Daily Current Affairs Updates–6th January 2017

Daily Current Affairs Updates–6th January 2017:

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.

New facility for visually-impaired students opens at IIT-Bombay:

IIT-Bombay has opened a new facility for the visually-impaired students at its central library. The institute said it has procured modern aids and appliances like a document camera that works as an instant reader, software to convert text into audio files, and portable scanners and readers, among others. It is a positive move towards social inclusion, Director Devang Khakhar said.

Japan to help Chennai, Ahmedabad , Varanasi on Smart City Project:

Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu on Thursday said Japan has decided to be associated with the development of Chennai, Ahmedabad and Varanasi as smart cities in the country. This comes as a part of government's scheme to develop 100 cities as smart cities. The last list of 27 cities to be developed as smart cities was released in September.

Punjab: Sponsored ads were included as a part of candidate's expenditure :

The Punjab Election Commission on Thursday announced that sponsored advertisements on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter would be included in the total election expenditure of a candidate. Notably, the maximum limit for expenditure by each candidate in Punjab Assembly elections is ₹28 lakh. Earlier, Punjab EC had launched three IT applications, which are Samadhan, Suvidha and Sugam for uploading complaints by public, political parties and candidates

Business summit Intaglio 2017 starts today at IIM Calcutta:

IIM Calcutta will be conducting its international business summit Intaglio 2017 from January 6 to 8, 2017. The event has been themed 'India towards Epitome of Excellence' this year. Intaglio will see participants from over 500 Indian institutes competing in multiple business events pertaining to strategy, finance, marketing among others and witnessing speakers like Meera Sanyal and Harish Iyer.

New taxi service 'Shivgramin' launch Maharashtra government:

Maharashtra government is likely to launch a new Shivgramin Taxi Scheme on Thursday, according to reports. The new taxis will be orange and white in colour and will ply outside municipal limits. The six-seater taxis will provide an alternate mode of public transport to people in rural and semi-urban areas of Maharashtra.

Mumbai-Pune Expressway soon to get WiFi coverage :

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation has decided to provide high-speed WiFi coverage zones on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway of 94-km, according to reports. The WiFi network will help the police to monitor CCTV footage along the expressway and at the toll booths in real time, said an official. The services are likely to be offered for free.

Apart from WiFi, the MSRDC also plans to strengthen the mobile network. “There are a lot of shadow areas on the expressway. We want telecom operators to install base transceiver stations (BTS) and other infrastructure.

Govt imposes anti-dumping duty on Jute products of Bangladesh and Nepal :

The Government today imposed an anti-dumping duty ranging from 6.30 US dollars to 351.72 US dollars per tonne on imports of jute and its products from Bangladesh and Nepal.  This anti-dumping duty has been imposed in order to protect the domestic industry. A revenue department notification said the duty has been imposed for five years. 4th Assam International Agri-Horti starts of today in Guwahati :

Fourth Assam International Agri-Horiculture show has begun today in Guwahati. Inaugurating the show, Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal said his government is committed for the development of farmers. Mr.Sonowal said that Assam government will implement all schemes initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

14th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to begin tomorrow in Bengaluru :

The city of Bengaluru is all set to host the 14th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, PBD Convention beginning tomorrow. The first day of the annual event is dedicated for the youth. The theme of the Youth PBD progamme is ‘Role of Diaspora Youth in the Transformation of India’. Vice President of Suriname Michael Ashwin Adhin will deliver a keynote address in inaugural Session of Youth PBD.

Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah and Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh will also address the session. Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel will chair the session.

Island Tourism Festival 2017 to begin in Andaman & Nicobar today :

The Island Tourism Festival 2017 will begin today at Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar islands. Lt. Governor Jagdish Mukhi will inaugurate the mega event at ITF Ground this evening.

During the 10-day event, performances by the cultural troupes from mainland will help the Islanders renew their cultural ties with mainland India. An International Cultural Group from Khazkhistan will also perform the ITF Ground.

Workshop for promotion of IT & ITeS Industries in Port Blair by Lt. Governor:

In Andaman & Nicobar Islands, a day-long workshop for promotion of IT and ITeS Industries in Islands will be organised today at Dr. BR Ambedkar Institute of Technology, Port Blair.
Lt. Governor Jagdish Mukhi will inaugurate the workshop at 10.30 AM. NASSCOM President R Chandrashekhar, senior officers from Union Telecom Ministry will participate in the workshop.

Mumbai's 5 junctions is set installed with air purifying unit by MPCB :

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board has installed a device called Wind Augmentation and Purifying Unit at Mumbai's five vital junctions. The places are Sion flyover, Bandra Kalanagar, Shreyas Junction in Ghatkopar, Bhandup railway station and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board headquarters.

This action has been taken with an aim to reduce pollution in Mumbai and its outskirts. The device was inaugurated by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray today.

New Delhi World Book Fair to kick-off from tomorrow :

New Delhi World Book Fair will be held from tomorrow till the 15th of this month at Pragati Maidan. The theme of this year is 'Manushi' which will focus on writings on and by women. An official release said the book fair will exhibit the rich tradition of women writings from ancient times till present. Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar will inaugurate the theme pavilion on the 10th of this month.

INTERNATIONAL:

'Eden Project' the largest indoor rainforest is located in UK :

The 'Eden Project', believed to be the largest indoor rainforest, is located in Cornwall, UK. The greenhouse is built into a giant crater and houses thousands of plant varieties. It consists of eight domes that cover about 5.5 acres. The domes are paneled with plastic bubbles that adapt to the changing topography.

'Shangri-la of the World' the longest bullet train launched by China:

China on Thursday launched its longest bullet train 'Shangri-la of the World' from Kunming, in Yunnan Province, to Beijing. This has expanded China's high-speed train network to about 20,000 kilometres. It takes nearly 13 hours for the train to cover a distance of 2,760 kilometres. A ticket for a second-class seat on the train costs 1,147 yuan (Rs.11,330).

BANKING NEWS:

HSBC reported that India's GDP may have dipped to 5% in Dec quarter post note ban:

India’s GDP is likely to have grown at a much slower-than-expected pace of 5% in the October-December period due to a slowdown in manufacturing and services sectors post demonetisation, an HSBC report said. Further, GDP may see 6% growth in the following quarter, it stated. Activity data, and consumption and investment have clearly taken a hit after demonetisation, it added.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY NEWS:

Under GST the exporters to get 90% tax refund within 7 days:

The government has agreed to refund 90% of the duties paid by exporters within a period of seven days under the GST regime. The exporters would get interest on the refund in case of delays, it added. Earlier, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. 

The Commerce secretary Rita Teaotia also said the revenue department has committed that 90% of the refund will be made within seven days, while the remaining 10% “will be subject to whatever verification the revenue department is required to do”. Under the GST structure, taxes must be paid and that the refund will be provided.

Single-window customs clearance for exporters is extended by Revenue department :

The revenue department has extended the facility of single window customs clearance for export consignments with a view to bringing down transaction cost.  In a circular, Central board of excise and customs department said, after the successful implementation of single window interface for facilitation of trade (SWIFT) for imports, it is proposed to implement online-release from partner government agencies for exports.

A pilot project for exporters has been started at Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai air cargo complexes from yesterday. SWIFT provides importers and exporters a single point interface for Customs clearance of shipments thereby reducing interface with government agencies and cost of doing business.

500 Startups delays $25 million India-focussed Kulfi fund :

California-based early-stage seed fund 500 Startups, has reportedly delayed its plans to raise a $25 million India-focussed fund called 500 Kulfi. The accelerator, led by angel investor Dave McClure, cited taxation and regulatory concerns as reasons for putting the fund on hold. 500 Startups has invested in over 50 companies in India since 2011 including Instamojo and CultureAlley.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:

Two missions “Lucy” and “Psyche” to explore early Solar System announced by NASA:

NASA has announced two missions to explore the early Solar System by studying the metallic asteroid Psyche and perform the first orbital reconnaissance of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids.

Chosen out of 27 submissions, each investigative team received 3 million dollars to design concept studies. The two selected missions will cost approximately 500 million dollars each, not including launch and post-launch operations.  The two missions have been dubbed “Lucy” and “Psyche”.

A new-generation telecommunications satellite launched successfully by China :

China has successfully launched a new-generation telecommunications satellite, the country’s Defense Ministry has announced. The launch was carried out at 15:19 GMT yesterday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center using the Chang Zheng 3B carrier rocket, the ministry said.

The second Tongxin Jishu Shiyan satellite will help test multi-frequency high-speed data transmission. China plans to carry out about 30 space launches in 2017.

AGREEMENTS:

Amend on Double Taxation Avoidance Convention protocol got signed between India & Kazakhstan:

India and Kazakhstan today signed a protocol to amend the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Convention between the two countries signed on December, 1996 for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.

The protocol provides internationally accepted standards for effective exchange of information on tax matters. AIR correspondent reports, the information received from Kazakhstan for tax purposes can be shared with other law enforcement agencies with authorisation of the competent authority of Kazakhstan and vice versa.

APPOINTMENTS:

Britain appoints Sir Tim Barrow as EU ambassador:

UK's government has appointed career diplomat Sir Tim Barrow as its ambassador to the EU. The office of Britain's PM Theresa May said that Barrow is a seasoned and tough negotiator who will bring energy to Brexit talks. The former ambassador Sir Ivan Rogers had resigned after accusing the government of "ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking" over the Brexit negotiation.

SPORTS NEWS:

Hockey India sponsorship contract with Sahara Group got extended up to 2021:

The Sahara Group on Thursday extended its with Hockey India by signing a deal until 2021. Sahara Group, which has been associated with Hockey India since 1995, will support both the men's and women's hockey teams at the senior and junior levels. The Group said that apart from the sponsorship, it would also help players in different ways.

Chennai Open:  World record for largest tennis lesson with 956 kids takes place:

As many as 956 kids showed up for a tennis training session at Chennai's SDAT Tennis Stadium on Tuesday, setting a world record for the 'largest tennis lesson'. The previous record stood at 803 participants and was set in Liverpool, United Kingdom in June 2015. The kids trained with leading Indian players like Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes.

Olympic medal-winners 'Ashton Eaton' and 'Brianne Theisen-Eaton' couple  announces retirement together:

The Olympic medal-winning husband-wife duo of Ashton Eaton and Brianne Theisen-Eaton announced their retirement from athletics on Wednesday. Ashton, a two-time Olympic gold medal-winning decathlon athlete and Brianne, a two-time heptathlon world silver medallist, wrote side-by-side essays on their website announcing their retirement. “I can’t advance any further in the sport”, wrote Ashton.

9-member govt panel formed for National Sports Code in comprising Bindra , Padukone and Anju:

Former Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra and legendary Prakash Padukone are part of the nine-member government panel formed to make recommendations for bringing out a comprehensive National Sports Development Code across all disciplines.

An official press-release said, the committee, headed by Sports Secretary Injeti Srinivas, will study issues related to sports governance including court judgements and best international practices. The other notable sportsperson in the committee is India's lone world championship medallist athlete Anju Bobby George.

Bollywood renowned actor Om Puri passes away at 66:

Veteran actor Om Puri passed away at the age of 66 after suffering a heart attack early on Friday. The two-time National Award winning actor was awarded the Padma Shri in 1990, the fourth highest civilian award of India. During his career, the actor appeared not only in Bollywood movies, but various Pakistani, British and Hollywood movies.

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