Daily Current Affairs (CNC) – June 12 , 2018

UPSC RELEVANT TOPICS INĀ  NEWS

TOPIC 1 : Turtles [ Prelims]

  • The sacred waters of temple ponds across northeast India have emerged as safe havens for many threatened species of freshwater turtles, including the Nilssonia nigricans or Black Softshell turtle.
  • These turtles have been declared extinct in the wild by the IUCN Red list.
  • In addition to N. nigricans, tests at the Nagshankar temple pond in Assam have confirmed the presence of two more species ā€” Nilssonia gangetica or Indian softshell turtle, classified as Vulnerable, and Chitra indica or South Asian narrow-headed softshell turtle, listed as Endangered by the IUCN.

Facts to be remembered for Prelims : Nilssonia nigricans-extinct; Nilssonia gangetica-vulnerable; Chitra Indica -endangered.

 

TOPIC 2 : Maternity Scheme [ Prelims, GS 2]

  • Under the maternity benefit programme Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), pregnant women and lactating mothers are offered a cash incentive of ā‚¹6,000 on the birth of their first child.
  • Cash is provided as partial compensation for wage loss, to reduce maternal mortality and malnutrition levels among children.
  • The scheme is being implemented on a 60:40 cost-sharing basis with the State governments.

Facts to be remembered for Prelims : pregnant & lactating; 6000; first child; cash for wage loss; 60:40.

Usage of this news in GS 2 : The above information can be used in a question on malnutrition.

 

TOPIC 3 : BIMSTEC [ Prelims, GS 2 ]

  • India will host the first military exercise of the BIMSTEC group focussing on counter-terrorism in September.
  • BIMSTEC was set up in 1997 and includes India, Bangladesh, Bhutan Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
  • BIMSTEC countries held a disaster management exercise in 2017, but this is the first military exercise of the grouping.

Facts to be remembered for Prelims : 1997; India, Bangladesh, Bhutan Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.; first military exercise.

Usage of this news in GS 2 : The above information can be used in a question on South Asia, India and its neighbours, etc.

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TOPIC 4 : Business Correspondents [ Prelims , GS 3 ]

  • The government will work to enable all 2.9 lakh common service centres (CSCs) in the country to operate as business correspondents of banks.
  • Business correspondents are retail agents engaged by banks for providing services at locations other than a bank branch or an ATM.
  • Permitted services include identification of borrowers, collection and preliminary processing of loan applications, collection of small value deposit, disbursal of small value credit, sale of micro insurance, MF products and pension products.

Facts to be remembered for Prelims : meaning of Business correspondents; permitted services.

Usage of this news in GS 3 : The above information can be used in aĀ  question on financial inclusion.

 

TOPIC 5 : Credit Enhancement Fund [ Prelims , GS 3 ]

  • The government is set to unveil a ā‚¹500-crore credit enhancement fund next month to facilitate infrastructure investments by insurance and pension funds.
  • The fund was first announced in the Budget for fiscal year 2016-17.
  • The initial corpus of the fund, to be sponsored by IIFCL (India Infrastructure Finance Company), will be ā‚¹500 crore, and it will operate as a non-banking finance company.

Facts to be remembered for Prelims: 500 crore; 2016-17; IIFCL

Usage of this news in GS 3 : The above information can be used in aĀ  question on infrastructure.

 

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