Daily GK Updates - 6th January, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES

1. Budget 2018 to be presented on 1st February: This year’s Union budget will be presented on 1 February. The budget will be presented by finance minister Arun Jaitley. The Union Budget of India, also referred to as the Annual financial statement in the Article 112 of the Constitution of India, is the annual budget of the Republic of India.

2. World Book Fair begins in New Delhi: The Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar  inaugurated the nine-day World Book fair at Pragati Maidan New Delhi. Publishers from 40 countries of the world are participating in the book fair. This time the European Union has been given the status of the guest country.

3. Atal Pension Yojana reaches subscriber base of 80 lakh: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA) run Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has reached a subscriber base of 80 lakh and growing at a good pace. Uttar Pradesh is the highest contributing state at 11.41 lakh APY subscribers, followed by Bihar and Tamil Nadu. APY became operational from 1st June, 2015 and is available to all citizens of India in the age group of 18-40 years. Under the scheme, a subscriber will receive a minimum guaranteed pension of 1000 to 5000 rupees per month, depending on his contribution, from the age of 60 years.

4. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) launched:  The central govt. has launched the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) to provide social security during old age, to protect elderly persons aged 60 and above against a future fall in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions. The scheme enables old age income security for senior citizens through provision of assured pension/return linked to the subscription amount based on government guarantee to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The scheme provides an assured return of 8% per annum for 10 years. The scheme is open for subscription till 3rd May 2018.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES

1. Pakistan Successfully Test-Fires ‘Harba’: The Pakistan Navy said it successfully test-fired the indigenously developed ‘Harba’ naval cruise missile. It was launched from a newly commissioned fast attack vessel off Karachi in the North Arabian Sea. The missile is capable of hitting its target from surface to surface and ground assault,

2. Himalayan Hydro Expo 2018 in Kathmandu: The Himalayan Hydro Expo 2018 kicked off at Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the exhibition. Delegates from various countries including India, China, Austria, Czech Republic and Norway are participating in the expo.

OTHER UPDATES

1. Endangered plant species discovered in China: Scientists have discovered a new endangered species of flowering plants in China. It was discovered in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province during a field survey. The species, Primula Zhui, known in Chinese as Zhu Hua Baochun, was named after Zhu Hua, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. TIHCL gets RBI nod to operate as NBFC: The Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Ltd (TIHCL) has got RBI clearance to register and function as a non-banking finance company (NBFC). TIHCL will be the first state promoted and co-financing NBFC. It had won the SKOCH Platinum Award in September 2017 under the smart governance category in the MSME segment.

2. Fund for National Waterway-1 project: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for implementation of the Jal Marg Vikas Project at a cost of Rs 5369 crore. This project is geared towards capacity augmentation of navigation on the Haldia-Varanasi stretch of National Waterway-1 (NW-1). The project is spread across four states viz. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Bangla.

BUSINESS/ ECONOMY:

1. Income Tax Department launches online chat service: The Income Tax (IT) Department has launched an online chat service on its national website www.incometaxindia.gov.in, aimed at facilitating the taxpayers resolve their queries. A customer support executive having expertise in tax-related matters helps the users in resolving their queries online. The facility is available on all working days from Monday to Friday between 10 AM and 6 PM.