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Daily Current Affairs – 24th April 2015, Friday


1. 
National Panchayati Raj Day observed today

i. National Panchayati Raj Day observed every year across India on 24 April.

ii. The Government of India decided in consultation with the States to celebrate 24th April as National Panchayati Raj Day.

iii. Ministry of Panchayati Raj organises National Conference on 24th April every year to commemorate the National Panchayati Raj Diwas.

iv. The day is observed to mark the passing of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24 April 1993.

2. Switzerland tops World Happiness index, India ranked at 117

i. Switzerland, the land of clocks and chocolates is the world’s happiest country. Switzerland topped the third annual World Happiness index produced by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, an initiative under the United Nations.

ii. Switzerland was closely followed by Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada.

iii. The World Happiness Report examined 158 countries and is aimed at influencing government policy.

iv. India ranked at 117 considered to be the unhappiest countries in the world.

v. Syria ranked at last (158) least happy country in the world.

3. RBI revised priority sector lending norms

i. The Reserve Bank has revised priority sector lending norms to ensure a phased increase in loans to small farmers, and also made it clear that smaller foreign banks will have to meet the 40 percent target over the next five years.

ii. The RBI also said overdrafts of up to Rs 5,000 being extended by banks under the PM’s new financial inclusion drive will also be treated as priority sector lending (PSL), subject a cap on annual household income–which is Rs 1 lakh for rural and Rs 1.60 lakh for non-rural households.

iii. Under the new guidelines, issued by RBI, credit to small and marginal farmers should be 8 percent of a bank’s total credit by March 2017. 
iv. Medium enterprises, social infrastructure and renewable energy are new sectors which will qualify under the mandatory priority sector norms which aim at uplifting the weaker sections of the economy by increasing formal credit to them, the RBI said in a circular. 
v. Banks are asked to lend 40 percent of their credit to such sections, failing which money gets deposited into a low-yielding fund for rural development. 
vi. For foreign banks, where the mandatory PSL has been a contentious issue, RBI said banks with less than 20 branches will have to gradually achieve the 40 percent target by March 2020.

4. Russia & Argentina sign agreements on economic & energy co-operation

i. Russia and Argentina have signed a series of framework agreements on economic and energy co-operation following talks in Moscow.

ii. The agreements include Russian investment in a hydroelectric plant and a nuclear power plant in Argentina. There was also a memorandum of co-operation on defence.

iii. Russia is also eager to boost trade relations with Latin America to offset the effects of sanctions imposed by the West over the crisis in Ukraine.

5. VARUNA a
naval exercise between India & France commenced at Goa

i. The fourteenth edition of Indo-French Naval
Exercise named VARUNA-15 commenced off the coast of Goa. The 10-day long joint
naval exercise will end on 2 May 2015.

ii. It is aimed at further deriving
mutual benefit from the experiences of the two navies and strengthening the
bilateral ties between India and France.

iii. The Indian Navy and the French Navy have
been conducting naval exercises since 1983 and following the establishment of a
strategic partnership in 1998, these exercises were christened as VARUNA in
2001.

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