Daily Current Affairs Updates–7th November 2016

Daily Current Affairs Updates–7th 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.

Union Environment Ministry constitutes four-member team for conservation of Loktak Lake

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 4 November 2016 constituted a four-member team for conservation and management of Loktak Lake in Manipur. The team will visit Loktak Lake from 7 November to 9 November 2016 and hold discussions with the State Government, its concerned agencies and other stakeholders. The consultations will also include people living in the vicinity of the lake. The Ministry has asked the team to submit a report by 15 November 2016.

Meghalaya govt to amend IT policy to new digital policy

The Meghalaya Government has decided to amend its existing Information Technology Policy to a new digital policy. Informing this in Shillong during a press conference today, Minister in charge of Information Technology and Communications, Ampareen Lyngdoh said that the policy is being drafted and it will be taken to the Chief Minister and accordingly it will be placed before the cabinet.

The new policy is set would focus on several issues pertaining to Information Technology besides improving the internet and mobile connectivity in the state. Earlier, the Commissioner and Secretary of the department, DP Wahlang said that the projects paper are almost ready and now they are working on the financial modelling of the project. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 550-600 crores.

Nitin Gadkari lays foundation stone of three major initiatives at Mumbai Port trust

Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari today laid the foundation stone of three major initiatives at the Mumbai Port trust. The initiatives include India’s biggest Oil handling Jetty at Jawahar Dweep, the fifth oil berth at the island, first bunkering facility and Eastern Mumbai Water Transport Facility. MrGadkari also inaugurated the upgraded passenger terminal at New Ferry Wharf also known as BhauchaDhakka.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said, the projects will be beneficial not only to all the oil companies but also to passengers as the water transport service will reduce the travelling time considerably. He said, there are 69 proposals of Cargo and Passenger facilities of Maharashtra Government and 9 proposals have been approved.

New Delhi Declaration, Sendai Framework Plan adopted at AMCDRR 2016

The Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016 on 5 November 2016 came to an end with the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration and the Asian Regional Plan for Implementation of the Sendai Framework.The Closing ceremony of the Conference was presided over by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. This three-day Conference was held in Delhi. This was the first Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) after the advent of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (SFDRR).

India's first rural skate park in Bundelkhand

The Janwaar Skating Park, India's first rural skate park, is a not-for-profit project that teaches village children skateboarding for free. It exists in Janwaar village in Bundelkhand and has been built by German community activist Ulrike Reinhard. The park allows children from the age of five only, on the condition that they attend school regularly, resulting in increase in attendance.

Sinhala & Tamil to get equal status along with English as third official language in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, Minister for official language has advocated for providing Sinhala and Tamil language equal status along with making English as the third official language for the country. Talking to AIR in Colombo, Mano Ganeshan, who is minister for national coexistence, dialogue and official languages said, though Sinhala and Tamil have been accorded official language status in the present constitution, the wording suggests primacy of Sinhala over Tamil language which needs to be changed in the new constitution proposed to be brought up in coming months.

China Adopts Cyber Security Law

China adopted a controversial cybersecurity law to counter growing threats such as hacking and terrorism. It includes contentious requirements for security reviews and for data to be stored on servers located in China. The legislation passed set to come into effect in June 2017. Overseas critics of the law argue it threatens to shut foreign technology companies out of various sectors.

Global Climate conference to begin in Marrakech

The 12 day Global Climate conference will begin today in the Moroccan city of Marrakech. In the conference, delegates will deliberate on the details of implementing the Paris deal, such as drafting rules for how to measure and report emissions as well as the financial contributions meant to help poor countries deal with climate change.

India will push the agenda of sustainable lifestyle at the conference. The Environment Ministry said in a statement that the importance of sustainable lifestyle anchored for the first time in the climate change agreement was a big victory for India.

BANKING NEWS

UCO Bank To Raise Rs. 270 Crore Via Preferential Shares To LIC

UCO Bank will raise over Rs. 270.59 crore by issuing shares to state-owned life insurer LIC on preferential basis. At extraordinary general meeting of the state-owned bank held on Saturday, shareholders approved issuing 7,17,00,000 equity shares to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) at an issue price of Rs. 37.74 per share, UCO said in a regulatory filing. LIC holds 10.38 per cent in UCO Bank and after the preferential allotment of additional 7.17 crore shares, its shareholding in the bank will increase to 14.50 per cent of the total equity capital.

BUSINESS NEWS

ONGC VideshTo Provide $318 Million Financing Guarantee To Venezuela

ONGC Videsh Ltd will provide $318 million financing to help raise output at a Venezuelan oilfield after the Latin American nation signed pact to supply 17,000 barrels per day of crude oil to India to clear past dues. OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned ONGC, owns 40 per cent of Venezuela's San Cristobal oilfield and had invested about $190 million in the project in 2008. State-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) holds the remaining stake.

OVL and Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA signed the deal on Friday to finance increased crude production at the joint venture Petrolera Indovenezolana, SA, which operates the San Cristobal oilfield. The financing will help boost production at San Cristobal field to 30,000-35,000 bpd from current 19,000-20,000 bpd, he said.

AGREEMENTS &MoUs

Assam Govt Inks MoU with Aviation Min

CM Sonowal& Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju inked a MoU with the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation & Airport Authority of India under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). According to MoU, the Assam govt shall reduce VAT to 1% or less on Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) at RCS Airports. The Assam Government will provide free land for the development of heliports in Diphu&Haflong.

DRDO Signs MoUWith IIT Delhi

Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) signed a MoU with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi to establish a Joint Advanced Technology Centre(JATC). JATC will be located in the campus of IIT Delhi at the upcoming Science & Technology Park. The JATC will enable Directed, Basic & Applied Research and will engage with premier research institutes.

APPOINTMENTS

RBI appoints M RajeshwarRao as new ED

The Reserve Bank has appointed M RajeshwarRao as Executive Director following G Mahalingam's taking voluntary retirement from the central bank. RBI said in a statement that as Executive Director, Rao will look after Department of Statistics and Information Management, Financial markets Operations Department and International Department.

Prior to taking over as the Executive Director, he was the Chief General Manager, Financial Markets Operations Department. He has previously held charge of the Risk Monitoring Department. He has also worked as the Banking Ombudsman, New Delhi.

Justin Bieber wins three awards at 2016 MTV EMAs

Singer Justin Bieber won three awards including 'Best Song' for his track 'Sorry' at the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs). While Lady Gaga won the 'Best Female' award, Shawn Mendes won in the 'Best Male' category. Further, Drake was the winner in the Best Hip Hop category and 'Coldplay' won the EMA for 'Best Rock'.

India rises to second spot on global business optimism index

A survey says, India has improved its ranking by one spot in a global index of business optimism, with policy reforms and Goods and Services tax expected to become a reality soon.According to the latest Grant Thornton International Business Report, India was ranked second on the optimism index during the third quarter (July-September 2016).

Indonesia took the top spot, with the Philippines coming in third. The report says, the improvement in the optimism ranking in the recent past clearly reflects that the reform agenda of the government and its efforts on improving the climate for doing business are having an impact. The report is prepared on the basis of a quarterly conducted global business survey of 2,500 businesses across 36 economies.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

‘Lost’ Chandrabhagariver found in Odisha

Scientists from Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) claimed to have found evidence confirming the existence of a mythical Indian river, Chandrabhaga. This is the second among such findings. In October 2016, KS Valdiya led expert committee had found that Saraswati River did exist. The IIT study aimed to verify this myth.

Google Capital changes its name to 'CapitalG'

Google Capital, the search giant's venture arm that invests in growth-stage companies, has changed its name to 'CapitalG'. The old GoogleCapital.com domain now forwards to CapitalG.com, and Google Capital's Twitter account has announced that it’s being retired in favour of a new @CapitalGTweets account. CapitalG’s new site confirms a previously unmentioned detail that it has invested in Snapchat.

SPORTS NEWS

Sports Ministry wants BCCI to come under RTI

The Sports Ministry and the Law Ministry are reportedly working towards bringing the Indian cricket board, BCCI under the ambit of the RTI (Right to Information) Act. A ministry source stated BCCI has always worked like a "not-for-profit private society" but this can not go on forever. Notably, one of the Lodha recommendations was to bring BCCI under the RTI.

Petra Kvitova wins 2016 WTA Elite Singles Trophy

Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova on 6 November 2016 won the 2016 WTA Elite Singles Trophy. She defeated Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-2 to grab the title at Zhuhai, China. Venus Williams was the defending champion for the title. However, she chose not to participate despite qualifying for the edition.

Henri Kontinen, John Peers win 2016 BNP Paribas Masters Doubles title

Henri Kontinen and John Peers have won the ATP World Tour Masters Doubles title at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. Kontinen and Peers defeated top-seeded Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 to claim the title.

Former MoS Jayawantiben Mehta Dies

Former Union Minister and BJP leader Jayawantiben Mehta passed away. Mehta was Minister of State in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet in 1999. She was the former minister of state for power. She rose in the BJP ranks to become a corporator, an MLA and later a LokSabha member, succeeding Murli Deora from the South Mumbai constituency.