Daily Current Affairs : October 12, 2017

NATIONAL

Projects worth Rs 700 crore sanctioned for Namami Gange programme by NMCG:

National Mission for Clean Ganga has approved eight projects worth Rs. 700 crore, out of which four pertain to sewage management in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, three are related to treatment of drains through bio-remediation and one of inventorization and surveillance of river Ganga.

IIT Kharagpur partners with Samsung for Digital Academy:

IIT-Kharagpur has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Samsung India for the setting up of a digital academy on the institute’s campus.

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the institute will host the Samsung Innovation Lab and train students on the Internet of Things (IoT) through Tizen-based operating systems, commonly used by the company for its mobile phones and home appliances.

PM Modi’s Economic Advisory Council Holds its First Meeting:

 The recently constituted Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) will hold its first meeting in new delhi to deliberate upon and lay out a roadmap to give a leg up to the Indian economy in the short term after GDP growth for the first quarter fell to a three-year low of 5.7%.

INTERNATIONAL

JDI Signed Between Indian Railways and Germany:

 German Railways will assist Indian Railways to make country’s existing rail corridors semi-high speed. The semi high-speed trains will run at 200 km per hour.

A Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) was signed between Ministry of Railways and Germany in Rail Bhavan regarding carrying out of feasibility study on existing 643 km Chennai-Kazipet corridor of Indian Railways by German Railways for increasing the speed of passenger trains to 200 kmph on 50.50 percent cost-sharing basis.

GERMANY

• Currency: Euro
• Capital: Berlin

BANKING & BUSINESS

SBI to setup country’s largest Innovation Centre in Mumbai:

The nation’s largest lender State Bank of India is creating a 15,000-sqft innovation centre in Navi Mumbai investing around Rs 100 crore, a senior official said.

The centre, to be built at its Global IT Centre in Belapur in Navi Mumbai, will be the largest innovation centre by any financial services company in the country, the official claimed.

 HSBC launches ‘HSBCnet Trade Transaction Tracker’,app to track trade transactions:

HSBC announced the launch of mobile app – Trade Transaction Tracker – to help customers track the status of their trade transactions on a real-time basis.

This feature has been built into the existing HSBC net mobile application and has been launched in select countries in which HSBC operates, including India, a statement issued here said.

It will provide a global view of import and export documentary credit and collections transactions, across markets in one single app.

India is second largest market for pharma & biotech workforce: LinkedIn Report

India has emerged as the second largest market for the industry, a report by professional networking giant LinkedIn has revealed.

 Global Hunger Index:2017

The country slipping three notches to 100 among 119 countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI), 2017. This is worse than the likes of North Korea, Bangladesh, and Iraq, and better only than Pakistan and Afghanistan among Asian countries.

APPOINTMENTS & RETIERS

Actor Anupam Kher appointed as new FTII chairman:

 The government appointed Anupam Kher as chairman of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. Anupam Kher will replace Gajendra Chauhan, whose turbulent tenure ended in March this year.

 HSBC Names Retail Head John Flint as Next Chief Executive:

HSBC has appointed John Flint as its next chief executive, the bank said, sticking with a tradition of promoting company insiders to run the firm.

Flint, who currently runs HSBC’s retail and wealth management business, will start in his new role on February 21, 2018, taking over from current chief executive Stuart Gulliver, who is retiring after seven years in the job.

Indian Pacer Ashish Nehra has Announced Retirement:

Veteran Indian pacer Ashish Nehra announced that he will retire from international cricket after the opening T20 against New Zealand at his home ground of Delhi on November 1.

AWARDS

GCMMF Awarded Best FMCG in Food Sector by IAA:

 The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which manages brand AMUL, has been awarded as the best FMCG in the food sector at the 5th International Advertising Associations (IAA) Leadership Awards in Mumbai.

SPORTS

Gurusaidutt wins Bulgarian International Tournament:

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt clinched the mens singles title at the Bulgarian International Future Series tournament.

Indian Pair Win Gold at World Archery Youth Championship 2017:

Mixed pair of Jemson Ningthoujam and Ankita Bhakat clinched the gold medal as India returned with three medals from the World Archery Youth Championship in Rosario, Argentina. This is India’s first world title at the youth championships since Deepika Kumari’s victories in 2009 and 2011. India also bagged one silver and one bronze in a promising show by the youngsters.

 FIFA Suspends Pakistan Football Federation:

 FIFA has decided to suspend the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect in accordance with the decision of the Bureau of the FIFA Council dated 10 October 2017 on account of undue third-party interference.

Pakistan

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

HISTORIC EVENT OF THE DAY

World Arthritis day: October 12^th

World Arthritis Day falls on October 12 this year and aims to raise awareness of the condition, as well as the importance of early diagnosis.

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