16th January 2017 - Current Affairs Today

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Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2017

The Expert Group report would help the Ministry to make inter –state allocation based on SECC data to cover households under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAG) and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM).
The committee was formed by the ministry to study the objective criteria for allocation of resources to States and identification and prioritization of beneficiaries under various program using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) data.

Madhya Pradesh Launches Digital Dakiya Scheme For Digital Literacy

Madhya Pradeshgovernment inaugurated a first of its kind scheme of the country, “Digital Dakiya” to encourage cashless transaction in the state.
A Digital Postman referred as Digital Dakiya would visit door to door in both urban and rural areas to train households specially women and elderly people about digitized transactions.

BSF launches operation ‘Sard Hawa’ at Rajasthan border

Border Security Force (BSF) has launched its 14 day operation Sard Hawa at the western international border of Rajasthan to check the instances of infiltration due to the dense fog in the area.
Aim:To keep a hawks eye on the international border, where vigil has been beefed-up and officers have also been asked to be part of operation to motivate jawans.

2017 National conference “Jal Manthan-III” held in New Delhi

Discussions on Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, River Basin Management, River Rejuvenation and Ecology, Flood management, Water use efficiency and Participatory irrigation management held as a part of the conference
700 participants comprising Union Ministers of related Ministries/Departments, Chief Ministers of some States/Union Territories, Irrigation/ Water Resources Ministers of States/UTs, eminent experts in water sector, representatives of NGOs and senior officers of the Central and State Governments attended the event.

Rabi Crop Sown Across 616 Lakh Hectare of Land Past One Year

SEBI Lowers Broker Fees by 25 Percent to Rs 15 Per Transaction

SEBI Board announced its decision to reduce the fees payable by broker by 25 percent as a part of calibration of various other fees collected by the regulator from different market intermediaries.
It has decided to lower the fees from Rs 20 per crore of turnover to Rs 15 per crore of turnover to reduce the overall cost of transaction.
SEBI Board has also decided to give an option to all market intermediaries and companies to make their regulatory payments in digital mode to help in speedy and easy transactions and reduce failures due to payment gateway issues.
The board has also approved a proposal to levy certain new charges, including filing fee for draft scheme of arrangements and processing fee on application for relaxation in certain regulations.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulator for the securities market in India.

NPCI declares Rs 54.90 crore prize money for NITI Aayog’s lucky draw schemes

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has declared Rs 54.90 crore prize money to over 42 lakh winners for NITI Aayog’s lucky draw schemes Lucky Grahak Yojna (LGY) and Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojna (DVY).
There are 15,000 daily winnersqualifying for total prize money of Rs. 1.5 crore and over14,000 weekly winners qualifying for total prize money of over Rs. 8.3 crore every week.
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka emerged as the top five states with maximum number of winners under the age group of 21 to 30 years.

BSNL Launches Aadhar Based e-KYC Project

BSNL has launched its Customer Acquisition and Customer Communication Management (CACMS) project that aims to digitalize business process to ensure faster service, accurate customer responses and customer satisfaction.
The project provides an Aadhar based e-KYC (Know Your Customer) servicefor immediate activation of new mobile connections across the country.
Under the project the customers will have the convenience of Aadhar based fast and efficient utilization of services by BSNL. Foreign national with e-visa can also use the facility very quickly.
The new service will enable greater efficiency in complying with TRAI regulations, enhanced customer experience and reduce costs.

62nd Filmfare Award 2017 Winner list

Science & Technology

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Vehicle launches 10 satellites into Orbit

American rocket manufacturing company SpaceX launched 10 satellitesinto orbit on a two stage Falcon 9 Rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base on the California coast.
This was SpaceX’s first flight after four months, when one of its one of its Falcon 9 vehicles exploded on a Florida launchpad in Cape Canaveral in September 2016 destroying $ 200 million Amos-6 communications satellite.
The FAA launch license gives SpaceX permission to launch the next seven rockets for the Iridium NEXT mission which aims to put 70 satellites into orbit for Iridium.

App named ‘SEZ India’ launched by Commerce Ministry

Commerce Secretary has launched a mobile app named ‘SEZ India‘ for Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
SEZ India app will be used for SEZ Developers & Units transactions and track the status.
This app will contain the information about the SEZ Act, 2005, SEZ Rules, 2006, MOCI Circulars, details of SEZs and Units etc.
It gives access to important information / tools such as Foreign Trade Policy, Hand Book of procedure , Duty Calculator , Customs & Excise Notification and MEIS Rates.
It will contain the contact details of all Development Commissioners Office, DGFT, DG System, DGCI & S and SEZ online.
It tracks the Bill of Entry / Shipping Bill processing status and also does verification. The app also helps the Importers / Exporters to track the status of ‘Bill of Entry / Shipping Bill” integration and processing in the EDI system of the ICEGATE.

Environment and Ecology

Study Finds Indian Spice Long Pepper Useful in Fighting Cancer

Researchers have discovered that the widely used Indian spice named Long Pepperhas the potential to be used as a cancer treatment drug.
The Indian long pepper contains a chemical called Piperlongumine (PL)that could stop the body from producing an enzyme that is commonly found in tumors in large numbers.
It can be used for curing many cancers including prostate, breast, lung, colon, lymphoma, leukemia, primary brain tumors and gastric cancer.
The study showed that PL converts to hPL which is an active drug that silences a gene called GSTP1 which produces a detoxification enzyme that is found abundantly in tumors

Tanzania’s Simbu & Kenya’s Kitur wins Mumbai Marathon 2017

Alphonce Simbu of Tanzania took 02:09:32 time to clinch first position in men’s elite category while Kenya’s Bornes Kitur won the women’s title by completing the distance in 02:29:02.