Current Affairs : 01st August 2017

Current Affairs : 01st August 2017
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APPOINTMENTS
Arvind Panagariya resigns as NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman
Arvind Panagariya, the first vice-chairman of NITI Aayog was considered to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal pick for economic reforms announced his resignation.

The 62-year-old Panagariya is an Indian-American economist and Professor of Economics at Columbia University. 
It is known for his market-friendly views and is a close associate of well-known trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati.
Lt Gen Abhay Krishna appointed as Chief of Eastern Command
Lt General Abhay Krishna, who owns extensive service experience of the Northeast India was appointed as the Chief of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command. Krishna succeeds Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi who has retired from service. 

The appointment of Krishna comes at a time when India is facing a stand-off with Chinese troops along the Sikkim sector. Krishna was currently serving as the Head of the Army’s Jaipur-based Southwestern Command.

Sameer Garde named Cisco president for India SAARC region
Tech giant Cisco named former Philips Healthcare executive, Sameer Garde as President for its India and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) operations.

He succeeded Dinesh Malkani.
He will remain associated with Cisco as the strategic advisor till the end of September 2017.
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AWARDS AND HONOURS / RECOGNITIONS
Mukesh Ambani Becomes Asia’s Second-Richest Person
Mukesh Ambani has elbowed past Li Ka-shing to become Asia’s second-richest man as investors rallied behind his efforts to arm India’s poor with cheap data-loaded phones. 

The chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has added $12.1 billion to his wealth in 2017, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He passed Li Ka-shing, whose empire spans telecommunications, retail, and ports. 

Jio took just nine months after launching with a free introductory offer to rope in 117.3 million users and become India’s fourth-largest operator, according to government data.

President Donald Trump awarded First Medal of Honor to Vietnam Army Medic
President Donald Trump awarded his first Medal of Honor to James McCloughan, an Army medic who served in Vietnam.
He rescues Vietnam War is the first person to receive the Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump in Washington.
Donald John Trump is the 45th and current President of the United States.
DEATHS
Dhrupad maestro Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar passes away
Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar, a classical vocalist and one of the leading exponents of Dhupad tradition, passed away following a brief illness in Pune. He was 78 and is survived by his wife and two sons. 

Known to his admires as Sayeed Bhai, Sayeeduddin belongs to Dagar family of musicians that is the only one to practice Dhrupad, a form of Hindustani classical vocal music. 

He is the 19th generation of the family practising this form of music. With his demice, Sayeeduddin’s sons Nafeesuddin and Aneesuddin Dagar will now be the 20th generation of the family to practice Dhrupad.

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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India-Bhutan New Trade and Transit agreement come into force
The new bilateral Agreement on Trade Commerce and Transit between India and Bhutan came into force recently.
It aims to further strengthen the bilateral trade relations between both countries.
The bilateral trade relations between India and Bhutan are governed by the Agreement on Trade, Commerce, and Transit. The agreement provides for a free trade regime between the territories of India and Bhutan. 

The agreement provides for a free trade regime between the territories of India and Bhutan.
World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in Switzerland
The World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge 'Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge' has opened in Swiss Alpine resort of Zermatt Matterhorn in south Switzerland.

According to the Zermatt Matterhorn's press release, the steel bridge is 494 meters long and overtakes the "Titan-RT" bridge in Germany as the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge.

The trail is considered by many ones of the most beautiful two-day hikes in the Alps and at a narrow 65 centimeters wide, the bridge stretches like a thin wire across the steep valley floor.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Delhi Metro Declared as World’s first Green Metro
The Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) was recently declared as the world’s first green metro after it added a green certification for all its major buildings and installations.

They got the platinum rating for its 10 residential colonies for adherence to green building norms by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).

DMRC became the first railway project in the world to be registered by the United Nations under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
Swachh Survekshan-2018 launched to assess sanitation in all 4,041 cities and towns of the country
Union Government launched ‘Swachh Survekshan-2018’ to rank all the 4,041 cities and towns in the country based on infrastructure development for improved sanitation services and their sustainability, outcomes, citizen connects and visible impact on the ground.

Under the survey launched by Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, 500 cities with more than 1 lakh population and state and UT capitals will have all-India ranking. Also, 3,541 cities with less than 1 lakh population will have state and zonal rankings.

In the 73 cities with a population of million plus each and all state, capitals were ranked in which Mysuru, Chandigarh, and Tiruchirapalli emerged as the cleanest cities in that order. In the 2017 Survey, 434 cities with a population of one lakh plus each and state capitals were assessed in which Indore, Bhopal, and Visakhapatnam were the cleanest cities.

Union Government enters into nine Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPAs) with Indian taxpayers
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) entered into 9 Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPAs) with Indian taxpayers.
The taxpayer has the option to rollback the APA for four preceding years, it makes a total of nine years of tax certainty is provided.
The international transactions covered in these nine APAs include the provision of software development services provision of IT enabled services, provision of engineering design services, distribution, contract manufacturing.

Supreme court bans use of five heavy metals in firecrackers
The Supreme Court imposed a ban on the use of five harmful heavy metals like lithium, antimony, mercury, arsenic and lead in the manufacturing of firecrackers as they cause air pollution.

The apex court held that it is the responsibility of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) to ensure compliance with ban order particularly in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu where there are a large number of firecracker manufacturers.

PESO is the apex department to control and administer manufacture, storage, transport and handling of explosives, petroleum, compressed gases and other hazardous substances in India.

19th RCEP Trade Negotiating Committee Meeting held in Hyderabad
The 19th round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) meetings and other related meetings were held from 17 to 28 July 2017 in Hyderabad, India.

The parallel meetings were also held by the three main Working Groups on Trade in goods, services, and investment. Working Groups in other areas like electronic commerce, Intellectual Property, Legal and Institutional Issues etc. also had held their meetings.

RCEP is a proposed comprehensive regional economic integration agreement (mega Free Trade Agreement) amongst the 10-ASEAN countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam) and its six Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) partners namely Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Japan, and Korea.

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SPORTS AFFAIRS
Los Angels to host 2028 Games and Paris gets 2024 for Summer Olympics
Los Angeles reached an agreement with the leaders of the International Olympic Committee on plans to host the 2028 Summer Games.
It announced its bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics after agreeing on a deal that paves the way for Paris to host in 2024.
The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896.
India won 24 medals at Jordan Open Table Tennis Tournament
India won total 24 medals at the Jordan Junior and Cadet Open table tennis tournament.
It includes 7 Gold, 7 Silver and 10 Bronze medals in the event, India was the second best finishers.
Payas Jain won silver in the tournament recently.
Rahul, Manu-Sumeeth won title at Lagos Open Title
Indian shuttler C Rahul Yadav and Men’s doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy won the Men’s singles and Men’s doubles title at Lagos International challenge.

It was held in Nigeria.
Rahul recently won the bronze medal in the Russain Open Grand Prix.

Quiz

Ques. : 1 The Indian women's basketball team defeated which of the following teams to win Division B of the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 held in Bengaluru?
1) Kazakhstan
2) Lebanon
3) New Zealand
4) Philippines
5) Jordan
Answer:- 1) Kazakhstan
Ques. : 2 India's foreign exchange reserves recently touched a new record high of USD 391.33 bn. Which of the following is NOT a component of India’s foreign exchange reserves?

1) Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs)
2) India's reserve position with the IMF
3) Special Drawing Rights with the IMF 4) Gold reserves
5) None of these
Answer:- 5) None of these
Ques. : 3 Which of the following insurers is all set to take over Sahara India Life Insurance with effect from Jul 31, 2017?
1) Bajaj Allianz
2) SBI Life
3) ICICI Prudential
4) IDBI Federal
5) HDFC Life
Answer:- 3) ICICI Prudential
Ques. : 4 South Korea will deploy four additional units of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile defence system which are being offered from

1) Japan
2) US
3) Russia
4) Sweden
5) UK
Answer:- 2) US
Ques. : 5 Who among the following is the present Governor of Maharashtra with the additional charge of Tamil Nadu?
1) Keshari Nath Tripathi
2) Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir
3) Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala
4) C Vidyasagar Rao
5) ESL Narasimhan
Answer:- 4) C Vidyasagar Rao
Ques. : 6 The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) has said that search for new uranium deposits in the country would be intensified. The present Chairman of AEC is

1) Sekhar Basu
2) Shashi Shanker
3) Gurdeep Singh
4) KN Vyas
5) T Suvarna Raju
Answer:- 1) Sekhar Basu
Ques. : 7 India is the world's third-biggest exporter of beef according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the OECD. The world’s biggest exporter of beef is

1) Australia
2) US
3) Brazil
4) China
5) Malaysia
Answer:- 3) Brazil
Ques. : 8 Twenty-nine Indian cities and towns fall under “severe” to “very severe” seismic zones, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS). Which of the following is NOT one of them?

1) Shimla
2) Puducherry
3) Kohima 4) Patna
5) None of these
Answer:- 5) None of these
Ques. : 9 India and which of the following countries are pushing for the development of the Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC), an alternative to China’s OBOR?

1) South Korea
2) Japan
3) US
4) Australia
5) South Africa
Answer:- 2) Japan
Ques. : 10 Four payments bank have been launched so far in India. Which of the following is NOT one of them?
1) India Post Payments Bank
2) Paytm Payments Bank
3) Airtel Payment Bank
4) Fino Payments Bank
5) None of these
Answer:- 5) None of these

NOSTRO, VOSTRO, LORO Accounts

NOSTRO, VOSTRO, LORO Accounts
Quiz for the same in comments section
Nowadays, bank operations are not confined within a national border. Banks are opening branches in foreign countries. But the problem is - Is it possible for a bank to open branch in each and every country?

Obvious answer is no. Then what is the easiest way to handle this situation?
Open an account in the foreign countries' bank!!
Here Nostro, Vostro and Loro accounts come into play. Note that all these accounts are termed as one's own country-basis.

NOSTRO Account
Italian word 'nostro' means 'ours'. Hence, Nostro account points at - "Our account with you"

Nostro accounts are generally held in a foreign country (with a foreign bank), by a domestic bank (from our perspective, our bank). It obviates that account is maintained in that foreign currency.

For example, SBI account with HSBC in U.K.(may be)
VOSTRO Account
Italian word 'vostro' means 'yours'. Hence, Vostro account points at - "Your account with us"

Vostro accounts are generally held by a foreign bank in our country (with a domestic bank). It generally maintained in Indian Rupee (if we consider India)

For example, HSBC account is held with SBI in India. (may be)
LORO Account
Again, Italian word 'loro' means 'theirs'. Therefore, it points at - "Their account with them"

Loro accounts are generally held by a 3rd party bank, other than the account maintaining bank or with whom account is maintained.

For example, BOI wants to transact with HSBC, but doesn't have any account, while SBI maintains an account with HSBC in U.K. Then BOI could use SBI account. (again may be)

Important Banking/Economic Terminologies

Important Banking/Economic Terminologies
ATM (Automatic Teller Machines): They are machines that dispense cash, receive cash, accept cheques, and give balance details and mini statements to the customers through Computer network

Bancassurance: It is the distribution of insurance products and the insurance policies of insurance companies by banks as corporate agents through their branches. Banks charge a fee for this service from insurance companies

Bouncing of a cheque: When an account has insufficient funds the cheque is not payable and is returned by the bank with a reason “Exceeds arrangement” or “funds insufficient”.

Bank Account: It is account of nominal interest which can only be used for personal purpose and which has some restrictions on withdrawal

Bank Rate: It is the rate of interest charged by a central bank to commercial banks on the advances and the loans it extends.

Basis Point: One-hundredth of 1% point normally used for indicating cost of finance
Balanced budget: A budget is said to be a balanced budget when current income is same as current expenditure.
Balance of Trade: Refers to the relationship between the values of country’s imports and its export, i.e., the visible balance. These items only form part of the balance of payments which are (a) invisible items and (b) movements of capital.

Budget Deficit: When the expenditure of the Govt. exceeds the revenue, the balance between the two is the budget deficit.
Call Money: It is a loan that is made for a very short period of a few days only with a low rate of interest
Cheque: It is written by an individual to transfer amount between two accounts of the same bank or a different bank and the money is withdrawn from the account.

Core Banking: It is a general term used to describe the services provided by a group of networked bank branches
Core Banking Solutions (CBS): In this all the branches of the bank are connected together and the customer can access his/her funds or transactions from any other branch.

CRR (Cash Reverse Ratio): the amount of funds that a bank keep with the RBI. If the percentage of CRR increases then the amount with the bank comes down.

Current Account: It is an account that can be opened generally for business purposes with no restrictions on withdrawals and no interest paid

Debit Card: It is a card issued by the bank so the customers can withdraw their money from their account electronically.
Deflation: Decline in the general price level of goods and services leading to rise in the value (purchasing power). A method of statistical conversion of a series of data to compensate for the general rise in prices.

Demat Account: The way in which a bank keeps money in a deposit account in the same way the Depository Company converts share certificates into electronic form and keep them in a Demat account.

Dishonour of Cheque: Non-payment of a cheque by the paying banker with a return memo giving reasons for the non-payment
E-Banking: It is a type of banking in which we can conduct financial transactions electronically. RTGS, Credit cards, Debit cards etc come under this category.

EFT – (Electronic Fund Transfer): In this we use Automatic teller machine, wire transfer and computers to move funds between different accounts in different or same bank.

Fiscal policy:  Government’s expenditure and tax policy, an important means of moderating the upswings and downswings of the business cycle.

Fiscal Deficit: It is the amount of Funds borrowed by the government to meet the expenditures.
Inflation: It is an increase in the quantity of money in circulation without any corresponding increase in goods thus leading to an abnormal rise in the price level

Initial Public Offering (IPO): It is the time when a company makes the first offering of the shares to the public.
Kiosk Banking: Doing banking from a cubicle from which food, newspapers, tickets, etc are also sold
Leverage Ratio: It is a financial ratio which gives us an idea or a measure of a company’s ability to meet its financial losses.
Liquidity: It is the ability of converting an investment quickly into cash with no loss in value.
Market Capitalization: The product of the share price and number of the company’s outstanding ordinary shares.
Mortgage: It is a kind of security which one offers for taking an advance or loan from someone.
Mutual Fund: These are investment schemes. It pools money from various investors in order to purchase securities.
Monetary Policy: it refers to the Central Government policy with respect to the quantity of money in the economy, the rate of interest and the exchange rate

Non-bank ATM / White labeled ATM: An ATM or cash machine that does not prominently display a bank’s name or logo. A fee will be charged for cash withdrawals in these ATMs and they don’t accept deposits

Non-performing Assets (NPAs): NPA or non-performing loans are loans given by a bank on which repayments or interest payments are not being made on time

Permanent Account Number (PAN): PAN is a number issued by the Income Tax Department to their tax payers.
Plastic Money: Plastic money is a name given to Credit cards, Debit cards, ATM cards anf International Cards issued by banks
Point of Sale (PoS): PoS refers to a location at which a payment of a card transaction occurs
Prime Lending Rate (PLR): Rate of interest at which a bank gives loan to its most reliable customer i.e., customer with ‘zero risk’

Pass Book: It is a book where all the bank transactions are recorded. They are mainly issued to Current or Savings Bank account holders.

Repo Rate: Commercial banks borrow funds by the RBI if there is any shortage in the form of rupees. If this rate increases it becomes expensive to borrow money from RBI and vice versa.

Reverse Repo Rate: It is the exact opposite of repo rate. It is the rate at which RBI borrows money from banks when it feels there is too much money floating in the banking system

Special Drawing Rights (SDR): It is a reserve asset (Paper Gold) created within the framework of the International Monetary Fund in an attempt to increase international liquidity

SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio): It is amount that a commercial bank should have before giving credits to its customers which should be either in the form of gold, money or bonds.

Teller: He/she is a staff member of the bank who cashes cheques, accepts deposits and perform different banking services for the general mass.

Universal Banking: When financial institutions and banks undertake activities related to banking like investment, issue of debit and credit card etc then it is known as universal banking.

Value Added Tax (VAT): This form of tax has been in operation in some countries. If brings a value added tax, a tax levied on the values that is added to goods and services turned out by the producers during stages of production and distribution.

Virtual Banking: Internet banking is sometimes known as virtual banking. It is called so because it has no bricks and boundaries. It is controlled by the World Wide Web.

Wholesale Banking: It is similar to retail banking with a slight difference that it mainly focuses on the financial needs of the institutional clients and the industry.

Zero Based Budgeting:  The practice of justifying the utility in cost benefit terms of each government expenditure on projects. The ZBB technique, involves a serious review of every scheme before a budgetary provision is made in its favour. This form of financial planning is with an objective to ensure that every rupee spent is result oriented. If ZBB is properly implemented it could help to reverse the trend of large deficits on the revenue account of the Union Government.

Zero Coupon Bond: It is a bond that is sold at good discount as it has no coupon.