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Current Affairs - Sep 8, 2018

current affairs 2018

Power Subsidy to be under DBT

  • The Central government is to bring new rules in electricity subsidy.
  • It has proposed an amendment to Electricity Act, 2003 (currently draft) to make Direct Benefit Transfer compulsory for providing any subsidy.
  • This will be for all the categories of consumers in any state.
  • This step is taken to curb the practice of debt accumulation by distribution companies. 
  • The consumers will get subsidy directly in bank accounts via DBT.

Current Account Deficit Widens

  • India's current Account Deficit CAD widens to 2.4% of GDP in the first quarter.
  • The CAD stood at $15.8 billion (in Q1 2018-19) compared to $15 billion in last year's Q1.
  • The widening of the CAD on a year-on-year basis was primarily due to a higher trade deficit.
  • The trade deficit is at $45.7 billion as compared with $41.9 billion in 2017

India, Lanka begin the Joint Naval exercise

  • Three Indian naval ships reached Trincomalee for Joint Naval Exercise, SLINEX 2018.
  • This will be the sixth edition of the bilateral exercise between India and Sri Lanka. It was initiated in 2005
  • The exercise began on 7th September 2018.
  • The inaugural ceremony of the exercise was held on board Sri Lankan Navy’s SLNS Sayurala.
  • The exercise is being conducted in two phases.

Visa-less entry for Kartarpur Sahib, Pakistan

  • As the Sikh community all set to celebrate 155th Birth Anniversary 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev next year; Pakistan government is likely to allow ‘visa-less entry’ to pilgrims headed for Kartarpur Sahib.
  • The Kartarpur Gurdwara is located in Narowal district of Punjab province near the Indian border and is revered by Sikhs due to the belief that the founder of Sikhism Guru Nanak died there.
  • A corridor will be made to visit the Gurdwara for visa-less entry, but tickets may be charged for the visit. The official announcement is yet to be made in this regard.
  • There has been a longstanding demand in India for opening a corridor for the Sikh pilgrims between Kartarpur Sahib in Narowal district of Pakistan's Punjab province and Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur- the two sites, barely 6km apart.

2nd World Hindu Congress in Chicago

  • The Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu is on a two-day visit to USA on September 7-9.
  • The VP will address the 2nd World Hindu Congress being held in Chicago on the occasion of 125th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s Historic Speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893.
  • VP is also expected to participate in a programme organized by 14 Telugu Associations of the US.
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