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Current Affairs 16 August 2019

PM Modi Announces Creation of Chief of Defence Staff

During his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort in New Delhi on August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who will be the single-point advisor to the government on all military matters.
The post of CDS will be a ‘first among equals’, a fourth four star officer who will be senior to the three other service chiefs and will head all the three arms of the military- the army, navy and air force.
Presently, the senior-most of the three chiefs functions as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) which functions for the same purpose as CDS.

Inter-State Council Reconstituted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Chairman

The Central government has reconstituted the Inter-State Council and it will be Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Council discusses or investigate policies, subjects of common interest, and disputes among states
The government has also reconstituted the standing committee of the Inter-State Council which will be chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah.
The standing committee will consult and recommend matters for consideration of the council, process all matters pertaining to Centre-state relations before they are taken up for consideration in the council.
The Inter State Council is composed of the following members
- Prime Minister – Chairman.
- Chief Ministers of all states
- Chief ministers of UTs having legislative assemblies
- Administrators of union territories not having legislative assemblies
- Six central cabinet ministers, including home minister, to be nominated by prime minister – (Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajnath Singh, Narendra Singh Tomar, Thaawar Chand Gehlot and Hardeep Singh Puri).
- Governors of states under president’s rule.
- Standing Committee
  - Home minister– Chairman
  - 4 members of Cabinet rank
  - 8 members Chief Ministers of state

14th KONKAN exercise between Indian and Britain Navy begins in the UK

The 14th Edition of KONKAN exercise between Indian Navy and Royal Navy of Britain has started at the South Coast of UK. It is an annual bilateral exercise.
INS Tarkash, the Indian Navy’s stealth frigate is exercising with the Royal Navy’s Daring Class Destroyer, HMS Defender with integral helicopter Wildcat. KONKAN-19 will involve Gunnery Shoots, Manoeuvres, Cross Deck Flying, ASW Screening and Air Defence exercise.
KONKAN exercise aims to promote mutual understanding and provide exposure to operating procedures, communication measures and best practices.

Odisha Government announces ‘Mo Sarkar’ initiative for transparency in governance

Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik has announced the “Mo Sarkar” initiative with an aim to ensure transparency in the governance of the state. The initiative will be launched on October 02, 2019.
Under the ‘Mo Sarkar’ initiative, the chief minister and other ministers will call common citizens to seek their feedback on the kind of response and service they received when they visited the government facilities.
The Odisha Government is using the 5Ts model of governance that includes technology, transparency, teamwork, transformation and time-laid.

FSSAI makes food safety audit mandatory for 6 categories of foods

Food regulator FSSAI has made safety audit mandatory for 06 category of business which includes: (i) Dairy Products (ii) Meat Products (iii) Fish and fish products (iv) Egg and egg products (v) Food for infant nutritions and (vi) Prepared foods (catering).
The food companies dealing in such products should get a safety audit done by a recognized audit agency at intervals specified by FSSAI.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Headquarter- New Delhi

Failed ATM transactions not to be counted under Free ATM Transactions: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India has issued a clarification to the commercial banks that the transactions that have failed due to technical reasons, non-availability of currency in ATMs, etc. shall not be counted as valid ATM transactions for the customer. Consequently, no charges therefor shall be levied.
The various circumstances under which the transactions should not be counted as valid ATM transactions for the customer has been listed by RBI as under:
- transactions which fail on account of technical reasons like hardware, software, communication issues;
- non-availability of currency notes in the ATM;
- other declines ascribable directly / wholly to the bank/service provider;
- invalid PIN / validations;
- Non-cash withdrawal transactions (such as balance enquiry, cheque book request, payment of taxes, funds transfer, etc.), which constitute ‘on-us’ transactions (i.e., when a card is used at an ATM of the bank which has issued the card) shall also not be part of the number of free ATM transactions.

Number of Free transactions mandated by RBI: (remember that banks can offer more free transactions than this, but not less)

Transactions at a bank’s own ATMs (On-Us transactions) at any location (metro or non-metro): minimum of five free transactions in a month
Transactions at any other banks’ ATMs (Off-Us transactions) at Metro locations: Minimum Three per month (Valid for six metro cities Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad)
Transactions at any other banks’ ATMs (Off-Us transactions) at Non-Metro locations: Minimum five free transactions in a month.

Government rolls out credit-support plan for NBFCs

Finance Ministry has rolled out the partial credit guarantee to Public Sector Banks for purchase of high-rated pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs. It was announced in the annual budget of 2019-20.
As per the announcement, the Government will provide one time six months’ partial credit guarantee to Public Sector Banks for first loss of up to 10% for purchase of high-rated pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs and housing finance companies (HFCs), amounting to a total of Rupees one lakh crore during the current financial year.
Credit Guarantee: Department of Economic Affairs will provide a government guarantee of up to 10% of the fair value of assets purchased by a bank from a stressed NBFC or HFC.
Maximum Guarantee Limit: The scheme is capped at Rs 1 lakh crore.
Time Limit: It will be open for six months or till such date that assets worth ₹1-lakh crore are purchased by banks.
The one-time guarantee on the pooled assets will be valid for 24 months from the date of purchase and can invoked in specified circumstances.
The guarantee would cease earlier if the purchasing bank sells the pooled assets to the originating NBFC/HFC or any other entity, before the validity of the guarantee period. NBFCs have an option to buyback the asset within 12 months.

ANZ Banking Group predicts India’s GDP growth forecast at 6.2% in 2019-20

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has predicted India’s GDP growth at 6.2% for FY20. Earlier it has predicted the growth rate at 6.5%.
For FY21, ANZ has predicted India’s GDP growth rate at 6.5%.

K Sivan Receives Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Award for 2019 By Tamil Nadu Government

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr Kailasavadivoo Sivan has been conferred with Dr A P J Abdul Kalam award for the year 2019 by the Tamil Nadu government.
The award is presented annually by the Government of Tamil Nadu since 2015 on Independence Day (August 15) in recognition of contributions on scientific development, humanities and students’ welfare.

President Kovind Presents Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman for the Year 2019

The President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind awarded the Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman on 15 August 2019.
The Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman is presented very year on the Independence Day (15 August) since 2002 by President of India, in recognition of contribution in the field of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Pali, Prakrit, Classical Oriya, Classical Kannada, Classical Telugu and Classical Malayalam.
Young scholars in the age group of 30 to 45 years are eligible for the award which carries a certificate of honour, a memento and a one time cash prize of Rs.1 lakh.
Click Here to View the Winners

Ravi Shashtri reappointed as head coach of Indian Cricket team

Ravi Shashtri has been re-appointed as the head coach of Indian men’s national cricket team. The decision was announced by three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy.
He has been re-appointed for a term of two years ending in November 2021 i.e the end of the T20 World Cup that will be held in India.
The other close contenders for the post were Mike Hesson at number two, Tom Moody at third. Some others are: Robin Singh and Lalchand Rajput.

Former Indian Cricketer VB Chandrasekhar Passes Away at 57

Former Indian opening batsman V.B. Chandrasekhar passed away after committing suicide. He was 57.
He was upset over the losses incurred while running a cricket league team, owned by him in the Tamil Nadu cricket league, under the name VB Kanchi Veerans. He was also running a cricket coaching centre.
Chandrasekhar played for Tamil Nadu and Goa at the domestic level and represented India in seven One Day Internationals (ODIs) during 1988–90.

Daily Current Affairs – 16 August 2019