Daily Current Affairs : October 19, 2017

NATIONAL

Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu lays foundation stone for TU142M aircraft museum:

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday laid the foundation stone for the TU142M aircraft museum in Visakhapatnam.

The chief minister along with Eastern naval command chief Vice Admiral H. C. S. Bisht laid the foundation stone of the museum, being built at the Beach Road.

Chhattisgarh government reduces interest on loan under Saksham Yojna:

Chhattisgarh government has reduced the rate of interest on loan given to women and their self help groups (SHGs) under ‘Saksham Yojna’ from 6.5 per cent to 5 per cent.

State’s Women and Child Development Minister Ramsheela Sahu took decision in this regard today while chairing a meeting ofthe governing body of ‘Chhattisgarh Mahila Kosh’ (CMK) here at Mantralaya, a government official said.

Odisha unveils portal for easy access to government data:

Accessing government data just got easier with the Odisha government today unveiling the State Open Government Data Platform www.odisha.data.gov.in.

Inaugurating the platform today, Odisha’s Chief Secretary A P Padhi asked the data officers of all departments to upload information of their respective departments on the website within a week.

Arunachal Assembly approves Kamle as 23rd district:

The Arunachal Assembly today passed a bill paving way for creation of a new district to be named Kamle, bifurcating the present Upper and Lower Subansiri districts.

With the official creation of the new district, the total number of districts in the state shot up to 23.

Two day “AYUSH Festival of Stamps 2017” held at Panaji, Goa:

The AYUSH Festival of Stamps 2017 was inaugurated by Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar at Maquinez Palace in Panaji, Goa on October 17, 2017. The two-day exhibition event is being jointly organised by the Goa Postal Region, Indian postal department and the Ministry of AYUSH. The objective of the first-of-its-kind festival is to promote healthy hobbies such as stamp collection among students and healthy lifestyle habits.

INTERNATIONAL

Dharmendra Pradhan’s two day visit to Japan:

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, led a delegation to Tokyo, Japan from 17-18 October 2017 to participate in LNG Producer- Consumer Conference. The conference organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) and the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC) is a global annual dialogue which provides participants a forum for sharing the latest trends in the global LNG market and discussing opportunities and challenges with a view to developing global LNG market.

Canada chosen as partner country for 2017 Technology Summit, New Delhi:

Canada will be the partner country at the 23rd iteration of the Tech Summit, India’s largest knowledge and technology conference and exhibition to be held from November 14 to 15, 2017 in New Delhi. The Summit is organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST).

The India-Canada Tech Summit will highlight range of research and innovations areas where India and Canada are world leaders.

India, Brazil, South Africa sign IBSA Trust Fund agreement:

 India, Brazil and South Africa signed the IBSA Trust Fund Agreement that seeks to fight poverty in developing countries.

The agreement was signed by Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh who led the Indian side at the 8th IBSA trilateral Ministerial Commission Meeting in Durban.

Each country contributes USD 1 million annually to this fund which is managed by the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Special Unit for South-South Cooperation.

ACI ranks Hyderabad airport No. 1 in 5 to 15 million categories:

Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has ranked No. 1 in the Airports Council International’s (ACI) service quality survey in the category of 5 to 15 million passengers per annum.

A trophy for this accomplishment for the year 2016 was handed over to GHIAL CEO, SG K Kishore during the 27th ACI Africa/world annual general assembly at Port Louis in Mauritius on October 18, 2017.

Income Tax department launches ‘online chat’ to answer taxpayer’s queries:

The income tax department has launched an ‘online chat’ service for taxpayers so that they can seek answers to their basic queries and doubts relating to direct tax issues.

A window has been hosted on the main page of the department’s website with a prominent icon stating ‘Live Chat Online- ask your query’.

BANKING & BUSINESS

Indian-origin teenager Akshay Ruparelia becomes one of UK’s youngest millionaires:

An extraordinary individual is 19-year-old Indian-origin student, Akshay Ruparelia, who has become the youngest millionaire in the UK. Akshay Ruparelia is the founder of doorstep.uk, an online estate agency business that has recently been valued at 12 million pounds, in just over a year.

SBI Foundation commits Rs.10 crore for conservation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus:

The SBI Foundation has committed Rs10 crore for the conservation and restoration of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST) of Mumbai over a period of three to five years.

Banks to provide funds at 7% to women SHGs under DAY-NRLM: RBI

The RBI has said banks will provide funds to women self help groups, SHGs, in rural areas at 7 per cent under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) in the current fiscal.

The central bank issued the revised guidelines on interest subvention scheme under DAY-NRLM, as received from the Ministry of Rural Development for implementation by 21 public sector banks and 19 private banks.

All women SHGs will be eligible for interest subvention on credit upto 3 lakh rupees at 7 per cent per annum. Banks will be subvented to the extent of difference between the Weighted Average Interest Charged and 7 per cent subject to the maximum limit of 5.5 per cent for the year 2017-18.

The interest subvention scheme on credit to women SHG during 2017-18 is applicable in 250 districts across the country.

Kotak Mahindra Bank launches Paymint:

Kotak Mahindra Bank and Zeta, a fintech pioneer on Tuesday announced the launch of ‘Paymint’, a comprehensive digital wallet to manage multiple employee benefits.

The benefits disbursed by the Paymint platform are received and accessed by employees via RuPay-powered Paymint Card, Zeta app on smartphones and desktops, and NFC enabled Zeta Super Tag.

APPOINTMENTS

Sunny Verghese appointed as WBCSD Chair from 2018:

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) appointed NRI businessman Sunny Verghese, co-founder, and CEO of Singapore-based Olam International, as its new chairman from 2018.

He succeeds Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever as the Chairman.

Manika Jain appointed as Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Cambodia:

Ms. Manika Jain, (IFS: 1993), presently Consul General of India, Melbourne has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

AWARDS

Swraj Paul honoured Life Time Achievement Award for contributions to manufacturing, education:

Prominent NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has been conferred with the Life Time Achievement Award here for his outstanding contributions in the fields of manufacturing industry, education and philanthropy.

The 2nd British Asian Achievers Awards, organised by Jagatwani, a Hindi weekly, was held at the Grosvenor Hotel here on Friday.

Javed Akhtar to be honoured with Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award:

Veteran writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar is to be honored with the Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award will receive Rs.1,00,000 along with a memento.

The programme is being presented to celebrate the 75-year-old music career of singer Lata Mangeshkar.

Environmental scientist Hans Joachim Schellnhuber receives Blue Planet Prize:

Environmental scientist Hans Joachim Schellnhuber received Blue Planet Prize, world’s most prestigious award for pioneers in environmental science.

He is the second recipient of the Blue Planet Prize.

ISKCON’s Govardhan Eco Village gets green platinum award:

The Govardhan Eco Village, set up by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Palghar district, has won the ‘green platinum award’. The village’s director, Gauranga Das, received the award, instituted by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), early this month during the Green Building Congress-2017 at Jaipur in Rajasthan, an ISKCON press release said.

SPORTS

Ravi Shastri becomes World’s Highest Earning Cricket Coach:

Team India’s head coach Ravi Shastri has become the highest-earning cricket coach in the world ($1.17 million), a recent report by ESPNcricinfo has stated.

India skipper Virat Kohli, meanwhile earns even lesser than Shastri, owning just $1 million, excluding the amount he gets from advertising. Behind the 55-year-old Shastri is Australia coach Darren Lehmann, who earns almost $ 0.55 million.

OBITUARY

Richard Wilbur, Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Winner, Dies at 96:

Richard Wilbur, whose meticulous, urbane poems earned him two Pulitzer Prizes and selection as the national poet laureate, died on Saturday in Belmont, Mass. He was 96.

Chess grandmaster William Lombardy passed away:

William J. Lombardy, who was one of the most talented and promising chess players of his generation, winning titles and accolades while he was still a teenager, but who all but gave up the game at the height of his career to become a priest, died on Friday in Martinez, California. He was 79.