CURRENT AFFAIRS AUGUST 24

1. FATF Asia-Pacific Group blacklists Pakistan

The Asia-Pacific Group of the global watchdog for terror financing and money laundering, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has put Pakistan in the Enhanced Expedited Follow Up List (Blacklist) for its failure to meet its standards.

• Pakistan was non-compliant on 32 of the 40 compliance parameters of terror financing and money laundering.
• On 11 effectiveness parameters of terror financing and money laundering, Pakistan was adjudged as low on 10.
• Pakistan could not convince the 41-member plenary to upgrade it on any parameter.

2. Discovery, WWF tie up to preserve Sundarbans

To help save the world’s only mangrove tiger habitat, Discovery India and WWF India have partnered with the Forest Directorate, the government of West Bengal and local communities in the Sundarbans.

• Its vision is to create climate-smart villages in the Sundarbans.
• WWF India and Discovery India are working with government agencies, civil society partners and scientific institutions to build the capacity of village panchayats helping secure livelihoods, biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• The project will use technology to solve several of the issues faced in the region.

3. President of India inaugurates the First World Youth Conference on Kindness

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the first World Youth Conference on Kindness in New Delhi.

• The first World Youth Conference on Kindness is being organised by the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Human Resource Development.
• The conference aims to impart critical competencies (i.e. empathy, compassion, mindfulness and critical inquiry) in global youth to inspire, empower and enable them to transform themselves and build long-lasting peace in their communities.
• Youth leaders, representing over 27 countries, are participating in this conference.

4. MoU signed between AWHO and Tata Realty

A historic milestone was reached with the signing of an MoU between the Indian Army and Tata Realty & Housing.         

• The MoU enables the personnel of Indian Army to immediately take over dwelling units in 13 ‘Ready to Move in’ projects of Tata Realty pan India spread over 10 cities including Gurugram, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune among others at a discount ranging from 11% to 27%.
• This also heralds a new era for the Army Welfare Housing Organization (AWHO), which has always endeavoured to provide quality housing for Army personnel who are deployed in remote locations across the country.
• AWHO will now facilitate the acquisition of homes from reputed private builders at discounted rather than building them for the soldiers.

5. RTGS system to open at 7 AM from August 26 as RBI extends operating hours

Transfer of funds through the high-value RTGS system will be available from 7 am instead of 8 am from August 26.

• At present, the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System is available for customer transactions from 0800 hours to 1800 hours and for inter-bank transactions from 0800 hours to 1945 hours.
• The extended customer transactions timing will be applicable from August 26.
• Earlier this month, the RBI had decided to allow round-the-clock fund transfers through the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) from December this year in order to promote digital transactions.

6. RBI allows e-mandates on cards for recurring transactions from September 1

Any individual who makes regular payments to merchants through debit or credit cards now have the option to automate payments, similar to the option available while using net banking facilities.

• With the new facility, customers who conduct a similar transaction using their cards every month can now skip the two-factor authentication process for that particular transaction.
• The Reserve Bank of India permitted processing of e-mandate on credit and debit cards for recurring transactions.
• However, the limit for these automated card transactions has been capped at Rs 2,000.

7. Acko signs a pact with ZestMoney to offer credit insurance

Acko General Insurance announced a partnership with ZestMoney, a consumer lending fin-tech company.

• This collaboration will help ZestMoney customers to cover their instalment payments during times of crisis.
• Acko an InsurTech company offers personalized underwriting, micro insurance products, and automated micro claims process.

8. BookMyForex, YES Bank tie-up for a foreign exchange travel card

BookMyForex.com, a marketplace for foreign exchange and remittances, has partnered with YES Bank to launch a co-branded multi-currency forex travel card for Indian overseas travellers.

• Customers will now be able to buy forex travel cards at the click of a button on the BookMyForex platform and get free doorstep delivery across major cities in India.
• BookMyForex will offer zero margin or exact inter-bank rates 24x7 on forex card sales.

9. WCD Ministry distributed Poshan Abhiyaan Awards for 2018-19

Ministry of Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani gave away the Poshan Abhiyaan Awards for 2018-19 in different categories at a function in New Delhi.

• The awards were given to the States, Districts, Blocks and Anganwadi Workers for their contributions in scaling up the Abhiyaan and ensuring that it reaches every household in the country.
• The awards are aimed at motivating the primary stakeholders and encourage large scale citizen participation in creating awareness to combat malnutrition.
• As many ad 363 awards were given and 22 crore rupees were disbursed to the awardees.

10. BCCI awards title sponsorship rights to Paytm for five more years

One 97 Communications Pvt. Ltd, owners of Paytm, retained the sponsorship rights for BCCI's International and domestic matches with a winning bid of Rs 3.80 crore per match.

• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the deal with the Paytm, which had acquired the rights in 2015 for a four-year period.
• The winning bid was INR 3.80 crores which are at 58% incremental value in comparison to the previous per match value of INR 2.4 crores.