DAC Approves Procurement of Equipment Worth Rs 9,100 Crores

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman accorded approval for the procurement of equipment for the Defence Forces valued at over Rs 9,100 crores. 
The DAC approved procurement of two Regiments of Akash Missile Systems under ‘Buy (Indian)’ category from M/s BDL. The Missile to be procured is an upgraded version of the previously inducted Akash missiles and will include seeker technology, possess 360-degree coverage and will be of compact configuration with reduced signature. 
Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

INSV Tarini Crew Bestowed With Tenzing Norgay Award

All-women crew of INSV Tarini has bagged the prestigious Tenzing Norgay National Adventure award for beating the odds in water with their enduring skills and sailing across the world for eight long months. 
The award is the highest national recognition for outstanding achievements in the field of adventure on land, sea and air. The crew was also bestowed with Nav Sena Medal on the occasion of 72nd Independence Day. 
Source- ANI News

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • The INSV Tarini team, led by Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi, is comprised Lieutenant P. Swathi, Lieutenant Pratibha Jamwal (Air Traffic Control specialists), Lieutenant Vijaya Devi, Sub Lieutenant Payal Gupta (both Education officers) and Lieutenant B Aishwarya, a naval architect. 

Kerala Tourism Wins 2 PATA Gold Awards

Kerala Tourism has won two prestigious gold awards of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) for its innovative marketing campaigns. The awards were presented at a glittering function in Langkawi, Malaysia during PATA Travel Mart 2018. Sudeshna Ramkumar, Assistant Director, India Tourism, Singapore received the award on behalf of Kerala tourism. 
Kerala Tourism got the first gold for its ‘Yalla Kerala’ travel advertisement print media campaign in the Gulf countries. The second gold award came for an innovative poster Kerala Tourism had developed for the third edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), the biggest contemporary art show in South Asia. 
Source- The Hindu

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor: P Sathasivam.

Emmy Awards 2018 Announced: Complete List of Winners

The 70th annual primetime Emmy honors handed out at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Michael Che and Colin Jost hosted the show. 
Here is the complete list of Winners of EMMY AWARDS 2018: 
Sl.
No.		 Category Winner
1. Best Comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
2. Best Drama Game of Thrones
3. Best Actress, Comedy Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
4. Best Actor, Comedy Bill Hader, “Barry”
5. Best Actress, Drama Claire Foy, “The Crown”
6. Best Actor, Drama Matthew Rhys, “The Americans”
7. Best Actress, Limited Series or TV Movie Regina King, “Seven Seconds”
8. Best Actor, Limited Series or TV Movie Darren Criss, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
9. Writing for a Comedy Series Amy Sherman-Palladino, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (“Pilot”)
10. Writing for a Drama Series Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, “The Americans” (“Start”)
11. Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama William Bridges and Charlie Brooker, “Black Mirror: USS Callister”
12. Directing for a Comedy Series Amy Sherman-Palladino, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (“Pilot”)
13. Directing for a Drama Series Stephen Daldry, “The Crown” (“Paterfamilias”)
14. Directing for a Limited Series Ryan Murphy, “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”

Source- The New York Times

Japan Open 2018: Complete List of Winners

The 2018 Japan Open, officially DAIHATSU YONEX Japan Open 2018, is a badminton tournament which took place at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza in Tokyo, Japan and had a total prize of $700,000. In men’s singles category, Kento Momota of Japan had defeated Khosit Phetpradab to win the title. In Women’s Singles, Carolina Marin of Spain has defeated Nozomi Okuhara to win the title. 
Here is the Complete List of Winners of JAPAN OPEN 2018 (along with their respective countries): 

Sl.
No.		 Event Winner Runner-up
1. Men’s Singles Kento Momota (Japan) Khosit Phetpradab (Thailand)
2. Women’s Singles Carolina Marin (Spain) Nozomi Okuhara (Japan)
3. Men’s Doubles Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (Indonesia) Junhui Li, Yuchen Liu (China)
4. Women’s Doubles Yuki Fukushima, Sayaka Hirota (Japan) Qingchen Chen, Yifan Jia (China)
5. Mixed Doubles Zheng Siwei, Huang Yaqiong (China) Yilyu Wang, Dongping Huang (China)

Delhi, Seoul Sign MoU To Tackle Air Pollution

The Delhi government signed an MoU with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to work closely in the fields of environment, tourism, wastewater and solid waste management, infrastructure and public health. 
The MoU on the ‘Friendship and Cooperation Agreement’ was signed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Seoul mayor Park Won-Soon in Seoul. The Delhi CM particularly sought the city’s expertise in dealing with transport and air pollution.
Source- Business Standard

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Seoul is the capital of South Korea. 
  • Korean won is the currency of South Korea. 

India-Morocco Tourism Bilateral Meeting Held in New Delhi

A bilateral meeting on Tourism Cooperation between India and Morocco led by the Minister of Tourism, Air Transport, Handicraft and Social Economy, Kingdom of Morocco, Mohamed Sajid and the Minister of State for Tourism (IC), Government of India, K. J. Alphons, held in New Delhi.
During this meeting both the Ministers agreed to enhance the tourism cooperation between India & Morocco and to work towards increasing tourist arrivals between both countries. This meeting was followed by signing of an agreement of cooperation between the India Tourism Development Corporation and La Societe Marocaine D’Ingenierie Touristique, also known as Moroccan Agency for Tourism development (SMIT). 

Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Morocco Capital: Rabat, Currency: Moroccan dirham. 

Piyush Goyal Inaugurates 1st Ever India Tourism Mart 2018

The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal inaugurated the ‘first ever’ India Tourism Mart (ITM 2018) in the presence of Union Tourism Minister, K J Alphons and the Tourism Minister of Morocco, Mr. Mohamed Sajid, in New Delhi. 

The India Tourism Mart is being organized by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) and with support of State /UT Governments. 

Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

No Withholding Tax On Interest Payment Of Masala Bonds

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) announced that no withholding tax will apply on interest payments made by an Indian company or a business trust to a non-resident in respect of offshore rupee-denominated bonds issued between September 17, 2018 and March 31, 2019. 
The move is expected to incentivise foreign exchange inflows into India through low-cost offshore rupee-denominated bonds, popularly referred to as masala bonds. Legislative amendments in this regard will be done in due course. 
Source- The Hindu Business Line

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018- 
  • Sushil Chandra is the chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes.