Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs Update of 20th, 21st and 22nd January, 2017. These are important for the upcoming IDBI PGDBF and Other exams.
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Team ExamPundit
Daily Current Affairs at a Glance - 20 to 22 January, 2017
- In another digitalisation initiative, Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a Contactless Credit Card. This new credit card, which has been named PNB Wave N Pay --Contactless Card, was launched by Usha Ananthasubramanian, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, PNB in the capital on Saturday.
- Multiplex chain operator PVR Pictures in January 2017 launched its theatre-on-demand service Vkaao.
- Karang, a small lake island in Manipur, in January 2017 became India’s first cashless island.
- With an aim to make the state addiction-free, the state government of Bihar on 21 January 2017 launched a Nasha Mukt campaign in the state.
- Union Government on 20 January 2017 gave its approval for a Tamil Nadu’s draft proposal, which seeks to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The proposal is primarily aimed at removing legal hurdles to jallikattu, a bull taming sport practiced in Tamil Nadu.
- Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on 19 January 2017 declared Dharamsalatown of Kangra district as the second Capital of the State.
- Donald Trumpwas sworn-in as the 45th President of the United Stateson 20 January 2017. He was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice John Roberts.
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on 19 January 2017 approved the appointment of Alok Kumar Verma as the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Financial and Banking News:
PNB launches Contactless Credit Card Wave n Pay
- In another digitalisation initiative, Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a Contactless Credit Card.
- This new credit card, which has been named PNB Wave N Pay --Contactless Card, was launched by Usha Ananthasubramanian, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, PNB in the capital on Saturday.
- This card could be used by just waving it across the terminal and the transaction will be through. There is no need to enter any PIN for transactions up to Rs. 2,000.
- The cardholder has full charge back rights on the misuse, a PNB statement said.
- This contactless credit card has been launched on Visa Platinum platform.
MoU between India and Serbia for cooperation in IT and Electronics approved
- The Union Cabinet in January 2017 gave its ex-post facto approval to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Serbia.
- The MoU seeks to promote bilateral cooperation in the field of information technology and electronics.
- The MoU also facilitates exchanges between the private entities, capacity building institutions, the governments and other public and private organizations of the two countries that are involved in information technology and electronics sectors.
PVR Pictures launched Vkaao theatre-on-demand service
- Multiplex chain operator PVR Pictures in January 2017 launched its theatre-on-demand service Vkaao.
- Vkaao is an online platform that enables consumers to watch any movie of their choice at a theatre of their choice.
- However, the minimum requirement for a show to be confirmed would be 50 seats.
- Vkaao is very disruptive and gives control to customers to choose what they want to watch, when and where.
- Initially, the service will begin with 500 film titles across different languages and genres.
- The company is also planning to increase Vkaao offerings to 1,000 titles in 3 months. By the end of 2017, it will offer around 2,500 film titles.
Union Government finalises MoU on MSME Cooperation with IORA Member Countries
- The Union Ministry of MSME on 20 January 2017 finalised MoU on MSME Cooperation with Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) member countries.
- The MoU will be effective once when it is signed by all the 5 countries of IORA.
Key focus areas of MoU
- To finalise linkages and alliances amongst various MSMEs organizations, associations and institutions engaged in MSME development in their respective countries.
- To exchange greater involvement of MSMEs in the global supply chain and to increase their market access.
- To promote youth and women’s economic empowerment.
- To exchange best practices, policies and programs for MSME development
- To encourage synergies with the IORA forum.
Highlights of the MoU
- The coordinating agency for the implementation of this MoU will be IORA Secretariat at Mauritius.
- This MoU is expected to provide an appropriate platform to IORA MSMEs to interact with each other and participate in trade fairs.
- It will facilitate buyer-seller meetings, visits of delegations and will acquire appropriate technology and explore trade and investment opportunities.
Manipur’s Karang became India’s first cashless island
- Karang, a small lake island in Manipur, in January 2017 became India’s first cashless island.
- The island was declared as the country’s first cashless island by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under its Digital India programme.
- M Harekrishna, Deputy Commissioner of Bishnupur district, confirmed that the island fulfilled the Union Government’s necessary criteria to be declared as cashless island.
- The campaign to make the island cashless was held from 9 January to 12 January 2017. Karang Island Boat Association and Panthoibi Khoyol Standard Association extended help in holding campaigns on cashless transactions.
- At present, most of the families residing in Karang go for cashless transactions. As of now, 400 beneficiaries, 16 merchants, including six motor boat service providers, have registered themselves.
Non-financial news – India and states:
Bihar government launched Nasha Mukt campaign to make state addiction-free
- With an aim to make the state addiction-free, the state government of Bihar on 21 January 2017 launched a Nasha Mukt campaign in the state.
- The Nasha Mukt campaign saw participation of about two crore people. The participants including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, all teachers and students of schools and colleges formed human chains across the state. The total length of the chain was 11292 kilometres. It will cover all panchayats of the state.
- In view of the human chain, traffic will be stopped from 10 AM to 3 PM on the day.
- Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said that ‘nasha mukti’ in Bihar will herald a new era in the state as no one will be permitted to use intoxicating substance and tobacco products.
Union Government cleared Tamil Nadu’s proposal to amend Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act
- Union Government on 20 January 2017 gave its approval for a Tamil Nadu’s draft proposal, which seeks to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The proposal is primarily aimed at removing legal hurdles to jallikattu, a bull taming sport practiced in Tamil Nadu.
- The draft proposal was accepted by the Union Government in the wake of ongoing protests in various parts of Tamil Nadu over ban on jallikattu.
- The proposal seeks to de-notify bulls from the prohibited category mentioned in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Dharamsala declared as second capital of Himachal Pradesh
- Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh on 19 January 2017 declared Dharamsala town of Kangra district as the second Capital of the State.
- Dharamsala is located at some 250 km from the state capital Shimla. It has its own significance and history to make it the second capital of the state.
- Dharamsala is a city in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh and was formerly known as Bhagsu. Kangra is the largest district in the state with 15 of 68 assembly seats.
Ministry of AYUSH, ASCI signed MoU to co-regulate misleading advertisements in the AYUSH sector
- Ministry of AYUSH on 20 January 2017 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). The MoU was inked with an aim to curtail the malpractices in the advertisement of AYUSH drugs.
- As per the MoU, ASCI will comprehensively monitor advertisements the cases of misleading advertisements of Ayurveda, Unani, Yoga and Naturopathy, Siddha and Homoeopathy drugs, treatments and related services, advertised across print and electronic media.
- ASCI was given a self-monitoring mandate to identify potentially misleading advertisement in the AYUSH sector. It will process its complaints through its Consumer Complaints Council (CCC).
- Complaints of misleading advertisements received by the Ministry of AYUSH will be redirected to the ASCI, which will be reviewed using ASCI’s code and guidelines.
- ASCI will report all advertisements in potential violation of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 and Rules to the Ministry of AYUSH.
- The violation will also be reported under non-compliance of ASCI’s CCC recommendations for the Ministry of AYUSH to take further action.
TeamIndus proposes nameplate on the Moon for a price
- TeamIndus, a space start-up based in Bengaluru, has proposed an opportunity to its donors to leave their name on moon. For this purpose, people will have to pay Rs 500.
- As per the plan, names of the donors will be micro-engraved on a small-sized aluminium object and placed on the lunar surface which will land on moon on 26 January 2018.
- As per Sheelika Ravishankar, Jedi Master - Marketing and Outreach of TeamIndus, the plan is part of a crowd-funding effort.
- It is an effort to make people aware about their ancestors, whenever people will start travelling to the moon.
- The mission will be launched on 28 December 2016 on the PSLV rocket and travel 3.84 lakh kilometres from the earth.
Appointments – India and World:
Donald Trump sworn-in as 45th US President
- Donald Trump was sworn-in as the 45th President of the United States on 20 January 2017. He was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice John Roberts.
- In the ceremony, Trump placed his left hand on two bibles including the historic Abraham Lincoln Bible and recited the oath of the office to become the most powerful man on this Earth.
- With this swearing-in, Trump took over the reins from Barack Obama amid expectations of radical change in policies and apprehension at home and abroad.
- Apart from Trump, Mike Pence was also sworn-in as the Vice President of the United States. He took the oath of the office before Trump.
Alok Kumar Verma appointed as CBI Director
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on 19 January 2017 approved the appointment of Alok Kumar Verma as the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). His appointment will be for a period of two years from the date of assumption of charge of his office.
- Verma succeeded Anil Sinha, who retired from his office on 2 December 2016. At present, Rakesh Asthana, an IPS-officer of Gujarat cadre, is the interim director of the investigating agency.
- Alok Kumar Verma, currently Delhi Police commissioner, is a 1979 batch Indian Police Service officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre. He took over Delhi Police as its Commissioner on 29 February 2016.
- His name was cleared by a three-member selection panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The other two members of the panel were the Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar and Congress leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge.
Adama Barrow sworn in as President of Gambia in Senegal
- Adama Barrow on 19 January 2017 was sworn in as the third President of The Gambia at a ceremony in the Gambian embassy in Dakar, Senegal.
- With the swearing in ceremony comes an event that marked The Gambia’s first change of presidency in 22 years. It is also the first change of presidency by democratic means since independence from Britain in 1965.
- Barrow had won the 2016 Gambian presidential elections that were held in The Gambia on 1 December 2016.
- Soon after the inauguration of Barrow in neighbouring Senegal, troops from a bloc of West African countries have entered Gambia in support of him.
Sports News:
Punjab Royals wins Pro Wrestling League Season 2
- NCR Punjab Royals on 19 January 2017 were crowned the champions of the Pro Wrestling League Season 2.
- The Punjab Royals triumphed over Haryana Hammers 5-4 at the K D Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
- The winners were presented with the Champions trophy along with a prize money of Rs. 1 crore and 90 lacs. The runners up were awarded the prize money of Rs. 1 crore and 10 lacs.
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