Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the important Current Affairs of 3rd November, 2016. These are important for the upcoming IBPS PO Mains, IBPS Clerk Mains, NIACL AO Mains, IPPB PO mains exams 2016.
Current Affairs at a Glance– 3rd November, 2016
- The GST Council on Thursday decided to have four slabs under the
GST regime with some changes from what union finance ministry proposed and a cess over the peak
rate of 28% on luxury and sin goods
for five years to compensate states for any revenue loss. - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday allowed banks to issue rupee denominated
bonds, or masala bonds, in the overseas market to shore up their capital
base as well as for financing infrastructure and affordable housing. - Indian automobile manufacturer Tata Motors has signed
a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesian state-owned enterprise
specializing in military and commercial products – PT
Pindad, to effectively explore market potential of Tata Armoured
Vehicles in Indonesia and other agreed regions of ASEAN. - Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 November 2016 launched the Saur Sujala
Yojana in Chhattisgarh. The scheme aims at providing solar powered
irrigation pumps to farmers at a subsidized price. With the launch of the scheme, Chhattisgarh
becomes the first state to implement the scheme. - Russia in November 2016 invited India
to join in developing next-generation nuclear reactors and participate in its fast reactor research project, known as
MBIR (Russian acronym). - Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3 November 2016 inaugurated the Asian Ministerial
Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in New Delhi. Aim of the
3-day conference is to find ways for better management of disaster risk. - 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. - Ministry of Railways on 2
November 2016 appointed
Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of Sulabh International, as a Brand
Ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission. Minister of Railway Suresh
Prabhu felicitated Pathak at a function in New Delhi. - Kolkata-born Sarabjit Singh Marwah on 2 November 2016 became the first Sikh to be appointed to the Canadian Senate.
- 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. 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. - Indian shuttler Pratul Joshi on 30 October 2016 won the men’s singles title of the Bahrain International Challenge
badminton tournament. - Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2
November 2016 presented the Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism at
a function in New Delhi. - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on 2 November
2016 completed the construction of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) after more than 20
years of hard work.
Financial/Banking –
Four-tier GST structure of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% finalised
- The GST Council on Thursday
decided to have four slabs under the GST regime with some changes from what
union finance ministry proposed and a cess over the peak rate of 28% on luxury
and sin goods for five years to compensate states for any revenue loss. - A four-tier GST rate structure
would be 5%, 12%, 18%, 28%, finance minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after
the meeting. The finance ministry had earlier proposed to have 6%, 12%,18% and
26%. - Most of the food items would
attract zero% rate. As much as 50% of consumer price index would be zero rated. - 5% rate would be on other
necessary goods such as soaps and others needed for daily uses. - Earlier proposal of the finance
ministry to have 26% would be hiked to 28% but many items that were to attract
26% earlier would be brought down to 18%. These would include some white goods. - Above 28% would be a cess to be
imposed on luxury cars, aerated drinks
and tobacco. - Kerala finance minister Thomas
Isaac instead had pitched for GST rate of 40% above 28% on these items. - The proposal of cess was made by
the union finance ministry. - This cess, coupled with one on
clearn energy, would yield the government Rs 50,000 crore, which is expected to
be revenue loss for states in a year. However, cess would be reviewed every
year on the basis of revenue loss
to states. - The earlier proposal of levying
2% rate on gold was put on hold. The duty on gold would be decided later after
assessing impact of these GST rates. - The council would now take up the issue of administrative
control on assessees on Friday.
RBI allows banks to issue masala bonds
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
on Thursday allowed banks to issue rupee denominated bonds, or masala bonds, in
the overseas market to shore up their capital base as well as for financing
infrastructure and affordable housing. - To strengthen their capital base,
banks can raise perpetual debt instruments, which can be considered for
calculating a bank’s additional tier 1 capital, or debt capital instrument that
can go into calculating a bank’s tier-2 capital. These bonds will be issued as
per the Basel III norms and therefore, will have loss absorption clause. Under
this clause a bank can chose not to honur the coupon payment in case of
financial stress. - For financing infrastructure and
affordable housing, the banks can issue long term bonds, which doesn’t have the
loss absorption clause. - The central bank had first
announced its intention for letting banks tap the overseas market with rupee
bonds on August 25 when RBI announced a slew of measures to develop the bond
and currencies market. Companies were already allowed to raise money through
masala bonds and a few issuances totaling Rs 7,472 crore have been done.
Tata Motors signs MOU with Indonesia’s PT Pindad for armoured vehicles
- Indian automobile manufacturer
Tata Motors has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesian
state-owned enterprise specializing in military and commercial products – PT
Pindad, to effectively explore market potential of Tata Armoured Vehicles in
Indonesia and other agreed regions of ASEAN. - The MoU further includes a study
to check the feasibility of locally assembling Tata Armoured Vehicles at PT
Pindad’s facility, in Bandung in West Java province of Indonesia. - Tata Motors has created a focused
division to design and develop defence technologies and products at its facilities
in Jamshedpur and Pune.
India hosts ICANN’s 57th annual general meeting in Hyderabad
- The Internet Corporation of
Assigned Names and Numbers(ICANN), which is a private non-profit organisation
managing internet protocol numbers and domain name system roots, began its 57th
annual general meeting on Thursday in Hyderabad. - The seven-day-long meeting, which
is the first gathering after the United States relinquished its stewardship
over internet governance, focuses on enhancing its outreach and engagement with
a global audience, besides improving capacity building measures. - The conference, scheduled to take
place between November 3 and 9, would discuss the transition of internet
governance into a multi-stakeholder community model, besides speaking about
issues related to domain name system. - This is the second time India is
hosting the meeting. The first time when an ICANN meeting was held in India was
in 2008. The Union Ministry of Electronics and Communication, which has been
hosting the annual meeting, is pursuing some of the issues with the company
that involve establishing a root server that handles domain name functions.
India –
PM Narendra Modi launches Saur Sujala Yojana in Chhattisgarh
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1
November 2016 launched the Saur Sujala Yojana in Chhattisgarh. The scheme aims
at providing solar powered irrigation pumps to farmers at a subsidized price. - With the launch of the scheme,
Chhattisgarh becomes the first state to implement the scheme.
Key highlights of the scheme
- Under the scheme, solar powered
irrigation pumps of 3HP and 5HP capacity worth 3.5 lakh rupees and 4.5 lakh
rupees respectively will be distributed to the farmers by 31 March 2019. - The beneficiaries will also get
the pumps at the subsidised price. - Around 51000 farmers will be
benefitted in the state with the launch of the scheme in next two years. The
selection of the farmers will be done by the State Government’s organization,
which looks after the development of renewable sources of energy. - Priority will be given in those
areas where electricity connection has not reached yet. - The Chhattisgarh State Renewable
Energy Development Agency (CREDA) will be responsible authority for the
installation as well as maintenance of the solar pumping devices to the
eligible farmers.
SC grants pension to fake freedom fighters
- The Supreme Court (SC) on 2
November 2016 granted pension to the fake freedom fighters on humanitarian
grounds. However, on the other hand, the court ordered inquiry into alleged
forging of freedom fighter certificates to claim pension. - In August 2005, SC appointed
Justice A B Palkar Commission to examine the case of a large number of people
claiming pension as freedom fighters by allegedly forging certificates in Beed
district of Maharashtra. - The court said that those falsely
claiming to have participated in the freedom struggle should be dealt sternly
as they were traitors. It directed the Palkar panel to complete the inquiry
into claims of 354 people for freedom fighter pension and submit a report to
the Maharashtra government.
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India invited to join Russia’s fast reactor research project
- Russia in November 2016 invited
India to join in developing next-generation nuclear reactors and participate in
its fast reactor research project, known as MBIR (Russian acronym). - The information was given by
ROSATOM’s project manager, Alexander Zagornov, who was in India for the opening
of the company’s south Asia regional centre. ROSATOM is the nuclear corporation
of Russia. - This multipurpose reactor is a
type of reactor in which nuclear fission chain reaction is sustained by fast
neutrons. This project is coming up at the International Research Center in
Dimitrovgrad, located in the Ulyanovsk region.
PM Modi inaugurated Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction
Reduction
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3
November 2016 inaugurated the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction (AMCDRR) in New Delhi. Aim of the 3-day conference is to find ways
for better management of disaster risk. - The conference will come out with
a declaration consolidating the political commitment of governments towards
preventing and reducing risk as well as strengthening resilience by
accelerating implementation. - Inaugurating the Conference on
Disaster Risk Reduction Modi outlined a
ten-point agenda for renewing efforts towards disaster risk reduction.
Appointments –
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.
Bindeshwar Pathak appointed as brand ambassador of Swachh Rail Mission
- Ministry of Railways on 2
November 2016 appointed Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of Sulabh
International, as a Brand Ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission. Minister of
Railway Suresh Prabhu felicitated Pathak at a function in New Delhi. - 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. - Bindeshwar Pathak is an Indian
sociologist and the founder of Sulabh International.
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.
Mariano Rajoy re-elected as Prime Minister of Spain
- Mariano Rajoy on 29 October 2016
was re-elected as the Prime Minister of Spain after winning a parliamentary
vote. 170 lawmakers voted for him, 111 against and 68 abstained. - With this, Spain has its first
fully functioning government since December 2015, when a general election left
no party with a majority.
Reports –
Freedom of the Press 2016 report released
- 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. 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.
Highlights in context of India
- In terms of stories related to
environment and land development, the report highlighted the story of two
Indian journalists, namely Sandeep Kothari and Jagendra Singh, who were killed.
Kothari who covered illegal mining and land grabs was killed in June 2015 and
his body was found burned and heavily bruised. Jagendra Singh also died from
burns allegedly inflicted by local police.
Sports –
Indian shuttler Pratul wins men’s singles title at Bahrain
International Challenge
International Challenge
- Indian shuttler Pratul Joshi on
30 October 2016 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 21-17, 12-21, 21-15. - 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. - Indians to reach the finals in
the tournament were - Men’s doubles: Indian pair of
Vighnesh Devlekar and Rohan Kapoor lost 18-21 17-21 to Russian pair of Evgenij
Dremin and Denis Grachev. - Women’s doubles: Indian pair of
Farha Mather and Ashna Roy lost the finals 12-21 18-21 to Bahrain’s Tanisha
Crasto and Aprilsasi Lejarsar Variella of Indonesia.
Awards & Honors –
PM Narendra Modi presents Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in
Journalism
Journalism
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2
November 2016 presented the Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism
at a function in New Delhi. - The honour acknowledges
exceptional work across 28 categories in print, broadcast and online journalism
in English, Hindi and regional languages. - Ramnath Goenka was an Indian
newspaper publisher. He launched The Indian Express and created the Indian
Express Group with various English and regional language publications.
Sanjiv Sinha Memorial Award for Excellence in Reporting
- Aditi Vatsa (The Indian Express)
Priya Chandrashekar Memorial
Award for Excellence in Editing
Award for Excellence in Editing
- Saikat Kumar Bose (The Indian
Express)
Prakash Rakesh Kardaley
Memorial Award for Civic Journalism
Memorial Award for Civic Journalism
- Christin Mathew Philip (The Times
of India)
Uncovering India Invisible
- Print: Ashwaq Masoodi (Mint)
- Broadcast: Sarada Lahangir (Kalinga TV)
World –
NASA completes construction of James Webb Space Telescope
- The National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) on 2 November 2016 completed the construction of
the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) after more than 20 years of hard work. - This largest-ever space telescope
is expected to launch in 2018 following the in-depth testing. - The telescope has 18 large
mirrors that will collect infrared light, sheltered behind a tennis-court-size
sun shield. - It is considered as the successor
to NASA’s iconic Hubble Space Telescope. - It is a 8.8 billion US dollars
worth space observatory built to observe the infrared universe like never
before. - Earth’s atmosphere glows in the
infrared, so such measurements can’t be made from the ground. Hubble emits its
own heat, which would obscure infrared readings.
Regards
Team ExamPundit
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