Current Affairs 10th January 2018

Current Affairs 10th January 2018 - Important Points

• Dilip Asbe appointed as MD & CEO of National Payments Corporation of India on - 8th January 2018
•  Territorial Army battalion of ex- Armymen to clean Ganga to be raised by - Union Defence Ministry
• MPLAD Scheme beyond 12th Plan approved by - Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
• National anthem not mandatory in cinema halls by - Supreme Court

Current Affairs 10th January 2018 - Details

Dilip Asbe appointed as MD & CEO of National Payments Corporation of India on - 8th January 2018

Dilip Asbe was on 8th January 2018 authorized as the Managing Director and CEO of the National Payments Corporation of India, a sunshade organisation for retail payment systems in India.
Earlier to this appointment, Asbe was working NPCI as its CEO-in- charge. He was authorized as CEO-in- charge in August 2017. Asbe succeeded AP Hota, whose job as MD and CEO finished on 10th August 2017.
Asbe has been working in the NPCI since its inception. He has played an important role in designing,
operationalising and managing payment platforms like UPI, Immediate Payment Service-IMPS, RuPay, Bharat Interface for Money-BHIM and many other initiatives.
More about National Payments Corporation of India

• NPCI, is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks’ Association, to form a powerful payment infrastructure.
• NPCI was integrated in December 2008 and the Commencement of Business Certificate was supplied to it in the April 2009.
• It was integrated as a Section 25 company under Companies Act, 2013 and is focused to operate for the benefit of all the associated banks and their subscribers.

 Territorial Army battalion of ex- Armymen to clean Ganga to be raised by - Union Defence Ministry

The Union Defence Ministry has approved raising of Territorial Army battalion consisting of ex-
servicemen of Indian Army as part of its program to clean the river Ganga by 2020. It has been given
name as Composite Ecological Task Force battalion of TA for National Mission for Clean Ganga, the
nodal organization for cleaning Ganga.
Important Points

• The CETF battalion will be embossed in Allahabad, UP as a pilot scheme. For this government has
  assigned Rs.167 crore under NMCG.
• The battalion will perform on book debit system with money provided from Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation budgets.
• The CETF TA battalion will be headed by Colonel-rank officer. It will have eight officers, twenty JCOs and approximately 500 other ranks on its roll. For the same task, it will only enrol ex-servicemen, who will be enrolled under TA rules.
  Functions of CETF TA
• It will be accountable for monitoring ecological and environmental schemes related to Ganga River, and also raise public awareness with campaigns. It will also patrol dedicated river sectors for the protection of biodiversity, plant trees, keep a check on the river pollution levels and check soil erosion.
• It will also help government in enforcing pollution control plans, support local civil administration and police in managing the ghats, and provide help and assistance if and when there is flood or natural disaster in area.

MPLAD Scheme beyond 12th Plan approved by - Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs headed by the Prime Minister has given its approval to the
continuation of Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme till the term of the fourteenth Finance Commission till 31st March 2020.  
The MPLADS ready money is released to the nodal District Authorities on reception of requisite documents and according to the provisions of recommendations on MPLADS.
Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme- 

• The MPLAD plan was initiated in 1993-94, and it is an ongoing Central Sector Scheme.  
• Since its establishment in 1993-94 till August 2017, a sum of total 18,82,180 works for Rs. 44,929.17 crores have been permitted by MPLADS fund.
• The MPLAD plan enables the Members of Parliament to recommend works for the creation of durable community assets according locally felt demands to be taken up in their constituencies in the area of national prime concerns including sanitation, education, public health, drinking water, roads etc. 
• The plan is governed by a set of instructions, which have been earlier revised in June 2016.
  Effects of MPLAD
• With the MPLAD plan, the whole population in the nation will be benefited with the creation of durable assets of locally felt requirements, including sanitation, education, drinking water, public health, roads and many more.
• The MPLAD plan has emerged in the formation of different durable community assets which have affected the social, cultural and economic life of the local groups in many ways.

National anthem not mandatory in cinema halls by - Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has governed that playing national anthem before starting movies in cinema halls is
optional and not compulsory. The ruling modifies court’s past November 2016 order that governed the
playing of national anthem in cinemas compulsory.
Supreme Court’s Ruling
The peak court has granted Union Government’s affidavit that explained 12-member inter-ministerial
committee has been formed to propose changes in Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. It also questioned committee to take inclusive decision on what alterations are required in the law and its executive orders concerned to national anthem. It sustained that the inter-ministerial committee will
now take a final call on the issue.

Inter-Ministerial Committee on National Anthem in Cinemas

• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs had formed inter-ministerial committee to outline guidelines on playing national anthem in cinemas and other public areas. It is led by BR Sharma, Additional Secretary (Border Management) under Union Ministry of Home Affairs and has spokespersons from different ministries.
• The committee is mandated to outline instructions describing situations and occasion on which national anthem is to be played or sung. It will present its report within 6 months.