Current Affairs 11th November 2017

Current Affairs 11th November 2017 - Important Points

• RBI directs banks to provide doorstep banking facilities to senior citizens, differently-abled on - 9th November 2017
• GST rate on various mass consumption items reduced to 18 percent on - 10th November 2017
• National Entrepreneurship Awards 2017 announced on - 9th November 2017
• 100 foreign students full scholarship  to be provided by - Government
•  National Testing Agency  creation to conduct entrance examinations approved by- Cabinet
• National Entrepreneurship Awards 2017 announced on - 9th November 2017
• Cabinet approves MoU between India and Philippines on agriculture approved by - Cabinet

Current Affairs 11th November 2017 - Details

RBI directs banks to provide doorstep banking facilities to senior citizens, differently-abled on - 9th November 2017

The RBI on 9th November 2017 advised banks to provide doorstep banking facilities to senior citizens above 70 years of age and differently-disabled persons by December 2017.
The senior most banks has instructed all the banks to provide general banking services such as pick-up and delivery of cash, Cheque-books and demand drafts, submission of KYC documents and Life certificates at the residence of the senior citizens and specially-disabled persons.
The RBI instructions in this regard has advised the banks and small finance and payments banks to execution the instructions by 31st December 2017 in letter and spirit and provide due publicity in their bank branches and websites.
Other Key Instructions

• The RBI has advised banks to provide a minimum of 25 cheque leaves per year for a savings bank account without any charge.
• At the same time RBI instructed banks not to insist customers to be  physically present including senior citizens & differently-disabled persons in order to get their cheque books.
• Related Banks have also been instructed that a fully KYC compliant account should automatically be changed to a 'Senior Citizen Account' based on their date of birth available in the records.
• The banks have also been guided to provide senior citizens and differently-disabled persons Form 15G/H (related to tax deduction at source) once in a year, preferably in April.

GST rate on various mass consumption items reduced to 18 percent on - 10th November 2017

The GST Council  reduced the GST rates on a variety of mass consumption items from 28% to 18% on 10th November 2017.
The council slashed the list of items attracting 28% GST to just 50 from 227 earlier items. It reduced the GST rates on 177 goods wide range from chewing gums to detergents.
All types of shaving, after-shave items, chewing gum,  preparation for facial make-up, chocolates, shampoo deodorants, washing powder detergent, marble and granite will now be attracting 18% GST rate.
While, Luxury items like washing machines, AC and other items like paints and cement have been retained in the 28 % tax slab.
This resolution will have a revenue implication of Rs 20000 crore per year.
The GST was enforced in the country on 1st July 2017 with 5 tax slabs of 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.

National Entrepreneurship Awards 2017 announced on - 9th November 2017

The Union Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship on 9th November 2017 declared the National Entrepreneurship Awards 2017 to boost up a culture of entrepreneurship across the Nation.
This is the 2nd edition of the National Entrepreneurship Awards. The awards were instituted by MSDE in 2016.
This year, the awards recorded participation from 2880 applicants, out of which 45 were shortlisted and finally 15 were declared as winners across defined categories.
The award is a cash award of Rs 5 lakh for enterprises and individuals and Rs 10 lakhs for organizations and institutes in the form of a certificate and trophy.

100 foreign students full scholarship  to be provided by - Government

The Union government has declared that it would be issuing full scholarship to 100 non-Indian students if they study Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (Ayush), Yoga and Naturopathy in any of the public institutions across Nation.
The announcement was given by Ayush Minister Sripad Naik who is on a 3 day visit to UAE to take part in the 1st ever International Ayush Conference and Exhibition in Dubai.
Key Highlights

• The main objective behind this initiative is to support and popularize the alternative system of medicine.
• The details of the application and scholarship will soon be available with the Indian missions abroad.
• The 100 students can take part from any country across the world.
• For further assistance of the traditional system of medicine in the Middle East region, the Ayush ministry would be starting an Ayush chair in Dubai in coordination with the Ministry of Health of UAE.
• The 3-day International Ayush meeting which began on 9th November 2017, is the first ever platform that would bring together the practitioners, researchers, industrialists, policy makers and students of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, Yoga and Naturopathy from around the globe.

Cabinet approves MoU between India and Philippines on agriculture approved by - Cabinet

The Union Cabinet on 10th November 2017 agreed for signing a Memorandum of Understanding between India and Philippines on agriculture and its related fields.
The cabinet was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The MoU is believed to improve bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture, profitable for both India and Philippines.

Key Highlights-

• The MoU will encourage understanding of best agricultural practices in the two Nations, which will in turn help achieve better productivity along with better global market access.
• Under the agreement, the 2 Nations would be cooperating in the field of dry-land farming systems, bio-organic farming, rice production and processing, multi cropping system, agro forestry and livestock improvement, soil fertility, sericulture, solid and water conservation and management.
• The agreement also provides for the initiating of a Joint Working Group, which will comprise equal number of spokespersons from both the Countries.
• The batch would meet once every 2 years alternatively in India and Philippines.

 National Testing Agency  creation to conduct entrance examinations approved by- Cabinet

The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9th November 2017 accepted the creation of National Testing Agency as an autonomous, self-sustained organization to manage entrance examinations for higher educational institutions.
The cabinet accepted the creation of the agency as a society recognized under the Indian Societies Registration Act 1860. Initially, the agency will get a one-time grant of Rs 25 Cr from the Union Government.

Key Duties of NTA-

• The agency will conduct the entrance examinations that are currently being conducted by the CBSE.
• Other examinations will be taken up slowly after NTA is fully geared up.
• The entrance examinations will going to be organized  at least twice a year via online mode, thereby giving satisfactory opportunity to candidates to bring out their best.
• The agency would also allocate centers at sub-district/district level to serve the requirements of the rural students.
• It would also accept hands-on training for the students.

Significance of the NTA-

• The formation of the agency is believed to benefit around 40 lakh students taking part in various entrance examinations.
• It will replace CBSE, AICTE and other agencies from responsibility of organizing these entrance examinations.
• It will also bring trustworthy, standardized difficulty level for assessing the talent, intelligence and problem solving capabilities of the students.
• Its formation was announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his 2017-18 Budget talk.

NTA Members-

• The agency will be headed by an eminent educationist chosen by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
• It will also have a CEO/ Director General, who will be chosen by the Union Government.
• The Director General will be helped by 9 verticals headed by academicians and experts.
• The agency will also have a board of governors that will have members from user institutions.

  World Science Day for Peace and Development 2017 observed globally on - 10th November 2017

The World Science Day for Peace and Development was celebrated across the world on 10th November 2017 with the topic ' Science for Global Understanding'. The day highlights the remarkable role of science in society and the need to engage public in debates on appearing scientific issues. It also emphasizes the importance and relevance of science in our daily lives.

Main objectives of World Science Day for Peace and Development-

• Strengthening public awareness on the role of science for calm and comfortable societies;
  Encourage national and international solidarity for shared science between countries;
• Renewing  national and international promises to use science for the benefit of societies;
  Draw attention to the difficulties faced by science and raising support for the scientific Endeavour.
• The World Science Day for Peace and Development was announced by the UNESCO General Conference through its Resolution 31C/ 20 in 2001. The Day is observed all over the world to consider the promise made at the UNESCO-ICSU World Conference on Science (Budapest 1999).
• The Day focuses to renew the national and international promise to science for calmness and development and to stress the accounting use of science for the benefit of society.