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Current Heads of International Organisations (1 marks for Mains Exams)

Appointment (Office)

Head

Managing Director, (IMF)

Christine Lagarde

Director General, UNESCO

Irina Bokova

Director General, WHO

Dr. Margaret Chan

Director General, International Labour Organisation

Guy Ryder

President, World Bank

Dr. Jim Yong Kim

Executive Director, (UNICEF)

Anthony Lake

UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Filippo Grandi

President, Asian Development Bank

Takehiko Nakao

Director – General, WTO

Roberto Azevedo

Secretary-General, (NATO)

Jens Stoltenberg

Executive Director, UNFPA

Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin

Secretary-General, ASEAN

Le Luong Minh

Secretary-General, SAARC

Arjun Bahadur Thapa

Deputy Secretary General, UN

Jan Eliasson

Secretary General, United Nations

Antonio Guterres

Pradhan Mantri Zero Deficit Zero Effect Scheme (GK for Mains Exams)

Introduction

“Zero Defect, Zero Effect Scheme” or “ZED” is a new initiative launched by Prime minister Narendra Modi. The scheme is launched to increase the quality of products matching global standards for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Sector i.e. MSME.

Objective

• The main objective of this “Zero Effect, Zero Defect” scheme is to supress the bad effect of products on environment. While MSME sector plays a vital role in the GDP of a country i.e. India , this scheme also helps to contribute to environment as well.
• The main purpose of this Scheme is to Match the Global quality control standards.
• This Scheme ensures that all the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises are delivering High quality product using clear technology.

• Under this ZED scheme, The Micro Small and Medium Enterprises companies which follows the guidelines set by ZED and meet the standards set by the ZED will be awarded ZED certification along with various benefits.
• All MSME plays a vital role in the economy and by creating good quality products the country will be able to lift up its infrastructure, etc. That means it’s a major steps taken by Narendra Modi Government towards the development of the country.
• Under this a few parameter was fixed that are specific for each MSME industries.

Benefits of ZED certification

• lower costs and Streamlined operations.
• Reduced rejection, Superior quality and higher revenues.
• Increased social and environmental benefits.
• Generation in Employment.
• It may control the pollution level in some of the largest cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata.

ZET Model

• The MSME companies will be given a strict guidelines based on which they have to work around the procedures.
• The main focus will be to enhance the quality and to lift-up the environment.

Government Support

• To help the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises through Funding and Proper training.
• The Government will emphasise on producing items that have “Zero Deficits” so as to achieve the quality.
• The main aim of Government to encourage a sustainable environment & development and therefore all the parameters will be to encourage through same way.

Pradhan Mantri Vittiya Saksharta Abhiyan (GK for mains exams)

Introduction

Vittiya Saksharta Abhiyan is a government initiative launched by the Government of India in the demonetization drive across India to stop the malpractice of corruption and to finish black money in India. This Scheme was launched as on 1st December 2016 by Human Resource Development Minister (Prakash Javadekar) in New Delhi.The Basic aim of this scheme is to go for cashless transaction and payment modes like using credit or debit cards or the payment wallets to reduce the malpractice in the country. The Vittiya Saksharta Abhiyan Scheme is all about encouraging the common people to evolve and opt for cashless transactions in the country and remove corruption out from its roots. The HRD minister also gone to social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc. to make the camping more efficient with successful result for Digital India & to go for Cashless Economy by reaching to more masses.

Aim

The main aim of the Scheme is to make the country with the cashless economy and its citizen trying their hands to use cashless transactions in their daily life. This Scheme also aims to create a strong digital economy and put India in digitally developed countries and leading countries in the global map. The main motto of this scheme is to make the youth and students getting involved in this major transformation that the nation is going through and help others.

Authority

Vittiya Saksharta Abhiyan is a program solely governed by HRD ministry. The awareness scheme is to pass on from the old modes of transactions using cash and to follow up new cashless transaction system.

Educational Institutions directed to take Major Steps

To achieve the target of this big magnitude for Vittiya Saksharta Abhiyan, The HRD ministry directed most of the Higher educational institutes in India to start practising the cashless transactions. The HRD minister Prakash Javadekar has appealed such institute in India to join hands against corruption and to switch over to cashless and digital economy in their campuses. These institutes have been advised not to take any cash for tuition fees, admission fees, hostel fees, library fees, etc. However, these institutes can take their fees through Debit card, Credit card, Visa, etc. These institutes are directed to follow cashless transaction system in the entire college, including college canteens and stores. The students can also take these initiatives and teach their parents, homes or locality and also share with their friends about the basic advantages of having a cashless transaction or digital transactions for their daily life.

Modes of Transactions

• Debit Card
• Credit Card
• Rupay Card
• Visa Card
• E-Wallet
• Paytm
• Mobikwik
• USSD Payment
• Aadhaar Enabled Payment
• Mobile wallets
• POS transactions, etc.

Fast Facts

Fields	Related Facts & Figures
Name of the Scheme	Vittiya Saksharata Abhiyan
Governed By	Human Resource Development Ministry
Launched on	1st December 2016
Launched By	Union HRD Minister – Prakash Javadkar
Main emphasis on	Higher Educational institutions in India
Camping over	Social Media, Higher Educational institutions, etc.

Latest List of Indian Banks and heads 2016 December

Latest List of Indian banks – Their Heads and Head Office – December 2016

Name of the Banks	Head	Year of Establishment	Head Office
Allahabad Bank	Rakesh Sethi	24 April, 1865	Kolkata, West Bengal
Andhra Bank	Suresh N. Patel	20 November, 1923	Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Bank of Baroda	P.S. Jayakumar	20 July, 1908	Vadodara, Gujarat
Bank of India	Melwyn O. Rego	7 September, 1906	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Bank of Maharashtra	R K Gupta	16 September, 1935	Pune, Maharashtra
Bank of Rajasthan	Shri Govind Ram Seksaria	1943	Udaipur, Rajasthan
Canara Bank	Rakesh Sharma	1906	Bengaluru, Karnataka
Central Bank of India	Rajeev Rishi	21 December, 1911	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Corporation Bank	Jai Kumar Garg	12 March, 1906	Mangalore, Karnataka
Dena Bank	Ashwani Kumar	26 May, 1938	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Federal Bank	Shyam Srinivasan	1945	Kerala
HDFC Bank	Aditya Puri	August, 1994	Mumbai, Maharashtra
ICICI Bank	Chanda Kochhar	Jun, 1994	Mumbai, Maharashtra
IDBI Bank	Kishor Kharat	July, 1964	Mumbai, Maharashtra
Indian Bank	Mahesh Kumar Jain	15 August, 1907	Chennai, Tami l Nadu
Indian Overseas Bank	R. Koteeswaran	10 February, 1937	Chennai, Tami l Nadu
J & K Bank	Mushtaq Ahmad	1 October, 1938	Sri Nagar, J & K
Karur Vysya Bank	K Venkataraman	1916	Karur, Tamil Nadu
Lakshmi Vilas Bank	Parthasarathi Mukherjee	3 November, 1926	Karur, Tamil Nadu
Oriental Bank of Commerce	Animesh Chauhan	19 February, 1943	Gurgaon, Haryana
Punjab and Sind Bank	Jatinder Bir Singh	24 June, 1908	New Delhi, India
Punjab National Bank	Usha Ananthasubramanian	19 May, 1894	New Delhi, India
State Bank of India	Arundhati Bhattacharya	1 July, 1955	Mumbai, Maharashtra
State Bank of Hyderabad	Shri Santanu Mukherjee	8 August, 1941	Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
State Bank of Mysore	N. Krishnamachari	2 October, 1913	Bengaluru, Karnataka
State Bank of Patiala	S. A. Ramesh Rangan,	1917	Patiala, Punjab
State Bank of Travancore	Jeevandas Narayan	12 September, 1945	Trivandrum, Kerala
South Indian Bank	V. G. Mathew	1929	Thrissur, Kerala
Syndicate Bank	Arun Shrivastava	1925	Manipal, Karnataka
UCO Bank	Ravi Krishan Takkar	6 January, 1943	Kolkata, West Bengal
Union Bank of India	Arun Tiwari	11 November, 1919	Mumbai, Maharashtra
United Bank of India	P. Srinivas	1950	Kolkata, West Bengal
Vijaya Bank	Kishore Kumar Sansi	1931	Bengaluru, Karnataka
Yes Bank	Rana Kapoor	2004	Mumbai, Maharashtra

Swachh Swasth Sarvatra Abhiyan – All You Need To Know (GK Purpose)

Introduction

Swachh Swasth Sarvatra is an initiative launched by Union Health Ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Human Resource Development.
The main aim of this initiative is to strengthen health centers in open defecation-free blocks.
This initiative is a part of the Union Government’s chief Swachh Bharat Mission and is focused on the dual objectives of constructing toilets and enabling behavioural change.
Swachh Swasth Sarvatra is the advanced form of Swach Bharat Mission from being Swachh Bharat to Swastha Bharat.

Objective

1. This initiative aims to fulfill the requirements of two complementary programes namely, Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Kayakalp of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

2. Over 700 blocks are declared as Open Defecation Free (ODF) under Swachh Bharat Mission by

Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

3. Rs 10 lakh will be given to each Community Health Centres (CHCs) in ODF blocks of the country

to strengthen the standards of sanitation, hygiene and infection control.

4. “SwachhSwasthaSarvatra” is a much needed programme to achieve open defecation-free India by 2019.

5. Under Kayakalp, one Primary Health Centre (PHCs) in each district is awarded for meeting quality

standards including sanitation and hygiene.

6. Through the initiative, the Gram Panchayat in which the PHC gets awarded will be noted and special focus will be given to make it ODF.

Note : Just Note Down Abbriviations

Components of SwachhSwasthSarvatra

There are three main components of SwachhSwasthSarvatra, they are
1. Community Health Centres (CHCs) in ODF blocks supported to achieve Kayakalp certification.
2. Gram Panchayat of Kayakalp Primary Health Centres (PHCs) prioritized to become ODF.
3. Training in WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene ) of CHC/PHC nominees.

Other initiative also launched along with Swachh Swasth Sarvatra
Another joint initiative, ‘Swasth Bacche Swasth Bharat’ (Healthy Children Healthy India) was also launched on the occasion between Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
It is a booklet that contains tips on leading a healthy life for children.

Quick facts

Name of scheme	Swachh Swasth Sarvatra
Launched by	Union Health Ministry in collaboration     with the Ministry of Drinking Water and  Sanitation and Human Resource Development.
Launched on	December 29, 2016
Launched for	To strengthen health centers in open defecation-free blocks.
Financial outlay	Rs 10 lakh to each Community Health Centres (CHCs) in ODF blocks.
No of blocks	708 blocks

Daily GK : 01 January 2017

1. Mori village in Andhra gets Smart Digital village tag:

• Mori village under Sakhinetipalli mandal in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh placed on India’s digital map by transforming completely into a Smart Digital Village. 
• Mori has bagged the Swachh Village award recently at the national level.

2. Madhya Pradesh plans to develop 1,100 ‘climate-smart’ villages:

• Madhya Pradesh has been planning to develop 1,100 ‘climate-smart’ villages in a period of next 6 years to prepare farmers to manage the climate change risks timely and ensure good productivity.
• According to the plan, 100 villages in each of the 11 agro-climatic zones of the state would be taken up under the National Agriculture Development Programme (NADP) and Indian National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture with a cost about Rs 150 crore every year.

3. PM Narendra Modi's Speech On Demonetisation On New Year's Eve: Highlights

1. Two new housing schemes for urban poor.

2. Under PM Awas Yojana, interest relief of 4 per cent for home loan up to 9 lakhs, 3 per cent for up to 12 lakhs will be given.

3. Under PM Awas Yojana, to give poor and middle class homes, two new schemes have been introduced.

4. In 3 months, 3 crore Kisan Credit Cards will be transformed to RuPay credit cards for farmers.

5. 3 per cent interest waiver on loan up to Rs 2 lakh for construction of houses in rural India under PM Awas Yojana.

6. Government to bear 60 days interest on farm loans taken from District Cooperative Central Bank and primary society.

7. Credit guarantee for small traders to be raised to Rs 2 crore.

Kisan Credit Cards to be changed to Rupay cards for ease of use.

8. Rs 6000 assistance will be provided to pregnant women; the assistance money will be transferred to their account.

4. S P Singh takes over as new Chief Secretary of Telangana:

• Senior IAS officer S P Singh has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Telangana govt.
• Singh is currently serving as Special Chief Secretary in Panchayati Raj department.
• He takes over the charge of office from K Pradeep Chandra, who retired from service on Saturday.

5. Olympic heroes and entertainers recognised in New Year Honours 2017:

• Andy Murray, Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis-Hill are among theOlympic stars recognised in a New Year Honours list. 
• Rio 2016 men's tennis champion Murray and double gold-winning athlete Farah receive knighthoods, while heptathleteEnnis-Hill becomes a dame. 
• A host of Paralympians also receive honours, including 11-times gold medallist dressage rider Lee Pearson who receives a knighthood.

6. British-Indian Shankar Balasubramanian receives Knighthood in New Year's Honours List: 

• An Indian-origin British professor of chemistry, Shankar Balasubramanian, received a Knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the field of science and medicine.
• Sir Shankar Balasubramanian  is an Indian-born British chemist and Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry the University of Cambridge.

7. SBI cuts lending rate by 0.9 per cent:

• The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Sunday slashed its benchmark lending rate by 0.9% across various maturities.
• Following this cut, home, auto, personal and other loans will become cheaper.
• The new rates are effective from January 1, 2017.

8. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar appointed as Chief Justice of Pak:

• Justice Mian Saqib Nisar has taken oath as the 25th Chief Justice of Pakistan. 
• The oath was administered by the country's President Mamnoon Hussain at the President House. 
• The event was attended by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other dignitaries. Justice Nisar has replaced Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali who retired after serving as Chief Justice for 15 months.

9. Somdev Devvarman retires from professional tennis:

• Somdev Devvarman announced his retirement from professional tennis on his official Twitter page on Sunday.
• He last played against Sebastian Fanselow at USA F10 Futures, two years ago. 
• The 31-year-old’s career was hampered by a recurring shoulder injury in 2012.
• Somdev led the Indian charge in the Davis Cup singles since his debut in 2008, and has played 14 rubbers.

10. 7 Year Old Kush Bhagat Creates History at Asia Youth Chess Championship:

• Mumbai’s  Kush Bhagat made history on December 29 after winning three gold medals in the 1st Western Asia Youth Chess Championship held in Al Ain Chess Club, UAE. 
• The second standard student of the NSS Hill Spring International achieved the feat in all the three categories, rapid, blitz and standard, and became the only Indian in the world to bag all the crowns in the competition. 

Most Important Points of PM's Speech 31st Dec 2016

 PM Narendra Modi's Speech On Demonetisation On New Year's Eve: Highlights

1. Two new housing schemes for urban poor.

2. Under PM Awas Yojana, interest relief of 4 per cent for home loan up to 9 lakhs, 3 per cent for up to 12 lakhs will be given.

3. Under PM Awas Yojana, to give poor and middle class homes, two new schemes have been introduced.

4. In 3 months, 3 crore Kisan Credit Cards will be transformed to RuPay credit cards for farmers.

5. 3 per cent interest waiver on loan up to Rs 2 lakh for construction of houses in rural India under PM Awas Yojana.

6. Government to bear 60 days interest on farm loans taken from District Cooperative Central Bank and primary society.

7. Credit guarantee for small traders to be raised to Rs 2 crore. Kisan Credit Cards to be changed to Rupay cards for ease of use.

8. Rs 6000 assistance will be provided to pregnant women; the assistance money will be transferred to their account.

Daily GK 29th - 30th Dec 2016

National Affairs

1. PM Modi launches "BHIM App" for digital transaction

• Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched an Aadhaar-based mobile payment application "BHIM" (Bharat Interface for Money)" at the Digi Dhan Mela event in Talkatora stadium in New Delhi.
• After downloading the BHIM app from the Play store, the user has to register his/her bank account and set up a UPI Pin for it.
• The user’s mobile number will become the payment address.
• The user can send or receive money from friends, family and customers through a mobile number (payment address).
• This can be done using MMID and IFSC.
• The user can also collect money by sending a request and reverse payments if required.

Note:

• Earlier, the Mela was organised at Dehradun, Panaji, Gurugram and Ludhiana.
• As many as 100 such fairs will be organised throughout the country till 14th of April next year.
• The main purpose of the Mela is to boost digital modes of payments.

2. Railway Minister lays the foundation of Nadikudi-Srikalahasti project in AP

• The Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has laid the foundation via video conference from Delhi, for “Nadikudi-Srikalahasti railway project”.
• He also flagged off the Double-Decker train between Visakhapatnam-Tirupathi besides launching hi-speed wi-fi facility in Guntur RS and ETTC new hostel building in Vijayawada.

3. 1.5 crore LPG connections issued to BPL households

• The union Government has achieved its target of providing 1.5 crores free cooking gas (LPG) connections to poor households in less than 8 months under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).
• The scheme is being implemented now across 35 states and Union Territories (UT).
• Earlier, PM Modi had launched PMUJ on 1st May from Balia (Uttar Pradesh) and aims to provide 5 crore free LPG connections to BPL families in three years.

4. Indian Railways announce 10% rebate in vacant train berths

• Indian Railways has announced 10% rebate for the vacant berths after finalisation of the reservation charts and the discount will be based on the basic fare of the last ticket sold in the train.
• It will be effective from 1st of January, 2017 on an experimental basis for six months.
• Now, a passenger can avail the rebate in basic fare (except reservation and super fast charge ) for availing the vacant berths in all reserved categories including AC and Sleeper class (SL) after the finalisation of the chart.

5. Ranveer Singh becomes new ambassador of Thumps Up

• Coca-Cola India has signed Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh as the brand ambassador for its Thums Up brand.
• The company launched new campaign starring Ranveer Singh in its 'Toofani' series.

Note:

• Thums Up is a brand of cola in India and logo is a red "thumbs up".
• It was introduced in the year 1977 to offset the withdrawal of the Coca-Cola Company from India.
• The brand was later bought by Coca-Cola who re-launched it in order to compete against Pepsi.

6. Manish Sisodia releases Delhi Statistical Hand book

• The Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi  Manish Sisodia has released the Delhi Statistical Hand Book -2016 containing data relating to various socio-economic parameters in 23 broad chapters.
• The per capita income of Delhi has been recorded Rs. 2,80,142 and in national level is found to be  Rs. 93,293 during 2015-16.
• The Total number of new vehicles registered in Delhi increased from 5.34 lakhs ( 2014-15) to 8.77 lakhs (2015-16).
• There are 1131 health institutions with 48,131 beds in Delhi as on 31st December 2015.
• The total number of schools in Delhi were 5796 in 2015-16.
• Around 44.31 lakh children were enrolled at different levels during 2015-16 in these schools as compared to 44.13 lakhs during 2014-15.
• Under Ladli scheme 1.74 lakhs girls got financial benefits during 2015-16.

 Obituaries

7. Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher passes away

• American actress, writer, producer  Carrie Fisher (60-year) known for playing Princess Leia in the 'Star Wars' film series passed away in Los Angeles (USA).
• Fisher and her mother are the subjects of the 2016 documentary Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.Itpremiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

National & International Appointment

8. S.P.Vaid appointed as  new J&K police chief

• The Jammu and Kashmir government has appointed Dr. Shesh Pal Vaid (1986-batch IPS officer) as new Director General of Police (DGP) of the state.
• He will succeed K Rajendra Kumar who was appointed in May 2014  and extended term of service ends on 31st December 2016.
• Presently, Mr. Vaid is working as Special DGP (Law and Order).

Banking & Finance

9. BoB Signs MoU with HFL to provide dairy loans to farmers

• Bank of Baroda (BoB) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Heritage Foods Ltd (HFL) to provide dairy loans to farmers through the lender’s branches across the country.
• This will increase former productivity and earnings BoB exhibited Highest Ever Loss by a PSB.
• Heritage Foods is in the business of procurement, processing and sale of milk and milk products.

10. Lakshmi Vilas Bank launches QIP to raise Rs 600 crore

• "Lakshmi Vilas Bank" has launched Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) to raise over Rs 599.88 crore by issuing 4.25 crore shares in domestic or international markets.
• In a meeting, the Committee of Directors for Capital Raising of the bank has approved the floor price for the QIP issue at Rs 141.15 per equity share.

Note: 

• Lakshmi Vilas Bank offers a wide range of services such as Deposits, loan, MSME, Online Services, NRI services, Wealth Management Services and Personal banking services etc.

11. RBI extends loan repayment window to 90 days

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked lenders to provide borrowers to 90 days (existing 60 days) for repayment of housing, car, farm and other loans worth up to 1 crore rupees.
• The dispensation will apply to dues payable between 1st November and 31st December.
• Now, borrowers together get 90 days from getting the account classified under non-performing asset (NPA) category.
• Last month, the RBI had provided additional 60 days for repayment of loans worth up to Rs 1 crore.

Sports

12. Ana Ivanovic announces retirement from Tennis

• Former world No1 and 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic (29-year) from Serbia has retired from tennis.
• Ivanovic had held the top spot for 12 weeks in 2008, she also claimed her sole Grand Slam by winning the French Open.
• She was also the runner-up at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open.