CURRENT AFFAIRS October Week I

Awards and Honours 

Appointments

Banking and Economy

• The State Bank of India announced its entry into Myanmar by opening a branch in the capital city of Yangon, becoming the first domestic lender.
• Reserve Bank of India’s first monetary policy review, the World Bank has said India’s GDP growth will remain robust at 7.6 per cent in 2016 and 7.7 per cent in 2017.
• The Finance Ministry has set up a Public Debt Management Cell (PDMC) with a view to streamline government borrowings and better cash management with the overall objective of deepening bond markets.
• In the first monetary policy review under RBI Governor Urjit Patel, the interest rate has been cut by 0.25 per cent to six-year low of 6.25 per cent in a unanimous decision by the new rate-setting panel Monetary Policy Committee
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 6 October 2016 released the Report of the Internal Working Group (IWG) on Rationalisation of Branch Authorisation Policy. The Group is chaired by Lily Vadera, Chief General Manager, Department of Banking Regulation.

• Rates	Point
  Repo Rate	6.25% (reduced  0.50 basis points )
  Reverse Repo Rate	5.75%
  Bank Rate	6.75%
  Cash reserve Ratio (CRR)	4%
  Marginal standing Facility (MSL)	6.75%
  Statutory Liquidity Ratio	20.75%

National Round-Up

• The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) achieved a turnover of Rs 1,506 crore in 2015-16 as compared to Rs 1,141 crore in 2014-15, registering a growth of 32 per cent.
• The Swachh Bharat Abhiyancompletes two years. Launched in 2014, the mission is a national campaign by the Government of India to clean streets, roads, and other infrastructure of the country. On October 2, 2014,
• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that RS 65,250 crore in black or untaxed moneyhas been disclosed under the Centre’s Income Declaration Scheme (IDS).
• CBI has registered a case against former Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Canara Bank R K Dubey for allegedly allowing deviations in sanctioning credit limits to a company during his tenure as Executive Director at Central Bank of India.
• Housing and urban poverty alleviation minister M Venkaiah Naidu released “India Habitat III—National report” ahead of the UN Habitat III Conference in Quito,Ecuador later this month where a global New Urban Agenda for the next 20 years is going to be adopted.
• India formally joined the Paris Climate Change Agreementby submitting its instrument of ratification at UN headquarters in New York– the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
• India’s Right to Information (RTI) Actthat was passed in 2005 has been ranked 4th best in the world, according to the latest rankings of 111 nations with such laws.
• The Reserve Bank of India had issued Rs.100 coinsin 2004 to mark the 100th birth anniversary of India’s second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
• Prasar Bharati Corporation CEO Jawhar Sircarhas submitted his resignation four months ahead of the end of his tenure, which was to draw to a close in February 2017. 
• The Central Board of Secondary Educationhas decided to discontinue the provision of re-evaluation of answer sheets from 2017.
• The newly manufactured Guard Van of Goods Train(8 wheeled) has been equipped for the first time with Solar powered Light, Fan, and Mobile Charging Point along with the facility of Zero discharge Bio Toilet.
• Social networking site Facebookis partnering with the Election Commission of India in five states going to polls next year to run a voter registration drive aimed at encouraging youth to participate in the democratic exercise.
• The Union Cabinet gave its approval for the signing of MoU betweenIndia and European Union in the field of water resources.
• The MoU envisages strengthening the technological, scientific and management capabilities of India and the European Union in the field of water management on the basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the signing of a MoU between India and the African Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) for capacity building programmes in the field of rural development.
• Adani Transmissionis now the largest private operator of power transmission networks in the country after buying the transmission assets of Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra).
• 250 mandis in 10 states linked with e-agriculture market in first phase
• Udaipur gets all-woman police patrol team
• Minister for Information and Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu has released the book titled Modi’s Midas Touch in Foreign Policy.
• The government’s fiscal deficit during the first five months (April-August) of the current fiscal stood at around 4.1 lakh crore rupees,
• It was 76.4 % of the budget estimates for the entire 2016-17 fiscal.
• Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari has launched the Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS). It aimed at ensuring safety of bridges in the country.
• The Union Cabinet has approved amendments to the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014. The Bill seeks to safeguard rights of HIV-affected people, as well as to prevent and control spread of HIV and AIDS.

International Round-Up

• The European Parliament has overwhelmingly backed the ratification of the Paris climate deal, in a vote attended by UN chief Ban Ki-moon that paves the way for the landmark pact to come into force globally.
• Russian President Vladimir Putinhas signed a decree to suspend an agreement with the United States on the disposing of weapons-grade plutonium, a further sign of worsening ties between the former Cold War foes.
• A UNESCO-sponsored exhibition featuring the replicas of ancient works from Iraq and Syria that were destroyed by the Islamic State was launched in Rome.
• It features a reconstruction of the Temple of Bel at Palmyra, a room of the State Archives of Ebla and the winged bull of Nimrud.
• Pakistan Parliament in a joint sitting on 6 October 2016 unanimously passed two bills, one seeking to curb murders in the name of honour and the other to punish rapists by use of modern technology of DNA testing in probes involving rape cases.

 India and the World

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the people of China as the country celebrated its 67th National Day.
• Highlighting the strategic relationship between the two Asian superpowers, PM Modi said that close cooperation between India and China has the potential to shape a “peaceful and stable future for Asia”.
• India and Singapore have signed three agreements, including two in the area of skill development, following delegation-level talks headedby Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Singapore Premier Lee Hsien Loong, who is on visit to Delhi.

Science and Technology

• The Mi-17 V5 helicopteris the latest acquisition in the IAF and forms the backbone of the Medium lift helicopter fleet.
• The father Air Vice Marshal Manavendra Singh AVSM VrC VSM and son Flight Lieutenant Siddharth Singh flew as pilots in a Mi-17 V5 helicopter for the first time.
• India’s latest communication satelliteGSAT-18 is successfully launched by a heavy duty rocket of Arianespace from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.
• GSAT-18, built by the IndianSpace Research Organisation (ISRO), aims at providing telecommunications services for the country by strengthening ISRO’s current fleet of 14 operational telecommunication satellite

Snippets from the States

• Airports Authority of India’s Tirupati Airport has been awarded as “Best Tourist Friendly Airport” under the category for “State Annual Excellence Awards for the year 2015-16” by Andhra Pradesh Tourism.
• Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated Shatabdi Krishi Bhawan and a Green Building in Banaras Hindu University.
• PrakashJavadekar inaugurates ShatabdiKrishiBhawan, Green Building in BHU
• President Pranab Mukherjee on 6 October 2016 inaugurated the first edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) in New Delhi.
• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its nod to the PSU under the Health Ministry to sub-lease 330.10 acres of land at Chengalpattu near Chennai to set up the Medipark through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with shareholding of HLL at 50 per cent.
• Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh became the first statesto declare their urban areas as Open Defecation Free (ODF) on the second anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
• The Delhi Police has launched a mobile application “Delhi Police Senior Citizen” for senior citizens to enable them to reach out to the police quickly in emergency situations.
• Rajasthan has become the first India state to adopt Central Government’sStreet Lighting National Programme (SLNP) in all its urban local bodies (ULB).
• The first ever bust of Nathuram Godse – Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin-as installed and unveiledby the members of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha at their Sharda road office in Meerut on the occasion of Gandhi’s birthday.
• Jharkhand has become the first state in the country to implement the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in Kerosene in four identified districts- Chatra, Hazaribagh, Khunti and Jantara from October 1.
• Goa is likely to ban open defecationin the near future, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar hinted. Goa which has best natural environment and touristic destination has ample scope to keep the land clean.

Sports Point

Obituary

Important Days