Daily Current Affairs Updates–29th October 2016

Daily Current Affairs Updates–29th October 2016:

Daily Current affairs News Updates about the National and International events were listed here. Candidates those who are preparing for IBPS/SBI/PO/Clerk exam and all other competitive exams can use this.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Internet Day: 29 OCTOBER 2016

International Internet Day is celebrated worldwide, every year on 29th of October. Since the year 2005 the International Internet Day has been famously celebrated to commemorate a momentous day in the history of telecommunications and technology. This was the event of the sending of the first message, first electronic message which was transferred from one computer to another in 1969. This was situated in California, in the USA.

Centre decides to fix minimum wage for unskilled agricultural labour in C-class towns in central sphere

The Centre has decided to fix the minimum wage for unskilled agricultural labour in C-class towns in central sphere at 350 rupees per day to be effective from Tuesday. Labour Minister BandaruDattatreya told this to reporters in New Delhi Friday.

At present, agriculture workers in the central sphere are paid as per the rates prescribed under the national floor level minimum wage, which is 160 rupees per day. On benchmark minimum wage across the country, the Labour Minister said, the government is going to get amendment in Minimum Wages Act, which will be called universal minimum wage.

At present, the states are free to fix wages for various category of workers as there is no benchmark minimum wage which is applicable across the country. After the amendment, the states will have to maintain a benchmark minimum wage fixed by the Centre.

Centre soon to open 300 pharmacy AMRIT outlets in different parts of the country to provide affordable medicines

i. The Centre would soon open 300 pharmacy AMRIT outlets in different parts of the country to provide affordable medicines to the people at a discount rate of 60-70 per cent. This was stated by the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anupriya Patel while inaugurating Uttar Pradesh's first AMRIT pharmacy outlet at Hospital of BHU in Varanasi Friday.

ii. Union Minister said the pharmacy outlet - 'Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment' (AMRIT) - is an effort of the NarendraModi-led NDA government to reduce the expenditure incurred by patients on treatment of cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases. On these AMRIT outlets, medicines will be available for the common people at a discount rate of 60-70 per cent, she said.

Odisha Govt. comes up with a new scheme to provide legal assistance to deprived sections

i. The Odisha government has come up with a new scheme to provide legal assistance to the deprived sections of the society at the grassroots level in all its 6,812 gram panchayats across the state. The scheme named after great Odia lawyer, 'MadhubabuAainSahayataSibir’ will offer legal services once a week.

ii. The advocate engaged for the legal assistance cell will be paid an amount of 500 rupees fee per sitting to provide free legal advice to the people. Government hopes the system would help in reducing number of litigation in the courts.

Himachal Pradesh becomes India’s second open defecation free state

Himachal Pradesh was on Friday declared 'Open Defecation Free', becoming India's second state to get this status after Sikkim. The newly acquired status will entitle Himachal Pradesh to receive World Bank funding under 9,000crore project to sustain sanitation campaign. The state achieved this five months before the target, Secretary in the ministry of rural development ParmeshvaranIyer said.

Railway Minister launches a new train service between AnandVihar to Ballia in Uttar Pradesh

Minister of Railway Suresh Prabhu launched a new train service through video conferencing between AnandVihar to Ballia in Uttar Pradesh for the convenience of passengers. It will run weekly between these two destinations.

Speaking on the occasion Friday, MrPrabhu said, it was a long pending demand of the Ballia people to introduce a direct train between Ballia and Delhi. He said, the demand has been fulfilled on the auspicious occasion of Deepwali.

Centre sanctions Rs 100 cr for development of roads in Vijayapura District of Karnataka

Union Minister Ramesh Jigajinagi has said, the Centre has sanctioned 100 crore rupees for development of various roads in Vijayapura District of Karnataka under Central Road Fund.

In a press release, the Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation said that the amount will be utilised for developing roads including long pending Sindagi-Almol-Karadi 32 km Major District Road, KauloGoud National Highway, Ring Road and other roads.

PradhanMantriKaushal Kendra will be set up in all districts of Assam in phase manner: Rudy

Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that the PradhanMantriKaushal Kendra will be set up in all districts of Assam in phase manner. He conveyed it to Assam Chief Minister SarbanandSonowal in a meeting in Guwahati Friday.

Mr. Rudy underlined the need for structuring of the Directorate of Skill Development in the state. He also requested to provide 10 acres of land on lease basis in the state for setting up a Driver’s Training Center. The Chief Minister agreed to the proposal and has assured him of providing the land for it.

Odisha Govt. announces to implement recommendations of 7th Pay Commission for its employees

The Odisha Government Friday evening announced to implement the recommendations of 7th Pay Commission for its employees. Announcing this, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said that the state government would set up a fitment committee which would prepare the modalities for implementation of the recommendations. He said around four lakh employees and over three lakh pensioners would be benefited by this.

84,460 More Affordable Houses for Poor

Centre has sanctioned 84 thousand 460 more affordable houses for five States under PradhanMantriAwasYojana. Over three thousand crore rupees will be invested for these houses and out of this one thousand 256 crore rupees has been approved. With these approvals, 10 lakh 95 thousand 804 affordable houses have been approved during the last one year under PradhanMantriAwasYojana.

INTERNATIONAL

Govt notifies revised DTAA with South Korea

India and South Korea have signed a revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. The Provisions of the new DTAA will have effect in India in respect of income derived in fiscal years beginning on or after 1 April 2017

Canada and EU to sign a long-delayed landmark trade deal at a summit in Brussels

Canada and the European Union are to sign a long-delayed landmark trade deal at a summit in Brussels tomorrow. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described it as "great news" and said he looked forward to attending. A signing ceremony planned for Thursday had to be cancelled after a Belgian region vetoed the agreement. But after marathon talks, a consensus was finally reached allowing all 28 EU states to formally approve the deal Friday.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada, known as Ceta, required all EU member-states to endorse it. But seven years of negotiations were left hanging in the balance after Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia demanded stronger safeguards on labour, environmental and consumer standards.

BANKING NEWS

MMTC ties up with major banks to retail gold coins

Public sector major MMTC (Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India) has joined hands with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Andhra Bank to retail gold coins with a new buyback option. Besides its own outlets across the country, MMTC has tied up with Indian Overseas Bank, Vijaya Bank, Federal Bank and YES Bank to sell gold coins in denominations of 5 gm and 10 gm coin and 20 gm bar.

SBI cuts lending rates by 0.15%, ICICI by 0.10%

Two top lenders in the country, SBI and ICICI Bank, on Friday announced a cut of 0.15% and 0.10% in their respective lending rates under a new system of computation. This comes after repeated displeasure shown by the RBI for not passing on the benefits of its rate cuts to borrowers. The revised rates will be effective from November 1 in case of both the banks.

Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 to curb black money comes into effect

The new law to prohibit benami transactions will come into effect from 1st of next month. Parliament had passed the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 to curb black money. An official release said, after coming into effect, the existing Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 will be renamed as the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions, PBPT, Act, 1988.

The new legislation provides for seven years imprisonment and fine for those indulging in illegal transactions. It said, properties held benami are liable for confiscation by the government without payment of compensation.

BUSINESS NEWS

Country's Forex Reserves rises by USD 1 billion to USD 367.14 billion

Country's Forex Reserves rose by USD 1 billion to USD 367.14 billion for the week ended October 21 on the back of increase in the core currency assets. The Reserve Bank said that Foreign Currency Assets -FCAs, a major component of the overall reserves, increased by USD 1.015 billion to USD 341.923 billion.

It also said that Gold reserves remained steady at USD 21.406 billion. According to the Apex Bank, the special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund declined by USD 5.4 million to USD 1.463 billion.

Startups can raise USD 3 million via ECBs annually byRBI

The Reserve Bank yesterday permitted startups to raise external commercial borrowings (ECBs) of up to USD 3 million in a financial year, a move aimed at boosting innovation and promoting job creation. The RBI said while issuing norms for ECB route for startups that the borrowing should be denominated in any freely convertible currency or in Indian Rupees (INR) or a combination thereof.

AGREEMENTS &MoUs

Cabinet Approves Agmt b/w India & Estonia

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing and ratification of an agreement between India and Estonia on the transfer of sentenced persons. This agreement shall facilitate the Indian prisoners imprisoned in Estonia or vice-versa for serving remaining part of their sentence. Prior to 2004, there was no domestic legislation under which foreign prisoners could be transferred.

Andhra Bank Enters MoU with MMTC

Andhra Bank commenced the sale of Indian Gold Coins (IGCs) in 5 gm, 10 gm and 20 gm denominations. It had also entered into a memorandum of understanding with MMTC for the sale of these coins. The IGCs are being sold under the government’s gold monetisationscheme. The coins are of 24 karat purity and 999 fineness

APPOINTMENTS

World Bank Appoints First LGBTI Adviser

The World Bank has appointed its first adviser tasked with promoting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & intersex (LGBTI) issues in its development work. The bank has named Clifton Cortez to fill the position. The newly created senior position is part of the bank’s efforts to solidify its commitment of researching & curbing discrimination against LGBTI persons across the 136 countries.

Indian Documentary Film “Daughters of Mother India”Wins Award

Indian Documentary film “Daughters of Mother India” has won at the 6th CAM International Film Festival in Cairo. The film won the first prize in the documentary section of the festival. The festival was organized by theArabic Egyptian Society for Culture, Media and Arts (CMA). Daughters of Mother India” portrays India’s story of resolve, hope and courage in the fight against gender violence.

India Ranks Poorly In Commonwealth Index

India has ranked very poorly at 133 in a new Global Youth Development Index. It was compiled by the Commonwealth Secretariat on the countries’ prospects for young people in employment, education, health, civic and political spheres. India ranked 133rd in the index covering 183 nations, below neighbouring countries like Nepal (77), Bhutan (69) and Sri Lanka (31).

Bob Dylan accepts Nobel Prize in literature

US singer-songwriter Bob Dylan says, he accepts his Nobel Prize in literature, ending a silence since being awarded the prize earlier this month. The Nobel Foundation in a statement said, the honour had left him "speechless". The award to the star was announced on the 13th of this month for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition. However, his failure to acknowledge it raised eyebrows.

Indian Panaroma 2016 announces its final selection of Feature and Non- Feature Films to be screened in Goa

Indian Panaroma 2016 has announced its final selection of Feature and Non- Feature Films to be screened in Goa at 47th International Film Festival of India. An official release said, the Jury for Feature Films has selected 22 films out of 230 eligible entries.

The Jury has recommended Sanskrit Film ISHTI directed by G. Prabha as the opening feature film of Indian Panaroma 2016. Besides three mainstream films are also selected.The release added that the Jury for Non- Feature Films selected 21 films out of 198 eligible entries. ImaSabitri directed by Bobo KH has been chosen as the opening non - feature film.

Nadia Murad and LamiyaAji Bashar wins 2016 Sakharov Prize

Two Yazidi women, Nadia MuradBasee and LamiyaAji Bashar, who escaped sexual enslavement by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq, have won Europe's top human rights award, the Sakharov prize. The announcement of the year's joint laureates was made following a decision by European Parliament on 27 October 2016. The Sakharov award ceremony will be held in Strasbourg on 14 December.

SPORTS NEWS

Sports Ministry recognises new boxing federation

Sports Ministry has granted recognition to Boxing Federation of India (BFI) as National Sports Federation for Boxing. In a tweet, Sports Minister Vijay Goel said, the recognition to the BFI will give a big boost to the boxers for their preparation for the Tokyo Olympics and other major international competitions.

There has been no National Sports Federation for Boxing since 2012. BFI took charge in September this year after elections conducted in the presence of an observer from not just the Sports Ministry but also from the International Boxing Association.

Japan's Prince Mikasa, world's oldest royal, dies at 100

Japanese Prince Mikasa, uncle of Emperor Akihito, died at the age of 100, 27 October. He was the oldest imperial family member in the world. Mikasa was the fifth in the line of succession to the Japanese throne Chrysanthemum, a metaphorical name for the monarchy.

Goa’s First Woman Chief Minister Dies

Goa’s second Chief Minister and the only woman to hold that post so far, ShashikalaKakodkar has passed away. She was popularly referred to as Tai. She was the daughter of Goa’s first chief minister DayanandBandodkar. Following her father’s death in 1973, Kakodkar was sworn in as the chief minister and held charge till April 1979, following a split in the party.