IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY 13th, 2017

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY 13th, 2017

1. India to host 8th edition of Theatre Olympics in 2018

i. India will host 8th edition of Theatre Olympics in 2018, the biggest theatre celebration of the world. The greatest carnival will start from February 17-April 08, 2018. India is hosting this event for the first time.

ii. There will be five hundred plays and seven hundred ambiance performances from across the world.

2. Model United Nations Regional Conference begins in Kathmandu

i. A Model United Nations (MUN) Regional Conference is being held at Kathmandu. The event is organised by the US Embassy in partnership with the Youth Thinker’s Society. Youths from 12 South and Central Asian countries including India are participating in 5-day conference.

ii. The basic aim of the MUN is to provide a platform to young minds to channelize energy and resources for a more prosperous and peaceful world.
iii. The conference simulate four UN committees-United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Economic and Financial Committee (ECOFIN), United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

3. Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma launches LIFE program at Songsak

i. Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has recently launched an ambitious flagship program titled “Livelihood Intervention and Facilitation of Entrepreneurship” (LIFE) at Songsak. 

ii. LIFE will focus on capacity building, Under the program, every 10 SHGs (Self-Help Groups) will be motivated to act like a bank and help each other. LIFE aims to bring all the poor and vulnerable women into the SHGs movement. 

4. YES BANK Launches ‘YES GST’ Program to Assist MSMEs

i. YES Bank, India’s fourth largest private sector bank, along with YES Global Institute has launched ‘YES GST’ program for MSMEs(Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) under its MSME CSR initiative, ‘Say YES to Sustainable MSMEs in India’.

ii. Through the program, the bank will help MSMEs to understand the impact of the changes in tax system and prepare them to know the new GST tax system.
iii. YES Bank has also launched GST-Ready products for MSMEs. 

5. SBI waives charge on IMPS fund transfer of up to Rs 1,000

i. Country's largest bank SBI has waived charges for fund transfer of up to Rs 1,000 through its IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) to promote small transactions.

ii. SBI had been charging Rs 5 along with the applicable service tax for IMPS fund transfer of up to Rs 1,000. IMPS is an instant interbank electronic fund transfer service through mobile phones as well as internet banking.

iii. For IMPS, the charge will be Rs 5 along GST for fund transfer in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The charge will go up to Rs 15 for transactions of Rs 1-2 lakh. GST at the rate of 18 per cent is applicable on all financial transactions.

6. Rajasthan becomes first State to fix minimum education qualification for cooperative body poll

i. Rajasthan becomes the first state in the country to fix minimum educational qualification for contesting cooperative body polls. To this effect, the Rajasthan Government amended the State Cooperative State Cooperative Societies Rules, 2003.

ii. The new rules will benefit around 10,000 cooperative and agricultural credit societies. For contesting the election as members of governing boards of dairy societies, farming societies, consumer societies, weavers' societies, urban banks, housing construction societies, and cooperative unions, the minimum educational qualifications will range from class 5 to class 8.

iii. The primary committee members need to have passed at least class 8. For district level members the minimum qualification required is class 10, while those interested in being a member of State level committee will need to be a graduate.

7. Gujarat to get India's first high-speed rail training centre

i. The country is set to get its first high-speed rail training center at Gandhinagar. The center will provide for advanced training modules on cutting edge technologies.

ii. While India’s first bullet train is proposed to hit the track in 2023, the training center is supposed to start operating by 2020.

8. Delhi Police to be equipped with 'super cop belt'

i. National capital police will be the first state police in India who will get ‘super cop belt', a specially designed belt, widely used by Police in UK, USA, Russia and para-military forces like CRPF, CISF, NSG etc.

ii. This belt will help cops to keep things like Gun, Mobile Pouch, Security Batten, Wireless Set Pouch & ammunition pouch.