Daily Current Affairs One Liners October 1-7

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

• President RamnathKovind has also declared the Rural Gujarat as ODF -Open Defecation Free– at a function held at KirtiMandir in Porbandar.
• Road Transport and Highways Minister NitinGadkari will launch the countrywide Free Eye Check-up Campaign and distribution of spectacles for truck drivers, cleaners and helpers at Panjari Toll Plaza, Nagpur Bypass in Maharashtra.
• Indian Railways is introducing one hundred additional local train services on its Mumbai suburban network of Western Railway and Central Railway zones.
• Lieutenant Governor Prof. JagadishMukhi declared Port Blair city as Open Defecation Free.
• Haryana government has decided to observe Gandhi Jayanti as International Day of Non-Violence in the state.
• The Small Saving Schemes like PPF, KisanVikasPatra and SukanyaSamriddhi for October-December quarter. Investments in the Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme will fetch annual rate of 8 percent while KisanVikasPatra (KVP) investments will yield 7.5 percent and mature in 115 months.
• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu unveiled a 8-metre-tall bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat on the occasion of the 148th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation.
• Defence Minister NirmalaSitharaman inaugurated the Pratham—Shyok bridge that will link Leh to Karakoram, providing connectivity on the strategically important Darbuk—Shyok—Daulat Beg Olde axis for military transport.
• An Indian Police Service (IPS) Officer of Uttar Pradesh Cadre, Aparna Kumar became the first Indian woman to scale Mount Manaslu, which is the eighth highest mountain peak in the world.
• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan launched ‘Single Click Pension Delivery’ scheme. The Chief Minister also honoured the people who had completed the age of hundred years with “Shataayu”.
• the Ministry of Women and Child Development will be hosting the 3rd annual ‘Women of India Organic Festival’ from October 1st to 15th, 2017, in New Delhi To celebrate and promote women entrepreneurs and farmers in the organic sector from across India.
• ‘No helmet, no petrol’ rule for two-wheeler riders to reduce road accident deaths has come into force in Andhra Pradesh, with chief minister Chandrababu Naidu urging all the petrol bunk dealers to cooperate.
• The Madurai City Corporation is set to receive a special award from the Centre as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The MeenakshiSundareswarar Temple has been adjudged best ‘Swachh Iconic Place’ in India as on October 1.
• Defence Security Corps personnel now have a software ‘ARPAN’ which shall ease personal documentation and all issues related to their progression.
• Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched the ‘MathruPurna’ scheme, which aims to provide nutritious meals to about 12 lakh pregnant women and lactating mothers in the state.
• The Union government has given its green light to the combined development of Harohalli industrial zone in Ramnagara district of Karnataka entailing an investment of Rs 1,561crore, reported a national news agency quoting a government official.
• The Union Government launched SECURE Himalaya, a six-year project to ensure conservation of locally and globally significant biodiversity and land. The Himalayan ecosystem spread over four states namely Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. The system was launched by Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• The Chairman of National Highways Authority of India Shri Deepak Kumar launched a world class, new multilingual website of the organization. He also launched a Project Monitoring Information System (PMIS) Moblie App that will facilitate close, in-house monitoring of NHAI projects on a mobile phone.
• Prime Minister NarendraModiinaugurated the Golden Jubilee Year Celebrations of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). Originally set up as not-for-profit organisation on October 4, 1968, the institute was in 1980 converted into a statutory professional body under an Act of Parliament — The Company Secretaries Act 1980.
• Uttar Pradesh State Government launched a mass marriage scheme called ‘MukhyamantriSamoohikVivaahYojana’.Under the scheme, Uttar Pradesh social welfare department will conduct mass marriages.
• The 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit will be held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre from November 28 to 30. The Summit will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister NarendraModi and Advisor to the US President, Ivanka Trump, who leads the US delegation.This year’s theme is “Women First, Prosperity for All” to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in all its strengths and diversity.
• Rail passengers will continue to enjoy service charge exemption on tickets booked online till March 2018. The government had waived service charges after demonetisation in November last year to encourage digital modes of booking.
• Government forces launched a major Cordon-and-Search-Operation (CASO) in Hajin town of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
• Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India in collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Seher presents the first ever ASEAN-India Music Festival from October 6th-8th 2017 at PuranaQuila in New Delhi. The Festival is being organised to celebrate the 25th year anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations. The theme for this commemorative year “Shared Values, Common Destiny” along with this Music Festival aims to boost cultural influences among the peoples of the ASEAN member states and India.
• Foundation stone for the first ever Industrial Training Institute for the Divyangans exclusively was laid at DibrugarhITI Complex at Borboruah, Dibrugarh by Assam Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal.
• Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture and MoS Environment, Forest & Climate Change along with Shri K.J Alphons, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism inaugurated the ‘ParyatanParv celebrations’ at Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been adjudged as the best department for its contribution during SwachhtaPakhwada, an inter-Ministry initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. The Health Ministry observed the SwachhtaPakhwada from 1st February 2017 to 15th February 2017.
• The 3-day international exhibition – ‘World Dental Show 2017’ was opened in Mumbai showcasing the evolving global technologies and techniques in dentistry.

INTERNATIONAL

• China announced commissioning its first radar-evading J-20 stealth fighter jets into military service, giving its air force an edge in the region.The Chengdu J-20 is China’s fourth-generation medium and long-range fighter jet. It made its maiden flight in 2011 and was first shown to the public at the 11th Airshow China in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province.
• US and India will work together on the sale of US crude and explore opportunities to expand the role of natural gas in India in the districts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. The first in a series of shipments of US crude oil to India arrived at Paradip Port in Odisha.
• Saudi Arabia and Russia plan to set up a $1 billion fund to invest in energy projects.
• India is likely to be the world’s fastest-growing large economy in the next 10 years, driven by digitisation, favourable demographics, globalisation and reforms, predicts a Morgan Stanley report.Morgan Stanley expects digitisation will provide a boost of 50-75 bps to GDP growth and forecast that India will grow to a USD 6-trillion economy and achieve upper-middle income status by 2026-27.
• The state-owned Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has become the first Indian financial institution to raise ‘green masala bonds’. The coupon rate for the bond is 7.125%.IREDA’s $300-millionissue, on the London Stock Exchange, combined these and were subscribed 1.7 times.
• According to a survey conducted by a realty consultancy firm Knight Frank, Karnataka capital Bengaluru has been ranked world’s most affordable technology hub, followed by Haryana’s Gurugram.
• Turkey has set up its biggest overseas military base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, increasing Ankara’s presence in the Horn of Africa country.
• The United Arab Emirates has begun collecting new “sin” taxes on tobacco products, energy drinks and soft drinks.Tobacco and energy drinks will be taxed at 100 percent and soft drinks at 50 percent.
• India is expected to retain its position as the top remittances receiving country, with its diaspora set to pump in a whopping USD 65 billion in the year 2017, reported the World Bank.
• Gurugram-based VVDN, in partnership with Ireland’s Embedded Downloads, unveiled blockchain technology-based smartphone BitVaultfor 75,000 a unit.This is the world’s first blockchain technology-based smartphone.
• India will be the guest of honour during the sixth edition of the World Government Summit scheduled from February 11th – 13th, 2018 in Dubai.
• Bangladesh signed USD 4.5 billion third line of credit (LoC) agreement with India for its infrastructure and social sector development.The agreement was signed in the presence of Finance Minister ArunJaitley and his Bangladeshi counterpart A M AMuhith.Economic Relations Division Secretary KaziShofiqulAzam signed the deal on behalf of Bangladesh, while Managing Director of the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim) David Rasquinha signed for India.
• Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed has left for Sri Lanka to take part in the 8th Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians.
• India and Ethiopia signed agreements on trade, communication and media to boost bilateral ties as President Ram NathKovind held talks with his Ethiopian counterpart MulatuTeshome.
• The Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModiapproved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Myanmar on up gradation of the Women’s Police Training Centre at Yamethin,Myanmar.
• Saudi Arabia agreed to purchase S400 missiledefence systems from Russia on the side lines of a visit by Saudi King Salman to Moscow.
• Donald Trump is the world’s most followed leader on Twitter, while NarendraModi is the third, according to the latest report by Twiplomacy, a BursonMarsteller research project that tracks the use of Twitter by governments and international organizations.

BANKING & BUSINESS

• India leap up the global rankings by 12 places to take the 14th spot in terms of best country for expats to live and work in, says a HSBC survey. The list, which is topped by Singapore, is part of HSBC’s latest ‘expat explorer survey’ that covered 27,587 expats from 159 countries and territories in March and April this year.
• State Bank of India has pared the interest rate on retail term-deposits of one-year maturity by 25 basis points, to 50 per cent. The change is effective October 1.
• The S. Federal Reserve fined HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.L) $175 million or “unsafe and unsound practices” in its foreign exchange trading business, the latest in a series of fines for banks that fail to prevent market manipulation.
• Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City)’sInternational Financial Services Centre (IFSC) has bagged the 10th spot in the latest edition of Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), London, September 2017.
• The Reserve Bank of India opened a branch in the Dehradun to make transactions of the state government more convenient inaugurated by CM Trivendra Singh Rawat.
• Digital payments firm MobiKwikannounced its partnership with IRCTC Rail connect app, which will allow customers book railway tickets using the former’s payment gateway.
• India will get EUR 300 million from European Investment Bank (EIB) for financing Bangalore Metro Rail Project Phase II- Line R6, according to finance ministry. Bangalore Metro Rail Project Phase II is to be jointly financed by the European Investment Bank (EUR 500 million) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (EUR 300 million). The first tranche of EUR 300 million was signed.The project is to be completed in five years from the date of commencement of work.
• India’s renewable energy capacity willmore than double by 2022 to overtake renewable expansion in the European Union for the first time, International Energy Agency (IEA).
• Fair trade regulator CCI imposed fines totalling₹27 crore on Aditya Birla group firm Grasim Industries and two others for bid rigging Delhi Jal Board tenders for supply of a water purification product.
• Reliance Industries chief MukeshAmbani emerged as India’s wealthiest for the 10th straight year as his net worth swelled to $38 billion (nearly Rs 2.5 lakh crore) while the wealth of 100 richest rose by 26% despite economic hiccups.Wipro’s AzimPremji was the distant second with a net worth of $19 billion, moving up two places from last year, while Sun Pharma’sDilipShanghvi slipped from his earlier second place to the ninth now ($12.1 billion) on Forbes magazine’s annual India Rich List 2017.
• PAN card and Aadhaar card are not needed for jewellery purchases above Rs 50,000.  The government decided to revoke the notification that extended provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, (PMLA) to jewellery This decision was taken at the 22nd GST Council meeting.
• HDFC Life Insurance Company has launched ‘Neo‘, a servicing bot for Twitter that uses artificial intelligence for customer service. This is the second bot put in operation by HDFC Life, after the launch of SPOK, which was an email bot to answer customer queries.
• Private insurer Tata AIA Life announced the launch of ‘EazyConnect’, that will extend online customer service to social media platforms.
• Vijaya Bank has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for enabling all HPCL retail outlets with BHIM/UPI merchant solutions.

APPOINTMENTS

RESIGNS

AWARDS

SPORTS

• India has regained their 1 ODI ranking.
• Team India has emerged as the winner of the 2017 Enactus World Cup. Enactus is an international non-profit dedicated to inspiring students to take entrepreneurial action to improve the lives of others.
• Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the final edition of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
• MahaveerRaghunathan became the first Indian to win a European racing championship when he sped to victory in the last two races of the prestigious Boss GP Championship (Formula Class).
• Nine countries have been suspended from weightlifting for a year by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). The member federations identified as such are currently Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.
• PoojaKadian created history as she bagged India’s first ever gold medal at Wushu World Championships in Russia.
• American Morgan Hurd won the all-around title at the gymnastics world championships in Montreal.

HISTORIC EVENTS OF THE DAY

OBITUARIES

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – 4th bi-monthly monetary policy statement

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the repo rate unchanged at 6 per cent, maintaining the status quo in its 4th bi-monthly monetary policy statement.

The central bank also revised real GVA growth projection for 2017-18 down to 6.7 per cent from the August 2017 projection of 7.3 per cent.

2017 Nobel Prize Winners