SIPVS Knowledge is Power
1) Stung by the Rs. 11,400 crore fraud in Punjab National Bank (PNB), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 21 February 2018 constituted an expert committee to look into the entire gamut of issues relating bad loans. Who is heading this expert committee? – Y.H. Malegam
Explanation: Y.H. Malegam, a former member of the Central Board of Directors of RBI, is heading the newly constituted expert committee that will look into the entire gamut of issues relating to classification of bad loans, rising incidents of frauds and effectiveness of audits.
– The committee will look into the reasons for high divergence observed in asset classification and provisioning by banks vis-à-vis the RBI’s supervisory assessment, and the steps needed to prevent it, factors leading to an increasing incidence of frauds in banks and the measures (including IT interventions) needed to curb and prevent it. It will also enquire the role and effectiveness of various types of audits conducted in banks in mitigating the incidence of such divergence and frauds.
– The other members of the committee are: Bharat Doshi, Member, Central Board of RBI, S Raman, former Chairman and MD, Canara Bank and former Whole-Time Member, SEBI and Nandkumar Saravade, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT). A K Misra, Executive Director, RBI, will be the Member-Secretary of the committee.
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2) What is the name of the new political party launched by noted actor Kamal Haasan at a massive function held in Madurai on 21 February 2018? – ‘Makkal Neethi Meyam’ (MNM)
Explanation: Superstar Kamal Haasan announced the name of his new political party at a massive function in Tamil Nadu’s political capital Madurai on 21 February 2018. The name of his party is ‘Makkal Neethi Meyam’ (MNM) which means Centre for People’s Justice. He also unveiled his party’s flag featuring six united hands – three each in white and red – with a white star in the middle.
– Earlier the actor also visited the House of former President APJ Abdul Kalam in Rameswaram and sought blessings of the former President’s elder brother, Mohammed Meeran Lebbai Maraikayer.
– Kamal Haasan had started dropping hints of taking the political plunge as early as September 2017.
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3) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 20 February 2018 issued which major KYC guideline for payments banks? – It directed payments banks to get their KYC information verified by third parties
Explanation: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 20 February 2018 directed payments banks to get their customers’ information verified by third parties. This direction is a blow to Bharti Airtel Ltd. which runs a payments bank with customer data verified by its own telecom business.
– The third party has to be regulated, supervised, monitored and should have steps in place for compliance with customer due diligence and record-keeping requirements.
– The move comes after Airtel was penalized by UIDAI for allegedly opening payments bank accounts without the explicit consent of users.
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4) According to a report of the Census Directorate released during February 2018, there are how many languages or dialects in India that are considered to be endangered and are believed to be heading towards extinction? – 42
Explanation: There are 42 languages which are spoken by fewer than 10,000 people. These are considered endangered and may be heading towards extinction. This was disclosed in a report of the Census Directorate that was released during February 2018.
– The languages or dialects which are considered endangered, include 11 from Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Lamongse, Luro, Muot, Onge, Pu, Sanenyo, Sentilese, Shompen and Takahanyilang), seven from Manipur (Aimol, Aka, Koiren, Lamgang, Langrong, Purum and Tarao) and four from Himachal Pradesh (Baghati, Handuri, Pangvali and Sirmaudi).
– The other languages in the endangered category are Manda, Parji and Pengo (Odisha), Koraga and Kuruba (Karnataka), Gadaba and Naiki (AP), Kota and Toda (Tamil Nadu), Mra and Na (Arunachal Pradesh), Tai Nora and Tai Rong (Assam), Bangani (Uttarakhand), Birhor (Jharkhand), Nihali (Maharashtra), Ruga (Meghalaya) and Toto (West Bengal).
– On the other hand, there are 22 scheduled languages and 100 non-scheduled languages in the country, which are spoken by a large number of people – one lakh or more.
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5) Which country has been designated as the host country of the World Environment Day for 2018, as was announced by UN Environment on 19 February 2018? – India
Explanation: The United Nations Under-Secretary General and head of UN Environment, Erik Solheim on 19 February 2018 announced that India will be the host for the World Environment Day 2018, that will be observed on 5 June 2018.
– Solheim called India an emerging leader as it has one of the highest recycling rates in the world. In the case of the case of polyethylene terephthalate or PET India’s recycling rate stands around 80% while 10 percent is reused by people at home.
– The theme for this year is ‘Beat Plastic Pollution‘. It urges governments, industry, communities and individuals to come together and explore sustainable alternatives and urgently reduce the production and excessive use of single-use plastic that is polluting our oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health.
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Source: nirdeshak.com
