IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF NOVEMBER 24, 2016

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF NOVEMBER 24, 2016

• Thailand On November 23, 2016 halved its visa on arrival fees, to 1000 baht (around ₹1900), for tourists from India and 18 other countries. 
• The move, intended to boost tourist arrivals, comes less than two months after Thailand increased its visa fees to 2000 baht. 
• Thailand also extended its long-stay visa, for foreigners aged above 50, from one to ten years.
• Boudhanath Stupa, a UNESCO heritage site in Kathmandu that was severely damaged in the 2015 Nepal earthquake, reopened to the public On November 23, 2016 after its reconstruction was completed. 
• Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal thanked India and China for extending financial support for the reconstruction. 
• Note : Boudhanath, Nepal's largest stupa, is considered the holiest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet.
• The newly built Oshiwara stationis set to be inaugurated on November 27 in Mumbai and will thereafter be open for commuters.
• The suburban station would help in decongesting Jogeshwari and Goregaon stations which presently witness over 2.5 lakh passengers daily. 
• India On November 23, 2016 signed a 'Joint Declaration’ for the implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) with Switzerland.
• Under this agreement, both countries will start collecting data in accordance with the global standards in 2018 and exchange it from 2019 onwards.
• The move aims to curb black money stashed in offshore accounts, a release stated.
• Bharti Airtel On November 23, 2016 launched India's first payments bank in Rajasthan with 7.25% interest on deposits in savings accounts. 
• Airtel subscribers' mobile number will function as a bank account number and transfer from Airtel to Airtel phone numbers will be free. 
• Important Note : Payments banks can accept deposits of up to ₹1 lakh per account, but cannot issue loans and credit cards.
• In the wake of government's demonetisation move and increased efforts towards a cashless economy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) On November 23, 2016doubled the balance limit of digital wallets like Paytm to ₹20,000. 
• Additionally, merchants can transfer up to ₹50,000 every month from these prepaid wallets to their bank accounts. 
• The relaxation will be applicable until December 30.
• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned ₹21,000 crore to District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs)to help farmers.
• Small farmers get 40% of their credit from cooperative banks.
• The government on Monday allowed farmers to buy seeds using old ₹500 notes.
• The government has decided that no service charge would be levied on the use of debit cards and on digital financial transactions through feature phones till December 31, 2016.
• Further, all government organisations have been advised to use only digital payment methods to make payment to their employees.
• The Indian Railways On November 23, 2016 waived the service tax on e-tickets and i-tickets booked via IRCTC's online website from November 23 to December 31 this year. 
• This comes as an attempt to promote cashless economy.
• Earlier, PM Modi had said that schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar, and demonetisation are steps towards becoming a cashless, corruption-free economy.
• China has agreed to import rice, non-basmati and basmati varieties from 17 registered mills in India. 
• These mills are in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. 
• António Costa (54), the Indian origin Prime Minister of Portugal will be theChief Guest at the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention. 
• The PBD Convention is scheduled to be held from January 7 to 9, 2017 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. 
• Note : Surinam Vice president Michael Ashwin Satyandre Adhin will be the Special Guest at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) to be held in Bengaluru on January 7, 2017.
• Indian Journalist Malini Subramaniam has been conferred with theInternational Press Freedom Award for her reporting from Chhattisgarh's Naxal-infested Bastar area. 
• She is one of the four journalists felicitated for their commitment to a free press. 
• British actor James Corden, who hosts 'The Late Late Show', will host the59th Grammy Awards scheduled on February 12. 
• Note : Corden will be replacing Rapper LL Cool J, who hosted the Grammys for five years.
• TIME magazine has compiled a selection of the 100 most influential photographs of all time. 
• The magazine's selection includes iconic photographs like Margaret Bourke-White’s 1946 portrait of Mahatma Gandhi sitting alongside his spinning wheel and Neil Armstrong's shot of Buzz Aldrin walking on the Moon, titled, "A Man on the Moon".
• Captain Radhika Menon was awarded with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. 
• She was presented with this award for saving lives of seven fishermen from sinking fishing boat in Bay of Bengal.
• Important Note : With this, she became the first woman in the world to receive the Award. 
• Ace Indian Golfrer Gaganjeet Bhullar has won the US $ 300,000 BANK BRI-JCB Indonesia Open for the second time in his career.