CURRENT GK
1.NDA nominates Venkaiah Naidu as vice-presidential candidate :-
Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu has been named the vice-presidential candidate of the ruling NDA coalition.
Naidu is currently serving as the Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation as well as Information and Broadcasting.
An alliance of 18 opposition parties, including the Congress, has already announced Gopalkrishna Gandhi as its candidate for the vice-presidential poll.
2.45.93 lakh tons of foodgrains per month being allocated to States/UTs under NFSA :-
Under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), the eligible households, which comprises of households covered under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and priority households, are entitled to receive foodgrains (rice, wheat or coarsegrains or any combination thereof) at highly subsidized prices. There is no BPL category under NFSA.
Currently 45.93 lakh tons of foodgrains per month are being allocated to the States/UTs under NFSA. The highly subsidized prices of foodgrains under NFSA i.e. Rs.1/2/3 per kg for coarse grains/wheat/rice have been continued upto June, 2018.
3.Google most influential brand in India, says study :-
Google has been ranked as the most influential brand in the country while Patanjali Ayurveda and Reliance Jio figure in the top ten, according to a study by global research firm Ipsos.
Google is followed by Microsoft and Facebook at the second and third places, respectively.
Patanjali and Reliance Jio have been ranked fourth and ninth, respectively, Ipsos said in its report of the most influential brands.
4.So far 455 markets from 13 States have been integrated to e-NAM :-
585 markets across the country are targeted for integration to e-NAM by March, 2018, out of which 455 markets from 13 States have been integrated so far.
The details are given below. For this purpose, financial assistance of Rs. 30 lakh per market is given. This has been increased to Rs.75 lakhs per mandi in Union Budget for 2017-18.
In addition the software and a mandi analyst for a year is also provided to each mandi.
5.Measures Taken by Government to Protect Ancient and Traditional Knowledge of Indigenous Medicinal Systems :-
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is a pioneering Indian initiative to prevent exploitation and to protect Indian traditional knowledge from wrongful patents mainly at International Patent Offices.
India’s rich and time-tested traditional medicinal knowledge which exists in languages such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Tamil etc. is neither accessible nor comprehensible for patent examiners at the international patent offices.
TKDL contains Indian traditional medicine knowledge available in public domain and pertains to classical/ traditional books related to Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha in a digitized format and is available in five international languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese).
6.National Bamboo Mission renamed as National Agro-Forestry & Bamboo Mission (NABM) :-
National Bamboo Mission renamed as National Agro-Forestry & Bamboo Mission (NABM) is being implemented as per the set objectives and targets of the Mission.
As per available reports 3,61,791 ha. area have been covered in forest & non-forest land, 91,715 ha. area taken up for improvement of existing stock for higher productivity (forest & non-forest areas) under the Mission against targets of 3,62,848 ha., 69,410 ha. respectively.
7.Swachhta Pakhwada observed in the Ministry of Earth Sciences Cleanliness Activities Undertaken at Stations in Antarctica and Arctic :-
Swachhta Pakhwada (Cleanliness Fortnight) of Ministry of Earth Sciences and its various Organisations was organized from 16th to 30th June, 2017.
In addition to general cleanliness of the Campus of MoES and its Organisations, some additional activities were carried out like undertaking cleanliness of some villages, donating dustbins to schools and hospitals for maintaining their cleanliness, arranging drawing/ painting competitions among school children for spreading Swachhta awareness etc.
8.RBI has set up an Enforcement Department (EFD) which would serve as a centralised department to speed up regulatory compliance; EFD has been entrusted with the responsibility of enforcement action on commercial banks :-
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed that they have set up an Enforcement Department (EFD). EFD would serve as a centralised department to speed up regulatory compliance.
EFD has been set up to separate those who oversee the possible rule breaches and those who decide on punitive actions so that enforcement process operates fairly and is evidence based.
The EFD has become functional with effect from April 03, 2017. The EFD has been entrusted with the responsibility of enforcement action on commercial banks.
9.Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani assumes additional charge of Ministry of I&B :-
Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister for Textiles assumed additional charge as Minister for Information & Broadcasting here today. Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Col.
Rajyavardhan Rathore, Secretary (I&B) Shri N.K. Sinha, CEO Prasar Bharati Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati and senior officers of the Ministry were also present on the occasion.
10.Foreign Exchange Earnings (In Rupee And US $ Terms) through Tourism in India in June 2017 :-
Ministry of Tourism estimates monthly Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) through tourism in India, both in rupee and dollar terms. Based on the credit data of Travel Head from Balance of Payments of RBI.
Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) through tourism (in Rs. terms) –
FEEs during the month of June 2017 were Rs.13,088 crore as compared to Rs. 10,677 crore in June 2016 and Rs.9,564 crore in June 2015.
The growth rate in FEEs in rupee terms in June 2017 over June 2016 was 22.6% compared to growth of 11.6% in June 2016 over June 2015.
11.Facebook hires former Uber PR chief Rachel Whetstone :-
Facebook has hired Uber’s former top public relations executive as vice-president of communications for its multiple platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.
According to a report in The Guardian on Tuesday, Rachel Whetstone, who has worked for some of the Britain’s most powerful Conservative politicians, stepped down as head of public policy and communications at Uber in April following a string of corporate scandals.
12.Bharat Arun returns as India bowling coach :-
Ravi Shastri, who was appointed head coach of the Indian team on July 11, will be assisted by Sanjay Bangar (assistant coach), Bharat Arun (bowling coach) and R. Sridhar (fielding coach) for a period of two years, renewable in July 2018.
This team will begin its work from the tour of Sri Lanka. The Indian team will leave for Colombo on Wednesday after a media interaction in the afternoon at a hotel near the international airport.
13.Parajuli to be Nepal’s new SC Chief Justice :-
The name of acting Chief Justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli was unanimously endorsed by the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee (PHSC) for the post of Nepal’s Supreme Court Chief Justice.
Parajuli’s name was sent to the PHSC for hearing by the Constitutional Council on June 29.
Parajuli, the senior-most Justice at the Supreme Court, has taken up the responsibility of acting Chief Justice since June 7, this year after the retirement of then Chief Justice Sushila Karki on June 6.
