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Saturday 6 February 2016
THE HINDU | Article | A jobs scheme that steadied India | FEB 6
It is now a decade since the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was launched, and it can be said with reasonable assurance that the programme has been largely successful in living up to what it set out to do: provide employment to India’s rural poor and improve their livelihoods. Sceptics of the spending programme, launched in 2006, had raised concerns that it would be yet another opportunity for middlemen to pocket funds. They had dismissed the argument that the design of MGNREGS as a demand-driven scheme would make it more targeted and less prone to leakage. Ten years on, the sceptics have been largely proved wrong. Yes, the efficiency of implementation of the scheme varies across States, there is a degree of wastage of resources, there is an issue with delayed payments, works undertaken have not held up in some States, and there remains some information asymmetry leading to uneven implementation. Yet, by and large, study after study has found that MGNREGS has served as a source of employment for the poor in distress situations such as drought, crop failures and lean rural employment days. It has helped raise rural wages steadily over time, and in places where it has been implemented well, built rural assets such as irrigation canals and roads have augmented local infrastructure.
Friday 5 February 2016
DAILY GK BULLETS | FEB 5 | S W A G
1. India becomes associate member of EMBO
- India officially became the Associate Member State of European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO).
- In this regard, Union Ministry of Science and Technology has signed an agreement to acquire the status of Associate Member of EMBO.
- India is second country outside the European region to be an Associate Member State of EMBO. First one being Singapore which had signed such agreement with European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC) in 2015.
- EMBO is a professional organization of life scientists in Europe with his its headquarter at Heidelberg, Germany.
New GOLD Schemes - Article
The combined purpose of all three gold schemes is to reduce India's gold imports and bring all the gold lying idle with individuals and households in India into the economy.
THE HINDU | Article | A racist turn in Bengaluru | FEB 5
Less than four months after an Australian man was violently harassed for sporting a tattoo of an Indian goddess, Bengaluru is in the news again, for sinking to new lows of bigotry and vigilantism. This time it was a Tanzanian woman at the receiving end of mob fury. It all reportedly began with an accident in which a Sudanese national drove his car over a 35-year-old woman, killing her. A mob quickly gathered, determined to mete out instant justice. When he managed to flee, his car was burnt down. Half an hour later, a Tanzanian student who happened to be passing by with her friends stopped by to inquire what was going on.
Thursday 4 February 2016
DAILY GK BULLETS | FEB 4 | S W A G
1. World Cancer Day 2016 observes with theme We can. I can.
- World Cancer Day (WCD) 2016 was observed across the world on 4 February 2016. The day was observed with year’s theme – We can. I can.
- World Cancer Day unites the world’s population in the fight against cancer.
- The tagline of the theme reflects on what you can do and asks to make a pledge and takes action and make a difference in fight against cancer.
- The World Cancer Day 2016-2018 will explore how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer.
DIGITAL INDIA PROJECT - ARTICLE
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 1, 2015 formally launched the Digital India Project in two village Panchayats of the district Indore, MP. The Projects, which will ensure an investment of Rs. 4.5 lakh crore and jobs for at least 18 lakh people, focuses on three objectives - infrastructure as a utility for every citizen, governance and services on demand, and digital empowerment of citizens. Here are the 10 important initiatives of Digital India:
SKILL INDIA MISSION - ARTICLE
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 15,2015 on the occassion of the first-ever World Youth Skills Day unveiled the Skill India Logo and launched four landmark initiatives of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, namely -
LIC AAO ! INSURANCE QUIZ
1. In case of rural areas having population less than 5000, the minimum qualification required for insurance agent is ________ pass.
a) 12th
b) Post Graduate
c) Graduate
d) 10th
e) None of these
a) 12th
b) Post Graduate
c) Graduate
d) 10th
e) None of these
THE HINDU | Article | Time to debate Governors’ powers | FEB 4
By imposing President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh even before a mandatory floor test could establish conclusively that the Congress government of Nabam Tuki had lost its majority, the Central government acted prematurely. Indeed, the Supreme Court in seeking reasons for the decision, and observing that “the matter is too serious”, underscored what President Pranab Mukherjee had said in his new year’s message to Governors: they must play, he said, their assigned role while respecting the distinct authority and responsibility vested in the executive, the judiciary and the legislature, and help “create a harmonious relationship between the Centre and the States”.
Wednesday 3 February 2016
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.
THE HINDU | Article | Gearing up for the Zika threat | FEB 3
The World Health Organization has declared that the outbreak of Zika and congenital malformations and neurological disorders in newborns believed to be connected to the virus is a global public health emergency. Since the current outbreak began in Brazil in May 2015, nearly 1.5 million people are reported to have been affected. As of January 23, 4,180 suspected cases of microcephaly — a foetal deformation where newborns have abnormally small heads — had been reported in Brazil. There have also been cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, sometimes resulting in paralysis.
Tuesday 2 February 2016
THE HINDU | Article | Djokovic’s dominance | FEB 2
For a sport reeling from allegations of fixing, tennis needed the restoration of a semblance of normalcy. And few things have been as normal these last few years as Novak Djokovic holding a trophy aloft. So the Australian Open received the finish it so desperately wanted after its start was hit by the BBC and BuzzFeed exposé. Djokovic never let his focus waver in sweeping to his sixth title in Melbourne, tying Roy Emerson’s record for the most Australian Open crowns. The win was further evidence of the 28-year-old Serb’s dominance.
Monday 1 February 2016
THE HINDU | Article | Push for IMF reform | FEB 1
Finally, the International Monetary Fund has made country quota reforms agreed by the G20 in 2010 a reality. One could imagine a collective, global sigh of relief as the chief objector to the changes, the U.S. Congress, dropped its intransigence in December and allowed the multilateral lender to adopt a country quota distribution that better reflects the power balance of emerging markets in the global economy. With this structural shift, more than 6 percentage points of the quota, including both the Fund’s capital and its proportionate voting rights, have been transferred from developed to emerging economies. The greatest gains from the reforms accrue to the IMF itself, as the combined capital that its 188 member-countries contribute will increase to approximately $659 billion from nearly $329 billion.
Sunday 31 January 2016
LIC AAO | COMPUTER QUIZ - 10
1. The copy command saves to
a. the desktop
b. the clipboard
c. microsoft word
d. paste
e. None of these
a. the desktop
b. the clipboard
c. microsoft word
d. paste
e. None of these
IBPS SO | IT OFFICER - 9
1. Which of the following is a function of an e-mail system ?
a. Composition
b. Transfer
c. Reporting
d. All of the above
e. None of these
a. Composition
b. Transfer
c. Reporting
d. All of the above
e. None of these
BANKING AWARENESS QUIZ - 3
1. MICR code is used for ___?
A. For Electronic Clearance of Cheques
B. For Electronic Funds Transfer
C. For Code Banking Solution
D. For Cheque Truncation Services
E. None of these
A. For Electronic Clearance of Cheques
B. For Electronic Funds Transfer
C. For Code Banking Solution
D. For Cheque Truncation Services
E. None of these
Tax The Rich More To Reduce Inequalities, Says Economist Thomas Piketty
Economist Thomas Piketty has an unusual solution to India's economic growth challenges, one that the super rich of the country presumably won't be to pleased with. Tax the rich more, he says, adding that the most affluent classes should 'behave responsibly' and partake in the long drawn process of ending social inequalities in the country.
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