Current Affairs19 September 2018

1. Welcome Back, Pluto

When pluto was discovered in 1930 it was considered as 9^th planet. But later after long debate finally it was kept in the list of Dwarf Planet in 2006 by International  Astronomical Unit.

The Criteria by which any planet is considered as planet is –

1.   it must be round.

2.   it must orbit the sun.

3.   it must have “cleared the neighbourhood” of its orbit.

Important Facts about Pluto

Pluto has five known moons, the largest of which is Charon. Charon is about half the size of Pluto itself, making it the largest satellite relative to the planet it orbits in our solar system.

Pluto orbits the Sun about 3.6 billion miles (5.8 billion km) away on average.

A year on Pluto is 248 Earth years. A day on Pluto lasts 153 hours, or about 6 Earth days.

Pluto has a thin atmosphere of nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide. The atmosphere has a blue tint and distinct layers of haze.

2. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

7th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism is being held in Seoul, capital of South Korea.

Theme: ‘A 2030 Vision for Urban Tourism’.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

UNWTO’s membership includes 158 countries.

It is the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

3. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has announced that it will establish its South Asia Area Office and Technology Innovation Centre at New Delhi.

ITU headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.

There are 193 Member States of the ITU, including all UN member states except the Republic of Palau, plus the Vatican City.

4.The Government has launched an online ‘e-Sahaj’ portal for grant of Security Clearance. The portal will facilitate an applicant to submit application online and also to view the status of his application from time to time

5. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY)

Launched in - April, 2016

It took place over earlier insurance schemes viz. National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS), Weather-based Crop Insurance scheme and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).

Benefits

It envisages a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for Kharif crops, and 1.5% for Rabi crops. The premium for annual commercial and horticultural crops will be 5%.

The scheme is mandatory for farmers who have taken institutional loans from banks. It’s optional for farmers who have not taken institutional credit.

Objectives:

§  Providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of unforeseen events.

§  Stabilizing the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.

§  Encouraging farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.

§  Ensuring flow of credit to the agriculture sector which contributes to food security, crop diversification and enhancing growth and competitiveness of agriculture sector besides protecting farmers from production risks.

current affair- 01/10/20018

• International Monetary Funds appoints Gita Gopinath as new chief economist.

• Rabindranath Tagore considered Gandhi as the “Mahatma”, the “Great Soul”.

• Gandhi’s autobiography ---The Story of My Experiments with Truth.

• Niwari will become the 52nd district of Madhya Pradesh, with effect from October 1. A proposal to this effect was cleared by the state Cabinet recently.

• Zonal councils have been established by the Parliament to promote interstate cooperation and coordination. They are statutory bodies established under the States Reorganisation Act 1956 and not constitutional bodies. They are only deliberative and advisory bodies.

• Chairman – The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils.

• The president has given his asset to the Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional (Protection and Regulation during Emergency Situations) Bill, 2016.
• With this, Karnataka has become the first state to give legal protection to good samaritans through a legislation amidst the rising incidents of accidental deaths in India, which saw 1,50,785 people getting killed in road accidents in 2016.

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of lndia have signed a $150 Million Loan to finance continued improvements to road connectivity and efficiency of the International Trade Corridor in West Bengal and North-Eastern Region of lndia.

• The Manila, Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) serves as the Secretariat for the SASEC member countries.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY)

ABBREVIATIONS

ASEAN- Association of South East Asian Nations

ASER -Annual Status of Education Report

ATM Automated Teller Machine

AMFI Association of Mutual Fund in India.

APBS Aadhaar Payment Bridge System

ADF Automated Data Flow

ADB Asian Development Bank

BACS Banking Automated Clearing System, Access Control Server

ARC Asset Reconstruction Companies

AIF Alternative Investment Fund

BSE Bombay Stock Exchange

BIRD Bankers Institute of Rural Development.

BIS Bank for International Settlements.

BPLR Benchmark Prime Lending Rate.

BPCL- Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited

BRICS -Brazil, Russia, India, China and South

Africa   

CCIL Clearing Corporation of India Limited

CPFF Commercial Paper Funding Facility

CAR Capital Adequacy Ratio

CRR Cash Reserve Ratio

CARE Credit Analysis and Research Limited

CPI Consumer Price Index

CBS Core Banking Solutions

CRISIL Credit Rating Information Services Of India

CIBIL Credit Information Bureau of India Limited.

CAD- Current Account Deficit

CAG- Comptroller and Auditor General of India

CAGR -Compound Annual Growth Rate

CBR- Cultivated Biological Resources

CFPI -Consumer Food Price Index

CIRP -Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process

CLSS -Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme

CoC -Committee of Creditors

COP -Conference of Parties

CPI -Consumer Price Index

CRAR- Capital to Risk-weighted Asset Ratio

CSO -Central Statistics Office

DARE -Department of Agricultural Research and

Education

DGFT Directorate General of Foreign Trade

DIPAM Department of Investment and public

Asset Management

DIPP Department of Industrial Policy and

Promotion

DISCOMS Distribution Companies

DSIR Department of Scientific & Industrial

Research

DTA Domestic Tariff Area

EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and

Development

EFTA European Free Trade Association

EIB- European Investment Bank

e-NAM -Electronic National Agriculture Market

ETF- Exchange Traded Fund

EU -European Union

FAO- Food & Agriculture Organisation

FC -Financial Creditor

FCI -Food Corporation of India

FDI -Foreign Direct Investment

FEEs -Foreign Exchange Earnings

GCC- Gulf Cooperation Council

GCCA- Grants for creation of capital assets

GCF- Gross Capital Formation

GDP- Gross Domestic Product

GFCE -Government Final Consumption Expenditure

GII- Global Innovation Index

GNI -Gross National Income

GNPA -Gross Non-Performing Advances

GPI -Gender Parity Index

GSDP -Gross State Domestic Product

GST- Goods and Services Tax

GT- Gross Tonnage

GVA -Gross Value Added

GW- Gigawatt

HFCs -Housing Finance Companies

HFCs- Hydrofluorocarbons

HPCL- Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited

HPI- Housing Price Index

HYVs- High Yielding Varieties

IBC-Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

ICAR -Indian Council of Agricultural Research

IGS- The International Ground Station

IGST- Integrated Goods and Services Tax

IMF- International Monetary Fund

IPO- Indian Patent Office

IPP- Intellectual Property Products

IPR- Intellectual Property Rights

KCC-Kisan Credit Card

KWh -Kilowatt Hour

LAF -Liquidity Adjustment Facility

LEB Life Expectancy at Birth

LED- Light-Emitting Diode

LPI -Logistics Performance Index

MMR -Maternal Mortality Ratio

MPC- Monetary Policy Committee

MSF -Marginal Standing Facility

MSME -Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises

MSP -Minimum Support Price

MSS -Market Stabilisation Scheme

MT Metric Tonne

MW Megawatt

NABARD -National Bank for Agriculture and Rural

Development

NAREDCO -National Real Estate Development Council

NAS -National Accounts Statistics

NBFC -Non-Banking Financial Company

NBFCs- Non-Banking Financial Companies

NCDs -Non-Convertible Debentures

NCLT -National Company Law Tribunal

NCT -National Capital Territory

NCW- National Commission for Women

NDTL- Net Demand and Time Liabilities

NFC- Non Food Credit

NFSA- National Food Security Act

NHA- National Health Accounts

NHB-National Housing Bank

NHDP- National Highways Development Project

NICRA- National Innovations on Climate Resilient

Agriculture

NITI -National Institution for Transforming India

NPAs -Non-Performing Assets

NSDC- National Skill Development Council

NSSO -National Sample Survey Office

ODF -Open Defecation Free

OMSS -Open Market Sale Scheme

PDS- Public Distribution System

PE -Private Equity

PFCE -Private Final Consumption Expenditure

PMAY- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

PMFBY- Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

PMI-Purchasing Manager’s Index

PMKSY -Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana

PPI -Producer Price Index

PSBs -Public Sector Banks

PSE -Public Sector Enterprise

PSF -Price Stabilization Fund

QFI- Qualified Foreign Investor

REITs- Real Estate Investment Trusts

RGI -Registrar General of India

RMSA- Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan

RRBs- Regional Rural Banks

RRR- Reverse Repo Rate

RSA -Restructured Standard Advances

SBM(G)- Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)

SCB -Scheduled Commercial Bank

SDG-Sustainable Development Goal

SDGs -Sustainable Development Goals

SDR- Special Drawing Rights

SEBI -Securities and Exchange Board of India

SEIS -Services Exports from India Scheme

SGST- State Goods and Services Tax

SHG-Self Help Group

SLR -Statutory Liquidity Ratio

SRR- Seed Replacement Rate

SSA -Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan

TAN -Tax Deduction Account Number

TB -Treasury Bill

TPDS -Targeted Public Distribution System

TRAI -Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

UDAY- Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojna

UNCTAD- United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development

UNDP -United Nations Development Programme

UNESCO -United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization

WPI Wholesale Price Index

WTO World Trade Organization

TIN  Tax Information Network/Telephone Identification Number.

UIDAI Unique Identification Development Authority of India

UPI United Payment Interface.

SWIFT Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.

SIDBI Small Industries Development Bank of India.

RTGS Real Time Gross Settlement.

PSB Public Sector Bank.

MICR Magnetic Ink Character Recognition.

MSF Marginal Standing Facility.

NEFT National Electronic Fund Transfer.

NPA Non-Performing Assets.

NPCI National Payments Corporation of India.

PIN Personal Identification Number.

IFSC Indian Financial System Code

IMPS Immediate Payment Service

IPO Initial Public Offering

KYC Know Your Customer

LIBOR London Inter-Bank Offered Rate.

ICRA Indian Credit Rating Agency.

IRBI Industrial Reconstruction Bank Of India

IPPB India Post Payments Bank

ICICI Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India

IBA Indian Bank Associations.

HDFC Housing Development Finance Corporation

GSTN Goods and Services Tax Network

GAAR General Anti Avoidance Rule

DTAA Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.

EPFO Employees’ Provident Fund Organization

EFT Electronic Fund Transfer

EMI Equated Monthly Installments

FEMA Foreign Exchange Management Act

FERA Foreign Exchange Regulation Act

FPI: Foreign Portfolio Investment.

IBRD: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

RIDF Rural Infrastructure Development Fund