Daily Current Affairs, 30th June 2018

1) NITI Aayog Releases 1st Delta Ranking

•NITI Aayog launched the first Delta ranking, incremental progress, for the Aspirational Districts in the country. The ranking is based on self-reported data of districts between March 31 to May 31, 2018, across five developmental areas of Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development and Basic Infrastructure. 

•The rankings were launched by NITI Aayog, CEO Amitabh Kant in New Delhi. The purpose of this ranking is to spur a sense of competition among the dynamic teams in the districts. According to ranking, Dahod district of Gujarat improved 19.8 points to rank first. West Sikkim district in Sikkim stood second with 18.9 points, a huge improvement from being in the 30th position in Baseline ranking. 

2) Government Notifies Electoral Bond Scheme 2018

•The Government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 via Gazette Notification. As per provisions of the Scheme, Electoral Bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. A person being an individual can buy Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.

•Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of Representation of People Act, 1951 & which secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in last General Election or the Legislative Assembly of the State, shall be eligible to receive Electoral Bonds. Electoral Bonds shall be encashed by an eligible Political Party only through a Bank account with the Authorized Bank.

3) NITI Aayog Partners With GNFC Ltd

•NITI Aayog and Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GNFC) have signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) to work together towards implementing a Proof-of-Concept (“PoC”) application using Blockchain Technology for fertiliser subsidy management. 

•They will jointly develop the use case, undertake research, interact with multiple stakeholders, develop Blockchain solutions, exchange learnings, organise forums, and disseminate learnings across their networks.

4) Mumbai's Victorian And Art Deco Ensembles Inscribed As UNESCO World Heritage Site

•Mumbai's Victorian and Art Deco Ensembles has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This was announced at the Unesco world heritage committee meeting in Bahrain.

•The Heritage enclave is situated in South Mumbai’s historic core and comprises an urban ensemble straddling two heritage precincts of the Fort Precinct and Marine Drive Precinct.

5) UAE Consulate To Come Up In Hyderabad

•Decks have been cleared for setting up a consulate of United Arab Emirates with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao giving his nod for it after discussions with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

•The establishment of the consulate would improve cordial relations between the state government and the UAE.

6) IRDAI Gives Nod To LIC To Buy Stake In IDBI Bank

•In a first-of-its-kind transaction, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has approved a proposal allowing Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to acquire a majority stake in the IDBI bank.

•Under the proposal, the public sector life insurance behemoth can raise its stake in the public sector bank to 51%, injecting Rs10,000-13,000 crore in the debt-ridden lender. The acquisition, however, will be seen only as an investment and LIC will gradually lower its stake in the lender.