Important Current Affairs 2nd April 2017 Free PDF

Important Current Affairs 2nd April 2017 with Free PDF

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We bring you Important Current Affairs 2nd April 2017 with Free PDF in English and Hindi, which will update you with latest headlines, news from various domains i.e: National News, Sports, Business, Awards & recognition. It will help you in preparation of competitive exams like: SSC, SBI, IBPS PO, Clerk, Railways & Various other Entrance examinations.

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Current Affairs 2nd April 2017: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

PM Modi meets Malaysian PM Making Razak

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak ahead of delegation-level talks here on Saturday.
●    A number of agreements are expected to be signed between India and Malaysia following the delegation-level talks between the two sides.
●    Earlier in the day, Razak was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
●    Thereafter he called on President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari. 
●    External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj too called on the visiting dignitary.
●    Razak arrived in Chennai on Thursday on a six-day visit to India and reached New Delhi on Friday evening.
●    He will also visit Jaipur on Sunday where he will meet Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia.
●    The is the Malaysian Prime Minister’s third official visit to India.

 

Current Affairs 2nd April 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Haryana to provide Rs. 21,000 to families of third girl child

Haryana government would provide one-time grant of Rs 21,000 to all those families whose third girl child was born after August 24, 2015, under the Aapki Beti, Hamari Beti scheme.
●    Under the scheme, the eligible families would receive the amount irrespective of their caste, creed, religion, income and number of sons, an official release issued here today said.
●    The scheme is aimed to combat the problem of declining child sex ratio and promote girls education in the state.
●    The third girl child born on or after August 24, 2015 in any family in the state satisfying the eligibility criteria would be covered in this scheme.
●    Earlier under the scheme, the first girl child born in the families belonging to Scheduled Castes and all Below Poverty Line (BPL), and second, twin or multiple girls born on or after January 22, 2015 in any family were eligible for the grant.
●    Infamous for its adverse sex ratio, Haryana has witnessed a significant improvement in it, which was recorded at 938 in February this year.

Aadhaar mandatory for driving license

The Union Cabinet on Friday decided to link the issue of driving licences and vehicle registration to Aadhaar, as part of a slew of changes that will affect the Motor Vehicles Act.
●    The Union Cabinet on Friday decided to link the issue of driving licences and vehicle registration to Aadhaar, as part of a slew of changes that will affect the Motor Vehicles Act.
●    “The government is proposing an all-India register for vehicles and driving licences to ensure no duplication is done. 
●    Besides, measures like making vehicle registration and driving licences Aadhaar-based will help to check registration of stolen vehicles. 
●    The move will also help in portability—i.e. transfer of vehicle registration from one state to another,” said Nitin Gadkari, minister for road transport and highways.
●    The Finance Bill 2017 cleared by both the Houses of Parliament has already made it mandatory for obtaining and retaining the permanent account number (PAN) as well as for filing of income-tax returns.

Mizoram becomes 27th State to join UDAY

The Government of India and the State of Mizoram signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under the scheme Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) today for operational improvement of the State’s Power Distribution Department. 
●    With the signing of MoU by Mizoram, the total States/ Union territories covered under UDAY will be 27. 
●    Mizoram would derive an overall net benefit of approximately Rs.198 crores by opting to participate in UDAY, by way of cheaper funds, reduction in AT&C and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency, etc. during the period of turnaround.
●    The MoU paves way for improving operational efficiency of the Power Distribution department of the State. 
●    Through compulsory Distribution Transformer metering, consumer indexing & GIS mapping of losses, upgrade/change transformers, meters etc., smart metering of high-end consumers, feeder audit etc. 
●    AT&C losses and transmission losses would be brought down, besides eliminating the gap between cost of supply of power and realisation. 
●    The reduction in AT&C losses and transmission losses to 15% and 2.50% respectively is likely to bring additional revenue of around Rs.166 crores during the period of turnaround.

Uttarakhand HC declares air, jungles as living entities

The Uttarakhand High Court, which recently accorded the status of "living human entities" to the Ganga and Yamuna river, today extended the order to include a wide range of natural entities within the ambit of a "juristic (non-living) person".
●    A division bench of Justices Rajiv Sharma and Alok Singh of the High Court declared all the glaciers, including Gangotri and Yamunotri, rivers, streams, rivulets, lakes, air, meadows, dales, jungles, forests wetlands, grasslands, springs and waterfalls as living entities. 
●    Following the order these will have some legal rights on a living person.
●    The Court laid special attention towards Gangotri and Yamunotri glaciers, saying, "Gangotri is one of the largest glaciers in the Himalayas. 
●    However, it is receding fast. In over 25 years, it has retreated more than 850 meters.
●    Yamunotri Glacier is also receding at an alarming rate.
●    Glacial Ice is the largest reservoir of freshwater on earth.
●    It directed that all corresponding rights, duties, liabilities and rights akin to fundamental and legal rights of a living person be conferred on the aforementioned, so as to preserve and conserve them.

5 associate banks, BMB merge with SBI

Five associates and the Bharatiya Mahila Bank became part of the State Bank of India (SBI) on Saturday, catapulting the country's largest lender to among the top 50 banks in the world.
●    State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT), besides Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB), merged with SBI with effect from April 1, the bank said in a statement.
●    With this merger, the bank will join the league of top 50 banks globally in terms of assets, it added.
●    The total customer base of the bank will reach 37 crores with a branch network of around 24,000 and nearly 59,000 ATMs across the country.
●    The merged entity will have a deposit base of more than Rs 26 lakh crore and advances level of Rs 18.50 lakh crore.
●    Welcoming all the stakeholders of merged entities, SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said the bank will strive to conclude the transition process within a quarter.

President of India Lays Foundation Stone of Rabindra Bhawan and Haj House in Ranchi 

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee laid the foundation stone of Rabindra Bhawan and Haj House today (April 2, 2017) in Ranchi, Jharkhand. 
●    Speaking on the occasion, the President said that he was happy to be present in Ranchi on the occasion of laying of foundation stone for the Rabindra Bhavan and Haj House. 
●    It is indeed a matter of pleasure that Gurudev and his family who left a long lasting impression in the state will be commemorated through the construction of Rabindra Bhavan. 
●    The President said that his association with Jharkhand, as indeed the entire Eastern region goes back many a decades with the neighbouring West Bengal being his home state. 
●    Indeed Bihar, undivided Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa and Assam were part of the same Bengal Presidency for a long period in the earlier part of the last century. 
●    The area has a shared past and heritage and its shaping in the post Independence era has also been similar. 
●    The President said that for our Muslim brethren a travel to Mecca for Haj is a life time dream. 
●    It is indeed commendable that the Government of Jharkhand has come up with the project of establishing a “Haj House” to facilitate Haj pilgrimage. 
●    He was sure that this will provide much needed relief to the pilgrims from the State and the area.

Record Capacity Addition of Wind Power of 5400 MW in Last Fiscal

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set another record in the wind power capacity addition  by adding over 5400 MW in 2016-17 against the target of 4000 MW.  
●    This year’s achievement surpassed the previous higher capacity addition of 3.423 MW achieved in the previous year.
●    The leading States in the wind power capacity addition during 2016-17 are Andhra Pradesh 2190 MW, followed by Gujarat 1275 MW and Karnataka 882 MW. 
●    In addition Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra ,Telangana and Kerala have reported 357 MW, 288 MW, 262 MW, 118 MW , 23 MW and 8 MW wind power capacity addition respectively during 2016-17. 
●    During 2016-17 MNRE has taken various policy initiatives in the wind energy sector that includes Introduction of Bidding in Wind Energy Sector, Re -powering Policy, Draft Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy, New Guidelines for Development of Wind Power Projects, etc.