Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Daily Current Affairs 17 April 2019. These are important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2019, NHB Assistant Manager, CWC 2019 and SBI PO 2019 Exams.
Daily Current Affairs 17 April 2019
Banking and Finance
RBI puts into circulation Rs 50 banknotes signed by Governor Shaktikanta Das
- The Reserve Bank of India has put into circulation 50 rupees denomination banknotes signed by its Governor Shaktikanta Das.
- The RBI in Mumbai yesterday said the design of these notes is similar in all respects to 50 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi new series.
- It said that all banknotes in the denomination of 50 issued by the Reserve Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender.
IDBI Bank launches paperless account opening facility for NRIs
- Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), living in nearly 40 countries, will now be able to open account in IDBI Bank without submitting paper documents, the lender said on Tuesday.
- IDBI Bank has launched the ‘NRI-Insta-Online’ account-opening process for NRIs residing in Financial Action Task Force (FATF) member countries, it said in a release.
- The person will not be required to furnish physical documents and KYC proofs for opening an account with the bank.
- On the successful uploading and verification of the scanned documents, the account is instantly opened and an electronic advice is sent to the customer.
- The lender said this user-friendly initiative will help NRIs to open anaccount without any need to visit the branch or submit physical documents.
- FATF is an inter-governmental body which devices policy and sets standards to promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
India and states
Google, Apple block Chinese app TikTok in India after court order
- Google has blocked access to the hugely popular video app TikTok in India to comply with a state court’s directive to prohibit its downloads, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
- The move comes hours after a court in southern Tamil Nadu state refused a request by China’s Bytedance Technology to suspend a ban on its TikTok app, putting its future in one of its key markets in doubt.
- The state court had on April 3 asked the government to ban TikTok, saying it encouraged pornography and made child users vulnerable to sexual predators. Its ruling came after an individual launched public interest litigation calling for a ban.
- The government had sent a letter to Apple and Google to abide by the state court’s order, according to an IT ministry official.
‘NIRBHAY’ Cruise Missile successfully test fired
- The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on April 15, 2019 successfully test fired indigenously designed Long Range Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile “Nirbhay” from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, Odisha.
- The missile successfully demonstrated its sea-skimming capability to cruise at very low altitudes. The entire flight was fully tracked by a chain of Electro Optical Tracking Systems, Radars and Ground Telemetry Systems deployed all along the sea coast. All the mission objectives were met.
- It was the sixth development flight trial of the missile with an objective to prove the repeatability of boost phase, and cruise phase by using way point navigation at very low altitudes.
EC bars Maneka, Azam Khan from campaigning hours after barring Mayawati, Yogi
- The Election Commission on April 15, 2019 banned Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BSP leader Mayawati, SP leader Azam Khan and Union minister Maneka Gandhi from campaigning for a set time period due to their hateful comments.
- The ban, which will be applicable across the nation, came into force on April 16, 2019. While Adityanath and Azam Khan have been barred for 72 hours, Mayawati and Gandhi face a 48-hour ban.
- This is the first time an all-India ban has been imposed on politicians to campaign in elections and it is also for the first time that such a restriction has been placed against a sitting chief minister.
Cabinet approves creation of one post of Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General in CAG
- The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the creation of one post of Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General (Coordination, Communication and Information System) in Pay Level-17 in the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
- The Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General will oversee the coordination among State Audits and audit of telecommunication.
IIT Madras Collaborates With GE For India’s First ‘Cold Spray’ SMART Lab
- Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has established a ‘Cold Spray’ SMART (Surface Modification and Additive Research Technologies) Laboratory in collaboration with General Electric (GE).
- This is the first of its kind High-Pressure Cold Spray (HPCS) facility being installed in any academic institute in India. The laboratory was inaugurated at the IIT Madras campus today.
- The project is funded under ‘Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana’ (UAY) of the Government of India, which is intended to boost collaboration between academia and private sector.
Sports
Motor racing: Lewis Hamilton wins Formula One’s 1,000th race
- In motor racing, Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix for a record sixth time on April 14, 2019.
- He seized the overall lead from his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in Formula One’s 1,000th world championship race.
- The comfortable win was the 75th of Hamilton’s career and second in a row after his lucky triumph in Bahrain two weeks ago.
- Valtteri Bottas was second for his team’s third one-two finish in as many races this season. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel took third place.
Appointments
Punjab National Bank appoints Rajesh Yaduvanshi as Executive Director
- Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Tuesday said it has appointed Rajesh Kumar Yaduvanshi as the Executive Director of the bank with effect from April 15.
- Yaduvanshi brings with him a diversified experience of over 3 decades in the banking industry, having held senior positions in the banking sector both in India and abroad, the bank said.
- He has also worked with Dena Bank in capacity of the Executive Director.
- Yadivanshi, having 34 years of banking career, had joined PNB as a management trainee in 1985.
PwC appoints Padmaja Alaganandan as its new chief people officer
- PwC has named Padmaja Alaganandan as its new chief people officer. Alaganandan, who was leader-people and organisation at PwC earlier, takes over from Jagjit Singh.
- Alaganandan is also in the PwC’s India leadership team since January 2019.
- Alaganandan has over 25 years of consulting experience in business and human capital advisory in diverse industries.
World
Europe “wounded” by Notre-Dame fire, EU pledges help
- The European Union declared on April 16, 2019 that the devastating blaze at Paris’s Notre Dame cathedral is blow to all Europe and all Europe will contribute to its rebuilding.
- Several speakers in a debate on last week’s Brexit summit used the fire at the medieval landmark to underscore arguments that the Union represents a deep-rooted common European society.
- “We are all a little bereaved,” said Juncker. “Yesterday was a terrible day for all those who love France and who love Paris.
UN owes India USD 38 million for peacekeeping operations: UNSG report
- The United Nations owes India USD 38 million, the highest it has to pay to any country, for the peacekeeping operations as of March 2019, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said as he voiced concern over the world body’s deteriorating financial health.
- In his report on improving the financial situation of the world body, he said, as of March 31, 2019, the total amount payable to troop- and police-contributing countries with respect to active peacekeeping missions was USD 265 million.
- Of this, the UN owes USD 38 million to India, followed by Rwanda (USD 31 million), Pakistan (USD 28 million), Bangladesh (USD 25 million) and Nepal (USD 23 million), Guterres said in his report.
- The UN Chief said that the arrears to troop- and police-contributing (TCCs/PCCs) countries could increase to USD 588 million by June 2019 “in the worst-case scenario”.
Click below to download the PDF of Today’s Current Affairs 17 April 2019
Regards
Team Exampundit
