemented by the School Education department in Government schools of Madhya Pradesh.

The State Education Centre has started Shala Siddhi Prohatsan Yojana to encourage best works under this programme.

The Shala Siddhi Prohatsan Yojana has been started in 25,000 schools of the State till date.

5. Cabinet approves selling 51% stake in HPCL to ONGC

The Cabinet has given an in-principle approval to sell the government’s entire 51.11 per cent stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd to Oil and Natural Gas Corp in a bid to create a state-run integrated oil major that can compete with private and foreign players.

ONGC chairman Dinesh Sarraf said the shareholders of both companies would gain from the deal.

The combined market value of ONGC and HPCL would be $42 billion.

6. Google launches job applicant management tool 'Hire'

Google officially released a new tool named 'Hire' to help small and medium sized businesses recruit talent.

The service is built on G Suite and will allow employers to track candidates' contact information, resume details and calendar invites.

It will allow business partners to share feedback within the candidate's profile.

7. T R Zeliang appointed new CM of Nagaland by Governor  

TR Zeliang has been appointed new Chief Minister of Nagaland by Governor PB Acharya. 

The Nagaland Governor has asked Zeliang to prove his majority on the floor of the House on or before July 22.

Embattled Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu and his supporters failed to turn up in the Assembly to face the floor test following which the House was adjourned.

8. Kerala emerge champs at national inter-state meet

Kerala emerged champions with 159 points as the 57th National Inter-State Championships ended on a high note at the Acharya Nagarjuna University ground in Guntur.

Tamil Nadu (110) came on second position and Haryana (101) on third. at the end of the 4-day event.

Anu R. (400m, Kerala) finished the championships as the best woman athlete with 1105 points while Davinder Singh Kang (Javelin Throw, Punjab) was the top athlete among men with 1127 points.

9. Asian champion shot-putter Manpreet fails dope test

Asian champion shot-putter Manpreet Kaur has been caught in the dope net after testing positive for a banned stimulant, a massive embarrassment for the country which might lose the gold medal clinched by her earlier this month.

Kaur, who won a gold medal in the recently-concluded Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, tested positive for stimulant dimethylbutylamine.

The test was conducted by National Anti-Doping (NADA) officials during the Federation Cup National Championships held in Patiala from June.

       

New Pattern Coding-Decoding: Reasoning

Directions (Ques 1-5): Read the given information carefully and answer questions that follow


In a certain code language

Fine Debacle Card Hero’ is written as @7E, #4E, $4O,%4D

Rural Furious Crux Write’ is written as %4X, *5L, #7S, !5E

Fix Love Dance Port’ is written as ?4E, #3X, &4T, @5E

1. The code for the word ‘Furious’ is

A. %4X

B. #7S

C. *5L

D. !5E

E. None of these

2. The code for the word ‘White’ is

A. %3T

B. !4E

C. !5E

D. #6T

E. Cannot be determine

3. The code ‘%6E’ denotes which of the following word?

A. Circle

B. Right

C. File

D. Circus

E. None of these

4. ‘$’ denotes which letter of the word?

A. F

B. D

C. C

D. H

E. E

5. What will be the code for ‘Fast Data’?

A. #3T #4A

B. #4T @4A

C. $3A %3D

D. %4T $4A

E. None of these

Directions 6-10: Study following information to answer the given questions: 

In a certain codecommit also make policy is written as %e4 !y6 #t6 @o4
policy craze anger mobile is written as !y6 @r5 %e6 #e5
allow mild course prize is written as !e5 %d4 #e6 @w5
craze manner pump arst is written as %r6 #e5 !p4 @t6

6. What is the code for ‘mild’ ?
a) @w5
b) %d4
c) %e4
d) %e6
e) Can’t be determined

7. What does ‘#e6 #e5 @04’ stand for?
a) also make course
b) craze also course
c) commit course mobile
d) artist mild craze
e) Either also make course or prize also course

8. Which could be the code for ‘peace protect pump’?
a) #t4 %d6 !r4
b) !e4 !r4 !e2
c) !p4 @w3 !r4
d) !e5 !t7 !p4
e) None of these

9. ’!l8 %n6 @e7’ could be a code for which of the following?
a) mobile charge victory
b) peaceful modern advance
c) against modern effort
d) mild peaceful west
e) None of these

10. Which of the following is the code for ‘anger prize commit’?
a) !e5 %d4 %e4
b) !e5 @r5 #t6
c) @r5 #e6 #t6
d) #t6 @o4 %e6
e) None of these

Answer

×

Explanation (1-5) coding is as per pattern:

Symbol for first letter

Number for total letters in the word

Last letter of the word

Symbol is used according to the first letter of the word:

➡F = #

➡D=@

➡C=%

➡R=*

➡L=?

➡P=&

➡W=!

➡H=$

So, code for Furious = #7S

(# for F, 7 for number of letters, S for last letter)

Answer:

1. B- #7S

2. C- !5E

3. A- Circle

4. D- H

5- B- #4T @4A

Explanation (6 – 10)

# for first letter c, % for first letter m, @ for first letter

a, and ! for first letter p

Number represents number of alphabets in word

Alphabet represents the last letter of word.

6. B mild = % for m, d for last d in mild and 4 for mild

7. B #e6 – course; #e5 – craze; @04 – also

8. D peace – !e5; protect – !t7; pump – !p4

9. B tis – lists

since da and arise both not present so ‘da’ can be ‘arise’ tip – regime

10. B

.

.

.

SSC CGL Tier 1 2017 exam dates changed

The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has released an official notification regarding change in examination dates of Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Tier 1 examination 2017.

Now, the SSC CGL Tier 1 2017 will be held between August 5 to August 24.

Here's what the SSC official notice read:

"In partial modification to the earlier announced date(s) of the said examination from August 1, 2017 to August 20, 2017, the Commission would now be conducting the Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2017 from August 5, 2017 to August 24, 2017. There will be no exam on August 7, 13, 14 and 15, 2017."

Meanwhile, the last date for SSC CGL Tier 1 registration was June 19.

Important dates:

SSC CGL computer based tier-I exam will be held from August 5 to 24SSC CGL computer based tier-II exam will be held from November 10 to 11SSC CGL descriptive paper tier-III will be held on January 21, 2018.

SSC conducts the exam every year for recruitment to non-technical Group B and Group C non-gazetted posts in various government ministries, departments and organisations.

Current Affairs July 19, 2017

1. Nelson Mandela International Day – 18 July

Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) is celebrated every year on 18th July to honour the former Nobel Prize winner.
•    The United Nations officially declared this day in November 2009. Mandela was former President of South Africa.
 

2. Kolkata to host global business meet in Nov

The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in association with the West Bengal government, will host Horasis Asia Meeting, a global business meet, in Kolkata in November.
•    The two-day business meet, starting November 26, will focus on sustainable business practices in various areas, including power and energy, said Shashwat Goenka, President, ICC.
•    Goenka has been recently elected President of the industry body.
 

3. RBI has set up an Enforcement Department (EFD)

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed that they have set up an Enforcement Department (EFD).

•    EFD would serve as a centralised department to speed up regulatory compliance.
•    EFD has been set up to separate those who oversee the possible rule breaches and those who decide on punitive actions so that enforcement process operates fairly and is evidence based.
•    The EFD has become functional with effect from April 03, 2017.
 

4. India is among the fastest growing economies: World Bank

According to the World Bank's latest edition of the Global Economic Prospects, India is the fourth fastest growing economy in the world.
•    The World Bank has pegged India's growth rate at 7.2 for the current year on the back of rising export and increase in government spending.
•    In terms of growth rate, India is placed behind smaller economies of Estonia, Uzbekistan and Nepal.
 

5. Venkaiah’s portfolios distributed between Smriti Irani, Tomar

The portfolios of M. Venkaiah Naidu, the vice-presidential candidate of the National Democratic Alliance, were reallocated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
•    Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani was given additional charge of Information and Broadcasting, while Rural Development Minister Narendra Tomar took over the Urban Development Ministry.
 

6. J&K bags best award in adventure tourism destination

The J&K Tourism Department has received the award  in the category of 'Best Adventure Tourism Destination and Eco-Tourism Destination' at a 3-Day event organized by Indian International Travel Mart, Chennai.
•    Deputy Director Tourism (Publicity) Peerzada Zahoor who was representing the J&K State received the award.
•    During the Travel Mart, J&K stall which was beautifully decorated attracted huge visitors mostly locals and travel agents.

7. Indian Oil bags WPC Excellence Award

Leading oil marketing company Indian Oil has bagged the WPC Excellence Award for its innovative and ground-breaking INDMAX technology at 22nd edition of the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul.
•    Sanjiv Singh, Chairman, Indian Oil and SSV Ramakumar, Director (R&D) received the award from Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, former Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Energy and Industry, Qatar.

8. Hollywood Actor Martin Landau passes away

OSCAR-winning actor Martin Landau has died at the age of 89 after suffering “unexpected complications”.
•    The star of the 1960s television series Mission: Impossible made a late-career comeback with an Academy Award-winning performance in the 1994 film Ed Wood.

                                   

Current Affairs July 18, 2017

1. India emerges as top trusted government in the world: Report

According to the latest edition of the OECD's Government at a Glance report, India has emerged as the most trusted nation with 73 per cent people voting for the current government.
•    While Modi government has the confidence of 73 per cent Indians, the highest in the world, Greece stands last with 13 per cent.
•    The survey is generally conducted to test check peoples trust level on their government. 

2. Jammu & Kashmir govt launches weekly festival at Dal Lake

The spectacular Dal Lake in Srinagar hosted first ever 'Cultrue of Cruise', a weeekly cultural programme organised by the Jammu and Kashmir government aimed to bring artists from various fields on one stage.
•    The JKAACL in association with the tourism department of Kashmir launched the event.

3. Tata Motors develops country’s first biomethane bus

Tata Motors has developed country’s first Bio-CNG (bio-methane) bus which was unveiled recently at a bio-energy programme, ‘Urja Utsav’.
•    The firm, which is India’s largest commercial vehicles manufacturer, said the bio-methane engines could be used in LCV, ICV and MCV buses.
•    At the Urja Utsav held in Pune’s Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Tata displayed three engines, along with the lead model — Tata LPO 1613 with 5.7 SGI NA BS-IV IOBD-II compliant bus.

4. NDA nominates Venkaiah Naidu as vice-presidential candidate

Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu has been named the vice-presidential candidate of the ruling NDA coalition.
•    Naidu is currently serving as the Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation as well as Information and Broadcasting.
•    An alliance of 18 opposition parties, including the Congress, has already announced Gopalkrishna Gandhi as its candidate for the vice-presidential poll.

5. Farooq Abdullah, Kunhalikutty take oath as Lok Sabha members

National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and Indian Union Muslim League leader PK Kunhalikutty took oath as members of the Lok Sabha.
•    Abdullah won the by-poll from the Srinagar-Budgam parliamentary constituency, defeating his Peoples Democratic Party rival Nazir Ahmed Khan by over 10,000 votes.
•    Kunhalikutty won the Malappuram by-poll in Kerala.
 

6. Google most influential brand in India, says study

Google has been ranked as the most influential brand in the country while Patanjali Ayurveda and Reliance Jio figure in the top ten, according to a study by global research firm Ipsos.
•    Google is followed by Microsoft and Facebook at the second and third places, respectively.
•    Patanjali and Reliance Jio have been ranked fourth and ninth, respectively, Ipsos said in its report of the most influential brands.
 

7. Parajuli to be Nepal's new SC Chief Justice

The name of acting Chief Justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli was unanimously endorsed by the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee (PHSC) for the post of Nepal's Supreme Court Chief Justice.
•    Parajuli's name was sent to the PHSC for hearing by the Constitutional Council on June 29.
•    Parajuli, the senior-most Justice at the Supreme Court, has taken up the responsibility of acting Chief Justice since June 7, this year after the retirement of then Chief Justice Sushila Karki on June 6.
 

8. Lewis Hamilton wins record-equalling fifth British GP

Lewis Hamilton took a dominant victory at Silverstone to tie the all-time record of five career wins in the British Grand Prix.
•    The Mercedes driver equalled the tally of Scot Jim Clark and Frenchman Alain Prost with his fourth home win in a row.
 

9. The First Woman to Win Math's Highest Award Dies at 40

Maryam Mirzakhani, the first and only woman to win the prestigious Fields Medal, called the Nobel Prize of math, died.
•    Mirzakhani was a professor at Stanford University.She was 40.
•    Mirzakhani won the distinguished award, given every four years, in 2014 for her work on geometry and dynamical systems.
 

10. President receives first copy of book complied by Professor C. Raj Kumar

 The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the first copy of the book ‘Future of Indian Universities: Comparative and International Perspectives’ from Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen who formally released it at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
•    The book ‘Future of Indian Universities: Comparative and International Perspectives’ has been complied by Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor of JGU University and is published by Oxford University Press.