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Gk and Current Affairs Today - February 5 2017

Gk and Current Affairs Today - February 5 2017

Dear Readers,

We bring you the Latest General Knowledge and Current Affairs daily news, Events, General awareness Today  5th February 2017 Section in FREE PDF (English & Hindi), a section which outlines the latest news, Events headlines which are hardly covered elsewhere. This will help you with the Latest General Knowledge and Current Affairs today asked in various competitive examinations of Banking (IBPS, RRB, SBI, PO, Clerk & other banks) & Government (SSC CGL, CHSL, JE, MTS, Railways, UPSC etc) Sector examination.


NATIONAL NEWS

UD Ministry approves Atal Mission Plans of 6 more States for next 3 financial years 

Ministry of Urban Development has approved in one go investments in six States for improving basic urban infrastructure over the next three financial years i.e 2017-20 under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
●    A total investment of Rs.2,863 cr has been cleared in 42 mission cities in these six States with a central assistance of Rs.1,432 cr for providing water taps to all urban households besides increasing water supply to the normative 135 litres per head per day, improving sewerage and drainage networks, promoting non-motorised transport and development of parks and green spaces.
●    Details of investments to be made over the next three fiscals are : Karnatata –Rs.2,070 cr  with a central assistance of Rs.955 cr, Jharkhand-Rs.555 cr in 7 cities with central assistance of Rs.262 cr, Himachal Pradesh-Rs.115 cr with central assistance of Rs.103 cr, Arunachal Pradesh-Rs.53 cr with central assistance of Rs.47 cr, Nagaland-Rs.45 cr with central assistance of Rs.41 cr and Puducherry- Rs.24 cr with central government funding the whole project expenditure.

NATIONAL NEWS

President Opens Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Annual ‘Udyanotsav’

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee opened the annual ‘Udyanotsav’ of the Rashtrapati Bhavan today (February 04, 2017). 
●    The Mughal Gardens will remain open for general public from tomorrow to March 12, 2017 (except on Mondays which are maintenance days) between 0930 hrs to 1600 hrs. Members of the public will also be able to visit the Spiritual Garden, Herbal Garden, Bonsai Garden and Musical Garden. During this period, there will be no online booking for visiting the Gardens. 
●    Entry and exit for the general public will be from Gate No. 35 of the President’s Estate, close to where North Avenue meets Rashtrapati Bhavan. Visitors are requested not to bring any water bottles, briefcases, handbags/ladies purses, cameras, radios/transistors, boxes, umbrellas, eatables etc. Such articles, if any, will have to be deposited at the entry point. However, arrangements of drinking water, toilets, first aid / medical facility; rest rooms for senior citizens, women and children will be provided for public visiting the Gardens. 
●    The Mughal Gardens will be open exclusively on March 10, 2017 to special category of visitors viz farmers, differently abled persons, defence/para-military forces and Delhi Police personnel from 0930 hrs. to 1600 hrs. Entry and exit will be through Gate No. 35. 
●    The Tactile Garden will be open for visually impaired people on March 10, 2017 from 1100 hrs. to 1600 hrs. Entry and exit will be from Gate No. 12, situated on Church Road

NATIONAL NEWS


Health Ministry launches single vaccine for dual protection against measles and rubella as part of Universal Immunization Programme 


The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched Measles Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign in the country at a function in Bengaluru, here today. The campaign against these two diseases will start from five States/UTs (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Goa and Lakshadweep) covering nearly 3.6 crore target children. 
●    Following the campaign, Measles-Rubella vaccine will be introduced in routine immunization, replacing the currently given two doses of measles vaccine, at 9-12 months and 16-24 months of age. 
●    The initiative was launched in the presence Shri Sadananda Gowda, Union Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Shri Ananth Kumar, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Sharanaprakash Rudrappa Patil, Minister of Medical Education, Karnataka, Sh. K.R. Ramesh Kumar, State Health Minister, Karnataka and Shri Ramesh Arvind, celebrity actor, Karnataka. The dignitaries also launched the communication material on the occasion to raise the awareness about the initiative. 
●    Speaking at the launch, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste stated that the Government is committed to eradicating Measles and Rubella from the country. 
●    This shall be taken up in a mission mode and rolled out in partnership with States , NGOs and development partners such as WHO, UNICEF, Gates Foundation, Lions Club, IPA, IMA, etc. In the nationwide campaign, the Ministry will reach out to and cover 41 cr children in the age group of 9 months – 15 years,. He urged parents, caregivers, community leaders, teachers, anganwaadi workers and other frontline health workers to become the active part of this campaign. 

BANKING AWARENESS

HDFC Bank increases cash transaction fees on savings accounts


In a bid to discourage cash transactions, country’s second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has decided to steeply increase the fees for savings account holders on a slew of activities involving cash.
●    The move assumes significance as the government post demonetisation has been encouraging people to shift to a cash-less or less-cash regime and use digital mode for transactions.
●    HDFC Bank has decided to steeply raise the charges on certain transactions, capping cash component in others and also introducing charges on certain transactions from 1 March.
●    The city-headquartered bank has capped the third-party transactions at Rs25,000 a day, reduced the number of free cash transactions at branches to four from five earlier and also raised the fee for non-free transactions by a steep 50% to Rs150, it said on its website.

ECONOMY


RBI announces to issue new Rs 100 notes


The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon issue new Rs 100 denomination banknotes. 
●    The new banknotes will have a similar design as that of the Rs 100 banknotes issued previously in Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005. 
●    All the banknotes in the denomination of Rs 100 previously issued by the RBI will continue to be legal tender. 
●    Short-supply of Rs 100 notes and near absence of new Rs 500 notes in the market resulted in the general public reluctantly accepting Rs 2,000 note as merchants were not able to provide change for this higher denomination currency. 
●    The RBI notified that foreign institutional investors /foreign portfolios investors can now invest up to 36 percent of the paid-up capital of Cera Sanitaryware Ltd under the Portfolio Investment Scheme. 

BUSINESS


Tata Motors launches new sub-brand TAMO


In a bid to regain the lost ground in passenger vehicles segment, homegrown auto major Tata Motors on Thursday launched a sub-brand TAMO with an aim to introduce new technology equipped vehicles faster to the market.
●    Under the TAMO sub-brand, the company will launch vehicles that are low in volumes requiring low investment.
●    It is also looking at a different buying experience for TAMO vehicles, although for the time being it has not confirmed if it would set up a separate retail chain as market leader Maruti Suzuki has done with Nexa.
●    TAMO will be a ring-fenced agile and flexible vertical that would serve as an incubating environment towards new technologies, business models and partnerships.
●    This will be a lean operating model with volume, low investment and faster to the market.

APPOINTMENT


Ashok Amritraj Appointed UN in India Goodwill Ambassador 

Award-winning Hollywood film producer and Wimbledon tennis player, Ashok Amritraj has been appointed the United Nations in India Goodwill Ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 
●    Chairman and CEO of the Hyde Park Entertainment Group, Mr. Amritraj is the first Ambassador for the UN in India.
●    An internationally-renowned iconic filmmaker, Ashok Amritraj has made over 100 films during the span of his 30-year extraordinary career garnering global acclaim as well as worldwide revenues in excess of $2 billion. 
●    In September 2015, at the UN General Assembly, 193 countries adopted arguably the most ambitious global agenda of our times, The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - a plan of action for people, planet, prosperity and peace. 
●    India played an important role in shaping the global agenda and is critical to its success.
●    UN Goodwill Ambassadors aim to generate momentum and commitment to achieve the SDGs by 2030 and to foster engagement of new stakeholders in the implementation of these Goals.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

CEO Travis Kalanick resigns from Trump's board

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will step down from President Donald Trump's economic advisory council, he told Uber employees in an email Thursday. 
●    Criticism against the company reached a fever pitch last weekend, when thousands of users contacted Uber to delete their accounts as a campaign to #DeleteUber spread across social media. 
●    The outcry ignited when Uber tweeted that it would not apply surge pricing at John F. Kennedy International Airport while New York City taxi drivers were striking at the airport. 
●    The surge pricing announcement, coupled with Kalanick's role on Trump's advisory council, caused many Uber users — or former users — to associate the company with Trump. 
●    Kalanick was one of several business leaders on the advisory council, along with Tesla founder Elon Musk who, at time of writing, remained part of it. 


On This Day

On February 5, 1989, the last Soviet troops left Kabul. This was the close of the nearly decade-long Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan. Less than two weeks later, all Soviet troops departed Afghanistan entirely. Soviet armed forces had entered Afghanistan in December 1979 to support that nation’s pro-Soviet communist government in its battles with Muslim rebels. Almost immediately, the Soviet Union found itself mired in a rapidly escalating conflict. Soviet troops were fighting a bloody, costly, and ultimately frustrating battle to end the Afghan resistance. By 1988, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev decided that the Soviet troops would shortly begin their withdrawal. In the midst of tremendous internal political and economic instability at the time, and Gorbachev’s action in regards to Afghanistan was yet another indication that Soviet power was on the wane. In less than three years, Gorbachev had resigned and the Soviet Union had ceased to exist. For Afghanistan, the Soviet withdrawal did not end the death and destruction. The Afghan rebels, who had been armed to the teeth by U.S. aid, simply turned their attention to political and religious rivals within the country. Civil war continued to wrack the nation.  


 

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