Weekly CA Quiz: August 2017 4th week

The Supreme Court of India pronounced that individual privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar ruled that the right to privacy is intrinsic to life and liberty, thus coming under Article 21, and comes under the various fundamental freedoms in PART III of the Indian Constitution.

Right to equality, Right to freedom, Right against exploitation, Right to freedom of religion, Cultural and Educational rights, and Right to constitutional remedies are the 6 fundamental rights of India. Now Right to Privacy is the 7th Fundamental Right added to the Indian Constitution.

Manipur’s Nungthaang Tampak village has emerged as the ‘100 percent computer literate’ not only in the state but in the entire North East.

Andhra Pradesh’s Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd (EPDCL) and the Southern Power Distribution Corporation of AP Ltd. (SPDCL) have become the first state-owned distribution companies in India to accept payments through Bharat QR.

Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma is back on top as Asia’s richest man following gains in the company’s earnings and share price. Jack Ma is worth $37.4 billion, according to the Forbes real-time billionaires list.

This is the first climate-smart landscape management plan for snow leopard conservation in the world and is evidence of the government of Nepal’s high level of commitment to this goal.

The government has clarified that selling of space for advertisements in print media would attract 5 and 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST), depending on the terms of the contract between the newspaper, advertisement agency and the client.

Of the 56 regional rural banks (RRBs), Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank and Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank recorded net profit of more than Rs 150 crore during 2016-17. These are among the 49 RRBs that recorded a profit in 2016-17.

Walmart and Google have announced a new partnership that will enable voice shopping through Google Assistant, Google’s virtual assistant that lives on devices like its smart speaker, Google Home.

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has announced that the 2018 ITTF Team World Cup (second most prestigious team tournament after the World Championships) will be held in London from February 22 to 25 next year.

Rajiv Bansal has taken over as the Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, succeeding Ashwani Lohani, who has now become the Chairman of Railway Board.

Country’s oldest cinematographer Ramanda Sengupta has passed away. His first film as a full-time cinematographer was in “Purbaraag” directed by Ardhendu Mukherjee in 1946.

Tony de Brum, the former Marshall Islands foreign minister who became a leading advocate for the landmark Paris Agreement and an internationally recognised voice in the fight against climate change, has passed away.

Asia Index Private Ltd has announced the launch of S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index. It has been launched to track the performance of state-run companies in which the central government has divested its stake. S&P BSE Bharat 22 has been licensed to ICICI Prudential AMC for development of an exchange traded fund (ETF) based on the index.

The panel under the chairmanship of Mines Additional Secretary K Rajeswara Rao mandated to review the National Mineral Policy, 2008, and suggest a new framework will submit its report by October-end.

Seeking to help and assist women in distress, the Department of Women Development and Child Welfare inWomen Helpline 181.

Typhoon Hato smashed into Hong Kong with hurricane force winds and heavy rains in the worst storm the city has seen for five years, shutting down the stock market and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

New Zealand’s oldest cricketer Tom Pritchard dies aged 100

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has penned a book titled ‘I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric & Resolve’. The book conveys what it was like to be at the helm of RBI in those turbulent but exciting times, said publisher HarperCollins India. The book will launch on September 4, exactly a year after Rajan quit as RBI governor.

Chief Minister Navven Patnaik conferred the Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence for 2016 to Prof. Digambar Behera

Indian-African American India LaRoda has been crowned Miss India America 2017 at the 25th anniversary gala, in Los Angeles, California

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has penned a book titled ‘I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric & Resolve’. The book conveys what it was like to be at the helm of RBI in those turbulent but exciting times, said publisher HarperCollins India. The book will launch on September 4, exactly a year after Rajan quit as RBI governor.

New Zealand’s oldest cricketer Tom Pritchard dies aged 100

Top stock exchange BSE’s board has approved another five-year term for its chief Ashish Chauhan.

Natasha, a trans woman who hails from Kolkata, was named the first Miss Transqueen India in the Transgender beauty pageant held in Gurugram.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the UEFA Player of the Year award for the third time in four years. He beat Barcelona star Lionel Messi and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to win the award.

The India football team has wonSouth Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-15 Championship by defeating Nepal.

The banking sector is saddled with non-performing assets (NPAs) of over Rs. 8 lakh crore, of which Rs. 6 lakh crore is with public sector banks (PSBs). Under the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2017, the RBI can issue directions to banks for resolution of stressed assets.

The government has clarified that banks importing gold and precious metals will have to pay 3 per cent tax under the GST which can be claimed as input tax credit.

Spice Digital Limited (SDL) has received the final licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), allowing the company to process bill payments as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) in the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).

Island of Tuvalu was the least visited country in 2016, according to a report by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

The Indian Coast Guard Ship Varuna, which was part of the First Training Squadron of the Navy, was decommissioned with full armed forces honours at a ceremony held at the south jetty of the Southern Naval Command.

Leading bank in the public sector segment, Bank of Baroda has announced signing of an MoU with Finolex Plasson Industries in order to finance farmers for installation of Micro Irrigation system for their fields through.

The portal, nationalsportstalenthunt.com, aims to provide a direct link to help kids and youngsters reach the ministry and senior sports administrators with their achievements. Anyone over the age of eight can register and upload their bio-data or videos on the website with the talented ones shortlisted for further specialised training.

The Madhya Pradesh government has contributed Rs. 2 crore to Assam Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the prevailing flood situation in the state.

Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa inaugurated the 56th annual three-day conference of Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Bengaluru.

Lewis Hamilton celebrated his record-equaling 68th pole position with victory at the Belgian Grand Prix, beating Sebastian Vettel.

Parliament of Kyrgyzstan has approved Sapar Isakov for the post of the Central Asian country’s new Prime Minister.

Top seeded Saurav Ghoshal and Joshna Chinappa defeated their respective opponents to win the men’s and women’s singles titles at the 74th National Squash Championships in Noida.

Horror film director Tobe Hooper, who set the movie world abuzz with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974 has passed away.

Double Olympian and one of the biggest and brightest stars in Indian football history, Ahmed Khan has passed away.

SAMADHAN (S-Smart Policing and Leadership; A -Aggressive Strategy, M-Motivation and Training, A-Actionable Intelligence; D-Dashboard for Development and Key Performance Indicators, H-Harnessing Technology for Development and Security, A-Action Plan for each Theatre and N-No access to Financing) to control the situation in the LWE affected states.

Bengaluru International Airport Limited has signed an agreement with Accenture to set up a co-innovation centre that will help incubate and develop digital solutions to create an “airport of the future”.

Kenya joins more than 40 other countries that have banned, partly banned or taxed single use plastic bags, including China, France, Rwanda, and Italy.
Kenyans producing, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000, as the world’s toughest law aimed at reducing plastic pollution came into effect.

The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) launched the world’s first diamond futures contracts to provide exporters with a hedging tool.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2017:

Sardar Singh (Hockey) and Devendra Jhajaria (Para Athlete)

Devendra Jhajaria is the first para athlete to receive India’s highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2017

Following entities were conferred with Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskarar for the year 2017: Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO), The Golf Foundation and Reliance Foundation

Noted Kannada Singer-musician L.N. Shastry, who was battling cancer has passed away.

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company (CHOICE) has come up with a ‘Point-of-Sale’- ‘PoS – Easy Bima Plan’ product targeted at the mass-market segment.

Kazakhstan
The IAEA opened the bank to ensure the supply of nuclear fuel in the event of disruption due to political or market problems.

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated a hanging bridge built across the Chambal river at Kota to the nation. The bridge, over Chambal River, has the longest main span of 350 metre in the country and will also act as a bypass to Kota City.

Gobindobhog rice,a speciality from Burdwan district of West Bengal, has got the geographical indication (GI) status.
As a result of getting the GI tag, as the certification is also called, rice from other regions or rice of other varieties cannot be branded as ‘Gobindobhog’.

Attorney General K.K. Venugopal informed the Supreme Court that the existing deadline of September 30 for linking Aadhaar to various government schemes for benefits will be extended till December 31.

In a major reform concerning the Indian Army, the government has accepted the first batch of 65 recommendations of the Lt General D.B. Shekatkar (retd) committee which will result in redeployment of 57,000 personnel for various other required duties.

The Cabinet approved raising a levy on luxury cars and sports utility vehicles to 25 per cent from 15 per cent.

A set of two commemorative postage stamps will be issued jointly by the Government of India and Canada on the theme of Indian festival Diwali, which will be released on September 21, this year.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Brazil for cooperation in the fields of Zebu Cattle Genomics and Assisted Reproductive Technologies.

New Development Bank (NDB) has approved USD 1.4 billion loans for sustainable development projects in China, India and Russia.
For India, the Bank has approved USD 470 million loan for Madhya Pradesh’s Multi-Village Rural Drinking Water Supply Scheme Project.

Google has pledged $1 million relief to flood-hit areas of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. It is committing $1 million from Google.org and Google employees to Goonj and Save the Children for their relief efforts.

A major decline in manufacturing and the lingering effects of demonetisation sharply pulled down India’s economic growth rate in the first quarter of the current fiscal ended June to 5.7 %, as compared to 7.9% in the same period a year ago

The 2-day Retail India Summit and Expo (RISE 2017) opened in New Delhi. Udyog Software, a pioneer in providing end-to-end tax and business automation solutions and part of Adaequare Group launched complete retail solution in the Expo.

In a novel pro-governance initiative, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has declared Friday as the day of the week when he will meet with the poor and underprivileged sections of Andhra Pradesh society to hear their grievances and try to resolve them

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd, has been given scheduled bank status by RBI. Ujjivan SFB commenced its operations as a Small Finance Bank with effect from February 1, 2017.

Senior IAS officer Rajiv Gauba has taken charge as the Union Home Secretary. He took charge from Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978 batch Rajasthan cadre IAS officer who superannuated from service.

Rajiv Mehrishi will replace Shashi Kant Sharma

After Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Joti appointed as the Chief Achal Kumar Joti, is vacant post has been filled by Sunil Arora. Om Prakash Rawat is the other Election Commissioner.

The prestigious literary award, the Saraswati Samman for 2016 has been presented to Konkani writer Mahabaleshwar Sail by Union minister for commerce and industry Nirmala Sitharaman.

Badminton ace PV Sindhu, who recently won Silver at the World Championship, has been appointed as the first brand ambassador of tyre maker Bridgestone India.

The launch happened from the Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

The 44.4 metre tall PSLV-C39 in its 41st flight was carrying the 1,425 kg satellite built and tested by ISRO along with a consortium of six small and medium industries.