Daily Current Affairs : October 14, 2017
NATIONAL
Department of post launches new life insurance scheme:
The Government has launched Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana and expansion of Postal Life Insurance. Under the Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana, at least one village having a minimum of 100 households will be identified in each of the revenue districts of the country. Communication Minister Manoj Sinha said, endevour will be made to cover all households of that identified village with a minimum of one Rural Postal Life Insurance policy each.
It has been decided that its benefits will no longer be confined to government and semi-government employees, but will also be available to professionals such as doctors, engineers, management consultants, chartered accountants, lawyers and bankers.
UP government launches ‘Sankalp Seva’ bus service:
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath flagged off 50 buses under the ‘Sankalp Seva‘ service in Lucknow.
State Transport Minister Swatantra Dev Singh was also present at the event. These buses will connect as many as 6,000 villages.
Uttar Pradesh
- Capital: Lucknow
- Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
- Governor: Shri Ram Naik
- Narendra Modi constituency: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Gujarat government announces Garments & Apparel Policy 2017:
Gujarat Government has announced the Garments and Apparel Policy-2017, with the aim of creating more opportunities in the garment sector of Gujarat and to create huge employment opportunities for women through the apparel industry. This Policy is prepared with an aim to make Gujarat number 1 in textile which produces more of cotton. The State government will also provide incentives for garment unit owners for generating employment by providing subsidy in wages. The women workers will get Rs 4,000 subsidy, while their male counterparts will get Rs 3,500.
Gujarat
- Capital: Gandhinagar
- Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
- Governor: Om Prakash Kohli
World’s largest combustion research centre inaugurated at IIT Madras:
The world’s largest combustion research centre was inaugurated at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in Tamil Nadu. The National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) was inaugurated by NITI Aayog member VK Saraswat in the presence of Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology.
Kolkata to host international puppet festival:
The Kolkata is all set to host an international Puppet festival from October 26.West Bengal principal secretary Tourism and Home Affairs Atri Bhattacharya will be inaugurating the festival.
West Bengal
- Capital: Kolkata
- Chief Minister: Mamata Banerjee
- Governor: Keshari Nath Tripathi
INTERNATIONAL
HPCL becomes first Indian Oil Marketing Company to launch lubricants in Myanmar:
State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has started selling lubricants in Myanmar as part of broader plans of Indian retailers to play a bigger role in the south-east Asian nation’s oil and gas sector.
HPCL is the first Indian oil company to have started marketing lubes in Myanmar and has chosen commercial hubs of Yangon and Mandalay.
Myanmar
- Currency: Burmese kyat
- Capital: Naypyidaw
Two Indian Ships In Japan For Naval Exercise:
Indian Naval Ships Satpura and Kadmatt participated in Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Japanese Marine Self Defence Force (JMSDF) held at Sasebo, Japan.
The ships are participating in the exercise in pursuance of India’s Act East Policy and demonstration of India’s commitment to peace and stability.
Japan
- Capital: Tokyo
- Currency: Yen
- Prime minister: Shinzō Abe
Worlds First negative emissions plant starts operations in Iceland, turning carbon dioxide into stone:
The world’s first “negative emissions” plant that turns carbon dioxide into carbonate rocks has begun operations in Iceland. The engineering experiment by Swiss firm Climeworks aims to capture 50 tonnes of atmospheric CO2 over a year, equalling a US household’s greenhouse emission.
Iceland
- Currency: Icelandic króna
- Capital: Reykjavik
BANKING & BUSINESS
London retains number one world city rank:
London has retained its rank as the number one city in the world according to Global Power City Index (GPCI). London performed strongly across all areas, ranking ahead of cities such as New York, Tokyo, Paris and Singapore
The GPCI, published by the Mori Memorial Foundation.
The report, ranked 44 major cities across six key measures including the economy, research and development, culture, accessibility, the environment.
UK
- Currency: Pound sterling
- Capital: London
- Prime minister: Theresa May
SBI launches SME Assist to provide short-term loans to MSME clients:
State Bank of India said it has launched a new product to provide short-term working capital demand loans to its MSME clients.
The new initiative, called SME Assist, would offer loans to MSME customers on the basis of their input credit claims under Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The loans will be offered at a concessional rate of interest. The loan will be sanctioned outside Assessed Bank Finance (ABF) at 20 per cent of the existing fund-based working capital limit or 80 per cent of input tax claim due on purchases, whichever is lower.
The loan processing fee under the scheme is Rs. 2,000.
Union Bank launches bilingual Android app:
Union Bank of India has launched an Android app, Union Sahyog, as part of its drive to digitise customer-facing banking services.
The Union Sahyog app is bilingual — offering both English and Hindi language — and packs in all mobile-based banking applications, missed call/SMS-based services, Internet banking login and self-user creation, deposit and loan product information, online account opening, online loan application, online complaints and even RTI.
MasterCard launches India innovation centre:
MasterCard announced the launch of its innovation centre to focus on solving “India-specific” problems in the areas of technology and financial enablement. This would be their second innovation centre in Pune, India, after Singapore, in Asia and ninth globally.
The initiative aims to bring and harness new commerce, payment and technology ideas at a fast pace in the country.
Maharashtra
- Capital: Mumbai
- Chief Minister: Devendra Fadnavis
- Governor: Vidyasagar Rao
RBI allows interoperability of wallets in six months:
The Reserve Bank of India issued final guidelines for prepaid payment instruments (PPI) such as closed, semi-closed and open wallets. According to the new guidelines, all the PPIs will now be interoperable, which means will allow transaction with each other.
The RBI said that interoperability shall be enabled in phases for the PPIs and that in the first phase, the issuers (both bank and non-bank entities) shall make all KYC-compliant PPIs issued in the form of wallets interoperable amongst themselves through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) within six months from the date of issue of the guidelines.
The Economist Intelligence Unit announces the Safe Cities Index 2017 – Tokyo 1st:
Japanese capital city Tokyo has topped The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Safe Cities Index 2017, which ranked 60 cities on parameters including personal and health security.
Singapore and Japanese city Osaka have ranked second and third, while Indian cities Delhi and Mumbai have ranked 43rd and 45th respectively.
Pakistani city Karachi has been ranked the least safe city in the list.
G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting held in Washington D.C:
The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley participated in the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting in Washington D.C. The discussion focused on the agenda items pertaining to Global Economy and Framework for Growth, Compact with Africa and International Financial Architecture.
USA
- President of the United States: Donald Trump
- Currency: United States Dollar
- Capital: Washington, D.C.
SEBI bans Swasata Steel Industries, 7 others from market:
Regulator SEBI banned Swasata Steel Industries Ltd (SSIL) and its seven directors from the securities market for at least four years in a case related to illegally raising Rs 12 crore from the public.
According to a SEBI order, SSIL had issued and allotted secured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to at least 795 investors during the financial years 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 and raised at least an amount of Rs 12.19 crore.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGN
Rukaiya Rangwala as business head of Mobikwik:
MobiKwik, mobile wallet major and a payment gateway provider, announced the appointment of Rukaiya Rangwala as the Business Head of ‘MobiKwik Payment Gateway’ to drive the growth of the entity.
Samsung CEO kwon to step down:
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said its CEO and Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun plans to step down from management.
Yuvraj Singh named Laureus’ first Indian ambassador:
Flambouyant Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh has vowed to give back to the next generation in his new role as a Laureus Ambassador. The work being done to improve the lives of young people through sport.
Arjen Robben retires from International Football:
Netherlands captain Arjen Robben signalled the end of his international career after his country failed to reach the 2018 World Cup finals despite a 2-0 win over Sweden.
Netherlands
- Currency: Euro
- Capital: Amsterdam
Shakib Al Hasan becomes 1st cricketer from Bangladesh to be inducted in MCC World Cricket Committee:
Premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan became the first cricketer from Bangladesh to be inducted in the MCC World Cricket Committee under the chairmanship of Mike Gatting.
Bangladesh
- Capital: Dhaka
- Currency: Bangladeshi taka
France’s Audrey Azoulay wins vote to be next UNESCO chief:
UNESCO’s executive board has chosen former French Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay to be the UN cultural agency’s next leader over a Qatari candidate in an unusually heated race overshadowed by Mideast tensions.
Azoulay succeeds outgoing Director-General Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, whose eight-year term was marred by financial woes and criticism over Palestine’s inclusion as a member.
FRANCE
- France President : Emmanuel Macron
- Currencies: Euro, CFP franc
- Capital: Paris
HISTORIC EVENT OF THE DAY
World Standards Day: 14 October 2017
Each year on 14 October, the members of the IEC, ISO and ITU celebrate World Standards Day, which is a means of paying tribute to the collaborative efforts of the thousands of experts worldwide who develop the voluntary technical agreements that are published as international standards.
The theme for World Standards Day 2017 is “Standards make cities smarter”.
