Daily Current Affairs Update – 28-29-30 January, 2017

Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Current Affairs for 28, 29 and 30 January, 2017 for General Awareness section in the Banking and Insurance Exams 2017. These are important for the upcoming Syndicate PGDBF and other insurance exams.

• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)
  on Monday kicked off its operations by rolling out pilot services in Raipur and
  Ranchi. The bank will offer an interest rate of 4.5% on deposits up to
  Rs25,000; 5% on deposits of Rs25,000-50,000 and 5.5% on Rs50,000-1,00,000, its
  chief executive officer A.P. Singh said.
• The paid up equity of the new
  bank is Rs800 crore, of which the government has already infused Rs275 crore,
  he added. “The idea is to have a branch in every district and make 3 lakh
  postmen come alive in payment bank function,” he said.
• Also 1,000 ATMs of India Post
  will be transferred to IPPB, Singh added. Telecom minister Manoj Sinha said
  that IPPB plans to have 650 branches across the country by September 2017.
• Terming IPPB as a mechanism for
  financial inclusion and a milestone, Sinha said the payments bank—the third one
  to get a permit after Airtel and Paytm and the first one promoted by the
  government—will not just conduct business but also serve people. India Post
  Payments Bank is the third entity to receive payments bank permit after Airtel
  and Paytm.

• In a big relief to people and
  small businesses, RBI today announced lifting of restrictions on daily
  withdrawal of money from ATMs and from current accounts but the weekly limit of
  Rs. 24,000 on savings bank accounts will continue.
• The Reserve Bank also promised to
  review the weekly limit in the near future depending on the pace of
  remonetisation. “On a review of the pace of remonetisation, it has been decided
  to partially restore status quo ante,” RBI said adding, cash withdrawal limit
  from ATMs stands withdrawn from February 1, 2017.
• Banks, however, have been asked
  to fix their own limits, as has been the case before November 8, 2016, the day
  government scrapped high denomination currency notes of Rs. 500 and 1,000.
• RBI has also removed all limits
  on cash withdrawals from current accounts/ cash credit accounts/ overdraft
  accounts with immediate effect. “The limits on Savings Bank accounts will
  continue for the present and are under consideration for withdrawal in the near
  future,” it said.
• It further said that banks have
  been “urged to encourage their constituents to sustain the movement towards
  digitisation of payments and switching over of payments from cash mode to
  non-cash mode.”
• Government and RBI had imposed
  limits on withdrawal of money from ATMs and bank branches in view of currency
  shortage following demonetisation.

• The Telangana government has
  signed a memorandum of agreement with French firm Aerocampus Aquitaine, known
  for aircraft maintenance skill training, here today to create a world-class
  aero skill academy.
• The project deliverables include
  identifying skill gaps, designing courses and enabling European Aviation Safety
  Agency and Directorate General of Civil Aviation certifications for the academy
  and its courses.
• This partnership focuses on
  developing skills among the youth as well as experienced professionals. The new
  academy will offer specialised aeronautical courses in engineering, manufacturing
  and maintenance domains.
• The academy proposes to offer
  long duration basic training programmes for young students and vocational
  training and short duration courses tailor-made to industry requirements for
  experienced technicians.
• The MoU was signed between Jerome
  Verschave, General Manager, Aerocampus and Jayesh Ranjan, TS Secretary,
  IT&C, in presence of Advisor to Government, Papa Rao and Florence Forzy
  Raffard, Councillor for International Economic Affairs, Bordeaux.

• Industrialist Anil Ambani-led
  Reliance Defence on Monday said it has signed a contract with the Ministry of
  Defence for the design and construction of 14 Fast Patrol Vessels for the
  Indian Coast Guard valued at Rs 916 crore, the company said on Monday.
• These ships are medium range,
  high speed vessels, and primarily used for patrol within the exclusive economic
  zone, costal surveillance, and anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, search and rescue
  operations. They also support front-line warships in the hour of need.
• Virtually all the private sector
  and public sector Shipyards had bid for the project, including Larsen and
  Toubro, Cochin Shipyard, Goa Shipyard, and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and
  Engineers.

• The North Eastern Council (NEC)
  on 29 January 2017 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the
  Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) of the Union Ministry of Textile in
  Shillong to harness the hidden potential of Cane and Bamboo of North Eastern
  Region (NER).
• The MoU was signed by Ram Muivah,
  Secretary of NEC and Development Commissioner(Handicrafts) Alok Kumar.

• It will provide a push for the
  integrated and inclusive development of Cane & Bamboo Sector of NRE through
  skilled manpower, marketing support, technology dissemination and institutional
  support.
• This will altogether mobilise the
  masses and promote Bamboo sector as a whole throughout the country. 
• The NEC and the Development Commissioner
  (Handicrafts) will promote Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) of Assam
  and the Bamboo & Cane Development Institute (BCDI) of Tripura as the
  Centres of Excellence in South East Asia.
• CBTC will be transformed into a
  Regional Centre of Excellence and the BCDI will be converted as a separate
  entity under the name Indian Institute of Bamboo Technology (IIBT).

• The Indian Space Research
  Organisation (ISRO) on 25 January 2017 successfully ground tested its
  indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage for GSLV Mk III rocket.
• The cryogenic upper stage,
  designated as C25, was tested for 50 seconds at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC)
  at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu demonstrating all the stage operations. It was
  the first test in a series of two tests. 
  The second test is planned for flight duration of 640 seconds.
• This first flight stage for GSLV
  Mk III D1 mission is in an advanced stage of realisation. It is scheduled to
  launch GSAT-19 during first quarter of 2017.

• The Indian Navy’s annual Theatre
  Readiness Operational Exercise (TROPEX) began on 24 January 2017 off the
  Western Seaboard. The exercise will be held till the fourth week of February
  2017.
• Ships and aircraft of both the
  Western and Eastern Naval Commands are participating the exercise.
• The exercise is aimed at testing
  the combat readiness of the combined fleets of the Indian Navy and the assets
  of the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and the Indian Coast Guard.
• It will also strengthen
  inter-operability and joint operations in a complex environment.
• The aircraft carrier
  Vikramaditya, nuclear submarine Chakra, Landing Platform Dock (LPD) Jalashwa,
  the recently commissioned destroyer Chennai, the P-8I will participate in the
  exercise.

• Kambala festival was in news in
  January 2017 as the Indian state of Karnataka is all set to celebrate the
  festival. Kambala is an annual buffalo race held traditionally under the
  patronage of local landlords and households in the state.
• The buffalo race in Karnataka
  takes place annually between November and March. The places where the festival
  takes place are Baradi Beedu, Kolatta, Majalu, Bolantur, Kamalakettu, Puttur
  and Uppinagadi.
• The two-day celebration starts
  with a display of the participating buffaloes with their respective farmers.
  During the festival, when the fields are wet, the buffaloes are made to race on
  the tracks, guided by the farmer. Each team consists of two buffaloes and a
  farmer who controls the buffaloes. Two teams are made to race down two mushy
  paddy fields to conclude on the fastest team. The winner of the race is awarded
  with a coconut and other gifts.

• P Vishwanath Shetty, retired
  judge of Karnataka High Court, was on 28 January 2017 sworn in as the Lokayukta
  of Karnataka, a seat that had been vacant since December 2015. He succeeds Y
  Bhaskar Rao, who left the seat in 2015.
• Shetty will be responsible for
  clearing all the pending cases and will work to re-establish the credibility of
  the anti-corruption ombudsman after the disgraceful exit of his predecessor Y
  Bhaskar Rao.
• Rao resigned in December 2015
  after investigations showed that his son Y Ashwin was allegedly running
  threatening raids. Following this, Rao was 
  arrested, but recently on 28 January 2017, he was granted conditional bail
  by the special Lokayukta Court.

• The Union Home Ministry on 30
  January 2017 announced the appointment of Amulya Kumar Patnaik as the Delhi
  Police Commissioner.
• Patnaik succeeds Alok Kumar
  Verma, who has been made the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
• Patnaik, a 1985 batch Arunachal
  Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre IPS officer, is currently
  posted as Special Commissioner of Police (Administration).

• Award-winning Hollywood film
  producer and Wimbledon tennis player Ashok Amritraj was on 27 January 2017
  appointed as UN in India Goodwill Ambassador for the SDGs.
• In this capacity, Ashok Amritraj
  will work with the United Nations in India to amplify awareness about the
  Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• He is an internationally-renowned
  iconic filmmaker. He has made over 100 films during the span of his 30-year
  extraordinary career.
• During his 9-year career, he
  competed in doubles at the Wimbledon and the US Open.

• President of India Pranab
  Mukherjee appointed Dr Vijay Bhatkar as the Chancellor of Nalanda University
  with effect from 25 January 2017.
• Dr. Bhatkar will hold the office
  for a term of three years from the date of his appointment as provided under
  the Section 11 (3) of the Nalanda University Act, 2010.
• He is best known as the architect
  of India’s first supercomputer PARAM.

• President Pranab Mukherjee on 27
  January 2017 appointed Banwarlal Purohit and P B Acharya as acting Governors of
  Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh respectively.
• At present, Banwarlal Purohit is
  the Governor of Assam, while Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya is the Governor of
  Nagaland.
• These appointments come in the
  backdrop of resignation of V Shanmuganathan as Governor of Meghalaya and
  Arunachal Pradesh.
• V Shanmuganathan resigned from
  the office on 27 January 2017 following a controversy, in which he was accused
  of sexual misconduct.

• Transparency International on 25
  January 2017 released the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2016. The Index
  measured the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 176 countries and
  territories across the world.
• While Denmark was adjudged as the
  most corruption-free country among the surveyed countries, Somalia in Sub
  Saharan African Region was placed at the bottom of the CPI.
• The CPI 2016 declared India as
  the 79th cleanest country among the 176 countries surveyed.
• Compared to the CPI 2015, which
  was released by the Transparency International (TI) on 27 January 2016, India
  bettered its position by 3 ranks. The CPI 2015 placed India at the 76th
  position.
• It is prepared by the
  Transparency International (TI), a global coalition against corruption. The TI
  is based in Berlin, Germany.

• France’s Iris Mittenaere on 30
  January 2017 was crowned the Miss Universe 2016. The pageant was held at the
  Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines.
• Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines
  crowned her successor Iris Mittenaere at the end of the event.
• Miss Haiti Raquel Pélissier was
  announced the first runner-up while Miss Columbia Andrea Tovar was named the
  second runner-up in the pageant.
• India’s Roshmitha Harimurthy
  could not even make it to the top 15.

• The Supreme Court on Monday
  appointed a four-member panel to look after the administration of the BCCI.
  Former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai was appointed as the
  head of the panel, while noted cricket historian Ramachandra Guha, IDFC
  official Vikram Limaye, and former Indian women’s cricket captain Diana Edulji
  were made the members of the panel.
• The Supreme Court rejected the
  Centre’s suggestion to name the sports secretary as part of the panel, while
  referring to its 2 January judgment that barred government servants and
  ministers from holding office in the BCCI. According to a TV channel, the
  Supreme Court trimmed down the list of administrators rom nine to four.
• BCCI joint secretary Amitabh
  Chaudhary, who had been performing the duties of the BCCI secretary since Ajay
  Shirke was removed from the post following the apex court’s order of 2 January,
  will represent the BCCI at the ICC meeting in Dubai in the first week of
  February.

• 2016 Olympic silver medalist PV
  Sindhu and Sameer Verma on 29 January 2017 won the men’s singles and the
  women’s singles titles respectively at the Syed Modi International Badminton
  Championships.
• To win the title, while Sindhu
  defeated Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska in the summit clash in straight games
  21-13 21-14, Sammer Verma defeated B Sai Praneeth 21-19 21-16.
• For Sindhu, it was her maiden
  women’s singles title at the tournament.
• Overall, India won three titles
  out of the five events in the tournament, while the Men’s Doubles title and
  Women’s Doubles title were won by foreign nationals.
• India won  the Mixed Doubles title when Pranaav Jerry
  Chopra and N Sikki Reddy emerged champions by defeating fellow Indians Ashwini
  Ponnappa and B Sumeeth Reddy 22-20 21-10 in the summit clash.

• Roger Federer on 29 January 2017
  won the 2017 Australian Open Men’s Singles title.
• The 35-year-old Swiss defeated
  Rafael Nadal 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3 to claim his 18th Grand Slam and fifth
  Melbourne title.
• He has won 18 Grand Slam singles
  titles, which is the most in history.
• He has won five Australian Open
  titles, seven Wimbledon titles, five US Open titles and one French Open title.
• He has won record six ATP World
  Tour Finals and played in the finals at all nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.

• Serena Williams on 28 January
  2017 won the 2017 Australian Open Women’s Singles title.
• Serena defeated sister Venus
  Williams 6-4 6-4 to win her seventh Australian Open and 23rd Grand Slam singles
  title.
• Margaret Court of Australia, with
  24, is the only player ahead of Serena in terms of Grand Slam singles titles.
• She holds a total of 23 Grand
  Slam singles titles that marks the record for the most Major wins by a tennis
  player in the Open Era.

• Wesley So on 29 January 2017 won
  the 2017 Tata Steel Chess Tournament at Manila, Philippines.
• So defeated Ian Nepomniatchi of
  Russia in the 13th and final round to grab the tournament.
• It is the third straight
  tournament victory for So, after winning the Sinquefield Cup and London Chess
  Classic.

• The Union Minister of State
  (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel on 27 January 2017
  reconstituted Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Committee.
• The primary objective of the
  reconstituted TOP Committee is to identify and support potential medal
  prospects for 2020 and 2024 Olympic games under the Target Olympic Podium
  Scheme.
• For the reconstituted committee,
  Abhinav Bindra was appointed as the chairman.

• Anti-Leprosy Day was observed on
  30 January 2017 across the country to spread awareness about the disease.
• Annually, the day is celebrated
  in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi to re-memorize his selfless efforts and care
  for the people affected by leprosy.
• Leprosy is also known as Hansen’s
  disease (HD).
• It is a chronic infection caused
  by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis.

• Alexander Kadakin, Russian
  ambassador to India, passed away on 26 January 2017 following a brief illness.
  He was 67.
• Kadakin was one of the longest
  serving envoys as he had spent a significant part of his life working to
  promote Russia’s ties with India.

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