Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 09 August 2021

::NATIONAL::

If you are a frequent Railway passenger then no longer you have to bear the hassle of finding different helpline numbers for various purposes, as the Indian Indian Railways has launched an integrated one-stop solution - Rail Madad. Under this, the national transporter has merged a number of existing helplines that were used for various purposes into one.
It is an integrated one-stop solution for customer grievance, enquiry, suggestion and assistance. Rail Madad offers passengers multiple choices for access such as web, App, SMS, social media and Helpline number (139) during the journey for expeditious resolution of their complaints.
The Railway ministry in a statement today said 139 can be used for all kinds enquiries, and making complaints and the helpline facility is available round-the-clock in 12 languages.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today, said 99.93 percent of complaints received through 139 helpline were closed and 72 percent of the feedback given by complainants are ‘Excellent’ or ‘Satisfactory’ in FY 2020-21.

India has requested its citizens in and around Mazar-e-Sharif to board a special flight leaving for New Delhi on Tuesday evening as the Taliban is rapidly moving to seize the fourth largest city in Afghanistan. The Consulate General of India in Mazar-e-Sharif said Indian nationals who want to leave for New Delhi should immediately convey their name, passport number and other details through WhatsApp on two phone numbers.
“A special flight is leaving from Mazar-e-Sharif to New Delhi. Any Indian nationals in and around Mazar-e-Sharif are requested to leave for India in the special flight scheduled to depart late today evening,” the official Twitter handle for Consulate General of India, Mazar-e-Sharif posted.
While the international community is trying to get the Taliban back on the negotiating table, the militants of the Islamist fundamentalist group has started targeting top Afghan government officials in Kabul, showing no willingness to strike a deal with various stakeholders in the war-torn country.
The US state department said that special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad will visit Doha to help formulate "a joint international response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan."

The Haryana government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Walmart Vriddhi, a growth and training programme designed for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and Haqdarshak, a technology platform.
An official spokesperson said the MoU was signed by director general (MSMEs) Vikas Gupta, Nittin Dutt on behalf of Walmart Vriddhi, and CEO Aniket Doeger on behalf of Haqdarshak to create a pathway for MSMEs products to move towards the international market.
Deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, who holds the portfolio of industries and commerce, said the state government with the help of e-commerce companies such as Walmart, will help in displaying products of traditional weavers of rural areas, handlooms, and handicrafts at international levels.
Chautala asked Doegar to prepare a research report on best running welfare scheme of each state so that Haryana can work out the possibilities of implementing them under its one block, one product scheme.
Gupta said the products of MSMEs will be displayed in 24 countries and will be available in 10,500 stores under 48 banners.

The Rajya Sabha passed the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which plans to do away with the retrospective tax provision and end all retrospective taxes imposed on indirect transfer of Indian assets made before May 28, 2012. This means that the tax demands made on companies like Cairn Energy and Vodafone will now be withdrawn. The tax demand that was made using the Finance Act, 2012, will also be withdrawn.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman while replying to the debate on the bill said that India’s sovereign right to tax will remain ‘intact’ and nothing is being ‘diluted’. She also pointed out that former Union finance minister P Chidambaram earlier welcomed the same bill when it was passed in the Lok Sabha.
“I would like to remind them that when this was passed a couple of days earlier in the Lok Sabha, a former finance minister belonging to the Congress welcomed it. He also said that it should have come early but it is alright that it has come now,” the finance minister said.
They will say something here and they said something else when they were in power.

The Tokyo Olympics are officially over. IOC President Thomas Bach declared the Games closed after the French flag was raised inside Olympic Stadium for the transition to Paris 2024. After a short performance in the stadium, the cauldron closed around the Olympic flame, extinguishing it.
The ceremony included a ska band on a stage with people dancing, juggling and soccer players moving around an elevated stage in the center of the stadium. Medals for the marathon were presented — an Olympic tradition — followed by traditional Japanese dances inside the stadium and on the videoboard. An opera singer performed during the International Olympic Committee anthem, then the transition to Paris 2024 that included a flyover in front of thousands of fans in front of the Eiffel Tower.