Daily Current Affairs Updates–3rd November 2016

Daily Current Affairs Updates–3rd November 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.

Centre to set up $2 bn clean energy equity fund for additional renewable energy

i. The Centre, along with state-run power entities National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC), will soon launch a 2 billion dollar clean energy equity fund to support the government's ambitious target of adding 175 GW renewable energy generation capacity by 2022.

ii. A senior official said, New and Renewable Energy Ministry has already processed the proposal and sent it to the Finance Ministry to initiate a 2 billion dollar clean energy equity fund to push renewable energy capacity addition as envisaged by the central government.

Govt committed to welfare of ex-servicemen; Rs 5,507 crore disbursed under OROP: Parrikar

i. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said that the government is committed to the welfare of ex-servicemen and more than Rs 5,507 crore has been disbursed under the One Rank One Pension,OROP scheme.

ii. Giving the details of the OROP implementation so far, Mr Parrikar said there were 20 lakh 63 thousand 763 beneficiaries before July 2014. He said, 19 lakh 12 thousand 520 pensioners have been paid the first instalment and 1 lakh 50 thousand 313 cases are pending verification and authentication of beneficiaries.

Tweeting the details, Mr Parrikar said, more than Rs 3,886 crore had been disbursed as the first instalment. He said 11 lakh 33 thousand 100 people have received the second instalment of more than Rs 1,604 crore has been disbursed.

Over 80 crore people covered under National Food Security law: Paswan

i. Over 80 crore people are covered under the National Food Security Act which has been implemented across the country. Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters in New Delhi today that the Act has been implemented across India from this month with annual subsidy of Rs 1,40,000 crore.

ii. Kerala and Tamil Nadu have also implemented the Act from this month. The two southern states had sought time to complete end-to-end computerisation of their PDS and the process of seeding Aadhaar numbers with family cards. Under the Act, beneficiaries are entitled to food grains at highly subsidised rates of rice at three rupees per kg, wheat two rupees and coarse cereals at one rupee.

IAF conducts aerial display at Lucknow Air Force Station

i. To commemorate 84th foundation day of the Indian Air Force, the Central Air Command of the IAF conducted a spectacular aerobatic display at the Air Force station at Bakshi Ka Talab at Lucknow on Wednesday. The show comprised some of the very thrilling display maneuvers performed by air warriors in their magnificent flying machines.

ii. The internationally acclaimed 'Akash-Ganga' Paratroopers Team, 'Sarang' Helicopter Formation Air Display Team and 'Surya Kiran' Formation Aerobatics Team held the onlookers spell bound. In addition, the famous Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft carried out low-level aerobatics and MIG-21 and Kiran MK-II aircraft also flew above the spectators in extremely skillful maneuvers mesmerising them.

President Pranab Mukherjee visits Pashupatinath Temple in Nepal

i. President Pranab Mukherjee visited the famous Pashupatinath Temple in Nepal capital, Kathmandu today. Mr Mukherjee, who is on a three-day visit to the Himalayan nation, performed pooja at the temple amidst tight security.The temple is a UNESCO heritage site visited by thousands from across the world.

ii. President Pranab Mukherjee in his visit to Nepal has said that in the context of India-Nepal relations, the socio-economic, cultural and people to people relations provide vitality and dynamism to unique, time-tested and multi-facted relationship of two countries. His visit to Pashupatinanth Temple today is symbolic and has historic cultural significance in that direction.The iconic Pashupatinath temple is situated in Deopatan near Bagmati river and about 5 km from Kathmandu valley, is considere

Venkaiah, Chandrababu lay foundation stone for VIT’s new campus in Amaravati

i. Union Minister for Urban Development and Information Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu has said, the country will only progress if people reform to perform to transform the nation. Mr Naidu said this after laying the foundation stone for the Chennai-based Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT)’s new campus at Ainavolu in Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh today along with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. He said, people should remind the call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the improved performance of the States in the overall country’s development and progress.

Maharashtra first state to launch cyber police stations in all districts

i. Maharashtra is converting 42 state-of-the-art cyber crime labs into cyber police stations. The move is part of BJP-led government's strategy to take on cyber criminals. A top Home department official told agencies that Maharashtra is the first state in the country which will have a cyber police station in each district. Any offence related to cyber crime will be registered in these police stations at the district level. Additional cyber police stations will also be set up in some cities.

ii. Cyber police stations will also be set up at police commissionerate and Range IG offices.The official said, cyber crime in Maharashtra has risen by a whopping 142.1 per cent in the last few years adding that the state is facing increased cyber crime cases in tier-II cities and also in rural areas. He said, many such cases remain pending for investigation and the new initiative will take care of this shortcomin

INTERNATIONAL

Bangladesh-India joint military exercise SAMPRITI-2016 to commence from 05 Nov

The joint military training exercise “Sampriti-2016” will be conducted between India and Bangladesh at Tangail, Dhaka, Bangladesh from 05 to 18 November 2016. Exercise SAMPRITI is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh and will be the sixth edition of the exercise which is hosted alternately by both countries.

BANKING NEWS

SBI Cuts Home Loan Rate To Lowest In 6 Years In Bonanza For Buyers

In cheer for home buyers, State Bank of India (SBI) has cut interest rate by 0.15 per cent to a six-year low. The revised rates for new borrowers are effective from November 1, 2016, for loans up to Rs. 75 lakh. For women borrowers, SBI has brought down the interest rate to 9.10 per cent per annum from 9.25 per cent while for others to 9.15 per cent from 9.30 per cent. This means that on a home loan of Rs. 50 lakh of 30 years, a home buyer can save Rs. 542 per month on EMIs.

RBI asks banks to ensure 10% of ATMs dispense Rs 100 notes

The Reserve Bank of India has directed banks to ensure that at least 10% of their ATMs dispense Rs100 banknotes within the next 15 days. To keep in line with the Clean Note Policy's objectives and to ensure that requirement of public for Rs 100 denomination banknotes are met, the banks should increase their dispensation, the RBI said.

ICICI Bank launches overdraft facility for salaried home loan borrowers

i. ICICI Bank has launched a credit facility against home loans for salaried customers. The Home Overdraft facility will enable a salaried customer to seek loans up to Rs. 1 crore for personal needs against his/her property.

ii. Salaried individuals, who have a home loan and a salary account with ICICI Bank, are eligible to apply for the ‘Home Overdraft’ facility. Also, salaried borrowers of preferred corporates who do not have home loans with ICICI Bank can transfer their home loans to the bank to avail themselves of this service.

AGREEMENTS &MoUs

LinkedIn inks MoU with govt to create jobs for students

i. Leading global professional network LinkedIn has signed an agreement with the human resource development ministry to create more job opportunities for Indian students. As part of the MoU, LinkedIn’s ‘Placements’ product will be adopted by all Indian colleges affiliated with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

APPOINTMENTS

Sarabjit Singh Marwah becomes Canada's first Sikh Senator

Kolkata-born Sarabjit Singh Marwah on 2 November 2016 became the first Sikh to be appointed to the Canadian Senate. Toronto-based Marwah is among six people from Ontario who have been appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Kristalina Georgieva appointed as CEO of IBRD & IDA of World Bank

Kristalina Georgieva was on 2 November 2016 appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group with effect from January 2017. Her appointment was confirmed by the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. IBRD and IDA are the lending arms of the World Bank.

R Ashwin made brand ambassador of Equitas SFB

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday was unveiled as the brand ambassador of Equitas Small Finance Bank, the first private sector bank from Tamil Nadu post independence. Ashwin stated that it was a "proud moment" for him to get associated with the bank. "I love their vision of empowering 5% of Indian households through financial inclusion," he added.

Sulabh founder Bindeshwar Pathak is the brand ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission

Ministry of Railways on 02nd November appointed Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of Sulabh International, as a Brand Ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission. As part of the mission, Sulabh International has been assigned the task to clean some important railway stations across the country.

Sulabh International is an India-based social service organization which works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education.

Sanjiv Arora appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Lebanon

An Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Sanjiv Arora has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Lebanon by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a sovereign state in Western Asia.

Saudi Arabia awards water prize to eight scientist

i. Saudi Arabia has awarded eight scientists International Prize for Water at a ceremony at United Nations headquarters in New York. The bi-annual prize, established in 2002 named after Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, aims to provide recognition to scientists and others whose work creatively addresses the problem of water scarcity.

ii. The ceremony was hosted by UN Friends of Water and presided over by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the prize committee chairman Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz also present.The works on which the prizes were given include use of satellite data to predict cholera outbreaks, predicting monsoonal floods, predicting the long-term fate of pollutants in the water table, reducing the amount of energy needed for water treatment by membrane process among others.

Freedom of the Press 2016 report released

i. Freedom House, a non-government watchdog, on 2 November 2015 released the Freedom of the Press 2016 report. The report was released with theme, The Battle for the Dominant Message. As per the annual report, press freedom declined to its lowest point in 12 years in 2015.

ii. It happened because the political, criminal, and terrorist forces sought to co-opt or silence the media in their broader struggle for power. With respect to India, the report found that freedom to the press is partly free with a total score of 41 on a 0 to 100 scale with 0 representing the best level of freedom on the net progress and 100 the worst.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA's most powerful space telescope completed

i. NASA has successfully completed building its largest space telescope, which will be 100 times more powerful than the Hubble probe and may find the first galaxies that formed in the early universe. The James Webb Space Telescope will be the successor to NASA's 26-year-old Hubble Space Telescope.

ii. The Webb telescope's infrared cameras are so sensitive that it needs to be shielded from the rays of the Sun. A 5-layer sunshield of the size of a tennis court will prevent the background heat from the Sun from interfering with the telescope's infrared sensors.

SPORTS NEWS

Indian badminton player Pratul Joshi wins Bahrain International Challenge title

Indian shuttler Pratul Joshi has won the men’s singles title of the Bahrain International Challenge badminton tournament. This was his maiden international title. In the summit clash played at Segayya in Bahrain, Pratul defeated Aditya Joshi. On the other hand, the women’s singles title went to Sri fatmawati of Indonesia. In the final clash, she defeated compatriot Asty Dwi Widyaningru.

India beat Malaysia 2-0 in Women's Asian Champions Trophy

Indian women's hockey team defeated Malaysia 2-0 on Tuesday to continue their unbeaten run in the Women's Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament. Poonam Rani opened the scoring in the seventh minute while Deepika converted a penalty corner in the 45th minute to double the lead. India are now on top of the points table after three pool games

Former J&K Deputy CM Mangat Ram Sharma passes away

Former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma passed away in Jammu today after a prolonged illness. He was 85. Mr Sharma was not keeping well for the past few days. He was Deputy Chief Minister in Mufti Mohammad Sayeed led government and later served as Health Minister in 2008 in the dispensation headed by Ghulam Nabi Azad.