DAILY GK BULLETS | FEB 3 | S W A G

1. Counter Terrorism Conference starts in Jaipur 

• President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Counter-Terrorism Conference-2016 on 03 Feb 2016 at Jaipur, and said that terrorism is undoubtedly the single gravest threat that humanity is facing today. 
• India said that countries which support terrorism must be named and shamed, asserting the need for united efforts to combat terror. 
• Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Kalyan Singh, Governor of Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Chief Minister of Rajasthan and Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Railways.

2. SBI launches FlexiPay Home loan  

• State Bank of India introduced a new home loan scheme ‘SBI FlexiPay Home Loan’ for young working professionals/executives. Under the scheme, borrowers will get higher loan amount compared to their loan eligibility under normal home loan schemes and they will also have the option of step-up monthly repayments. 
• The additional loan amount under ‘FlexiPay’ will help working professionals/executives acquire better and spacious living spaces for themselves and their families, taking into account their future needs. 
• For lowering the impact of additional loan amount on monthly repayments in form of EMIs, the customers availing of loan under the scheme will also be offered the option of paying only interest during the moratorium (pre-EMI) period of 3 to 5 years. Thereafter, they will pay moderated EMIs.

3. Govt sets up two new tax committees 

• The government has set up two new committees — Tax Policy Research Unit and Tax Policy Council in order to bring coherence and streamline the direct and indirect tax policy and administration. 
• The Tax Policy Council will be led by the Finance Minister and will suggest broad policy measures for taxation based on inputs from the Tax Policy Research Unit (TPRU). 
• The TPRU will be a multi-disciplinary body to examine and analyse any fiscal or tax policy referred by the CBDT and CBEC and also prepare and disseminate policy papers and background papers on various taxation issues.

4. MGNREGA completes 10 years of implementation 

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 completes ten years of implementation. On this occasion, Union Ministry of Rural Development had organised MGNREGA SAMMELAN in New Delhi to highlight achievements MGNREGA. 
• Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was Chief Guest in the Sammelan. MGNREGA is a flagship rural job guarantee scheme that was announced by the then UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in February 2006. 
• The scheme aims at providing 100 days wage employment to every household to ensure livelihood security in rural areas. 
• It also aimed at sustainable development to address the cause of drought, deforestation and soil erosion. 
• One third (33 per cent) proposed jobs in the scheme have been reserved for the women. 
• Union Ministry of Rural Development is nodal agency for the implementation of the scheme.

5. Centre issues guidelines in wake of Zika virus 

• The Union Government has issued detailed guidelines to tackle the outbreak of Zika Virus Disease in the wake of reported cases in Americas. 
• These guidelines were issued by Union Health Ministry and comes after World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared this outbreak as Public Health Emergency of International Concern. 
• The health ministry issued a detailed advisory, including a travel advisory, asking pregnant women to either defer or cancel their travel to affected areas. 
• It has also designated the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as the nodal agency for investigation in case of an outbreak.
• Zika is an emerging viral disease transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which is also known to transmit infections like dengue and chikungunya.

6. SC appointed Lodha Committee to sell PACL’s assets 

• Supreme Court on 2 February 2016 appointed a committee under former Chief Justice RM Lodha to sell assets of Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd (PACL) and refund 49,000 crore rupees to the investors. 
• The investors invested in the firm’s collective investment scheme (CIS) that was deemed illegal by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

7. CIL appoints S N Prasad as Marketing Director 

• S N Prasad has taken over as Director (Marketing), Coal India Ltd, from February 1. Prasad has succeeded B K Saxena, who has retired. 
• Prior to this elevation Prasad was General Manager (Sales & Marketing) in South Eastern Coalfields Ltd, the Bilaspur-based subsidiary of CIL.

8. India, Brunei ink three MoUs 

• India and Brunei have signed three Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in the fields of defence, health and youth affairs & sports. 
• These MoUs were signed the representatives of both the countries in presence of the visiting Vice President Mohd Hamid Ansari at capital Bandar Seri Begawan. 
• The three MOUs are: 
• MoU in Health Cooperation 
• MoU on Defence Cooperation 
• MoU on Cooperation in Youth and Sports Affairs
• The defence agreement between both countries is being considered as a major diplomatic breakthrough since both sides established formal relations in 1984.

9. Jai Shanker Menon appointed as UNDOF head 

• Major General Jai Shanker Menon of India has been appointed as the Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). 
• He was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and succeeds Lt Gen Purna Chandra Thapa of Nepal. 
• In his new role, Maj Gen Menon brings his extensive command experience and knowledge of peacekeeping affairs at the international and national levels. 
• The UNDOF has its headquarter at Camp Faouar.

10. Saroj Kumar Jha appointed as Senior Director in World Bank 

• Saroj Kumar Jha has been appointed Senior Director for the Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group in the World Bank. 
• It is a key position in the World Bank to provide strategic leadership to address the challenge of fragility, conflict and violence.

11. Kerala wins 61st National School Athletics championship 

• Kerala won the 61st National School Athletics championship. The national School Athletics championship was held at Olympian Rahman Stadium in Kozhikode, Kerala from 29 January 2016 to 2 February 2016. 
• This is for the 19th consecutive time Kerala becomes the champions in the event. Kerala, the host of the championship got 306 points winning 39 gold, 29 silver and 17 bronze medals. 
• Tamil Nadu stood at second position with 116 points winning 11 gold, 8 silver and 13 bronze medals. Maharashtra with 101 points gained the third position.

12. Former RBI Deputy Governor S S Tarapore passes away 

• Economist and former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) S.S. Tarapore passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 80. 
• As an economist, he was well known for his strong views on issues—ranging from inflation to capital account convertibility. 
• He had served as deputy governor of RBI from 1992 and 1996 when C. Rangarajan was the governor.

13. Veteran Urdu writer Intizar Husain passes away 

• Legendary Urdu fiction writer, novelist, columnist and poet Intizar Husain passed away in Lahore, Pakistan. He was 93. 
• He was the first Pakistani and the first Urdu writer ever to be nominated for the prestigious literally award Man Booker International Prize for fiction.

14. Former Lok Sabha speaker Balram Jakhar passes away 

• Former Lok Sabha speaker and Congress veteran Balram Jakhar died. He was 92. 
• Balram Jakhar had suffered a brain stroke a year ago. He is survived by two sons and two daughters. 
• Balram Jakhar served as the speaker of Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989.

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