Current Affairs Update – 9th August, 2016

•  Repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent, Reverse
  Repo at 6%
•  Cash reserve ratio or CRR unchanged at 4%
•  Growth forecast at 7.6% for the current fiscal
•  Inflation target remains 5% for January 2017;
  upside risk
•  Normal monsoon, 7th Pay Commission award to
  boost growth
•  GST roll out to boost business sentiment,
  investment
•  Timely implementation of GST a challenge
•  Premature to talk about inflationary impact of
  GST
•  FCNR(B) redemptions not to disrupt liquidity
  in market
•  Banks have passed on rate cut benefit only
  modestly
•  FAQ on KYC norms on RBI website for easy
  reference
•  Marginal Cost Lending Rate framework for
  interest rate to be modified
•  Forex reserves at USD 365.7 billion on August
  5
•  Fourth bi—monthly monetary policy on October
  4.

• National Bank for Agriculture and
  Rural Development (NABARD) on Tuesday sanctioned Rs 26.06 crore to the Punjab
  government.
• The fund has been sanctioned for
  tackling waterlogging by constructing lift schemes in low-lying areas, village
  ponds and other allied works, said an official release.
• The project will reclaim 5,913
  hectares of land in 87 villages of Muktsar and Fazilka districts.
• Once the project is implemented,
  farmers will be able to cultivate crops in the previously waterlogged areas
  after a long gap.
• With this, the total sanctions to
  the Punjab government under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF),
  since its inception, stood at Rs 7,826.17 crore, the release said.
• NHAI Signs MOU with IIT-
  Kharagpur for Research Project on Paneled Cement Concrete Pavements for
  Highways
• National Highways Authority of
  India (NHAI) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with IIT-Kharagpur
  for research project on Laboratory and Field investigations on Paneled Cement
  Concrete Pavements for Highways. The duration of the research project is 3
  years and NHAI have paid Rs. 1.25 crore for the project, excluding cost of
  construction of trial pavement section on NH.
• In India, the highways are
  generally paved with Bituminous (Asphaltic Concrete) material produced from
  refineries. However, it has been experienced that these highways are prone to
  damage and need frequent maintenance due to adverse climatic conditions such as
  rain and hot weather prevailing in the country.
• Therefore, to overcome this
  problem, the Government of India has recently announced a policy for the
  construction of concrete pavements for all major highways due to their
  longevity and maintenance free life.

• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS),
  leading information technology (IT) services provider from India, was on
  Tuesday ranked 58th most valuable brands in the US, according to a survey,
  titled ‘Top 500 U.S. Brands’, by Brand Finance, a brand valuation firm.
• The Brand Finance study evaluates
  the financial value of a company’s brand name, intellectual assets and
  trademark as compared to companies across industries.
• TCS is one of the four global IT
  companies recognised under top 100 brands in the US. The company is the
  sector’s most powerful brand with a score of 78.3 points, earning it an ‘AA+’
  rating. Moreover, TCS’ brand value grew 286 per cent from $2.3 billion in 2010
  to $9.04 billion in 2016, marking the fastest growth across the IT services
  sector during this period.

• The Lok Sabha on 8 August 2016
  passed The Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014. The bill was passed
  by two-third majority, with 443 members voting in its favour and none against
  in the final vote.
• Introduced in Lok Sabha in May
  2015, the Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on 3 August 2016.

• The GST will have two components
  keeping in mind the federal structure of India: the Central GST (CGST) and the
  State GST (SGST).
• For goods and services that pass
  through several states, or imports, the Centre will levy another tax, the
  Integrated GST (IGST).
• Alcohol for human consumption has
  been kept out of the purview of GST.
• It empowers the centre to impose
  an additional tax of up to 1% on the inter-state supply of goods for two years
  or more. This tax will accrue to states from where the supply originates.
• Initially, GST will not apply to
  (a) petroleum crude, (b) high speed diesel, (c) motor spirit (petrol), (d)
  natural gas and (e) aviation turbine fuel. The GST Council will decide when GST
  will be levied on them.
• Tobacco and tobacco products will
  be subject to GST. The centre may also impose excise duty on tobacco.
• Parliament may provide for
  compensation to states for revenue losses arising out of the implementation of
  GST for up to 5 years, based on the recommendations of the GST Council.

• The Wildlife Institute of India
  (WII) in first week of August 2016 announced that it will house India’s first
  repository on tigers, under its new Tiger Cell.
• The Tiger Cell was inaugurated on
  6 August 2016. It will be funded by the National Tiger Conservation Authority
  (NTCA), a statutory body under the Environment Ministry.
• The Dehradun-based WII has about
  23000 images of tigers, which will be maintained by the Tiger Cell.
• The Tiger Cell will assist in
  population assessment of tigers, law enforcement, wildlife forensics, infrastructural
  development and mitigation, smart patrolling and advisory role in policy
  formulation.
• If a tiger skin is recovered at a
  place, then a properly maintained database can be used to check where the tiger
  might have come from.
• Y.V. Jhala, a wildlife scientist
  at the WII, will head the Tiger Cell.

• Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan
  on Tuesday constituted the Press Advisory Committee for 2016-17, consisting of
  29 members, including four office–bearers, a release from the Speaker’s office
  said.
• D.P. Kamat (Long &
  Distinguished Service) has been nominated as the Chairperson of the Committee,
  while Neeraj Bajpai (UNI), Sangita Tewari (ABP News) and Amitabh Sinha (TV-18)
  have been nominated as Vice-Chairperson, Secretary and Joint Secretary, respectively.

• United Bank of India has a new
  Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in Pawan Kumar Bajaj.
• Bajaj, who is currently executive
  director at Indian Overseas Bank, has been appointed to the post up to
  September 20, 2018, the date of his attaining the age of superannuation, an
  order issued by department of personnel and training said.
• Meanwhile, the Centre has
  appointed Ravindra Prabhakar Marathe as Managing Director and CEO of Bank of
  Maharashtra.
• Marathe, who is currently
  Executive Director at Bank of India, will assume charge on or after October 1,
  2016 and remain in the post till November 30, 2019, the date of his retirement.
• These two appointments had the
  nod of the Appointments Committee of Cabinet.

• Former RBI Deputy Governor Anand
  Sinha was on 6 August 2016 appointed to the Board of IDFC Bank. Sinha will join
  Bank as an Additional Director in the category of Independent Director on the
  board with effect from 1 August 2016.
• His appointment came after Vinod
  Rai resigned after serving on the board for a year. Rai is a former Comptroller
  and Auditor General of India who served as a Nominee Director representing IDFC
  Limited on the board of IDFC Bank.
• However, Rai will still continue
  to be non-executive independent chairman of IDFC Limited.

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• Two-wheeler market leader Hero
  MotoCorp on Tuesday reappointed Pawan Munjal as its chairman, managing director
  and chief executive for a period of five years and also elevated its head of
  operations and supply chain Vikram Kasbekar as a director on the company’s
  board.
• Munjal’s current tenure comes to
  an end on September 30 this year. He has been leading the company over the past
  several years in a highly competitive and volatile market, not to just
  consolidate market leadership but also expand global footprint across
  continents, the company said in a statement.
• The company said Kasbekar’s
  elevation to the board of directors is a part of its initiative aimed at
  consolidation of leadership at home and accelerate global expansion.
• Besides, Hero MotoCorp said it
  has appointed Neerja Sharma as the Company Secretary and Chief Compliance
  Officer.

• Sandeep Kumar was on 8 August
  2016 appointed as the Transport Commissioner of Delhi. He succeeded Sanjay
  Kumar, who was appointed as the commissioner a few months ago.
• Sandeep will take on the role of
  the Commissioner as an additional charge. He is also the Managing Director of
  Delhi Khadi and Village Industries Board.
• Sandeep is a 1997-batch Indian
  Administrative Service officer.

• Australia on 8 August 2016
  clinched the gold medal as the first-ever Olympic champion in the Women’s Rugby
  Sevens category.
• The Australian team defeated New
  Zealand by 24-17.
• The bronze medal was won by
  Canada that defeated Britain by a score of 33-10.
• The 2016 Summer Olympics marks
  the debut for rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics, though rugby union was last
  played at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

• American swimmer Katie Ledecky on
  7 August 2016 set a new world record to fetch gold in the women’s 400 metres
  freestyle at the Rio Olympics.
• Ledecky clocked 3 minutes 56.46
  seconds to beat Britain’s Jazmin Carlin who clocked 4 minutes 01.23 seconds at
  the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro. America’s Leah Smith clocked 4
  minutes 01.92 seconds to grab the bronze.
• With this win, Ledecky broke her
  previous record she set in 2014 by almost two seconds.

• International Day of the World’s
  Indigenous Peoples was observed on 9 August 2016 with theme Indigenous Peoples’
  Right to Education.
• The day was founded by the United
  Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 23 December 1994 with adoption of resolution
  49/214 proclaiming that the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People
  shall be observed annually on 9 August. The date marks the day of the first
  meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the
  Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.

• Legendary carnatic vocalist M S
  Subbulakshmi will be honoured at the United Nations next week on India’s 70th
  Independence Day by a performance by Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman at the
  world body’s iconic General Assembly.
• Commemorations to mark
  Subbulakshmi’s birth centenary also include a photo exhibition at the UN
  headquarters by India’s Permanent Mission besides the cultural extravaganza
  here to coincide with the country’s Independence Day.
• The Indian mission is gearing up
  to celebrate India’s 70th Independence Day at the UN with the cultural
  extravaganza featuring Rahman who will become only the second Indian artist
  after Subbulakshmi to perform at the UN after she was invited for a performance
  50 years ago.
• The world body’s iconic General
  Assembly hall, from where world leaders address the globe, will reverberate
  with Rahman’s music on the evening of August 15.

• Kalikho Pul, who briefly served
  as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, died on 9 August 2016 in Itanagar,
  Arunachal Pradesh. He was 47.
• Pul allegedly committed suicide.
  He was found hanged from the ceiling fan in his bedroom at the Chief Minister’s
  official residence. However, the circumstances behind the death are still not
  clear.
• Kalikho Pul was the acting Chief
  Minister of the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh for a brief time.

• Renowned Yoga Guru TKV Desikachar
  passed away on 8 August 2016 following a brief illness in Chennai. He was 78.
  He was known for transforming the way yoga was practised and turned it into
  both a wellness concept and a therapy.
• In 1976, he founded the
  Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram where today about 1000 students visit every month
  to learn yoga.