News on 1-11-2016

1. EU and Canada sign Ceta free trade deal

I. The EU and Canada signed a free trade deal on 31st October 2016 that was almost derailed last week by objections from French-speaking Belgians , exposing the difficulties of securing agreement from 28 member states as Britain prepares for Brexit talks.
II. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and top EU officials signed the comprehensive economic and trade agreement, known as Ceta, paving the way for most import duties to be removed early next year. However, the treaty needs the approval of at least 38 national and regional parliaments, including the UK’s, to take full force.


2. PM inaugurates Chhattisgarh foundation day celebrations; Unveils Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya's statue

I. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated Chhattisgarh's 16th foundation day celebrations in Naya Raipur. The Prime Minister will later address people gathered on the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee ground, where the 5-day long Rajyotsava is being held.
II. Chhattisgarh Governor B D Tandon and Chief Minister Raman Singh are also present at the site. Mr Modi unveiled the statue of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya in Naya Raipur. He also dedicate to people, 'Ekatma Path' and the Bus Rapid Transport System in the city.


3. Twitter India head Rishi Jaitly quits

I. Rishi Jaitly, Twitter's India head who helped popularise the adoption of the micro-blogging website
among government departments to respond to citizen queries, has quit the company.
II. Jaitly was the vice-president for Asia Pacific, which includes India, West Asia and North Africa for Twitter. He made the announcement on a twitter storm 01st November 2016.


4. Kerala becomes open defecation free state

I. Kerala has become the third Open Defecation Free (ODF) state in the country. The announcement was made on the state’s foundation day on 01st November, 2016. Earlier, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim had declared themselves Open Defecation Free.


5. NHPC commissions 50 MW wind power project in Rajasthan

I. State-run NHPC has announced commissioning of a 50 MW wind power project in Rajasthan. NHPC has commissioned its 50 MW wind power project in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
II. The project consist of 25 nos wind turbine generators each of 2 MW capacity, which has been successfully synchronised with grid in October 2016.


6. Centre notifies rules for Real Estate Act for five UTs

I. The Centre notified the rules for Real Estate Act, that seeks to regulate the housing sector besides bringing transparency and ensuring timely completion of projects, which will be applicable for five Union Territories-The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Lakshadweep.
II. The rules state that a developer will be required to refund or pay compensation to the allottees with an interest rate of SBI's highest Marginal Cost of Lending Rate plus two per cent in case of delay in project.It stipulates that such payment to the allottee be made within 45 days of it becoming due. 


7. Banks to report frauds of Rs 1 crore and above to CVC

I. With several high-ticket alleged frauds like Vijay Mallya loan default case coming to fore, Central
Vigilance Commission has now made it mandatory for the public sector banks to report to it all such matters involving funds over Rs one crore.
II. The Commission will also call regular monthly meetings of senior officials of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), CBI and banks to monitor probe in suspected bank frauds of Rs 50 crore and above.


8. Finance Ministry releases Rs 1,093 crore for restoration of infrastructure in J&K

I. The finance ministry released first installment of special assistance of Rs 1,093.34 crore for repair and permanent restoration of damaged public buildings in Jammu and Kashmir in pursuance of the announcement made by the Prime Minister last November.A total sum of Rs 2,000 crore has been provided for permanent restoration of damaged Infrastructure such as schools, colleges, hospitals, bus stations and other critical public infrastructure under Prime Minister Reconstruction Plan for J&K.
II. The Prime Minister Reconstruction Plan for J&K was announced by Narendra Modi on November 7, 2015, for Rs 80,068 crore for post flood relief and restoration and long-term development of the state, including assistance for small trade and business, power, new and renewable energy.


9. India and Palestine inks MoU to setup Palestine-Indo techno park in Ramallah

I. India and Palestine on 31st October 2016 signed a MoU for setting up a Palestine-India Techno Park in Ramallah, Palestine. During the visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to Palestine in October last year, the announcement for setting up of park was made.India has announced a grant of $12 million for setting up the park with payment of $3 million each on half-yearly basis for two years.
II. The Palestinian side has made the land available for the project.President of India, during his 2015 visit to Palestine announced five projects with regards to solidarity with Palestinian crisis. These projects includes a Techno Park in Ramallah ($12 million), Palestine Institute of Diplomacy ($4.5 million), and India-Palestine Centre of Excellence in ICT in Gaza ($1 million).

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