GK Today October 2017

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Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017]

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Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Contents ......................... . ..................................................................................... Month Highlights: October -2017 ................................................................................................................................................................................ 3 Government Policy and Schemes ................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Science, Technology & Environment ........................................................................................................................................................... 5 Events & Observances ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Defence Related ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Awards .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Persons in news – Appointments / Elections ........................................................................................................................................... 11 Sports ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 11 Finance, Business and Economy .................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Miscellaneous Terms and Facts ................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Facts in News [FIN]: September, 2017 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 President Ramnath Kovind inaugurates Shirdi airport in Maharashtra .............................................................................................. 13 President declares urban Maharashtra open defecation free ................................................................................................................ 13 3rd Edition of Women of India Organic Festival held at Dilli Haat .................................................................................................... 13 Government opens two border crossing points with Myanmar, Bangladesh ................................................................................... 13 Indian entrepreneur Birendra Sasmal wins UK business award for innovative IT solutions ......................................................... 13 PM lays foundation stone of AIIMS, IIIT in Himachal Pradesh ........................................................................................................... 13 India, Nepal to conduct first joint tiger count ......................................................................................................................................... 14 Vice-President lays foundation stone for national waterway on Krishna River ................................................................................ 14 Diploma in Elementary Education programme launched for untrained teachers ............................................................................ 14 President Kovind declares Rural Gujarat as Open Defecation Free .................................................................................................... 14 Bihar Government launches drive against child marriage & dowry ................................................................................................... 14 Jagmeet Singh elected as leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party ................................................................................................ 14 Writer & journalist H. M. Marathe passes away ...................................................................................................................................... 15 The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 4, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. ............................................ 15 China to build World’s highest power pylon ............................................................................................................................................ 15

Ministry approves of HealthExtradition ranks first Treaty in Swachh Bharat initiative ..................................................................................................................... 15 Cabinet between India and Lithuania ..................................................................................................... 15 Cabinet approves MoU between India and Myanmar on Upgradation of Women’s Police Training Centre ........................... 15 India’s first ITI for Divyangans (Disabled) will come up in Assam .................................................................................................... 15 HDFC Life launches service bot Neo ......................................................................................................................................................... 15 Ukhnaa Khurelsukh appointed as Prime Minister of Mongolia ........................................................................................................... 16 October 4-10: World Space Week ............................................................................................................................................................. 16 October 4: World Animal Day .................................................................................................................................................................... 16 The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 5-6, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. ........................................ 16 Andhra Pradesh signs MoU with Mastercard .......................................................................................................................................... 16 Pooja Kadian wins gold medal at Wushu World Championships ....................................................................................................... 16 First ASEAN India Music Festival held at Purana Qila in New Delhi ................................................................................................. 16 RBI to allow inter-operability in prepaid payment instruments ........................................................................................................... 16 The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 7, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. ............................................ 17 Aadhaar mandatory for PPF, KVP schemes ............................................................................................................................................. 17 Chhattisgarh bans use of chlorinated plastic and Polyvinyl Chloride ................................................................................................. 17 World Dental Show 2017 opens in Mumbai ........................................................................................................................................... 17 Amrender Sharan appointed as amicus curiae on plea to reopen Mahatma Gandhi assassination ............................................. Renowned filmmaker Kundan Shah passes away ................................................................................................................................... Uttar Pradesh Government launches Mukhyamantri Samoohik Vivaah Yojana .............................................................................. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 8-9, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. ........................................ RBI to soon launch financial literacy drive in 9 states ........................................................................................................................... Scientists develop Algae-based footwear .................................................................................................................................................. Gurusaidutt wins Bulgarian International ................................................................................................................................................. Anupama Ramachandran wins World Open U-16 Snooker Championship ..................................................................................... Samiya Imad Farooqui wins gold at U-15 Asian Junior Championship ............................................................................................. American Morgan Hurd wins all-around title at gymnastics world championships .......................................................................

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Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 10-11, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. ..................................... 18 Cabinet approves MoU between SEBI and FSC ..................................................................................................................................... 18 Cabinet approves MoU between SEBI and CMA, Kuwait .................................................................................................................... 19 IIT-Kharagpur inks MoU with Samsung India ....................................................................................................................................... 19 3rd International Conference on Yoga held in New Delhi ................................................................................................................... 19 10 October: World Mental Health Day ..................................................................................................................................................... 19 Amul named India’s best FMCG Company in food sector .................................................................................................................. 19 The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 12-13, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. .................................... 20 Mastercard launches its first Innovation Centre in India ...................................................................................................................... 20 RBI allows interoperability of wallets in six months .............................................................................................................................. 20 Tata Teleservices to merge with Bharti Airtel ........................................................................................................................................ 20 SpaceX completes successful launch of recycled rocket Falcon 9 ..................................................................................................... 20 Ashish Nehra announces retirement from all forms of cricket ........................................................................................................... 20 FIFA suspends the Pakistan Football Federation .................................................................................................................................... 20 The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 14, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. ........................................... 21 Bihar Cabinet approves reservation for ‘Divyangs’ in Government Jobs ........................................................................................... 21 Kolkata to host international puppet festival ............................................................................................................................................ 21 Hamas, Fatah ink deal on Palestinian reconciliation ............................................................................................................................... 21 HPCL becomes first Indian oil company to trade lubricants in Myanmar ........................................................................................ 21 M K Sanu awarded Mathrubhumi Literary Award ................................................................................................................................ 21 Gautam Bambawale appointed as India’s ambassador to China ......................................................................................................... 21 Indian Air Force launches ‘MedWatch’ mobile health App .................................................................................................................. 21 The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 22-23, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. ................................... 22 India’s new chancery complex opened in Dhaka ................................................................................................................................... 22 ONGC plans to raise oil output by 4 MT by 2020 ............................................................................................................................... 22 Government de-affiliates 400 ITIs for failing quality norms ............................................................................................................... 22 Maruti becomes top exporter of passenger cars from India ................................................................................................................ 22 CISF to analyse social media trends & data in monitoring security .................................................................................................... 22 Government appoints ex-IB Chief as its representative on Kashmir dialogue ................................................................................. 22 The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 24, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. ......................................... 23 Japan’s ruling coalition wins overwhelming victory in general election ............................................................................................ 23 Rakesh Asthana appointed as special director of CBI ........................................................................................................................... 23 China to host 2nd edition of World Congress on Marxism ................................................................................................................. 23 Cristiano Ronaldo named as 2017 Best FIFA Men’s Player award .................................................................................................... 23 The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 25, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. .......................................... 23 Suresh Sethi appointed as MD and CEO of India Post Payments Bank ............................................................................................ 23 SBI inks agreement with Escorts Ltd to finance tractors purchase .................................................................................................... 24 Filmmaker Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran passes away .............................................................................................................................. 24 EPPC inks MoU with PNB to provide export finance for SMEs ......................................................................................................... 24 The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 29-30, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. .................................. 24 Vikram Singh appointed as Private Secretary to President .................................................................................................................. 24 B C Khanduri to head parliamentary standing committee on defence ............................................................................................. 24 Microsoft Partners Karnataka Government to bring AI to agriculture ............................................................................................. 24 Sharmila Tagore honoured with 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award by PHDCCI ....................................................................... 25 England wins FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 .............................................................................................................................................. 25 Pakistan to 2018 Asian Cricket Council Emerging Nations Cup ........................................................................................................ 25 The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 31, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. .......................................... 25 October 31: World Cities Day ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Y.C. Modi is new NIA Director-General .................................................................................................................................................. 25 Neelamani N. Raju becomes Karnataka’s first woman police chief ................................................................................................... 25 Heena Sidhu wins 10m air pistol gold medal at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships ................................................ 26 Date Wise: Current Affairs Updates .......................................................................................................................................................................... 26 October 1, 2, 2017 ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 1 October: International Day of Older Persons ............................................................................................................................................... 26 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] 2 October: International Day of Non-violence ............................................................................................................................................... International day of Non-Violence ............................................................................................................................................................. Mahatma Gandhi ........................................................................................................................................................................................... Odisha Government creating land bank for industrial allocation ............................................................................................................... Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... India gets first-ever U.S. crude shipment ......................................................................................................................................................... Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... India-US Energy relations ............................................................................................................................................................................ NHAI launches countrywide Free Eye Check-up Campaign ...................................................................................................................... Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... Three US-born scientists win 2017 Nobel Medicine Prize ..........................................................................................................................

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Circardian Rhythm ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 29 Nobel Medicine Prize .................................................................................................................................................................................... 29 October 3, 2017 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 30 October 2: World Habitat Day ........................................................................................................................................................................... 30 New Urban Agenda ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Background ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple adjudged as cleanest iconic place ................................................................................................ 31 Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 President appoints Commission to Examine OBC Sub-categorisation ....................................................................................................... 31 Key Facts .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Commission’s Terms of reference ............................................................................................................................................................. 32 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Government unveils third National Wildlife Action Plan for 2017-2031 .................................................................................................. 32 3rd National Wildlife Action Plan ............................................................................................................................................................... 32 Global Wildlife Programme Conference held in New Delhi ........................................................................................................................ 33 GWP Conference ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Global Wildlife Programme (GWP) ........................................................................................................................................................... 33 Scientist develop rapid test to diagnose Zika and dengue ............................................................................................................................ 33 Key Facts .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Government launches SECURE Himalaya Project ......................................................................................................................................... 34 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 2017 Nobel Prize in physics goes to the discovery of Gravitational Waves ............................................................................................. 34 Gravitational waves ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 LIGO ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 34 October 4, 2017 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 35 Karnataka Government launches Mathru Poorna scheme ........................................................................................................................... 35 Key Facts .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Sibir: World’s biggest and most powerful nuclear icebreaker ship launched by Russia ........................................................................ 36 Sibir ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Soumya Swaminathan appointed as Deputy DG of WHO .......................................................................................................................... 36 Soumya Swaminathan .................................................................................................................................................................................. 36 World Health Organization (WHO) .......................................................................................................................................................... 37 Core sector growth rises to 4.9% in August 2017 ....................................................................................................................................... 37 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... Eight core sectors .......................................................................................................................................................................................... Foundation stone for national waterway on Krishna River laid .................................................................................................................. National Waterway 4 .................................................................................................................................................................................... Significance of NW 4 ................................................................................................................................................................................... Turtle Sanctuary to be set up in Allahabad ..................................................................................................................................................... Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... Need for such Projects ................................................................................................................................................................................. Satya Pal Malik sworn-in as governor of Bihar .............................................................................................................................................. Satya Pal Malik ...............................................................................................................................................................................................


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Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Constitutional provisions of Governor ...................................................................................................................................................... 39 RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6% ............................................................................................................................................................. 39 Policy Rates ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 39 Key Highlights of 4th bi-monthly policy ................................................................................................................................................. 40 October 5, 2017 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 40 PM inaugurates Golden Jubilee Year Celebrations of ICSI .......................................................................................................................... 40 Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) ................................................................................................................................... 40 Cabinet approves MoU between India and Switzerland on Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector .................................................... 40 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Cabinet approves renaming of Kandla Port as Deendayal Port ................................................................................................................... 41 Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay ........................................................................................................................................................................ 41 Kandla Port ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Rajnish Kumar appointed as new Chairman of SBI ....................................................................................................................................... 41 Rajnish Kumar ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 41 State Bank of India (SBI) ............................................................................................................................................................................. 42 Government constitutes high-level committee for water management in northeast ............................................................................. 42 Composition of Committee ......................................................................................................................................................................... 42 Terms of reference of Committee ............................................................................................................................................................. 42 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 42 Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson selected for 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry ........................................ 43 Contributions of trio ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Cryo-electron microscopy ........................................................................................................................................................................... 43 India, Djibouti sign pact on bilateral consultations ........................................................................................................................................ 44 India-Djibouti Relations ................................................................................................................................................................................ 45 Ganga Prasad sworn in as Governor of Meghalaya ...................................................................................................................................... 45 Ganga Prasad .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Government launches Paryatan Parv to boost tourism ................................................................................................................................. 45 Components of Paryatan Parv .................................................................................................................................................................... 46 October 6, 2017 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 46 India signs €300 million agreement with European Investment Bank for Bangalore Metro Phase II .............................................. 46 Bangalore Metro Phase II ............................................................................................................................................................................ 46 Fact Box: Embryo transfer technology (ETT) ................................................................................................................................................ 46 Embryo transfer technology (ETT) .......................................................................................................................................................... 47 National Mission on Bovine Productivity ................................................................................................................................................. 47 Rashtriya Gokul Mission .............................................................................................................................................................................. 47 India, Ethiopia sign agreements on trade, communication .......................................................................................................................... 47 Singed Agreements ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 47 India-Ethiopia Relations ................................................................................................................................................................................ 47 Kazuo Ishiguro selected for 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature ....................................................................................................................... 48 Kazuo Ishiguro ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Banwarilal Purohit sworn in as Governor of Tamil Nadu ........................................................................................................................... 49 Banwarilal Purohit ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Snow leopard photographed for first time in Arunachal Pradesh .............................................................................................................. 50 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 50 Community Conserved Area (CCA) ......................................................................................................................................................... 50 Snow leopard .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 50 Nobel Peace Prize 2017 awarded to International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons ............................................................... 50 International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) ........................................................................................................... 50 October 7-8, 2017 ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 51 Recommendations of Uday Kotak Committee on Corporate Governance ............................................................................................... 51 Recommendations of Committee ................................................................................................................................................................ 51 Gauri Lankesh becomes first Indian to win Anna Politkovskaya Award .................................................................................................. 52 Gauri Lankesh ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 52 Anna Politkovskaya Award .......................................................................................................................................................................... 52 CBDT signs 2 more APAs with taxpayers ....................................................................................................................................................... 53


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) ........................................................................................................................................................ 53 First Meeting of India-Australia Joint Steering Committee held in New Delhi ....................................................................................... 53 Key Facts .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 53 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 53 US approves first test to screen Zika virus in donated blood ...................................................................................................................... 53 Cobas Zika test ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Zika virus ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Scientists develop smart bandage to promote better, faster healing .......................................................................................................... 54 Smart Bandage ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Bacteria can spread antibiotic resistance through soil: study ....................................................................................................................... 54 Reasons for spread of antibiotic resistance through soil ....................................................................................................................... 54 What researchers found? .............................................................................................................................................................................. 55 Antibiotic resistance ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 55 Home Ministry forms study group to examine problems people residing in border areas .................................................................. 55 Composition of study group ........................................................................................................................................................................ 55 Terms of References ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 55 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 55 October 9, 2017 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 55 Government launches Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan in Gujarat ......................................................................... 55 Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan .............................................................................................................................. 55 Air pollution affects children’s memory: Study ............................................................................................................................................... 56 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 56 GST council constitutes GoM to review GST Composition Scheme ....................................................................................................... 56 Committee’s role ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 56 Composition scheme ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 56 Government launches sovereign gold bond scheme 2017-18 – Series-III ............................................................................................... 57 Sovereign Gold Bonds .................................................................................................................................................................................. 57 Features of Sovereign Gold Bonds ............................................................................................................................................................ 57 VAJRA Scheme: Government receives 260 applicants for visiting researcher programme ................................................................. 58 VAJRA Scheme ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 58 NMCG approves Eight Projects under Namami Gange Programme ........................................................................................................ 58 Approved projects ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 58 National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) .......................................................................................................................................... 58 Government launches Intensified Mission Indradhanush ............................................................................................................................. 59 Intensified Mission Indradhanush .............................................................................................................................................................. 59 Mission Indradhanush ................................................................................................................................................................................... 59 Richard H. Thaler wins 2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences .............................................................................................................. 60 Richard H. Thaler’s Contribution .............................................................................................................................................................. 60 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences ............................................................................................................................................................. 60 October 10, 2017 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 62 Government imposes anti-dumping duty on certain Chinese steel products .......................................................................................... 62 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 62 Anti-dumping ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 62 MoRTH to promote new technologies in highway projects ....................................................................................................................... 62 Value Engineering Program ......................................................................................................................................................................... 62 NationalofPanel of Experts (NPE) ................................................................................................................................................................ Terms Reference of NPE ........................................................................................................................................................................ India Water Week inaugurated by President ................................................................................................................................................... Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... Jagdish Mukhi sworn in as new Governor of Assam .................................................................................................................................... Jagdish Mukhi ................................................................................................................................................................................................. First BIMSTEC Disaster Management exercise held in New Delhi ........................................................................................................... Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... BIMSTEC ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ India ranks 8th in 2017 Valuable Nation Brand List .....................................................................................................................................


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Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 64 Valuable Nation Brand List .......................................................................................................................................................................... 64 Rajasthan: First state to incorporate skill development programme in higher education ..................................................................... 65 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 65 India hosts International Conference on Dialogue of Civilizations – IV ................................................................................................... 65 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 65 October 11, 2017 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 65 Nisha Biswal appointed as President of USIBC .............................................................................................................................................. 65 Nisha Biswal .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 65 US-India Business Council ........................................................................................................................................................................... 66 Japan launches fourth Michibiki satellite for hi-tech GPS ............................................................................................................................ 66 QZS-4 (Michibiki-4) .................................................................................................................................................................................... 66 Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) ...................................................................................................................................................... 66 H-IIA rocket ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 66 IMF lowers India’s growth forecast to 6.7 % ................................................................................................................................................ 66 Key facts .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 66 Comment ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 67 World Economic Outlook (WEO) ............................................................................................................................................................. 67 Government to set up think tank for oil sector ............................................................................................................................................. 67 Internal think tank ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 67 Domestic gas trading hub ........................................................................................................................................................................... 67 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 67 SC criminalises sex with minor wife aged between 15 to 18 years ............................................................................................................ 68 What is the issue? .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 68 SC Verdict ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 68 Anupam Kher appointed as Chairman of FTII .............................................................................................................................................. 68 Anupam Kher ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 68 Film and Television Institute of India ....................................................................................................................................................... 68 Cabinet approves change of status for marine body IALA .......................................................................................................................... 68 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 69 International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) ...................................................... 69 Cabinet approves MoC between India and Japan to establish Liquid, Flexible and Global LNG Market ......................................... 69 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 69 October 12, 2017 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 69 October 11: International Day of the Girl Child ............................................................................................................................................. 69 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 70 Cabinet approves MoC between India and Japan on Technical Intern Training Program .................................................................. 70 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 70 44th Indian Handicrafts and Gifts-Delhi Fair inaugurated in New Delhi ................................................................................................ 70 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 70 IHGF Delhi Fair ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 70 India’s first STP under Hybrid Annuity Mode to come up in Haridwar and Varanasi ......................................................................... 70 Key Facts .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 71 Hybrid Annuity Model ................................................................................................................................................................................. 71 CCEA approves SANKALP & STRIVE Schemes to boost Skill India Mission .......................................................................................... 71 STRIVE scheme SANKALP scheme.............................................................................................................................................................................................. ......................................................................................................................................................................................... Comment ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... First Meeting of EAC-PM held in New Delhi ................................................................................................................................................. Ten identified themes ................................................................................................................................................................................... EAC-PM ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... Global Hunger Index 2017: India ranks 100th among 119 nations ........................................................................................................... Global Hunger Index (GHI) ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2017 GHI Highlights .................................................................................................................................................................................... October 13, 2017 ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................


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Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] INS Satpura, Kadmatt participates in Passage Exercise in Japan ................................................................................................................ Comment ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... October 13: International Day for Disaster Reduction .................................................................................................................................. IIP rises to 9-month high of 4.3% in August 2017 ...................................................................................................................................... Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... Index of Industrial Production (IIP) .......................................................................................................................................................... Two Experimental Ebola vaccines found safe, effective in human trial .................................................................................................... Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... Ebola virus disease (EVD) ............................................................................................................................................................................ US withdraws from UNESCO accusing it for anti-Israel bias ..................................................................................................................... Background .....................................................................................................................................................................................................

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United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) ....................................................................................................... 75 IWAI raises Rs. 660 crore through Bonds ...................................................................................................................................................... 76 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 76 Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) ......................................................................................................................................... 76 Government launches Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana ................................................................................................................................ 76 Sampoorna Bima Gram (SBG) Yojana .................................................................................................................................................... 76 Expansion of PLI ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 76 Postal Life Insurance (PLI) .......................................................................................................................................................................... 76 Mitra Shakti 2017: India-Sri Lanka Joint Military Exercise held in Pune .................................................................................................. 77 Mitra Shakti 2017 ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 77 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 77 October 14-17, 2017 .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 77 October 14: World Standards Day .................................................................................................................................................................... 77 Significance of the day ................................................................................................................................................................................. 77 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 77 Bureau of Indian Standards Act 2016 comes into effect ............................................................................................................................. 78 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 78 Audrey Azoulay elected as Director General of UNESCO .......................................................................................................................... 78 Audrey Azoulay ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 79 World’s largest combustion research centre inaugurated at IIT Madras ................................................................................................. 79 National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) ........................................................................................ 79 Need to balance national interest, human rights on Rohingya refugees: SC ........................................................................................... 79 TM Krishna wins 2015-16 Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration ............................................................................................. 80 TM Krishna .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 80 Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration ....................................................................................................................................... 80 October 15: International Day of Rural Women ............................................................................................................................................ 80 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 81 16 October: World Food Day .............................................................................................................................................................................. 81 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 81 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) .............................................................................................................................................. 81 CarbFix Project: World’s first negative emissions carbon-capture plant begins operations in Iceland ............................................... 82 CarbFix Project ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 82 INS Kiltan commissioned into Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam ................................................................................................................... 82 INS Kiltan ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 83 Defence Ministry to raise three new tri-service agencies ............................................................................................................................. 83 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 83 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 84 First Investment Agreement signed between NIIF and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ................................................................... 84 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 84 National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) ............................................................................................................................ 84 Few investors of NIIF ................................................................................................................................................................................... 84 October 18, 2017 .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 84 October 17: The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty ............................................................................................................ 84


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 85 #IamThatWoman: WCD Ministry launches campaign on women for women ...................................................................................... 85 Significance of this campaign ..................................................................................................................................................................... 85 India inks MoC to send interns to Japan for training .................................................................................................................................... 85 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 85 Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP) ....................................................................................................................................... 85 MCX launches India’s first commodity options in Gold .............................................................................................................................. 86 Options ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 86 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 86 Comment ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 86 Multi Commodity Exchange Ltd (MCX) ................................................................................................................................................. 86 Sawfish more threatened than tigers: Scientists ............................................................................................................................................. 86 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 86 Prime Minister dedicated first All India Institute of Ayurveda to nation .................................................................................................. 87 All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) ...................................................................................................................................................... 87 Times Higher Education Rankings: IISC & IIT Bombay among world’s top 200 for engineering .................................................... 87 Rankings .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 87 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 87 US author George Saunders wins 2017 Man Booker Prize ........................................................................................................................ 88 Lincoln in the Bardo ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 88 George Saunders ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 88 Man Booker Prize ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 88 October 19-20, 2017 .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 88 ISKCON’s Govardhan Eco Village wins Green Platinum Award ............................................................................................................... 88 Govardhan Eco Village ................................................................................................................................................................................. 88 Green Platinum Award ................................................................................................................................................................................ 89 Hans Joachim Schellnhuber wins 2017 Blue Planet Prize ............................................................................................................................ 89 Blue Planet Prize ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 89 Indian-American Gitanjali Rao wins 2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge ....................................................... 89 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 89 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge ............................................................................................................................ 89 Sunny Verghese appointed as new chairman of World Business Council for Sustainable Development .......................................... 90 Sunny Verghese ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 90 World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) ..................................................................................................... 90 EPFO launches new facility to link UAN with Aadhaar online ................................................................................................................... 90 Universal Account Number (UAN) ........................................................................................................................................................... 90 NHAI to get power to speed up Bharatmala programme ............................................................................................................................ 91 Key Facts .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 91 Bharatmala programme ................................................................................................................................................................................ 91 Jaipur and Srinagar Airport ranked first and second in ACI-ASQ Survey ................................................................................................ 91 About ASQ awards ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 92 Hemidactylus kangerensis: New species of large gecko discovered in Eastern Ghats ........................................................................... 92 Kanger valley rock gecko ............................................................................................................................................................................ 92 INDRA 2017: First tri-services military exercise between India-Russia begins ....................................................................................... 92 INDRA 2017 ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 92 Comment ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 92 India, Brazil, South Africa sign IBSA Trust Fund agreement ...................................................................................................................... 93 IBSA Trust Fund ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 93 IBSA Dialogue Forum .................................................................................................................................................................................. 93 Cooperation in IBSA is on three fronts .................................................................................................................................................... 93 India tops list of pollution-linked deaths: Study .............................................................................................................................................. 93 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 93 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 94 Government sets up expert group for suggestions on artificial intelligence policy ................................................................................ 95 Seven-point strategy on AI .......................................................................................................................................................................... 95


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Artificial intelligence ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 95 October 21-22, 2017 ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 95 5-member committee formed to select editor-in-chief of RSTV ............................................................................................................... 95 Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) .............................................................................................................................................................................. 95 October 21: Police Commemoration Day ........................................................................................................................................................ 96 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 96 Why Police Commemoration Day is celebrated? ................................................................................................................................... 96 Government permits banks to sell more small savings schemes ................................................................................................................ 96 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 96 Small saving schemes ................................................................................................................................................................................... 96 APEDA to promote NE products in Bangladesh and Myanmar ................................................................................................................ 97 Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) ................................................................. 97 Rajasthan Government introduces bill prohibiting probes against judges, officers without sanction ................................................ 97 Features of Bill ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 97 GSTN launches excel-based offline tool to file initial GSTR-3B returns .................................................................................................. 97 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 97 Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) ............................................................................................................................................ 98 Peru approves medicinal use of marijuana ...................................................................................................................................................... 98 Marijuana ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 98 NASA extends Dawn Mission at dwarf planet Ceres ................................................................................................................................... 98 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 99 Dawn Mission ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 99 October 23, 2017 .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 99 HRD Ministry pushes for cash-free campuses ............................................................................................................................................... 99 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 99 Vittiya Saksharta Abhiyan (VISAKA) ........................................................................................................................................................ 99 Government makes mandatory for Banks to match srcinal IDs with photocopies ............................................................................ 100 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 100 New Rule ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 100 Denmark Open: Kidambi Srikanth wins third Super Series title .............................................................................................................. 100 Other category winners .............................................................................................................................................................................. 100 2017 Denmark Super Series Premier ...................................................................................................................................................... 101 4th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus to be held in Philippines .................................................................................................. 101 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 101 ADMM-Plus ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 101 Sri Lankan Coast Guard commissions OPV SURAKSHA gifted by India ............................................................................................... 101 SLCGS Suraksha ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 101 INCG Varuna ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 101 PM launches South Asia’s first Ro-Ro ferry service in Gujarat ................................................................................................................. 102 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 102 Benefits ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 102 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 103 India’s first Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra for Skilling in Smart Cities inaugurated in New Delhi .............................................. 103 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 103 October 24, 2017 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 103 October 24: World................................................................................................................................................................................................... Development Information Day ..................................................................................................................................... 103 103 Background 56th Raising Day of ITBP observed ................................................................................................................................................................ 104 Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) ......................................................................................................................................................... 104 Paika rebellion to be named as 1st War of Independence: Government ................................................................................................. 104 Paika Bidroha (rebellion) ........................................................................................................................................................................... 104 24 October: United Nations Day ..................................................................................................................................................................... 105 United Nations .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 105 League of Nations (LoN) ........................................................................................................................................................................... 105 TRAI recommends 40% reduction in carbon emission by 2022-23 for sustainable telecommunications ..................................... 105


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) ................................................................................................................................... Government appoints Dineshwar Sharma as its representative in J&K ................................................................................................... Need ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... Key Facts ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... Dineshwar Sharma ...................................................................................................................................................................................... RBI sets up task force for India Public Credit Registry ............................................................................................................................... Terms of reference of task force ............................................................................................................................................................. Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... All-women crew of Navika Sagar Parikrama expedition reaches Fremantle ......................................................................................... INSV Tarini ................................................................................................................................................................................................... Navika Sagar Parikrama .............................................................................................................................................................................

105 106 106 106 106 106 106 107 107 107 107 107

Significance ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 108 October 25, 2017 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 108 India ink $300 Million loan agreement with ADB to promote fiscal reforms in West Bengal ......................................................... 108 Second West Bengal Development Finance Program ......................................................................................................................... 108 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 109 Asian Development Bank (ADB) ............................................................................................................................................................. 109 24 October: World Polio Day ........................................................................................................................................................................... 109 Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) .............................................................................................................................................. 109 Poliovirus ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 109 Government launches website of CIPAM ....................................................................................................................................................... 110 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 110 CIPAM ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 110 World’s oldest maritime astrolabe that guided ships to India found ......................................................................................................... 110 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 110 Astrolabe ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 110 Ministries of Power & Textiles join hands for SAATHI initiative ............................................................................................................... 111 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 111 Benefits ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 111 Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 111 CSIR-NIIST scientists develop organic near-infrared filter .......................................................................................................................... 111 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 111 Significance ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 112 Girija Devi: Queen of Thumri passes away .................................................................................................................................................... 112 Girija Devi ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 112 Thumri ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 112 SC bans dirty pet-coke, furnace oil in Haryana, Rajasthan, UP .................................................................................................................. 112 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 112 Significance of SC directive ........................................................................................................................................................................ 113 BharatMala Pariyojana: Government to build 83,677 km of infrastructure projects ........................................................................... 113 BharatMala Pariyojana ................................................................................................................................................................................. 113 Government announces Bank Recapitalisation Plan to infuse Rs. 2.11 lakh crore capital in PSBs ..................................................... 114 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 114 Recapitalisation .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 114 Need for Recapitalisation ............................................................................................................................................................................ 114 Implications of Recapitalisation .................................................................................................................................................................. 114 CVC to develop Integrity Index of 25 Government Organizations ........................................................................................................... 115 Objectives of Integrity Index ...................................................................................................................................................................... 115 Key Facts ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 115 Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) ...................................................................................................................................................... 115 October 26, 2017 ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 115 India imposes anti-dumping duty on some stainless steel imports ............................................................................................................ 115 Anti-dumping Duty ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 116 First BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine meeting held in New Delhi ................................................................................ 116


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) ................................................ Indian Navy approves new mission-based deployment plan ...................................................................................................................... New mission-based Deployment Plan ..................................................................................................................................................... New transition cycle ..................................................................................................................................................................................... Muddle over GEAC’s approval for GM mustard DMH-11 ......................................................................................................................... Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) ............................................................................................................................ GM Mustard DMH-11 ................................................................................................................................................................................. Comment ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ Scientists develop new tool to improve monsoon forecast ......................................................................................................................... Significance .................................................................................................................................................................................................... Global Passport Power Rank 2017: India ranks 75 ......................................................................................................................................

116 116 116 116 117 117 117 117 117 117 117 118

Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 118 Global Passport Power Rank ...................................................................................................................................................................... 118 Start-up Sangam Initiative: Oil companies to back 30 start-ups with Rs 320-crore fund .................................................................. 118 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 118 Ichthyosaur fossil discovered for first time in India ...................................................................................................................................... 119 Ichthyosaur ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 119 Significance of discovery ............................................................................................................................................................................. 119 October 27, 2017 ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 119 October 27: World Day for Audiovisual Heritage ........................................................................................................................................ 119 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 119 27 October: Infantry Day .................................................................................................................................................................................. 120 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 120 Kilogram will get new measure set by value of Planck constant from 2019 ......................................................................................... 120 Why it was changed? .................................................................................................................................................................................. 120 New measure for kilogram ........................................................................................................................................................................ 120 Significance ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 121 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 121 Rajasthan passes bill to provide reservation to Gujjars and four other nomadic communities .......................................................... 122 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 123 Government gives LoI to 7 companies for 14 monuments under Adopt a Heritage Scheme ........................................................... 123 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 123 Adopt a Heritage Scheme (Apni Dharohar Apni Pehchan Project) ................................................................................................. 123 REPAIR: Scientists develop RNA editing tool to combat genetic disease ................................................................................................ 123 REPAIR ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 124 Significance .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 124 Comment ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 124 India, Sri Lanka ink MoU for housing project deal in Hambantota ......................................................................................................... 124 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 124 Significance .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 125 Indian Railway’s first set of solar plant of 5 MW capacity launched ........................................................................................................ 125 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 125 First International Conference on Consumer Protection held in New Delhi .......................................................................................... 125 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 126 New Consumer Protection Bill ................................................................................................................................................................. 126 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ............................................................................................ 126 October 28-29, 2017 .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 126 Indian Railways to revise flexi-fares system on premium trains ................................................................................................................ 126 Need ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 126 Revised flexi-fare system ............................................................................................................................................................................ 126 Flexi-fare system ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 126 Javed Akhtar awarded 2017 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award .................................................................................................................. 127 Javed Akhtar .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 127 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award ............................................................................................................................................................... 127


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Phase 1 of Bharat Net project to be completed by December 2017 ........................................................................................................ Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ BharatNet ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14th SAARCLAW Conference held in Colombo, Sri Lanka ...................................................................................................................... Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ SAARCLAW Conference ............................................................................................................................................................................ South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) ........................................................................................................... Government inks $65.5 Million Loan agreement with ADB to support Coastal Protection in Karnataka ..................................... Sustainable Coastal Protection and Management Investment Program .......................................................................................... Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... Government makes use of Public Finance Management System mandatory for central schemes ................................................... Public Finance Management System (PFMS) .......................................................................................................................................

127 127 127 128 128 128 128 128 128 128 129 129

Significance .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 129 OPV Vikram: L&T hand overs first defence vessel built in private shipyard to Coast Guard ............................................................. 129 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 130 Scientists link new virus to kala-azar .............................................................................................................................................................. 130 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 130 Kala-azar ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 131 October 30, 2017 ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 131 Four Asian vulture species from India gets highest protection under CMS ............................................................................................ 131 Species awarded highest protection are .................................................................................................................................................. 131 Outcomes of Manila summit of CMS ..................................................................................................................................................... 132 2017 French Open badminton: Kidambi Srikanth wins men’s singles title ............................................................................................ 132 Other Category Winners ............................................................................................................................................................................. 132 French Open .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 132 Home Ministry set to take over Bureau of Civil Aviation Security ........................................................................................................... 132 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 132 Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) .............................................................................................................................................. 133 India sends first wheat shipment to Afghanistan via Chabahar por ......................................................................................................... 133 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 133 Significance .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 134 Indian Army finalises plan to modernise weapons ....................................................................................................................................... 134 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 134 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 134 India to host UN Summit on Conservation of Migratory Species in 2020 ............................................................................................ 134 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 135 Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) .......................................................................... 135 World’s fastest, shortest laser pulse created ................................................................................................................................................... 135 Laser ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 135 Applications ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 135 11th India-US Trade Policy Forum Meeting held in Washington D.C ..................................................................................................... 135 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 136 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 136 October 31, 2017 ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 136 MSME Samadhaan: Government launches MSME Delayed Payment Portal ......................................................................................... 136 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... China launches world’s first hybrid electric tram powered by hydrogen fuel cells .............................................................................. Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ Government inks $200 million Loan Agreement for Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project ............................. Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project ...................................................................................................................... Home Ministry eases Arms Rules to woo investments ............................................................................................................................... Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ Significance .................................................................................................................................................................................................... Life term for government officials indulging in torture: Law Commission ............................................................................................


136 137 137 137 137 137 138 138 138 138

Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Key Recommendations ............................................................................................................................................................................... 138 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment .................................. 139 India tops list of new TB cases in 2016: WHO Report ............................................................................................................................... 139 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 139 Main Challenges ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 139 Tuberculosis (TB) ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 140 India, Italy sign six pacts and to enhance counter-terror cooperation .................................................................................................... 140 Key Takeaways from talks ........................................................................................................................................................................ 140 Singed Agreements are .............................................................................................................................................................................. 140 India-Italy Relations ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 140 31 October: Rashtriya Ekta Diwas .................................................................................................................................................................... 141 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel .............................................................................................................................................................................. 141 Article 35-A: SC adjourns hearing by 3 months ........................................................................................................................................... 141 What is Article 35-A? .................................................................................................................................................................................. 142 Permanent Residents ................................................................................................................................................................................... 142 Petitions demanding scrapping of Article 35A ...................................................................................................................................... 142 Government constitutes Alternative Mechanism Panel for PSBs consolidation ..................................................................................... 142 Key Facts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 142 Purpose of PSBs consolidation .................................................................................................................................................................. 143 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 143 Significance of PSBs consolidation ........................................................................................................................................................... 143


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Date-wise PDF Compilation of Current Affairs Today Updates October, 2017 comprise s two documents viz. (1) Subjective (News Summaries & Updates) Compendium (2) Objective Current Affairs (MCQ) Compendium. This part is News Compendium covering Monthly Highlights, Facts in News and Date Wise Updates published in GKToday. We have provided Current Affairs Questions Compendium separately covering 240 questions published in October, 2017. These documents are suitabl e for SSC, Bank PO, Bank Clerica l, IBPS, CLAT, Railways, State Level / Union Public Services examinations. Visit https://store.gktoday.in for other documents.

Month Highlights: October -2017 Government Policy and Schemes India gets first-ever crude shipment from US

India received first ever shipment of US crude oil of 1.6 million barrels, purchase d by state-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) at Paradip Port in Odisha. Odisha’s Land Bank

The Odisha Governmen t is creating 1.2 lakh acre land bank across state for allocation to industrial sector in order to avoid repeat of Posco fiasco. The purpose of the land bank is to cut red tape and avoid local issues in the land acquisition process. NHAI’s Free Eye Check-up Campaign

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched countrywide Free Eye Check-up Campaign and distribution of spectacles for truck drivers, cleaners and helpers. Commission to Examine OBC Sub-categorisation

President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed five-member commission to examine sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs). It will be headed by retired Chief Justice of Delhi High Court G. Rohini. Mathru Poorna scheme

The Karnataka Government has launched Mathru Poorna Scheme to meet nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating women in rural areas of state. Muktyal to Vijayawada waterway

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid foundation stone to develop Muktyal to Vijayawada waterway stretch on River Krishna as part of National Waterway 4 at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh. The 82-km inland waterway stretch is Phase-1 of National Waterway-4 developed under Sagar Mala project. Kandla Port renamed as Deendayal Port

The Union Cabinet has approved proposal of Union Ministry of Shipping to rename of Kandla Port in Gujarat as Deendayal Port, Kandla. The port was renamed after BJP ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay who had dedicated his entire life for public service. Rajiv Kumar Committee

The Government has constituted a high-level committee for proper management of water resources in North Eastern Region (NER) under Chairmanship of Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog. Paryatan Parv

Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with Other Union Ministrie s and State Governments has launched nationwide ‘Paryatan Parv’ to showcase cultural diversity of country and reinforce the principle of ‘Tourism for All’. Its objective is to draw focus on the benefits of tourism. Rina Mitra Study Group

The Union Home Ministry has formed study group to examine various problems faced by people residing near International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir in wake of regular ceasefire violations by Pakistan. It will be headed by Rina Mitra, Special Secretary in Home Ministry. Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.It aims at imparting digital literacy to citizens in rural areas free of cost. It aims to


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] provide access to information, knowledge, education, and healthcare. GST Composition Scheme

The GST Council has constit uted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to make the compositio n scheme more attractive and revisit the goods and services tax rates on restaurants. It will be headed by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. VAJRA Faculty Scheme

The Union Ministry of Science and Technology’s Visiting Advanced Joint Research (VAJRA) Faculty Scheme has received 260 applications from foreign scienti sts of whom 70 will be shortlisted. The scheme is meant to attract top international talent to country’s research and development (R&D) ecosystem. Sovereign Gold Bonds

The Union Government in consultation with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18 – Series-III. The applications for bond will be accepted from October 09, 2017 to December 27, 2017. Intensified Mission Indradhanush

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched Intensified Mission Indrad hanush (IMI) to accelerate full immunization coverage to more than 90% by December 2018. Value Engineering Program

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has decided to implement “Value Engineering Program” to promote use of new technologies, materials and equipment in highways projects executed either under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode or public funding mode. SANKALP & STRIVE Schemes

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved two World Bank supported schemes Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) and Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) to boost Skill India Mission. Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana

The Union Government has launched Sampoorna Bima Gram (SBG) Yojana and expanded coverage of Postal Life Insurance (PLI) in a bid to provide affordable life insurance services to people particularly those living in rural areas. All India Institute of Ayurveda

Prime Minister Naren dra Modi on dedicated first All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in New Delhi to the nation on the occasi on of Natio nal Ayurved a Day observe d on the occas ion of Dhanwantari Jayanti (17 October 2017). #IamThatWoman

The Union Min istr y of Wom en and Child Dev elo pme nt (WC D) has lau nch ed onl ine camp aig n #IamThatWoman in an attempt to end Gender bias in women against women . It was launched by WCD Minister Meneka Gandhi. Bharatmala programme

The NHAI will soon get powers to approve highway projects with construction cost of more than Rs 1,000 ensurelaunched faster implementation Ro-Ro crore ferryto service in Gujarat of Bharatmala programme. Prime Minister Narend ra Modi inaugurated first phase of Ro-Ro (roll-o n, roll-off) ferry service between Ghogha in Bhavnagar district and Dahej in Bharuch district in the Gulf of Cambay, Gujarat. It is South Asia’s first world class Ro-Ro ferry service. First Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra for Skilling

India’s first Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) for Skilling in Smart Cities was inaugurated at Mandir Marg, New Delhi. It has been set up Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana by National Skill Development


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Corporation (NSDC) in collaboration with New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). SAATHI initiative

Ministries of Power and Textiles have joined hands under SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help small Industries) initiative. BharatMala Pariyojana

Government has announced to build 83,677km of roads, highways, greenfie ld expressways and bridges with investment of Rs.6.92 lakh core in next five years i.e. by 2022 to further optimise efficiency of movement of goods and people across the country. It

also includes first phase of new umbrella progra mme BharatMa la

Pariyojana that involves construction of 34,800 km highways by 2022. Integrity Index

The Centra l Vigi lance Commiss ion (CVC) has deci ded to deve lop Integr ity Index of 25 Gove rnme nt Organizations in line with its broader strategy and emphasis on preventive vigilance. CIPAM Website

The official website of Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) was launched in New Delhi Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu. Start-up Sangam initiative

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched Start-up Sangam initiative to develop new business models, marketing plans, technology and innovations in heavy oil and gas industry sector by supporting 30 start-ups. Adopt a Heritage Scheme

The Union Ministry of Tourism gave Letters of Intent (LoI) to seven shortlisted companies for adopting 14 monuments under Adopt a Heritage Scheme at the closing ceremony of ‘Paryatan Parv’ held in New Delhi. Bharat Net project

The first phase of national optic fibre network christened as Bharat Net project will be completed by December 2017, thus providing internet access to 100,000 gram panchayats. Public Finance Management System (PFMS)

The Union Government has made use of Public Finance Management System (PFMS) mandatory for all central schemes to ensure that benefits of government schemes reach the last mile. It will help monitor the flow of funds to beneficiaries of different government welfare schemes.

MSME Samadhaan Portal

The Union Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) has launched MSME Delayed Payment Portal – MSME Samadhaan. Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project

The Union Government and World Bank have signed $200 million Loan Agreement for Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project. Arun Jaitley Panel

The Union Government has constituted Alternative Mechanism Panel headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to oversee merger proposals of public sector banks (PSBs). The other members of the panel include Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Science, Technology & Environment Global Wildlife Programme (GWP) Conference

The Global Wildlife Programme (GWP) Conference was recently held in New Delhi. It was jointly hosted by Ministry of Envi ronm ent, Forests and Clim ate Change (MoEFCC ), Worl d Bank and Unit ed Nati ons Development Programme. Theme of the Conference was – “Peoples’ participation in wildlife conservation”. Third National Wildlife Action Plan

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has unveiled third National Wildlife Action Plan for 2017-2031 to chalk out future road map for wildlife conservation. It is third action


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] plan after first release d in 1983 to 2001 and second from 2002

to 2016, that had protecte d area-cen tric

approach to wildlife conservation. SECURE Himalaya Project

The Union Government had launched SECURE Himalaya, a six-year project to ensure conservation of locally and globally significant biodiversity, land and forest resources in high Himalayan ecosystem spread over four states viz. Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. Rapid test to diagnose Zika and dengue

Researchers including from India have developed low-cost, rapid diagnostic test consisting of pan-dengue strip for diagnosing Zika and dengue viruses and differentiating four serotypes of dengue virus. Sibir

Russia launched Sibir (Siberia), the world’s largest nuclear-powered icebreaker ship built under Project 22220 into the water at the Baltic Shipyard in St Petersbur g. Sibir is second of three icebreakers of new class of biggest nuclear powered icebreakers ever constructed under Project 22220. Turtle sanctuary in Allahabad

The Union Ministry of Water Resources has approved project to set up Turtle sanctuary in Allahabad along with River Biodiversity Park at Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh under Namami Gange programme. The purpose of the Turtle sanctuary is to protect the rich aquatic biodiversity of river Ganga from escalating anthropogenic pressures. Snow Leopard

Scientists for first time have captured images of Snow Leopard using camera trap at Thembang village’s Community Conserved Area (CCA) in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. Smart Bandage

Scientists from US have developed a smart bandage that can precisely control dose and delivery schedule of medication Cbas Zika test tailored for a specific type of wound, leading to faster healing. United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ‘Cbas Zika test’ for detecting Zika virus in donated blood. It is first of kind test approved by FDA for detecting Zika virus in donated blood. Michibiki satellite

The Japan Aerospace Explorati on Agency (JAXA ) succes sfull y launched Michibiki -4 satellite (QZSS-4) onboard of H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima Space Centre. It was fourth satellite in Michibiki series i.e. QuasiZenith Satellite System (QZSS), which is a satellite-base d high-precision global positionin g system similar to US operated GPS. World’s largest combustion research centre

National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) was inaugurated at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) , Madras in Tamil Nadu. It is world’s largest combustion resear ch centre and one of best diagnostic centres in the country to understand combustion. CarbFix Project

The world’s first negative emissions plant under the CarbFix Project to turn atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into stone has begun operations in Hellisheidi, Iceland. It is intended to lock away carbon dioxide by reacting it with basaltic rocks. Work on the project began in 2007. Sawfish

Scientists on World Sawfish Day (observed on October 17th) announced that sawfish, sighted off Indian coast less than 10 times in over a decade appears to be more threatened than tigers and elephants Hemidactylus kangerensis

Researchers have discovered new species of gecko at Chhattisgarh’s Kanger Ghati National Park in Eastern


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Ghats. It common name is the Kanger valley rock gecko and scientif ic name is Hemidactylus kanger ensis, named after the valley were it was discovered. Dawn Mission

NASA approved second extension of Dawn mission at Ceres dwarf planet which is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. GM mustard DMH-11

It was reported earlier in May 2017 that Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) had cleared transgenic mustard, DMH-11 for commercial cultivation. However, records of that GEAC meeting which was made public now do not record any such approval. Ichthyosaur fossil

Geologists for the first time have discovered 152 million-year-old fossil of Ichthyosaur, an extinct marine reptile in in Kutch desert region of Gujarat. The specimen belongs to Ophthalmosauridae family of ichthyosaurs that lived in oceans between 165 and 90 million years ago. UN Summit on Conservation of Migratory Species in 2020

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced that India will host next Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Conference of Parties 13 (CMS COP13) in year 2020. CMS COP is also known as a Global Wildlife Conference. RNA Editing for Programmable A to I Replacement (REPAIR)

Scientists from The Broad Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in US have developed RNA Editing for Programmabl e A to I Replacement (REPAIR), a new gene editing tool therapies that can reverse disease-causing mutations in humans. Sustainable Coastal Protection and Management Investment Program

The Union Government has inked $65.5 million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to continue interventions to check coastal erosion on the Western Coast in Karnataka. kala-azar Scientists have found that parasite called Leptomonas seymouri hosting virus called Lepsey NLV1 may be also responsible for spread of kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis). Earlier it was believed that parasite Leishmania donovani (sandfly) alone is responsible for spread of the dreaded infection. World’s shortest X-ray laser pulse

Scientists from ETH Zurich in Switzerland have successfully created the world’s shortest X-ray laser pulse with duration of just 43 attoseconds (1×10−18 of a second). This laser pulse is the shortest controlled event that has ever been created by humans. World’s first hybrid electric tram

The world’s first hybrid electric tram powered by hydrogen fuel cells was launched in China’s Tangshan city, north China’s Hebei Province to give big boost to green energy in public transport. Events & Observances 1 October: International Day of Older Persons

The International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) is observed every year on October 1 to raise awareness about issues affecting elderly and to appreciate contributions that older people make to society. 2 October: International Day of Non-violence

The International Day of Non-violence is celebrated every year on 2 October throughout world on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of Indian independence movement and also pioneer of philosophy of non-violence (ahimsa). October 2: World Habitat Day

The World Habitat Day was observed all over the world on 2 October 2017. The purpose of day is to reflect on state of cities and towns and basic human right to adequate shelter. It also aims to remind world of its collective


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] responsibility for habitat of future generations. International Conference on Dialogue of Civilizations – IV

The International conference on “Dialogue of Civilizations – IV” held in New Delhi. It has been organised by Archa eological Survey of India (ASI), under Union Ministry of Cultur e in colla borat ion with Nation al Geographic Society (NGS). October 11: International Day of the Girl Child

The International Day of the Girl Child is observed on October 11 every year across world to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. October 13: International Day for Disaster Reduction

The Interna tional Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) is observed every year on October 13 to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. October 14: World Standards Day

The World Standards Day is observed every year on 14 October across the globe to mark the development of voluntary engineering and scientific standards. The theme for year 2017 is “Standards make cities smarter”. 16 October: World Food Day

The World Food Day is observ ed globally on 16 October to mark foundation of Food and Organisa tion (FAO) of the United Nations in 1945. The theme for the year 2017

Agricul ture

is “Change the future of

migration. Invest in food security and rural development.” October 15: International Day of Rural Women

The International Day of Rural Women is observed every year on October 15 to recognize the crucial role and contribution of rural women. October 17: The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) is observed every year on October 17 to raise people’s awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution worldwid e, particul arly in developing countries. October 21: Police Commemoration Day

The Police Commemoration Day is observed on October 21st every year to pay homage to the Police Martyrs. The day commemorates supreme sacrifices of ten policemen while defending borders with China in 1959. 56th Raising Day of ITBP observed

The 56th raising day of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was celebrated 24 October. It was raised on 24th October in 1962. ITBP is deployed on guarding 3488 kilometer long India-China Border from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh. 24 October: World Polio Day

The World Polio Day is observed annually across world on 24 October to create awareness about the hazards of the crippling Polio disease. The day was established by Rotary International to commemorate birth of Jonas Salk who had led the first team of researchers which had develope d a vaccine against poliom yelitis (polio virus). October 24: World Development Information Day

The World Development Information Day (WDID) is observed every year on October 24 to draw attention of world to development problems and necessity of strengthening international cooperation to solve them. 24 October: United Nations Day

The United Nations Day is observed every year on 24th October to mark anniversary of entry into force of UN Charter in 1945. With ratification of this founding document by majority of its members, including five permanent members of UN Security Council, United Nations officially came into existence. October 27: World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (WDAH) is observed every year on October 27 to raise of awareness


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] of significance of and preservation risks recorded sound and audiovisual documen ts (films, sound and video recordings, television and radio programmes). 27 October: Infantry Day

The Infantry Day in observed every year in India on 27 October to commemorate supreme sacrifices made by Indian Army’s infantry again st Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in 1947. It was first infantry action by Indian Army after independence. First International Consumer Protection Conference

The First International Consumer Protection Conference on empowering consumers in new markets for South, South East and East Asian Countries was held in New Delhi from 26 to 27 October 2017. The theme of the conference was “Empowering Consumers in New Markets”. 14th SAARCLAW Conference The 14th South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Law (SAARCLAW) Conference was held in Colombo, capital city of Sri Lanka along with 11th SAARC Chief Justices Conference. 31 October: Rashtriya Ekta Diwas

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) is observed every year across India on 31 October to commemorate birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel who had played important role in unifying the country. Defence Related 1st BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise-201

The first BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise-2017 (DMEx-2017) was held in New Delhi, India from October 10-13, 2017. It was conducted by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as the lead agency in the National Capital Region (NCR). Passage Exercise

Indian Naval Ships Satpura and Kadmatt participated in Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Japanese Marine Self Defence Force (JMSDF) held at Sasebo, Japan. Mitra Shakti 2017

The 5th India-Sri Lanka joint training exercise “Mitra Shakti 2017” was held Aundh Military Station in Pune, Maharshtra. The two weeks exercise (October 13 and 25) is based on Counter Terrorist Operations (CTO) and Infantry company from both countries are participating in it.

INS Kiltan

Indigenously-built anti-submarine warfare stealth corvette INS Kiltan was commissioned an into the Indian Navy at the Eastern Naval Command (Naval Docky ard) in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh It is India’s first major warship to have a superstructure of carbon fibre composite material. INDRA 2017

The first tri-service armed Forces (Army, Navy, & Air Force) exercise INDRA 2017 between India and Russia began at the 249th Combined Army Range Sergeevisky and in Sea of Japan near Vladivostok. OPV SURAKSHA

Sri Lankan Coast Guard has commissioned Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) SURAKSHA gifted by India at Colombo port. It is first OPV of Sri Lankan Coast Guard. Navika Sagar Parikrama

INSV Tarini carrying all-women crew members of Navika Sagar Parikrama, India’s first ever circumnavigation expedition of globe by all-women crew entered west Australian port of Fremantle.

Mission-based deployment plan

Indian Navy has approved new mission-based deployment plan for deploying mission-ready ships and aircraft along critical sea lanes of communications and choke points in Indian Ocean Region (IOR). BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine (BITFM)

The first-ev er meeting of BIMSTEC Task Force on Tradi tiona l Medicine (BITFM) was held at Parva si


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Bhartiya Kendra in New Delhi. It was organized by Union Ministry of AYUSH. OPV Vikram

Larsen and Toubro (L&T) handed over offshore patrol vessel (OPV) named “Vikram ” to the Indian Coast Guard . It is countr y’s first-eve r such defenc e vesse l to be built in a privat e shipyard. The vessel was indigenously developed in-house at L&T’s Kattupalli shipyard. Awards 2017 Nobel Medicine Prize

The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Jeffrey C. Hall (72), Michael Rosbash (73) and Michael W. Young (68).They were awarded for discovering molecular mechanism s controlling circadian rhythm. 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has selected three American scientists Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne for 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics. They were selected for their decisive contribution LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) detector and

s to

the observation of gravitational

waves. 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The Royal Swedish Academ y of Scie nces has sele cted Jacques Duboch et, Joac him Frank and Richard Henderson for the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.They were selected for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution. 2017 Nobel Prize in literature

The Swedish Academy has selected Japanese-born English novelist Kazuo Ishiguro (62) for the 2017 Nobel Prize in literature. He was selected for his works that are of great emotional force which uncove rs the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world. 2017 Nobel Peace Prize

Norwegian Nobel Committee has selected Geneva-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) for 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. It was selected for its decade-long campaign to get rid the world of atomic bomb and for its work to draw attention to catastrophic human itarian conse quences of any use of nuclear weapons and its ground-breaking efforts to achieve treaty-based prohibition of such weapons. Gauri Lankesh

Late Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh award ed a prestigious Reach All Women in WAR (RAW in WAR) Anna Politkovskaya Award. She will share this award with Gulalai Ismail, a Pakistani peace activist who has faced death threats for speaking out against Taliban. 2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

American economist Richard H. Thaler has won 2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to behavioural economics. He will receive 9-million-kronor ($1.1-million) prize. Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration

Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna won 30th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integ ration for 2015 -16 for his services in promoting and preserving national integration in the country. 2017 Man Booker Prize American author George Saunders won the 2017 Man Booker Prize, a high-profile literary award for his first full-length novel “Lincoln in the Bardo”. 2017 Blue Planet Prize

Prof Hans Joachim Schellnhub er from Germany won 2017 Blue Planet Prize, world’s most prestigious award for pioneers in environmental science. Green Platinum Award

The Govardhan Eco Village, set up by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Wada


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] taluka of Palghar district, Maharashtra has won the Green Platinum Award. Gitanjali Rao

Indian-American Gitanja li Rao (11) won the 2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scienti st Challenge for inventing a quick, low-cost test to detect lead-contaminated water. Javed Akhtar

Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar (72) was honoured with the 2017 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award at event in Mumbai which marked 80th birthday of veter an music compos er Hridaynath Mange shkar and 28th anniversary of Hridayesh Arts. Persons in news – Appointments / Elections Dr. Soumya Swaminathan

The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed Dr. Soumya Swaminathan (58) as one of two deputy directors general. This is first time such second-highest position created within WHO and highest post held by Indian in WHO. Satya Pal Malik

Satya Pal Malik (71) was sworn-in as 35th Governor of Bihar. He was administered oath to office by Chief Justice of Patna High Court Rajendra Menon. Rajnish Kumar

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Rajnish Kumar (59) as the new chairman of State Bank of India (SBI). His name was recommended by Vinod Rai-led Bank Board Bureau. Ganga Prasad

Ganga Prasad was sworn in as the 17th Governor of Meghalaya. He was administered oath of office and secrecy by Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court Justice Dinesh Maheshwari. He succeeds B Purohit who was given additional charge as governor of Meghalaya. Banwarilal Purohit

Banwarilal Purohit was sworn in as 25th Governor of Tamil Nadu. He will take charge from C Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra who was hold additional charge after tenure of K. Rosaiah had ended on 31 August 2016. Jagdish Mukhi

Jagdish Mukhi was sworn in as new Governor of Assam. He was administered oath of office by Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Ajit Singh. He succeeded Banwarila l Purohit who has been appointed as the Governor of Tamil Nadu. Anupam Kher

Veteran actor Anupam Kher (62) was appointed as new Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. He will succeed Gajendra Chauhan whose tenure ended in March 2017. Audrey Azoulay

Former French Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay (45) was elected as new Director General of UNESCO – the UN’s education, science and culture agency. With this, she becomes first Jewish Director of UNESCO. Sunny Verghese

Sunny Verghese, co-founder and Group CEO of Singapore-based Olam International was appointed as the new chairman of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Dineshwar Sharma

The Union Gover nment has appointe d former Intelligence Burea u (IB) Chief Dines hwar Sharma as its Representative (or speci al inter locut or) to initia te and carry forward susta ined dialog ue on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) with all stakeholders. Sports Kidambi Srikanth


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] India’s ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth (World No. 8) won US $750,000 Denmark Open title of badminton in the men’s single category. Kidambi Srikanth

India’s ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth (World no. 8) won French Open Superseries badminton title in men’s single category. In the final match, he defeated Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto by 21-14, 21-13 score. Finance, Business and Economy Valuable Nation Brand List

According to Brand Finance’s recently released Natio n Brands 2017 report, India was ranked 8th out of 100 countries on a list of most valuable nation brands. This year India slipped by one spot compared to 7th rank in 2016 and ceded its previous spot to Canada. Global Hunger Index 2017

India ranked 100th position among 119 countries on

Global Hunge r Index (GHI) 2017 report released by

Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). This year slipped by three positions as compared to 97th rank in 2016 GHI. Nisha Desai Biswal

Former US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal was appointed as President of US-India Business Council (USIBC). India’s first commodity options in Gold

Largest commodity bourse Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) launched India’s first commodity options in gold. The gold futures contract will have bi-mo nthly durat ion. The option will also have the existing gold kilo futures contract as its underlier. Times Higher Education Rankings

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore and Indian Instituted of Technology (IIT) Bombay were ranked among world’s top 200 institutions for engineering and computer science in Times Higher Education subject-wise rankings. Global Passport Power Rank 2017

India’s passport was ranked 75th among 94 countries in recently released Glob al Passport Power Rank 2017. India was ranked three notches better than its previous ranking. Miscellaneous Terms and Facts Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple

The Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) was adjudged as the cleanest iconic place in country under Swachhta Hi Seva (cleanliness is service) programme. It earned top slot from among 10 iconic places selected by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Swachh Bharath Mission. IBSA Trust Fund agreement

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

Eminent classical singer Girija Devi passed away following a cardiac arrest at age of 88. She was considered as queen of thumri, a common genre of semi-classical Indian music.

Paika rebellion

The Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar has announced that Paika rebellion (Paika Bidroha) of 1817 will be named as First War of Independence against British Rule in history books from next academic session. Earlier, 1857 Sepoy Mutiny was regarded as the First War of Indian Independence, but Paika Bidroha predates it.


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] October, 2017 Facts in News [FIN]: September, 2017

The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 1, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. President Ramnath Kovind inaugurates Shirdi airport in Maharashtra

President Ramnath Kovind inaugurated Shirdi airport in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and also flagged off inaugural fligh t of Alliance Air from Shirdi to Mumbai. The new airport will slash travel time between Mumbai and Shirdi, around 240 km apart, to barely 45 minutes from existing six hours. President also inaugu rated Centenary Celebrations of Samadhi of Shri Saibab a at famous Sai Mandir at Shirdi. Shirdi is small town in western Maharashtra. It is world-famous pilgrim spot for ‘samadhi’ temple of 20th century saint, known as Saibaba, who is revered by all communities.

President declares urban Maharashtra open defecation free

Presiden t Ram Nath Kovind declared urban Maharashtra open defecatio n free (ODF) under the Swacch Bharat Mission at the event held in Mumbai. This decision was made after all 384 urban local bodies (ULB) comprising 27 municipal corporations , 256 municipal councils and 101 nagar panchayats in Maharashtra were declar ed ODF. Maharashtra is third big state after Gujarat , Andhra Pradesh to become Open Defecation Free in urban areas. 3rd Edition of Women of India Organic Festival held at Dilli Haat

The third edition of Women of India Organic Festiva l was held at Dilli Haat in New Delhi. The 15day festival aimed at promot ing women entrepren eurs and farmers in the organic secto r. The You . It was the me of the fes tiv al this year was Good for Women, Good for India, Good for inaugurated by Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi. Government opens two border crossing points with Myanmar, Bangladesh

The Union Home Ministry has opened two Zorinpui and Kawrpuichhuah immigration check posts along borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh. The Zorinpui land check post is located in Lawngtlai district of Mizoram. It was designated as authorised immigration check post for entry into or exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers to or from Myanmar. It was selected as new land custom station along Indo-Myanmar border in Mizoram for Kalada n multi-modal project. Kawrpuic hhuah land check post in Lungle i distri ct of Mizoram along a riverine border with Bangladesh. It is authorised immigration check post for entry into or exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers to or from Bangladesh. Indian entrepreneur Birendra Sasmal wins UK business award for innovative IT solutions

Ghana-based Indian entrepren eur Birendra Sasmal won International Business Person of Year at Asian Achievers Awards in London. Sasmal CEO of Subah, bagged this award for turning his company into a thriving IT, telecoms and manufact uring success story with operations across West Africa. The Subah Group headquartere d in Accra, Ghana employs around 350 people with offices in Guinea, Sierra Leone, New York City and Dubai. Under Sasmal’s leadership, Subah Group’ s revenues had increased by over 3,000% and it has been named among one of Africa’s fastest growing tech companies. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 2-3, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. PM lays foundation stone of AIIMS, IIIT in Himachal Pradesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation stone of

AIIMS Bilaspur and Indian Institute of


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017]

Information Technolog y (IIIT) Una from Luhnu Indoor stadium in Bilaspur town of Himachal Pradesh. The AIIMS will be constructed in about 205 acre land in four years in Kothipura near Bilaspur city. Similarly, the IIIT will be constructed at Saloh in Una district. Besides, he also dedicated Steel Processing Unit Kandrori town in Kangra district. It will produce one lakh tones TMT bars of 8 to 25 millimeter annually. India, Nepal to conduct first joint tiger count

Nepal and India have agree d for first time to cond uct joint tiger census using a glob allyrecognised method in their forests, natio nal parks and protecte d areas neighbo uring the two countries. Both countries have decided to use camera tapping procedure for joint. Through this technology, of repeated counting be avoided. Vice-Presidentchances lays foundation stone for nationalwill waterway on Krishna River Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid foundation stone to develop stretch on River Krishna from Muktyal to Vijayawada as part of 4th National Waterway at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh. The 82km inland waterway is the Phase-1 of the National Waterway-4 under Sagar Mala project. It will be used mainly for transport ation of cement and constr ucti on materia l for new capital city Amaravati. The project will have four floating terminals and three fixed terminals to handle cargo operations. Diploma in Elementary Education programme launched for untrained teachers

Government launched Diploma in Elementary Education programme for in-service untrained elementary teachers. It aims to empower teachers to improve quality of classroom processes and to make teaching and learning more effective. The programme has been developed by National Institute of Open Schoolin g (NIOS) and specifica lly designed for untrained teachers working in prim ary and upper prima ry schoo ls of diff eren t states of the count ry. It will serve as last opportunity for such teachers who have not done teacher training courses. Parliament has earlier passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill to extend the deadline to December 2019 for untrained teachers to get qualified. President Kovind declares Rural Gujarat as Open Defecation Free

President Ram Nath Kovind has also declared Rural Gujarat as Open Defecation Free (ODF) at function held at Kirti Mandir in Porbandar. He has felicitated rural women for achieving ODF status for rural Gujarat. Urban Gujarat already has been declared ODF. President also inaugurated new Jetty and other facilities at Jafarabad Fishing Harbour and upgradation of Veraval and Porbandar fishing Harbour. Bihar Government launches drive against child marriage & dowry

Bihar governm ent launched drive against child marria ge and dowry on occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. On this occasion, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar led pledge at Patna and all the government school’s, health centres, panchayats, mahadalit tola, local police stations and government and non government offices followed it. People pledged not to get married girl below 18 years or boy below 21 or participate in child marriage or a wedding with dowry. They will also took pledge to stop such marriage if they come across any as part of their social responsibility and make their state free of these two social evils. Jagmeet Singh elected as leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party

Jagmeet Singh, a 38-year-old Sikh criminal lawyer was elected leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party. With this, he becomes first non-white politician to head a major party in Canada. He is also



the first member of minority community to lead a major federal party in Canada. He will lead the party into 2019 election against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals Writer & journalist H. M. Marathe passes away

Writer and jou rnali st H. M. Marathe passed awa y in Pune at age of 77. He was well-kno wn journalist and worked with various regional periodicals like Lokprabha, Marmik, and Pudhari. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 4, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. China to build World’s highest power pylon

China’s Zhejiang Electric Power Company has started construction of giant power supply pylon, claimed to be world’s tallest, in country’s east Zhejiang Province. The 380-metre tall pylon will be four times height of London’s iconic Big Ben. The pylon will carry power cables between Zhoushan’s Jintang and Cezi islands, a distance of 2.6km. After completion it will break previous world record for the tallest power pylon currently held by China’s Damaoshan pylon, which stands at 370 m. Ministry of Health ranks first in Swachh Bharat initiative

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was adjudged as best department for its contribution during ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’, an inter-ministry initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission. The Ministry had observe d Swachht a Pakh wada from Februa ry 1-15 , 2017. The award was presen ted on third anni versar y of the Mission on October 2, 2017 and was receiv ed by Health Secretary C. K. Mishra on behalf of the Ministry. Cabinet approves Extradition Treaty between India and Lithuania

The Union Cabinet has approved signing and ratification of Extradition Treaty between India and Lithuania. The Treaty will provide legal framework for seeking extradition of economic offenders, terrorists and other criminals from and to Lithuania. It will also help in extradition of fugitive criminals including terrorists for criminal prosecutions from Lithuania who have committed crimes against India. It will bring criminals to justice, with a view to ensure peace and tranquility to public at large. Cabinet approves MoU between India and Myanmar on Upgradation of Women’s Police Training Centre

The Union Cabinet has approved Memorandu m of Understa nding (MoU) signed between India and Myanmar on upgradation of the Women’s Police Training Centre at Yamethin, Myanmar. It was signed in September, 2017. The MoU covers upgradation of Yamethin Women’s Police Training Centre to further augment capabilities of Myanmar Government to build capacities of its police force with technical and financial assistance from India. India’s first ITI for Divyangans (Disabled) will come up in Assam

India’s first-ever Industrial Training Instit ute (ITI) for the Divyangans (Disabled) will come up in Assam. Its foundation stone was recently laid at Dibrugarh ITI Complex at Borboruah in Assam. The ITI will have sixty seats for three different trades with 20 seats per trade, as per guidelines of Nat ion al Counc il for Voc ati ona l Tra ining (NC VT) . The thr ee dif fere nt tra des inc lud ed in curri culum of ITI are Computer Opera tor and Programm ing Assistant, Cutting and Sewing Technology and Hair & Skin Care. HDFC Life launches service bot Neo

The HDFC Life Insurance Company has launched service bot ‘Neo’ that uses artificial intelligen ce for customer service. It is second bot put in operation by HDFC Life after the launch of SPOK, which was an email answering bot for customer queries. The Neo bot will be available 24/7 and



hasi capability to authenticate customers and give frequently sought details, like fund value, sum assured and premium amount. Other life insurers like PNB Metlife have launched VR humanoids like Kushi leveraging power of AI, chat bots, natural language processing. Ukhnaa Khurelsukh appointed as Prime Minister of Mongolia

Ukhnaa Khurelsukh was appointed as new Prime Minister of Mongolia. He was selected by ruling Mongolian People’s Party and nominati on was approved by Mongolia’s parliamen t. He replaces PM Jargaltulga Erdeneba t who lost his job in September 2017 over allegations of graft. The Prime Minister of Mongolia is head of government and heads Mongolian cabinet. He is appointed by President of Mongolia and can be removed by State Great Hural (lower house of parliament) with aOctober vote of4-10: no confidence. World Space Week The World Space Week (WSW) is observed every year from October 4-10. It is an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to betterment of human condition. The 2017 theme for the week is “Exploring New Worlds In Space”. It is an outward facing theme that serves to inspire the world. October 4: World Animal Day

The World Animal Day (WAD) is observed every year on October 4 to improve welfare standards and status of animals around the globe. The day is observed by encouraging individuals, animal welfare organisatio ns, community groups, youth and children’s clubs and businesses to organise events in celebration of this day. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 5-6, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. Andhra Pradesh signs MoU with Mastercard

Andhra Pradesh government has entered into memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mastercard to pave way for digital financial transaction s in a secure environment. The MoU will help Andhra Pradesh government in adopting and hastening innovations such as digital payments and launch financial inclusion programmes. Pooja Kadian wins gold medal at Wushu World Championships

India’s Pooja Kadian created histor y by winning India ’s first ever gold medal at Wushu World Championships in Kazan, Russia. In the final Pooja defeated Evgeniya Stepanova. Among other Indian winners, Rameshchandra Singh Moirangthem won bronze medal in men’s Sanda 48 kg category. Bhanu Pratap Singh won another Bronze medal in men’s Sanda 60 kg category. Rajinder Singh also won a bronze medal in the men’s 90 kg category. Wushu is an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. It is international sport governed through the International Wushu Federation (IWUF). First ASEAN India Music Festival held at Purana Qila in New Delhi

The first ever ASEAN-India Music Festival was held at Purana Quila in New Delhi. The 3 day festiv al was organise d by Extern al Affairs Ministry in collaboration with Cultur e Ministry to celebrate the 25th year anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations. The Festival aimed to boost cultural influen ces among peoples of ASEAN member states and India. It will witness eclectic performan ces by musicians from ASEAN countries’ bands such as Cherpen, The Ugly Band, Tim De Cotta, Red Bamboo among others. RBI to allow inter-operability in prepaid payment instruments

Reserve Bank of India is going to allow inter-operability among prepaid payment instruments



(PPI) soon. It will enable users to transf er funds from one mobile wallet to another as per the vision for Paymen t and Settle ment Systems in the country. PPIs which include the likes of ewallets, gift cards and meal coupons are used as substitutes for cash. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 7, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. Aadhaar mandatory for PPF, KVP schemes

The Union Government has made linking Aadhaar mandatory for Public Provident Fund, National Savings Certificat e and Kisan Vikas Patra schemes. In this regard, subscri bers till December 31, 2017 have to link their Aadhaar to schemes. The government has already made mandatory to link Aadhaar PAN by December 31,gas, 2017targeted and to SIM connections by system, February 2018. Some schemes,to including free cooking public distribution kerosene and 135 fertilizer subsidy and MGNREGA, are reportedly to linked to Aadhaar. Chhattisgarh bans use of chlorinated plastic and Polyvinyl Chloride

Chhattisgarh Government has banned use of chlorinated plastic and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) with imme diat e effec t. This decis ion is with an obj ecti ve to cons erve and improve the environment. The state government also has banned manufacture, storage, import, sale, transport and use of such plastic-borne goods. It also has banned advertising and promotion materials like PVC banners, flex, and hoardings. World Dental Show 2017 opens in Mumbai

The ‘Wo rld Den tal Sho w 201 7’, 3-da y int ern ati onal exh ibi tio n was ope ned in Mum bai , Maharashtra to showcase evolving global technologies and techniques in dentistry. It was hosted by Indian Dental Associat ion (IDA) and witnessed partici pation from internat ional exhibito rs from China, Germany, Israel, Malaysia, Russian, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, UK and US. Amrender Sharan appointed as amicus curiae on plea to reopen Mahatma Gandhi assassination

The Supreme Court of India has appointed senior advocate and former additional solicitor general Amrender Sharan as amicus curiae on petition seeking reprobe into assassinat ion of Mahatma Gandhi. The petition was filed by Mumbai-based Dr. Pankaj Phadnis, a researcher and trustee of Abhinav Bharat. In the petition he has sought to reopen probe on several grounds, claiming it was one of biggest cover-u ps in history. According to petition, there is possibility of involvement of more people in murder. Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead at point blank range in New Delhi on January 30, 1948 by Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a right-wing advocate of Hindu nationalism. Renowned filmmaker Kundan Shah passes away

Renowned filmmaker Filmmaker Kundan Shah passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was 69. He was director of romantic drama ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’. He is known for his comedy classic ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’ and his 1985–1986 TV series Nukkad with Saeed Akhtar Mirza. He was best known for his wonderful usage of humour and satire to showcase the life & struggles of common citizens.

Uttar Pradesh Government launches Mukhyamantri Samoohik Vivaah Yojana

Uttar Pradesh government has launched ‘Mukhyamantri Samoohik Vivaah Yojana’, a mass marriage scheme. Under it, state social welfare department will conduct the mass marriages and state governm ent will spend Rs 35,000 on each couple, besides gifting them mobile phones and household items. The parents of beneficiary brides under the scheme must be residents of Uttar Pradesh and must belong to Below Poverty Line (BPL). There must be minimum 10 couples in the mass marriage ceremony.


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 8-9, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. RBI to soon launch financial literacy drive in 9 states

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is going to launch financial literacy drive in 80 blocks in 9 states on pilo t basis to educ ate people on e-tra nsactions, forma l sect or borrowings and insuran ce purchases. It will be commissioned in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh by 6 NGOs in collaboration with sponsor banks. The aim of initiative is to inculcate habit of making household budget and recording fina ncial tran sact ions, enco urag e tran sact ions in savi ngs account s, and active savi ng by depositing in banks through recurring deposits and fixed deposits. Scientists develop Algae-based footwear

Scientists have developed algae-base d flip-flops that could be environment friendly alternative to petroleum-based slippers in countries like India and China. Every year, three billion petroleumbased footwears are produced worldwide, eventually ending up as non-biodegradable trash in landfills, rivers and oceans. These flip-flops and other polyurethane products are made from living alga e oil which makes them bio degr adab le as it allows carbo n bon ds to be degra ded by microorganisms. Gurusaidutt wins Bulgarian International

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt won men’s singles title at Bulgarian International Future Series tournament. In final match, he defeated Muhamm ed Ali Kurt 21- 17, 21-16. Anupama Ramachandran wins World Open U-16 Snooker Championship

India’s Anupama Ramachandran won World Open Under-16 Snooker Championship title in girls category held at St. Petersburg in Russia. In final match, she defeated her compatriot and top seed Keerthana Pandian 3-1 scoreline. Earlier in semifinals, she defeated Albina Leschuk of Belarus 3-0 and Alexsan dra Riabin ina of Russi a in quarterf inals by 3-0 scorelin e. Dyla n Emery of Wales (England) won title in boys category. Federation of Billiards Sports of Russia had hosted this first ever World Open championships for Under-16 boys and girls. Samiya Imad Farooqui wins gold at U-15 Asian Junior Championship

Indian shuttler Samiya Imad Farooqui won gold medal at Under-15 women’s singles competition at Asian Junior Championship in Yangon, Myanmar. In the finals, she defeated Indonesia’s Widjaja Stephan i by 15-21, 21-17, 21-19 score. She is second Indian to win this champio nship after P V Sindhu who had won gold medal in U-19 Asia Junior championship in 2012 at Gimcheon, South Korea. American Morgan Hurd wins all-around title at gymnastics world championships

American Morgan Hurd (16) won all-around title at gymnastics world championships in Montreal, Canada. She won by edging out Canada’s Elsabeth Black 55.232 to 55.132. With this Hurd became youngest Olympic or world all-around champion since Aliya Mustafina in 2010. It was US’ seventh straight Olympic or world all-around title. Russia’s Elena Eremina took third spoty with total of 54.799. Japan’s Mai Murakami was fourth, followed by Melanie de Jesus dos Santos of France. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 10-11, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. Cabinet approves MoU between SEBI and FSC

The Uni on Cab ine t app rov ed sig nin g of Mem ora ndu m of Und ers tan din g (Mo U) bet wee n Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Financial Services Commission (FSC), Gibraltar



for mutual co-operation and technical assistance. It aims at creating conditions for an effective developm ent of securities markets in the two countries and promote developm ent of economic lin ks and coope rat ion bet wee n two reg ula tor s. It wil l als o hel p to contr ibu te tow ard s strengthening information sharing framework between two signatories. It is expected to add value to overseas mutual cooperation and regulation activities of SEBI and FSC, Gibraltar. Cabinet approves MoU between SEBI and CMA, Kuwait

The Union Cabinet approved signing of MoU by Securiti es and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) with Capital Markets Authority (CMA), Kuwait for mutual co-operation and technical assistance. The MoU will promote further development of economic links and cooperatio n between the two regulators. also at creating an effective development oform securities markets in the two Itcou ntraims ies . It wil l als ocondition con tri buts efortowar ds str eng the nin g inf ati on sha rin g framework between SEBI and CMA. It is expected to add value to overseas mutual cooperat ion and regulation activities of SEBI and CMA, Kuwait. IIT-Kharagpur inks MoU with Samsung India

IIT-Kharagpur has signed MoU with Samsung India for setting up of a digital academy on the institute’s campus. The Departmen t of Computer Science and Engineering in the institute will host the Samsun g Innovatio n Lab and train studen ts on the Internet of Things (IoT) through Tizen-based operatin g systems, commonly used by the company for its mobile phones and home appliances. The academy is part of Samsung’s corporate social initiative that aims at bridging dig ita l div ide by imp art ing ski lls to stu den ts on cut tin g-ed ge tec hno log y, Thr oug h thi s partnership with IIT-KGP, the academy planned to train over 100 students in the next three years. The course will be taught over 14 weeks through classroom lectures, assig nments, lab room sessions, self-study and mini projects. 3rd International Conference on Yoga held in New Delhi The 3rd International Conference on Yoga was held in New Delhi with theme “Yoga for Wellness”. The 2-day conference was organized by Ministry of AYUSH as part of yearlong events organized to celebrate 21st June as International Day of Yoga. The conference held seven technical sessions and panel discussion on different aspects of Yoga and Wellness including recent research trends, Integrated medicine, non-communicable diseases, mental health, women health, cancer, pain management and policy making. Around 500 delegates, including those from 44 countries attended the conference. It provided common platform for AYUSH and allopathy practit ioners, researchers, academicians, and policy makers and students. 10 October: World Mental Health Day

The World Mental Health Day (WMHD) is observed every year on 10 Octoberto raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. The theme for year 2017 was “Mental health in the workplace’. It aims to provides opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide. Amul named India’s best FMCG Company in food sector

The Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), which markets Amul brand of milk and milk products was recognise d as India’s best Fast Moving Consum er Goods (FMCG) Company in food sector by International Advertising Association (IAA). For this recognition, Amul was presente d 5th IAA Leadersh ip Award. The prest igious awards instituted by IAA’s India



Chapter recognise excellence towards contribution in marketing, advertising and media sectors as well as celebrate outstanding achievements of individuals and teams. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 12-13, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. Mastercard launches its first Innovation Centre in India

American financial technology company Mastercard launched its first innovation lab in India in Pune, Maharashtra. It is Mastercard’s ninth lab in the world and the second in Asia Pacific besides Singapore. The centre in Pune will focus on new payment technology ideas for the rapidly growing digital economy in India. It will identify and experiment with future technologies in few key areas safety andincluding security. digital payments, data solutions, financial inclusion, alternative payments and RBI allows interoperability of wallets in six months

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed banks and non-bank entities to make their digital walle ts/pre paid payme nt inst rument s (PPI s), interopera ble throu gh the Unifi ed Payme nts Interfac e (UPI) within six months. In the first phase, all Know Your Customer (KYC)-co mpliant PP Is sho uld be ma de in ter ope rab le am on gst the mse lve s throu gh UP I. In nex t pha se, interoperability shall be enabled between wallets and bank accounts through UPI. Tata Teleservices to merge with Bharti Airtel

Bhar ti Airt el ann ounc ed the acq uisi tio n of Con sume r Mob ile Busi ness es (CMB ) of Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) and Tata Teleservices Maharastra Ltd (TTML). After this merger, over 40 Million TTSL customers will join Bharti Airtel. The merger will be on a debt-free, cash-free basis and all past liabilitie s and dues will be settled by TTSL. Bharti Airtel will absorb TTSL’ s CMB operations across country in nineteen circles (17 under TTSL and 2 under TTML). The merger also includes transfer of all customers and assets of Tata CMB to Bharti Airtel. SpaceX completes successful launch of recycled rocket Falcon 9

SpaceX successfully launched its recycled rocket Falcon 9 and landed it on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The recycled Falcon 9 rocket was carrying the Echost ar 105/SES-11 satel lite. It was 18th suc ces sfu l lan din g of Fal con 9 roc ket first sta ge whi ch was previ ous ly use in transporting cargo to International Space Station in February 2017. Echostar 105/SES-11 satellite aims to provide television coverage and communications capabilities to North America, Mexico, Hawaii and the Caribbean. It is dual-mission satellite for US-based operator EchoStar and Luxembourg-based operator SES. Ashish Nehra announces retirement from all forms of cricket

Ashish Nehra (38) announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after the first Twenty20 intern ational between India and New Zealan d to be played at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla on 1st November 2017. In his 18-year international career, Nehra had played 44 Test, 157 one-day internat iona l (ODI s) and 34 Twenty20 wicke ts. He also had played for four teams in Indian Premier League from 2012-16. His international debut for India was during the Test series against Sri Lanka in 1999. FIFA suspends the Pakistan Football F ederation

The Pakistan football federation (PFF) was suspended from FIFA (Fédérati on Internation ale de Football Association ) by Bureau of FIFA council. PFF was suspended because of interfere nce of third party in its accounts and their offices which were under control of administrator appointed by court. This interference violated rules of FIFA which makes mandatory for PPF to manage its



affairs independent ly and without party interference. The suspension will be removed only when PFF offices and accounts are returned to PFF from the third party administrators. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 14, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. Bihar Cabinet approves reservation for ‘Divyangs’ in Government Jobs

Bihar State Cabinet approved reservations for persons with disabilities (divyangs) in government jobs and educational institutions. This provision was made in accordance with Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The state cabinet also approved establishment of state advisory board for empowerment of ‘Divyangjan’ as envisaged in the Act. Kolkata to host international puppet festival

Kolkata, capital city of West Bengal for first time will host an international Puppet festival named ‘PUN (Puppets Unite Neighbours) International Puppet Festival’ at Mohorkunj from 26th to 31st October 2017. The puppet festival is aimed at regeneratin g the emotions attached to puppetry. Puppet artists from UK, Germany, Peru, Portugal, Italy, Lithuania, Brazil, Singapore and India will participate in the festival. Hamas, Fatah ink deal on Palestinian reconciliation

Palestinian political parties Hamas and Fatah have signed reconciliati on deal in an effort to end a decade-long rift. It was brokered by Egypt. The reconciliation deal was signed to implement a unity agreement that was signed in 2011, but not put into action. The agreement states that legislative, presidentia l and national council elections should be conducted within one year of its signing. However, details of reconciliation deal were not yet been made public. HPCL becomes first Indian oil company to trade lubricants in Myanmar

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), a public sector oil company became first Indian oil company to trade lubricants in Myanmar. HPCL started operations in Myanmar’s commercial hubs of Yangon and Mandalay. . Other publ ic sector oil companies of India such as Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) are also evaluating opportunities of fuel retailing in Myanmar. M K Sanu awarded Mathrubhumi Literary Award

Renowned writer M K Sanu (89) was chosen for Mathrubhumi Literary Award for 2016 to honour his contribution to the Malayalam literature. He was selected by jury headed by eminent poet Vishnu Narayanan Namboothiri. M K Sanu’s important literary works are “Nakshtrangalude Snehab hajanam”, “Changampuz ha Krishna pilla” , “Mruthy unjaya m”, “Narayanagu ru Swami”, “Kavyajeevitham”, “Viswasathilek Veendum American Sahityam” and “Prabhatha Darshanam” Mathrubhumi Literary Award is instituted by leading Malayalam daily ‘Mathrubhumi’. It honours – writer’s overall contribution to the Malayalam literature. The award consists of a cash prize of Rs.2 lakh, a citation and a statuette. Gautam Bambawale appointed as India’s ambassador to China

India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, Gautam H. Bambawale was appointed as next ambassador to China. He will replace Vijay Gokhale in China as ambassador. Bambawale is Indian Foreign Service Officer (IFS) of batch 1984. He is presently the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan. He is believed to be an expert on China. Previously he had held Deputy Chief of Mission of the Indian embassy China, Ambassador to Bhutan. Indian Air Force launches ‘MedWatch’ mobile health App

The Indian Air Force (IAF) launched an innovative mobile health App named ‘MedWatch’ on the



occasion of its 85th anniver sary . It consist s of feat ures that will prov ide authent ic heal th informa tion to all IAF pers onnel. It consists of feat ures that will provide authentic health information to all IAF personnel. It is available on the IAF’s AFCEL (Air Force Cellular) network. The concept and content of the app was developed by Directorate General of Medical Services (Air) and was devel oped in-house Directorate of Info rmation Technolo gy (DIT) without any financial support. It also has reminder tool to enable timely immunizatio n of children of all Air Warriors. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 22-23, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. India’s new chancery complex opened in Dhaka

India’s new chancery complex opened at Baridhara diplomatic enclav e in Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh. It was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on the last day of her Bangladesh visit. She also inaugurat ed 15 developm ent projects of Bangladesh being funded by India. These projects cover priority infrastructure in health, education, water and social welfare with an outlay of 71.64 crore takas and will be completed within a period of one month. ONGC plans to raise oil output by 4 MT by 2020

State-run Oil and Natura l Gas Corpora tion (ONG C) has draw n a blueprin t to raise crude oil production by 4 metric tonne (MT) and almost double natural gas output by 2020. It is in line with Governmen t’s call to cut country’s oil imports by 10% from 77% in 2013-14. by 2022. Under this roadmap, ONGC, nation’s biggest oil and gas producer will raise its crude oil production from 22.6 MT in 2017-18 to 26.42 MT in 2021-22. India has spent almost $1 trillion on crude imports from financial year 2005-06 to 2015-16. Government de-affiliates 400 ITIs for failing quality norms

The Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepren eurshi p has de-affilia ted close to 400 Industri al Training Institutes (ITIs) after inspections found that the institutes lacked requisite infrastructure and trainers for imparting vocational training to students. The de-affiliation comes amid of skill develop ment minist ry’s strict vigil on ITIs with view to maintain their qualit y standards and also introduced voluntary self-grading by the institutes. Maruti becomes top exporter of passenger cars from India

According to latest data by Society of Indian Automobile Manufact urers (SIAM), Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has become largest passenger cars exporter from India in first half (April-September) of ongoing fiscal. It exported 57,300 units of passenger cars and dethroned Hyundai Motor India Ltd (exported 44,585 units) which has now been pushed to fourth spot behind Volkswagen (50,410 units) and General Motors (45,222 units). CISF to analyse social media trends & data in monitoring security

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will analyse Social media trends and data for first time in mon ito rin g secu rit y. Thi s pro jec t is bei ng don e on exp eri men tal bas is and bas ed on the experiences this smart centre will be further strengthened. The data will be used to monitor the country’s most vital assets such as airports, aerospace and nuclear installations. Special team of CISF men and women has been trained to track social media trends, news, reports and indicators across various platforms, collate them and dish them out as vital pieces of actionable intelligenc e to its various airports and other vital units. Government appoints ex-IB Chief as its re presentative on Kashmir dialogue

The Union Home Ministry has appointed former director of Intelligence Bureau (IB) Dineshwar



Sharma as central government’s repre sentative to initiate dialogue with all stakeholders in insu rgen cy-h it Jamm u and Kashmir . The init iative has been taken as per Prim e Mini ster Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address Dineshwar Sharma is 1979-batch (retired) officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS). He had served as the IB director between December, 2014 and 2016.

The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 24, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. Japan’s ruling coalition wins overwhelming victory in general election

Japan’s ruling coalition of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito party led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe woninan overwhelming general election. won more twothirds of total 465 seats the Lower Housevictory seats. in LDP won 283 seats They and Komeito wonthan 29 seats. With this victory, Abe is now on course to become Japan’s longest-serving PM. It will allow him to pursue his cherished goal of proposing changes to country’s pacifist Constitution to beef up the status of the military, which is effectively restricted to self-defence. Rakesh Asthana appointed as special director of CBI

Seni or IPS office r Rake sh Asth ana was appo inted as spec ial direct or of Cent ral Bureau of Investigat ion. (CBI). He is a 1984-batch IPS offi cer of Gujarat-ca dre. Currently, he is posted as additional director in CBI. Apart from him, Gurbachan Singh was appointed as special director in Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Sudeep Lakhtakia as Special DG in CRPF. Rajesh Ranjan and AP Maheshwari were promoted as Special DG in Border Security Force (BSF). China to host 2nd edition of World Congress on Marxism

China is going to host 2nd editi on of World Congre ss on Marxi sm. It will be held at Peking University in Beijing, from May 5-6, 2018 with theme “Marxism and the current world and China”. The congress will discuss Marxism in the 21st century and its development in China. It coincides with 200th birth anniversary of Karl Marx and 40th anniversary of China’s reform and openingup. Approximately 300 Marxism researchers from all over world will attend the conference. Cristiano Ronaldo named as 2017 Best FIFA Men’s Player award

Real Madrid’s Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo was named as the 2017 Best FIFA Men’s Player for a second straight year at the 2017 award ceremony held in London, England. He is four-time Ballon d’Or winner, who helped Real Madrid to wins Champions League-La Liga double in 2016-17. Other category winners FIFA Women’s Player award: Barcelona FC’s and Netherlands national team’s Lieke Martens. Best men’s coach: Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane Best female coach: Netherlands’ Sarina Wiegman. Puska s award for the best goal of 2017:

Arsenal for ward Olivier Gir oud won it for his ‘scorp ion kick’

against Crystal Palace in January 2017. Fan award: Celtic for honouring club’s 1967 ‘Lisbon Lions’ with a stunning 360-degree card display on the 50th anniversary of their historic European Cup win. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 25, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. Suresh Sethi appointed as MD and CEO of India Post Payments Bank

Suresh Sethi was appointed as new Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB). He succeeded A.P. Singh, who had been the interim MD & CEO



of IPPB since Jan uary 2017. He is the former MD of Vodafone M-Pesa Ltd. Set hi has broad interna tional expe rien ce of over 27 year s in banking and fina ncial servi ces industr y with Citigroup and YES Bank, across India, Kenya, UK, Argentina and US. SBI inks agreement with Escorts Ltd to finance tractors purchase

The State Bank of India (SBI) signed agreement with Escorts Ltd to finance farmers for purchase of Escorts tractors. The aim of the tie-up with Escorts is to promote, market and make accessible, organised finance facility, with superior features at competitive interest rates to farmers across country, who wish to purch ase Powertra c and Farm trac tracto rs manufactured by Escorts. Escorts is a leading tractor and construction equipment manufacturer at Faridabad, Haryana. Filmmaker Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran passes away

Legendary filmmaker Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran (also known as I V Sasi) passed away at Sali gram am, Chenn ai. He was 69. He was best known for his films “Ava lude Ravuka l” and “Devasuram”. In his more than three-decade career, he had directed over 150 films in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi and worked with stars such as Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Mohanlal and Mammootty, EPPC inks MoU with PNB to provide export finance for SMEs

The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Punjab National Bank (PNB) to provide easy access to export finance for SMEs and merchant export ers of council. As per the agreement , PNB will provide finance with assurance that loans up to Rs 10 crore would be provided within six to seven weeks at competitive rates, PNB will also extend foreign currency loan facilities and provide advisory support to EEPC India members to finance projects through its more than 200 authorised foreign exchange branches. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 29-30, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. Vikram Singh appointed as Private Secretary to President

The Appo intments Commit tee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appo inted Vikra m Singh as Private Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind for a period of two years. He is 1997 batch officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS). Currently, he is posted as a senior director in the Traffic Commerc ial directo rate in the Railway Board. In Railways, he was workin g in the vert ical responsible for increasing revenues from passenger segment and create policies for commercial earnings within passenger-amenities ecosystem. B C Khanduri to head parliamentary standing committee on defence

BJP MP B C Khanduri will head the recently constituted parliamen tary standing commit tee on defen ce. The committee will exam ine operati onal prepa redn ess of armed forces and review accidents involving strategic defence assets. It will also assess the procurement policy relating to defence equipment. It will also critically review accidents involving strategic defence assets and look into quality of ration provided to forces especially in border areas. Microsoft Partners Karnataka Government to bring AI to agriculture

Karnataka government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with tech giant Microsoft for empo wering farmers with technology-oriented solutions like Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics. The move is also aimed at using digital tools that have the potential to deliver cutting edge innovations and AI to help farmers get higher crop yields in state. The MoU will experime nt with Karn ataka Agri cultural Price Commission (KAPC) and Department of Agricult ure to help improve price forecasting practic es to benefit farmers. It will



help enable the use of intelligent technologies to deliver solutions in the agriculture sector. Sharmila Tagore honoured with 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award by PHDCCI

Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore was honoured with 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) for her contribution in the field of cinema. She was presen ted with the award by Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office Jiten dra Singh and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari. Sharmila Tagore is celebrated actor who had debuted in movies wit h lege nda ry dir ect or Sat yaj it Ray ’s Ben gali film Apur Sansa r (195 9). Apar t from her, Filmmaker-poet Muzaffar Ali was conferred with Special Award for his outstanding contribution to promote and arts, fine arts and literature. Music legend Usha Mangeshkar and singers Prem Bhatia, Ankit Tiwari, Kavita Seth, AkritiatKakar, Rahul Vaidya, Manmeet of Meet Brothers and actor Sukhmani Lamba were also felicitated the event. England wins FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017

Englan d won 17th editio n of FIFA U-17 World Cup by defeat ing Spain by 5-2 goals in the final match held at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan/Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, West Bengal. Englan d’s Phil Foden was adjudg ed tournament’ s best player and was awarde d ‘Golden Ball’. Besides, Rhian Brewster of England who scored most goals in tournament (8 goals) was awarded ‘Golden Shoe’. Brazil’s goalkeeper Gabriel Brazao was awarded ‘Golden Glove’. 17th edition of FIFA U-17 World Cup was held in India from 6th – 28th October 2017. The official Mascot for FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 was clouded leopard named ‘Kheleo’. FIFA U-17 WC is biennial international football tournament of men’s under-17 national teams organised by FIFA. Pakistan to 2018 Asian Cricket Council Emerging Nations Cup

Pakistan will host the 2018 Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Emerging Nations Cup in April 2018. The decision was taken during the meeting of the ACC held in Lahore on October 2017. In it, six ACC teams including five full members will play in the tournament. The Current Affairs Daily Digest for October 31, 2017 with important tid-bits on current affairs. October 31: World Cities Day

The United Nations’ s World Cities Day (WCD) is observed every year on October 31 to promote international commun ity’s interest in global urbani zation, push forward cooperatio n among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contributing to sus tai nab le urb an dev elo pmen t aro und the world. The the me sele cte d for thi s yea r is “Innovative Governance, Open Cities”. It highlights important role of urbanization as a source of global development and social inclusion. The general theme of day is ‘Better City, Better Life’. Y.C. Modi is new NIA Director-General

Sen ior IPS office r Yog esh Cha nder Modi too k over as new Dir ect or-G ener al of Nat ion al Invest igation Agency (NIA), country’ s premie r anti-terro r organisation. He succeeds Sharad Kumar. Mr Modi is a 1984-bat ch IPS officer of Assam-Meghala ya cadre. Earlier he had wor ked with Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for 10 years in two stints (2002-2010 and 2015-2017) where he handled special crime and economic offences besides anti-co rruption cases. He has also worked with Cabinet Secretariat between 1991 and 2002 which included a foreign posting. Neelamani N. Raju becomes Karnataka’s first woman police chief

Neelmani N. Raju was appointed as Karnataka’s first woman Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG and IGP). She will take over from Rupak Kumar Dutta, who is retiring from servic e. She is a 1983-b atch IPS officer . She is second woman IPS officer to join the Karnataka



cadre. She is native of Uttar Pradesh. She had served in Karnataka for 10 years before going on deputation to the Intelligence Bureau in 1993. She had served in IB for 23 years and in 2016, after reachingpost of joint director in IB, she returned to her home cadre as a DGP rank officer. Heena Sidhu wins 10m air pistol gold medal at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships

Heena Sidhu won 10-metre air pistol gold medal at Commonwealth Shooting Championships in Brisbane, Australia. Sidhu shot combined score of 626.2 to claim the top honours. This was Sidhu’s second successive internat ional gold after she along with Jitu Rai, had won 10-metre air pistol mixed team event in ISSF World Cup Finals in Delhi held in October 2017. Among other Indians, Deepa k Kuma r won a bronze meda l in the 10-m etre air rifle event. Londo n Olym pic bronze medallist Gagan Narang finished fourth, while Ravikumar ended fifth.

Date Wise: Current Affairs Updates October 1, 2, 2017

1 October: International Day of Older Persons October 2, 2017

The Interna tional Day of Older Perso ns (IDOP) is obser ved every year on October 1 to raise awareness about issues affecting elderly and to appreciate contributions that older people make to society. It also seeks to raise awareness about issues affecting elderly, such as senescence and elder abuse. The the me for this yea r is “ Stepping into the Future: Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Particip ation of Older Persons in Society ”. It aims to explore effective means of promoting and strengthening the participation of older persons in various aspects of social, cultural, economic and civic and political life. Background

The Internatio nal Day of Older Persons was instituted by United Nations General Assembly by adopting resolution 45/106 in December 1990 for raising awareness about issues affecting the elderly, such as senescence and elder abuse. It is also a day to appreciate the contributi ons that older people make to society. The observance of the day is also focus of ageing organizations and the United Nations Programme on Ageing

2 October: International Day of Non-violence October 2, 2017

The International Day of Non-violence is celebrated every year on 2 October throughout world on the birth anniversar y of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of Indian independe nce movement and also pioneer of philosophy of non-violence (ahimsa). Observance of this day seeks to promote principles of non-violence through education and public awareness and is observed by all countries of the UN. In India, this day is celebrated as Gandhi Jayanti. International day of Non-Violence

The day was instituted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by adopting resolution A/RES/61/271 in June 2007 to disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness. The resolution reaffirmed universal relevance of principle of nonviolence and the desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence. Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) is known for playing main role in freeing India



from clutches of British. He was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, in Bombay Presidency of British India. He was assassinated on January 30, 1948, by Nathuram Godse. Gandhiji is fondly known as ‘Bapu’ for his selfles s contribution towards India’s Independ ence struggle. He is unofficially called Father of the Nation. He had studied law at University College London. He later returned to India and worked with Indian Firm in South Africa. Gandhiji returned to India in 1915 and joined Indian National Congress. He led nationwide campaigns for various social causes and for achieving Swaraj or self-rule. He led peaceful protests and started creating awareness about oppress rule of British in India. His non-violent methods including Satyagraha and Civil Disobedience is known worldwide. Some of the famous protest s led by Gandhiji again st British rule include Dandi March and noncooperation movement that gave severe blows to the British government. Eventuall y, his fame spread all over India and in year 1921 he became leader of Indian National Congress, He lived modestly in self-sufficient residential communi ty and wore traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn hand-spun on charkha. He also undertook long fasts as a means of both self-puri fication and political protest. At multiple times he was jailed however he continued his efforts.

Odisha Government creating land bank for industrial allocation October 2, 2017

The Odisha Government is creating 1.2 lakh acre land bank across state for allocation to industrial sector in order to avoid repeat of Posco fiasco. The purpose of the land bank is to cut red tape and avoid local issues in the land acquisition process. Under it, state government is acquiring government land for industrial use. Key Facts

The land bank is based on plug-and-play kind of model wherein facilities related to water, power, roads and all clearances are in place. The companies need to only make payment of base premium upfront for land and annual rent for rest of the 90 years lease period. State government has created huge land bank and has identified areas across state to bring under one umbrella for industrial sector. Its land bank already has reached 57,655 acres. With creation of land bank, state industry department is looking for investment in various sectors including steel, alum inium, agro and food process ing units, appa rel, IT and plastic units to furt her crea te employment potential in the state.

India gets first-ever U.S. crude shipment October 2, 2017

India received first ever shipment of US crude oil of 1.6 million barrel s, purchased by state-run Indian Oil Corpora tion (IOC) at Paradip Port in Odisha . It was imported on board of MT New Prosperity, a very large crude carrier (VLCC ) that had left US Gulf Coast on August 19, 2017 and arrived at Paradip port. Key Facts

IOC will process crude at its refineries located at Paradip, Haldia (in West Bengal), Barauni (in Bihar) and Bongaigao n (in Assam). This was one of first shipments to India since United States stopped oil exports in 1975. With this India , the world’s third-la rgest oil importe r joins other Asian countries like Sout h Korea, Japan, Thailand, China and Taiwan to buy US crude oil as they seek to diversify oil imports from other regions after the OPEC product ion cuts raised prices of



Middle East heavy-sour crude ( grades with a high sulphur content). Background

The delivery of shipment follows recent commitments to US oil purchases by Indian state refiners. State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) also have placed orders for about 2.95 million barrels and 1 million barrels of US crude respectively for their Kochi and Vizag refineries. Indian companies, both public and private, have invested about $5 billion in US shale assets. They have also contracted 5.8 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from US and the first shipment is expected to be delivered to India in January 2018. India-US Energy relations

The IOC purchase comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in June 2017 when President Donald Trump had assured that US looks forward to export more energy products to India. They had committed to expand and elevate bilateral energy cooperation through strategic energy partnership. Under this partnership, both countries are elevating cooperation in field of energy, including in cle ane r fos sil fuel s, ren ewa ble s, nuc lea r, and cut tin g edg e sto rag e and ene rgy eff icien cy technologies. The first delivery of oil imports is considered as significant milesto ne in growing partnershi p between the US and India. US crude oil shipments to India have potential to boost bilateral trade between both countries by up to $2 billion.

NHAI launches countrywide Free Eye Check-up Campaign October 2, 2017

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has launched countrywide Free Eye Check-up Campaign and distribution of spectacles for truck drivers, cleaners and helpers. It was launched by Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari at Panjari Toll Plaza, Nagpur Bypass, Nagpur in Maharashtra. Eyesight is basic requirement for safe driving. Poor vision increases risk of collisions due to the driver’s inability to recognise and react in time to hazard or behaviour of other road users. Key Facts

The objective of this initiati ve is to ensure clearer vision and safe travel for truck drivers who are most frequent users of national highways. Under it, 50 free eye check-up camps will be set up on identi fied natio nal highwa ys on either side. The camps will be manned by eye specialist and support staff volunteers. The cleaners can avail of this facility on condition of producing valid driving license. These camps will distribute free spectacles up to certain power as prescribed by eye specialist. Moreover, other eye defects like cataract will be also identified and medicines will be prescribed. NHAI has roped in Non-govern ment al orga nizations (NGOs), governm ents, social enterpri ses and priv ate businesses for facilitating provision of these facilities. It is one of many innovative programmes undertaken by NHAI to ensure safe travel along national high ways. This initi ative is expe cted to redu ce numb er of acciden ts involvi ng truc ks and encourage regional staff and NGOs to set up such camps on regular basis.

Three US-born scientists win 2017 Nobel Medicine Prize October 2, 2017

The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Jeffrey C. Hall (72), Michael



Rosbash (73) and Michael W. Young (68). It was announced by Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute. They were awarded for discovering molecular mechanisms controlling circadian rhythm. Their discoveri es explain how plants, anima ls and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that it is synchronized with Earth’s revolutions. Circardian Rhythm

Circardian Rhythm is 24 hour cycle in physiological processes of living beings, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria . It influences such biological functions as hormone levels, sleep, body temperature and metabolism. These three noble laureates dsing the fruit fly as a model organism, had isolated a gene that controls daily biological rhythm. They had showed that this gene encodes a protein that accumulates in cell during night and is then degraded during the day. Subs eque ntly they iden tified additional prot ein components of this machinery, expo sing mechanism governing the self-sustaining clockwork inside the cell. They also had raised awareness of importance of proper sleep hygiene. Nobel Medicine Prize

The Nobel award for medicine is given to persons whose discoveries have significa ntly enhanced understanding of life or practice of medicine. The winners are chosen by Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute. The prestigious award carries prize money of 8 million Swedish kroner or 1.1 millio n dollars. Medici ne is first of the Nobel Prize s awarded each year. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite in 1895.



October 3, 2017 October 2: World Habitat Day October 3, 2017

The World Habitat Day was observed all over the world on 2 October 2017. The purpose of day is to reflect on state of cities and towns and basic human right to adequate shelter. It also aims to



remind world of its collective responsibility for habitat of future generations. The theme for this year was ‘Hous ing Polici es: Afford able Homes ’. It focuses on promoting implemen tation of concrete initiatives to ensure adequate and affordable housing in context of implementation of New Urban Agenda, as well as achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. New Urban Agenda

It was adopted at UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (also known as “Habitat III” conference) held in Quito, Ecuador in October 2016. It sets global vision of sustainable urbanization for next 20 years. It is set of 175 commit ments tha t countri es need to adhere to tackle challenges of urbanization. It is considered as roadmap for building cities that can serve as engines of prosperity and centres of social and cultural well-being while protecting the environment. It provides guidance for achieving the Sustainable Developm ent Goals and provides the underpinning for actions to address climate change. Background

The United Nations has designat ed the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day. The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 40/202 in 1985 and was first celebrated in 1986. Since then it is observed each year with new theme to promote sustainable development policies that ensure adequate shelter for all.

Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple adjudged as cleanest iconic place October 3, 2017

The Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) was adjudged as the cleanest iconic place in country under Swachhta Hi Seva (cleanliness is service) programme. The temple earned top slot from among 10 iconic places selected by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Swachh Bharath Mission. It has piped other iconic places such as Taj Mahal, Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Golden Temple, Tirupathi temple and Sri Vaishno Devi temple. Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple

It is historic Hindu temple located on southern bank of Vaigai River in temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It is dedicated to Meenakshi, a form of Parvati, and her consort, Sundareswar, a form of Shiva. It was built during reign of Pandyas. It houses 14 gopurams (gateway towers), ranging from 45–50m in height and tallest is southern tower, 51.9 metres high. It also has two golden sculptured vimanas, shrines over garbhagrihas (sanctums) of main deities.

President appoints Commission to Examine OBC Sub-categorisation October 3, 2017

Pres ide nt Ram Nat h Kov ind has app oin ted fiv e-me mbe r com mis sio n to exa min e sub categorisation of Other Backw ard Classes (OBCs). It will be headed by retired Chief Justice of Delhi High Court G. Rohini. Besides, Dr J K Bajaj, Director, Anthropological Survey of India, Registrar General and Census Commissioner and Joint Secretary from Ministry of Social Justice will be ex-officio members of commission. Key Facts

The commission has been establ ished under Art icl e 340 of Con sti tut io n under which Mandal commission had recommended 27% reservation for socially and educationally backward classes, was appointed. Sub-categorisation of OBCs aims to ensure more equitable dist ribution of rese rvat ions in



government jobs and educational institutions so that dominant groups among OBCs do not corner all benefits. The exercise will involve sub-categorisation of 5,000 castes in central OBC list. Commission’s Terms of reference

The commission will examine extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among castes includ ed in broad catego ry of OBCs, especia lly with referenc e to OBCs included in the Central list. It will also take up exercise of identifying respective castes/sub-castes/communities synonyms in Central List of OBCs and classify them into thei r respective sub-categories. It will work out mechanism, norms, criteria and parameters, in scientific approach, for sub-categorizati on within such OBCs. Background The Supreme Court of India in Indra Sawhney and others vs. Union of India case (1992 ) had observed that there is no constitutional or legal bar on states for categorizin g OBCs as backward or more backward. It had also observed that it is not impermissible in law if state chooses to do sub-categorization. So far, 9 states/UTs viz. Karnataka, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Puducherry , Telangana, Wst Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have carried out subcategorization of OBCs. So far there was no sub categorisation in central list of OBCs.

Government unveils third National Wildlife Action Plan for 2017-2031 October 3, 2017

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has unveiled third National Wildlife Action Plan for 2017-2031 to chalk out future road map for wildlife conservation. The plan was unveiled by Environment Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on inaugural day of Global Wildlife Programme (GWP) conference. It is third action plan after first released in 1983 to 2001 and second from 2002 to 2016, that had protected area-centric approach to wildlife conservation. 3rd National Wildlife Action Plan

The plan was initiated in February 2016 by MoEFCC. It was drafted by a 12-member committee chaired by JC Kala, a former secretar y to the ministry . The key focus areas of this plan includes integration of climate change into wildlife planning, conservation of coastal and marine ecosystem, mitigation of human-wildlife conflict, focus on wildlife health among others. Climate Change impact: It is first wildlife action plan to recognise concerns related to climate change impact on wildlife. It has stressed on integrating actions for its mitigation and adaptation into wildlife management planning processes. It reco mmended assisted migration of wildlife and anticipatory planting along ecologi cal gradients, as climate change may result in die-offs of certain tree species that are unable to adapt to newer environmental conditions. Approach: It adopts landscape approach in conservat ion of all wildlife – uncultivated flora and fauna that have an ecological value to ecosystem and to mankind irrespective of where they occur. It gives specia l emphasi s to recovery to threat ened species of wildlife while conserving their habitats which include inland aquatic, coastal and marine ecosystems. Human-animal conflict concerns: It addresses rising human-animal conflict owing to shrinkage, fragmentation and deterioration of habitats generating animosity against wild animals and protected areas. People’s support: It underscores increasing need for people’s support for conservation of wildlife.



It recommen ds eco-develo pment, education, innovation , training, extension, and conserva tion awareness and outreach programs. Part ici pati on of priv ate sec tor : It und erl ine s inc rea sed rol e of pri vat e sec tor in wil dli fe conservation. It lays down that Governme nt will ensure that adequat e and sustaine d funding including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds are made available for implementation of plan.

Global Wildlife Programme Conference held in New Delhi October 3, 2017

The Global Wildlife Programme (GWP) Conference was recently held in New Delhi. It was jointly hosted Minist ry of Environmen t, Forests and ofClimat e Change was (MoEFC Worldparticipation Bank and Peoples’ United by Nations Development Programme. Theme the Conference – “ C), in wildlife conservation”. GWP Conference

The GWP Conference held discussions on management of wildlife habitat, securing sustaina ble community livelihood, enhancing enforcement, monitoring, cooperation to reduce wildlife crimes such as poaching and related threats. It also provided an opportunity for India to showcase its conserva tion effor ts thro ugh joint fores t managemen t, eco-devel opment committees, vana sanrakshan samitis, in and around protected areas. Global Wildlife Programme (GWP)

The GWP is World-Bank led global partnership of 19 countries in Asia and Africa to promote the conservation and sustainable development by combating trafficking in wildlife. It was initiated in 2015 by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It serves as a platform to exchange knowledge and coordinate in on-ground action for combating illegal poachi ng of wildlife and improve governa nce on wildlife conservatio n. It seeks to reduce both supply and demand that drives illegal wildlife trade, and protect species and habitats through integrated landscape planning.

Scientist develop rapid test to diagnose Zika and dengue October 3, 2017

Researchers including from India have developed low-cost, rapid diagnostic test consisting of pan-dengu e strip for diagnosing Zika and dengue viruses and different iating four serotypes of dengue virus. Zika and dengue both belong to same viral famil y, which are called flavi viruse s. They are two closely related viruses spread by the same mosquito Key Facts

The test resembles pregnancy test strip and contains antibodies that react to presence of Zika or dengue virus, and also contains gold nanoparticl es that respond to antibody reaction. It does not have cross-reactivity leading to wrong diagnosis as antigens specific to dengue and Zika viruses were identified. To use the test, medical professional dipped strip into a tube of either blood serum or whole blood of patient. If the test is positive, then dot or line was seen on the strip that results from seeing gold nanoparticles that signal antibodies recognising viral protein. The diagnostic test has nearly 100% ability to distinguish between two virus infections. It has nearly 76-1 00% sensi tivity and spec ificity in case of dengue and in case of Zika, it has 81%



sensitivity and 86% specificity.

Government launches SECURE Himalaya Project October 3, 2017

The Uni on Gov ern men t had lau nch ed SECU RE Himalay a, a six -yea r pro jec t to ens ure conservation of locally and globally significant biodiversity, land and forest resources in high Himal ayan ecosyst em sprea d over four states viz. Himach al Prad esh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. It was launched by Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Key Facts

The SECURE project aims at securing livelihoods, conservation, sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystem s. It is meant for specific landscapes includi ng Changthan g (Jammu and Kasmir), Lahaul – Pangi and Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh), Gangotri – Govind and Darma – Byans Valley in Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand) and Kanchenjunga – Upper Teesta Valley (Sikkim). The key focus areas of the project is protection of snow leopard and other endangered species and their habitats and also securing livelihoods of people in region and enhancing enforcement to reduce wildlife crime. Under it, enhanced enforcement efforts and monitoring will be undertaken to curb illegal trade in some medicinal and aromatic plants which are among most threatened species in these landscapes.

2017 Nobel Prize in physics goes to the discovery of Gravitational Waves October 3, 2017

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has selected three American scientists Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne for the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics. The y wer e sel ect ed for the ir dec isi ve contrib uti ons to the LIGO (Lase r Inter fer ome ter Gravitational wave Observatory) detector and the observation of gravitational waves. Dr. Weiss — born in Berlin and now a US citizen received half the prize. The remaining half was shared equally by two Caltec h scientists — Dr. Barish , Professo r of Physics and Dr. Thorne , Professor of Theoretical Physics Gravitational waves

Gravit ational waves are ripples curvature of spacet ime which propagate as waves, travelli ng outward from source at the speed of light. Strong est sources of gravitational waves are among produced by catastrophic events such as colliding black holes. Gravitational waves were first predicted in 1916 by Albert Einstein on basis of his Theory of General Relativity. They were detected for by US LIGO laboratory in 201 5. Since then three more examples have been detected. Gravitational waves transport energy as gravitational radiation and pass through matter without interacting with it. Information extracted from gravitational waves may help to address unsolved questions and mysteries of physics and astronomy. LIGO

LIGO is worl d’s larg est grav itational wave observa tory. It compris es two enor mous lase r interferomet ers located thousands of kilometers apart. It helps to detect and understan d the srcins of gravitational waves. The Interferometers used in LIGO work by merging two or more



sources of light to create interference pattern, which can be measured and analyzed.

October 4, 2017 October 4, 2017

Karnataka Government launches Mathru Poorna scheme

The Karnataka Government has launched Mathru Poorna Scheme to meet nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating women in rural areas of state. Under this scheme, pregnant and lactating poor women in rural areas will get one nutritious meal daily for 25 days in a month. Key Facts

The scheme will be implemented through anganwa dis in State. Under it, nutritio us food will be



provided for 15 months, from start of pregnancy up to six months after delivery. Along with meal, Iron Folic Acid (IFA) tablets will be administered and gest ational weight monitoring will be ensured for pregnant women. The full meal will consist of rice, dal with vegetables/sa mbar, one boiled egg and 200ml of milk, will be given to pregnan t women. Those who don’t eat eggs would be given two variet ies of sprouts. This meal will meet 40-45% of daily calorie, protein and calcium requirement per day of pregnant and lactating mothers.

Sibir: World’s biggest and most powerful nuclear icebreaker ship launched by Russia October 4, 2017

Russia Sibir world’s largestinnuclear-powered Projectlaunched 22220 into the(Siberia), water atthe the Baltic Shipyard St Petersburg. icebreaker ship built under Sibir is second of three icebrea kers of new class of biggest nuclear powered icebreak ers ever constructed under Project 22220. The first one was Arktika (Arctic) was put in service in June 2016. Third icebreaker Ural is set to be completed in 2019. Sibir

Sibir is powered by two next generation RITM -200 nuclea r-rea ctors. These reacto rs will be supplied with nuclear be produced by the TVEL fuel company. It is 173 meters long and 34 meters wide. It has displacement capac ity of 33500 metric tons. It has dual-draft design that can break through 13 feet (3 metres) thick ice, enabling it to use it in Arctic waters and in estuaries of polar rivers. Sibir is designed to transport cargo along the Northern Sea Passage, a naval route near Artic has which has become recently more accessible due to climate change. It is 12 to 15 days shorter than traditional commercial routes through the Suez canal. It will help Russia to maintain control in Arctic waters due to drilling opportunities, minerals and strategic importance. Russia is only country in world that produces nuclear-powered icebreakers. The new series of icebreakers under Project 22220 are meant to ensure year-roun d navigation in western Arctic, and their makes possible to use them in Arctic Ocean as well as in rivers.

Soumya Swaminathan appointed as Deputy DG of WHO October 4, 2017

The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed Dr. Soumya Swaminathan (58) as one of two deputy directors general. This is first time such second-highest position created within WHO and highest post held by Indian in WHO. Dr Swaminathan will replace Dr Anarfi Asamoa-B aah from Ghana, who joined WHO as senior policy adviser to director-general. Soumya Swaminathan

Dr. Swaminathan is currently Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). She is a paediatrician and clinical scientis t and globally-reco gnised researcher on tuberculosis (TB) and HIV, who has over 30 years of experience in clinical care and research. She did her MBBS and MD from Armed Forces Medical College and the All India Institute of Me di ca l Sc ie nc es (A II MS ), re sp ec ti ve ly . Sh e ha d se rv ed as Co or di na to r of th e UNICEF/UNDP/Worl d Bank/WHO Special Progra mme for Researc h and Training in Tropic al Diseases (TDR) in Geneva from 2009 to 2011. She was member of several WHO and global advisory bodies , includin g WHO Expert Panel to



Review Global Strate gy and Plan of Action on Public Health , Innovation and IP, Strategi c and Technical Advisory Group of Global TB Department at WHO. She was also Co-Chair of Lancet Commission on TB. She is one of the three daughters of Dr MS Swaminathan, who is known as the father of green revolution in India. World Health Organization (WHO)

The WHO is specialized agency of United Nations that acts as coordinating authority on international public health. It was established in April 1948 and succeeded Health Organization, which was an agency of the League of Nations. It is a member of the United Nations Development Group headquarte rs is located at Geneva . WHO flag features the Rod of Asclep ius as a symboland for its healing.

Core sector growth rises to 4.9% in August 2017 October 4, 2017

According to Ministry of Commerce & Industry, eight core sectors grew by 4.9% in August 2017, the highest growth rate since April 2017. It was higher than 3.1% in August 2016 and 2.6% in July 2017 The growth was recorded on account of robust performan ce of coal, natural gas and electricity segments. But, growth in Crude oil, cement and fertiliser segments declined. Key Facts

Coal production recorded 15.3% growth in August 2017, up from a low base of -9.7% contraction in August 2016. Electricity output

grew by 10.3% in August 2017 from a low base of 2.2% growth in August 2016. Steel production registered 3% growth in August 2017, down from 16.7% in August 2016. Cement sector growth fell to -1.3% in August from 3.1% growth in August 2016. Fertilizer output contra cted by -0.7% in August 2017 as against 2.5% growth in August 2016. Natural registered a 4.2% growth in at August lowgrowth base of in -5.9% fall in August 2016. Refinerygas products output stayed almost same 2017 level from with a2.4% August 2017 as against 2.5% growth in August 2016. Crude oil production shrunk by -1.6% in August 2017 from negative

growth of -3.9% in 2016. Eight core sectors

Core industry can be defined as the main industry. In most countries, there is particular industry that seems to be the backbone of all other industries and it qualifies to be the core industry. In India, there are eight core sectors comprising of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products,



fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity. The electricity has the maximum weight of 10.32% followed by Steel (6.68%), Petroleum Refinery (5.94%), Crude Oil production (5.22 %), Coal production (4.38 %), Cement (2.41%), Natural Gas production (1.71 %) and Fertilizer production (1.25%). Healthy growth in core sectors have positive implicati ons on Index of Industrial Producti on (IIP) as these segments account for about 40.27 % of the weight of items in the total factory output.

Foundation stone for national waterway on Krishna River laid October 4, 2017

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid foundation stone to develop Muktyal to Vijayawada waterway Pradesh. stretc h on River Krish na as part of National Waterw ay 4 at Amarava ti in Andhra The 82-km inland waterway stretch is Phase-1 of National Waterway-4 developed under Sagar Mala project. It will be used mainly for transportati on of cement and constructi on material for new capital city Amaravati. National Waterway 4

NW-4 in Andhra Pradesh has total length of 2890 km. It is proposed to be developed in three phases viz. Phase-I : Muktyala to Vijayawada (Krishna River) (82 Km), Phase-II: Vijayawada to Kakinada (Eluru canal & Kakinada canal) and Rajahmundry to Polavaram stretch of Godavari (233 Km) and Phase-III: Commam ur Canal, Buckin gham canal and balance stretches of Krishn a & Godavari Rivers (573km) In Phase I, three cargo termin als are propo sed to be built at Mukty ala, Ibrahi mpat nam and Harishchandrapur. Besides, four Passenger Terminals will be built at Durga Ghat, Bhawani Island, Vedadari, and Amravati. The Phase I work is expected to be completed by June, 2019. Significance of NW 4

The project will provide efficient logistics solution to boost economic growth of region. It will facilitate development of new capital city Amravati during its early development stage by transporting substantial construction material. It will also help in controll ing traffic cong esti on and pollu tion. It will help in savin g cost of transportation. Moreover, Ro-Ro services on the route will provide intra-city transporta tion of passen gers and vehicles. It will improve connec tivity to tourist and pilgrimage places in and around Vijayawada and Amaravati.

Turtle Sanctuary to be set up in Allahabad October 4, 2017

The Union Minist ry of Water Resour ces has appro ved project to set up Turtle sanctuar y in Allah abad along with River Biodivers ity Park at Sangam in Allah abad , Uttar Prade sh under Namami Gange programme. The purpose of the Turtle sanctuary is to protect the rich aquatic biodiversity of river Ganga from escalating anthropogenic pressures. Key Facts

The approved project includes development of River Biodiversity Park at Sangam (confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Sarasvati Rivers), establishment of Turtle Rearing Centre (Permanent nursery at Triveni Pushp and makeshift annual hatcheries) and awareness about importanc e of Ganga River and imperativeness of its conservation has been approved.



This project will provide platform to make the visitors aware of their place in ecosystem, their roles and responsibilities, improve their understanding of the complexity of co-existence with environment. It will also help to generate awareness for reducing impact of human activities on critical natural resources. Need for such Projects

The sustenance of more than 2000 aquatic species including threaten ed gharials, dolphins and turtles in river Ganga exemplifies rich biodiversity of River Ganga which is lifeline to over 40% of India’s population. Rivers Ganga and Yamuna at Allahabad are home to some of most endangered fauna like turtl es (Bat agur kachuga, Batagur dhong oka, Nilss onia gang etic a, Chit ra indi ca, Harde lla thur etc. ), Gangeti migratory and jii resident birds. c dolp hin- Nati onal Aqua tic Animal, Ghari al and nume rous

Satya Pal Malik sworn-in as governor of Bihar October 4, 2017

Satya Pal Malik (71) was sworn-in as 35th Governor of Bihar. He was administered oath to office by Chief Justice of Patna High Court Rajendra Menon. He succeeds West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi who was holding additional charge of Bihar after the elevation of Ram Nath Kovind as President. Satya Pal Malik

He hails from Baghpa t district in west ern Uttar Pradesh. Prior to this appoi ntment, he was nati onal vice-p reside nt of BJP. He had begun his polit ical career in 1970s as member of UP Legislative Assembly between 1974 and 1977. He was electe d from Aligarh Lok Sabha cons tituen cy on Janata Dal ticket in 1989-90 . He also served as a member of Rajya Sabha for two terms of 1980-86 and 1986-1992. He has also served as MoS for Parl iamenta ry Affa irs, and Tour ism. He has also served in seve ral Parliam entary Committees. Constitutional provisions of Governor

Article 153: It says that there shall be Governor for each state. But 7th Constitutional Amendment

Act, 1956 facilitated appointment of same person as a governor for two or more states. Article 156: Governor is appointed by President for term of 5 years but usually holds office during pleasure of President. There is no provision of impeachment, as it happens for the president.

RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6% October 4, 2017

The six member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to maintain statu s quo in poli cy rates by keepi ng repo rate unchanged at 6.0% under liquid ity adjustment facility. It was RBI’s fourth bimonthly policy review for financial year 2017-18. The decision of MPC was consistent with neutral stance of monetary policy in consonance with objective of achieving medium-term inflation target of 4% within a band of +/- 2%, while supporting growth. Policy Rates

Repo rate: It is rate at which RBI lends to its clients generally against government securities. It

was unchanged at 6%. Reverse Repo Rate: It is rate at which banks lend funds to RBI. It was unchanged at 5.75%. Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate: It is rate at which scheduled banks can borrow funds



overnight from RBI against governmen t securities. It is very short term borrowing scheme for scheduled banks. It was unchanged at 6.25%. Bank Rate: It is rate charged by central bank for lend ing funds to commerci al banks. It was unchanged 6.25%. It influences lending rates of commercial banks. Higher bank rate will translate to higher lending rates by banks. Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): It is amou nt of funds that bank s have to keep with RBI. It was unchanged at 4%. The RBI uses CRR to drain out excessive money from system. Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): It was changed to 19.5% fr om 20%. It is amount that banks have to maintain a stipulated proportion of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) in form of liquid assets like cash, gold and unencumbered securities, treasury bills, dated securities etc. Key Highlights of 4th bi-monthly policy

RBI has indicated rise in inflation and is expected to rise from its current level and range between 4.2-4.6% in second half of this year. It also has indicated a fall in GVA (Gross Value Addition) growth rate. The project ion of real GVA growth for 2017-18 has been revised down to 6.7% from August 2017 projection of 7.3%. According to RBI, various structural reforms introduced in recent period will likely be growth augm enti ng over medi um- to long-ter m by impr ovin g busi ness envi ronm ent, enha ncing transparency and increasing formalisation of economy.

October 5, 2017 PM inaugurates Golden Jubilee Year Celebrations of ICSI October 5, 2017

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Golden Jubilee Year Celebrations (50 years) of the Institute Company Secretaries New Delhi. The eventofassumes significance asofitIndia comes(ICSI) closein on heels of government action of de-registering over 2.1 lakh dormant, shell companies and disqualifying over one lakh directors as part of a cleanup of corporate system and tackling menace of shell companies. Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI)

ICSI is the only statutory professional body in India with objective of promoting, regulating and developing the profession of Company Secretaries in India. Its headquarters are located at New Delhi, four Regional Offices at New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and 69 Chapters across India. Originally it was set up as not-for-profit organisation on 4th October, 1968, but later in 1980 the institute was converted into statutory professional body under an Act of Parliament, ‘The Company Secretaries Act 1980’.

Cabinet approves MoU between India and Switzerland on Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector October 5, 2017

The Union Cabinet has approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Ministry of Railways, and Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications of Swiss Confedera tion on Technica l Cooperation in Rail Sect or. The MoU was signed in August, 2017. The MoU will enable technical cooperati on in area s such as trac tion rollin g stock, Tract ion Propulsion Equipments, Freight and Passenger Cars, EMU and train sets, Railway Electrifica tion Equipmen ts , Train scheduli ng and operation improvem ent, Tilting Trains, Railway Station modernization, Multimodal transport and Tunneling technology.


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Background

The Union Ministry of Railways has signed various MoUs for technical cooperation in ail sector with various foreign Governments and National Railways in areas such as high-speed corridors, raising speed of existing routes, heavy haul operations, development of world-class stations and modernization of rail infrastructure etc. The cooperat ion under these MoUs is achieved mainly through exchang e of info rmation on developments in areas of railways technology and operations, knowledge sharing, technical visits, training & seminars and workshops in areas of mutual interest. The se Mo Us pro vi de glob al pla tform for In di an Ra ilwa ys to interac t an d share la tes t developments and knowledge in railway sector. They alsofocusing facilitate of technicalareas experts, technical documents and reports, training and seminars onexchange specific technology and other interactions for knowledge sharing.

Cabinet approves renaming of Kandla Port as Deendayal Port October 5, 2017

The Union Cabinet has approved proposal of Union Ministry of Shipping to rename of Kandla Port in Gujarat as Deendayal Port, Kandla. The port was renamed after BJP ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay who had dedicated his entire life for public service and was epitome of simplicity, honesty and selfless service for poor and down-trodden. It was renamed as part of Upadhyay’s 101st birth anniversary celebrations. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay was born in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, on September 25, 1916 and died on 1 February 1968. He was a Bharatiya Jan Sangh leader and Indian politician. He had conceived philosophy on ‘integral humanism’, which was later adopted by Jan Sangh and BJP. Throughout his life, he had worked tirelessly for Indianisation of democracy, honouring public opinion, selflessness and respect for law of the land. All his actions were based on principles of ‘Integral Humanis m’ and also uphel d values of demo cracy foun ded on tolerance, disc ipli ne, selflessness and respect for law of land. Kandla Port

Kandla Port is one of twelve major ports in country. It is situated on Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat. It is largest port of India in terms of volume of cargo handled (around 100 million tons freight). It was constructed in 1950s as main seaport to serve in western India, alternative to Karachi port which came under Pakistan’s control after partition. In March 2016, Kandla Port had created history by becoming first Major Port in country to cross 100 million tons freight handling capacity.

Rajnish Kumar appointed as new Chairman of SBI October 5, 2017

The Appointments Commit tee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Rajnish Kumar (59) as the new chairman of State Bank of India (SBI). His name was recommended by Vinod Rai-led Bank Board Bureau. Rajnish Kumar will be 25th chairma n of the country’ s larges t lender and succeeds Arundha ti Bhattacharya who retired from the service. Rajnish Kumar

Kumar joined SBI as probationary officer in 1980. In his banking career spanning three decades he had worked in various departments. Prior to this appointment, he was Managing Director (MD) Compliance and Risk and SBI board member. Before becoming MD, he headed SBI’s merchant



banking arm, SBI Capital Markets, as managing director and CEO. Kumar also had worked as Chief General Manager, Project Finance and Leasing Strategic Business Unit. He also had held several key assignment s across various busine ss verticals, includin g two overseas assignments in Canada and United Kingdom. State Bank of India (SBI)

SBI is largest commercial bank in India in terms of assets, deposits, branches, profits, customers and employees. It traces its ancestry to British India, through the Imperial Bank of India, to the founding, in 1806, making it oldest commercial bank in Indian subcontinent. On 1 Apri l, 2017, SBI’s five assoc iate Banks (Sta te Bank of Bikaner & Jaip ur, State Bank of Hyderabad, StatelaBank Mysore, State of Patiala State Bankinofleague Travancore) andglobal Bharatiya Mahi Bankof merged with SBI.Bank With mergerand , SBI entered of top 50 banks with balanc e sheet size of Rs.33 trilli on, 278,000 employe es, 420 million customers and network of more than 24,000 branches and 59,000 ATMs. After the merger, SBI’s market share also had increased to 22% from 17%. It is ranked 232nd on the Fortun e Global 500 list of the world’s bigges t corporati ons as of 2016. It has 198 offices in 37 countries; 301 correspondents in 72 countries.[6]

Government constitutes high-level committee for water management in northeast October 5, 2017

The Government has constituted a high-level committee for proper management of water resources in North Eastern Region (NER) under Chairmanship of Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog. The Committee is tasked to facilitate optimisi ng benefits of appropri ate water management in form of agriculture, bio-diversity conservation, hydro-electric power, reduced flood damage erosion, inland water transport, forestry, fishery and eco-tourism. Composition of Committee

It will include secretaries from the ministries of DoNER, water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenati on, power, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), departments of border management and space and chief secretaries of all eight north eastern states. Terms of reference of Committee

It will appraise existin g institutional arrangements (or mechanisms) for management of water resources of NER. It will also identify of gaps in existing institutional arrangements for optimal management of water resources of NER. It will suggest policy interventions required for optimally harnessing water resources for accelerating development in NER. It will also spell out of actionable measures required for optimizing management of water resources in NER. It will chalk out a Plan of Action for dovetailing of schemes and programmes of concerned Union Ministries as well as schemes of respective North-Eastern State Governments. It will submit its report, including Plan of Action, by June, 2018. Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) will serve as coordinating point. Background

The Brahmaputra (flows through Assam, Arunachal Pradesh) and Barak river (flows through Assam, Manipur and Mizoram) systems in NER which account for one-third of India’s run off are highl y prone to floods. Brah maput ra is one of largest river syste ms in world and causes considerable distress and costs on NER through frequent flooding and erosion.



During review of flood situation with Chief Ministers of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced constitution of High-Level Committee for holistic management of water resources in NER. The meeting noted thatoptimum management of water resources is cross-cutting task which requires multi-sectoral interventions and concerted strat egy, includin g managemen t of catchment areas in upper reaches invo lvin g concerne d Central Ministries and State Governments.

Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson selected for 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry October 5, 2017

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has selected Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson for the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They were selected for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution. Chemistry was third of this year’s Nobel Prizes. Contributions of trio

Richard Henderson in 1990 was successful in using an electron microscope to generate a 3D image of a protein at atomic resolution. Joachi m Frank made technology more widely applicable. Jacques Dubochet had helped with vitrifica tion of water, which ensured that biological sample retained its natural shape even in vacuum and while frozen. Cryo-electron microscopy

The Cryo- elect ron microsc opy is speci fic type of elect ron microsc opy based on prin ciple of forming three-dimensional (3D) image by collecting and combining thousand s of projections of biomolec ules. Using it, resea rcher s can now freez e mid-movem ent of biomolec ules and can visualise processes they have never seen. It helps to make it possible to see biomolecules in 3D after rapidly freezing them at -150°C (i.e. at cryo genic temp erat ure) , pres ervi ng their natural shape. It can reveal the structure of the molecules of life in exquisite detail. It is decisive for both basic understanding of chemistry and for development of pharmaceuticals. Significance: Cryo-electron microscopy gives scientists opportunity to look at machinery of life in 3D form. This was not possible with earlier forms of electron microscopes as more powerful beams would destroy biologica l matter. It allows the study of fine cellular structures, viruses and protein complexes at molecular resolution.



India, Djibouti sign pact on bilateral consultations October 5, 2017

India and Djibouti have signed an agreement to establish regular Foreign Office-level bilateral consultations between both countries. The agreement was signed during Preside nt Ram Nath Kovind’s first leg of his four-day visit to



Djibouti and Ethiopia. President Ram Nath Kovind is first Indian leader to visit Djibouti and it was also his maiden trip abroad since taking office. India-Djibouti Relations

Djibouti is strategically locat ed at confluence of Red Sea with Indian Ocean in Horn of Africa and crossroads connecting Africa, Middle

East and Asia. Contacts between India and Djibouti existed since ancient times. Historically, port of Adulis in Djibouti was hub of maritime trade for Indian seafarers for trading in spices and silk for gold and ivory. Djibouti had opened its embassy in New Delhi in 2004, but India still does not have embassy in Djibouti. India’s relation s are based on handful of diaspora and limited trade links from ancient tim es. In rec ent tim es, Dji bou ti has acqui red maj or sig nific anc e as res ult of geo pol iti cal developments and presence of military bases of US and China side by side. Djibouti had supported India during Operation for evacuating Indians from Yemen Bilateral trade between Rahat both countries is on increase and iswar-torn in India’s favor.inIn2015. 2014-15, bilateral trade stood at US$ 239.43 million (India’s exports were US $ 237.96 million and India’s imports US $ 1.47 million). Most of trade with Djibouti actually serves growing market in Ethiopia. The main items in Indian exports were iron & steel products, paper and plastic products.

Ganga Prasad sworn in as Governor of Meghalaya October 5, 2017

Ganga Prasa d was sworn in as the 17th Governor of Meghalaya . He was admini stered oath of office and secrecy by Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court Justice Dinesh Maheshwari. He succeeds B Purohit who was given additional charge as governor of Meghalaya, a temporary appointment after V Shanmuganathan had resigned on charges of compromising with dignity of gubernatorial office. Ganga Prasad

Ganga Prasad has started his political career in Bihar when he was elected as first-time Member of Legislativ e Council (MLC) in 1994. He had retained positi on for 18 years, during which he led Opposi tion in state Assembly for five years. Durin g the earlie r NDA regime, he had served as leader of Bihar Legislative Council for ruling party.

Government launches Paryatan Parv to boost tourism October 5, 2017

The Uni on Min ist ry of Tour ism in col lab ora tio n wit h Oth er Uni on Min ist ries and Sta te Governments has launched nationwide ‘Paryatan Parv’ to showcase cultural diversity of country and reinforce the principle of ‘Tourism for All’. Its objective is to draw focus on the benefits of



tourism. It was inaugurated at Humayun’s Tomb and will be held across the country from the 5th to 25th October 2017. During this period, ‘Adopt A Heritage’ project launched by Ministry of Tourism will be implemented at key sites. Components of Paryatan Parv

Dekho Apna Desh: It will encourage Indians to visit their own country. It will include video, photograph and

blog competitions visited during event, stories of India through Travelers’ Eyes to promote travel to J&K and North Eastern states. Tourism for All: It will promote tourism event s at sites across all States in country. These will mainly be

People’s events with large scale public participation. The activities at these sites will include Cultural Programmes of Dance, Music, Theatre, Tourism Exhibitions showcasing culture, cuisine and handicrafts and handlooms etc. Tourism & Governance: It will have interactive sessions and workshops with stakeholders on varied themes like Skill Development in Tourism Sector , Innovation in Tourism, Inducting Ex-servicemen as service providers for Taxi Operation and Developing Rural Tourism in locations near established destinations .

In the overseas markets, Union Ministry of External Affairs through Indian Missions will be conducting outreach programmes to encourage people to visit India, with special focus on PIOs who have never visited the country.

October 6, 2017 India signs €300 million agreement with European Investment Bank for Bangalore Metro Phase II October 6, 2017

Government signed Finance withPhase European Investment Bank (EIB) for lending of €300 million has for Bangalore MetroContract Rail Project II Line R6. The Phase II of metro project is jointly financed by EIB (€500 million) and Asian Infrastruct ure Investment Bank (€300 million). The project envisages extension of East-West & North-South lines for Bangalore Metro Rail which includes a total length of 72.095 km (13.79 km underground) and 61 stations with 12 underground stations. Bangalore Metro Phase II

The objective of project is to bring in quantum improvement in transportat ion sector in city in tandem with Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and other modes of urban transport. It aims to ensure modern transport facility for the commuters. The spinoffs of the project will include employment opportunities, reduction of number of vehicles on road, benefits to economy, less fuel consumption, reduction in air pollution, reduction in passenger travel time and also improvement in aesthetic value of city. October 6, 2017

Fact Box: Embryo transfer technology (ETT)

Depart ment of Animal husban dry, Dairying and Fisheri es in co-operati on with 12 States had undertaken Mass Embryo Transfer programme in indigenous breeds under National Mission on Bovine Productivity Scheme. The pro gram me is imp lem ent ed wit h the obj ect ive of con serv ati on and deve lop men t of indigenous breeds under Rashtriya Gokul Mission using Embryo transfer technology (ETT).


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Embryo transfer technology (ETT)

ETT is one of the most important reproduct ive biotechno logies where male and female genetic material can be utilized for fast er improveme nt of livestock. It has revol utionized breed ing strate gies in Bovines as tool to optimize genetic improveme nt in cattle. Using it, embryos of higher genetic merit indigenou s bovines such as Sahiwal, Gir, Red Sindhi, Ongole, Deoni and Vechur are being transferred in to surrogate cows. Government is taking this technology to doorstep of farmers for rapid propogation of high genetic merit indigenous cattle. Benefits of using ETT: (i) Farmer can get 5-6 fold increase in number of offsprings. (ii) So born calves will be of high genetic merit (iii) Offsprings born will be free from diseases. National Mission on Bovine Productivity

It was launched in November 2016 with aim of enhancing milk production and productivity and thereby making dairying more remunerative to farmers. It is being implemented with following components (i) Pashu Sanjivni: It includes identification of animals in milk using UID, issuing health cards to all animals in milk and uploading data on INAPH data base. (ii) Advance reproductive Techniq ue: Under it, sex sorted semen produc tion facili ty is being created at 10 A graded semen stations and 50 EET Labs with IVF facilities. (iii) Creation of E Pashu Haat Portal: It is for linking farmers and breeders of indigenous breeds and (iv) Establishment of National Bovine Genomic Centre for Indigenous Breeds (NBGC-IB): It is established for enhancing milk production and productivity through genomic selection among indigenous breeds. Rashtriya Gokul Mission

It was launched in December 2014 for developmen t and conservation of indigenous bovine breeds for enhancing milk production and productivity through induction of high genetic merit bulls for semen production, field performance recording, strengthening of bulls mother farms, setting up of Gokul Grams etc.

India, Ethiopia sign agreements on trade, communication October 6, 2017

India and Ethiopia have signed agreements on trade, communication and media to boost bilateral ties. The agreements were signed after wide ranging talks between President Ram Nath Kovind and his Ethiopian counterpart Mulatu Teshome at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The agreement was signed during President Ram Nath Kovind’s second leg of his maiden visit abroad to Djibouti and Ethiopia Singed Agreements

Trade Agreement Agreement in field of Information, Communication and Media.

India-Ethiopia Relations

Bilateral partnership between India and Ethiopia rests on civilizati onal ties and cultural bonds. Historical linkages between both countries go back about 2,000 years of recorded history. India is amongst top trade, investment and development partner of Ethiopia.



India’s is third most important tradin g partner for Ethiopia. India’s exports to Ethiopia in 2012 amounted to US $ 890 million i.e. 11% of all of Ethiopia’s imports. It mainly comprised primary and semifini shed iron and steel products, drugs and pharmaceuticals, machinery and instruments, metal, plastic chemicals, transport equipments, electrica l materials etc. India’s annual imports from Ethiopia have stagnated in range of US $ 30million. These mainly consist of cotton, pulses and spices. Ethiopia continues to be largest recipient of India’s concessio nal Lines of Credit in Africa, with commitment of over one billion dollar. India is second largest foreign investor in Ethiopia with approved investment of US $ 4.78 billion. About 40% of Indian investment is in field of commercial agriculture. India is actively playing important role of capacity building in Ethiopia in field of ITEC, education, Science and Technology and Defence etc

Kazuo Ishiguro selected for 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature October 6, 2017

The Swedish Academy has selected Japanese-b orn English novelist Kazuo Ishiguro (62) for the 2017 Nobel Prize in literature. The award was given for his works that are of great emotional force which uncovers the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world. Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro was born in 1954 in Nagasaki, Japan and moved to the UK when he was five years old. He had started writing career in 1981 and has written seven novels, five works in short fiction and four screenplay s so far. He is best known for his emotiona lly resonati ng prose style and his inventive subversion of literary genres. Some of his best-known works include Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day, which he had written in just a month. His latest book, The Buried Giant , was publis hed in 2015. He had received four Man Booker Prize nomination s and won it in 1989 for his novel ‘The Remains of the Day’.



Banwarilal Purohit sworn in as Governor of Tamil Nadu October 6, 2017

Banwarilal Purohit was sworn in as 25th Governor of Tamil Nadu. He was adminis tered oath of office and secrecy by Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee. He was transferred from post of Governor of Assam by President Ram Nath Kovind. He will take charge from C Vidyasag ar Rao, Governor of Maharasht ra who was hold additiona l charge after tenure of K. Rosaiah had ended on 31 August 2016. Banwarilal Purohit

Mr. Purohit is public personality involved in social, political, educational and industrial fields of Vidarbha, Maharashtra. He had plunged into active politics in 1977 and was elected for first time as MLAand in became Maharashtra Assembl y in 1978 from Nagpur. He was re-elected in 1980 from Nagpur south minister in 1982. In 1984 and 1989, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Nagpur-Kamptee seat and was member of Parliamentary Consultative Commit tee of Defence Minist ry. He was re-elected from Lok Sabha seat in 1996 and served as a member of the Parlia mentar y Consultati ve Committee on Home Affairs, Standing Committee on Defence and also Public Sector Undertaking Committee. He is also credited with revival of ‘The Hitavada’, an English daily founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a mentor to Mahatma Gandhi . Under him, the daily bad became leading newspape r of



central India and apart from its headquarters edition at Nagpur, daily also launched editions from Jabalpur, Raipur, and Bhopal.

Snow leopard photographed for first time in Arunachal Pradesh October 6, 2017

Scientists for first time have captured images of Snow Leopard using camera trap at Thembang village’s Community Conserved Area (CCA) in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. The camera trap stud y was conduc ted by Worl d Wild life Fund for Nature (WWF-In dia) in col lab ora tio n wit h Aru nac hal Pra desh Env iro nme nt and For est Dep art men t to foc us on unexplored snow leopard habitats. Key Facts

This is first evidence of elusive snow leopard in Arunachal Pradesh and also outside protected areas. Arunac hal Pradesh is one of 22 priority landsca pes of Global Snow Leopar d Ecosys tem Protection Program. Only small fraction of snow leopard habitats falls in two protected areas (Dibang Biosphere Reserve and Namdapha Nationa l Park) in State. WWF-In dia scientist s are seeking to tap intoknowledge of locals including herders and former hunters to understand current distribution of snow leopards and other mammals in state. Community Conserved Area (CCA)

In 2004, WWF-India had introduced concept of CCAs in State to empower local communities to become active decision-makers and implement conservation initiatives. Local communities in these CCAs form committees to undertake wildlife monitoring, patrolling and community-bas ed tourism activities. Snow leopard

Snow leopard (Panthera uncial) is a large cat native to mountain ranges of Central and South Asiaincluding Himalayas, and Russia’s remote Altai mountains. It inhabits in alpine and subalpine zones at elevations from 3,000 to 4,500 m. In northern range countries, it is also found at lower elevations. It is threatened by poaching for their fur, habitat destruction by infrastructure developments and climate change. It mostly feed on wild animals, but also prey on livestock. It usually hunts at dawn and dusk and is able to kill prey up to three times their own weight. It is National Heritage Animal of Pakistan and Afghanistan. In September 2017, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had downgraded conservation status of snow leopard to “ vulnerable” from “endangered”

Nobel Peace Prize 2017 awarded to International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons October 6, 2017

Norwegian Nobel Committee has select ed Geneva -based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organisations from over 100 countries around globe for 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegia n Nobel Committee honoure d ICAN for its decade-l ong campai gn to get rid the worl d of ato mic bomb and for its work to draw atten tio n to cat ast roph ic huma nit aria n consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and its ground-brea king efforts to achieve treatybased prohibition of such weapons. International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)

ICAN is a global civil society coalition of 468 partner organizations from 101 countries working to promote adherence to and full implementation of Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It is a leading civil society actor which has taken efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.



Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. ICAN’s mission is to shift disarmament debate to focus on humanitarian threat posed by nuclear weapons, draw attention to their unique destructive capacity, their catastrophic health and environmental consequences, debilitating impact of detonation on medical infrastructure and relief measures and long-lasting effects of radiation on surrounding area.

October 7-8, 2017 Recommendations of Uday Kotak Committee on Corporate Governance October 7, 2017

21-member Committee on corporate governanc e headed by banker Uday Kotak has submitted its report to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The panel was con sti tut ed by SEB I in June 201 7. It was given four month s to submit its reco mmen dat ion s. In its sugg est ion s it has reco mmen ded maj or over haul of corp ora te governance norms for listed firms. Recommendations of Committee Separation of the roles : Roles of chairman and managi ng directo r at listed firms should be

separated and chairmanship should be limited to only non-executive directors. Listed firms with more than 40% public shareholding should have separate roles of chairperson and MD/CEO with effec t from April 1, 2020. After 2020, SEBI may examin e extending requireme nt to all list ed entities with effect from 2022. Minimum board strength: It should be increased to 6 members and at least one woman should be



appointed as independent director. At least five board meeting for listed firms should be held in year up from current practice of four meetings. Firms’ board should at least once a year discuss succession planning and risk management. Independent Directors: At least half of board members to be independent directors at listed companies, while all directors must attend at least half of board meets. Public shareholders’ nod must be mandatory for non-executive directors over 75 years of age. Shareholder meeting and cash flow statement: Top 100 firms by market capital isation should webcast shareho lder meeting and all listed firm s should have cash flow state ment every six months. It should be mandatory disclosure of quarterly consolidated earnings by listed firms. Credit ratings: Upda ted list of all credit ratin gs obtain ed by the listed entit y must be made

available at one place, which would be very helpful for investors and other stakeholders. Minimum remuneration: Independent directo rs must get minimum remunerat ion of Rs 5 lakh per annum and sitting fee of Rs 20,000-50 ,000 for each board meet. It should be mandatory for firms to seek public shareholders’ approval for annual remuneration of executive directors from promoter family if amount is above Rs 5 crore or 2.5% of firm’s net profit. In case of more than one such director, same condition should apply for aggregate annual remuneration exceeding 5% of the net profit. The approval of shareholders must be required every year in which annual remuneration payable to single non-executive director exceeds 50% of total annual remuneration payable to all non-executive directors. Risk management and IT committee: Top-500 listed companies should have risk management committee of boards for cyber security. In addition, listed entities must constitute an information technology committee that will focus on digital and technological aspects. October 7, 2017

Gauri Lankesh becomes first Indian to win Anna Politkovskaya Award

Late Kannada journali st Gauri Lankesh awarded a prestigious Reach All Women in WAR (RAW in WAR) Anna Politkovskaya Award. She will share this award with Gulalai Ismail, a Pakistani peace activist who has faced death threats for speaking out against Taliban. With this Gauri Lankesh becomes first person from India to receive this prestigious honour. She was a strident critic of religious extremism and was shot dead on September 5, 2017 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Gauri Lankesh

Lankesh had worked as an editor in Lankesh Patri ke, a Kannada weekly started by her father P. Lankesh, and ran her own weekly called Gauri Lankesh Patrike. She was an outspoken newspaper editor and often wrote about religious violence, malaise of India’s hierarchical caste system and criticised the rise of hardline Hindu groups. Anna Politkovskaya Award

Anna Politk ovskaya Award is given in memory of slain Russia n report er and politic al activist Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian investigative reporter and activist who uncovered state corruption and rights abuses, especially in Chechnya. It is presented annua lly by Reach All Women in War (the RAW in WAR organisation) and honours women human rights defenders from around world. This year marks 11th anniversary of killing of Anna Politkovskaya who was shot dead in lobby of her Moscow apartment block at age of 48 on October 7, 2006. RAW in WAR is a London-based, non-governmental organisation (NGO) supporting women human rights defenders and victims of



war.

CBDT signs 2 more APAs with taxpayers October 7, 2017

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has signed two more advance pricing agreements (APAs) in September 2017 with Indian taxpayers in order to reduce litigation by providing certainty in transfer pricing. The two signed APAs pertain to automobile and healthcare consulting sectors. They include provision of IT enabled services (ITES), provision of software development services and provision of engineering design services. With this, total of APAs APAs. entered CBDT till date has reached This includes 164 unilateral APAsnumber and 13 bilateral Sointo far,by in current financial year, total 177. of 25 APAs (2 bilateral and 23 unilateral) were signed. Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs)

CBDT’s APA scheme aims to provide certainty to taxpayers in domain of transfer pricing by specifying methods of pricing and setting prices of international transactions in advance. It helps in determining arm’s length price of international transactions in advance for maximum period of five future years. The APA provisions were introduced in Income Tax Act in 2012 and `rollback` provision to pull out of it was introduced in 2014. Its objective is to strengthen government`s resolve of fostering non-adversarial tax regime. Under Bilateral APA, certainty in tax treatment is provided for next 5 years while rollback provides dispute redressal for maximum of four past years preceding APA years. October 7, 2017

First Meeting of India-Australia Joint Steering Committee held in New Delhi

The First Meeting of India-Australia Joint Steering Committee (JSC) was held in New Delhi. The delega tions for the meeting was led by TVSN Prasad, Additi onal Secreta ry, Union Ministry of Home Affa irs andStephen Bouwhui s, First Assi stant Secretary, International and Ausc heck Division, Criminal Justice Group, Attorney-General’s Department. Key Facts

During JSC meeting both countries discussed scope for cooperation in counter-terrorism and checking extremism and radicaliza tion besides steps to check illegal financi al transactions and counterfeiting and cybercrimes. They also discussed issues related to human trafficking and people smuggling, combatin g illegal drug trafficking and sharing information between law enforcement agencies were also discussed. They also agreed to pursue further agenda for cooperati on in specif ic areas with meetin gs of operational Joint Working Groups (JWGs) involving concerned agencies. Background

The first JSC meeting was follow-up to Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperati on in Combating International Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime signed between both countries during visit of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to India in April 2017.

US approves first test to screen Zika virus in donated blood October 7, 2017

United States Food and Drug Administra tion (FDA) has approved ‘Cbas Zika test’ for detecting Zika virus in donated blood. It is first of kind test approved by FDA for detecting Zika virus in



donated blood. The cobas Zika test is manufactured by Roche Molecular Systems Inc. It is intended for use by blood collection establishments to detect Zika virus in blood donations and not for individual diagnosis of Zika virus infection. Cobas Zika test

It is qualitative nucleic acid test for detection of Zika virus RNA in individual plasma specimens obtained from volunt eer donors of whole blood and blood components and from living organ donors. It has shown more than 99% clinical specificity, in earlier evaluation for testing individual samples from blood donations at five external laboratories Zika virus

Zika virus is vector borne disease transmitted primarily by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the same mosquito that transmits dengue. It can also spread through blood transfusion and sexual contact. The viru s is capa ble of causing seri ous birth defe cts i.e. neur ological disorde rs and foet al deformati on known as Microcephaly in which infants are born with abnormally smaller heads. Besides a possible link between virus and Guillain-Barré syndrome (a condition in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the nervous system) is also suspected. There is no specific treat ment or vaccine current ly available to treat Zika. The best form of prevention is protection against mosquito bites and clearing stagnant water where mosquitoes breed.

Scientists develop smart bandage to promote better, faster healing October 7, 2017

Scientists from US have developed a smart bandage that can precisely control dose and delivery schedule of medication tailored for a specific type of wound, leading to faster healing. This is the first bandage that is capable of dose-depende nt drug release and can be used to heal chronic wounds or battlefield injuries. Moreover, this platform can be applied to many different areas of biomedical engineering and medicine. Smart Bandage

The smar t ban dag e con sis ts of elec tri cal ly con duc tiv e fib res coa ted in a gel tha t can be individually loaded with infection-fighting antibiotics, painkillers, tissue-regenerat ing growth factors or other medications. It has microcon troller having size of postage stamp, which can be triggered by smartphone or other wireless device. When it is triggered, microcontroller sends small amount s of voltage through a chosen fibre which heats fibre and its hydrogel, releas ing whatever cargo it contains.

Bacteria can spread antibiotic resistance through soil: study October 7, 2017

Researchers including one of Indian srcin from North Carolina State University in US have found that antibiotic resistance can be passed between bacteria found in the soil. They also have found that spreading manure on ground as fertiliser can also spread antibiotic resistanc e to bacteria in the soil. Reasons for spread of antibiotic resistance through soil

Bacteria contai n small DNA molecules known as plasmi ds. These plasmi ds are separa te from bacterias actual DNA and can pick up and exchange genes between bacteria. Thus, these plasmids in bacterias are responsible for antibiotic resistance in soil also.


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] What researchers found?

The researcher’s observat ion was based on soil samples taken from swine farm prior to and for three weeks after spreading of manure. They tested manure for antibi otic resist ant strains of salmonella, a pathogen responsible for causing highest number of bacterial food borne illnesses in US every year. After sampling soil, researchers found that antibiotic-resistant salmonella bacteria were still present in manure up to 21 days after it had been spread. They discovered that particular plasmid associated with antibiotic-resistant salmonella from manure which weighed around 95 kilo-base (kb), was turning up in different salmonella serotypes from soil samples and every serotype with plasmid 95 kb was now resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotics are medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in response to use of these medicines. Antibiotic resistance occurs naturally, but misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals is accelerating the process. Poor infection prevention and control further accelerate it.

Home Ministry forms study group to examine problems people residing in border areas October 7, 2017

The Union Home Ministry has formed study group to examine various problems faced by people residing near Internation al Border (IB) and Line of Control (LOC) in Jammu and Kashmir in wake of regular ceasefire violations by Pakistan. It will be headed by Rina Mitra, Special Secreta ry in Home Ministry. Composition of study group

Its members are principal secretary (Home) in J&K Government, divisional commissioner of Jamm u and divisio nal commiss ioner of Srinagar. Joint secretary (J&K) in Home Minist ry is member-secretary of group. Terms of References

The group will meet people living in border areas of Jammu & Kashmir, district admini stration officials, security forces deployed there and local public representatives and submit its report within two months. It will prepare a detailed report of issues being faced by public living near IB and LOC and submit recommendations for remedial action to be taken to address these issues. Background

India shares a 3,323 km long border with Pakistan of which 221 km is IB and 740 km is LOC in Jamm u & Kashmir. In recen t times, there has been sharp increase in ceasefir e violations by Pakistan. Till August 2017 there were 285 violations by Pakistani forces while the number was 228 for entire 2016 year.

October 9, 2017 Government launches Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan in Gujarat October 9, 2017

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) at Gandhinagar in Gujarat. PMGDISHA is expected to make 6 crore rural households digitally literate by March 2019, making it one of the largest digital literacy programmes in the world. Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan

PMGDISHA aims at impart ing digital litera cy to citizens in rural areas free of cost. It aims to provide access to information, knowle dge, education, and healthcare. It will create avenues for



livelihood generation and financial inclusion through digital payments and help bridge the digital divide. It is expected to reach around 40% rural households in country by March 2019. Under it, people in rural area will be trained to operate a computer, tablet, smartph ones, etc and how to access the Internet, government services, undertake digital payment, compose e-mails, etc. The marginalised sections of society like SCs/STs, Minorities, BPL familiers, differently-abled (divyangs) all will be a part of this scheme.

Air pollution affects children’s memory: Study October 9, 2017

According to study published in journal Environmental Pollution, exposure to air pollution have damaging effects on children’s cognitive development and reduce their working memory.can The study has assessed impact of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon— a pollutant directly related to traffic during walking commute to and from school. Key Facts

The study findings show that 20% of child’s daily dose of black carbon is inhaled during urban com mute s. Thes e sho rt exp osur es to very high con cen trat ion s of poll utan ts can have a disproportionately high impact on health. The detrimental effects may be particularly marked in children because of their smaller lung capacity and higher respiratory rate. Statistical analysis of findings also showed that exposure to PM2.5 and black carbon (BC) causes reduction in growth of working memory. The interquartile range increase in PM 2.5 and black carbon levels were associated with a decline of working memory by 4.6% and 3.9%, respectively, in expected annual growth. October 9, 2017

GST council constitutes GoM to review GST Composition Scheme

The GST Council has constitu ted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to make the composition scheme more attractive and revisit the goods and services tax rates on restaurants. It will be headed by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and submit its report in two weeks. Committee’s role

It will examine steps to make it more attractive as only 15.50 lakh businesses out of total 98 lakh have registered under GST regime opting for composition scheme. Businesses with turnover of up to Rs. 1 crore can opt for composition scheme and pay taxes in range of 1-5% and file returns quarterly. It will look into whet her turnover of exem pted goods can be exclude d from tota l turnover threshold for levying tax under scheme. It will examine whether scheme can be extended to taxpayers dealing in inter-state supplies of goods and whether the manufacturers opting for it can be given the benefit of input tax credit. It is also been tasked to revisit tax structure of differ ent categor ies of restaurants in order to rationalise or reduce rates. Currently, GST is levied at 12% on non-AC restaurant s and 18% on airconditioned ones. It will examine whether AC restaurants pass on benefit of cost reduction under GST to consumers and if they don’t, whether they be disallowed input tax credit claims. Composition scheme

It is an alternative method of levy of tax designed for small taxpayers whose turnover is up to Rs 75 lakh (Rs 50 lakh in case of 8 north-eastern states and hilly state of Himachal Pradesh). Its objective is to bring simpli city and reduce compliance cost for small taxpayer s. It is optional



under which manufacturers other than those of pan masala, tobacco and ice cream products have to pay 2% tax on their annual turnover. The tax rate is 5% for restaurant services and 1% for traders. As per Central GST Act, busin esses are eligible to opt for composition scheme if person is not engaged in any inter-state outward supplies of goods and not into making any supply of goods through e-commerce operator who is required to collect tax at source. While regular taxpayer has to pay taxes on monthly basis, composi tion supplier is required to file only one return and pay taxes on a quarterly basis. Composition taxpa yer is not required to keep detailed records that normal taxpayer is supposed to maintain. October 9, 2017

Government launches sovereign gold bond scheme 2017-18 – Series-III

The Union Government in consultation with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017-18 – Series-III. The applications for bond will be accepted from October 09, 2017 to December 27, 2017. The bonds will be sold through banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited, designated post offices and recognised stock exchanges namely the NSE and BSE. Sovereign Gold Bonds

These bonds were launched under umbrella sovereign gold bond scheme in November 2015 with an objective to reduce demand for physical gold and shift part of domestic savings, used for purch ase of gold , into financial savings. It also aims to ease pressur e on the country’ s trade balance as India’s imports are dominated by crude oil and gold by converting gold into a productive asset. Features of Sovereign Gold Bonds

Denomination: The bonds are denominated in units of one gram of

gold and multiples thereof. Minimum investment in bonds is one gram. These bonds will be available both in demat and paper form. Maximum limit: It will be of 4 kg for individual and HUF (Hindu Undivided Family) and 20 kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal notified by government from time to time. Issue price: It will be fixed in Rupees on basis of simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association Limited for the last 3 business days of week preceding the subscriptio n period. To promote digita l payment, issue price of the gold bonds will be 50 rupees per gram less for those who subscribe online and pay through digital mode. Interest rate: The investors will be compensated at a fixed rate of 2.50% per annum payable semiannually on the nominal value. Tenor: It is of 8 years period with exit option from 5th year can exercised on the interest payment dates. Collateral: The bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio will be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by RBI from time to time. These bonds will be also tradable on stock exchanges. Tax treatment: The interest on Gold Bonds shall be taxable as per provision of Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961). The capital gains tax on it has been exempted.



VAJRA Scheme: Government receives 260 applicants for visiting researcher programme October 9, 2017

The Union Ministry of Science and Technology’s Visiting Advanced Joint Research (VAJRA) Facu lty Scheme has recei ved 260 appl ications from foreign scien tist s of whom 70 will be shortlisted. The scheme is meant to attract top international talent to country’s research and developme nt (R&D) ecosystem. The applicant s will be screened now and the shortlisted scienti sts will begin work by December 2017. VAJRA Scheme

The pilot project of the scheme was launched by Department of Scienc e and Technology (DST) in May 2017. The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of DST is implementing the scheme. It intends to select 1,000 scientists every year. The DST will look for scientists with experience in fields of renewable energy, water and other technology in which Indian lack expertise. Public funded academic institutions and national laboratories are eligible to host VAJRA faculties. The residency period will be for minimum of month and maximum of three months. These institutions should appoint them as adjunct visiting faculty and involve them in co-guiding and ment oring stud ents and devel oping collaborative progr ammes . The faculty can also be allowed to participate in other academic activities. The applications received from interested foreign researchers will be evaluated by Selection Committee of eminent scientists. The Committee will meet twice a year in January and July and make recommendations. October 9, 2017

NMCG approves Eight Projects under Namami Gange Programme

The Exec utive Committee of National Missio n for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has appro ved eight projects worth Rs. 700 crore under Namami Gange Programme The four projects pertain to sewage management in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, three are related to treatment of drains through bio-remediation and one related to inventorization and surveillance of Ganga River. Approved projects

Pollution abatement works: Projects like intercepti on, diversion and treatment of sewage in

Bithoor have been approved. Sewage management: The project has been approved in Ganga River at Bally in West Bengal for construction of 40 MLD STP under Hybrid Annuity based PPP model among other works. Simi larly , construct ion of 65 MLD STP under Hybri d Annuity model has been approv ed for Bhagalpur in Bihar. In Uttar Pradesh, the project is approved for construction of two STPs (28 MLD + 05 MLD) in Farrukabad and one 2 MLD STP at Bargadiya drain in Fatehpur. Treatment of drains using bio-remediation technology: Three projects were approved at ajapur drain and Digha drain in Patna and Laksar drain in Haridwar. Pollu tion inve ntor izati on, asse ssm ent and surv eilla nce Proje ct: It aims to stren gthen environmental regulation and water quality monitoring vis-à-vis river Ganga. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

NMCG is implementation wing of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management



of River Ganga (also referred as National Ganga Council). It was established in 2011 as a registered society under Societies Registration Act, 1860. It has a two tier managemen t structure and compris es of Governing Council and Exec utive Committee. Both of them are headed by Director General (DG), NMCG. Executive Committee is authorized to approve projects under mission up to Rs.1000 crore. Similar to structure at national level, State Programme Managem ent Groups (SPMGs) acts as implementing arm of State Ganga Committees. This structure attempts to bring all stakeholders on one platform to take a holistic approach towards the task of Ganga cleaning and rejuvenation.

Government launches Intensified Mission Indradhanush October 9, 2017

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) to accelerate full immunization coverage to more than 90% by December 2018. Through this programme, Government aims to reach each and every child under two years of age and all those pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation programme. Intensified Mission Indradhanush

IMI programme aims at reducing maternal and child mortality by reaching out to each and every child under two years of age and all pregnant women who have been left uncovered under routine immunisation programme . Its focus is on improving immunizatio n coverage in select districts and cities to ensure full immunization to more than 90% by December 2018. IMI will provide greater focus on urban areas and other pockets of low immuniza tion coverag e. IMI drive will be spread over 7 working days starting from 7th of every month. Special strategies have been devised for effective implementation of IMI which includes interministerial and inter-departmental coordina tion, action based review mechanism and rigorous monitoring of the programme. It devises convergence mechani sm of ground level workers of various departm ents like ANMs, Anganwadi workers, ASHAs, Zila preraks under National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM), selfhelp groups for better coordination and effective implementation of the programme. Moreover, it also has appreciation and awards mechanism to recognize districts reaching more than 90% coverage. The criteria under it, include best practices and media management during crisis. Certificate of Appreciation will be given to acknowledge contribution of partners/Ci vil Society Organization (CSOs) and others. Implementation of IMI will be closely monitored at the district, state and central level at regular intervals. It would be reviewed by Cabinet Secretary at National level and will be monitored at high est leve l unde r a spec ial initiative Proactive Governa nce and Timely Impleme ntation (PRAGATI). Mission Indradhanush

Mission Indradhanush was launched in December 2014. It aimed to fully immunize more than 90% of children under age of 2 years, as well as all pregnant women, against seven vaccine preventable diseases. These diseases are diphtheria, whooping cough, poliomyelitis, tetanus, tuberculosis, meas les and Hepa titis B. In addition vaccines for Japanese Encepha litis and Haemophilus influenzae type B are also being provided Rubella, Injectable Polio Vaccine Bivalent and Rotavirus are also provided in selected states.



Richard H. Thaler wins 2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences October 9, 2017

American economist Richard H. Thaler has won 2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to behavioural economics. He will receive 9-million-kronor ($1.1-million) prize. Thaler is Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is co-author (with Cass R. Sunstein) of global best seller Nudge (2008) in which concepts of behavioral economics are used to tackle many of society’s major problems. Richard H. Thaler’s Contribution

He has done pioneering work to bridge gap between economics and psychological analyses of individual decision-making. He has incorporated psychologically realistic assumptions into analyses of economic decision-making. He has brought to prominence idea of “nudge” economics, where humans are subtly guided toward beneficial behaviors without heavy-handed compulsion His empirical findings and theoretical insights have been instrumental in creating new and rapidly expand ing field of behavioura l economics, which has profound impact on many areas of economic research and policy. He has shown how human traits systematically affect indivi dual decisions as well as market outcomes, by exploring consequences of limited rationality, social preferences, and lack of self—control. Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

The economics priz e, offi cially called Sver iges Riks bank (Swedish National Bank) Prize in Economic Scienc es in Memory of Alfred Nobel was establi shed in 1968. It was not part of the srcinal group of awards set out in dynamite tycoon Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will. 2016 prize was shared by Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmström for their contributions to contract theory. Indian economist Amartya Sen had won Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998 for his contributions to welfare economics.





October 10, 2017 Government imposes anti-dumping duty on certain Chinese steel products October 10, 2017

The Union Finance Ministry has imposed anti-dumping duty on imports of certain steel wire rods from China for five years to guard interest of domestic players from cheap in-bound shipments. The duty will be differen ce between landed value of steel products and US $535 per tonne while for others, it should be gap between landed value and US $546 per tonne. Steel wire rod products are used in many sectors such as automotive components, railway, engineering and construction. Background

It was imposed basedDuties on recommendations of Commerce General of or AntiDumping and Allied (DGAD). In its findings, DGADMinistry’s concludedDirectorate that ‘wire rod of alloy nonalloy steel’ exported from China to India is below normal value due to which domesti c industry has suffered material injury. Finance Ministry Alrea dy has slapped anti-dum ping duty on certa in cold -roll ed flat steel produ cts from four nations, including China and South Korea. Anti-dumping

Anti-dumping measures are taken to ensure fair trade and provide level-playing field to domestic industry. They are not measure to restrict imports or cause unjustified increase in cost of products. Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to determine if domestic industry has been hurt by surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose antidumping duties under multilateral WTO regime. In India, it is recommended by DGAD and imposed by Finance Ministry.

MoRTH to promote new technologies in highway projects October 10, 2017

The Ministry of Road Transpo rt and Highwa ys (MoRTH) has deci ded to impleme nt “Value Engineering Program” to promote use of new technologies, materials and equipment in highways projects executed either under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode or public funding mode. Value Engineering Program

The objective of programme is to use innovative technology, materials and equipment to reduce cost of projects and make them more environm ent friendly. It also aims to ensure that roads or bridges and other assets get constructed much faster, are structurally stronger and more durable. It is expected to increase speed of construction, reduce construction cost, increase asset durability and improve aesthetics and safety. National Panel of Experts (NPE)

The MoRTH also has reconstituted nine-member National Panel of Experts (NPE) for approving pro posal s for use of new tec hno logie s, mat eri al and equ ipm ent in highw ay sec tor. The reconstituted panel will be chaired by SR Tambe, former Secretary, PWD Maharashtra and cochaired by Prof Ravi Sinha, IIT Mumbai. Terms of Reference of NPE

The NPE will examine all technical matters involving new technologies, materials and equipment referred to it by concerned Enginee rs or contractors. It will also resolve technic al issues which arise as result of difference in view between engineers and contractors regarding implementation of new and innovative technologies, materials and equipment. It will also decide about need for field trials of any new or innovative technology, materials, equi pment before its adoption and also finalize associated desi gn approaches, construction



method ologies as well as relevan t specif ications, guideli nes, code so that contra ctor may use proposed new, alternative materials, technologies, equipment in project highway.

India Water Week inaugurated by President October 10, 2017

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated 5th edition of India Water Week (IWW) with theme “Water and Energy for Inclusive Growth ” in New Delhi. About 1500 delega tes from Ind ia and 13 other countries will attend five day international event. The event will be celebrated with a multi-disciplinary conference and a concurrently running exhibition enrichi ng theme and showcasing technol ogies and solutions available for areas under deliberation of the meet. The event have many major components water, growth, food andwater energy security – essential requirement forwill sustainable development, water forlike inclusive and society and sustainable energy development – Key for all round economic growth. Background

Government is organising India Water Week since 2012 as an annual international event on order to establis h an interna tional even t focused on water resou rces of India. The first event was organised in New Delhi in 2012 with theme ‘Water, Energy and Food Security: Call for Solutions’. So far, four editions of India Water Week have been organised in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. The recommendations and action point s emerge d during earlier events of India Water Week have been sent to all concerned Ministries of Central Government as well as all state governments for their appropriate implementation.

Jagdish Mukhi sworn in as new Governor of Assam October 10, 2017

Jagdish Mukhi was sworn in as new Governor of Assam. He was administ ered oath of office by Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Ajit Singh. Mr. Mukhi succeeded Banwarilal Purohit who has been appointed as the Governor of Tamil Nadu. In his previous assign ment, he had served as lieut enan t gover nor of Anda man and Nico bar Islands. Jagdish Mukhi

Mukhi is former member of BJP and RSS. He had started his political career with Janata Part y in September of 1977. His first election success was in a 1980 by-election for the advisory Delhi Met rop oli tan Counc il. He had rep res ent ed Janak Pur i con sti tue ncy in Del hi Ass emb ly continuously from 1980 and has won seven continuous Vidhan Sabha elections from the same constituency until losing the 2014. He has held important ministerial positions including minister of Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation and Higher Educatio n in Delhi government. He also had served as Leader of Opposition for almost 10 years. He was awarded as best planning minister of nation by then Union planning minister Pranab Mukherjee in 1997. Two times he was awarded with best MLA award in Delhi Vidhan Sabha.

First BIMSTEC Disaster Management exercise held in New Delhi October 10, 2017

The first BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise-2017 (DMEx-2017) was held in New Delhi, India from October 10-13, 2017. It was conducted by National Disaster Respons e Force (NDRF) as the lead agency in the National Capital Region (NCR). The mandate of exercise was to provide platform for sharing best practices on all aspects of



Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), strengthening regional response and coordination for Disaster Management among BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) member countries. Key Facts

The main focus of BIMSTEC DMEx- 2017 was to crea te syne rgy and synchr onize effo rts to institutionalize regional cooperation and inter-governmental coordination efforts on disaster resp ons e amo ng Mem ber State s. Abo ut 135 del ega tes from all BIMS TEC membe r Sta tes participated in the exercise. The exercise also aimed to test region’s preparedness and resilience towards effective activation of inter-Gfor overnmental interac tion and agreeme nts for immediate deployment of regi onal resources disaster response. BIMSTEC DMEx-2 017 objective was to help strengthen effective utilisatio n of Search & Rescue Teams for Disaster Relief & Emergency Response, including Emergency Rapid Assessment Teams an d Ma nagem en t of ma ss casua lt ies, esp ec ia lly in si tuations invo lvin g brea kdo wn of communication and infrastructure. During the exerci se simula ted scenarios in areas of flood managemen t and building collapse search and rescue including Table Top Exercise (TTX), Field Training Exercise (FTX) and After Action Review (AAR) were undertaken. BIMSTEC

The BIMSTEC is sub-r egio nal grouping compri sing of seven countr ies of South Asia - India, Bangla desh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and South East Asia- Myanmar, Thaila nd. It is home to around 1.5 billion people, constituting around 22% of global population with a combined GDP of $2.7 trillion economy. Majority BIMSTEC countries are situated in South Region (SAR) prone to natural disasters suchof asthe floods, cyclones, earthquakes, avalanches andAsian drought.

India ranks 8th in 2017 Valuable Nation Brand List October 10, 2017

According to Brand Finance’s recently released Nation Brands 2017 report, India was ranked 8th out of 100 countries on a list of most valuable nation brands. This year India slipped by one spot compared to 7th rank in 2016 and ceded its previous spot to Canada. Key Facts

Top 10 Valuable Nation brands are United States (1st), China (2nd), Germany (3rd), Japan (4th), United Kingdom (5th), France (6th), Canada (7th), India (8th), Italy (9th) and South Korea (10th). In terms of valuation, India’s National Brand Value in 2017 is $2.04 trillion, down by 1% from last year’s $2.06 trillion. However, India’s brand rating has improved from ‘AA-‘ to ‘AA’. Despite rating improvement, India has not feature in list of 10 best performing nation brands which is topped by Iceland topped. Asian nation brands are seeing a boom as Western countries stagnate. China is fastest growing nation brand and has seen a record rise of $3.1 trillion. However, China’s nation brand value is half of that of the United States. Valuable Nation Brand List

Worl d’s most valu able nation list rele ased as part Natio n Brands repo rt by Brand Finance measures strength and value of nation brands of 100 leading countries. Its method is based on royalty relief mechanism employed to value the world’s largest companies. The valuation is based



on 5 year forecasts of sales of all brands in each nation and follows a complex process in which Gross domestic product (GDP) is used as a proxy for total revenues.

Rajasthan: First state to incorporate skill development programme in higher education October 10, 2017

Rajasthan became first state in the country to incorporate skill development programme in higher education. In this regard, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in collaboration with state’s Department of College Education has prepared 16 courses for entrepreneurship and skill development for colleges in the state. Key Facts

Under the projec t, 12 cert ific ates and 4 diploma course s will be run and each colle ge will be required to choose five courses. 94 colleges have already joined the project and 5656 students have registered themselves in it. By next session, more than 10 thousand students will be enrolled in the programm es. Under it, practical training of the students pursuing the skill development courses will be done in different government departments.

India hosts International Conference on Dialogue of Civilizations – IV October 10, 2017

The International conference on “Dialogue of Civilizations – IV” was inaugurated by Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Culture Dr. Mahesh Sharma in New Delhi. It has been organised by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under Union Ministry of Culture in collaboration with National Geographi c Society (NGS). It will be held from October 8 –15, 2017 at Delhi, Gandhinagar and Dholavira. Key Facts

The purpose of conference is to encourage scholarl y and public discourse about five ancient, literate civilizat ions of the world, i.e. South Asia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, China and Mesoamerica. It also aims to encourage study of the past to share our presen t and future towa rds the right direction. The present conference is the fourth in this series, with the final dialogue planned in Egypt. The first conference of this series was inaugurated in Guatemala in 2013 followed by Turkey in 2014 and China in 2015.

October 11, 2017 Nisha Biswal appointed as President of USIBC October 11, 2017

Former US Assistan t Secre tary of Stat e for South and Cent ral Asia Nisha Desai Biswa l was appointed as President of US-India Business Council (USIBC). USIBC is a forum of US businesses part of US Chamber of Commerce (USCC), the largest lobbying organisation in the country that wields real political power in Washington. Nisha Biswal

Nisha Biswal is Indian-American who was Assist ant Secretar y of State for South and Central Asian Affairs from 2014 to 2017. She was nominated for post by US President Barack Obama in July 2013. Prior to that, she was Assistant Administrator for Asia at US Agency for International Development (USAID). Currently she is senior advisor for Albright Stonebridge Group, a global business strategy firm. At ASG, she works with the India & South Asia practice. She had immigrated to US from India with her parents.


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] US-India Business Council

US-India Business Council is premier business advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening the economic and commercial relationship between US and India. Its primary mission is to serve as the direct link between business and government leaders. It aims to create inclusive bilateral trade environment between India and US by serving as voice of industry, linkin g governments to businesse s. It also aims at supporti ng long-term commercial partnerships that will nurture spirit of entrepreneurship, create jobs, and successfully contribute to global economy.

Japan launches fourth Michibiki satellite for hi-tech GPS October 11, 2017

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched Michibiki-4 satellite (QZSS-4) onboard of H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima Space Centre. It was fourth satellite in Michibiki series i.e. Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) , which is a satellite-based high-precision global positio ning system similar to US operated GPS. Moreover, it was 36th H-IIA vehicle to be launched so far and fifth launch of an H-IIA rocket in 2017. QZS-4 (Michibiki-4)

Michibiki-4 is third QZSS satellite to be launched in 2017 and once operation al it will bring the constella tion of QZSS to its operating capacit y of four until a planned expansio n to 8 satellites occurs around 2023. Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS)

It is own versio n of GPS and is dubb ed as Mich ibiki system. Michi biki means guida nce in Japan ese. It is intended for civilian use, with a clai med position ing accurac y down to mere centimetres. The QZSS constellation of 8 satellites will trace out a figure-8 pattern over Japan, the Western Pacific, and Australia. The Michibiki system can cover the Asia-Oceania region and works with the US-operated GPS to provide higher level of precision than previously possible with fewer satellites in visible range. It will become operation in 2018 with four satellites focusing on country and wider region. It will provide global positioni ng and timing services across frequencies ranging from 1575.42 MHz to 2 GHz. H-IIA rocket

The H-IIA rocket is Japanese large-scale launch vehicle. It was manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The vehicle stands 53 meters tall and generates 1.7 million pounds-force (7,628 kilonewtons) of thrust at liftoff.

IMF lowers India’s growth forecast to 6.7 % October 11, 2017

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its October World Economic Outlook (WEO) has lowered India’s economic growth forecast at 6.7% in 2017 and 7.4% in 2018. It is slower than 0.5 and 0.3 percentage points projected earlier by IMF. In April 2017 forecast, IMF had revised upwards India’s growth performance for 2016 to 7.1% as opposed to 6.8% Key facts

The report has cited impact of demonetisation and implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) for expected slowdo wn during the curren t and the next year. It also held that Indi a’s slowdown is happening even as the world economy is picking up steam. But it expects revival of growth in future due to structural reform.



India will regain fastest growing major economy tag next year when it is forecast to grow 7.4%, slower than earlier estimate of 7.7% but higher than China’s 6.5%. It also expects that the Indian economy to grow 8% in the medium term on the back of reforms undertaken so far. Comment

IMF forecast is latest in series of downgrades in India’s growth prospects unveiled by other multilateral agencies such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and OECD. Earlier, RBI had lowered its growth forecast for 2017-18 to 6.7% from 7.3%. World Economic Outlook (WEO)

The WEO is survey conducted and published by IMF. It is published biannually and partly updated two a year. It to portrays the world economy the near and tsmedium , with growth projetimes ctions for up four years into the futur e.inWEO forecas include context key macroeconomic indicators, such as GDP, inflation, fiscal balance and current account of more than 180 countries around the globe. It also deals with major economic policy issues.

Government to set up think tank for oil sector October 11, 2017

The Union Government will soon get Cabinet approval for setting up of high-powered think tank unde r Ministr y of Petrole um to look into key issues related to oil and gas sector . Besi des, Petroleum Ministry also has send proposal to Union Cabinet for setting up domestic gas trading hub to adopt better mechanism for price discovery of both domestic as well as imported gas. Internal think tank

The think will give advice on technology, setting up a gas network, attracting more FDI in sector, reducing India’s oil imports by 10%, and developing innovati ve new models of financing projects. The members of thin k tan k will inclu de ICI CI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kocc har, New Development Bank (NDB) chief K.V. Kamath, former Chairman of 13th Finance Commission Vijay Kelkar, top officials from oil and gas majors from across world and officials from Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Domestic gas trading hub

Currently, price of natural gas in country is determined through a government-mandated formula that links the local price to rates prevailing in gas-surplus nations. However, long-term contracts for gas import are linked to crude oil. Domest ic gas trading hub will help to move gradua lly towards transpare nt price mechan ism determined through gas trading hub. It will help to reaffirming India’s resolve to cut carbon intensity of its GDP and increase gas use in energy mix to 15% from the current 6.5% where India lacks much behind world average of gas use in total energy consumption 24%. Background

Indi a impo rts almost 60% of its petroleu m requi rement s. Currently, price of natural gas in country is determined through governmen t-mandated formula that links local price to rates prevailing in gas-surplus nations. However, long-t erm contracts for import of gas are linked to crude oil. India is planning to shift towards gas-base d economy, reduce greenhouse emissions and cut oil import. Governing is doubling its network of pipeli nes to transport natura l gas to 30,000 km within next three-four years for shifting to gas-based economy.



SC criminalises sex with minor wife aged between 15 to 18 years October 11, 2017

The Supreme Court has criminalised sex between man and his underage wife below 18 years provided the woman files a complaint within a year. The landmark order fixes the age of consent at 18 for all girls. The apex court gave its order on a peti tion file d by NGO Indep ende nt Though t which had challenged exception clause (2) in Section 375 IPC (which deals with rape). What is the issue?

The clause (2) of Section 375 IPC had created dichotomy over age of consent as it says intercourse or sexual act by a man wit h his wife, not below 15 years , is not rape. Accord ing to NGO Independent Thought’s petition, this exception clause was against objectives of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (which sets 18 years as statutory marriageable age for girls) and also violation of international conventions to which India was a signatory. SC Verdict

The Supreme Court held that age of marriage was 18 in all laws and exception given in rape law under clause (2) of Section 375 of IPC was arbitrary and was violates the rights of a girl child. It is violates Artic le 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution. Moreover it was contrary to the philosophy of other statutes and violates the bodily integrity of a girl child. It asked the Centre and states to take proactive steps to prohibit child marriage across country. The apex court also clarified that it has not dealt with the issue of marital rape as it was not raised before it.

Anupam Kher appointed as Chairman of FTII October 11, 2017

Veteran actor Anupam Kher (62) was appointed as new Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. He will succeed Gajendra Chauhan whose tenure ended in March 2017. Earlier he had held post of chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification and the National School of Drama in India. He is currently the chairman at Actor Prepares. Anupam Kher

In span of his 35 years acting career, he has appeared in over 500 films and many plays. He is best known for his roles in Saaransh, Daddy, Ram Lakhan, Lamhe, Khel, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara and A Wednesday among others. He has also acted in international films like Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, Silver Linings Playbook and The Big Sick. He is recipient of the Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2016). Film and Television Institute of India

FTII is premier institute in country that provides training for acting, film making, video editing, dire cti on and prod uct ion . It is an aut ono mous body und er Min ist ry of Inf orma tio n and Broadcasting.It was established in 1960 and is situated in Pune on the premises of the erstwhile Prabhat Film Company. Since its inception, FTII has become India’s premier film and television institute. Its alumni have become technicians, actors and direct ors in the film and televisio n industry.

Cabinet approves change of status for marine body IALA October 11, 2017

Union Cabinet approved status change of International Associat ion of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) from Non-Govern mental Organization (NGO) to Inter-



Governmental Organization (IGO). The mov e will bri ng IAL A at par wit h Int ern ati ona l Mar iti me Org anisa tio n (IM O) and International Hydrographic Organisat ion (IHO). Moreover, it will facilitate safe, economic and efficient movement of vessels. Background

In its 12th session held in La Coruna, Spain in May 2014, IALA General Assembl y had adopted resoluti on stating its firm belief that status of IALA from NGO to IGO will best facilitat e lALA’s aims in 21st century International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA)

The IALA isItanwas inter-governmental organization for law collecting and providing nautical expertise and advice. established in 1957 under French and has headquarters at St. Germainen Laye (France). It is governed by a General Assembly having 83 National members, with its Council as the executive body. The IALA council consists of 24 National Members including India which is represented through Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL), Ministry of Shipping. DGLL establishes and maintains Aids to Navigation in general waters along coast of India including Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar group of islands, as per Lighthouse Act 1927.

Cabinet approves MoC between India and Japan to establish Liquid, Flexible and Global LNG Market October 11, 2017

The Union Cabinet approved signing of Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan on establishing a liquid, flexible and global Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Market. The MoC provides framework to cooperate in facilitating flexibility in LNG contracts, explore possibilities of cooperation in establishing reliable LNG spot price indices reflecting true LNG demand and supply and abolition of Destination Restriction Clause. The MoC aims to promote bilateral relationshi p between India and Japan in the energy sector. It also seeks to contribute to the diversification of gas supplies for India to strengthen energy security and provide more competitive prices for consumers. Background

India and Japan are major consumers of energy in world. In LNG sector, Japan is world’s largest importer and India is 4th largest importer. Under the Japan-India Energy Partnership Initiative sig ned in Jan uary 2016, both cou ntr ies had agreed to wor k tog eth er in pro mot ing wellfunctioning energy markets and affirmed to promote a transparent and diversified LNG market through relaxation of Destination Restriction Clause.

October 12, 2017 October 12, 2017

October 11: International Day of the Girl Child

The International Day of the Girl Child is observed on October 11 every year across world to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world. Observance of the day seeks to increase awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide based upon their gender and supports more opportunity for girls. This year it was sixth edition of this day after it was observed for first time in 2012. The 2017 theme of the day is ‘EmPOWER girls: Before, during and after conflic t’. It aims to end



humanitarian emergencies especially gender-based violence in which girls are more likely to be subjected to sexual and physical violence, child marriage, exploitation and trafficking. Background

The International Day of Girl Child (IDGC) was instituted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by adopting Resolution moved by Canada in December 2011. The observation of day supports more opportunity for girls. It also increases awareness of gender inequality faced by gir ls world wid e bas ed upo n the ir gen der . Thi s ine qua lit y inclu des are as suc h as rig ht to education, nutrition, medical care, legal rights and protection from discrimination, violence and unfree child marriage. It also calls for empowerment and improved rights of the world’s 1.1 billion girls.

Cabinet approves MoC between India and Japan on Technical Intern Training Program

October 12, 2017

The Union Cabinet has approved signin g of Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan on the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP). Decision in this regard was taken by the Union Cabinet Meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Key Facts

The Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) is ambitious program to send Indian technical interns to Japan for onjob training for a period of three to five years. It is expected that MoC will pave way for bilateral cooperatio n between two countries in the area of skill development. The MoC is expec ted to be signed during forthco ming visit of Minister for Skill Devel opmen t & Entrepreneurship on October, 16-18, 2017 at Tokyo.

44th Indian Handicrafts and Gifts-Delhi Fair inaugurated in New Delhi October 12, 2017

The 44th edition of Indian Handicrafts and Gifts (IHGF)-Delhi Fair was held at India Expo Centre and Mart on outskirts of Delhi in Greater Noida. It was organised by Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) and was inaugurated by Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani. Key Facts

The five-day B2B IHGF Fair was biggest platform in National Capital Region (NCR) for promotion of handicrafts business. It will showcase nearly three thousand exhibitors under 14 product categories. More than 100 countries includin g US, UK, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan and Korea are participating in the fair. IHGF Delhi Fair

IHGF is amongst Asia’s largest gifts & handicrafts fair, held biannually (Spring & Autumn edition). It is organised by Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH). IHGF Autumn Fair has been hallmark for growth of the Indian handi crafts sector for over 23 years. EPCH is India’s premier export promotion organisation with 10000 member exporters. It is engaged in trade promotion of handicrafts exports from India.

India’s first STP under Hybrid Annuity Mode to come up in Haridwar and Varanasi

October 12, 2017

India’s first Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) under Hybrid Annuity Mode will come up in Haridwar (Uttarakhand) and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh). In this regard, a tripar tite agreement was signed betwee n National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and state level executing agenc ies Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and Uttarakhand Pey Jal Nigam and with concessionaires.


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Key Facts

The agreement is major step forward in realizing dream of Nirmal Ganga as it is first time ever in Indi a that Hybrid Annuity-b ased Public Private Partners hip (PPP ) mode is bein g appli ed in sew era ge sec tor . Und er thi s agr eem ent mai nte nan ce of pro jec t wil l be resp ons ibi lit y of concessionaire. They will be paid based on performa nce in phased manner. This will ensure continued perfo rman ce of sewage infr astruct ure asse ts crea ted due to bett er ownershi p, accountability and optimal performance. Hybrid Annuity Model

The Union Cabinet had approved to Hybrid Annuity-PPP model in January 2016 with 100% central sect or fundiba ng.Special UnderPurpose this model, devel opmen t, operation and mainten ancelevel. of STPs will be undertaken Vehicle (SPV) created by winning bidder at local As per this model, 40% of capital cost quoted will be paid on completion of construction while rema ining 60% cost will be paid over life of proj ect as annuiti es along with oper ation and maintenance cost (O&M) expenses. In this model, Annuity and O&M payments are linked to performance of STP mainly to ensure continued performance of assets created due to better accountability, ownership and optimal performance.

CCEA approves SANKALP & STRIVE Schemes to boost Skill India Mission October 12, 2017

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affa irs (CCEA) appr oved two World Bank supp orted schemes Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) and Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) to boost Skill India Mission. SANKALP is Rs 4455 crore centrally sponsored scheme including Rs 3300 crore loan support from World Bank wherea s STRIVE is Rs 2200 crore central sector scheme with half funding will be World bank loan assistance. STRIVE scheme

STRIVE scheme will incentivize ITIs to improve overall performance including apprentic eship by involving SMEs (Small Scale Enterprises), business association and industry clusters. It will develop robust mechanism for delivering quality skill development training by strengthening institutions- National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs), Sector Skill Councils, ITIs and National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) etc. It will support univer salization of National Skills Qualification Framew ork (NSQF) including National Quality Assurance Framework (NQAF) across skill development schemes. It will provide required push to National Skill Development Mission 2015 and its various sub missions. It is also aligned to flagship Government programs such as Make in India and Swachhta Abhiyan. SANKALP scheme

SANKALP scheme envisages setting up of Trainers and Assessors academies with self-sustainable models. Over 50 such academies are to be set up in priority sectors. It will leverage institutions for trainingtrainers in both long and short term VET thereby bringing about convergence. Additional trainer academies will also be set up. It will focus on greater decentralization in skill planning by institutional strengthening at State level which includes setting up of SSDMs and allow states to come up with State and District level Skill Development Plans (SSDPDSDP). It also aims at enhancement of inclusi on of underpriv ileg ed and marg inalized communities



including women, Scheduled Castes (SCs)/Schedule Tribes (STs) and Persons with Disabilities (PWD). It will also develop a skilling ecosyste m that will support the country’s rise in Ease of Doing Business index. Comment

SANKALP & STRIVE are outcome focused schemes aimed at institutiona l reforms and improving quality & market relevance of skill development training programs in long and short term VET. They will address need for national architectu re for promoting convergenc e, ensuring effective gov ern anc e and reg ula tio n of ski ll tra ini ng in voc ati ona l tra ini ng spa ce. The y als o hav e mechanism for national bodies for accreditation & certification for regulation, accreditati on and certification in both long and short term VET.

First Meeting of EAC-PM held in New Delhi

October 12, 2017

The first-ever meeting of newly-constituted Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EACPM) was held at NITI Aayog, in New Delhi. It was chaired by Dr. Bibek Debroy, Member NITI Aayog. The meeting took stock of the current economic, fiscal and monetary policy environment and identified key issues that it would focus on. It identified major priorities for accelerating economic growth and employment over tnext six months, with greater last mile connectivity. Ten identified themes

The EAC-PM identified ten themes around which Council Report will be structured in the coming months The ten themes ident ified are Econom ic Growt h, Employ ment and job creation, fiscal fr ame wo rk, inf or mal se cto r and int eg rat io n, pu bli c exp end it ure , mon et ary po lic y, ins ti tut io ns of Economi c Govern ance, Patterns of Consum ption & Product ion, Agricultur e & Animal Husbandr y and Social Sector.

The EAC-PM also developed Theme Groups led by its members, through consultat ive processes inv olv ing sec tor al Min ist rie s, Sta tes , exp ert s, ins tit uti ons , pri vat e sec tor and oth er key stakeholders. It also recognized for effec tive tracking of key economic parameters, through possible mechanisms for instituting Economy Track Monitor, using lead indicators and triggers for action, based on informed assessment and analysis. EAC-PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has constituted five member EAC-PM in September 2017 as an independent body to provide advice on economic issues to the government, specifically to the Pri me Minis ter . It con sis ts of eco nomis ts of hig h rep ute and emi nen ce. It ser ves as an independ ent institutional mechanism, to provide informed advice to the Prime Minister on addressing issues of macroeconomic importance and related aspects.

Global Hunger Index 2017: India ranks 100th among 119 nations October 12, 2017

India ranked 100th position among 119 countries on Glob al Hung er Index (GHI ) 2017 report released by Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). This year slipped by three positions as compared to 97th rank in 2016 GHI. Global Hunger Index (GHI)

GHI is multidimensional measure that describes state of hunger situatio n on regional, nationa l and global level. It is published annually by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) since 2006. It ranks countries on a 0 to 100-point scale calculated by taking into account four



indicator parameters. Zero means best score (no hunger) and 100 is worst. The four parameters are (i) Undernourished population (1/3rd weight), (ii) Child wasting (1/6th weight), (iii) Child stunting (1/6th weight) and (iii) Infant mortality rate (1/3rd weight). In this case stunt ing means defic ienc y in heigh t in relat ion to age, reflects chro nic undernutr ition and wasting means low weight in relation to a child’s height, reflects acute undernutrition. 2017 GHI Highlights

India Related Facts: In 2017 GHI, India scored 31.4 and was placed in high end of “serious”

category. India low ranking also influences South Asia’s regional score as three quarters of South Asia’s population reside in India. India’s neighbours ranking are Nepal (72), Myanmar (77), Bangladesh (88), Sri Lanka (84) and China (29)—except Pakistan (106) and Afghanistan (107). Even North Korea (93) and Iraq (78) fared better in hunger parameters and GHI rankings, More than 20% of Indian children under the age of five have lower weight in relati on to their height and about 33% are too short in relation to their age. Despite India being world’s second largest food producer it has second highest under-nourished population in the world. Africa hasworst score: The Central African Republic (CAR) has the highest GHI score and has been categorised as “extremely alarming”. It is followed by Chad, Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Zambia.

October 13, 2017 INS Satpura, Kadmatt participates in Passage Exercise in Japan October 13, 2017

Indian Naval Ships Satpura and Kadmatt participated in Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Japanese Marine Defencence Force (JMSDF) at Policy Sasebo, Japan. These ships are participating in thet to exerci seSelf in pursua of India’s Actheld East and demonstration of India’s commitmen peace and stability in Indo-Pacific Region. The visiting Indian Naval ships engaged with JMSDF in formal calls and also professional, social and sporting interactions. Comment

The visit of these ships is part India’s initiatives to strengthen long standing, mutually supportive and strong relationship between Japan and India which spans across wide spectrum of cultural, spiritual, economic and security relations. Background

Naval ties between India and Japan have reached new height s with bilate ral and multilatera l exercises since first ‘Navy to Navy Staff Talks’ between two nations in November 2008. Since the n, nav al tie s hav e enh anc ed to coo pera tio n in inf orm ati on sha rin g, met eoro log y and oceanography, disaster management and military training. The defence and security interaction also expanded to encompass Defence Policy Dialogue and a Maritime Affairs Dialogue. Regular bilateral and multilateral maritime exercises are foundation for strong naval relations between both countries. The erstwhile Japan–India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) led to Japan participating in ‘MALABAR’ exercise (a tripartite naval exercise between India, US and Japan) since 2014.

October 13: International Day for Disaster Reduction October 13, 2017

The Internati onal Day for Disast er Reduction (IDDR) is observed every year


on October 13 to


promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. The observance of day seeks to encourage citizens and governments to take part in building more disaster resilient communities and nations. It also celebrates how people and communities around world are reducing their exposure to disasters and rai sing awaren ess about the importa nce of reining in risks that they face. It also seeks to spread awareness about reining risks of disasters around world and also reduce exposure of people and communities to disasters. The 2017 theme is “ Home Safe Home: Reducing Exposure, Reducing Displacement ”. It seeks to raise global awareness about effective actions, policies and practices taken to reduce exposure to disaster risk at community level, thereby contributing to saving homes and livelihoods. Background

The International Day for Disaster Reductio n was instituted by UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 1989 to promote a global culture of risk-awaren ess and disaster reduction. Earlier, this day was celebrated annually on the second Wednesday of October. But in 2009, the UNGA formally designated 13 October as the annual date by adopting Resolution 64/200.

IIP rises to 9-month high of 4.3% in August 2017 October 13, 2017

According to data released by Central Statistics Office (CSO), factory output measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) has grown nine-month high to 4.3% in August 2017. This was mainly due to a robust performance of the mining and power sectors. Key Facts

The manufacturing sector output grew 3.1% in August 2017, mining sector output surged 9.4% and electricity generati on increased 8.3%. Production of capital good rose 5.4% in August 2017. Consumer durables output increased 1.6% and consumer non-durables output rose 6.9% in August 2017. Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

The IIP is composit e indicator that measures short-ter m changes in volume of production of basket of industrial products during given period with respect to chosen base period. It is compiled and published monthly by Central Statistical Organizati on (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The CSO had revised base year of IIP from 2004-05 to 2011-12 in May 2017 to capture structural changes in economy and improve quality and repre sentativeness of indices. The revi sed IIP (201 1-12 ) refle cts chang es in indust rial secto r and also ali gns it wit h base year of oth er macroeconomic indicators like Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The IIP covers 407 item groups. Sector wise these items falls into 3 categories viz. Manufacturing (405 items), Mining (1 items) & Electricity (1 item). The weights of three sectors are 77.63%, 14.37%, 7.9% respectively. The revised eight core Industries have combined weightage of 40.27% in IIP.

Two Experimental Ebola vaccines found safe, effective in human trial October 13, 2017

The clinical trials of two experimental Ebola vaccines cAd3-EBOZ and rVSV-ZEBOV were found to be safe and capable of eliciting immune response against Ebola virus that lasts for at least one year. The findings were based on a study of clinical trials on 1,500 adults that began during West Africa



Ebola outbreak. Three groups of 500 volunte ers received one of the vaccine candi dates or a placebo (saline injection). Key Facts

During clinical trials, it was observed that responses to both vaccine candidates were modest at one week. However, by one month , 71% of cAd3 -EBO Z reci pien ts and 84% of rVSV -ZEB OV recipients developed an antibody response compared to 3% of placebo recipients. These trials have yielded valuable information for development of these two Ebola vaccine candidates and also demonstrated that well-designed, ethically sound clinical research can be conducted during an epidemic. These safe and effective Ebola vaccines will play important role in controlli measures.ng inevitable futur e Ebola outb reaks in addi tion to existing classic al publi c healt h Ebola virus disease (EVD)

EVD is viral hemorrhagic fever of humans and other primates caused by ebola viruses. It was first identified in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a village near the Ebola River, from which it takes its name. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in human population through human-to-human transmission. Fruit bats are natural host of this virus. It spreads through contact with body fluids of inflected persons such as blood, urine and saliva. It also spread s through sexual transm issi on. Sympto ms of EVD are high fever, bleedin g and central nervous system damage. The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50%. However, in past outbreaks case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90%. In 2014, Ebola virus had erupted periodically mainly across west and east Africa mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. It was the deadliest outbreak the virusfrom in the history accusing which hadit killed 11,000 people. US of withdraws UNESCO for anti-Israel bias October 13, 2017

The United States has announced its withdrawal from Paris-based United Nations Scientifi c and Cultura l Organisation (UNESCO), UN’s cultura l agency accusi ng the body of anti-Israel bias. Besides US, Israel has also decided to pull out of UNESCO. US withdrawal will take effect on December 31, 2018. Until then, it will remain a full member. US has announced to establish an observer mission to replace its representation at UNESCO. Background

USA and UNESCO were at logge rhead s since 2011 , after UNESCO had admi tted Palesti nian territori es to the organizatio n as an independent member-state called Palestine. UNESCO was first UN agency to recognise and admit Palestine as full member. The recognition was against US policy in Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This was against US’s law which cut off its funding for any organization that recognizes independent Palestine. The US had previo usly paid for 22% ($80 million ) of UNESCO’s annual budget. UNESCO in 2013, had suspended US voting rights in its core decision-making bodies after US missed several rounds of payments to UNESCO. United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

UNESCO is UN organization that helps preserve historica l and cultural sites worldwide . It is special multi- country agency, formed in 1945 and based in France. It promotes litera cy and sex education as well as improving gender equality in countries around the world. It is also known for



recognising world heritage sites and work to preserve cultural and heritage sites such as ancient ruins, villages and temples, and historic sites.

IWAI raises Rs. 660 crore through Bonds October 13, 2017

The Inland Waterways Authorit y of India (IWAI) has raised Rs. 660 crore as Fully Serviced Bonds. The oversubscribed bonds were issued through e-bidding on BSE Portal and the entire amount of Rs.660 crore was raised in single tranche at a coupon rate of 7.47%. Key Facts

The proceeds from these bonds will be utilized by IWAI exclusively for capital expenditure for development of National Waterways (NWs) under National Waterway Act, 2016 during 2017-18. The principal and interest on these bonds will be financed by budgetary provisions in demand for grants of Ministry of shipping. The interest payment will be on semi-annual basis and the principal on maturity. Prior to raising bonds, IWAI had engaged arrangers, credit rating agencies, registrars and trustees. Both CRISIL and CARE rated proposed bonds of IWAI as “AAA: STABLE”. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)

IWAI is the statutory body in charge of the waterwa ys in India. Its headqu arters is located in Noida, UP. Its main function is to build the necessary infrastructure in the inland waterways, surveying the economic feasibility of new projects and also carrying out administration and regulation.

Government launches Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana October 13, 2017

The Union Gove rnme nt has laun ched Sampoo rna Bima Gram (SBG) Yoja na and expande d coverage of Postal Life Insurance (PLI) in a bid to provide affordable life insuranc e servic es to people particula rly those living in rural areas. Witt expnasio n, PLI will now cover professi onals also apart from government employees. Sampoorna Bima Gram (SBG) Yojana

Under SBG Yojana, at least one village (having a minimum of 100 households) will be identified in each of revenue districts of country to cover all households of identified village with minimum of one RPLI (Rural Postal Life Insurance) policy each. Coverage of all households in identified Sampoorna Bima Gram village is primary objective of this scheme. Expansion of PLI

With expan sion of PLI, bene fits of PLI will no more be confine d to governm ent and semigovernment employees only, but will also be available to professionals such as doctors, engineers, management consult ants, charter ed accountants, architects, lawyers , bankers etc. and to emplo yees of list ed comp anies of NSE (Natio nal Stock Exch ange ) and BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange). It will enlarge cover of social security and bring maximum number of people under protection of PLI. Postal Life Insurance (PLI) PLI was introduced in 1884. It is one of oldest life insurance schemes for benefit of government and semi-government employees. It covers employees of Central and state governments, Central and state publ ic sector unde rtakings (PSUs), univers ities, gove rnme nt-aide d educ ational institutions, nationalized banks, local bodies, autonomous bodies, joint venture s having a minimum of 10% Government/PSU stakes societies etc. It also extends facility of insurance to officers and staff of Defence services and para-military forces. It also manages group insurance



scheme for extra departmental employees (Gramin Dak Sevaks) of Department of Posts. PLI offers 6 type s of plan s viz. Whole Life Assurance (SURAKSHA), Convert ible Whole Life Assurance (SUVIDHA), Endowment Assurance (SANTOSH), Anticipated Endowment Assurance (SUM ANGAL), Joint Life Assurance (YUG AL SURAKSHA ) and Children Policy (BAL JEEVAN BIMA). In all policies age limit is 19 to 55 years. Low premium and high bonus is unique feature of PLI scheme.

Mitra Shakti 2017: India-Sri Lanka Joint Military Exercise held in Pune October 13, 2017

The 5th India-Sri Lanka joint training exercise “Mitra Shakti 2017” was held Aundh Military Station inOperations Pune, Maharshtra. two weeks exercise 13 andare 25)participating is based o n in Counter Terrorist (CTO) andThe Infantry company from(Oc bothtober countries it. Mitra Shakti 2017

The aim of joint training is to exchange best of military practices of two countries and build strong military-to-military (M2M) relation between two armies. It also aims at developing joint strategies by sharing the expertise of conducting operations, especially in counter-insurgency and counter terrorism (CI and CT) environment under UN mandate. The training module of exercise will include weapons training, basic military tactics and complex battle strategies. Background

The Mitra Shakti series of exercise between India and Sri Lanka had started in 2012, mainly as a response to China’s efforts to increase its influence in South Asia and Indian Ocean region. The armies of India and Sri Lanka also serve together in the United Nations Peacekeeping missions. The fourth edition of exercise was held at Sinha Regimen tal Centre in Ambepussa, Sri Lanka, in 2016 with main focus to enhance inter-operability in CI and CT operations under the UN mandate.

October 14-17, 2017 October 14: World Standards Day October 14, 2017

The World Standards Day is observed every year on 14 October across the globe to mark the develo pment of volun tary enginee ring and scientific standard s. The theme for year 2017 is “Standards make cities smarter” Significance of the day

Obs erva nce of the day hon our s con tri but ion s of all tho se who hav e dev elo ped tec hni cal agreements that are published as international standards. It also seeks to raise awareness regard ing significance of standardization in global economy, among regula tors, industry and consumers. This day is mainly celebrated by members of organisations like ISO (International Organisation for Stan dardi zati on), IEC (Inte rnat iona l Elect rotec hnic al Comm issio n), ITU (Int ernat iona l Teleommunication Union) and IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). Background

The first Worl d Sta nda rds Day was celeb rate d on 14 Oct obe r, 1970 . On this day in 1946 , representatives from 25 countries gathered in London for first time with the aim of creating an international organization solely focused on facilitating standardization. The ISO was formed a year later in 1947.



Bureau of Indian Standards Act 2016 comes into effect October 14, 2017

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has brought into effect new Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) Act 2016 which was notified in March 2016. The Act replaced Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986. It aims to help in ease of doing business in country, enhance ‘Make In India’ campaign and ensure availability of quality products and services to the consumers. Key Facts

Bureau of Indian standards (BIS): The BIS Act, 2016 establishes the BIS as the National Standards

Body of India for broaden the purpose standardization, marking and certification ofitarticles and for processes. It has BIS’sofambit and allows central government to make mandatory certain notified goods, articles, processes, etc to carry the standard mark. Enabling provisions: The BIS Act, 2016 has enabling provision s for Government to bring under compulsory certification regime any goods or article of any scheduled industry, process, system or service which it considers necessary in the public interest or for the protec tion of human, animal or plant health or nati onal security. Enabling provisions have also been made for making hallmarking of the precious metal articles mandatory. Conformity assessment schemes:The new Act also allows multiple types of simplified conformity assessment schemes including self-declaration of conformity against standard which will provide simplified options to manufacturers to adhere to the standards. Other Authority: The Act enables Centre to appoint any authority, agency, in addition to BIS, to verify conformity of products and services to a standard and issue certificate of conformity. Recall articles etc:good BIS or canarticle recalldoes goodnot or article which already outment for sale suppl yofifgoods, Bureauservices, is convinced that conform to isthe require of aor

particular standard. Further, it has provision for repair or recall, including product liability of the products bearing Standard Mark, however not conforming to the relevant Indian Standard. Certification of precious metals: It makes hallmark ma ndatory to certify precious metal articles including silver, gold, platin um, and palladium or their alloys. In this case, hallma rk indicates proportionate content of precious metal in article as per Indian standard. Mandatory certificat ion of certain goods: It allows central government to notify certain goods, articles, etc, which will need to compulsorily carry a standard mark. Such goods or articles will be notified if they are necessary forpublic interest or for the protection of human, animal or plant health, safety of environment, prevention of unfair trade practices, or national security. Offences by companies : Company committing offence under the Act, t hen persons in charge or respo nsible for company will be presumed to be guilty irrespe ctive of whether offenc e was committed without their knowledge, consent or connivance. granting of license or certificate of conformity, compounding of offences, Appeals : Regarding must be made to Director General of BIS. Further appeal against the order of DG, BIS can be made to central government.

Audrey Azoulay elected as Director General of UNESCO October 14, 2017

Former French Culture Mini ster Audrey Azoulay (45) was elected as new Director General of UNESCO – the UN’s education, science and culture agency. With this, she becomes first Jewish



Director of UNESCO. Azoulay defeated Qatar’s Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari in the final 30-28 vote after she won a runoff with a third finalist from Egypt. She will succeed outgoing Director-General Irina Bokova of Bulgaria. Audrey Azoulay

Azoulay was born on 4 August 1972 in Paris to a Moroccan Jewish family from Essaouira. She is the daughter of Andre Azoula y, an adviser to king M ohammed VI of Morocc o. She had earned master’s degree in management sciences from Paris Dauphine University in 1994 and master’s degree in business administration from Lancaster University. She also studied at Sciences Po and École to Maynationale 2017. d’administration (ENA). She was France’s Minister of Culture from February 2016

World’s largest combustion research centre inaugurated at IIT Madras October 14, 2017

National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD) was inaugurated at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras in Tamil Nadu. It is world’s largest combustion research centre and one of best diagnostic centres in the country to understand combustion. National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD)

NCCRD is supported by state-run Science and Engineering Research Board (SERN) of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology. It has been established at a total cost of Rs 90 crore. It will develop state-of-the-art capabilities in combustion research involving experts in the country. NCCRD’s resear ch interests will cover automoti ve, therma l power and aerospace propulsion , besides fire research and microgravity combustion to minor extent. It will provide impetus to research in ‘Alternative Energy and Environmental Protection’ by focusing on effective utilisation of combustion as means of thermo-chemical energy conversion. NCCRD has been set up as nodal centre in region and any institute and industry can work with it as it is totally IT-enabled and possess a strong simulation facility. Many industrial and R&D organisations like Mahindra, Shell, BHEL, ISRO, DRDO (DRDL, GTRE, CFEES), TVS, AVL, GAIL, GE, NAL, Forbes-Marshall, Siemens, Thermax, Cummins, Tata Power etc are working closely with NCCRD. NCCRD will impart major boost to Indian scientific community. It will play a pivotal role in making sure that India has access to latest technologies in all these areas. Its intention is to make it knowledge base in areas like combustion, gasification, propulsion and automotive sectors.

Need to balance national interest, human rights on Rohingya refugees: SC October 14, 2017

The Supreme Court has asked Union Government to strike a balance between humanitarian concern for Rohingya community staying in India and country’s economic and national security interests. The apex court unlined that both executive and judiciary cannot be totally oblivious to condition of wom en and childr en amo ng Roh ing ya refu gees and sai d tha t cri sis has thro wn up an extraordinary situation. With this, the status quo held by Government continues even though the court gave the community liberty to approach it in case of any contingency. Background



The SC was hearing on petition filed by two Rohingya Muslim refugees for protection of the life and liberty of their community challenging Union Government’s move to deport them from country. Petitioners in their plea had mentioned Government’s move violated tconstitutional guarantee that Indian state should protect the life and liberty of every human being, whether citizen or not. As per petition, Government’s proposed deportation is contrary to Indian constitutional protec tions guaranteed under Article 14 (equality), Article 21 (right to life) and Article 51(c) (respect for international law and treaty obligations) of the Constitution. Rohingya Issue

Rohi ngya is ethn ic Musli m minority group, large ly comprisi ng Musli ms livi ng prima rily in Myan mar’ s western Rakhine state. They diffe r from Myanmar’ s dominant Buddh ist group s religiously, ethnically and linguistically. They practice a Sufi-inflected variation of Sunni Islam. They speak Bengali dialect, as opposed to commonly spoken Burmese language in Myanmar. Myanmar considers Rohingya’ s as illegal Bengali immigrant s, despite fact that many they have resided in Rakhine provinc e of Myanmar for centuries. Myanmar governme nt even refuse s to grant them citizenship status, and as a result they do not have any legal documentation, effecti vely making them stateless. They are also restri cted from freedom of moveme nt, state education and civi l service jobs. UN has often described Rohing yas as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.

TM Krishna wins 2015-16 Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration October 14, 2017

Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna won 30th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for 2015 -16 for his services in promoting and preserving national integration in the country. He willGandhi’s be presented the honour by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on October 31, 2017 Indira deathwith anniversary. TM Krishna

He is one of prominent vocalists in rigorous Carnatic traditio n of Indian classical music and also activist who has worked on creating egalitarian spaces for music and breaking down castebarriers in form. He was also part of movement to help Tamil-dominated and war-ravaged northern province of Sri Lanka rebuild its classical music traditions. He has written and talked on wide range of socio-political issues, including women’s rights, children’s needs, issues that make a society civil or un-civil, and dangers of mentality of war and narrow nationalism. In 2016, he won Ramon Magsaysay award for bringing “social inclusiveness in culture. Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration

The award was instituted in 1985 by Congress on its centenary year celebrations. It is conferred every year on October 31 for promoting national integra tion, understanding and fello wship among different commun ities and cultures of India. The award consis ts of a citation and a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh. Some of the recipients are.S. Subbulakshmi, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi (posthumously) and former presidents A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Shankar Dayal Sharma (posthumously), musician A.R. Rahman, Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, poet Gulzar, scientist M.S. Swaminathan, filmmaker Shyam Benegal and lyricist Javed Akhtar.

October 15: International Day of Rural Women October 16, 2017



The Internat ional Day of Rural Women is observ ed every year on October 15 to recogni ze the Challenges and crucial role and contribution of rural women. The 2017 theme of the day is “ opportunities in climate-resilien t agriculture for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls”.

The observance of day highlights role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women in enhancing rural and agricultural development, eradicating rural poverty and improving food security and ensuring sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing. Background

The Internation of Rural2007. Women wasfirst instituted by the General Assembly by to passing resolution 62/136alinDay December It was observed on15 UN October 2008. According UN, empowerment of rural women is pre-requisite for fulfilling vision of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) which aims at ending poverty and hunger, achieve food security and empower all women and girls. Rural women, make up over a quarter of the total world population. Majority of them depend on natural resources and agriculture for their livelihood. They produce, prepare and process much of the foo d availab le, there by giving the m pri mary res ponsi bilit y for food sec uri ty. Thu s, International Day of Rural Women recognises contrib ution and significan t role played by these rural women in food security and poverty elevation.

16 October: World Food Day October 16, 2017

The World Foo d Day is obs erve d glo bal ly on 16 Oct obe r to mark fou nda tio n of Foo d and Agriculture Organi sation (FAO) of the United Natio ns in 1945. The theme for the year 2017 is “Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development.” The World Food Day is a day of action dedicated to tackling global hunger and aims to raise public awareness about hunger challenges and encourage people around world to take action in fight against hunger. This day also shows commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 – to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. Events organised to celebrate this day promotes worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for need to ensure f ood security and nutritious diets for all. Background

The World Food Day was instituted in November 1979 by FAO’s Member Countries at its 20th General Conference of to raise awareness of issues behind poverty and hunger. The day was observed for the first time it on 16 October 1981 and idea of celebrating the WFD worldwide was mooted by Hungarian Delegation to FAO. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

FAO is specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Its parent organization is UN Economic and Social Council (UNESC). It is neutral forum serving bot h deve lope d and develop ing cou ntr ies wher e all nat ion s meet as equ als to nego tia te agreements and debate policy. It was established on 16 October 1945 and its headquarters are in Rome, Italy. Its motto is “Let there be bread”. It has 194 member states, along with the European Union (member organization) FAO meet the demands posed by major global trends in agricultural development and challeng es



faced by member nations. It helps countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all.

CarbFix Project: World’s first negative emissions carbon-capture plant begins operations in Iceland October 16, 2017

The world’s first negative emissions plant under the CarbFix Project to turn atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into stone has begun operations in Hellisheidi, Iceland. It is intended to lock away carbon dioxide by reacting it with basaltic rocks. Work on the project began in 2007. CarbFix Project

In it, the CO2 isThere, captured fromreacts ambient air, bound to water, and sentenhanced to more than 700 meters underground. the CO2 with the basaltic bedrock using weathering process and forms solid minerals, creating a permanent storage solution. Currently, the system captures only 50 metric tons CO2, each year, about same emitted by a single US household. It can remove an estimated 50 metric tons of CO2 from the air in a year. It pumps the collected gas deep into the island’s volcanic bedrock, where it reacts with basalt and essentially turns into limestone.

INS Kiltan commissioned into Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam October 16, 2017

Indigenously-built anti-submarine warfare stealth corvette INS Kiltan was commissioned an into the Indian Navy at the Eastern Naval Comman d (Naval Dockyard) in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh It is India’s first major warship to have a superstructure of carbon fibre composite material resulting in improve d stealt h features, lower top weight and maintenanc e costs. About 81% of the ship is indigenous and it is well equipped to fight in Nuclear, Biologi cal and Chemical (NBC) warfare



conditions. INS Kiltan

INS Kiltan is third of four Kamorta -clas s corvet tes being built under Proje ct 28. It is lates t indigenous warship after Shivalik Class, Kolkata Class and sister ships INS Kamorta and INS Kadmatt of Indian Navy’s arsenal. It is also first major warship to have undertaken sea trials of all major weapons and sensors as a pilot project. The stealth corvette derives its name from one of islands in Aminidivi group of strategically located Lakshadweep and Minicoy group of islands. It has been designed indigenously by Indian Navy’s in-house body Directorate of Naval Design under Project 28 (Kamorta Class). Features: It is 109 meters in length and 14 meters at beam and is propelled by four diesel engines

to achiev e spee ds in excess of 25 kno ts wit h an endura nce of 3450 naut ica l mil es. It has displacement capacity of 3500 tonnes and has installed propulsion and auxiliary systems that provides very low radiated underwater noise feature, required for anti-submarine warfare. Stealth features: Enhanced stealth features of the ship have been achieved by ‘X’ form of Hull, full beam superstructure, inclined ship sides and use of InfraRed Signature Suppression (IRSS) system designed by NSTL for cooling the Engine and Generator exhausts. Weapons and Sensors suite: The ship hosts predominantly indigenous cutting-edge weapons and sensors suite which includes heavyweight torpedoes, ASW rockets, missile decoy rockets (Chaff), advanced Electronic Support Measure system, 76 mm calibre Medium Range gun and two multibarrel 30 mm guns as close-in-weapon system (CIWS) with dedicated fire control systems, most advanced bow mounted sonar and air surveillance radar Revathi. In future, it will be installed with short range SAM system and carry an integral ASW helicopter. Historical Legacy: The ship also boasts of proud legacy of the erstwhile Petya Class ship of same

name ‘Kiltan (P79)’ built in the USSR which had actively participated as Task Force Commander in ‘Operation Trident’ during 1971 India-Pakistan war.

Defence Ministry to raise three new tri-service agencies October 16, 2017

Ministry of Defence (MoD) is expecting to raise three new tri-service agencies in field of cyber warfare, space and special operations shortly. The proposal is with the other ministries of government for approval as the resources for them have to come from accretio n and not under save-and-raise. Key Facts

The new tri-ser vice agencie s are Defence Cyber Agency, Defence Space Agency and a Special Opera tions Division. These agencies will be head ed by offi cers of rank of Major General and equivalent in Navy and Indian Air Force The cyber and space agencies will be based out of Delhi, for close coordination with their civilian counterparts, while Special Operations Division will be based outside national capital. Defence Cyber Agency: It will work in close coordination with National Cyber Security Advisor. It will focus on non-civil ian cyber issues, includin g safeguard ing critical infrastru cture. It will be have over 1,000 personnel and will be distributed to various formations of Army, Navy and IAF. Defence Space Agency: It will work closely with ISRO and DRDO for better utilisation and integration of space resources. This includes information sharing from individual satellites, and surveillance from other satellites which can then be shared with the concerned defence service. It



will have over 200 personnel. Special Operations Division: It will have components of Special Forces of Army, Navy

and IAF, and will be equipped and trained together for various external contingencies. This division, which will be based at a location which already has training infrastructure, will have two SF battalions at its core, along with teams from Marcos and Garud. Background

In 2012, the Chiefs of Staff Committee had recommended creation of three joint commands in the areas of cyber, space and special operations due to their increased relevance in modern warfare. Beside s, the new joint milita ry doctrine, release d earlie r in 2017 also undersc ores the need to prepare defence forces for emerging triad of space, cyberspace and special operations for future combat.

First Investment Agreement signed between NIIF and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority October 16, 2017

India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India on has signed an investment agreement worth $1 billion with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). With this, ADIA became firs t ins tit uti ona l inv esto r in NII F’s Mas ter Fun d and sha reho lder in NII F’s inv estm ent management Company. NIIF is claimed to be India’s first sovereign wealth fund. Background

The agreement was signed in pursuant to Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Department of Economic Affa irs (DEA), Finance Ministry and Governm ent of United Arab Emirates (UAE) to mobilise long term investment into NIIF. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)

The Union Government has set up NIIF in 2015 with aim to attract investments from both domes tic and international sourc es for infrastructure devel opmen t in comm erci ally viable projects both Greenfield and Brownfield, including stalled projects. It was envisaged to be Category II Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) under SEBI Regulations. It will also serve as an umbrella fund with several funds underneath it. It has proposed corpus of Rs. 40,000 crores (around $6 Billion ). Government’ s contributi on to NIIF is 49% of total commitment at any given point of time. NIIF has been mandated to solicit equity participation from strategic anchor partners, like overseas sovereign, quasi-sovereign, multilateral and bilateral investors. Two companies viz. NIIFTL, trustee of fund and NIIFL, investment management company of NIIF were incorporated in 2015. Besides, Governing Council also has been set up under chairmanship of Union Finance Minister to act as an advisory council to NIIF. Few investors of NIIF

NIIF has singed MoUs with Governm ent of UAE, RUSNA NO, QIA, RDIF and Japan Oversea s Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN). In addition, DEA has signed terms for cooperation on NIIF with UK Treasury and US Treasury. Besides, IndiaUK Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF) also has been announced in April 2017.

October 18, 2017 October 17: The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty October 18, 2017

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) is observed every year on October 17



to rai se peo ple ’s aware nes s of the nee d to era dic ate pov ert y and des tit uti on wor ldw ide , particularly in developing countries. The 2017 theme ‘Answering the Call of October 17 to end poverty: A path toward peaceful and inclusive societies’. It seeks to remind importance of the values of dignity, solidarity and voice underscored in the Call to Action to fight to end poverty everywhere. This year’s celebr ation also marks 25th anniversar y of declara tion of IDEP by UN General Assembly (UNDP). It also marks 30th anniversary of “Call to Action” by Father Joseph Wresinski which had inspired observance of October 17 as World Day for Overcoming Extreme Poverty and recognition by UN day as the IDEP Background

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) was instituted by UNGA by adopting a resolutio n on 22 December 1992 to promote awarene ss among people to eradicat e poverty and destitut ion around the world particularly in developing countries. It was observed for the first time in 1993.

#IamThatWoman: WCD Ministry launches campaign on women for women October 18, 2017

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Develo pment (WCD) has launched online campaign #IamThatWoman in an attempt to end Gender bias in women against women. It was launched by WCD Minister Meneka Gandhi. Significance of this campaign

Through the campaign, Ministr y seeks to highlight various aspects of women standin g ‘by’ and ‘for’ women. It also aims to shed light on the enormous contributions made by women for women. Under this campaign, Twitte r and Facebook users have been encouraged to tag and share stories of women helping women with photograph and post online with the hashtag #IamThatWoman. Ministry of WCD also has urged people to shun stereoty pes associat ed with women harming other women.

India inks MoC to send interns to Japan for training October 18, 2017

India and Japan have signed memorandum of cooperation (MoC) on Technica l Intern Training Programme (TITP) to significantly expand the bilateral cooperation s in the field of skill development. Indi a is the thir d coun try with which Japan has signed the MoC. Unde r it, India will send youngsters to Japan as technical interns for on-the-job training for a period of three to five years. Key Facts

TITP will serve as an ideal platform through which complementary strengths of India and Japan will be leveraged for mutual benefit. The technical interns trained in Japan under TITP will be an asset for the Skill India initiative upon their return to India. It will signifi cantly contribute of Government’s vision of making India as largest provider of skilled workforce to the world. Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP)

It was launched by Japan under Technical Intern Training Act scheduled to come into force in November 2017. By 2016-end, approximately 2,30,000 technical intern trainees from multiple countries were trained in Japan under it. In 2016, about 1,08,709 technical interns entered Japan from various partner countries such as China, Vietnam and Indonesia that account for large numbers.



MCX launches India’s first commodity options in Gold October 18, 2017

Largest commodity bourse Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) launched India’s first commodity options in gold. It was launched by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The gold futures contrac t will have bi-monthly duration . The option will also have the existing gold kilo futures contract as its underlier. Options

Options are an instrument that gives buyer right to buy or sell an underlined at present price on a future date. They are of two types: puts (right to sell) and calls (right to buy). According to market experts, options are also a much better hedging instrument as compared to futures for hedgers. Key Facts

MCX ’s Gol d Opt ion cont rac t is Eur ope an- sty led Gol d opt ion s wit h Gol d (1 Kg) fut ure s as under lyin g asset. These option s are hedge -frie ndly and physi cally sett led. It mean s that on exercise at expiration option s position develops into correspon ding underlying MCX 1 KG Gold futures position at strike price of exercised options. The optio ns product is unique and first of its kind which gives buyer s righ t to buy or sell underlying asset, but no obligation, at a specified price at expiry. Thus, for buyers, risk is limited only to premium paid to option seller (i.e. Option writer). Comment

The launch of commodity options in gold denotes one of most significant reform measures since modern commodity deri vatives trading started in 2003. It will give stakehol ders new set of financial instruments to hedge their price risks. Moreover, introduction of options gives strong impetus towards systematic development and transformation of commodity derivatives market in India, ushering in new era in price risk management in response to stakeholder expectations Multi Commodity Exchange Ltd (MCX)

MCX is coun try’ s larg est meta ls and energy commodity bourse. It is country’s firs t list ed commodity futur es exchange that facilit ates online trad ing, and clearing and sett lemen t of commodity futures transactions, thereby providing a platform for risk management. It began functioning in November 2003 and operates within regulatory framework of the Forward Contracts Regulation Act, 1952 (FCRA, 1952). It offers futures trading in bullion, ferrous and nonferrous metals, energy, and a number of agricultural commodities (mentha oil, cardamom, potatoes, palm oil and others). Globally, MCX ranks no. 1 in silver, no. 2 in natural gas, no. 3 in crude oil and gold in futures trading.

Sawfish more threatened than tigers: Scientists October 18, 2017

Scientists on World Sawfish Day (observed on October 17th) announced that sawfish, sighted off Indian coas t less than 10 times in over a decade appears to be more threatened than tig ers and elephants Anecdotal evidence suggested that sawfish was once common along the Indian coast but today it may be the most endangered fish species in India. Key Facts

Sawfish also known as carpenter sharks are a family of rays. They are characterized by long, narrow, flatten ed rost rum or nose extensi on, lined with sharp transve rse teet h resem bling saw.Sawfish are closely related to sharks and have shark-shaped bodies, hence, they are also called



flat sharks. They are elasmobranchs meaning their skeleton is made of cartilage. There are only five species of sawfish ever iden tified —kni feto oth sawfish, smalltooth sawfish, dwarf sawfish larg etooth sawfish and green sawfish. Protection Status: In the International Union for Conservation of Nature Global Red List, sawfish fami ly has been assesse d either ‘Endangere d’ or ‘Critically Endangered ’ considerin g their threatened status, high extinction risk and observed population decline. The sawfish has been given high degree of protection as it is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 enacted to save them from exploitation. October 18, 2017

Prime Minister dedicated first All India Institute of Ayurveda to nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on dedicated first All India Institu te of Ayurveda (AIIA) in New Delh i to the natio n on the occasion of National Ayur veda Day observe d on the occasio n of Dhanwantari Jayanti (17 October 2017). Prime Minister also released Ayurvedic Standard Treatment Guidelines framed by Ministry of AYUSH. He also presented Yoga Award to Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institu te, Pune which was announced on the occasion of International Day of Yoga All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA)

The first ever AIIA is an apex institute under Ministry of AYUSH. It aims to bring synergy between the traditional wisdom of Ayurveda and modern diagnostic tools and technolog y. It has been set up on lines of AIIMS. It is NABH (Nation al Accredit ation Bo ard for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers) Accredited Hospital and an Academic Block. It has been set up with a total campus area of 10.015 acres in New Delhi. The hospital block of the AIIA will provide Out Patient Servic es along with free medicines. The hospital block has clinical specia lties such as Muscul oskele tal Care Unit, Diabetes; Metabolic Disorders Care Unit, Neurological Disease Care Unit, Yoga, Pancha karma Clinic, Kriya Kalpa, Diabetic Retinopathy Clinic, Kshara Evum Anushastra Karma and Infertility Clinic. It also has pathology, microbiology, biochemistry and radiology laboratories and diagnosis facilities The indoor patient department of AIIA has provision for 200 beds.

Times Higher Education Rankings: IISC & IIT Bombay among world’s top 200 for engineering October 18, 2017

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore and Indian Instituted of Technology (IIT) Bombay were ranked among world’s top 200 institutions for engineering and computer science in Times Higher Education subject-wise rankings. IISc was placed at the 89th spot, while IIT Bombay was placed in the 126- 150 category, globally. Rankings

Tim es Hig her Edu catio n sub jec t-w ise ran kin gs sco red 500 ins titut ions world wid e on performance parameters such as industry income, international outlook, teaching and research. It highlights the educational institutions that are leading in electrical, mechanical , civil, chemical and general engineering courses. Key Facts

In this edition, Stanford University from US was ranked number one, followed by California institute of Technology, Oxford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and



Cambridge University. China had total of 35 institutions in rankings, highest in Asia. China’ s Peking Univers ity and National University of Singapore are among top ten and top performers from Asia. India has a total of eleven institutions in rankings, IITs in Delhi, Kanpur and Kharagpur were placed in 201-250 band and IITs in Madras and Roorkee in 251 – 300 category. Meanwhile, IIT Guwahati was among institutes in 301 – 400 ranks and Jadavpur University, NIT Rourkela and Tezpur University were pegged in 401 to 500 band.

US author George Saunders wins 2017 Man Booker Prize October 18, 2017

American George Saunders won 2017 Man Booker Prize, a high-profile literary award for his firstauthor full-length novel “Lincoln in the the Bardo”. With this, he became second consecutive American writer to win prize after Paul Beatty (for his novel The Sellout ), after rules were chang ed in 2014 to allow authors of any book writt en in English and published in UK to compete. Lincoln in the Bardo

It is set in 1862, a year into the American Civil war. It is a blend of historical accounts and imaginative fiction, which sees Lincoln’s son Willie, who died in the White House at tender age of 11, in Bardo, a Tibetan form of purgatory. George Saunders

He is American writer of short stories, novellas, essays, children’s books and a novel. He is professor at Syracuse University. He has won National Magazi ne Award for fiction in 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2004 and Henry Awards in 1997. His first story collection, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, was a finalist for the 1996 PEN/Hemingway Award. He received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2006 and also won World Fantasy Award same year for his short story “CommCo mm”. In 2013, he had won PEN/Malam ud Award. His Tenth of December: Stories won 2013 Story Prize for short-story collections and inaugural (2014) Folio Prize. Man Booker Prize

The Man Booker Prize world’s most prestigious English-language literary award. It was launched in 1969 and presented by the Man Group. It aims at promoting the finest literary work in fiction by rewarding the best novel of the year written in English and published in the United Kingdom. It carries cash prize of 50,000 pounds. The authors are shortlisted by judges from a wide range of disciplines and all with a passion for quality fiction.

October 19-20, 2017 ISKCON’s Govardhan Eco Village wins Green Platinum Award October 19, 2017

The Govardhan Eco Village, set up by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Wada taluka of Palghar district, Maharashtra has won the Green Platinum Award. The award was received by village’s director, Gauranga Das during the Green Building Congress-2017 held at Jaipur in Rajasthan. Govardhan Eco Village

The village is a farm community and retreat centre spread over a scenic landscape of 100 acres at Galt are in Wada taluka . Since its incepti on in 2003, it has made steady progres s in Organic



farming, Cow protection, Rural Education, Rural developme nt, alternative energy, eco-friendly constructions and Sustainable living etc. Green Platinum Award

Green Platinum Award is instituted by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The IGBC was established by the CII to enable sustainable built-environment for all.

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber wins 2017 Blue Planet Prize October 19, 2017

Prof Hans Joachim Schelln hube r from German y won 2017 Blue Planet Prize , worl d’s most prestigious award for pioneers in environmental science. He was awarded for establishing new field of science ‘Earth System Analysis’ and introducing most influential concepts including the notion of tipping elements in the climate system in Tokyo. He is Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Beside him, Prof. Gretchen C. Daily from US also won the award for her work promoting practical conservation by revealing the value of nature. Blue Planet Prize

It is the world’s most prest igio us award for pion eers in envi ronment al science and ofte n con side red as Nob el Pri ze for envi ron ment al rese arch . It was instit uted by Asa hi Glas s Foun dat ion . It hon ours out stan din g thin kers who help to meet cha llen ges of plan eta ry dimensions. It carries prize of 50 million yen (about $450,000) and is handed over in presence of Japan’s Imperial Prince and Princess. Previ ous recipien ts of prize inclu de the Syukuro Manabe who is consider ed as godfather of climate modelling, Norway’s former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland and Charles Keeling wh o ga ve hi s na me to th e fa mo us Ke eli ng cu rve of at mo sph eri c CO 2 co nc en tr at io n measurements.

Indian-American Gitanjali Rao wins 2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge October 19, 2017

Indian-Ame rican Gitanjali Rao (11) won the 2017 Discovery Educ ation 3M Youn g Scientist Challenge for inventing a quick, low-cost test to detect lead-contaminated water. She was selected from 10 finalists who had spent three months collaborat ing with scientists to develop their ideas. Key Facts

Rao’s protot ype device named named Tethys, after the Greek goddess for fresh water is sensorbased device detect s the quality of water and shares the result s to a mobi le applicat ion via bluetooth. It uses carbon nanotubes to detect the presence of lead. Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge

The aim of the competition, open to citizens of US who are enrolled from Class 5 to 8, is to identify a solut ion to an everyday problem that direc tly impacts either the contesta nt or the global population. The winner of the competition is awarded $25,000 along with the title of ‘America’s Top Young Scientist 2017’. Every year, the challenge asks kids in US to explain in short video new scientific idea or invention – one that solves an everyday problem. Ten finalists are chosen who compete amongst themselves.



Sunny Verghese appointed as new chairman of World Business Council for Sustainable Development October 19, 2017

Sunny Verghese, co-founder and Group CEO of Singapore-based Olam International was appointed as the new chairman of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). With this, he becomes first ever Asian CEO to be appointed as Chair in the organisation’s 25 years of history. His term will begin on January, 2018 for a duration of two years and will succeed Paul Polman, whose term ends in December 2017. Sunny Verghese

He is co-founder of Olam International, agri-business world. Olam International operates from seed to shelfthird in 70largest countries, supplyingcompany food andin industrial raw materials to over 16,200 customers worldwide. It is one of the world’s largest suppliers of cocoa beans and products, coffee, cotton and rice. Sunny Verghese, is a recipient of the Outstanding CEO of the Year award and Public Service Medal from the Governmen t of Singapore . He is also Chai rman of Internat iona l Enter prise Singapore and the Human Capital Leadership Institute. World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

WBCSD is CEO-led, global advocacy association of some 200 international companies dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development. It has global network of more than 200 CEOs who are respo nsible for combined reven ue of more than $8.5 trilli on and 19 million employees. WBCSD was created in 1995 with merger of Business Council for Sustainable Developm ent and World Indus try Counci l for the Environment. It is based at the Maison de la paix in Geneva, Switzerland, and has offices in New York and New Delhi.

EPFO launches new facility to link UAN with Aadhaar online October 19, 2017

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) launched new online facility for its members to easily link their 12-digit unique Aadhaar number with their Universal Account Number (UAN). Its objective is to ensure better and speedy EPFO services. The new initiative will facilitate EPFO members to link their respective UAN and other relevant details with Aadhaar online. The facility has been made available at EPFO’s official website Universal Account Number (UAN)

It is one account number allotted to a subscriber for various schemes run by EPFO for his or her enti re servi ce perio d with differen t emplo yers. It facilita tes workers in orga nized sect or to transfer their provident fund deposits while switching jobs anywhere in India easily. Under it active employees in organized sector are provided with universal number which can be linked to various provident fund account numbers provided to them after switching jobs by different organisations. Thus, a single account number can be used throughout workers’ employments with various organisations. The roa dma p for imp leme nting the UAN progr amm e has been prep are d by Cen tre for Development of Advanced Comput ing (C-DAC). UAN aims to reduce the workload of the EPFO to a great extent as it receives over 12 lakh claims for transfer of PF account on changing of jobs by its subscribers.



NHAI to get power to speed up Bharatmala programme October 20, 2017

The National Highways Authori ty of India (NHA I) will soon get powers to approve highway projects with construction cost of more than Rs 1,000 crore to ensure faster implemen tation of Bharatmala programme. The programme, along with the proposal to enhance powers of NHAI will soon get Cabinet clearance soon. Key Facts

Currently, all highway projects entailing construction cost more than Rs 1,000 crore, excluding land is approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). Under the new proposal, only public private partnershi p (PPP) projects under build-operatetransfer (BOT) model, where viabilit y gap funding (VGF) is to be provided by government, will need CCEA clea rance. It will allow NHAI board to approve all engineering procurement and construction and hybrid annuity projects.

Bharatmala programme

Bharatmala envisions 44 economic corridors across country at cost of at least Rs 5 lakh crore. It is aimed at speeding up cargo movement and development of multimodal logistics hubs and parks on periphery of major commercial centres. The project involves constructi ng 24,000km of fresh highways. It also includes construct ion of feeder routes alongside nation al highways. The Bharatmala corridors have been mapped as per tr af fi c de ns it y an d ec on om ic re lev an ce of ci ti es th at wi ll be co nn ec te d wi th hel p of Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics. Around 80% of Bharatmala projects will be government funded, engineering procurement and construction (EPC) model while rest will be a hybrid-annuity public private partnership (PPP).

Jaipur and Srinagar Airport ranked first and second in ACI-ASQ Survey October 20, 2017

The Jaipur and Srinag ar Airport were ranked first and seco nd respe ctively in ACI (Airport s Council International)-ASQ (Airport Service Quality) Survey in the category of 2-5 million passengers . It was for second consecutive time Jaipur Airport was rated Best Airport in the World in the 2 to 5



million passengers per year traffic volume category. Earlier it was ranked best Airport in 2016 also. Besides, Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) bagged World 1 airport Award trophy of the ACI in the 5-15 million passengers per annum category. About ASQ awards

The Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards are aviation industry’s most prestigious accolades. They recognize airports which have achieved highest passenger satisfaction ratings in ASQ Survey which is the world’s benchmark measure of airport excellence. ACI-ASQ Survey is only worldwi de programme to survey passengers at airports on their day of travel. Every year it measures passengers’ views on 34 key performance indicators, including airport check-in , security screening, stores, restrooms and restaurants. survey allows creatingaccess, industry database that allows airports to compare themselves to other The airports around the world. It also facilitates sharing of best practices among airport operators.

Hemidactylus kangerensis: New species of large gecko discovered in Eastern Ghats October 20, 2017

Researchers have discovered new species of gecko at Chhattisgarh’s Kanger Ghati National Park in Easte rn Ghats. It com mon name is the Kanger valley rock gecko and scientific name is Hemidactylus kangerensis, named after the valley were it was discovered. Kanger valley rock gecko

Kanger valley rock gecko is fairly large and can grow to over eight inc hes long. It has distinct black-bordered beige bands from its neck to its tail tip and specific scales on its thighs. It differs from other gecko species in a distinct banded patterns and number of pore less scales separating femoral pores on the thigh. It is also found in Jagdalpur and Sukma districts in Chhattisgarh and in Khamman in Telangana, which are part of Eastern Ghats. The discovery of new gecko species highlights need for dedicated surveys across Eastern Ghats, where biodiversit y has not been quantified too well and need for protection from various anthropogenic pressures.

INDRA 2017: First tri-services military exercise between India-Russia begins October 20, 2017

The first tri-service armed Forces (Army, Navy, & Air Force) exercise INDRA 2017 between India and Russia began at the 249t h Combined Army Range Sergeevi sky and in Sea of Japan near Vladivostok. It is overall 10th edition of INDRA exercise and India’s first bilateral military exercise with any country involving all three services. INDRA 2017

The scope of 11-day exercise includes professional interactions, establishment of joint command and control structures between Indian and Russian forces and elimination of terrorist threat in multinational environment under UN mandate. The Indian contingen t comprises 350 personnel from Army, 80 from Air Force, two IL 76 aircraft and one frigate and corvette each from the Navy. Russia is represented by approxim ately 1000 troops of 5th Army, marines and ships of Pacific Fleet and aircraft from Eastern Military District. Comment

Exercise INDRA in its previous nine avatars was conducted as single service exercise alternately between two countries. For India, the major emphasis during exercise is to enhance inter-service cooperation and synergizing jointness. Moreover it is inlines with India’s armed forces focus on complete and effective inter-operability with countries, big and small in order to effectively



conduct military operati ons overseas. In 2016, INDRA exerci se was held in December 2016 at Visakhapatnam and Bay of Bengal.

India, Brazil, South Africa sign IBSA Trust Fund agreement October 20, 2017

India, Brazi l and South Africa (IBSA) have signed the IBSA Trust Fund Agreement that seeks to figh t pove rty in deve lopi ng countri es. It was signed at the 8th IBSA tril ateral Ministe rial Commission Meeting in Durban, South Africa. IBSA Trust Fund

It brings together the three emerging economies of India, Brazil and South Africa to combat poverty in other developing countries. Each country will contribute US $1 million annually to this fund which is managed by the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Special Unit for SouthSouth Cooperation. IBSA Dialogue Forum

The IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) Dialogue Forum is an international tripartite grouping for promoting internationa l cooperation among these countries. It was launched in June 2003. It brings together three large democracies and major economies from three different continents namely, Africa, Asia and South America that represents three important poles for galvanizing South-South cooperation. The forum provides the three countries platform to engage in discussions for cooperation in the field of agriculture, trade, culture, and defenc e among others. It has become instrument al for promoting closer coordination on global issues between three large multicultural and multiracial democracies and also contributed to enhancing trilateral cooperation in sectoral areas. Cooperation in IBSA is on three fronts

Forum for consultation and coordinatio n on global and regional politi cal issues, such as reform of global instit ution s of polit ical and economic governanc e, WTO/Doha Development Agenda, clima te chang e, terrorism etc. Trilateral collabora tion on concrete areas and projects, through 14 working groups and 6 People-to-People (P2P) Forums, for the common benefit of three countries Assisting other developing countries by taking up projects in the latter through IBSA Fund.

India tops list of pollution-linked deaths: Study October 20, 2017

According to new study published in medical journal The Lancet, India has topped list of countries with pollution-related deaths in 2015. In India, 2.51 million people died prematurely in 2015 due to diseases linked to air, water and other forms of pollution. Of the 2.51 million deaths in India, 1.81 million were related to air pollution, 0.64 million to water pollution, 0.17 million to occupatio nal exposure and 95,000 linked to lead pollution Key Facts

Globally, air pollution was biggest contributor linked to 6.5 million deaths in 2015, ahead of water pollution (1.8 million) and workplace-related pollution (0.8 million). Most of the pollution-related deaths — 92%— were reported in low and middle income countries, and in rapidly industrialising nations such as India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Madagascar and Kenya. China, with 1.8 million pollution-linked deaths in 2015, followed India. Most of these deaths



were due to non-communicable diseases caused by pollution, such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

India accounted for about 28% of an estimated 9 million pollution-linked deaths worldwide in 2015 and topped list of deaths linked to polluted air (1.81 million) and water (0.64 million). China (1.58 million) was placed after India in deaths linked to air-pollution, followed by Pakistan (0.22 millio n), Banglad esh (0.2 1 milli on) and Russi a (0.1 4 milli on). In death s linke d to water pollution, Nigeria (0.16 million) and Pakistan (74,000) were placed after India. The Lancet study conclud ed that polluti on is now largest environ mental cause of disease and death globally — three times more those from HIV-AIDS, TB and malaria put together. It also found that was pollution outdoor and indoor air,towater and soil contamination, and chemical pollutants one offrom largest risk factors leading premature death. Background

For the study, researchers had used data from Global Burden of Disease study, which brings together comprehensive estimates on effects of pollution on health, provides economic costs, and reveals the extent of contaminated sites across world for first time. Its aim was to raise global awareness on pollution, end neglect of pollut ion-related diseases, and mobilise resources and political will to effectively confront pollution.



Government sets up expert group for suggestions on artificial intelligence policy October 20, 2017

The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) has set up an internal expert committee to advise the government on a policy on artificial intelligence (AI). The expert committ ee will advise the IT mini stry on the most apt techn ologi es for Indi a as government’s main focus is to reduce cyber-attacks with AI. Its recommendations will be used to frame the policy. Seven-point strategy on AI

The government recent ly had drawn up a seven-point strategy that would form the framework for India’s strategic plan to use AI. The strategy includes developing methods for human machine interactions; creating a competent workforce in line with AI and R&D needs, ensuring safety and security of AI systems; understanding and addressing the ethical, legal and societal implicati ons of AI, measuring and evaluat ing AI technologies throug h standards and benchm arks, among others. Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligenc e is branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans. In contrast to normal hardware and software, AI enables a machine to perceive and respond to its changing environment. The artificial intelligence market is estimated to touch $153 billion in 2020 and expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (cagr) of 45.4% from 2016 to 2022. It is also widely seen as major challenge in generation of employment as many companies are likely to depend more on it to cut down on human resources. Globa lly too, there is a grow ing interest in arti fici al intellige nce. In 2016, White House had initiated work on Preparing for the future of artificial intelligen ce; in UK, the House of Commons committee on S&T had looked at robotics and artificial intelligence while in 2017, State Council of China had started work on next generation artificial intelligence development plan.

October 21-22, 2017 5-member committee formed to select editor-in-chief of RSTV October 21, 2017

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has constituted five-member Search-cum-Selection committee to select candidate for post of editor-in-chief of Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV). It will be headed by Prasar Bharati Chairma n A Surya Prakash and its other members are Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, Additional Secretary (Personnel) in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat PPK Ramacharyulu and journalist Rahul Srivastava. Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV)

RSTV is owned and operat ed by upper house of Indian Parlia ment i.e. Rajya Sabha and vicepresi dent of Indi a is its chai rman . Its mandat e is to tele cast live coverag e of Rajya Sabha proceedings and incisive analysis of parliamentary affairs. It aims at providing an objective pers pec tiv e on nat ion al and inter nat ion al aff airs to the peo ple and pro vid e pla tfo rm for knowledge-based programmes for discerning viewer. The channel offers special attention to legislative business undertaken by Parliament. It also has conceptualised programmes on basis of the vibrant relationshi p between Parliament and people. It touches upon all aspects of social, economic and politica l and cultural life of the people, while promoting scientific temper among masses.



October 21: Police Commemoration Day October 21, 2017

The Police Commem oration Day is observed on October 21st every year to pay homage to the Police Martyrs. The day commemora tes supreme sacrifices of ten policemen while defending borders with China in 1959. It was observed in all Police Lines throughout India to mark memory of these gallant Police personnel killed on duty during the year. Background

The Police Commemoration Day was instituted at the Annual Conference of Inspectors General of Police of States and Union Territories held in January 1960. Since 2012, Police Commemoration Day Parade is being held at the National level at the Police Memorial, Chanakyapuri. So far since Independence, 34,418 Police personnel have sacrificed their lives for safeguarding the integrit y of nation and providin g security to people of this country. During last one year, from September 2016 to August 2017, 383 Police personnel have laid down their lives. Why Police Commemoration Day is celebrated?

Till autumn of 1959, Indian Police personnel were responsible for manning 2,500 mile long border of India with Tibet (now China). On October 20, 1959, three reconnaissance parties were launched from Hot Springs in North Eastern Ladakh in preparation for further movement of Indian expedit ion which was on its way to Lanak La. While members of two parties returned to Hot Springs by afternoon of that day, third one comprising of two Police Constables an Porter did not return. All available personn el were mobiliz ed early next morning in search of missing personnel. At about mid-day, Chinese Army personnel were seen on hillock who opened fire and threw grenades at party led by. Since there was no cover, most personnel were injured. Ten brave Police Personnel attained martyrdom and seven others sustained injuries. The seven injured were taken prisoners by Chinese while the remaining managed to escape.

Government permits banks to sell more small savings schemes October 21, 2017

The Union Finance Ministr y has allowed banks, includin g top three privat e sector lenders to accept deposits under various small savings schemes in order to encourage savings. Until now, most of the small savings schemes were sold through post offices. This decision will allow increa se outlets for sellin g small savings scheme that will result in higher mobili sation under scheme. Key Facts

Now banks are eligible to sell National Savings Time Deposit Scheme 1981, National Savings (Monthly Income Accoun t) Scheme 1987, National Saving s Recurring Deposit Scheme 1981 and NSC VIII issue. All public sector ban ks (PSBs) and top three in the private secto r viz. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank can receive subscription from the expanded portfoli os. So far, these banks were allowed to recei ve subscription under Public Provident Fund (PPF), Kisan Vika s Patra-2014, Sukanya Samriddhi Account, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme-2004. Small saving schemes

Small Savings Schemes are government run social welfare schemes that provide higher interest rate. These scheme s are meant for small investors backed by a sovereig n guarantee and tax benefits



APEDA to promote NE products in Bangladesh and Myanmar October 21, 2017

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has taken up a programme for promotion of north eastern products in Bangladesh and Myanmar. In this regard , it has proposed to organise promotio nal programm es in Banglade sh and Myanmar in association with the High Commission of India in Dhaka and its Embassy in Yangon. The export of APEDA scheduled products to Bangladesh during 2016-17 was of US $396.44 million. The major products exported to Bangladesh include rice, fruits, wheat, vegetables, maize, dairy products and pulses. The export of APEDA scheduled products for Myanmar during 2016-17 was of US $24.15 million. The major products maize, rice, fruits, and vegetable seeds. exported to Myanmar include rice, cereal preparations, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)

The APEDA is an apex statutor y export promot ion organisa tion under the Union Minis try of Com mer ce and Ind ust ry. It was est abl ish ed und er APE DA Act , 198 5. It is man dat ed wit h respo nsibility of prom otion and developm ent of the export of its schedule d prod ucts which includes all agricultural products.

Rajasthan Government introduces bill prohibiting probes against judges, officers without sanction October 21, 2017

Rajasthan Government has introduced The Code of Criminal Procedure (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2017 in the state assembly to protect both serving and former judges, magistrates and public servants in state from being investigat ed for on-duty action without its prior sanction. The bill replaces Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 promulgated in this regard. Features of Bill

The Bill prevents courts from taking up private complaints against both serving and former judges, magistrates and public servants in state for on-duty action without its prior sanction. It also bars media from reporting on such matters involving accusat ions against public servants until sanction to proceed with probe is obtained. The bill amends Criminal Code of Procedure (CrPC), 1973. It curbs publish ing and printing or publicising in any case the name, address, photograph, family details of the public servants. It make addition s to sectio ns 156 (3) and 190 (1) of CrPC which empower a magistrate to take cognizance of an offence and order an investigation. It provides 180 days immunity to officers as it has provision mentioning no magistrate can order an investigation nor will any investigation be conducted against person who is or was a judge or a magistrate or a public servant. Its violation will call for two years imprisonment. If there is no decision on the sanction request post the stipulated time period (180 days), it will automatically mean that sanction has been granted. October 21, 2017

GSTN launches excel-based offline tool to file initial GSTR-3B returns

The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has launched excel-based offline facility to allow taxpayers to finalise their GSTR-3B forms on their own computers before uploadin g it onto the portal in order to minimise chances of errors before uploading on portal. Taxpayer s have to file the summary GSTR-3B forms each month till January. Key Facts

This Excel based offline facility will provide an opportunity to the taxpayer to verify the details of



GSTR 3B before filing and minimise chances of error. It will make the process of filing returns simpler. The offline utility is designed to help taxpayers to prepare their GSTR-3B return on their computer system. The taxpayer can download the offline utility from the GST Portal under the Download Section. Using it, taxpayers can fill data and then create json file for uploading the same on GST Portal. Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)

GSTN is a not for profit, non-Government, private limited company incorporated in 2013. It has bee n set up pri mar ily to pro vid e IT inf ras tru ctu re and servi ces to the Centr al and Stat e Governments, tax payers and other stakeholders for implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). The Union Government holds 24.5% equity in GSTN. All States including two UTs (Delhi and Puducherry) and Empowered Committee of State Financ e Ministers (EC) together hold another 24.5%. Balance 51% equity is with non-Government financial institutions-HDFC Bank Ltd (10%), HDFC Ltd (10%), ICICI Bank Ltd (10%), NSE Strategic Investment Corporation Ltd (10%) and LIC Housing Finance Limited (11%). The Revenue Model of GSTN after GST rollout consists of User Charge to be paid by stakeholders who will use the system and thus it will be a self-sustaining organization

Peru approves medicinal use of marijuana October 21, 2017

The Peruvian Congress has approved a bill to authorises the medicinal and therapeutic use of cannabis (mar ijua na) in the coun try. It make s prod ucti on, import and commerc ial sale of marijuana and its derivatives legal. With this Peru became sixth country in Latin America to legalise cannabis. Uruguay was first in 2013, allowing sales of cannabis any purpose. It was followed by Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Chile. Marijuana

Marijuana is gree nish-gray mixture of drie d, shredde d leaves, stems, seed s and flowers of Cannabis sativa – the hemp plant. Most people smoke marijuana, though it can also be used in

other forms such as edibles, powders and oils. It used for controlling pain for medical issues, like cancer, nervous system diseases, glauco ma, migraines, etc and also used to treat nausea and improve appetites for people with HIV or other chronic illnesses. The health effects of marijuana use can lead to a rapid heart rate, increase blood pressure, red eyes, dry mouth, increased appetite and slowed reaction time in short term. In long term, daily use of marijuana during adolescent years may result in impaired learning, memory and decreased IQ.

NASA extends Dawn Mission at dwarf planet Ceres October 21, 2017

The National Aeronautic s and Space Administrati on (NASA) has approved second extension of Dawn mission at Ceres dwarf planet which is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. During this extension, Dawn spacecraft will descend to lower altitudes than ever before at dwarf planet , which it has been orbitin g since March 2015. It will contin ue remainder of its science investigation of Ceres and will remain in a stable orbit indefi nitely after its hydrazine fuel runs out.


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Key Facts

The priority of second extension mission is to collect data with Dawn’s gamma ray and neutron spectrometer, which measures number and energy of gamma rays and neutrons. The information obtained will help in understanding compositio n of Ceres’ uppermost layer and presence of ice it contains. During this extended mission, Dawn spacecraft will take visible-light images of Ceres’ surface geology with its camera, as well as measuremen ts of dwarf planet’s minera logy with its visible and infrared mapping spectrometer. It will also allow Dawn to be in orbit when dwarf planet goes through perihelion, its closest approach to Sun, which will occur in April 2018. Dawn Mission

It was launched by NASA in 2007 to study the two massive protoplanets of the asteroid belt: Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres, celesti al bodies believed to have accreted early in the history of the solar system. The mission is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Dawn spacecra ft’s major components are contributed by NASA’s Europe an partners i.e. from German Aerospace Center, Italian National Astrophysical Institute and Italian Space Agency and. It is NASA’s first exploratory mission to use ion propulsion to enter orbits. It had create d history by becomi ng only missio n ever to orbit two extraterrest rial targets. It orbited giant asteroid Vesta for 14 months from 2011 to 2012, then continued on to dwarf planet Ceres, where it has been in orbit since March 2015.

October 23, 2017 HRD Ministry pushes for cash-free campuses October 23, 2017

The Uni on Min ist ry of Hum an Res our ce Dev elo pme nt (HR D) is aimin g to mak e fin anc ial transactions completely digital in all higher education institutions. Under this initiative, all public and private institutions including Central and State universities will be fully digitised. The HRD Ministry is aiming to fully digitise all campus processes including admissions, assessments, result declaration. Moreover, all canteens and business establishments on campus are also encouraged to resort to digital modes using e-wallets by linking the bank accounts with Aadhaar. Key Facts

The higher educ ation regul ators like All India Council for Technical Educ ation (AICTE) and University Grants Commission (UGC) have been taken on board to help facilitate this transition. The HRD Ministry has asked universiti es to appoint nodal officer for this purpose and send a monthly report to the UGC. The work of developing modules for the internal process is also given to an agency. Under this digitisation initiative, the complete digitisation target will be achieved within six to eight months. Vittiya Saksharta Abhiyan (VISAKA)

The HRD Ministry had launched Vittiya Saksharta Abhiyan (VISAKA), a digital financial literacy campaign aimed to actively engage youth and student s of Higher Educ ation Inst itutions to encourage and motivate all payers and payees to use a digitally enabled cashless economic system for transf er of funds. So far, it has enrolled lakh s of volunteers from amo ng student s to train families in their neighbour hood to conduct financ ial transact ions digita lly through BHIM app. They also helped shopkeepers, vendors and merchants’ associations in major markets, talk to shift



to digital transacti ons. Around 2000 higher educatio n institutions were made digital as part of this initiative.

Government makes mandatory for Banks to match srcinal IDs with photocopies October 23, 2017

The Department of Revenue (DoR), Finance Ministry has made it mandatory for banks and financial institutions to check srcinal identification documents of individuals dealing in cash above prescribed threshold to weed out use of forged or fake copies. In this regard, DoR has issued an official gazette notification making an amendment to Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules. Background

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 forms core of legal framework to combat money laundering and generation of black money. The PMLA and its rules impose obligation on reporting entities like banks, financial institutions and intermediaries to verify identity of clients, maintain reco rds and furn ish information to Financial Intelli gence Unit of India (FIU-IND). Intermediaries like chit fund company, stock broker, cooperative bank, housing finance institution and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) are also classified as reporting entities. New Rule

The new rule now requires reportin g entity to compare copy of official ly valid id produced by clien t with srcin al and recor ding same on copy. It also has made mandat ory for biom etric iden tification number Aadhaar and other offi cial documen ts requi rement to be obtained by reporting entities from anyone opening bank account as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above. The same is also required for all cash dealing of more than Rs 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency. If valid document furnished does not contain updated address, utility bill like telephone, electricity, post-paid mobile phone, piped gas or water bill not more than two months old can be considered as a proof of address. Besides, property or municipal tax receipt, pension or family pension payment orders issued to retired employees by Government departments or letter of allotment of accommodation from employer can be also considered for same purpose.

Denmark Open: Kidambi Srikanth wins third Super Series title October 23, 2017

India’s ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth (World No. 8) won US $750,000 Denmark Open title of badminton in the men’s single category. In the final match, he defeated South Korea’s Lee Hyun II by 21-10, 21-5 score. It was Kidambi Srikanth’s third Super Series Premier title in 2017 season after wining Australian Super Series title and Indonesia Super Series Premier title. Other category winners

Women’s singles: Ratchano k Inthanon (Thailand) won the title by defeating Akane Yamaguchi

(Japan) by 14-21 21-15 21-19 score. Men’s Double: Chinese pair of Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan won the title by defeating Indonesi an pair of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo by 21-19, 22-24, 21-19 score. Women’s doubles: Sout h Kore an pair of Lee So-hee and Shin Seun g-ch an won the title by defeating Japanese pair of Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto by 21-13 and 21-16 score. Mixed doubles: Chinese pair of Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen won the title by defeating Hong Kong pair of Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet by 22-24, 21-19 and 21-23 score.


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] 2017 Denmark Super Series Premier

It was ninth Super Series tournament of the 2017 BWF Super Series. The tournament took place at Oden se Sports Park in Odense, Denma rk from October 17 – 22, 2017 and had a total prize of $750,000.

4th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus to be held in Philippines October 23, 2017

The fourth edition of ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus will be held in Philippines. India will be represent ed by Union Defenc e Minister Nirmala Sitharama n. It is her first foreign visit as Defence Minister. Key Facts

The ADMM Plus meeti ng is expe cted to discus s ways to enhanc e defe nce and secu rity coopera tion among the memb er nations to effec tively counter vari ous transnational security challenges facing the region. It is also likely to discuss enhancing maritime security cooperation among the member countries. It will also deliberate extensively on the situation in Afghanistan and Syria besides China’s growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea. ADMM-Plus

The ADMM-Plus is platform for ASEAN and its eight dialogue partners to strengthen security and defence co-operation for peace, stability, and development in the region. Its objective is to promote mutual trust and confidence between defence establishment s through greater dialogue and transparency. The inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010. The defence ministers then had agreed on five areas of practical cooperation, including maritime security, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping operations and humanitarian assistance.

Sri Lankan Coast Guard commissions OPV SURAKSHA gifted by India October 23, 2017

Sri Lankan Coast Guard has commissioned Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) SURAKSHA gifted by India at Colombo port. It is first OPV of Sri Lankan Coast Guard. Sri Lankan Coast Guard Ship (SLCGS) Suraksha earlier belonged to Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and was known as Varuna. It was officially handed over to Sri Lanka Navy at ceremony held at Kochi Port in India in September 2017. SLCGS Suraksha

SLCGS Suraksha is 74.10m in length and 11.4m in breadth. It has displacement of 1,160 tons. It can sail at speed of 22 nautical miles per hour. It can cover 8,500 nautical miles maintain ing speed of 16 nautical miles per hour. It is manned by crew of 14 officers and 86 sailors. It will be used by Sri Lanka Coast Guard for patrolling and surveillance in Sri Lanka waters, humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations, preventio n of maritime pollution as well as training purpose s. Besides it play a crucial role in strength ening the Sri Lanka’s naval capabilities INCG Varuna

It was inducted into Indian Coast Guard in February 1988 and provided three decades of service in India. It was fourth of in its class of OFV built by the Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock. It has numerous operational achievements and had recorded a number of arrests of smugglers with gold worth several crore in the late 1980s. It was used as cadet training ship for the last 10 years and was part of the 1st Training Squadron (1 TS) of the Indian Navy which trains officer sea trainees of



both the Navy as well as the Coast Guard.

PM launches South Asia’s first Ro-Ro ferry service in Gujarat October 23, 2017

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated first phase of Ro-Ro (roll-on, roll-off) ferry service between Ghogha in Bhavnagar district and Dahej in Bharuch district in the Gulf of Cambay, Gujarat. It is South Asia’s first world class Ro-Ro ferry service. Key Facts

The Ro-Ro ferry services are vessel s made to carry wheeled cargo (such as cars, truck s, semitrailer trucks, trailers, and railroad cars) that are driven on and off ferry on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle. It is opposite of lift-on and lift-off (lo-lo) vessels which uses crane to load and unload cargo. The first of its kind Ro-Ro ferry in India will be able to carry up to 100 vehicles and 250 passengers between the two ports. It will reduce the distance between Ghogha in Saurashtra and Dahej is South Gujrat from 310 kilometres by road to 30 kilometres. Besides, it will also reduce seven to eight hours of travel time to link Saurashtra with South Gujarat to one hour.

Benefits

The ferry service will save travel time and fuel and reduce pressure on congested roads. It will promote regional trade and business and prove to be game-changer for transportation of goods and passengers. It will provide at least one crore jobs in the next 4-5 years. It will give a boost to the local economy.



Ro-Ro ferry is a small part of Sagarmala project of Central Government that aims to promote portled development in the country by harnessing India’s 7,500-km long coastline, 14,500-km of potentially navigable waterways and strategic location on key international maritime trade routes.

India’s first Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra for Skilling in Smart Cities inaugurated in New Delhi October 23, 2017

India’s first Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) for Skilling in Smart Cities was inaugurated at Mandir Marg, New Delhi. It has been set up Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana by National Skill Developmen t Corpo rati on (NSD C) in colla borat ion with New Delhi Municipa l Coun cil (NDMC). Key Facts

Pradhan Mant ri Kaushal Vikas Yojana is flagshi p scheme of MSDE to enable large number of youth to take up industry relevan t skill training to make them employable. Under it, the newly inaugura ted NDMC-PMKK Centre for Skilling in Smart lever ages NDMC infrast ructu re for skilling initiatives. The PMKK Centre for Smart Cities will provide skill training for unemployed youth through its short-term training (STT) module and contribute to capacity building of municipal employees through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) program. It has exemplary heritage building of approximat ely 30,000 sq ft with a capacity of skilling 4,000 youth annua lly. It will be catering needs of healt hcare and solar energy secto rs and will be managed by one of NSDC’s affiliated training partners – Orion Edutech. It also affirms synergies with Union Government’s flagship programs. It underscore commitment of Union Ministry of Urban Affairs & Housing (MUHA ) and Union Ministry of Skill Deve lopment & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) to support skilling in smart cities.

October 24, 2017 October 24: World Development Information Day October 24, 2017

The World Development Information Day (WDID) is observed every year on October 24 to draw attention of world to development problems and necessity of strengthening international cooperation to solve them. To celebrate this day, many event s are organiz ed to focus atten tion on work that UN does, part icularly with regard to prob lems of trad e and develop ment . Many of these are aimed at journalists working for range of media, including radio, television, newspapers, magazines and internet sites. Background

The UN Conferenc e on Trade and Develop ment on May 17, 1972 had propo sed measures for information disseminati on and mobilization of public opinion relative to trade and development problems. These measures came to be known as resolution 3038 (XXVII), which was passed by UN General Assembly in 19, 1972 and instituted World Development Information Day on October 24. The UNGA decided that date for day should coincide in principle with 24 October, which was also date of adoption of Internatio nal Development Strategy for Second United Nations Development Decade in 1970. The purpose of day is to improve dissemination of information and mobilization of



public opinion, particu larly among young people. It will lead to greater awareness of problems of development, thus, promoting efforts in sphere of international cooperation for development

56th Raising Day of ITBP observed October 24, 2017

The 56th raising day of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was celebrated 24 October. It was raised on 24th October in 1962. ITBP is deployed on guarding 3488 kilometer long India-China Border from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh. Its protects and manages outposts located on altitudes ranging from 9000 feet to 18700 feet in the Western, Middle and Eastern Sector of the India-China Border. Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)

The ITBP ( ) is one of five Central Armed Police Forces of India. It was raised on 24 October 1962, under CRPF Act, in wake of 1962 Sino-Indian War. It was provided full autonomy after Parliament enacted the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force Act, 1992. It works under command of Union Home Ministry. Its mot to is Sha ury a – Dri dha ta – Kar m Nis hth a (En gli sh: Val our – Ste adf ast nes s and Commitment). At present, ITBP is strong Central Armed Police Force of 90000 personnel. It primarily guards the 3,488 km long Indo-China border along Tibet Autonomous Region. ITBP force is also engaged in a variety of internal security tasks including disaster management, civil Medical Camp, nuclear, biological and chemical disasters and UN peacekeeping missions around the world.

Paika rebellion to be named as 1st War of Independence: Government October 24, 2017

The Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar has announced that Paika rebellion (Paika Bidroha) of 1817 will be named as First War of Independence again st British Rule in history books from next academic session. Earlier, 1857 Sepoy Mutiny was regarded as the First War of Indian Independence, but Paika Bidroha predates it. Paika Bidroha (rebellion)

Paiks were tradit ional landed militia under Gajapati ruler s of Odisha. They used to perfo rm policing functions and owned rent-free land that was given to them for their military service to Kingdom of Khurda. However they were forcefully usurped their land rendering them landless by the policies of British East India Compa ny. They were also subjected to repressi ve land revenue policies and humiliation by the British. At that critical juncture, Bakshi Jagaba ndhu Bidyadha r, the military chief of King of Khurda led army of Paikas forcing the East India Company (British) forces to retreat in 1817. During the reb ell ion, Paika s had attacke d Bri tish sym bols of pow er, set ting ablaz e polic est ations, administrative offices and treasury during their march towards Khurda, from where British fled. They were supported by local rajas of Kujang, Kanik a, Nayagarh and Ghumusar and zamindars, village heads and ordinary peasants. The British were initially taken aback and then tried to regain lost ground from the rebelli ng Paikas. Many a battle ensued with some victo ries to the rebel Paiks but the British finally managed to defeat them within three months. Widespread suppression followed with killing and imprisonment of many Paiks. Some Paik rebels fought a guerilla war till 1819 but were captured and killed. Baxi Jagabandhu was



finally arrested in 1825 and died in captivity in 1829. At present, Paika Bidroha enjoys a cult status in Odisha but unfortunately it has received less attention at the national level.

24 October: United Nations Day October 24, 2017

The United Nations Day is observed every year on 24th October to mark anniversary of entry into force of UN Charter in 1945. With ratific ation of this found ing documen t by majo rity of its members, includi ng five permanent members of UN Security Council, United Nations officiall y came into existence. Since then, 24th October is celebrated as UN Day. On this day all member states of UN contribute finances to its operation to help further United Nations

its goals. UN is successor of ineffective League of Nations and was established in 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict. Now, it has become world’s only truly universal global organization and is foremost forum to address issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone. Its pri me rol e is to mai ntain world pea ce, hum an rig hts , pro mot e soc ial and eco nom ic development and provide aid around the world in cases of famine, natural disaster and armed conflict. The main organs of UN a re: General Assembly (UNGA), Security Coun cil (UNSC), Economic and Social Coun cil (UNE SOC), Internat ional Court of Just ice (ICJ ), UN Secre tari at, Trust eeshi p Council. League of Nations (LoN)

LoN was founded in January, 1920 as a result of Paris Peace Conference that ended World War I. LoN was first international organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. But onset of World War II, demonstrated that LoN failed in its primary purpose of preventing another world war.

TRAI recommends 40% reduction in carbon emission by 2022-23 for sustainable telecommunications October 24, 2017

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended 40% reduction in carbon emissions in telecom networks by 2022-23 considering 2011-12 as the base year in order to make telecom sector greener. It was mention ed in TRAI ’s reco mmend ation to Depa rtmen t of Telec om (DoT ) on appro ach towards sustainable telecommunications. Key Facts

The target for reduction in carbon emission will be set as 30% by year 2019-20 taking base year as 2011-12 and 40% by year 2022-23. The targets will be reviewed in year 2022-23. TRAI has set target of 5% by year 2012-2013, 8% by 2014-2015, 12% by 2016-2017 and 17% by 2018-2019 for carbon emission reduction. TRAI has suggested government to pass all benefits granted under various schemes for using renewa ble energy technolog ies (RET) to operat ors in order to encourage them to adopt clean energy alternatives. Further, it has recommended telecom operators to voluntarily adopt RET solutions, energy efficient equipmen ts and high capacity fast charging storage solutions in order



to meet target for reduction of carbon footprint. TRAI also has suggested that electric ity generated by RET solutio ns funded or maintained by telecom operators should be subtracted from overall carbon emission of company, irrespective of its use. Furthermore, if DoT adopts recommendations, it should allow service providers to adopt a Voluntary Code of Practice encompassing energy efficient network planning, deployment of energy efficient technologies, infra-sharing and adoption of RET. If these reco mmen dations are impleme nted by DoT, repo rt of carbon footpr int of telecom operators must submitted annually within 45 days after March of every year. The first report of carbon footprint for base year 2011-12 as per revised formula will be submitted within 3 months from date of issuance of instructions by DoT. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) TRAI is an independent regulator of telecommunications business in India. It came into existence by Act of the Parliament in 1997. Its mandate is to deliver a fair and transparent enviro nment for fair competit ion in telecom market. TRAI also fixes or revises the tariffs for telecom services in India.

Government appoints Dineshwar Sharma as its representative in J&K October 24, 2017

The Union Government has appointed former Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Dineshwar Sharma as its Representative (or special interlocutor) to initiate and carry forward sustained dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) with all stakeholders In his new role, he will have rank equivalent to a Cabinet Secretary and complete independence in deciding who to hold talks with. Need

Due to prolonged anti-india protest, rising insurgency in Kashmir valley, intense counterinsurgency operati on by armed forces has caused acute distress in region. There is demand from various sections for sustained political outreach to prevent radicalisation of local youth which is also topmost concern for Indian security establishment. It is seen that sustained political dialogue with all the stakeho lder s will have lastin g solu tion and it will help in confidence-bu ildi ng measures between government, civil society and dissidents in Kashmir. Key Facts

As Government of India’s representative, Dineshwar Sharma will likely hold talks with elected represen tatives, various organizations and concerned individua ls in the State of Jammu and Kash mir. He will have dialogu e with main stre am loca l poli tical work ers of PDP, National Conference and Congress, heads of various religious seminaries in Valley, local student unions etc. He will try to understand legitimate aspirations of the people of the state and to know how things are panning out on ground for and against India. Dineshwar Sharma

He is 1976 batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre. He has worked as mediator for talks with various insurgent groups based in Assam including the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). He had worked as director of IB include from 2014 to 2016. He had served as DIG of Border Security Force (BSF) and as IG of CRPF in charge of J&K.

RBI sets up task force for India Public Credit Registry October 24, 2017

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted high-level task force on public credit registry



(PCR) for India. It will be chaired by Y M Deosthalee, former CMD of L&T Financ e Holdings Ltd and will have nine other members. Public credit regis try keeps exten sive data base of credit in format ion that is acces sible to all stakeholders. It helps good borrowers in securing credit at lowers costs and also improve access of credit to small and medium enterprises. It is mainly set up by central bank of the country for reporting of loan details to Registry by lenders and borrowers mandated by law. It mainly keeps records of individuals and firms on repayment history, unpaid debts, or credit outstanding. Terms of reference of task force

It will review current availabi lity of information on credit in country, assess gaps in India that could be filla ed by a comprehe nsive PCRand andnear-real-time sugg est roadma includi developing transparent, comprehensive PCRpfor India.ng prio rity area s for It will also study best international practices on PCR, decide structure of new information system. It will also determine scope and target of comprehensive PCR such as type of information that should be covered along with cut-off size of credit. It will submit its report by April 2018. Background

Currently, there are four credit bureaus in India — Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL), Experian, Equifax and CRIF Highmark. These bureaus are regulated by the RBI under the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005. They provide credit scores and allied reports and services. As of now, their analysis reports are used for issuing credit cards and for taking decisions mainly on retail loans.

All-women crew of Navika Sagar Parikrama expedition reaches Fremantle October 24, 2017

INSV Tarini carrying all-wom en crew members of Navika Sagar Parikram a, India’s first ever circ umna vigation expe dition of glob e by all- women crew entered west Aust rali an port of Fremantle. It is first stop over of INSV Tari ni since the exped ition was flagg ed off by Defence Minis ter Nirmala Sitharaman in Goa in September 2017. So far, the vessel has covered 4,800 nautical miles from Goa, crossing Equator and Tropic of Capricorn. INSV Tarini

INSV Tarini is 55 foot sailing vessel built indigen ously in India by M/s Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd, Goa. It was inducted int o the Indian Navy recently in Februar y 2017. It carries a suite of six sails, including a main sail, head sails (Genoa and stay sails), downwind sails and storm sail. The boat has been named after famous ‘Tara-Ta rini’ temple in Ganjam distri ct of Odisha. The word ‘Tarini’ means boat and in Sanskrit it means saviour. Tara-Tarini is patron deity for sailors and merchants and is worshipped for safety and success at sea. INSV Tarini has advance Raymarine navigation suite and an array of satellite communication systems for perfect navigatio n anywhere in world. It is sister vessel of INSV Mhadei which was used by Captain (Retd) Dilip Donde to successfully undertake India’s first solo circumnavigation in 2009. Navika Sagar Parikrama

It is Indian Navy’s all-women expeditio n to circumnavigate the globe to promote ocean sailing and spirit of adventure. It will circumnavigate globe in approximately 165 days and is expected to return to Goa in April 2018. The expedition will be covered in five legs, with stop-overs at 4 ports



Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleto n (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), and Cape Town (South Africa) for replenishment of ration and repairs as necessary. Significance

Navika Sagar Parikra ma voyage is in consonance with National policy to empower women to attain their full potential. It also aims to showcase India’s Nari Shakti on world platform and help revo luti onize societal attitudes and mindset towards women by rais ing visibility of thei r participation in challenging environs. The voyage also aims to show case ‘Make in India’ initiative by sailing onboard indigenously built INSV Tarini. It also encourage use of environment friendly non-conve ntional renewable energy resourc es as shipon harnesse wind, a renewable energy. The crew will also monito r and report marine pollution the highs seas.

October 25, 2017 India ink $300 Million loan agreement with ADB to promote fiscal reforms in West Bengal October 25, 2017

The Union Government has inked $300 million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank for Second West Bengal Development Finance Program. The new prog ram is built on earlier inter vent ion under Phase I of project throu gh the $400 million Program that targeted comprehensive fiscal consolidati on program in the state. It will continue series of fiscal reforms in West Bengal to improve quality of public service delivery. Second West Bengal Development Finance Program

The pro gra m aim s to fur the r dee pen ref orm s wit h foc us on exp end itu re rat ion ali zatio n, improvement in revenue administratio n, and facilitation of more private investment in the state. It also targets to further increase in public investment through reduction of unproductive expenditure and savings from efficiencies in revenue collections.



It will create the fiscal space necessary to sustain higher public investment in the state which could put state’s finances on balanced and sustainable path. It targets both public and private investments more directly by creating an infrastructure facility to support project preparation, develo pment and appraisal with emphasis on public-pri vate partnersh ips (PPP) in health and education sectors. It also seeks to simplify the registration and licensing procedure for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). It is spread over two years and carry forward reforms such as linking medium term expenditure plans to actual budgets, supported by strengthening internal audit system and enhancements in integrated financial management system (IFMS). It will also cover other activities such as imp rov ed tax mon ito rin g and conti nue d sup por t for infor mat ion tec hno log y sys tem s in strengthening tax and land administration. Background

ADB’s first Wes t Bengal Devel opm ent Finance Pro gra m foc use d on aug men ting pub lic investments that reached almost 1.3%, as percentage of gross state domestic product in FY2016 from 0.5% in FY2012 while fiscal deficit reduced to 2.2% from 3.4% in same period. Asian Development Bank (ADB)

ADB is a regional development bank which aims to promote social and economic development in Asia. It was established on 19 December 1966. It is headquartered in Manila, Philippines . The ADB has been modelled closely on the World Bank. It has 67 members, of which 48 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.

24 October: World Polio Day October 25, 2017

The World Polio Day is observed annually across world on 24 October to create awareness about the hazards of the crippling Polio disease. The day was established by Rotary International to commemorate birth of Jonas Salk who had led the first team of researchers which had developed a vaccine against poliomyelit is (polio virus). Thi s dev elo pme nt had led to wides pre ad use of this inactivated pol iovir us vaccine and subsequently use of the oral poliovirus, developed by Albert Sabin. It also had led to establishment of Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988 which has helped to reduce polio worldwide by 99%. Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI)

GPEI launch ed in 1988 has played pivotal role in eradi cation of wi ld poliovirus . When it was launched wild poliovirus existed in 125 countries. Now, it exists in two countries Pakistan and Afghanistan. Till 2012, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country was reservoir of more than half of the Polio cases in the world. But in 2015, it was removed from list of Polio endemic countries by World Health Organization (WHO). Poliovirus

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children below age of 5. The virus is transmitted from person-to-person. It mainly spreads through the faecal-oral route (e.g. contamin ated water or food). After entering body, it multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paraly sis. Its initial symptom s include fever, fatigue, headache , vomiting, stiffnes s in the neck, and pain in the limbs. In some cases, it causes permanen t paralysi s. There is no cure for polio, howeve r it can only be preve nted by



immunization. Polio vaccine is given multiple times, almost always protects a child for life.

Government launches website of CIPAM October 25, 2017

The official website of Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) was launched in New Delhi Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu. The interactive website will provide regular updates on all upcoming events of CIPAM including awareness and sensi tization prog rams and also provi de info rmat ion relat ed to Intellect ual Property Rights (IPR). Key Facts

The website will also provide regular updates on latest IP trends – statistics on applications filed, exami ned, grants and dispo sal for vario us IPRs. It will also provide informa tion on vari ous initiatives being taken by Government to strengthen IPR regime in country. It will also provide latest news and updates, special ly curated feed on all latest happening s in world of IP and blogs by CIPAM and IP experts. It will also make available resource materi al on IPRs specially curated for various levels schools, universities, industry and enforcement agencies. CIPAM

The CIPAM is nodal agency under aegis of Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry. Its mandate is to effectively implement National Intellectual Prop erty Rights (IPR) Policy adopted in May 2016. It has under taken sever al meas ures to strengthen IP ecosystem incountry.

World’s oldest maritime astrolabe that guided ships to India found October 25, 2017

Britain-based shipwreck hunter has found maritime astrolabe, a navigation tool that guided Portuguese explorers on perilous voyage to India in 16th century. It dates between 1495 and 1500 and has been confirmed as world’s oldest astrolabe. The maritime astrolab e was discovered during from a shipwreck off coast of Oman in 2014 and recently was confirmed world’s maritime oldest by Warwick University based on laser scans. Key Facts

The maritime astrolabe is 17.5-centimetre wide and is made of bronze disc. It carries personal emblem of King Manuel I of Portugal, who came to throne in October 1495. It is claimed that it was discover ed from shipwr eck of ship called Esmerald a, which was part of Vasco da Gama’s second expediti on to India of 1502-1503 and was captained by explorer’s uncle. Vasco Da Gama was first European to reach India by sea in 1498 and his discovery of sea route had opened way for age of colonialism and trade between Europe and Asia. Astrolabe

An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers and navigators to measure inclined position in sky of celestial body, day or night. It can be used to identify stars or planets and to determine local latitude on land or calm seas given local time (and vice versa) and to survey. The Portuguese were at forefront of developing astrolabes at sea. The oldest reference of them using them at sea is about 1480. The previous oldest maritime astrolabe was on a ship from 1533.



Ministries of Power & Textiles join hands for SAATHI initiative October 25, 2017

Ministries of Power and Textiles have joined hands under SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help small Industries) initiative. Under this initiative, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a PSU under Ministry of Power, will procure energy efficie nt powerlo oms, motors and rapier kits in bulk and provide them to small and medium Powerloom units at no upfront cost. Key Facts

The SAATHI initiative will be jointly implemented by EESL and office of Textile Commissioner on pan-India basis. It will be implemented in key clusters such as Erode, Surat, Ichalkaran ji, etc. It is based on the aggregatio n, bulk procur ement and financing model that EESL has succes sfully deployed in several sectors like LED bulbs, Smart Meters and Electric Vehicles. Under this initiative, unit owner does not need to allocate any upfront capital cost to procure thes e equi pmen t and also not need to allo cate addi tional expendi ture for repa ymen t. The repa ymen ts by unit owner to EESL will made from savin gs that accrue as resu lt of high er efficiency equipments and cost savings. Benefits

The aggregation of dema nd and bulk proc ureme nt will lead to reduc tion in capital cost and benefits of it will be passed on to powerloom units so that their repayment amount and period would reduce. Moreove r, use of these efficient equipmen t will result in energy savings and cost savings to unit owner and they can repay in instalments to EESL over a 4 to 5 year period. Background

The Powerloom sector in India is predominantly an unorganized sector and has a large number of micro and small units which produce 57% of total cloth in country. There are total 24.86 lakhs Powerloom units in the country, most of them use obsolete technology. Government is implementing INSITU upgradation of plain Powerlooms as part of Power Tex India Scheme with a view to upgrading the technology. Under it, plain Powerlooms are attached with process control equipment leading to higher productivity, better quality and more than 50% additional value realisation. So far, 1.70 lakhs plain powerlooms have been upgraded under scheme by providing government subsidy.

CSIR-NIIST scientists develop organic near-infrared filter October 25, 2017

Scientists from Thiruvananthapuram based CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-N IIST) have developed organic filter that allows only near-infrared (NIR) light to pass through it. The filter was found to absorb light from 300-850 nm (both ultraviolet, visible and part of NIR light) and transmit NIR light from 850-1500 nm. Key Facts

Th e re se ar ch er s de ve lo pe d fi lt er by mi xi ng or ga no ge l wi th tr an sp ar en t po ly me r (p ol yd im et hy ls il ox an e) . Th e so ft or ga nog el wa s pr ep ar ed by mi xi ng bl ac k dy e (diketopyrrolopyrrole or DPP) having an amide group that helps molecules to be in close contact with each other and interact, that causes changes in their optical properties. The amide group helps in binding and self-assembly of molecule leading to formation of soft organogel. The organogel-based filter has ability to absorb both UV and visible light while allowing NIR light



alone to pass through. The nanofibres formed through self-assemb ly of DPP molecules that are responsible for broad light absorption of material, making it appear dark. Significance

Currently available inorganic filters are expensive and brittle whereas organic filters are easy to process and flexible too. The filter can be used for night vision glasses, night phot ography. It will also have applications in security and forensics such as identifying blood stains on dark fabric which are invisible to naked eyes but are clearly visible and detect able when viewed throug h camera with NIR filter.

Girija Devi: Queen of Thumri passes away October 25, 2017

Eminent classical singer Girija Devi passed away following a cardiac arrest at age of 88. She was considered as queen of thumri, a common genre of semi-classical Indian music. Girija Devi

She was born in zamindar family at village near Banaras on May 8, 1929. She was legendary singer of the “Seniya and Banaras gharanas”. Music was a part of her life from a very early age. She had recei ved Padma Shri (1972), Padma Bhushan (198 9) Padma Vibhusha n (2016), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1977), Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (2010) and Maha Sangeet Samman Award (2012) etc. Thumri

Thumri ( ) is common genre of semi-classical Indian music originated in eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. The term ‘thumri’ is derived from Hindi verb thumakna which means to walk with dancing steps so as to make ankle-bells tinkle. Thumri is connected with dance, dramatic gestures, mild eroticism, evocative love poetry and folk songs of Uttar Pradesh, though there are regional variations. Its text is romantic or devotional in nature and usually revolves around girl’s love for Krishna.

SC bans dirty pet-coke, furnace oil in Haryana, Rajasthan, UP October 25, 2017

The Supreme Court banned use of pet-coke and dirty furnace oil in Haryana, Rajastha n and Uttar Pradesh from November 1, 2017 in a bid to reduce air pollution in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR). The apex court bench comprising Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta was hearing on PIL filed in 1985 by environmentalist M.C. Mehta who had raised the issue of air pollution in the Delhi-NCR. Pet coke and furnace oil has been already banned in Delhi since 1996 as they have been blamed for releasing deadly sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxide (NO) fumes into air and polluting air. Key Facts

SC order comes in response to recommendations of Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) which in its 72nd report had identified these two fuels as major source of pollution in NCR. It had found that Pet coke emissions are estimated at 72,000 ppm and that from furnace oil at 23,000 ppm. The apex court also slapped Rs. 2 lakh fine on Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for failing to come up with emission norms governing 35 hazardous industries such as fertilisers and manufacturing of nitric acid. It also has directed MoEFCC to notify standards for NOx and SOx for industry sector and industry has to comply with standards by



December 31, 2017. Significance of SC directive

It eliminates dirtiest industrial fuels in these three states surrounding Delhi and NCR region. It also mandates first ever stringent NOx and SOx standards for industry sector nationwide. It also eli min ate s in one strok e use of dir tie st bot tom of bar rel fuel s fro m ind ust ria l uni ts of neighbouring states and makes all industrial units across country liable for compliance with new emissions standards by December 31, 2017. This order will also have nationwide impact as entire industrial sector will have to comply with new standards for SOx and NOx that are not regulated currently in India.

BharatMala Pariyojana: Government to build 83,677 km of infrastructure projects

October 25, 2017

The Uni on Gov ern men t has annou nced to bui ld 83, 677k m of roa ds, hig hwa ys, gre enf iel d expressways and bridges with investment of Rs.6.92 lakh core in next five years i.e. by 2022 to further optimise efficiency of movement of goods and people across the country. It also includes first phase of new umbrella programme BharatMa la Pariyojana that involves constr uction of 34,800 km highways by 2022. It was announced as part of massive Rs. 9 lakh crore package to give a fillip to economy which also includes Rs. 2.11 lakh crore for bank recapita lisation to revive investments as well as growth. It will generate 14.2 crore mandays of jobs. BharatMala Pariyojana

The BharatMala project will include economic corridors (9,000 km), inter-corridor and feeder route (6,000 km), national corridors efficiency improvement (5,000 km), border roads and international connectivity (2,000 km), coastal roads and port connectivity (2,000 km) and greenfield expressways (800 km). Further, remaining road projects of 10,000 km under National Highways Development Project will form a part of progra mme. Governmen t has identifie d new routes between economic ally important cities that will be 20% longer in terms of distance but take relatively less travel time. Under prog ramme, roads will be built along borders with Bhutan and Nepa l, bottlenecks on existing Golden Quadrilateral highway network will be removed. Moreover, road connectivity to small industries will be ensured and manufacturing centres will be connected with national highways. Execution Authorities: The project will be executed through Ministry of Road, Transport and Highwa ys (MoRTH), NHAI, National Highways and Infrastructure Develo pment Corporati on Limited (NHIDC L) and State Public Works Department (PWDs). The Centre has set a target for completion of projects in next five years. Funding: The BharatMala project will be funded in three-pronged manner – market, private investment and asset recycling of NHAI’s toll assets. Of total Rs.5,35,000 crore, Rs, 2.09 lakh crore will be raised as debt from market, Rs 1.06 lakh crore will be mobilised through public-private partnership (PPP) mode and remaining Rs. 2.19 lakh crore will flow from accruals of Central Road Funds, Toll-Operate-Maintain-Transfer monetisation proceeds and toll collections.



Government announces Bank Recapitalisation Plan to infuse Rs. 2.11 lakh crore capital in PSBs October 25, 2017

The Union Government has announced Bank Recapitalisation Plan to infuse Rs. 2.11 lakh crore ( $32.4 billion) capital over next two years into public sector banks (PSBs) and prioritised financing support for MSMEs in 50 clusters. The capital infusion will be accompanied by a series of banking sector reforms that will be revealed in the coming months. Key Facts

Under this plan, PSBs will get Rs 1.35 lakh crore from Recapitalisation Bonds, Rs 18,000 crore from Budgetary and remaining Rs 58,000 crore will be raised through sale of share of banks. The nature of recapitalis ation bonds will be decided in coming months and these bonds will be frontloade d over next four quarters with maximum timeframe of two years. Recapitalisation

Simply put, recapitalisation of banks mean adding capital to PSBs. As owners of PSBs, government can provide capital to them. Recapitalisation injects money without incurring any liability and is different from loan because, loan has to be repaid. Need for Recapitalisation

Indian PSBs are saddled with high, non-performing assets (NPAs) and facing prospect of having to take haircuts on loans stuck in insolvency proceedings. NPAs of banks had more than doubled to Rs. 7.33 lakh crore in June 2017 from Rs. 2.75 lakh crore in March 2015. Due to this, PSBs were unable to give fresh loans. Even under the Indradhanush roadmap introduced in 2015, Central Government had announced to infuse Rs 70,0 00 crore in PSBs over four years to meet their capital requirement in line with global risk Basel-III norms to keep these banks fully solvent. Implications of Recapitalisation

It will increase lending capacity of PSBs which will in turn boost econo my and improve private sector investment especially when International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected growth to 5.7%



which is lowest in three-year and create jobs. The supply of money to PSBs will enable banks lend lower interest rates. Depending on nature of recapitalisation bonds, their issuance can also impact the government’s fiscal deficit target i.e. government’s total expenditures may exceed the revenue that it genera tes (apart from money from borrowings). The planned capital infusio n still falls short of some estimates that Indian banks need $65 billion of additional capital by March 2019 to meet Basel III global banking rules.

CVC to develop Integrity Index of 25 Government Organizations October 25, 2017

The Cen tra l Vig ila nce Com mis sio n (CV C) has dec ide d to dev elo p Int egr ity Index of 25 Gove rnme nt Orga niza tions in line with its broa der stra tegy and empha sis on preve ntive vigilance. The index will be for bench-marking internal processes and controls within organisation as well as management of relationships and expectations of outside stakeholders. Objectives of Integrity Index

(i) Define what constitutes Integrity of Public Organizations. (ii) Identify different factors of Integri ty and their inter-l inkages . (iii) Create objective and reli able tool that can meas ure performance of organizat ions along these above factors. (iv) Validate findings over period of time to improve upon robustness of tool that measures Integrity. (v) Create internal and external ecosystem that promotes working with Integrity where public organizations lead way. Key Facts

The Integrity Index will bring out annual scores and rankings of Public Sector Undert akings (PSUs), Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Financial Institutions/Mini stries/Departmen ts of Central Government. It will be done by linking essential drivers of vigilance with long term efficiency, profitability and sustainability of organizations and create internal and external ecosystem that promotes working with Integrity in these public organizations. CVC has adopted research -based appro ach for crea ting integrit y index with the help of IIM Ahmedabad. The management of all 25 government organizations have been involved in development of the index and it will evolve with changing needs. It can be used by various orga niz ati ons to meas ure the msel ves. Ini tia lly 25 org ani zat ion s hav e been sele cte d for development of the index. Subsequently, it will be extended to all other CPSUs and organizations of Central Government. Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)

CVC is apex body of Union Government formed to address governmental corruption. It was established in February 1964 on the recommendations of the K. Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption. It has status of statutory autonomous body and free of control from any executive authority as per provisions of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Act, 2003. The CVC is headed by a Central Vigilance Commissioner and has two Vigilance Commissioners.

October 26, 2017

India imposes anti-dumping duty on some stainless steel imports October 26, 2017

The Union Finance Ministry (Department of Revenue) has imposed anti-dumping duty on some cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel from China, United States, South Korea and European Union to curb the influx of cheaper imports and help local producers. The duty will be in effect till



December 2020 and exempts certain grades of stainless steel. However, government has allowed import of product as long as end use of the import is in same form. Earlier in October 2017, Government had imposed anti-dumping duty on import of some flat steel prod ucts from China and EU for five years. In Sept embe r 2017 , Gove rnme nt had impo sed additional 18.95% countervailing duty on some hot-rolled and cold-rolled stainless steel flat products, a first such levy on a steel product. Anti-dumping Duty

Anti-dumping measures are taken by Government to ensure fair trade and provide level-playing field to domestic industry. They are not measure to restrict imports or cause unjustified increa se in cost of products. Countries initiate anti-dumping probes to determine if domestic industry has been hurt by surge in below-cost imports. As a counter-measure, they impose antidumping duties under multilateral WTO regime. In India, it is recommended by Commerce Ministry’s Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) and imposed by Finance Ministry.

First BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine meeting held in New Delhi October 26, 2017

The first-ever meeting of BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine (BITFM) was held at Parvasi Bhartiya Kendra in New Delhi. It was organized by Union Ministry of AYUSH. India being a major stake holder in the field of Traditional Medicine plays an important role in influencing the policies and strategies related to the Traditional Medicine in the BIMSTEC Forum. Key Facts

The Meeti ng disc ussed importa nt agen das such as imple ment ation of stra tegie s of BITF M, priority areas for technical and research collaboration among member states on traditional medicine. It also discussed regional strategy on protection of Genetic Resource associated with traditional medicine knowledge and intellectual property rights, human resource development and capacity building among BIMSTEC States. It also discussed new initiatives, proposals and programmes for cooperation on traditional medicine among BITFM. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)

BIMSTEC is international organisation involving a group of countries in the South Asia and South East Asia namely, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

Indian Navy approves new mission-based deployment plan October 26, 2017

Indian Navy has approved new mission-based deployment plan for deploying mission-ready ships and aircraft along critical sea lanes of communications and choke points in Indian Ocean Region (IOR). It was discussed in the ongoing naval comman ders’ conference. Besides, new transition cycle for ships from maintenance periods to operational deployments was also approved. New mission-based Deployment Plan

Under this mission-based deployment plan, Indian Navy’s 14-15 ships will be deployed year-round in region to meet any eventuality across spectrum of operations ranging from acts of maritime ter ror ism and pir acy to Hum anitari an Aid and Disas ter Rel ief (HA DR) mis sio ns. The se deployments are aimed at maintaining 24/7 and round the year vigil with ships being sustained and turned around on station. The areas where these ships and corvettes and surveillance aircraft are being deployed include the Mal acc a Str ait , Nor th And ama n Sea , And ama n Sea inc ludi ng Ban gla des h and Mya nma r,



Lakshadweep islands and Maldives, besides Madagascar and Persian Gulf. These vessels will monitor increased Chinese presence in these areas. New transition cycle

It will allow for focused and gradual transition of ships from periods of maintenance layoffs to full -scale oper ations. It focuses effo rts of operational commanders on training and safe ty inspections of ships before deployment.

Muddle over GEAC’s approval for GM mustard DMH-11 October 26, 2017

It was reported earlier in May 2017 that Genetic Engin eering Appraisa l Committee (GEAC) had cleared transgenic mustard, DMH-11 for commercial cultivati on. However, records of that GEAC meeting which was made public now do not record any such approval. Though GEAC gave its approval for commercial cultivati on of DHM-11, but the final release will be only after approval of Environment Minister. Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

GEAC is apex body under Ministry of Environment , Forests and Climate Change for regulating manufacturing, use, import, export and storage of hazardous micro-org anisms or genetically engineered organisms (GMOs) and cells in the country. It is also responsible for giving technical approval of proposals relating to release of GMOs and products including experimental field trials. GM Mustard DMH-11

DMH (Dha ra Must ard Hybri d)-11 is genet ically modi fied variety of Herbi cide Tolerant (HT) mustard. It was developed by Centre for Genetic Manipulati on of Crop Plants at Delhi University under Government sponsored project. It was created by using “barnase/barstar” technology for genetic modifica tion by adding genes from soil bacterium that makes mustard self-pollina ting plant. It contains three genes viz. Bar gene, Barnase and Barstar sourced from soil bacterium. The bar gene had made plant resistant to herbicide named Basta. Comment

If it gets final approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), GM mustard DMH-11 will be first GM food crop to be commercially cultivated in India. Right now, only GM cotton is allowed.

Scientists develop new tool to improve monsoon forecast October 26, 2017

Scientists from Florida State University in the US have developed new tool for objectively defining onset and demise of Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) . The new method uses rainfall rates to mark span of ISM at any given location throughout affected region. Significance

For generation s, scientists have strugg led to produce model for reliab ly defini ng duration of monsoon. Noseen existing system has allowed researchers to reliably define parametersprotocols of seasonfocus at fine scale as in this new model. Current weather forecasting and monitoring attention on monsoon onset at one locatio n, specifica lly in Kerala , and extrapol ate for rest of region. The new model takes into consideration specific locations by covering whole country, and objectively define s onset and demise dates for any given year. The new syst em ties onset of monsoon to location-specific rainfall thresholds and can work to allay confusion and frustration due to lack of clear, granular and objective benchma rk for ISM onset and demise for all areas of



country.

Global Passport Power Rank 2017: India ranks 75 October 26, 2017

India’s passport was ranked 75th among 94 countries in recently released Global Passport Power Rank 2017. India was ranked three notches better than its previous ranking. According to this index, Singap ore has world’ s most powerful passpor t, making it first Asian country to top it. Singapore is followed by Germany, Sweden and South Korea. Key Facts

In thi s edi tion of ind ex, Sin gap ore ’s pas spo rt sco red vis a-f ree sco re of 159 .It mea ns tha t approximately 3.4 million holders of Singaporean passports can now travel to 159 countries either without visa or can have one issued on arrival. Historically, top 10 most powerful passports in world were mostly European, with Germany having lead for past two years. Since early 2017, number one position was shared by Singapore with Germany and steadily it became number one. US passport was in sixth place, alongside Malaysia, Ireland and Canada. US passport ranking has fallen down since President Donald Trump took office after Turkey and Central African Republic (CAR) revoked visa-free status of US passport holders. India, which was listed 78th in 2015 has improved its ranking, figuring at 75th position with visafree score of 51. Afghanistan was placed at last position of 94 rank with a score of 22, followed by Pakistan and Iraq at 93 with a score of 26, Syria at 92 with score of 29 and Somalia at 91 with score of 34. Global Passport Power Rank

The Global Passport Power Rank is released by Canada based global financi al advisory firm Arton Capital. It has become most popular interactive online tool to display, sort and rank world’s passports. The index ranks national passports by cross-border access they bring, assigning visafree score according to number of countries passport holder can visit visa-free or with visa on arrival.

Start-up Sangam Initiative: Oil companies to back 30 start-ups with Rs 320-crore fund October 26, 2017

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched Start-up Sangam initiative to develop new business models, marketing plans, technology and innovations in heavy oil and gas industry sector by supporting 30 start-ups. For the same, 10 oil and gas PSUs have setup Rs. 320-crore venture capit al fund to encourag e start-ups based on innovative ideas in the energy sector. Key Facts

The corpus was created by contributi ons from India Oil Corporati on (IOL), ONGC, Engineers Ind ia, Oil India , Num ali garh Ref inery , Bha rat Pet rol eum Cor por ati on (BP CL) , Hin dus tan Petroleum Corporation (HP), GAIL), Balmer Lawrie and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals. The selected start-ups will work in various fields related to energy such as convertin g waste plastics to petroleum fuels, multipurpose fuel from agricultural waste biomass, solar stove and leak detectors for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cylinders, Self – sustaining low-maintenances toilets or eco-toilets and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) for underwater inspections. Start-ups in technology field will get 30 months to submit proof of concept whereas start-ups with business ideas will be given 18 months. These oil and gas PSUs will buy out these projects



submitted by selected startups in given time frame based on merit to do more innovations.

Ichthyosaur fossil discovered for first time in India October 26, 2017

Geologists for the first time have discovered 152 million-year-old fossil of Ichthyosaur, an extinct marine reptile in in Kutch desert region of Gujarat. The specimen belongs to Ophthalmosau ridae family of ichthyosaurs that lived in oceans between 165 and 90 million years ago. The 5.5 m long fossil was found inside rocks from esozoic Era, which ran betwee n 252 and 66 mil lio n yea rs ago alo ng wit h fos sil s of amm oni tes and squ id- lik e bel emn ite s. The det ail examination fossil’s teeth suggested that it was top-tier predator in its ecosystem and ate animals. Ichthyosaur Ichthyosaur (or fish- lizards in Greek) was large reptile that lived at same time as dinosaurs. They were often misidentified as swimming dinosau rs and they first appeared in early Triassic period. It was noted for its sharp, robust teeth. It became extinct before dinosaurs, dying out in early part of late Cretaceous period. Significance of discovery

Until now many ichthyosaur fossils were found in North America and Europe and fossil record in Southern Hemisphere was mostly limited to South America and Australia. The discovery throws lig ht on evo lut ion and div ers ity of ichth yos aur s in Indo- Mad aga sca n reg ion of for mer Gondwanaland. It also shows India’s biological connectivity with other continents in Jurassic. It may also give informati on in marine connection between India and South Americ a about 150 million years ago. Earlier too, researchers had discovered evidence of ichthyosaurs from Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu in 2016 which belonged to prehistoric India, but these remnants were only fossils of teeth and part of vertebra. However, in Kutch, researchers reported finding of vertebral column, neural spines, ribs and part of snout.

October 27, 2017 October 27: World Day for Audiovisual Heritage October 27, 2017

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (WDAH) is observed every year on October 27 to raise of awareness of significance of and preservation risks recorded sound and audiovisual documents (films, sound and video recordings, television and radio programmes). The 2017 theme of the day selected by UNESCO is “Discover, remember and share”. Observance of day seeks to raise general awareness to preserve and safeguard important audiovi sual material for future generations and calls to take urgent measures to conserve this heritage and ensure it remains accessible to public and to future generations. Background

A proposal to commemo rate World Day for Audi ovisual Heritag e was approved at UNESCO general conference in 2005. It was observed for the first time in October 27, 2007. The main objectives of designating 27 October as World Day for Audiovisual Heritage are raising public awareness of the need for preser vati on, providin g oppo rtun ities to celeb rate specific local, national or international aspects of the heritage, highlighting accessibility of archives, attracting media attention to heritage issues, raising the cultural status of audiovisual heritage ad



highlighting audiovisual heritage in danger especially in developing countries.

27 October: Infantry Day October 27, 2017

The Infantry Day in observed every year in India on 27 October to commemorate supreme sacrifices made by Indian Army’s infantry against Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in 1947. It was first infan try action by Indi an Army after indepen dence . Obser vanc e of the day also commemorates infantry’s exceptional courage and dedicated service to nation. Background

On this day in 1947, Indian Army from 1st Battalio n of SIKH Regiment had taken bold action to thwart nefarious designs to invade J&K by Pakistani Army supported tribals . The infantry of Indian Army was airdropp ed after troops were airlifted from Delhi and landed at Srinaga r to liberate Kashmir from invaders in order to protect sovereignty and territorial integrity of nation. The operation was undertaken following orders of then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru after Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of princely state of J&K signed Instrume nt of Accession on 26 October 1947 to accede or merge state with India

Kilogram will get new measure set by value of Planck constant from 2019 October 27, 2017

The International Conference of heads of Metrology Institut es held in Sevres, France has decided that the measure of kilogram will no longer be pegged to cylinder. From 2019 onwards, it will be set by value of Planck constant in combination with definitions of meter and second. Why it was changed?

Till now, the kilogram is the only one among units of measures pegged to real object. It was pegged to a cylinder (shown in fig) made up of 90% platinum

and 10% iridium (In India, salt-shake r-size d cylinder weighing exactly a kilogram in National Physical Laboratory was used as ideal measure of kilogram since 1957). It was serving as reference for variety of industries to keep their weights accurate. But this cylinder’s weight in kilogram is known to fluctuate due to surface contamina tion with time, making it tricky to define its exact mass. New measure for kilogram

The new measure for kilogram from 2019 will be derived from constants of nature that are all interdependent. It will be set by value of Planck constant in combination with definitions of meter and second. Kibble balance will be used to make accurate measures of Planck constant. Kibble balance is set of scales, which uses force produced by current-carrying wire in magnetic field to balance weight of mass. Note: In this case, meter and second units themselves are depended on other constants. The second unit is defined by frequency of an atomic transition in cesium-133 and meter depends on second and the speed of light. The Planck constant (denoted h) is a physical constant i.e. quantum



of action, central in quantum mechanics. Significance

The new measure for kilogram will provide utmost accuracy in work. It will be no longer be subject to wear and tear and thus and thus, there will be no sources of error in actual reference weight measure. Background

In last 60 years, several standa rd units like second, metre, Kelvin, ampere, mole, candela and kilogram ceased to be defined by physical objects. For example, 1 metre earlier was measured by a platinum -iridium bar, but in 1960, it was re-defined as distance travelled by light in vacuum in 1/299,79 2,458 seconds. seven primecircle). units in Intern ational System of Units (inner circle) will be defined byFrom seven2018, constants (outer



Rajasthan passes bill to provide reservation to Gujjars and four other nomadic communities October 27, 2017

The Raj ast han Asse mbl y pas sed Bac kwa rd Cla sses (Re serv ati on of Sea ts in Edu cat ion al Institutions in State and of Appointment and Posts in Services under State) Bill, 2017 by voice vote The bill seeks to provide 5% reservation to Gujjars and four other nomadic communities viz. Banjara, Gadia-Lohar, Raika and Gadariya in state government jobs and educational institutions as Other Backward Classes (OBCs). It increases reservation for OBCs from 21% to 26%. It also creates new most backward category within OBCs for providing quota benefit to Gujjars and four other nomadic communities. With passage of bill, reservation in Rajasthan now stands at 54%, exceeding 50% ceiling mandated by Supreme Court.

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Earlier also Rajasth an Assembly had passed Special Backward Classes Act 2015 to provide 5% reservation for these castes by creating a separate Special Backward Castes category. However, Rajasthan High Court had struck down the legislation saying that quota cannot not only exceed 50% limit set by Supreme Court. It also pointed out flaws in government’s process of granting additional 5% reservation for these castes and held that it is not supported by quantifia ble data supporting the claim of Gujjars’ backwardness.

Government gives LoI to 7 companies for 14 monuments under Adopt a Heritage Scheme October 27, 2017

The Union Ministry of Tourism gave Letters of Intent (LoI) to seven shortlisted companies for adopting 14 monuments under Adopt a Heritage Scheme at the closing ceremony of ‘Paryatan Parv’ held in New Delhi. The shortlisted companies will be future ‘Monument Mitras’ who would associate pride with their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) activities. 14 adopted monuments include: Jantar Mantar, Puran a Q uila, Safdarj ung Tomb, Agrase n k i Baoli, and Qutub Minar (Delhi), Hampi (Karnataka), Ajant a Cave s (Maharashtra), Sun Temple, Raja Rani Templ e and Ratna giri Monume nts (Odisha), Leh Palace and Mt. StokKa ngri (Jammu & Kashmi r), Mattancherry Palace Museum (Kerala), Gangotri Temple Area and Trail (Uttarakhand). Background

These companies were selected by Inter-Ministerial Oversight and Vision Committee of Ministry after detailed scrutin y of 57 respon ses ranging from travel industry, hospita lity industry and banking industry for adopting monuments under the Adopt a Heritage Scheme. Adopt a Heritage Scheme (Apni Dharohar Apni Pehchan Project)

The scheme was launched by Union Ministry of Tourism on World Tourism Day (27th September). Under it, Private, Public Sector Companies and Corporate individuals were invited to adopt heritage sites and to take up responsibility for making them and promote sustainable tourism through conservation and development under their CSR activities. This scheme was launched by Tourism Minist ry in close collabo ration with Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It envisages at developing monuments, heritage and tourist sites across India and making them tourist friendly and enhance their tourism potential and cultural importance in planned and phased manner. The pro jec t pri maril y foc use s on dev elo pme nt and mai ntenance of world -cl ass touri st infrast ruct ure and amen ities includi ng basic civic amenities and advanced amen ities like cleanliness, public conveniences, secure environment, ease of access, illumination and night viewing facilities for inclusive tourist experience to increase both domestic and foreign tourists footfall.

REPAIR: Scientists develop RNA editing tool to combat genetic disease October 27, 2017

Scientists from The Broa d Inst itut e and Massachu sett s Inst itut e of Techn olog y in US have developed RNA Editing for Progr amma ble A to I Repla ceme nt (REPAIR) , a new gene editing tool therapies that can reverse disease-causing mutations in humans. REPAIR gene editing tool can tweak an individual RNA ‘letters’ in human cells without making changes to entire genome and can have profound potential as a tool for both research and disease



treatment. REPAIR

REPAIR is based on gene editing tool CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) that can be used to modify DNA in cells. The new tool can change single RNA nucleosides in mammalian cells in a programmable and precise fashion. To create REPAIR, scientists had syst ematically profile d CRISPR-Cas13 enzyme family for potential editor candidates. They had selected enzyme called PspCas13b from Prevotella bacteria which was most effective at inactivating RNA. Scientists had engineered deactivated vari ant of PspCas13b enzyme that binds to spec ific stretches of RNA butadenosine lacks its scissor-like and fused it to a protein called ADAR2, which changes nucleoside to inosine inactivity RNA transcripts. Significance

REPAIR has ability to reverse disease-causing mutations at RNA level, as well as other potential therapeutic and basic science applicat ions. It paves way for therapies that can reverse mutations and has profound potential as tool for both research and disease treatment. REPAIR has ability to target individual RNA letters or nucleosides, switching adenosines to inosines. These letters are involved in single-b ase changes which are known to regularly cause genetic disease in humans. For ex, in human disease, a mutation from G to A is extremely common and these alterations have been implicated in for cases of focal epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Thus, it can reverse impact of any pathogen ic G-to-A mutation regardles s of its surroun ding nucleotide sequence, with potential to operate in any cell type. Comment

RNA editin g using REPAIR offers safer, more flexib le way to make correc tions in cell unlike perm anent changes to genome require d for DNA edit ing usin g CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology. REPAIR can also fix mutations without tampering with genome as RNA naturally degrades making it potentially reversible fix.

India, Sri Lanka ink MoU for housing project deal in Hambantota October 27, 2017

Sri Lanka has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India to build 1,200 houses in strategically located southern port city of Hambantota. Of the 1,200 houses to be built, 600 will be constructed in Southern Province, while remaining will be built across Sri Lanka, through one model village in each of country’s 25 districts. Background

Ham ban tot a por t is loc ate d rig ht in mid dle of vit al ene rgy supp ly lin es in Ind ian Ocean , connecting Middle East and East Asia. In recent



times, coastal city of Hambantota had gained strategic significan ce after Sri Lankan government had decided to build massive deep-sea port and airport with huge Chinese loans. In July 2017, Sri Lankan government had signed US $1.1 billion deal to sell 70% stake of strategic Hambantota deep-sea port to China to service outstanding $8-billion debt it owes China. The deal had fanned concerns of countries with competing strategic interests with China, particularly India and US. Local reside nts of Hambantota are also protesting selling of “national assets to foreign entities” leading to violent clashes. Significance

The signing of MoU in Hambantota assumes significance as it takes India’s housing project to Sinhala-majority Southern P rovince. Earlier India had constructed a s many as 46,000 homes in Tamil-majority north and east, and 4,000 houses are being built in hill country in Central and Uva provinces, where several thousand Sri Lankans of recent Indian srcin live and work. India also is taki ng steps to prot ect itself in Indian Ocean by allying itsel f with US and Japan in a bid to counter growing Chinese influence in IOR.

Indian Railway’s first set of solar plant of 5 MW capacity launched October 27, 2017

Indi an Railway ’s first set of sola r plan ts with total capa city of 5 mega watt peak (MWp) was launched on roof tops of Hazrat Nizamuddin, New Delhi, Anand Vihar and Delhi railway stations by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. This project was launched as part of Union Government’s ambitious National Solar Mission in which Indian Railways plans to commission 1000 MWp solar plants across its network. Key Facts

The first set of solar plant will generate 76.5 lakh units of solar power cumulatively per year and will meet about 30% of energy requirement of these stations. Through these project, railways will save Rs 421.4 lakh annually and will reduce 6082 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The project was awarded in December 2016 and bought in by the developer at cost Rs.37.45 crore under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. The developer will maintain it for 25 years and Railways will only pay energy consumed at Rs 4.14 per unit.

First International Conference on Consumer Protection held in New Delhi October 27, 2017

The First International Consumer Protection Conference on empowering consumers in new markets for South, Sout h East and East Asian Countries was held in New Delhi from 26 to 27



October 2017. The theme of the conference was “ Empowering Consumers in New Markets ”. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Key Facts

The two day con fere nce was org ani sed by Dep art men t of Con sume r Affa irs , Min ist ry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution in association with UNCTAD. The conference was attended by 1600 participants that included delegates from 19 countries from East, South and South-East Asia which accoun t for majority of global consumers and share common challenges and experiences participated in it. New Consumer Protection Bill

During of thetoconference PMonNarendra Modi announced that new consumer protectiinauguration on law is on anvil crack down misleading advertisement s and simplify grievance redressal mechanism. The main objective of new law will be to protect the rights of consumers. It will replac e previo us Consumer Protectio n Act of 1986 by incorporat ing amended 2015 UN guidelines on consumer protection. It proposes to have Central Consumer Protection Authority with executive powers will be constituted for quick remedial action. It also establishes Consumer Dispute Redressal Commissions at every district, state and national levels. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

UNCTAD is principal organ of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) dealing with trade, investment, and development issues. It was established in 1964 and its permanent secretariat is in Geneva. Its primary objecti ve is to formu late polici es rela ting to all aspects of devel opment including trade, aid, transport, finance and technology. It ordinarily meets once in four years.

October 28-29, 2017 October 28, 2017

Indian Railways to revise flexi-fares system on premium trains

The Indian Railw ays is planning to revise its flexi- fare system on prem ium trains such as Rajdha ni, Shatab di and Duronto in such a way that it does not hurt people’ s pockets and also meets Railways ’ revenue target. In this regard, Railwa y Board is considering proposal of selling half the seats (i.e. 50% seats) from existing 10% seats without any surge pricing. Need

The problem with present flexi-fare system having dynami c pricing is that fares rise soon after first 10% of tickets on a train are sold. The fares increase 10% with every 10% of seats sold with a maximum hike of 1.5 times normal fares in sleeper, air-con ditioned chair car and two-ti er AC classes and 1.4 times in three-tier AC. Revised flexi-fare system

The revised flexi-fare system aims to be passenger-frien dly in such way that half of passengers who book early can get advantage of relatively cheaper fare. The Railways attempted to lower the fares of the train by allowing passengers to opt out, at the time of booking, of the meals served on board. Flexi-fare system

The flexi-fare system introduced in September 2016 aims to generate additional revenues and reduce cross-subsidisation from freight through dynamic pricing of fares based on the demand. Under the present model, the base fares increases by 10% with every 10% of berths sold subject to a prescribed ceiling limit as indicated in table. The system has generated additional revenue of Rs.



551 cro re bet wee n Sep tem ber 20 16 an d Jun e 20 17 co mpa red wi th co lle cti on s dur in g corresponding period in 2015-16.

Javed Akhtar awarded 2017 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award October 28, 2017

Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar (72) was honoured with the 2017 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award at event in Mumbai which marked 80th birthday of veteran music composer Hridaynath Mangeshkar and 28th anniversary of Hridayesh Arts. Javed Akhtar

He was born on 17 January 1945. He is poet, lyricist and screenwrite r. He is mainstream writ er and some of his most successful work was carried out with Salim Khan as half of script-writing duo credited as Salim-Ja ved between 1971 and 1982. The duo had worked together in 24 films including two Kannada films of which 20 were hits. He is recipient of Padma Shri (1999), Padma Bhushan (2007), Sahitya Akadem i Award as well as five National Film Awards. He was nominated as Rajya Sabha member in November 2009 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award

The award was established in 2011 by Mumbai-based socio-cultural organisation Hridayesh Art in hono ur of music compose r and singer Hrida ynat h Mang eskar. It felic itat es and recognis es successful individuals across country from various walks of life. It carries monetary award of Rs 2 lakh and a memento. The previous recipients of the award include eminent personaliti es like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Amitabh Bachchan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, A R Rahman. The 2016 award was awarded to five-time world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand. Hridaynath Mangeskar is son of renowned mus ician Deena nath Man ges hka r and is you nge r bro ther of Indian mus ic leg end s Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.

Phase 1 of Bharat Net project to be completed by December 2017 October 28, 2017

The first phase of national optic fibre network christened as Bharat Net project will be completed by December 2017, thus providing internet access to 100,000 gram panchayats. It was announced in ‘i-Bharat 2017’ conference organised by industry body FICCI in association with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology based on theme of ‘ICT Elucidations for Unserved and Unsolved’. Key Facts

So far, Bharat Net has connect ed 83,000 gram panchayats. But now it is impera tive to create fibre-first programme where government, as well as private sector join hands to achieve objective of doubling the reach of telecom fibre network in the country by 2020. BharatNet

BharatNet is Union Government’s ambitious rural internet connectivity programme which is implemented by Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL). It is world’s largest rural broadband connectivity programme using Optical fibre. Bharat Net seeks to connect all of India’s households, partic ularly rural areas, through demand, affordable high-speed broadband connectivity of 2 Mbps to 20 Mbps to realise the vision of Digital India. The project is being funded by Universal service Obligation Fund (USOF).



14th SAARCLAW Conference held in Colombo, Sri Lanka October 28, 2017

The 14th South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Law (SAARCLAW) Conference was held in Colombo, capital city of Sri Lanka along with 11th SAARC Chief Justices Conference. The three-day conference was inaugurated by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and saw participation from South Asia’s top Judges, legal practitioners and academics. Key Facts

The SAARCLAW Conference provided platform for legal professionals to meet and discuss issues of mutual interests and emerging legal trends in the South Asian count ries. It also discusse d issue s like artifici al intelli genc e, huma n traff icki ng, Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and environmental protection concerns. Besides, 11th Chief Justices conference was held in a closed-door session and was attended only by Chief Justices or their representatives. It provided Chief Justices of SAARC countries opportunity to consider relevance of judiciaries within South Asia. SAARCLAW Conference

It was established in Sri Lanka in 1991. Since then conference has provided a platform for legal professionals from South Asian region to meet and discuss issues of mutual interests pertaining to justice, legal reforms, good governance and enforcement over a span of 25 years. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

SAARC is regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of nations in South Asia. Its member states include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It comprises 3% of world ’s area, 21% of world’s popula tion and 3.8% of glob al economy as of 2015.

Government inks $65.5 Million Loan agreement with ADB to support Coastal Protection in Karnataka October 28, 2017

The Union Government has inked $65.5 million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to continue interventions to check coastal erosion on the Western Coast in Karnataka. The loan is second tranche of $250 million financing facility under Sustainable Coastal Protection and Management Investm ent Program for 20-year term. It will be used for to address immediate coastal protection needs and for strengthening institutional capacity of Karnataka’s Inland Water Transport Department and Public Works, Ports. Sustainable Coastal Protection and Management Investment Program

It consist of eight coastal protect ion subproject s to address issues of medium to severe coastal eros ion result ing in prot ect ion of abo ut 54 km of coa stli ne in Karn ata ka. It has already demonstrated benefit of adoption of softer options such as artificial reefs, beach nourishme nts, and dune management for coastal protection. State Department of Public Works is responsible for implementation of overall program which is due for completion by September 2020. Background

Karnataka’s coast supports state’s major economic sectors, which include agriculture, fisheries, tourism, ports and other major transport and communication sectors. Coastal erosion in state poses high risk to human wellbeing, economic developmen, and ecological integrity through loss of land, infrastructure, and business opportunities. Under increasin g threat from climate change impacts, coastal protection and management has



evolv ed as major challeng e to devel opment. This proje ct is mainly focused for effectiv e and sus tai nable man age men t of sho rel ine whi ch is vit al for sus taina ble eco nom ic and soc ial development of coastal regions in state.

Government makes use of Public Finance Management System mandatory for central schemes October 28, 2017

The Union Government has made use of Public Finance Management System (PFMS) mandato ry for all central schemes to ensure that benefits of government schemes reach the last mile. It will help monitor the flow of funds to beneficiaries of different government welfare schemes. So far tota l of 613 Centr al Sec tor Sch eme s are cover ed und er PFM S hav ing 34.19 crore beneficiaries helpget of ary 21.72out lakh agencies. These sch eme s witwith h a bud layprogramme of Rs. 6, 66,registered 644 cro reimplementing cover s ove r 31% of total Cen tra l Government expenditure during the current financial year 2017-18. Public Finance Management System (PFMS)

The PFMS scheme has been rolled out by Controller General of Accounts at behest of Union Finance Ministry, Department of Department of Expenditure. It is an electronic fund tracking mechanism compiles, collates and makes available in real -time, informa tion rega rding all government schemes. PFMS is poised to develop as one of biggest financial management systems of the world, critical for bringing about transformational accountability and transparency in promoting overall good governance. It aims at providing government real-time information on resource availability and utilisation across schemes. It aims at promoting transparenc y and bringing about tangible improvements in overall Central Governmen t Financial Management as well as implemen tation of various Central Government Schemes across the country. PFMS’s ambit of coverage includes Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes as well as other expenditures including Finance Commission Grants. In future, Government aims to transform PFMS to Government-wide Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) as a comprehensive payment, receipt and accounting system. Significance

The PFMS aims to help in complete tracking and monitoring flow of funds to implementing agencies and ensuring timely transfer of funds. It will help government to ascertain actual status of utilization of funds by multiple implementing agencies of central and the state governments. It will also cut need for paper work and in long way help in moni tori ng and trackin g of any unnecessary parking of funds by implem enting agencies, thus minimising cases of delay and pending payments to large extent. It will help to plug leakages in system and help to manage and maintain data that government can use to develop more scientific approach.

OPV Vikram: L&T hand overs first defence vessel built in private shipyard to Coast Guard October 28, 2017

Larsen and Toubro (L&T) handed over offshore patrol vessel (OPV) named “Vikram” to the Indian Coast Guard. It is country’s first-ever such defence vessel to be built in a private shipyard The vessel was indigeno usly developed in-house at L&T’s Kattupalli shipyard. Its entire design and construction processes have undergone dual certification from American Bureau of Shipping and Indian Registrar of Shipping. OPV Vikram is first of seven vessels for which by Ministry of Defence had awarded Rs. 1,432-crore



contract to L&T in March 2015. It will be inducted into service by April 2018 after completion of extensive trials of equipment and machineries. Key Facts

The OPV Vikram is 97 metres long, 15 metre wide and has 2,140 tonne displacement capacity with range of 5,000 nautical miles and can reach speed of up to 26 knots (One knot is 1.852 km/hr). It is equi pped with state-o f-th e-ar t radars, navigation and communication syst ems capable of operating in tropical condit ions. About 60% components of the ship were sourced from domestic suppliers. The ship is fitted with one 30 mm automatic gun with Fire Control System (FCS) and two 12.7 mm gun with FCS.survei It hasllance, integral twin-engine helicopter helipad, which operat ional, search and rescue capabiliand ties.backend It will be deployed forenhances day and its night surveillance patrol, search and rescue and in pollution response operations in exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the country.

Scientists link new virus to kala-azar October 28, 2017

Scientists have found that parasite called Leptomonas seymouri hosting virus called Lepsey NLV1 may be also responsible for spread of kala-azar (visceral leishmaniasis). Earlier it was believed that parasite Leishmania donovani (sandfly) alone is responsible for spread of the dreaded infection. Key Facts

Scientists have found that Leptomonas seymouri parasite hosts virus called Lepsey NLV1 which is responsible for spread of kala-azar. However, scientists are still not clear how parasites cause infection and how it manages to hide within body. The discovery portends new kind of treatment regime and may aid attempts to eradicating disease.


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Kala-azar

Kala-azar or visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as black fever and Dumdum fever is most severe form of leish mani asis. It is zoonotic (or paras atic) infec tion transm itted by sand fly (Leishmania donovani ), a blood-sucking pest, which is one-third size of mosquitoes and found in moist (humid) mud and sand and in close proximity to livestock. It signs and symptoms include fever, weight loss, fatigue, anemia, and substantial swelling of liver and spleen. It is treatable and requires a medical diagnosis. If untreated, kala-azar can kill within two years of onset of ailment. Kala-azar belongs to Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) family of diseases which affect poorest populations. It is second-largest parasitic killer in world after Malaria. It is endemic to Indian subc ontinent in the 119 global dist rict s in four coun tries (Bangla desh, Bhutan, India and Nepal). India accounts for half burden of Kala-azar disease.

October 30, 2017 Four Asian vulture species from India gets highest protection under CMS October 30, 2017

Several species of vultures including four from India on their migratory routes were awarded highest protect ion by the Conventio n on Conservati on of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). They were among 34 species which were awarded highest protection during CMS Summit held in Manila in submissions made by 24 countries from Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania. Species awarded highest protection are Asian vultures are red-headed vulture, white-rum ped vulture, Indianvulture and slender-billed vulture. They are faced with threats such as poisoning, hunting, collision with electricity cables and habitat degradation. A subspecies of black noddy, yellow bunting and lesser and great grey shrike are other avians listed on CMS protected list. Whale shark , which inhabits the Indian Ocean also got global protection. Blue shark and common guitarfish also was awarded highest protect ion. Widespread over-fis hing is driving many shark



species, including whale shark to extinction. India is among 121 nations whose waters are home to sharks threatened with near extinction. The major threats are bycatch in nets and vessel strikes. Caspian seal also has been identified for conservation. It is the only marine mammal found in the world’s largest inland sea, where its migration is prompted by ice formation and foraging. Central Asia’s rarest species, Przewalski’s horse and Gobi bear also received highest degree of protection. Outcomes of Manila summit of CMS

The summit held in Manila was largest in the 38-year history of the Convention, which is also known as Bonn Convention after German city in which it was signed. Delegates from 91 countries had attended the summit. Manila summit adopted resoluti on to develop and manage protected area networks within the ASEAN region. Governm ents also energy agreed to ate on reducin g negative impact of marine debris, noise pollution , renewable andcooper climate change on the lives of migratory species.

2017 French Open badminton: Kidambi Srikanth wins men’s singles title October 30, 2017

India’s ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth (World no. 8) won French Open Superseries badminton title in men’s single category. In the final match, he defeated Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto by 21-14, 21-13 score. It was Kidambi Srikan th’s fourth Super Seri es Prem ier title in 2017 season after winning Australian Super Series title, Indonesia Super Series Premier title and Denmark Open Super Series title. Other Category Winners

Women’s single: It was won by Tai Tzu-ying from Chinese Taipei. Men’s double: It was won by Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-huei and Lee Yang. Women’s doubles title: It was won by Indonesia’s Greysia POLL and Apriyani Rahayu by defeating

Lee Sottee and SHIN Seung Chen by 21-17, 21-15 score. Mixed Doubles title: It was won by Indonesia’s Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana NATSIR by defeating Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen by 22-20, 21-15 score. French Open

It is annual Badminton tournament held in France since 1909. It is hosted by the Fédération fra nça ise de bad min ton (FF Ba) . Ear lie r it was not con sid ered as one of the int ern ation al badminton circuit’s leading events. But in 2007, it was promoted to become part of the BWF Super Series, making it one of 12 major badminton tournaments in world.

Home Ministry set to take over Bureau of Civil Aviation Security October 30, 2017

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is set to move a proposal before Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for taking over Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). BCAS, currently under the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is responsible for laying down standards, policies and measures with rega rd to security of all commerci al flig hts. Multip le security agencies working at airports, including immigration officials, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) security personnel, local police and Intelligence Bureau (IB) are bound by regulations passed by BCAS. Key Facts

The decision is based on security audit conducted by team of experts from MHA, IB, CISF and



BCAS which had recommended change. Once CCS gives its approval, CISF will assume larger role in airport security. The new set-up will help in better coordination and monitoring, since CISF, IB and state intelligence all report to MHA. It will also speed up issue of security clearances for airlines and airports as in the past, there have been inordin ate delays in granting clearan ces due to differenc es between MHA and MoCA on grounds that airlines an d airports have not complied with norms despite guidelines. The move may also result in increase in passenger security fee since CISF will be deployed at all 98 airports across country. Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)

It was setflight up as a cellhija in cked Directora te General of Civil Aviation in 1978, Indian Airl ines was in Sept embe r 1976. BCAS was (DGC reorganA)ised as anafter indeanpend ent depar tment under MoCA in April 1987, as follow-up to Kanishk a bombing in June 1985. It is currently headed by a commissioner of security.

India sends first wheat shipment to Afghanistan via Chabahar por October 30, 2017

India has flagged off shipment of wheat for Afghanis tan through Iran’ s Chabahar port. It was flagged off from Kandla port in Gujarat by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani through video conferencing. Key Facts

Chab ahar port is strat egically loca ted in Sistan-Baloc hist an provi nce on energy-ri ch Iran ’s southern coast in Gulf of Oman near its border with Pakistan and can be easily accessed from India’s western coast. The first consignment transfer was part of India’s commitment to send 1.1 million tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan on grant basis. Afghanistan will receive entire amount in six different instalments over coming months. The consignment will be transported to Afghanistan from Chabahar through land route.


Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Significance

The shipment of wheat is considered as landmark moment as it paves way for operationalisat ion of Chabahar port as an alternate, reliable and robust connectivity for landlocked Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan. It is first shipment going to Afghanistan through Chabahar port after trilateral agreement on Establishment of International Transport and Transit Corridor was signed between India, Afghanistan and Iran during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran in May 2016. The operationalisation of Chabahar port will open up new opportunities for trade and transit from and to Afghanistan and enhance trade and commerce between India, Afghanistan and Iran and wider region in wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi for trade with the two countries.

Indian Army finalises plan to modernise weapons October 30, 2017

The Union Defen ce Ministry and Indi an Army has finalise d infa ntry moderni sati on plan to purchase large number of light machine guns (LMGs), assault rifles and battle carbines at cost of nearly Rs. 40,000 crore to replace its ageing and obsolete weapons. It is one of biggest procuremen t plans of Indian Army under which around 7 lakh rifles, 44,000 LMGs and nearly 44,600 carbines will be acquired for infantry modernisation. Key Facts

The Defenc e Acquisition Council (DAC), Defenc e Ministry’s highest decision making body on procurement is expected to give the go-ahead for the much needed procurement soon. In this regard, fresh RFI (request for information) to procure LMGs will be issued. The plan is to initially procure around 10,000 LMGs. The Army has also finalised the specificati ons for a new 7.62 mm assault rifle and General Service Quality Requirements (GSQR) also has been finalised. Background

The Indian Army which is world’s second largest stan ding army has been pressi ng for fast tracking procurement of various weapons systems considering the evolving security threats. In the past, procurement of assault rifles has witnessed significant delays due to variety of reasons including Army’s failure to finalise the specifications for it. The Army needs around 7 lakh 7.62×51 mm ass aul t gun s to repl ace its INS AS rif les . RFI is a pro ces s who se pur pos e is to collec t information about capabilities of various vendors. The infantry modernisation plan is major initiative of Indian Army and it will significantly bolster the overall capability of the foot soldiers. Lightweigh t rifle: It is developed from sub-machine gun and may be set to fire automatically or semi-automatically. Light machine gun (LMG): It is a machine gun designed employed by individual soldier with or without assistant as an infantry support weapon. These guns are often used as squad automatic weapons. Carbine : It is a long arm firearm but with shorter barrel than rifle or musket. Many of them are shortened versions of full-length rifles and shoot same ammunition, while others fire lowerpowered ammunition, including types designed for pistols.

India to host UN Summit on Conservation of Migratory Species in 2020 October 30, 2017

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced that India will host next



Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Conference of Parties 13 (CMS COP13) in year 2020. CMS COP is also known as a Global Wildlife Conference. Key Facts

The announcement was made during 12th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties 12 (COP12) to CMS held in Manila, Philippines. It was held from 23 to 28 October 2017 and was attended by over 500 delegates from more than 91 countries participated in the summit which is held once in three years. The theme of the CMS COP12 was “ Their Future is Our Future – Sustainable Development for Wildlife and People”. This was for first time the summit was held in Asia. The CMS COP12 was also the largest-ever meeting in the 38-year history of the convention. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)

CMS is an international treaty concluded under aegis of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), concerned with conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale. It is commonly abbreviated as Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention. CMS aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range. It was signe d in 1979 in Bonn (hence the name), Germa ny and ente red into force in 1983 . Its headquarters are in Bonn, Germany. Since its entry into force, its membership has grown steadily to include over 120 Parties from Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. CMS is only glob al and UN- base d inte rgov ernm enta l orga niza tion esta blis hed excl usive ly for conse rvati on and mana geme nt of terr estri al, aquat ic and avian migrato ry specie s throu ghout their range.

World’s fastest, shortest laser pulse created October 30, 2017

Scientists from ETH Zurich in Switzerlan d have successful ly created the world’s shortest X-ray laser pulse with durati on of just 43 attosec onds (1×1 0−18 of a second) . This laser pulse is the shortest controlled event that has ever been created by humans. Laser

Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. It is highly coherent, unidirect ional beam of perfectly monochromatic light. It has greater energy than normal light. It is used in range of application like sensors, optical communication sources etc. Applications

Using this laser pulse, researchers can now observe in high detail how electrons movement within molecule and fully understa nd dynamics during chemica l reaction. This laser can also help in attosecond spectroscopy, by contributing development of more efficient solar cells by observing the process of excitation through sunlight up to the generation of electricity step by step. Mor eov er, a det ail ed und erst and ing of cha rge tra nsf er pat hwa y usi ng it can also hel p in optimizing the efficien ofbe next generatio n of photosensitive elements. Using this laser pulse, chemical reaction s can cy also directly manipulated by altering course of reaction even chemical bonds can be broken by stopping charge shift at certain location in molecule.

11th India-US Trade Policy Forum Meeting held in Washington D.C October 30, 2017

The 11th India-United States Trade Policy Forum (TPF) Meeting was held in Washington D.C, capital city of US. It was chaired jointly by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.



Both sides held discussions on issues related to bilateral trade, areas of mutual cooperation, market access in agriculture, non-agricultural goods and services and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Key Facts

Conc erns raised by US: Market access issues, import

regulat ions relating to poultry, ground handling operations, export of pork to India and price controls on medical devices. Concerns raised by India: Easing of procedure for export of Indian pomegranates and mangoes and market access for table grapes from India. Problems faced by Indian services companies in obtaining H-1B and L-1 visas. It requested US to ease movement of skilled professionals as Indian IT companies contribute significantly to American economy. Issue of tantalisation i.e. mismatch between US visa and US social security regimes was also raised. In this case, Indian professio nals making social security contrib utions, but they do not receive their due benefits upon their return to India Greater opportuni ties for US exports to India: National IPR Policy 2016 lays down roadmap for future develop ment in field of IPRs. It is considered as major step toward s strengthening IPR ecosystem in India, including improvements in procedures, timelines and resolution of disputes. Draft Pharmaceuti cal Policy addresses many of US concerns. India desires to address concerns of providing affordable healthcare to its citizens and balancing it with the need to introduce high end technology. US manufacturers of medical devices have been encouraged to establish manufacturing facilities in India. India already has started to import crude oil and new Liquefied Natural Gas exports are expected to commence early next year. Indian aviation companies have placed orders for over 300 aircrafts valued at several billions of dollars. Background Bilateral trade between India and US has increased to US $64.51 billion in 2016-17, from US $62.11 billion in previous fiscal. However, foreign direct investment (FDI) from US into India dipped to US $2.37 billion in 2016-17 from US $4.19 billion in 2015-16.

October 31, 2017 MSME Samadhaan: Government launches MSME Delayed Payment Portal October 31, 2017

The Union Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) has launched MSME Delayed Payment Portal – MSME Samadhaan (http://msefc.msme.gov.in). The portal aims at empowering micro and small entrepreneurs across country to directly register their cases relat ing to delay ed paym ents by Cent ral Ministrie s, Depa rtmen ts, CPSEs, State Governments. Key Facts

The Samadhaan portal will give informat ion about pending payment of MSEs with individual CPSEs/Central Ministries, State Governments, etc. The CEO of PSEs and Secretary of Ministries concerned will also be able to monitor cases of delayed payment under their jurisdiction and issue necessary instructions to resolve the issues. The por tal wil l fac ili tat e mon ito rin g of dela yed pay men t in more effe cti ve man ner . The info rmat ion on port al will be available in publ ic doma in, thus exer ting moral pres sure on defaultin g organisation s. The MSEs will also be empowered to access portal and monitor their



cases. Background

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 contains provisions to deal with cases of delayed payment to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs). As per provisions, buyer is liable to pay compound interest with monthly rests to supplier on amount at three times of bank rate notified by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in case he does not make payment to supplier for supplie s of goods or services wit hin 45 days of day of acceptan ce of good s and services ordeemed day of acceptance.

China launches world’s first hybrid electric tram powered by hydrogen fuel cells October 31, 2017

The world’s first hybrid electric tram powered by hydrogen fuel cells was launched in China’s Tangshan city, north China’s Hebei Province to give big boost to green energy in public transport. The first of its kind ecologically-friendly tram was domestically developed by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) in 2015. Key Facts

The ecologically-friendly tram emits only water without any pollutants. It does not produce any nitrogen oxides (NOx), as the temperature of e reaction inside the fuel cell is kept under 100 degrees Celsius. The tram, having three carriages with 66 seats and can run for 40 kilometers at a maximum speed of 70 kilometers per hour after being refilled with 12 kilograms of hydrogen. The tram coach rides on a 136-year-old railway line and connects several industrial heritage sites of Tangshan, one of China’s oldest industria l cities not far from the capital Beijing. It has latest low-floor technology which has kept the distance between carriage floor of tram and rail line only 35 centimeters and remove need for station platforms and making boarding easy for passengers

Government inks $200 million Loan Agreement for Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project October 31, 2017

The Union Government and World Bank have signed $200 million Loan Agreement for Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project. The $200 million loan from World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a 7-year grace period, and a maturity of 16.5 years. Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project

The Project will support Assam Government to facilitate agri-business investments, increase agriculture productivity and market access and enable small farm holders produce crops that are resilient to recurrent floods or droughts in state. It will help state to increase agricultural productivity by strengthening farming systems, raise private sector investments to promote agrienterprises to create better job opportunities for youth in state. The Project will be implemented in over 16 Districts of Assam. Over 500,000 farming househo lds will dire ctly benefit from it and at leas t 30% women are expe cted to participate in projec t activities. Specific focus will be given to women-led enterprises and their participation in decision-making process of farmer producer organizations. The project will promote market-led production that can deal with vagaries of climate change. Market-led production system will take advantage of rapidly changing market, introduce crops



that are resilient to climate change, increase production and manage risks for farmers Besides, it will focus on geographic clustering of production base for certain commodities which will help agri-enterprises take advantag e of existing and future market opportunit ies that they may not necessa rily achieve alone. Succes sful clusters will help to innovate and adapt ‘best practices’ across agricultural value chains.

Home Ministry eases Arms Rules to woo investments October 31, 2017

The Union Home Ministry has liberalised Arms Rules to encourage investments in manufacture of arms, ammunition and weapons systems. The rules werecountries liberalised of making India ahub. regional leader in supplying small arms to neighbouring aswith well aim as become an export Key Facts

Under the new rules, licence granted for manufacturing will be valid for life-time of licensee company. It does away with requirement of renewal every five years. Now, manufactures will now be able to continue manufacturing on their old licence. Similarly, condition that small arms and light weapons produced by manufacturer should be sold to Central government or State governments with prior approval of Home Ministry also has been dispensed with. Now, enhancement of capacity up to 15% will also not require any approval of governmen t. Moreover, the licence fee also has been reduced and rules in connecti on have also been liberalised. Significance

The liberalised rules will apply to licences granted by Home Ministry for small arms and ammunition and those granted by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) for other defence equipment. The liberalised rules will give boost to Centre’s ‘Make in India’ manufacturing policy and promote employment generation in this field. It will facilitate availability of world-class weapons to meet requirements of armed forces and police forces in sync with country’s defence indigenisation programme.

Life term for government officials indulging in torture: Law Commission October 31, 2017

The Law Commission in latest report has recommended government to ratify Convention against Tor ture an d Oth er Cru el, In hum an or Deg rad in g Tre at men t or Puni shm ent an d als o recommended life in jail for public servants convicted of torture. In July 2017, Union Government had asked Law Commission of India to examine issue of ratifying the convention after a writ petition was filed in court. Key Recommendations

UN conventi on: Governm ent should ratify UN convention on torture and other inhuman and

degrad ing treatmen t or punishment as it leading to difficulties in extraditing criminals from foreign countries due to the absence of a law preventing harsh treatment by authorities. ‘Prevent ion of tortur e bill, 2017: It has proposed legislation to amend various laws to prevent torture by government officials. The bill proposes “stringent punishment” to perpetrators to curb menace of torture and to have deterrent effect on acts of torture. It could extend up to life imprisonment and also fine. Compensation: It suggested amendment s to Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, and Indian Evidence



Act , 187 2 to acc omm oda te pro vis ions reg ard ing compe nsa tion and bur den of pro of. It reco mmended an amen dmen t to sect ion 357B to incorporate payment of compens ation in addition to payment of fine provided in Indian Penal Code. For compensation to victims, courts should decide upon justiciable compensation after taking into account various facets of individual case, such as nature, purpose, extent and manner of injury, including mental agony caused to the victim. The courts should also bear in mind socio-economic background of the victim and ensure that compensation will help victim bear expenses on medical treatment and rehabilitation. Burden of proof: It held that state own responsibility for injuries caused by its agents on citizens and held that principle of sovereign immunity cannot override rights assured by Constitution. It calls for effective mechanism must be put in place to protect victims of torture, complainants and witnesses against possible threats, violence or ill treatment. New section 114B should be inserted in Indian Evidence Act to ensure that in case person in police custody sustains injuri es, it is presumed that those injuri es have been inflicted by police, and burden of proof shall lie on authority concerned to explain such injury. UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

It is com mon ly kno wn as Uni ted Nat ion s Con ven tio n aga ins t Tort ure (UN CAT ). It is an international human rights treaty, under review of UN that aims to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment around the world. It requires states to take effective measures to prevent torture in any territory under their jurisdictio n and forbids states to transport people to any country where there is reason to believe they will be tortured.

India tops list of new TB cases in 2016: WHO Report October 31, 2017

According to the Global TB Report 2017 released by World Health Organisation (WHO), India has topped list of seven countries, accounting for 64% of the over 10 million new tuberculosis (TB) cases worldwide in year 2016. India was followed by Indonesia, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria and South Africa. Key Facts

The report said, an estimated 1.7 million people died from TB in 2016, includ ing nearly 4 lakh people who were co-infected with HIV, recording a drop by 4% as compared to 2015. India along with China and Russia accounted for almost half of around 5 lakh multidrug-resistant TB (MDRTB) cases regi stere d in 2016 . There were esti mate d 6000 00 new cases with resist ance to rifampicin, the most effective first-line drug, of which 490000 had MDR- TB. Despite global efforts to combat TB, which saved an estimated 53 million lives since 2000 and reduced TB mortality rate by 37%, the disease is still top infectious killer in 2016. The disease also has been reported to be main cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance and the leading killer of people with HIV. Main Challenges

The biggest challenge was underreporting and underdiagnosis of TB cases, especially in countries with weak health systems and large unregulat ed private sectors. Of estimated 10.4 million new cases, only 6.3 million were detected and officially notified in 2016, leaving a gap of 4.1 million. India, Indonesia and Nigeria accounted for almost half of this global gap. Half a million reported cases of HIV-associated TB, 15% were not on antiretroviral therapy (ART)



as recommen ded by WHO. Most of gaps relate d to HIV-ass ociated TB were in WHO Africa n Region. TB preventive treatment is expanding in two priority risk groups-people living with HIV and children under 5 years. However, most people eligible for TB preventi ve treatment are not accessing it. Further, investments in low-and middle-income countries for TB care and prevention fall almost US 2.3 billion dollars short of the US 9.2 billion dollars needed in 2017. In addition, at least an extra US 1.2 billion dollars per year are required to accelerate development of new vaccines, diagnostics and medicines. It calls for more domest ic funding in middle -income countries and more internat ional donor support to support low-income countries. Further, to stop spread of TB epidemic action beyond health sector is required to address risk factors and determinants of disease. Tuberculosis (TB)

TB is bacterial disease caused by “Mycobacterium tuberculosis” bacteria that most often affect the lungs. The disease is spread from person to person through the air. It commonly affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body. It is the second biggest killer disease worldwide next only to HIV/AIDS. It can be completely cured with proper and regular medication.

India, Italy sign six pacts and to enhance counter-terror cooperation October 31, 2017

India and Italy have signed six agreements to boost cooperatio n in the fields of railways safety, energy and promoting mutual investments, among others They were signed after detaile d talks between Prime Minis ter Narendra Modi and his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni. He is first prime ministerial trip from Italy to visit India in more than a decade. Key Takeaways from talks

Both leaders discussed wide-ranging issues, including the emerging security challenges facing the world such as terrorism and cybercrimes, while agreed to enhance cooperatio n to counter them. They vowed to fight violent extremism in all forms and manifestations and agreed to strengthen consultation mechanism through regular exchange of assessments and information, training and capacity buildin g programmes in sphere of counter-terrori sm. They also resolved to enhance cooperation to take decisive and concerted actions against al-Qaeda and ISIS. They also called upon all the UN member countries to designate terrorist entities in line with the relevant UNSC Resolutions. Singed Agreements are

MoU on cooperation in field of Energy. Executive Protocol on Cultural Cooperation. Joint Declaration of Intent of Cooperation for Safety in Railway sector. MoU for promoting mutual investments between Italian Trade Agency and Invest India. MoU on 70 years of diplomatic relations between Indian Council of Cultural Relations and Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation of Italy. MoU between Training Unit of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Coopera tion, Government of Italy and Foreign Service Institute of the Ministry of External Affairs, India. India-Italy Relations

India and Italy are ancient civilizations and have known, interacted and traded with each other for



over 2000 years. Politi cal relation s between India and Italy were established in 1947. The two countries enjoy cordial relationship. Italy is India’s fifth largest trading partner in EU with a bilateral trade of US $8.79 billion in 2016-17. India’s exports to Italy were at US $4.90 billion, while its imports were at US $3.89 billion, a trade imbalance of about US $1 billion in favour of India. In the first four months of fiscal 2017-18, bilateral trade had reached US $3.22 billion. India-Italy diplomatic ties took a hit after two Italian marines — Salvatore Girone and Latorre Massimiliano on board ship named Enrica Lexie, were arrested for allegedly killing two Indian fishermen off coast of Kerala in 2012. Italy has supported India’s candidature at Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016 and at FATF (Financial Action Task Force). Italy’s support is also crucial for India’s bid for Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership and EU-India FTA (Free Trade Agreement).

31 October: Rashtriya Ekta Diwas October 31, 2017

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) is observed every year across India on 31 October to commemorate birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel who had played important role in unifying the country. Observance of day provides an opportunity to re-affirm inherent strength and resilience of our nation to withstand actual and potential threats to unity, integrity and security of our country. To mark this occasion various activities and events are being organised across ministries and departments all over the country. Besides, Run for Unity was organised in New Delhi from the National Stadium. The idea of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas was mooted by PM Narendra Modi in October 2014 to mark theVallabhbhai birth anniversary Minister Sardar Patel. of Independent India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

He was born on 31 October, 1875 at Karamsand, Gujarat and died on 15 December 1950 in Mumbai, Mahar ashtr a. He is known as Iron Man of India or Bismarck of India. By profes sion , he was barrister (lawyer) and had successfully practiced law. Later he left law practice and joined the Indian national movement under leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. In India’s independen ce struggle, he played a major role in organizing peasant s’ movements on Gandhian principles in Bardoli and Kheda in Gujarat and during the Quit India movement. His biggest contribu tion to India was his role in the integration of the over 500 princely states with India during 1947-49. He is also rememb ered as Patron Saint of India’s civil servants for establishing modern All-India services. He was posthumously conferred with Bharat Ratna, India’s highest Civilian honour, in 1991.

Article 35-A: SC adjourns hearing by 3 months October 31, 2017

The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing of plea challenging Article 35A of the Constitution by three months. The apex court’s order came after it was told by Centre that government has appointed a represent ative (interlo cutor) to hold talks with all stakeholders to resolve Kashmir issue. The court was hearing on batch of four petitions demanding scrapping of Article 35A on various grounds. The main petition was filed by Delhi-based NGO in 2014. Three more petitions were also



filed but were later clubbed with main one. What is Article 35-A?

Article 35A of the Constitution empowers J&K legislature to define permanent residents (PR) of state. It was added through Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954 issued under Article 370 of Constitution by the President of India and not by amending consti tution under Article 368. The PR law enacted by J&K legislature in pursuance of Article 35A replicates state subject law promulgated by Dogra king Maharaja Hari Singh in 1927 following a strong campaign by Kashmiri Pandits, who had opposed to hiri ng of civil serv ants from Punja b because it affe cted thei r representation in administration. Permanent Residents The J&K Constitution adopted on November 17, 1956 defines Permanent Resident as person who was state subject on May 14, 1954, or who has been resident of state for 10 years and has lawfully acquired immovable property in state. It only empowers J&K legislature to alter definition of PR only through law passed by two-thirds majority. The provision of Permanent Resident bars Indian citizens, other than permanent resident of J&K, from settling in state, acquiring immovable properties, seeking employment or undertaking any trade or business if state makes any law to that effect and it cannot be challe nged before any court. It also denies propert y rights to woman who marries a non-perm anent reside nt and her children. Petitions demanding scrapping of Article 35A

The petitione rs have challe nged Article 35A on ground that it can only have been introduced through Constitutional amendment under Article 368 and not through a Presidential Order under Article 370. They say that Article 35A is against very spirit of oneness of India as it creates a class within a class of Indian citizens. It restricts citizens from other States from getting employment or buying property within J&K, thus is a violation of fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. One peti tion also held that Arti cle 35A is gend er-b iased and also against Articl e 14 of the Constitution as it denies property rights to J&K permanent resident woman who marries a nonresident while a man who marries outside state will continue to enjoy his rights.

Government constitutes Alternative Mechanism Panel for PSBs consolidation October 31, 2017

The Union Government has constituted Alternative Mechanism Panel headed by Union Finance Mini ster Arun Jaitley to oversee merge r propo sals of publi c secto r banks (PSBs). The other members of the panel include Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Key Facts

This alternative mechanism has been set up by the government to fast-track consolidation among public sector banks to create strong lenders. The mechanism will oversee the proposals coming from boards of PSBs for consolidation. The decision comes after government had announced Rs. 2.11 trillion bank recapitalisation plan for public sector banks weighed down by bad loans, seeking to stimulate flow of credit to spur



private investment. It was also announced that recapitalisation plan will be accompanied by series of banking reforms over next few months. The constitution of an Alternative Mechanism is move in that direction. The Union cabinet in August 2017 had decided to set up Alternative Mechanism to fast-track PSU bank consolidation. More about alternative mechanism (fig)

Purpose of PSBs consolidation

The move to create large banks through consolidating PSBs aims at meeting credit needs of gro win g Ind ian eco nom y and bui ldi ng cap aci ty in PSB spa ce to rai se reso urc es wit hou t dependence on the state exchequer. The banking entities formed after merging PSU banks will be able to absorb shocks. Background

The idea of bank merg ers was around sinc e 1991 , when form er Rese rve Bank of India (RBI) governor M. Narasimham had recommended the government merge banks into three-tiered structure, with three large banks with an international presence at top. In 2014, PJ Nayak Committee also had suggested that government either merge or privatize state-owned banks. Significance of PSBs consolidation

Reduce their dependence on government for capital. Open up more capital generation avenues, both internally and from market, for the merged entity. From a government point of view, it will increase stream of dividends which forms part of their non-tax revenue. Increase the role of internal and market resources and thus reduce dependence of merged bank on government for the future capital infusion It will lead to greater concen tration of payment and settlement flows as there will financial sector.


be fewer parties in the

Current Affairs Today: Monthly PDF Compilation [October 2017] Operational risks could increase post-merger as size of operations grows and distance between manage ment and operational personnel is greater as the administrative systems become more complex. It will help to deal better with their credit portfolio, including stressed assets. Consolidation will also prevent multiplicity of resources being spent in t same area and strengthens banks to deal with shocks,


GK Today October 2017

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