Gk Update 4 August 2016

1. Cabinet Approval :- 

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the terms and conditions for transfer of 12 acres of National Textile Corporation Ltd. (NTCL), Indu-6 Mill land to Government of Maharashtra for construction of a memorial of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
ii. The Union Cabinet has also approved the rates for Spectrum Usage Charge (SUC) for various bands of spectrum for which auction are going to be conducted shortly. With this decision the path is clear for issuance of the Notice Inviting Application for spectrum auction by the Department of Telecommunications.
iii. The 3rd approval by the Union Cabinet has given for Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2016 to improve road safety in the country. As every year 5, lakh road accidents are reported in the country in which 1.5 lakh people lose their lives. The Government has committed to reducing the accidents and fatalities by 50% in five years.
iv. The 4th approval is for signing of new Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR).
v. The 5th approval by the Union Cabinet has given for making suitable amendments in the Central List of OBCs by way of inclusion/correction/deletion of castes/communities applicable to the State of Andhra Pradesh and the newly formed State of Telangana as per the advice received from the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
vi. The next approval is for the acceptance of the major recommendations of the Sub-Group of Chief Minsters on Rationalization of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSSs). The Sub-Group had examined 66 CSSs and recommended that the number of CSSs should not normally exceed 30. A consensus was reached on many contentious issues not only between the States represented on the Sub- Group but other States/UTs also through regional consultations and meetings with Union Ministries/Departments.

2. RBI launches new website ’Sachet’ to curb Illegal Collection of Deposits

i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan has launched ’Sachet- www.sachet.rbi.org.in’, a web portal to curb illegal collection of deposits.
ii. Sachet is an SLCC (State Level Coordination Committees) website from which the members of the public would be able to obtain information regarding entities that are allowed to accept deposits, lodge complaints and also share information regarding illegal acceptance of deposits by unscrupulous entities.
iii. The website would also help enhance coordination among regulators and State Government agencies and thus be useful in curbing instances of unauthorised acceptance of deposits by unscrupulous entities.

3. RBI constitutes a Committee on Household Finance

i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a committee to look at the various facets of household finance in India and to benchmark India’s position vis-à-vis both the peer countries and advanced countries.
ii. The Committee will be chaired by Dr. Tarun Ramadorai, Professor of Financial Economics, University of Oxford and will have representation from financial sector regulators, namely, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) apart from Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
iii. The Committee is expected to submit its report by end-July 2017.

4. LS Speaker inaugurates DRDO exhibition in Parliament premises 

i. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has inaugurated the three-day Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) exhibition in the Parliament premises in New Delhi.
ii. The three-day long exhibition will showcase numerous state-of-the-art defence technologies, products, and systems developed by various DRDO laboratories indigenously.
iii. This would include the BrahMos missile, the 'Arjun' main battle tank, Airborne Early Warning and Control System, Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher 'Pinaka' Various type of Radars and other products. The DRDO will also organise a virtual reality display of Arjun Main Battle Tank, BrahMos Missile, AEW&C & LCA-Tejas.

5. UD Min approves investment of Rs 4404 Cr to 8 states, UTs

i. Ministry of Urban Development has approved an investment of Rs. 4,404 crore in augmenting water supply, sewerage networks, drainage, urban transport and public and green spaces in urban areas in 8 States and UTs under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) for the current financial year.
ii. An inter-ministerial Apex Committee chaired by Rajiv Gauba, Secretary (Urban Development) has approved the State Level Annual Action Plans (SAAP) of these 8 States/UTs.
iii. Investments approved were included - Karnataka- Rs.1,625 Cr, Andhra Pradesh-Rs.877 Cr, Bihar-Rs.775 Cr, Telangana-Rs.555 Cr, Haryana-Rs.525 Cr, Nagaland-Rs.40 Cr, Dadra, Nagar & Haveli-Rs.3.70 Cr and Andaman & Nicobar Islands - Rs.3.18 Cr. 

6. Raje lays the foundation of 14 projects in Jaipur

i. Rajasthan's Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has laid the foundation of 14 projects worth Rs 2,229 Crore and stated that the city of Jaipur will be a 'wonder city' in next two years.
ii. The projects include converting Amanishah Nala into its original form of Dravyawati river. The task is being undertaken by Jaipur Development Authority, Tata Projects Limited and Shanghai Urban construction group with an estimated cost of Rs 1,676 crore.
iii. The project aims to make the 47-km long water body pollution free and beautiful in the next two years. Plantation of 16,000 saplings in 65,000 sq meters will also be a part of the beautification of the river, etc.

7. Shipping Corporation of India Inks MoU amid Growth Plans

i. Shipping Corporation of India Ltd. has signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Shipping for the financial year 2016-17.
ii. The MoU was signed by Shri Rajiv Kumar, IAS, Secretary (Shipping) and Capt. B.B. Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director, Shipping Corporation of India Ltd., at New Delhi.
iii. The MOU, which is based on the MOU guidelines 2016-17 issued by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), consists of parameters drawn on the prescribed evaluation criteria and factors such as capacity and its expansion, business environment, projects under implementation have been considered.

8. Six-year-old Indian boy enters Guinness World Record

i. A six-year-old boy, Om Swaroop Gowda from Karnataka has set the world record for covering longest distance by limbo skating under cars.
ii. He clinched the Guinness World records title after a successful attempt to travel a staggering 65.283-metre distance while holding his body just above the ground and maintaining a splits position throughout.
iii. Om managed to clear 36 cars during the incredible challenge at Orion Mall in Bangalore. Official Guinness World Records adjudicator Rishi Nath attended the event to ensure that all the rules for were followed correctly. 

9. D K Gayen new GM of East Central Railway

i. D K Gayen has assumed charge of new General Manager of East Central Railway (ECR) with headquarters at Hajipur in Bihar.
ii. Earlier, Rajeev Mishra, GM of Eastern Railways, was holding additional charge of ECR.
iii. Gayen was earlier working as Chief Mechanical Engineer of South Eastern Railway at Kolkata. 

10. Sudhanshu Mani appointed as new GM for ICF

i. Sudhanshu Mani has been appointed as General Manager, Integral Coach Factory.
ii. Prior to this, he was Chief Mechanical Engineer, Rail Wheel Factory, Yelahanka Bengaluru. Mani belongs to 1979 batch of Indian Railways Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME).
iii. He has over 36 years of experience in Indian Railways and worked in areas like workshop management, railway operations, project management, planning, and R&D. In his earlier capacities, he had worked as Advisor (Minister), Berlin, at Embassy of India, Germany, Divisional Railway Manager, South Western Railway, etc.

11. ‘Grassroots Innovation’ authored by Prof. Anil K. Gupta has released

i. ‘Grassroots Innovation’ authored by Prof. Anil K. Gupta of IIM Ahmedabad, also the Vice Chairman of National Innovation Foundation at Rashtrapati Bhavan has been released.
ii. He has gifted his first copy of the book to the President.
iii. The book was about stories of extraordinary men and women who are silently contributing to the innovation movement for the economic development and advancement of society.

12. 4 Indian-origin persons among US' top wealth advisors: Forbes 

i. Four Indian-origin persons have been named among America's top wealth advisors by Forbes on a list of 200 members who collectively manage USD 675 billion.
ii. Raj Sharma and Ash Chopra, both working in Merrill Lynch - Private Banking & Investment Group, have been ranked 17th and 129 respectively on the Forbes 2016 'America's Top Wealth Advisors' list.
iii. While Sonny Kothari of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has been ranked 176, Raju Pathak of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is placed at 184. 

13. Nimesh Kampani resigns as Managing Director of JM Financial Ltd

i. Nimesh Kampani has resigned as the Managing Director of JM Financial Ltd with effect from 30 September 2016.
ii. However, Kampani will continue to be the Non-Executive Chairman of the group and a director on the board of a few group companies at JM Financial.
iii. Nimesh Kampani will be succeeded by his son Vishal Kampani as the Managing Director of JM Financial with effect from 1 October 2016.

14. Shubha Mudgal to be awarded Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award

i. The advisory committee of the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award has decided that the 23rd Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award will be given to Shubha Mudgal.
ii. Mudgal will be honoured for her outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill on 20 August 2016 at Jawahar Bhawan Auditorium.
iii. She is a well-known Indian singer of Hindustani classical music, Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, and Indian pop music.

15. IOC gives nod to addition of five new sports in Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

i. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has agreed to add Baseball-Softball, Karate, Skateboard, Climbing Sports and surfing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
ii. The decision was taken by the 129th IOC session being held in Rio de Janeiro.
iii. The additional sports in Tokyo will not impact the athlete or event quotas of existing Olympic sports or be binding on future host cities. The inclusion of the new sports will add 18 events.

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