Current Affairs November 18, 2017

National Affairs

Japan Mela in Kerala

The Indo Japan Chamber of Commerce Kerala (INJACK) is organising first Japan Mela in Kochi.The event will showcase the best Japanese products and services that creates market for Japan.

It will be inaugurated by Kenji Hiramatsu, Japanese Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary in India.

Japan

Capital:Tokyo
Currency:Japnese Yen
Prime Minister:Shizo Abe

Karnataka ties up with Intel’s Mobileye

The Aim of the partnership is to launch a project for automotive safety. The project will create a repository of road and traffic information.

Nivruti Rai, country head, Intel India, vice president of Data Center Group, said the project contribute to make roads safer with driving becoming more intelligent and efficient.

Intel

CEO:Brian Krzanich
Headquarters: California, United States

CANEUS establishes Space centre in Andhra Pradesh

CANEUS International,a agreement with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) and the Andhra Pradesh State Skills Development Corporation (APSSDC) to establish a Centre of Excellence on Space Sciences and Technologies for Development (CoE4SSTD) at Hindpur in Anantapur.

Chairman, CANEUS: Milind Pimprikar
CEO, APEDB: J Krishna Kishore
Director, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA): Simonetta Di Pippo

Mumbai hosts Conference on Natural Resources

A two-day conference on ‘Towards Resource Resilient India’ started in Mumbai.Issues related to both biotic and abiotic natural resources were discussed.

It was Organised by the Indian National Association.

Indian National Association

Chairman: S Ramadorai

Assam: Namami Barak festival to begin today in Silchar

In Assam, the first ever Namami Barak festival at Police Parade ground in Silchar. Namami Barak is celebrated to pay tribute to the River Barak.

Assam

Capital:Dispur
Chief Minister:Sarbananda Sonowal
Governor:Jagdish Mukhi

India to have 200 crore IoT devices in 4 years,Ravi Shankar Prasad

Internet of things (IoT) devices in India are expected to rise for 200 crore in the next 3-4 years

IoT:

Any product whose function can be controlled using internet comes under the category of IoT.

12th North East Business Summit

The Two-day “12th North-East Business Summit” was inaugurated in New Delhi.The summit aims to explore the scope for business opportunities in the North-Eastern region of India.

The Summit is being organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), with Manipur being the state partner for the event.

Scientific and Technological Cooperation agreement between India and Belarus

The Union Cabinet approved an agreement between India and Belarus on Scientific and Technological Cooperation.It is been approved for mutual benefit in the areas of science, technology, agriculture.

The agreement was signed between Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB).

Belarus

Capital:Minsk
Currency:Belorussian ruble
President:Alexander Lukashenko

Sampriti’ 17: Defence Excercise between India and Bangladesh

It is a thirteen days exercise between the armies of India and Bangladesh.The exercise is aimed at strengthening and broadening the aspects of interoperability and cooperation between the Indian and Bangladesh Armies.

Bangladesh

Capital:Dhaka
Currency:Taka
President:Abdul Hamid

India received Rs. 14,354 crore through Tourism Sctor

Tourism sector of India continues to grow immensely year to year. Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) during the month of October 2017 was Rs.14,354 crore.

The Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) have registered whopping growth of 18.1% in October 2017 in the country.

Toyota and Suzuki ties up together to bring electric vehicles

India’s leading car companies Toyota and Suzuki have joined their hands to make electric car for our country in 2020.

Suzuki is to produce Electronic Vehicle (EVs) for the Indian market and will supply some to Toyota, while Toyota is to provide technical support.

Telangana and Patanjali Group signed an MoU to establish ‘Food Park’

Telangana government Joined Hands with the Patanjali group with an aim to set up ‘Food Park’.

The Patanjali Group will set up a large food park in Telangana with units for processing edible oil, fruit pulp and spices.

TSIIC Managing Director :EV Narsimha Reddy
Patanjali Group CEO :Acharya Balakrishna

Telangana

Capital:Hyderabad

Chief Minister:K. Chandrashekar Rao

Governor:ESL Narasimhan

‘Hausla 2017’ by the Ministry of Women and Child Development

Hausla 2017’- the painting event, where around 500 children belonging to Child Care Institutions participated from all over the country.

‘Hausla 2017’ was organised by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in New Delhi.

Ministry of Women and Child Development

Cabinet Minister:Maneka Gandhi

Minister of State:Krishna Raj

100 Companies to Invest in Andhra Pradesh

A South Korean diplomat has appreciated the Make-in-India programme and this program has enabled companies from South Korea to invest a ₹25,000 crore and around 100 companies will soon be invested in Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh

Capital:Hyderabad

Chief Minister:Chandrababu Naidu

Governor:ESL Narasimhan

Odisha CM inaugurates 15 projects

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inagurated 15 projects involving an investment of ₹11,690 crore.
Patnaik also launched a portal named ‘GO SWIFT’ to help investors get single window facilitation and tracking mechanism online.

Odisha

Capital:Bhubaneswar

Chief Minister:Naveen Patnaik

Governor:S.C. Jamir

Maharashtra bans Plastic Bottles

Maharashtra government announced a ban on plastic bottles, which will cover government offices, functions and state educational institutes before it is extended to private institutes.
It will be effect from 18 March 2018.

Maharashtra

Capital:Mumbai

Chief Minister:Devendra Fadnavis

Governor:Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao

NRIs, PIOs don’t need to link bank a/c, PAN with Aadhaar, UIDAI clarifies

Non Resident Indians (NRIs), Person of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) are not required to link bank accounts and other services with Aadhaar, by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)

UIDAI

Chairman:Shri J Satyanarayana

Headquarters:New Delhi

Govt sets Rs 10,000 min balance in bank accounts as rural poverty measure

The more number of families with a minimum Rs 10,000 in their accounts, the better a panchayat’s chance of being on the positive list of the poverty index.

The government will now look at the bank accounts of families in a rural set up to determine the level of poverty in a gram panchayats.

Vice President launches “Journey of Women Law Reforms and The Law Commission of India Some Insights” book

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu received the first copy of the book ‘Journey of Women Law Reforms and The Law Commission of India Some Insights’, from the Author former Joint Secretary, Dr. Pavan Sharma.

Moon Mission by India and Japan

India and Japan will collaborate to send a joint mission to the moon, which includes landing a rover and bringing samples back to the earth. This is the second time that Japan and India are teaming up for a moon mission.

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) Chairman A S Kiran Kumar and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) President Naoki Okumara signed the agreement.

PM Awas Yojana

Under the PMAY-U, the Centre aims to provide houses to all the urban poor by 2022.The Centre approved the enhancement of the carpet area of houses for The middle-income group (MIG) category under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U).

Under the MIG-I category, the carpet area of the houses has been enhanced from 90 sq.mtr to 120 sq.mtr, while under the MIG-II segment, it has been increased to 150 sq.mtr from the current 110 sq.mtr, said by Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

First Air Ambulance in Assam

Assam Transport, Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary formally launched an air ambulance service at NEDF (North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd) House, Dispur.
The air ambulance is equipped with all emergency medical equipment and medical team to take care of patients onboard.

Assam

Capital:Dispur
Chief Minister:Sarbananda Sonowal
Governor:Jagdish Mukhi

INTERNATIONAL

Annual naval exercise by Japan and US Japan

Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and U.S Navy(U.S.N) have started a joint drill. This is the annual bilateral training exercise of two countries.

The exercise in the waters surrounding Okinawa,near Korean Penninsula

Ahmedabad Metro Signs with S.Korea

MEGA Co. Ltd., the implementing agency for Ahmedabad Metro Rail Project, gives ₹1,025-crore contract for manufacturing 96 Metro coaches to the South Korean rolling stock manufacturer, M/S Hyundai Rotem.

South Korea

Capital:Seoul
Currency:Won
President:Moon Jae-in

4th Global Conference on Sustained Eradication of Child Labour Held in Argentina

The Conference on the Sustained Eradication of Child Labour was organized by the Government of
Argentina and was held in Buenos Aires,Argentina.

This Global Conference covers both the sustained eradication of child labour and the elimination of forced labour. It will also address the issue of the quality of youth employment.

Argentina

Capital:Buenos Aires
Currency:Peso
Prime Minister:Mauricio Macri

BUSINESS

United Bank of India plans to raise Rs 500 cr

State-owned Union Bank of India (UBI) plans to raise up to Rs 500 crore to comply with the global standard Basel III banking norms by March 2019.
Banks globally have to comply with the Basel III norms so as to improve and strengthen their capital planning processes.

United Bank of India

Headquarters:Kolkata
Tagline: The bank that begins with ‘u’

Paytm and ICICI Bank ties up together to offer short-term instant digital credit

Digital payments services company, Paytm entered into a tie-up with ICICI Bank to jointly launch ‘Paytm-ICICI Bank Postpaid’, that offers short-term credit to their common customers.

The offers instant digital credit for various transactions including payment for movie tickets, bill payments, flights, as well as physical goods without any documentation or transaction fees.Under this facility, real-time credit assessment of customers is done through Big Data based algorithm of ICICI Bank.

ICICI Bank

Headquarters: Mumbai
Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khyal Apka.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

Chakravarthi appointed as ambassador of World Packaging Organisation (WPO)

Chakravarthi AVPS, Managing Director, Ecobliss India appointed as global ambassador of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). He is the first Asian to be appointed as ambassador of World Packaging Organisation (WPO).

The honorary appointment was made in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the 99th board meeting of WPO.
World Packaging Organisation
President:Mr.Thomas Schneider

Nicaraguas Sergio Ramirez wins Spains Cervantes Prize

Nicaraguan author and former politician Sergio Ramirez Mercado won the 2017 Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor.The award consists of 125,000-euro ($148,000).

He has written more than 20 novels, including “Margarita, esta Linda la mar” (Margarita, How Beautiful the Sea), which won Spain’s prestigious Alfaguara award in 1998.

Jesmyn Ward wins National Book Award

Jesmyn Ward’s “Sing, Unburied, Sing” a surreal and poetic novel about a struggling family in Mississippi, on won the National Book Award for fiction.
It is the second time Ward is receiving the fiction prize, having won in 2011 for Salvage the Bones.

SPORTS

Apollo Tyres ties up with Chennaiyin FC as prinicpal sponsor

Apollo Tyres has associated with Chennaiyin FC soccer team as its principal sponsor for the 2017-18 Hero Indian Super League (ISL) season.

The association is Apollo’s first partnership with Indian football team.

Sushil Kumar, Geeta Phogat win gold in National Wrestling championship

Two-time Olympic-medallist Sushil Kumar, India’s Olympic medal winner Sakshi Malik and Geeta Phogat won gold medal in their respective categories in the National Wrestling championship in Indore.

OBITUARY

Legendary Poet Kunwar Narayan Passes Away

Eminent Hindi poet and Jnanpith awardee Kunwar Narayan passed away in New Delhi.

He was Born on 9 September 1927 in Uttar Pradesh’s Faizabad.His first poetry collection was “Chakravyuh”.