Current Affairs 01 February 2018 1. Axis Bank launches fourth edition of “Evolve” ● Private sector Axis Bank launched the fourth edition of ‘Evolve’, an annual multi-city knowledge series for Banks SME customers. ● The current edition of evolve, titled “Transform your Family Business into your dream company”, will empower the SMEs to understand the winning strategies and best practices that have helped some of the leading family businesses in India grow into the reputable enterprise. ●
This edition will span across 30 cities including Nagpur, Surat, Rajkot, Pune, Visakhapatnam, Trichy, Kanpur, Ludhiana and Jamshedpur.
Important points: Axis Bank ➢ CEO: Shikha Sharma ➢ Headquarters: Mumbai
2. FY16 GDP growth revised up to 8.2%, FY17 unchanged at 7.1%: CSO ● The Central Statistics Office (CSO) revised the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for 2015-16 to 8.2% from the earlier estimates of 8% and kept the 2016-17 growth unchanged at 7.1%. ● The real GDP or GDP at constant (2011-12) prices for the years 2016-17 and 2015-16 stand at Rs. 121.96 trillion and Rs. 113.86 trillion respectively, showing growth of 7.1% during 2016-17 and 8.2% during 2015-16. ●
In terms of real gross value added (GVA), at constant (2011-12) basic prices grew 7.1% in 201617, as against a growth of 8.1% in 2015-16. According to advance GDP estimates of CSO, the GVA growth on 2011-12 price was estimated at 6.6% for 2016-17.
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Under the third revision, the CSO has estimated GDP growth in 2014-15 at 7.4% from earlier estimates of 7.5%.
3. S.K. Joshi appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Telangana
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S.K. Joshi appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Telangana State.
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Shailendra Kumar Joshi who is currently serving as Special Chief Secretary for Irrigation and Catchment Area Development department, will succeed outgoing Chief Secretary Shekhar Prasad Singh.
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The government earlier had written to the Centre seeking a three-month extension of service to Mr. Singh as he was supervising the progress of Mission Bhagiratha for supplying piped drinking water to all households in the State.
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Mr. Joshi will be taking charge as the fourth Chief Secretary of Telangana State.
4. Government launches GeM 3.0 ● The government has launched the advanced version of GeM 3.0 – the Government e Marketplace portal. ● The new version GeM would offer standardised and enriched catalogue management, powerful search engine, demand aggregation, user rating and analytics. ● GeM 3.0 has undergone a digital transformation with superior technology and ability to scale from the previous version. This will bring together many sellers and service providers for products and services across the country under one roof. ●
The portal with GeM 2.0 version was launched in August 2016 for online purchases of goods and services by all the central government ministries and departments.
Important points: Government e Marketplace portal ➢ CEO: Radha S. Chauhan
5. Highlights of the Union Budget 2018-19 Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presents the Budget for 2018-19 in Parliament Following are the highlights of his speech:
➢ India produced over 275 million tonnes of foodgrain and 300 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables in 2016-17. ➢ Crop production at record high; govt is committed to giving 50% more than cost of crop production to farmers. ➢ Govt to set MSP at one-and-half times the cost of production for Kharif crops. ➢ Govt will ensure farmers get MSP if prices fall; Niti Aayog will discuss with state govts for mechanism to ensure farmers get better prices. ➢ Rs 2,000 crore fund to be set up for upgrading rural agri markets. ➢ Govt has promoted organic farmers in a big way; women self-help groups to be encouraged to take up organic farming. ➢ Food processing sector growing at 8 pc; allocation for food processing ministry being doubled to Rs 1400 cr. ➢ India's agri export potential is $100 bn as against current $30 bn exports. ➢ Mass formalisation of MSME sector is happening after demonetisation and GST. ➢ Target for loan disbursement under Mudra scheme set at Rs 3 lakh crore for next fiscal. ➢ Govt to soon announce scheme to address the issue of Non-Performing Assets. ➢ Rs 4.6 lakh cr sanctioned under MUDRA Scheme. ➢ Govt's budget for health, education and social security increased to Rs 1.38 lakh crore for 2018-19 from Rs 1.22 lakh crore in current fiscal. ➢ Govt identifies 115 "aspirational districts" to make them model districts of development. ➢ PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana to reach all poor households. ➢ 24 new govt medical colleges and hospitals to be set up by upgrading existing district hospitals ➢ Health insurance scheme to cover 500 million beneficiaries of 100 million families. FM Jaitley announces a cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per year ➢ For education sector, the government proposes revitalising infrastructure, opening schools for the ST populations as well as promoting programmes for teachers, in order to improve quality education for students. ➢ Air Pollution in Delhi NCR is a cause for concern, special scheme will be implemented to support Govts of Haryana, Punjab, UP and Delhi NCT to address it and subsidize machinery for management of crop residue. ➢ Scheme for revitalizing school infrastructure, with an allocation of 1 lakh crore rupees over four years. Called RISE - Revitalising Infrastructure in School Education. ➢ Finance Minister says stated set up PM Research Fellow Scheme; 1000 B-Tech students to be selected. ➢ Finance Minister stated two new planning & architecture schools to be set up in IITs. ➢ Finance Minister stated total investment of Rs 1 lakh cr for 'RISE'. ➢ The government will launch a flagship National Health Protection Scheme, which will have 50 crore beneficiaries. The Centre will give up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year. This will include secondary and tertiary healthcare. ➢ Govt to focus on health, education & social protection. To use technology to improve education from 'blackboard to digital board". ➢ Allocating natural resources in a more transparent manner, there is a premium on honesty now. ➢ Rs 14 lakh cr for enhancing rural livelihood. ➢ Hope to grow at 7.2 per cent-7.5 per cent in the second half of 2017-18. ➢ Finance Minister stated propose to treat education holistically without segmentation. ➢ 80 million poor families to be given free gas connection under Ujjwala scheme. ➢ Finance Minister stated allocate Rs 2,600 underground water irrigation plan in 96 districts.
➢ 500 mn beneficiaries of govt health care scheme. ➢ Rural infra and education get a massive push. ➢ Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stated Rs 16,000 cr allocation for electricity connection to poor families. ➢ Eklavya schools to be started for Scheduled Tribe population. ➢ Rs 11 lakh cr for instant farm credit mooted next FY. ➢ Economy to grow by 7.2-7.5 per cent in second half of current fiscal, says FM. ➢ When our govt took over India was considered one of the fragile five economies of the world; we have reversed it; India is fastest growing economy. ➢ Introduction of GST has made indirect tax system simpler. ➢ India is a $2.5 trillion economy and will become fifth largest economy in the world from the present seventh largest. ➢ Budget will focus on strengthening agricultural and rural economy. ➢ PM has articulated the vision of minimum government, maximum governance ➢ We are firmly on path to achieve 8% growth. ➢ Govt focusing on ease of living now. ➢ Cooking gas being given free to poor under PMUY, 4 cr unconnected being provided electricity connection, stent prices slashed. ➢ Direct Benefit Transfer is a global success story. ➢ Emphasis on generating higher income for farmers; want to help farmers produce more and realise higher prices.
6. UN Nikki Haley pays visit to Indian Embassy in Washington ● US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley paid a visit to the Indian Embassy in Washington and met Indian Ambassador Navtej Sarna. ● The India-US relations should grow stronger and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump is a good combination to achieve this. She lauded Mr Modi, saying that the Prime Minister wants to streamline reforms in India.
7. India’s crude steel production rises 6.2% to 101.4 MT in 2017 ● India has overtaken the US to become the world’s third-largest steel producer and the country is now looking to bag the second spot from Japan.Country’s crude steel production grew by 6.2% to 101.4 million tonnes, MT, in 2017 compared to 95.5 MT in 2017. ● Japan is the second largest global steel producer, witnessed a negative growth as steel
output declined by 0.1 percent to 104.7 MT in 2017 from 104.8 MT in 2016. ●
China remained the world leader by producing 831.7 MT in 2017, up 5.7 percent from 786.9 MT in the year-ago period.
8. Sushma Swaraj to embark on two-day visit to Nepal ● External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to embark on a two-day visit to Nepal. She will hold discussions with various political leaders on issues of mutual interest and to enhance age-old special ties of friendship between India and Nepal during her stay at Kathmandu. ● Mrs. Swaraj meet Communist Party of Nepal (UML) Chairman K.P.Sharma Oli, who is likely to be the new Prime Minister of Nepal. Later she will meet senior leaders of Rashtriya Janta Party Nepal. Important points: Nepal ➢ Capital: Kathmandu ➢ Currency: Nepalese rupee