GK & Current Affairs: Feburary 3, 4, 2017

1. As per Union Budget 2017-18, the Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) will be set up under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Who will be chairman of the proposed board?
[A] Cabinet Secretary
[B] Finance Secretary
[C] Finance Minister
[D] Governor of RBI
Answer: Governor of RBI
Notes:
As per Union Budget 2017, the Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) will be set up within the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which will comprise of six members, of which 3 will be from RBI. The PRB will replace the existing Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems and will exercise the functions relating to the regulation and supervision of payments and settlement systems under the Payment and Settlements Act 2007. The chairman of the board will be the Governor of RBI, along with a deputy governor in charge of payments and settlements as member. It will also have 3 members nominated by the central government.
2. How much fund has been allocated to the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) for fiscal year 2017-18?
[A] Rs. 343 crore
[B] Rs. 353 crore
[C] Rs. 333 crore
[D] Rs. 343 crore
Answer: Rs. 333 crore
Notes:
The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) is a body responsible for advising the Prime Minister on key strategic and security issues, both on domestic as well as international fronts. It is in news because of tenfold increase of fund allocation from Rs. 33 crore to Rs. 333 crore for fiscal year 2017-18. The NSCS works as an advisory group, consists of various experts on security-related matters and is headed by deputy NSA Arvind Gupta.
3. Which state government has recently introduced third gender category in school exams?
[A] Rajasthan
[B] Bihar
[C] Odisha
[D] West Bengal
Answer: Bihar
Notes:
The Bihar government has recently introduced third gender category in school exams after the Supreme Court recognised transgender people as a third gender in 2014. Now, under the third-gender category the Board exams will be conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB). So far, the BSEB did not allow students to take Board exams under the ‘third gender’ category because the exam form specified two categories, male and female.
4. Lakshya Sen is associated with which sports?
[A] Badminton
[B] Cricket
[C] Wushu
[D] Chess
Answer: Badminton
Notes:
Lakshya Sen (15) from India has become the World No. 1 Junior Badminton player, as per latest rankings of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). According to BWF current rankings, Lakshya has 16,903 points in eight tournaments he has played in the season. In 2016, he won the Senior India International Series Badminton Tournament along with the All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament at Itanagar. He was youngest-ever player and the first-ever from Uttarakhand to win the title at senior level. Earlier, his brother Chirag Sen was ranked number two in the world junior badminton rankings.
5. The book “Contemporary West Asia – Perspectives on Change and Continuity” has been authored by whom?
[A] Prita Jha
[B] Warisha Farasat
[C] Selina Sen
[D] Sujata Ashwarya
Answer: Sujata Ashwarya
Notes:
The book “Contemporary West Asia – Perspectives on Change and Continuity” has been authored by Sujata Ashwarya & Mujib Alam. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the complexities of change and continuity in West Asia, its society, religion and politics. An overview of the region’s political, social and economic characteristics along with the ongoing turmoil in the region has also been presented.
6. Which new scheme will be launched by the Union Government to fund export infrastructure?
[A] Trade Infrastructure for Export Support (TIES)
[B] Trade Infrastructure for Export Supply (TIES)
[C] Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES)
[D] Trade Infrastructure for Export Standard (TIES)
Answer: Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES)
Notes:
The Union Government will launch a new and restructured central scheme “Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES)” in 2017-18 to create infrastructure for exports. It has been announced by the Finance minister Arun Jaitley in his Union Budget 2017 speech. The aim of the new scheme will be to reduce transaction costs for traders. The scheme will help create modern infrastructure like last mile connectivity to ports, testing labs and certification centres.
7. How much amount has been allocated for Bharat Net Project to promote digital transactions into rural India?
[A] Rs. 20,000 crore
[B] Rs. 10,000 crore
[C] Rs. 15,000 crore
[D] Rs. 5,000 crore
Answer: Rs. 10,000 crore
Notes:
In the Union Budget 2017-18, the Government of India (GoI) has allocated Rs. 10,000 crore for Bharat Net Project to promote digital transactions into rural India. Under the project, the high-speed internet connectivity will cover approx 150,000 gram panchayats with Wi-Fi hotspots and digital services will be access at low tariffs. Beside this, the DigiGaon initiative will also be launched to provide tele-medicine, education and skills through digital technology.
8. The 2017 International Conference and Exhibition on Terrestrial & Satellite Broadcasting has started in which city?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Chennai
[C] Kochi
[D] Nagpur
Answer: New Delhi
Notes:
The 23rd ion of International Conference & Exhibition on Terrestrial & Satellite Broadcasting has started in New Delhi from February 2, 2017. The 3-day conference is organized by the Broadcast Engineering Society (India). Nearly 300 companies from 25 countries displayed their products in BES EXPO directly or through their dealers and distributors in India. This trade show will showcases products like to promote the advancement and dissemination of knowledge & practices of broadcasting in the field of Radio, Television and other media etc. in the Telecom Products & Equipment industry.
9. The Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund will be set up by the which organisation to boost financing of milk processing capacities?
[A] Indian Dairy Association (IDA)
[B] Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
[C] National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)
[D] National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
Answer: National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
Notes:
As per Union Budget 2017, the Dairy Infrastructure Development Fund of Rs.8000 crore will be created over next three years with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to boost financing of milk processing capacities. For the first year, the Union Government has declared to give Rs 2000 crore for creation of the fund. With this, the NABARD fund would allow cooperatives to access low cost loan for meeting the expenses towards modernization and ensure supply of quality milk conforming to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) standards to the consumers.
10. As per Union Budget 2017-18, the National Pension System (NPS) subscribers can prematurely withdraw how much percentage of corpus tax-free? The National Pension System (NPS) subscribers can prematurely withdraw 25% of their accumulated corpus before retirement without tax, as per Union Budget 2017-18. It has been proposed to insert a new clause (12B) in the section 10 of Income Tax Act, 1961 to provide this relief to the subscriber of NPS. Beside this, the self-employed individuals have also been allowed to invest up to 20% of their income into the NPS as opposed to 10% earlier under Section 80CCD(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. This benefit will be available on contribution made by the self employed persons on or after 1st April 2017. Secondly, if the NPS Trust allows you to withdraw prematurely after five or ten years as per its rules, there will be no tax on that..

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