GK and Current Affairs Updates

Aamir Khan’s Dangal has overtaken his previous film PK to become the highest-grossing Hindi film in history.
●    Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the news on Sunday. Dangal’s box office haul, as of Sunday, stands at Rs 341 crore, slightly over PK’s lifetime earnings of Rs 340 crore.
●    It is now the highest-grossing Hindi film in India.
●    Adarsh also noted that with overseas earnings of Rs 174 crore, Dangal has become the highest-grossing Hindi film in USA, Canada and Australia.
●    Dangal, based on the real-life story of wrestlers Geeta and Babita Phogat, and their father and trainer Mahavir Singh Phogat, was released to ecstatic reviews in December 2016.

From April 1, workers in rural areas enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which mandates 100 days of work for a household a year, must have an Aadhaar card.
●    Those who have registered under the scheme will be required to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar or undergo the enrolment process till March 31. 
●    Those who have applied for Aadhaar can produce their enrolment slip or a copy of the application for getting the 12-digit unique identification number which acts as proof of identity and address anywhere in the country.
●    The government has invoked Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, which mandates that when the government gives subsidy, benefit or service from the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI), an individual can be asked to undergo authentication or furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar.
●    The expenditure for the MGNREGS is met from the Consolidated Fund of India. A sum of Rs. 38,500 crore has been allocated for the MGNREGS in the current fiscal.

Indian tennis players Rohan Bopanna and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan on 8 January 2017 won the 2017 Chennai Open Men’s Doubles title.
●    The duo defeated compatriots Purav Raja and Divij Sharan 6-3, 6-4 in the summit clash held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
●    It is the first time that an Indian pair clinched the title after Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who won the title in 2011.
●    Rohan Bopanna’s singles career high ranking was World No. 213 in 2007.
●    His career high ranking in doubles was World No. 3 as of July 2013. At present, he is ranked 10th in the world in the doubles rankings.
●    In 2008, he conquered his first ATP doubles title in the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles with Eric Butorac.
●    Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan got his 50th career win at the 2013 ITF Men's Pro Circuit.
●    He is the grandson of V. R. Nedunchezhiyan, former Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu.
●    The Chennai Open is a professional tennis tournament.It is played on outdoor hard courts.

Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal presided over the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) Scheme with the Government of Tamil Nadu and its Discom TANGEDCO,for operational and financial turnaround of the DISCOM, in New Delhi today. 
●    The signing ceremony was held in the august presence of the Shri P. Thangamani, Minister for Electricity, Prohibition & Excise, Government of Tamil Nadu.
●    Tamil Nadu would derive an overall net benefit of approximately Rs. 11,000 crores through UDAY, by way of savings in interest cost, reduction in AT&C and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency, coal reforms etc. 
●    The state also signed 24X7 Power For All document on the occasion. With Tamil Nadu joining the cause, 92% of country’s Discom debt has been covered under UDAY
●    By signing the MOU under UDAY, the State Government is taking over 75% of debt of Rs. 30,420 crores of TANGEDCO. The scheme also provides for the balance debt to be re-priced or issued as State guaranteed Discom bonds, at coupon rates around 3-4% less than the average existing interest rate. 
●    The State would have savings of about Rs.950 cr. in annual interest cost through reduction of debt and through reduced interest rates on the balance debt.
 

Union Minister of Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal will dedicate the Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP), currently running in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) area, to the Nation in New Delhi on 9th January, 2017. It is the World’s Largest Street Light Replacement Programme, which is being implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture under the Ministry of Power, Government of India.
●    The SLNP programme is presently running in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. A total of 15.36 lakh street lights have already been replaced in the country with LED bulbs, which is resulting in energy savings of 20.35 crore kWh, avoiding capacity of 50.71 MW and reducing 1.68 lakh tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per annum. The energy efficiency market in India is estimated at US$ 12 billion that can potentially result in energy savings of up to 20 per cent of current consumption, by way of innovative business and implementation models.
●    Under the SLNP, SDMC area alone accounts for over 2 lakh street light replacements. The cumulative annual energy savings in SDMC through this programme is 2.65 crore kWh which has helped to avoid capacity addition of 6.6 MW, resulting in a daily reduction of 22,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases. Additionally in Delhi, under Phase II of the street lighting programme, EESL has signed a tripartite agreement with BSES and SDMC to install 75,000 more street lights with more focus on installation in parks.
●    In the SDMC Project, EESL is addressing complaints from various sources viz., registered from BSES helpline, night patrolling team by EESL, mobile vans, e-mails, social media and other sources including Ward Councilors. Additionally, EESL is putting stringent complaint redressal mechanism and Centralized Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) to enable remote operation and monitoring of the street lights. CCMS provides real time information on energy consumption and remote monitoring of the street lights.

Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge)  and Parliamentary Affairs said that the Centre, National Waqf Development Corporation (NAWADCO) and  Central Waqf Council  together have launched a campaign to utilise the Waqf properties for socio-economic-educational empowerment of  minority communities specially Muslims.The Minority Affairs Ministry has been working on different strategies for welfare of Muslim community which include protection and development of Waqf properties, he added.
●    Shri Naqvi stated this while inaugurating All India Waqf Conference in New Delhi today. He said that several States have come forward for better utilisation of Waqf properties, for progress of Muslims. Most states have been performing well but more needs to be done by all the States and UTs.
●    All States should constitute the three Member Tribunals, the Minister said further.  Shri Naqvi said that all efforts are being made to ensure that all Waqf Boards and their records across the country are computerised and Minority Affairs Ministry has been providing all possible help to the State Waqf Boards. The Computerisation of Waqf Boards and their properties will help in ensuring transparency in functioning of Waqf Boards
●    Earlier welcoming the gathering Shri Jaa-ne Aalam,J S in the Ministry outlined the agenda of the meeting.
●    Shri Ashok Pai, CEO, NAWADCO said that income of merely Rs.163 crores from huge Waqf properties shows that  steps need to be taken to improve the management of Waqf properties. Emphasising the effective implementation of Lease Rules under revised Act, he promised to extend all possible help in developing the Waqf properties. He said across the country 100 properties have been identified and intentions received for developing 35 properties, so far.
●    The Secretary CWC, Shri Jamal Ahmad gave vote of thanks at the end of inaugural session.

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a Convention of Non-Resident Odias (NROs) organized by the Odisha Forum today (January 6, 2017) in New Delhi.
●    Speaking on the occasion, the President said that he was sure that the large gathering of Odias from different parts of India and world would bring together the diverse talent pool of the State and harness their capabilities and expertise for growth, development and onward progress of Odisha and India. 
●    He was confident that this Prabasi Odia conclave would take forward such a vision.
●    The President said that today, in India as indeed the world over, Odias are excelling, they have registered their presence in every nook and corner of India on the strength of their merit and worth and have attained excellence based on their higher educational attainments. 
●    We have today a large pool of prabasi Odias who are well known for their excellence in diverse fields of politics, judiciary, journalism, bureaucracy and literature.
 

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh will lay the foundation stone of the new campus of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) at Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh on January 9, 2017.  
●    The campus will house 10th Battalion NDRF, which is responsible for providing response during disasters in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. This Unit has responded to various disasters such as cyclone Phailin, HudHud, Vardah and floods.  
●    The 10th Battalion NDRF has been stationed in Acharya Nagarjuna University since November 15, 2011. Recognizing the services of the unit, Government of Andhra Pradesh has allotted 50 acres of land in Krishna district for construction of campus for this unit. 
●    The new campus will house the living accommodation and world class training area besides administration buildings. 
●    The Union Minister of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Information & Broadcasting, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu and the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri N Chandrababu Naidu will also grace the occasion. 

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh released the 2017 Calendar of the North Eastern Council here today. The North-East Council Calendar for 2017 carries the theme of “seasonal fruits” in different parts of the year. 
●    During the occasion, Dr. Jitendra Singh announced the formation of exclusive “North-Eastern Tourism Development Council” (NETDC) on a public-private partnership (PPP) mode under the auspices of Union Ministry of DoNER. He said that this is for the first time that the Government has decided to set up a separate tourism development agency, devoted to a particular region of the country. The Minister said that the setting up of an exclusive North-Eastern Tourism Council is also a reflection of the high priority that the Union Government accords to the development of the peripheral States of Northeast.
●    Dr Jitendra Singh said that North-Eastern Tourism Council is yet another addition to several new initiatives undertaken with regard to North East. 
●    For instance, setting up of “Venture Fund” as initial capital assistance for any young entrepreneur or start-up who wishes to launch an establishment or venture in the North-Eastern region and setting up of “Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research & Analysis” at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong, he added. 
●    Senior officers from the Ministry of DoNER were also present on the occasion.

India and Kazakhstan signed here today  in the national capital a Protocol to amend the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) between the two countries  which was earlier signed on 9th December, 1996 for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
Salient features of the Protocol are as under:
●    The Protocol provides internationally accepted standards for effective exchange of information on tax matters. Further, the information received from Kazakhstan for tax purposes can be shared with other law enforcement agencies with authorisation of the competent authority of Kazakhstan and vice versa.
●    The Protocol inserts a Limitation of Benefits Article, to provide a main purpose test to prevent misuse of the DTAC and to allow application of domestic law and measures against tax avoidance or evasion. 
●    The Protocol inserts specific provisions to facilitate relieving of economic double taxation in transfer pricing cases. This is a taxpayer friendly measure and is in line with India’s commitment under Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan to meet the minimum standard of providing Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) access in transfer pricing cases. 
●    The Protocol inserts service PE provisions with a threshold and also provides that the profits to be attributed to PE will be determined on the basis of apportionment of total profits of the enterprise. 
●    The Protocol replaces existing Article on Assistance in Collection of Taxes with a new Article to align it with international standards.