Current Affairs Questions & Answers - Jun 19, 2017

ANSWER: Swami Atmasthananda Maharaj

Explanation:
Swami Atmasthananda Maharaj, president of the Belur-headquartered Ramakrishna Math and Mission, died of age-related ailments in Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan on 18^th June 2017. He was 98.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the demise a personal loss.

Swami Atmasthananda had arrived in Rajkot in 1966 to head the RKM Ashram there. It was in Rajkot that a young Modi, inspired by Swami Vivekananda, reached the Ashram to take refuge.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who visited the ailing Maharaj hours before his death, condoled the passing away of the revered monk.

Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi also condoled the death.

Born on the holy Buddha Purnima day in May 1919 at Sabajpur near Dhaka, the Swamiji joined the Ramakrishna Order at Belur Math on January 3, 1941 at the age of 22 years.

ANSWER: Trade

Explanation:
According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s current account deficit (CAD) narrowed during 2016-17 fiscal owing to a contraction in the country’s trade deficit.

The CAD for the last fiscal narrowed down to 0.7% of the GDP from that of 1.1% in 2015-16 due to contraction in the trade deficit.

Country’s trade deficit narrowed down to $112.4 billion in 2016-17 from $130.1 billion in 2015-16.

Further, the net FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) inflows in 2016-17 also got narrowed to $35.6 billion from $36 billion during 2015-16.

Current Account: Know More

• The current account is the net difference between inflows and outflows of foreign currencies.
• Current Account transactions increase or decrease national income.
• It includes all transactions of export and import of goods and services, investment income, and unilateral transfers.
• It consists of two major items (a) merchandise exports (credit to home country) and imports (debit to home country) (b) invisible exports (sale of services) and imports (purchase of services).
• If the sum of all these transactions is negative then it is called as current account deficit.

ANSWER: 41

Explanation:
Switzerland has ratified automatic exchange of financial account information with India and 40 other countries.

This will facilitate Switzerland to share information about suspected black money with India and other 40 nations.

According to the Swiss Federal Council, the implementation of the exchange sharing agreement has been planned for 2018 and hence the first set of data is likely to be exchanged in 2019.

The Swiss Federal Council is a top governing body of Switzerland. The exact date of automatic information exchange would be notified by the Swiss Federal Council soon as there were no procedural delays for the implementation.

However, the Swiss banks have started seeking new safeguards so as to protect the details of their clients against misuse that could expose them to crimes such as kidnapping or blackmail.

So, the Swiss Council had stated that they will prepare a situation report before the first exchange of data.

As per the process, it will be ascertained whether the states and territories concerned have put in place a standard, especially those concerning confidentiality and data security.

It will be assessed whether the democratic processes in these states and territories are robust or not and whether corruption is high or not etc.

Switzerland has long been perceived as one of the safest havens for black money stashed abroad by Indians.

The participation of Switzerland which is the world’s largest home for overseas wealth in the information sharing agreement would be a major boost in ending tax avoidance.

As a step towards fighting black money stashed abroad, ‘Joint Declaration‘ for implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) was signed between India and Switzerland on November 2016.

Switzerland agreed for the introduction of the AEOI (Automatic Exchange of information) on tax matters under the guidance of G20, OECD and other global organisations.

AEOI: Know More

• AEOI, based on Common Reporting Standards, when implemented fully would put in place a system wherein bulk taxpayer information will be sent periodically from the source country of income to the country of residence of taxpayer.
• It would enable India to get access to information virtually from almost all the countries in the world including offshore financial centres.
• Switzerland has said the AEOI will be implemented based on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI).
• The MCAA is based on the international standard for the exchange of information developed by the OECD.
• India joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information on 3rd June, 2015.
• According to the OECD, MCAA is a multilateral framework agreement that provides a standardised and efficient mechanism to facilitate the automatic exchange of information and avoids the need for the conclusion of several bilateral agreements.
• Black money is that amount of money which is liable for taxation, but on which tax is not paid or evaded. It is usually received in cash from underground economic activity and, as such, is not taxed.

ANSWER: Vivid Sydney

Explanation:
The World’s largest festival of light, music and ideas, Vivid Sydney has entered into Guinness World Book of Records.

The Guinness World Record have given the Vivid Sydney installation Dreamscape the title for the ‘Largest interactive lighting display’.

The annual outdoor lighting festival installation Dreamscape has been made up of 124,128 lights and links the entire Circular Quay precinct beginning from the Sydney Opera House to the Sydney Harbour Bridge into one cohesive canvas of light.

Moreover, 3D interactive modelling present in the control room in Circular Quay allows the participants to change the color, texture and pattern of the lighting across the cityscape.

With this record, the Vivid Sydney has trumped its own 2016 predecessor, Dress circle that Circular Quay.

This year the Vivid Sydney had added an additional one km of lights to achieve the record. With this record, the annual outdoor lighting festival has trumped its own 2016 predecessor, Dress Circle which also illuminated the Circular Quay.

This year the annual outdoor lighting festival had added an additional one km of lights to achieve this record.

Vivid Sydney: Know More

• Vivid Sydney is an annual outdoor lighting festival held in Sydney city of Australia.
• The festival includes immersive light installations and projections as well as performances from local and international musicians.
• The festival takes place over a period of three weeks in the winter months of May and June.
• The highlight of the festival are the light sculptures and multimedia interactive works that will transform various buildings and landmarks around the Sydney Central Business District such as Opera House, Harbour Bridge into a cohesive canvas of light.

ANSWER: 17th June

Explanation:
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought was observed globally on 17 June 2017 with a campaign ‘Our land. Our home. Our Future’ to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification.

This year, the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought examined the important link between land degradation and migration.

The day reminds everyone that land degradation neutrality is achievable through problem-solving, strong community involvement and co-operation at all levels.

Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations.

Over 250 million people are directly affected by desertification, and about one billion people in over one hundred countries are at risk.

These people include many of the world‘ s poorest, most marginalized and politically weak citizens.

In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 17 as the Day through its resolution to promote public awareness and to implement United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in countries experiencing serious drought and desertification particularly in Africa.

ANSWER: Aadhaar

Explanation:
Stepping up its fight against tax evasion, the Centre has made it mandatory to quote the Aadhaar number for opening bank accounts and for transactions exceeding INR 50,000.

With the amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 notified earlier this month, banks will have to demand both Aadhaar and the Permanent Account Number (PAN) for verification of identity, starting June 1.

By the Finance Act, 2017, the Government had made it mandatory to seed PAN with Aadhaar and quote it in income-tax returns.

However, the Supreme Court had held that only those individuals who possess an Aadhaar card need to link it with PAN.

The new rules mandate existing bank account-holders to provide their Aadhaar details by December 31, while new applicants will be expected to quote either the 12-digit number or offer proof that they have applied for Aadhaar enrolment.

Small accounts - those with a limit of INR 50,000 - can be opened without Aadhaar, but only at bank branches that are core-banking enabled, or where it is "possible to manually monitor" such accounts.

Banks are expected to ensure that foreign remittances are not credited to such accounts, and that the stipulated limits on monthly and annual transactions and balance are not breached.

According to the new rules, "The small account shall initially remain operational for 12 months, and thereafter for a further period of 12 months if the holder of such an account provides evidence before the banking company of having applied for any of the officially valid documents within 12 months."

The small account will be monitored, and in case of suspicion of money laundering, or financing of terrorism or such other high-risk activities, the identity of the account-holder will be verified by Aadhaar, or proof of having enrolled for it.

It is a step forward in promoting transparency and curbing benami holdings in financial institutions, including banks.

ANSWER: Helmut Kohl

Explanation:
Helmut KohlHelmut Kohl, the chancellor who presided over both German reunification and the creation of the eurozone, has died aged 87.

Kohl was a towering figure of European politics in the second half of the 20th century, serving as Germany’s chancellor for a record 16 years from from 1982 to 1998.

A photograph showing Kohl holding hands with French president François Mitterrand at the Douaumont cemetery in Verdun became the defining symbol of Franco-German conciliation after decades of bloody conflict between the two countries.

The gesture was made even more poignant by the fact that Mitterrand himself had been injured at Verdun in the second world war while Kohl had lost a brother in the same conflict.

Helmut Kohl: Know More

• Born: 3 April 1930, Ludwigshafen, Germany
• Died: 16 June 2017, Ludwigshafen, Germany
• Spouse: Maike Richter (m. 2008–2017), Hannelore Kohl (m. 1960–2001)
• Major Books: Der Weg zur Wende

ANSWER: Know India Programme

Explanation:
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated Know India Programme, KIP, for young overseas Indians at a function in New Delhi on 18^th June 2017.

It aims at promoting awareness on different facets of life in India and the progress made by the country in various fields such as economic and education.

The Know India Programme is a three-week orientation programme for the Indian diaspora.

It provides a unique forum for students and young professionals of Indian origin to visit India, share their views, expectations and experiences and develop closer bonds with the contemporary India.

On the occasion, the External Affairs Minister announced opening of new 149 post office passport seva kendras in the country soon.

Mrs Swaraj announced will take the total number of such Kendras to 251.

MEA also said that government is making all out efforts that a person should not travel more than 50 kilometres to get his/her passport.

ANSWER: May 2017

Explanation:
According to NASA, May 2017 was the second hottest month in a span of 137 years when modern record-keeping of average global temperatures had commenced.

The temperature of May 2017 was 0.88 degrees Celsius warmer than the mean May temperature from 1951-1980.

May 2016 is the hottest on record with 0.93 degrees Celsius warmer than the May mean temperature. May 2017 temperature was 0.05 degrees Celsius cooler than the temperature recorded in May 2016.

It was only 0.01 degrees Celsius warmer than the third warmest May, which occurred in 2014.

NASA Space Studies: Know More

• NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) does the monthly analysis of global temperature.
• This is by analysing the publicly available data acquired by about 6,300 meteorological stations around the world, ship- and buoy-based instruments measuring sea-surface temperature.
• It also includes the Antarctic research stations.
• The modern global temperature record commenced around the year 1880.