Current Affairs : September 23, 2017

NATIONAL

Kochi to host Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transportation Summit:
Kochi will host the fifth edition of the ‘Coastal Shipping and Inland Water Transportation Business Summit 2017’ at Hotel Crowne Plaza.

The summit will be an initiative to explore the immense potential of coastal shipping and waterways as well as an effort to build a shared commitment and decipher the role that each stakeholder will have to play in integrating the coastal and waterways transport infrastructure.

Kerala Governor P Sathasivam also present the India Sea trade Award for Excellence in Coastal Shipping & Inland Water Transportation.

Venkaiah Naidu Laid Foundation of Country’s First ‘Green-Field’ Smart City:

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for Ranchi Smart City on the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) land. According to the Urban Development Minister CP Singh, this would be the country’s first ‘green-field’ smart city. The smart city is coming up on 656 acres of HEC land which would be fully wi-fi, carbon free, garbage free locality with modernized housing, traffic management system, education hub and equipped with facilities like round the clock power and water supplies.

Jharkhand

• Capital: Ranchi
• Chief Minister: Raghubar Das
• Governor: Draupadi Murmu

Cabinet approves Revamped Khelo India Programme:

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the revamped Khelo India programme at a cost of Rs.1,756 crore for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20. This marks a watershed moment in the history of Indian sports, as the Programme aims at mainstreaming sport as a tool for individual development, community development, economic development and national development.

The revamped Khelo India Programme would impact the entire sports ecosystem, including infrastructure, community sports, talent identification, coaching for excellence, competition structure and sports economy.

INTERNATIONAL

India gets its first high horsepower loco from France:

India’s dream for high horsepower locomotive moved closer to reality with the arrival of the first bodyshell of 12000 HP loco from Alstom France at Kolkata port.

This first-of-its-kind high-power electric locomotive will be used to haul freight trains at twice the existing speed by next year.

France

• France President :Emmanuel Macron
• Currencies: Euro, CFP franc
• Capital: Paris

Sushma Swaraj to visit Russia, attend Eastern Economic Forum:

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj three-day visit to Russia’s port city Vladivostok where she had participated in the third Eastern Economic Forum.

She will also hold bilateral talks with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during which various issues relating to trade, investment and defence cooperation are likely to figure.

Russia

• Russian President: Vladimir Putin.
• Currency: Russian ruble
• Capital: Moscow

Irma is the first storm to sustain 185 mph winds for over a day:

Hurricane Irma has become the first storm in the world to sustain winds of 185 miles per hour for more than 24 hours. It’s the longest storm to sustain this speed since the 1970s.

BANKING & BUSINESS

SBI Card to offer pre-approved cards to SBI customers:

SBI Card, the second largest credit card selling company after HDFC, is all set to offer pre-approved cards to customers of its parent State Bank of India.

It has entered into a tripartite agreement with SBI and India’s first credit bureau TransUnion CIBIL to this end. The agreement will allow the credit bureau to check the credentials of SBI customers and SBI Card to leverage the data.

India replaces China as top retail destination in 2017:

India has replaced China as the numero uno retail destination in 2017 as part of the global retail development index, according to industry experts.

“India has replaced China this year as the top retail destination as part of the study on global retail development index,” AT Kearney partner Subhendu Roy said on the concluding day of the two-day India Retail Forum 2017.

China

• Currency: Renminbi
• Capital: Beijing
• Prime minister: Li Keqiang
• President: Xi Jinping

Insurance startup Digit gets Irdai nod:

The insurance regulator has given the go-ahead to Digit Insurance to carry on its General Insurance, including health insurance business.

Digit Insurance will initially offer retail insurance products through strategic partners. The firm has raised Rs 350 crore from Fairfax making it one of the very few startups in the space to start operations with a strong capital base.

Pakistan’s biggest bank kicked out of US, fined over terror financing charge:

US banking regulators ordered Pakistan’s Habib Bank to shutter its New York office after nearly 40 years, for repeatedly failing to heed concerns over possible terrorist financing and money laundering

The state’s Department of Financial Services, which regulates foreign banks, also slapped a $225 million fine on the bank, although that is much smaller than the $629.6 million penalty initially proposed.

Habib has operated in the United States since 1978, and in 2006 was ordered to tighten its oversight of potentially illegal transactions but failed to comply.

Pakistan

• Currency: Rupee
• Capital: Islamabad
• Prime Minister: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

India at 103 rank on Global Human Capital Index; Norway on top:

India has been placed at a low 103 rank, the lowest among BRICS economies, on the WEF’s Global Human Capital Index, which has been topped by Norway.

Additional information on Ranking:

India also ranks “among the lowest in the world” when it comes to the employment gender gap, but has fared well when it comes to development of skills needed for the future with a rank of 65 out of total 130 countries surveyed.

The list compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF). The WEF said India is ranked lower than its BRICS peers, with Russian Federation placed as high as 16th place, followed by China at 34th, Brazil at 77th and South Africa at 87th place.

Among the South Asian countries also, India was ranked lower than Sri Lanka and Nepal, although higher than neighbouring Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Other countries in the top 10 include, the United States (4th), Denmark (5th), Germany (6th), New Zealand (7th), Sweden (8th), Slovenia (9th) and Austria (10th).

Fino Payments Bank launches mobile banking app:

In a bid to help develop the fintech ecosystem in India, Fino Payments Bank has launched its mobile banking app called BPay.

Additional information on BPay:

BPay is also an extension of its already existing wallet in the same name that was launched in December last year. The upgraded BPay app, available on Android at present, is now much more than just a wallet. The mobile banking app enables simple, paperless and convenient banking that allows customers to make bill payments, recharges, fund transfers and buy insurance either through wallet or bank account.

Fino Payments Bank

• MD & CEO: Rishi Gupta

APPOINTMENTS

Brazil’s First Female Attorney General Takes Charge:

Raquel Dodge will be first woman to hold the position of attorney general in Brazil.

Raquel Dodge has replaced Rodrigo Janot.

Brazil

• Currency: Brazilian real
• Capital: Brasília

Vani sarraju Rao as ambassador of India to Republic of Estonia:

Ms. Vani Sarraju Rao, presently Ambassador of lndia to Finland, has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of lndia to the Republic of Estonia, with residence in Helsinki (Finland).

Estonia

• Currency: Euro
• Capital: Tallinn

Sambamurthy appointed as NPCI interim Board chairman:

The Board of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation for all retail payment systems in the country, announced the unanimous appointment of B Sambamurthy as interim Chairman of the Board.

Sambamurthy replaces retiring Chairman, Balachandran M, NPCI said in a statement.

It said Sambamurthy was formerly Director and CEO of Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) and Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bankprior to that.

SPORTS

FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup France 2018 Official Emblem unveiled:

FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup France 2018 unveiled the Official Emblem of the competition in Rennes, France.

The slogan of the tournament “Dare To Shine” reflects the development of football, especially women’s football.

The youth competition will take place in the Brittany region of France from 5 to 24 August 2018, and its Official Emblem reflects the strong history and values of the Breton culture.

Asian Indoor Games: Chitra, Lakshmanan Win Gold

Asian champions G. Lakshmanan and P.U. Chitra won gold medals in the athletics events of the fifth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Ashgabat (Turkmenistan).

Turkmenistan

• Currency: Turkmenistan manat
• Capital: Ashgabat