DAILY CURRENT
AFFAIRS: 21st JUNE 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)S
1.
PUNJAB FINANCE MINISTER MANPREET BADAL PRESENTED STATE BUDGET FOR THE YEAR
2017-18
i. Punjab Finance
minister Manpreet Badal presented a state budget of Rs 1.18 lakh cr for the
financial year 2017-18. The budget presented by Manpreet Badal, focused on
reducing the crushing debt burden and restoring fiscal stability.
ii. The budget laid
special emphasis on education and social sectors. Badal also mentioned that
Punjab’s outstanding debt will be Rs 1.95 lakh cr by the end of the financial
year.
iii. Free education for
girls in Punjab from Nursery to PhD. Punjab Government announced free education
for girls in government schools and colleges from Nursery to PhD.
iv. This initiative was
one of the key electoral promises made by Punjab Chief Minister Captain
Amarinder Singh. As a step towards women empowerment, reservation for women in
Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies has already been increased
by the government from 33 per cent to 50 per cent.
2.
BRICS FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING HELD IN BEIJING, CHINA
i. Minister of State for
External Affairs V K Singh attended a Meeting of Foreign Ministers of BRICS
countries in Beijing, China. Earlier, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj,
who was scheduled to attend this meeting but later cancelled it owing to health
reasons.
ii. The meeting was
chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. During his address at the meeting,
V K Singh urged the member countries not to differentiate between “good and
bad” terrorists – in an apparent reference to Pakistan.
3.
INDIA AND PORTUGAL SIGN A HISTORICAL AGREEMENT TO PROMOTE COOPERATION IN THE
FIELD OF ARCHIVES
i. A Protocol of
Cooperation was signed between the National Archives of India and the Minister
of Culture of the Portuguese Republic in the field of archives in Lisbon,
Portugal.
ii. As a first step under
this agreement, the National Archives of Portugal handed over to the National Archives
of India digital copies of 62 volumes of the collection known as ‘Moncoes do
Reino’ (Monsoon correspondence).
iii. These volumes were
originally part of over 456 volumes that cover the period from 1568 to 1914 and
form the largest of all record collections in the Goa State Archives.
iv. The collection
consists of direct correspondence from Lisbon to Goa and is important primary
source for the study of the Portuguese expansion in Asia, their trade rivalries
with the Arabs and European powers and their relations with neighboring Kings
in South Asia and East Asia.
4.
IDBI FEDERAL LIFE PARTNERS WITH SUNTEC FOR GST ROLL OUT
i. IDBI Federal Life
Insurance has announced that it has partnered with SunTec.
ii. It will help
facilitate in computing and invoicing of debit tax and credit tax that will be
GST compliant.
iii. Under the agreement,
for the debit tax mandate SunTec will help in analysing data from various
sources for computation and invoicing purposes.
5.
INDIA AND ADB SIGN $275 MILLION LOAN FOR UPGRADING URBAN SERVICES IN 64 SMALL
TOWNS IN MADHYA PRADESH
i. The GOI and Asian
Development Bank has signed USD 275 million loan for a piped water supply
project for rapidly urbanizing small towns. It will cover 3 lakh households in
64 small towns in Madhya Pradesh.
ii. The state government
will provide a USD 124 million counterpart support for the project. As per ADB
it will be completed by June 2022.
iii. According to ADB
reports the urban population in the state is expected to increase from 28% in 2016
to 35% by 2026.
iv. It will develop
sustainable, inclusive and climate resilient water supply in 64 small and
mid-sized towns.
6.
MEGHALAYA GOVT SIGNS TWO MOUS WITH SBI FOR DIGITAL TRANSACTION
i. Meghalaya government
has signed 2 MoUs with the State Bank of India. It is a part of an initiative
towards migrating government transactions to digital mode.
ii. The two MoUs are with
the State Bank of India for their SBIePay and SBI CMP facilities. These MoUs
give the desired platform to dealers and other citizens for conducting
financial transactions with the state government on a digital platform.
iii. Under the MoU,
Government Receipt Accounting System is being implemented in coordination with
NIC, Shillong. This facility will be available through the gateway provided by
SBIePay.
iv. The MoU was signed by
Goyal on behalf of the state government and SBI DGM Rajeev Arora. The state
government has already established a new treasury called as Cyber Treasury.
7.
BEW’S ‘CITIZEN CLEM’ WINS ORWELL PRIZE FOR BOOKS 2017
i. The 2017 Orwell Prize
is the Britain’s most prestigious prize. It is for political writing and was
announced on June 15 in London.
ii. The 2017 Orwell Prize
for books was presented to John Bew. John Bew has won the £3,000 Orwell Prize
for books for Citizen Clem.
iii. It is a biography of
former UK Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Citizen Clem is both a magnificent
renewal of the art of political biography and a monument to the greatest leader
the Labour party.
OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED
ON TODAY’S NEWS
Q1. WHICH STATE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED FREE
EDUCATION FOR GIRLS IN GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES FROM NURSERY TO PHD?
a) Punjab
b) Andhra Pradesh
c) Telangana
d) Haryana
Q2.
BRICS FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING WAS HELD ON 18TH AND 19TH JUNE 2017 IN:
a)
Durban, South Africa
b) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
c) Beijing, China
d) Moscow, Russia
Q3.
INDIA HAD SIGNED A HISTORICAL AGREEMENT TO PROMOTE COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF
ARCHIVES WITH WHICH EUROPEAN COUNTRY?
a) Germany
b) France
c) UK
d) Portugal
Q4.
WHICH INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION HAS SIGNED AN AGREEMENT WITH INDIAN
GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE A $275 MILLION LOAN TO UPGRADE PIPED WATER SUPPLY AND
MUNICIPAL SERVICES IN 64 SMALL TOWNS IN MADHYA PRADESH?
a) International Monetary Fund
b) Asian Development Bank
c) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
d) New Development Bank
Q5.
ORWELL PRIZE IS RELATED TO WHICH FIELD?
a) Outstanding contribution to Environment
Conservation
b) Medicinal Research
c) Writing and Reporting
d) Outstanding contribution to Social Service
ANSWERS:
1 - A 2 - C 3 - D 4
- B 5 - C
