Current Affairs November 9, 2017
Current Affairs November 9, 2017
NATIONAL
Coal India Launched Grahak Sadak Koyla Vitaran App:
Public sector undertaking Coal India has launched the ‘Grahak Sadak Koyla Vitaran App’ aimed at benefitting customers of the company that are being supplied coal by road.
The app will allow users to monitor, whether the despatches are made on the fair principle of ‘First in First Out’ and keeps track of all the activities from issuance of sale order to physical delivery of coal by road.
Maharashtra Government to set up village climate resilient committees:
The Maharashtra state government decided to set up a committee for the implementation of a Rs. 4,000-crore project on climate resilience agriculture in 5,000 villages of 15 districts in the state.
The seven-member panel, headed by the Principal Secretary (Agriculture), has been set up with a target of selecting 4,000 drought-prone villages for the implementation of the project.
The programme aims to reduce farmers’ dependence on unpredictable weather cycles and enhance the resilience of agriculture to climate change and vulnerability through research and use of technology.
Maharashtra
- Capital: Mumbai
- Chief Minister: Devendra Fadnavis
- Governor: Vidyasagar Rao
Uttarakhand celebrates its 17th formation day:
Uttarakhand celebrated the 17TH formation day with a number of events held across the state on November 9, Chief Minister Harish Rawat attended the event held at Police Lines to mark the day.
Uttarakhand
- Capital: Dehradun
- Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat
- Governor: Krishna Kant Paul
INTERNATIONAL
China, U.S. sign deals worth $9 bn:
United States President Donald Trump landed in China, both countries signed deals worth USD nine billion.
China and the U.S. have sealed a total of 19 deals covering bioscience, aviation and smart manufacturing.The deals were signed in the presence of Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, who oversees economic issues, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
USA
- President of the United States: Donald Trump
- Currency: United States Dollar
- Capital: Washington, D.C.
China
- Currency: Renminbi
- Capital: Beijing
- Prime minister: Li Keqiang
- President: Xi Jinping
5th meeting of Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism held at Kathmandu:
The 5th Meeting of Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism, co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi and Ambassador of India to Nepal Mr. Manjeev Singh Puri, was held in Kathmandu.
The meeting made a comprehensive review of the progress achieved in the implementation of bilateral projects since the 4th meeting of the mechanism held on 06 July 2017.
Nepal
- Prime minister:Sher Bahadur Deuba
- Currency: Nepalese rupee
- Capital: Kathmandu
Shri R. K. Singh leads Indian Delegation in the IEA Ministerial, Paris:
Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri Raj Kumar Singh led the Indian delegation in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Ministerial, being held in Paris. The Minister emphasised the importance of clean energy and assured achievement of 175GW of renewable target of India while addressing the Plenary Session on Driving the Transitions to Clean Energy.
At the Ministerial, India signed joint work programmes with IEA and other key members of the IEA Family i.e. Brazil, Chile, India, Indonesia and Thailand. The event focusses on energy security, clean energy technology and government-industry dialogue on investment and digitalization, which would provide major opportunities for efficiency gains in the energy sector in the future.
FRANCE
- France President: Emmanuel Macron
- Currencies: Euro, CFP franc
- Capital: Paris
US, Qatar hold first counter-terrorism dialogue:
In a commitment to expand their counter-terrorism partnership, the United States and Qatar have held their first dialogue over it in Washington D.C.
The U.S. and Qatari officials discussed regional terrorist threats, counter-terrorism financing, regulation of the charitable sector, information sharing, and aviation security.
Qatar
- Currency: Qatari riyal
- Capital: Doha
BANKING & BUSINESS
Linking Aadhaar with insurance policies mandatory: IRDAI
Regulator IRDAI said that linkage of the unique identity number Aadhaar with insurance policies is mandatory and asked insurers to comply with the statutory norms.
“The Authority clarifies that, linkage of Aadhaar number to Insurance Policies is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017,” the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) said.
The government in June had notified the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017 making Aaadhar and PAN/Form 60 mandatory for availing financial services including insurance and also for linking the existing policies with the same.
India at 7th Position in Business Optimism Ranking:
India has slipped to the 7th position this quarter in business optimism ranking in Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR) survey. Last quarter, India was ranked second in the survey.
Indonesia is at the top, followed by Finland (2nd), the Netherlands (3rd), Philippines (4th), Austria (5th) and Nigeria (6th), as per Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR).
ICEX completes first diamond futures contract of Rs 173.32 crore:
Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX), the world’s first diamond derivatives exchange, said it has successfully completed first-ever diamond futures contracts settlement with the total traded quantity in November expiry for 5,382.08 carats valued at Rs 173.32 crore.
ICEX had commenced operations on August 28 with the launch of three monthly diamond futures contracts – of November 2017, December 2017 and January 2018 expiry, respectively.
Bank of China Begins Operations in Pakistan:
Bank of China formally launched its operations in Pakistan, with its first branch inaugurated in Karachi.The bank would strengthen the “brotherly relations” between the two countries in the financial sector.
Pakistan
- Currency: Pakistani rupee
- Capital: Islamabad
- Prime Minister: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
Priti Patel resigns cabinet over Israel meetings:
Britain’s international development secretary, Priti Patel, became the second cabinet minister to quit in a week, a significant new setback for Prime Minister Theresa May.
Ms. Patel, 45, resigned after breaching ministerial rules by holding a dozen unauthorized meetings with Israeli officials during a summer vacation.
Multi-agency group reconstituted to probe Paradise Papers:
A Multi-Agency Group (MAG) will investigate the Paradise Papers on offshore financial holdings, including a list 714 Indian individuals and entities.
The government also said that it had so far zeroed in on 147 actionable cases and 279 non-actionable cases relating to the earlier published Panama Papers.
“The government has directed that investigations in cases of Paradise Papers will be monitored through a reconstituted Multi-Agency Group, headed by CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra and including representatives from the Central Board of Direct Taxes, ED (Enforcement Directorate), RBI (Reserve Bank of India) and FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit),”.
Sanjeev Kaushik appointed as whole-time member of SEBI:
Sanjeev Kaushik was appointed a whole-time member of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Kaushik, a 1992-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, is the Chairman and Managing Director of India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL).
SPORTS
HS Prannoy Defeats Srikanth to Emerge as New National Champion:
H.S Prannoy outwitted World No 2 and title favourite Kidambi Srikanth in a thrilling finale to claim the men’s singles title at the 82nd Senior National Championship in Nagpur.
Saina Nehwal to Become National Champion for 3rd Time:
Saina Nehwal beat PV Sindhu in the blockbuster final of Senior National Badminton Championships in Nagpur to lift her third nationals title.
HISTORIC EVENT OF THE DAY
World Radiology Day – November 8
World Radiography Day is celebrated on 8 November each year. The date marks the anniversary of the discovery of x-radiation by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895.
Emergency Radiology has been chosen as the main theme of the day, to highlight the important role that radiology plays in this field.
This year, on November 8, the European Society of Radiology (ESR), the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) will celebrate the sixth International Day of Radiology (IDoR 2017), along with radiological societies the world over.
