Important Cabinet Approvals: 03rd October 2018

Important Cabinet Approvals- 04th October 2018
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the following set of approvals. The important Cabinet Approvals are given as follows-

The Cabinet has approved- 
1. Redevelopment of Railway Stations by IRSDC as Nodal Agency, through simplified procedures and longer lease tenure.
2. MoU between India and Russia on Bilateral Cooperation in the Road Transport and Road Industry
3. MoU between India and Russia on cooperation in the field of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
4. Second Protocol amending the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between India and Singapore.
5. Establishment of National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation in Sehore District instead of Bhopal.

Cabinet Hikes MSP of Rabi Crops

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA, has increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all Rabi crops for the current financial year which will be marketed in 2019-20 season. The MSP of wheat has been raised by 105 rupees per quintal,  Masur by 225 per quintal, and Gram by 220 per quintal.

According to Union Minister Ravishankar Prasad, the decision is a step towards doubling the farmers’ income. The decision will give additional return to the farmers of 62,635 crore rupees by way of increasing the MSP of notified crops to at least 50 per cent return over cost of production. 

Return over cost of production
  • For wheat the cost of production is Rs 866 per quintal and MSP is Rs 1840 per quintal which gives a return of 112.5% over cost of production.   
  • For gram cost of production is Rs 2637 per quintal and MSP is Rs 4620 per quintal giving a return of 75.2%..   
  • For Masur cost of production is Rs 2532 per quintal and MSP is Rs 4475 per quintal giving a return of 76.7%.
Source- Press Information Bureau

India And ADB Sign $240 Million Loan For Safe Drinking Water Service For West Bengal

The government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed $240 million loan for providing safe and sustainable drinking water to about 1.65 million people in three districts of the state of West Bengal affected by arsenic, fluoride, and salinity. 
The signatories to the West Bengal Drinking Water Sector Improvement Project were Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance; and Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission. 
Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • The Asian Development Bank is a regional development Bank established in 1966.
  • Headquarters of ADB is in Manila, Philippines.
  • Takehiko Nakao is Present President of the Asian Development Bank. 

Nobel Prize 2018: Nobel Prize in Chemistry Goes To Frances H. Arnold, George P. Smith and Gregory P. Winter

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018 with one half to Frances H. Arnold (USA)“for the directed evolution of enzymes” and the other half jointly to George P. Smith (USA) and Sir Gregory P. Winter (UK) “for the phage display of peptides and antibodies”.
Source- nobelprize.org
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Joachim Frank, Richard Henderson, and Jacques Dubochet were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017 “for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution”. 

Australia’s Mile Jedinak and Russia’s Igor Akinfeev Retires From International Football

Australian midfielder Mile Jedinak announced his retirement from international football, bringing the curtain down on a 79-cap career which included leading the Socceroos at two World Cups. The Aston Villa player led his country at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and this year’s tournament in Russia.
Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev has also retired from international soccer after leading the national side as captain to this year’s World Cup quarter-finals on home soil. The 32-year-old earned 112 caps for his country since his debut in 2004 as an 18-year-old, according to the Russian Football Union. 

Paytm Tops UPI Payments With Over 33% Market Share

Alibaba and SoftBank-backed Paytm registered over 137 million UPI transactions in September, becoming the leading contributor to Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments with over 33% of the overall market share.
One97 Communications Limited, that owns the brand Paytm,  is enabling BHIM UPI for offline payments and over five million offline merchants, out of its 9.5 million merchant-base, now accept Paytm UPI.
Source- Times Now
Static/Current Takeaways Important for SBI Clerk Mains Exam 2018- 
  • Paytm founder– Vijay Shekhar Sharma 

Haryana’s MDU Declared Cleanest Government University By HRD Ministry

Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar announced the “Swachh Campus rankings” under various categories. The rankings were decided on the basis of a survey under the ‘Swachhta Hi Sewa’ campaign. “Swachh Campus rankings” under various categories are listed below:
Cleanest ‘Government Universities’:
1. Maharashi Dayanand University, Haryana.
2. Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, Punjab.
3. Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), New Delhi.
Cleanest Residential Campuses of ‘Private Universities’:
1. Symbiosis International University, Pune.
2. OP Jindal Global University in Sonipat.
3. KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research in Belagavi.
Cleanest Technical Institutions’:
1. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Coimbatore.
2. IIT Guwahati.
3. Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University in Bhubhaneshwar.
Source- Hindustan Times

Odisha Government Launches Own Food Security Scheme

Odisha government launched the State’s own food security scheme to cover the poor people. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the scheme via video conferencing at the State Secretariat in Bhubaneswar. 
As per the provisions of the scheme, 25 lakh poor people left out from the benefits of the National Food Security Act, will get rice of 5 kg per month for one rupee. The government will spend Rs 442 crore per year for implementation of the scheme. 
Source- News on AIR

SIDBI Launched National Level Entrepreneurship Awareness Campaign ‘Udyam Abhilasha’

On the occasion of Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), had launched a National Level Entrepreneurship Awareness Campaign, Udyam Abhilasha in 115 Aspirational Districts identified by NITI Aayog in 28 States and reaching to around 15,000 youth. 
SIDBI will join to contribute to “the transformation mission” unleashed for these districts. The campaign would create and strengthen cadre of more than 800 trainers to provide entrepreneurship training to the aspiring youths across these districts thus encouraging them to enter the admired segment of entrepreneurs.

Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Mohammad Mustafa is the present CMD of SIDBI. 
  • SIDBI Headquarters in Lucknow. 
  • SIDBI was set up on 2nd April 1990 under an Act of Indian Parliament. 

PM Modi And French President Received UNEP Champions Of The Earth Award

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured with United Nations’ highest environmental award- UNEP Champions of the Earth, along with French President Emmanuel Macron in New Delhi. The award was presented by UN SecrSecretary-Generalonio Guterres. 
The award was announced on the sidelines of 73rd UN General Assembly in New York. Prime Minister Modi has been selected in the leadership category for his pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and for his unprecedented pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2022.    
Source- DD News

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • The UNEP Champions of the Earth award is awarded to outstanding leaders from government, civil society and the private sector whose actions have had a positive impact on the environment.