Current Affairs Assam – August 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of August 2018 )
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August 17
Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee dies at 93
Former Prime Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee died on 16th Aug 2018. He was admitted to Delhi’s AIIMS in June.
Vajpayee will be accorded a state funeral and the government announced a seven-day state mourning across the country. During this period, the national flag will be flown at half-mast where it is regularly flown.
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the 10th Prime Minister of India.
- He has had three terms as Prime Minister, the first two that lasted 13 days and 13 months respectively.
- He became the first non-Congress PM to complete a full term when he was elected in 1998 and demoted office in 2004.
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born on December 25, 1924 in Gwalior and entered politics in the 1950s.
- Vajpayee, who helped found the BJP after the Jana Sangh was dissolved, was considered instrumental in the party’s rise to prominence.
- In 1998, when he was in power for a month, Vajpayee had conducted five underground nuclear tests in Pokhran, Rajasthan.
- Vajpayee was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1992 and Bharat Ratna in 2015.
Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan & Zoo welcomes the country’s first Humboldt Penguin chick
The first Humboldt Penguin chick in the country was hatched at the Mumbai Zoo. The Humboldt Penguin chick was born on Independence Day at the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan Zoo. The species is native to Peru and Chile in South America.
In July 2016, eight Humboldt Penguins were imported from Coex Aquarium in South Korea’s Seoul.
The zoo has four female penguins and three male penguins. The young chick will be added to the zoo’s penguin colony.
The penguins stay in a special chilled enclosure, with the nest also kept there. Spread over 1,700 square feet, an average temperature of 16 to 18 degrees Celsius is maintained in the enclosure. Zoo officials constantly monitor the quality of water inside and the birds are fed on fish, including Indian mackerels.
FACTFILE – Jijamata Udyaan
- Jijamata Udyaan formerly called Raani Baag after the original British name Victoria Gardens, and now also known as Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan & Zoo, is a zoo and garden covering 50 acres located at Byculla, in the heart of Mumbai, India.
- It is the oldest public garden in Mumbai In 1835, British administration granted a large plot of land in Sewri to the Agro Horticultural Society of Western India for a botanical garden. In 1861, construction of a new garden was commenced on 33 acres in the Mount Estate, Mazagaon.
- Agro Horticultural Society of Western India continued to maintain Victoria Gardens till 1873 when the society’s end led to the municipal corporation taking over the garden’s upkeep. In 1890 the garden was extended by 15 acres especially for the zoo.
NPCI launches Unified Payments Interface 2.0
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched Unified Payments Interface (UPI) 2.0. Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel, NPCI Advisor-Innovation Nandan Nilekani, and SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar launched the service.
The key features of UPI 2.0 are Overdraft facility, Invoice in the inbox and One time mandate, among others. In addition to current and savings accounts, customers can link their overdraft account to UPI.
Customers will be able to transact instantly and all benefits associated with OD account shall be made available to the users. UPI 2.0 will serve as an additional digital channel to access OD account.
State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, RBL Bank, YES Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank and HSBC are UPI 2.0 member banks Launched on April 11, 2016.
BHIM UPI has recorded transactions worth Rs 45,845 crore and 235 million in terms of value and volume in the month of July 2018.
FACTFILE – National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
- NPCI is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India, is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, for creating a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.
- NPCI is a “Not for Profit” Company under the provisions of Section 25 of Companies Act 1956 (now Section 8 of Companies Act 2013), with an intention to provide infrastructure to the entire Banking system in India for physical as well as electronic payment and settlement systems.
- The Company is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through the use of technology for achieving greater efficiency in operations and widening the reach of payment systems.
Airtel Payments Bank, Bharti AXA Life pacts to promote govt’s PMJJBY
Airtel Payments Bank and Bharti AXA Life Insurance on Thursday announced a pact to offer Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), leveraging the payments bank’s network in rural pockets.
PMJJBY aims to enhance penetration of life insurance among underinsured masses contributing to financial inclusion in the country. It offers life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh at a premium of Rs 330 per annum, and will initially be available at 1,00,000 banking points of Airtel Payments Bank. The number of banking points will be scaled to over 5,00,000 over time.
The product PMJJBY provided by Bharti AXA Life offers Rs 2 lakh life insurance cover for a nominal premium of Rs 330 per annum and can be purchased by all existing or new Airtel Payments Bank savings bank account holders between the age of 18-50.
FACTFILE – Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana
- It is a government-backed Life insurance scheme in India.
- It was originally mentioned in the 2015 Budget speech by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in February 2015.
- Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana is available to people between 18 and 50 years of age with bank accounts. It has an annual premium of ₹330 (US$4.80).
- The GST is exempted on Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. The amount will be automatically debited from the account. In case of death due to any cause, the payment to the nominee will be ₹2 lakh.
- This scheme will be linked only to the bank accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana Most of these account had zero balance initially.
August 18
Imran Khan takes oath as 22nd Pakistani PM
Pakistan’s cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan took oath as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, after his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the highest number of seats in the general election.
Imran Khan, 65, who won a simple majority newly-elected Parliament on 17th Aug in a confidence vote was administered oath by President Mamnoon Hussain.
Khan’s government will be the third consecutive democratic government in Pakistan since 2008 when military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf announced elections after serving as president from 2001 to 2008 following a bloodless coup in 1999. The Pakistan Peoples Party formed the government in 2008, followed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz led by jailed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2013.
Aggregate Fiscal deficits of the states to rise by 20 bps to 2.8%
The aggregate fiscal deficit of the states is likely to moderate to 2.8% of GDP, 20 bps higher than the budgeted target, on the back of the states likely achieving a zero revenue balance to GDP ratio in FY19.
India Ratings has revised downward the aggregate debt/GDP estimate to 24.4% for FY19 from its earlier estimate of 25.8%. The states have budgeted debt/GDP at 24.3% for FY19, marginally higher than 24% in FY18.
It estimates the states’ aggregate revenue receipt to grow 13.9% in FY19 from the previous year. The estimate is marginally higher than the earlier forecast of 13.7%.
The states have budgeted their combined gross market borrowings at Rs 4,40,720 crore in FY19. But the agency estimates the borrowings to be higher at Rs 4,65,280 crore this fiscal.
The states’ aggregate market borrowings rose to Rs 1.1 lakh crore during April to July 2018, from Rs 98,200 crore over April to July 2017.
It expects the states’ aggregate tax revenue including devolutions from the Centre to grow 16 per cent in FY19. It expects growth in revenue expenditure to moderate to 11.2%, from 20.7% in FY18, as salary revisions of state government employees and the outgo related to farm loan waivers have already been absorbed to some extent in FY18 itself.
FACTFILE – India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra)
- It is India’s most respected credit rating agency committed to providing India’s credit markets accurate, timely and prospective credit opinions.
- Ind-Ra has grown rapidly during the past decade, gaining significant market presence in India’s fixed income market.
- Ind-Ra currently maintains coverage of corporate issuers, financial institutions (including banks and insurance companies), finance and leasing companies, managed funds, urban local bodies, and structured finance and project finance companies.
- Headquartered in Mumbai, Ind-Ra has seven branch offices located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune.
- Ind-Ra is recognised by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Reserve Bank of India and National Housing Bank.
Mangalore Refinery to invest Rs 595 crore on RO plant
The Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), a subsidiary of oil and natural gas major ONGC, has proposed to set up a reverse osmosis (RO) based Desalination Plant at Mangaluru at a cost of Rs 595 crore.
The desalination plant, which will have a capacity of 13 million gallons per day (MGD), will help the company to reduce dependency on fresh water. The New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) has provided 15 acre land for the proposed project.
The project has received permission from the Government of Karnataka. The plant is expected to be completed by 2020.
The project is seen as a measure to mitigate the risk of river water as a single source of water. An alternative source of water is being planned through the installation of a desalination plant .
Currently, MRPL requires around 13 MGD of water and it gets around 2.5-3 MGD treated sewage water beside 7-8 MGD of freshwater. Balance water is sourced from its own internal sources.
Out of the total capacity, around 2 MGD water will be supplied to Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers (MCF). The MRPL is currently operating an RO plant with a capacity of 3.4 MGD for processing the municipal sewage.
With a vision of achieving Zero Effluent Discharge to Sea, except during monsoon, MRPL is undertaking an ambitious Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) project of 400 m3/h capacity with a capital expenditure of Rs 339 crore.
The feasibility study for the project has already been completed by Engineers India Limited. Post implementation of ZLD plant, the specific freshwater requirement of MRPL is expected to reduce by 15%.
The MRPL is also setting up a 2G Ethanol project. Land for the same has been identified and is being acquired through KIADB. Licensor selection for the technology is in progress and the project is expected to get commissioned by 2021.
FACTFILE – Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC)
- ONGC is an Indian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in New Delhi.
- It is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of the Government of India, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
- It is India’s largest oil and gas exploration and production company. It produces around 70% of India’s crude oil (equivalent to around 30% of the country’s total demand) and around 62% of its natural gas.
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