Daily Current Affairs: 6th January 2018

Dear SH Aspirants,
Study Daily Current Affairs and stay updated as well as prepare for General Awareness section of bank exams. It's time to gear up your preparations for IBPS/RBI/SBI/SSC and with the daily dose of current affairs, you can easily prepare G.A and score well.

1. US puts Pakistan on Special Watch List

The US has placed Pakistan on a ‘Special Watch List’ for “severe violations” of religious freedom.

• It is the only country to be put under the newly-formed list.
• The Special Watch List is for countries that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom but may not rise to the level of the CPC.

2. Tamil Nadu leads the nation in higher education enrolment

Tamil Nadu has emerged as the leader in the country in terms of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education.

• The All India Survey on Higher Education report (2106-2017), released by Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar , saw the State lead with a GER of 46.9%.
• Among Union Territories, Chandigarh recorded 56.1%.
• GER for higher education is calculated with reference to the age group 18-23.

3. Mamata Banerjee launches West Bengal govt’s official emblem  

The West Bengal government has launched its official emblem in a programme at Nabanna, two days after getting the approval from the central government.

• The official emblem is conceptualised and designed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
• Terming the occasion as historic, she said the state emblem – the “Biswa Bangla” logo with Ashoka Pillar of the national emblem – would be used in all the official works and documents of the Bengal government from now on.

English Language For IBPS Clerk Mains: Quiz

Developing a solid foundation in English will not only help you to increase your knowledge but will also help you to score better in the exam. English is a major section in exams which candidate fears a lot. To boost your preparation, Study Hour's is providing English Quiz:

Q.1-10. Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words have been printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some questions:

The new direct tax code is a bold attempt at penetration the entire corpus of law relating to direct taxes — income tax, dividend distribution tax, fringe benefits tax, and wealth tax. Now open for public discussion, the code will be incorporated in a bill the government hopes to introduce in the winter session of Parliament. It represents a strategic shift in the government’s fiscal agenda relating to direct taxes. Its three main objectives are to minimize the number of tax exemptions even while maintaining moderate rates; remove ambiguities, and curb evasion. 

The Finance Minister hopes that the code — expected to become law by 2011 — will provide stability to the tax regime as it is based on widely accepted principles of taxation and best international practices. The proposal to reduce the tax liabilities of individuals and corporate has attracted a great deal of attention but more important is the principle that low tax rates combined with simpler tax laws and minimal exemptions will benefit both the taxpayer and the exchequer. In that sense, the code’s proposal for lower marginal rates across all income slabs — for instance, total income between Rs.1.60 lakh and Rs.10 lakh will be taxed at 10 percent — ought to be evaluated along with other rationalization measures proposed.

The move to streamline the tax treatment on savings by applying the EET method (exempt savings, exempt interest on savings, and tax withdrawals) removes the existing anomalies, besides taxing expenditure. However, with the penetration of social security schemes being at low levels, the case for exempting retirement benefits from tax still remains strong. The trebling of the deductible savings to Rs.3 lakh is long overdue. The changes proposed in the taxation of capital gains and wealth tax ought to be welcomed although in the first instance they appear to cause hardships to some categories of assessees. The distinction between short-term and long-term capital gains is to be eliminated, and this might affect punters in the exchanges. On the other side, the abolition of the turnover tax on share transactions will increase trading volumes in the exchanges. 

Corporate tax rates are proposed to be brought down to 25 per cent. The move to introduce a minimum alternate tax on assets requires clarification as even loss-making companies might be dragged into it. One major area of is the extraordinary powers proposed to be given to the tax authorities who can, in extreme situations, bypass even tax treaties. In its entirety, the tax code is a major step forward and ought to be welcomed.


Q-1 Which of the following statement is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

01. In its entirety, the tax code is a major step forward and ought to be welcomed.

02. One major area of concern is the extraordinary powers proposed to be given to the tax authorities who can, in extreme situations, bypass even tax treaties.

03. Total income between Rs.1.60 lakh and Rs.10 lakh will be taxed at 10 per cent — ought to be evaluated along with other rationalization measures proposed.

04. In that sense, the code’s proposal for lower marginal rates across all income slabs. 

05. The new direct tax code is a bold attempt at consolidating the entire corpus of law 

relating to direct taxes — income tax, dividend distribution tax, fringe benefit tax, and health tax. 

IBPS Clerk Mains : Reasoning Ability Quiz

Reasoning Ability Quiz

Q.1-5 Study the following information carefully and answer the questions given below: 
Eight members are sitting in a circle in which five of them facing outside the center.
1. G is sitting second to the left of A and B.
2. F is sitting third left of G and not neighbour of B.
3. D is sitting third to the left of E and facing outside.
4. C is sitting third to the left of B.
5. E is not neighbour of H.
6. H is sitting second to the left of E.
7. C and F are facing same direction as B.



Q-1 Four out of five are alike in a certain way and based on a group find the one which does not belong to that group? 
(1) C 

(2) F 

(3) D 

(4) B 

(5) H

Q-2 Who is sitting third to the right of H? 

(1) A 

(2) F 

(3) G 

(4) Cannot be determined 

(5) None of these

Q-3 Who is sitting opposite to A? 
(1) B 

(2) C 

(3) D 

(4) Cannot be determined 

(5) None of these

Q-4 Which of the following is a correct combination of persons facing outside the center? 
(1) G,C,A,D,B 

(2) F,A,D,B,G 

(3) G,E,B,D,F 

(4) Cannot be determined 

(5) None of these

Daily Current Affairs: 5th January 2018

Dear SH Aspirants,
Study Daily Current Affairs and stay updated as well as prepare for General Awareness section of bank exams. It's time to gear up your preparations for IBPS/RBI/SBI/SSC and with the daily dose of current affairs, you can easily prepare G.A and score well.

1. World Braille Day: 4 January

World Braille Day is annually celebrated on January 4, the birthday of Braille inventor, Louis Braille.

• The day recognizes the contributions of Louis Braille in helping blind and visually impaired people to read and write.
• Braille is a code that uses bumps and indentation on a surface to represent letters, which can be recognized by touch.
• Louis Braille, a French man who was blinded in an accident at a very young age, invented it.

2. Iceland Becomes First Country to Enforce Equal Pay Laws

Iceland has become the first country in the world to legalize equal pay, charting a new history.

• Under the new law, companies and government agencies that employ at least 25 people will be fined if they can’t prove they pay men and women equally.
• Iceland has been ranked by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as No. 1 in gender equality for the past nine years.

3. Govt launches Swachh Survekshan 2018

The government has announced the launch of cleanliness survey for this year as part of Swachh Bharat Mission.

• The Swachh Survekshan 2018 will rank 500 cities on national level which have more than 1 lakh population, while 3,541 cities with less than 1 lakh population will have State and Regional ranking.
• The 2017 edition was conducted in January-February 2017 covering 434 Urban Local Bodies. Indore emerged as the cleanest city in the country in that survey.

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Daily Current Affairs: 4th January 2018

Dear SH Aspirants,
Study Daily Current Affairs and stay updated as well as prepare for General Awareness section of bank exams. It's time to gear up your preparations for IBPS/RBI/SBI/SSC and with the daily dose of current affairs, you can easily prepare G.A and score well.

1. India Cancels $500 Million Deal For Israeli Anti-Tank Missiles

India has cancelled a $ 500 million deal to buy 1,600 Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel, the state-owned defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems announced.

• Spike is a man-portable “fire and forget' missile that can hit moving targets such as a tank.
• India had opted for the Israel's Spike over the Javelin missiles offered by Washington in 2014.

2. Indian Railways to install GPS devices on 2,700 electric locomotives

In a bid to provide real time train information, the government plans to install GPS devices on over 2,700 electric locomotives by December 2018, Parliament was told.

• “Railway Ministry in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is implementing Real-Time Train Information System (RTIS) which involves tracking of train by placing GPS/GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation System) based devices on locomotives,” Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
• “In Phase one, the RTIS project will cover about 2,700 electric locomotives in which the GPS device will be installed.
• This phase is planned to be completed by December 2018,” he said.

3. Government approves Rs 6,809-crore Zojila Pass tunnel project in J&K  

The Union Cabinet has approved the construction of Asia's longest bi-directional Zojila Pass tunnel at an estimated cost of Rs 6,089 crore, which will reduce the travel time between Srinagar and Leh to 15 minutes from the current 3.5 hours.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its go-ahead to the 14.2-km long tunnel project in Jammu and Kashmir to provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh, which remains cut-off from the rest of India during winters due to heavy snowfall.

Daily Current Affairs: 3rd January 2018

Dear SH Aspirants,
Study Daily Current Affairs and stay updated as well as prepare for General Awareness section of bank exams. It's time to gear up your preparations for IBPS/RBI/SBI/SSC and with the daily dose of current affairs, you can easily prepare G.A and score well.

1. Jharkhand CM launches programme

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has launched "Saubhagya Yojana", a programme that would provide electricity to all the 29,376 villages in the state.

•    Launching the "Saubhagya Yojana" here, Das said only 38 lakh households out of 68 lakh households in the state could get electricity in 67 years.

•    However, this government has provided electricity to 13 lakh households in just three years.

•    By December 2018, the target is to provide electricity to the rest 17.64 lakh households.

2. Joint Schemes for SC, OBC, Safai Karamcharis and Disabled Persons

The Government is implementing a Scheme, namely the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) that provides grant-in-aid to non-governmental organizations for various projects relating to rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. 

•    The objective of the scheme is to enable persons with disabilities to reach and maintain their optimal, physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric or social functional levels.

3. UP theme state for Surajkund crafts mela

The Haryana tourism department has disclosed that Uttar Pradesh would be the theme state for the 32nd Surajkund International Crafts Mela, which would be organized at Surajkund, Faridabad from February 2 to 15.

•    Apart from all other states, about 24 countries would also participate in it.

•    The fair organized by the Haryana Tourism and Surajkund Fair Authority in collaboration with the Union ministries of tourism, textiles, culture and external affairs, exhibited handicrafts, handloom variety and prosperity of India at global level.