Important Current Affairs 6th September 2017

Important Current Affairs 6th September 2017

Current Affairs 6th September 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary Assumes Charge as Minister of State in Ministry of Mines

Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary assumed the charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines in New Delhi today. 
●    The Secretary Mines, Shri Arun Kumar along with the senior officers of the mines ministry welcomed the newly appointed Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Coal, Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary in his office in Shastri Bhawan. 
●    Shri Chaudhary was Minister of State in Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) earlier and he has served as Minister of State in Ministry of Home Affairs.
●    After taking charge, Shri Chaudhary held meeting with the senior officers of the Ministry of Mines and discussed the progress in the ministry. 
●    He represents the Banaskantha constituency of Gujarat and is a four-time member of the Lok Sabha from Bharatiya Janata Party.

German cable-maker Leoni expands Pune facility

German cable manufacturer Leoni has invested an additional €10 million (about ₹76 crore) for the expansion of its existing manufacturing facility at Chakan near Pune.
●    The company’s total investment at the facility, which was commissioned in 2013, stands at €20 million.
●    Leoni Cable Solutions India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nuremberg, Germany-headquartered Leoni Group. 
●    Now, the combined production area has increased to more than 20,000 sq m and manufacturing capacity to 80,000 km per year of electron beam cross-linked cables.

Telangana government to spend over Rs 20,000 crore on Hyderabad

The global city dream of Hyderabad is gradually taking shape, with the State government initiating a number of infrastructure development projects for which an investment of Rs.20,000 crore will be made over the next few years.
●    With Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao taking up the mission of transforming Hyderabad into the most liveable city in the country, the next few years will witness massive investments in development of roads, augmentation of infrastructure related to drinking water supply, including new reservoirs, and one lakh houses under the two-bedroom housing scheme. 
●    Some of the projects have already taken off in various locations in the capital.
●    Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K. T. Rama Rao, who held a detailed review meeting on these works here on Wednesday, has already met bank officials to raise funds for such mega projects.
●    According to officials, with the condition of the city roads coming in for much criticism, investment worth Rs.6,700 crore is being made specifically aimed at augmenting road infrastructure. 
●    The government is spending close to Rs.1,500 crore through the Hyderabad Road Development Corporation, with the laying of 300 kilometres of white top roads already on.

4 PSU banks cut lending rates by up to 0.45%

Four public sector lenders, including Indian Bank and Vijaya Bank, today cut their benchmark lending rates by up to 0.45 per cent.
●    Punjab & Sind Bank reduced the overnight marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 0.45 per cent to 8.15 per cent from 8.60 per cent.
●    It reduced the one-month MCLR by 0.40 per cent to 8.20 per cent, while one-year lending will be cheaper by 0.15 per cent to 8.55 per cent.
●    Chennai-based Indian Bank reduced the MCLR across all segments by 0.15 per cent.
●    Vijaya Bank tweaked interest rates in two segments, including for one-year tenor which will become cheaper by 0.15 per cent to 8.50 per cent.
●    IDBI Bank also reduced MCLR by 5-10 bps across various tenors.
●    With the reduction in benchmark rates, home, car and other loans linked to MCLR would become cheaper.

GST collection tops Rs 94,000 crore

As many as six lakh more businesses have filed returns and paid taxes in last one week, taking maiden revenue collections from GST to about Rs 94,700 crore.
●    Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had last week stated that 38.38 lakh businesses had filed their returns and paid Rs 92,283 crore in taxes for the month of July - the first month of implementation of independent India's biggest tax reform, the GST.
●    A top official said since then the number of returns filed has gone up to 44 lakh and over Rs 2,500 crore more has come in as taxes.
●    The collections so far are from 74 per cent of the total taxpayer base and more people are likely to come in when the final returns are filed in GSTR 1, 2 and 3.
●    Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia at an event here said 11 lakh businesses have not yet completed registration for the Goods and Services Tax.
●    The GST, which unifies more than a dozen central and state levies like excise duty, service tax and VAT, kicked in from July 1 and requires all taxpayers to register on the new tax platform, GST Network.

Delhi Court stops Patanjali soap advertisement

The Delhi and Bombay high courts have ordered Patanjali Ayurved to stop airing its latest television commercial for soaps, which allegedly disparaged some rival brands, including Reckitt Benckiser’s Dettol and Hindustan Unilever’s Pears and Lifebuoy. 
●    The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued an ad interim injunction restraining the Baba Ramdev-owned company from airing the controversial advertisement while hearing a petition filed by Reckitt Benckiser, maker of Dettol soap. 
●    A day earlier, Hindustan Unilever had got an injunction from the Bombay High Court to stop airing the ad. 
●    The Patanjali commercial allegedly took at dig at popular soap brands of HUL and Reckitt Benckiser by showing soaps similar to brands such as Dettol, Pears and Lifebuoy, and referring to them as ‘Dhitol’, ‘Tears’ and ‘Lifejoy’, while urging consumers to shun “chemical-based” soaps used by movie stars.

Current Affairs 6th September 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

UJALA scheme launched in Melaka, Malaysia 

Energy Efficiency Services Limited ( EESL) , under Ministry of Power, Government of India has launched UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) Scheme in the State of Melaka, Malaysia today . 
●    The Scheme was launched by Chief Minister of Melaka Datuk Seri Utama Ir. Hj. Idris Bin Hj. Haron. In due course of time, the successful Indian model of UJALA scheme has become a sought-after example for the different nations of the world and will now be implemented in Melaka to extend programme benefits to people of the region.
●    Under this scheme, each household in Melaka will get 10 high quality 9-watt LED bulbs at a cost of only RM 10, which is a special price and is almost half of what in being offered in the market. 
●    The distribution of these LED bulb will take place from 28 numbers of Japerun in the region. 
●    These Japerun are a unique community welfare and engagement centers, which are situated across the Melakan State. 
●    Under the extensive and ever-expanding idea of UJALA, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) plans to distribute about 1 million 9W LED bulbs, which will replace 18W CFLs. 
●    The initiative will have the logistical assistance and facilitation support from Green Growth Asia, which is a not for profit organization. 
●    The price of each bulb will be way lesser than global average price of the LED bulbs, which still swings between 3-5 USD. 
●    Notably, each bulb that is being provided by EESL under the UJALA scheme in Melaka comes with a 3-year free replacement warranty against any technical defects. 
●    These bulbs sent from India will be of leading brands and manufacturers like Osram, Philips along with other companies of repute.