Daily Current Affairs 13th October, 2017

Daily Current Affairs 13 October 2017 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Govt launches Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana, expansion of Postal Life Insurance

Government has launched Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana and expansion of Postal Life Insurance, in New Delhi.

• Under the Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana, at least one village having a minimum of 100 households will be identified in each of the revenue districts of the country, wherein endeavour will be made to cover all households of that identified village with a minimum of one Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) policy each.
• Under the scheme expansion of clientèle base of Postal Life Insurance, it has been decided that its benefits will no longer be confined to government and semi-government employees. But will also be available to the professionals such as doctors, engineers, management consultants, chartered accountants, lawyers and bankers.

India’s first Sewage Treatment Plant under Hybrid Annuity Mode to come up in Haridwar and Varanasi

The Centre has approved setting up of sewage treatment plants (STPs) at Haridwar and Varanasi in the public-private partnership mode for a combined cost of ₹324.69 crore under its Namami Gange programme.

• These projects are the country’s first two hybrid annuity projects for the development of sewage infrastructure. They will ensure that untreated sewage from these cities does not flow into the Ganga, giving a boost to our flagship Namami Gangeprogramme.

Government to set up mini food parks

Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said that the government will focus on setting up of mini food parks to raise the processing level, and asked the industry to buy agricultural produce directly from farmers to boost their income.

• Jyoti, who is Minister of State for Food Processing, said all 42 sanctioned mega food parks will be operational by 2019. She assured the industry that the ministry will consider and take up any of their concern related to GST.

Madhya Pradesh becomes fourth state to slash VAT on petrol and diesel

The Madhya Pradesh Government slashed the Value-Added Tax (VAT) on prices of petrol by 3 per cent and diesel by 5 per cent, following the lead of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

MP govt announces Rs 2 lakh aid for widow remarriage

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a slew of measures for women in the State, including a financial assistance of Rs. 2 lakh for remarriage of widows.

• Speaking at his monthly radio broadcast ‘Dil Se’, Mr. Chouhan appealed to people to come forward to encourage remarriage of widows and root out social evils like dowry and child marriages.

India to hold Dubai’s 1st-ever AYUSH conference in Nov

India will hold Dubai’s first-ever AYUSH conference next month to spread awareness about the prevention and management of lifestyle diseases through Yoga and Ayurveda.

• ‘International AYUSH Conference and Exhibition 2017’ with the theme of ‘Lifestyle diseases: Prevention and management through AYUSH’ will be organised from November 9-11 by Science India Forum, a voluntary group for propagation of science among masses, with the support of Ministry of AYUSH.

MasterCard launches India innovation centre

MasterCard announced the launch of its innovation centre in Mumbai to focus on solving “India-specific” problems in the areas of technology and financial enablement. This would be their second innovation centre, after Singapore, in Asia and ninth globally.

• In India, Mastercard Labs will work with financial institutions and merchant partners from the Fintech community to identify and experiment with future technologies in areas including digital payments, data solutions, financial inclusion, alternative payments, safety and security.

Launch of Mobile Health App `MedWatch’ By the Indian Air Force

On the occasion of its 85th anniversary, the Indian Air Force has launched an innovative mobile health App named `MedWatch’ in keeping with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digital India’.

Indian Naval Ships Satpura, Kadmatt to participate in Passage Exercise with Japanese Marine

Indian Naval Ships Satpura and Kadmatt will participate in Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Japanese Marine Self Defence Force.

• INS Satpura and Kadmatt are visiting Sasebo, Japan, from October 12 to 15. After completion of the harbour phase, the ships will take part in Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with the Murusame Class destroyer, JS Kirisame.

India-Sri Lanka training exercise on counter-terrorism begins

The fifth India-Sri Lanka joint training exercise “Mitra Shakti 2017” focusing on counter-terrorism operations kicked off at Aundh Military Station in Pune, Maharashtra. The exercise will be conducted for next 14 days till October 26 and will involve sharing and learning from each others’ experiences

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Google pledges $1 bn to fund non-profit education

Google has said that over the next five years it will spend $1 billion on nonprofit organisations, helping to raise education levels around the world and commit its employees to a million hours of volunteer work doing the same.

U.S. withdraws from UNESCO over ‘anti-Israel bias’

The United States has withdrawn from the Paris-based UNESCO, which over what the country claims, is the organisation’s “continuing anti-Israel bias”.

• The move will take effect on December 31, 2018. The United States will remain a full member of UNESCO until that time.

Israel to join US in quitting UNESCO

Israel has said it will join the US in pulling out of the UN’s cultural organisation Unesco, after US officials cited “anti-Israel bias”. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the US decision as “brave and moral”.

London retains crown as top spot for attracting business and talent

London has retained its rank as the number one city in the world shrugging off Brexit worries, according to Global Power City Index (GPCI).

• The GPCI, published by the Mori Memorial Foundation, ranked London as number one for the sixth year in a row, highlighting the city’s strengths in, its cultural offer and transport links and its rank as a major centre for innovation.

Tokyo named world’s safest city, Delhi ranked 43rd

Japanese capital city Tokyo has topped The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Safe Cities Index 2017, which ranked 60 cities on parameters including personal and health security.

• Singapore and Japanese city Osaka have ranked second and third, while Indian cities Delhi and Mumbai have ranked 43rd and 45th respectively. Pakistani city Karachi has been ranked the least safe city in the list.

BANKING & FINANCE

SBI’s SME Assist to provide short-term loans to MSME clients

State Bank of India has launched a new product to provide short-term working capital demand loans to its MSME clients.

• The new initiative, called SME Assist, would offer loans to MSME customers on the basis of their input credit claims under Goods and Services Tax (GST). The loans will be offered at a concessional rate of interest.

HDFC Bank launches SmartUp zones to nurture, collaborate with start-ups

HDFC Bank said that it wants to become the ‘Go To’ bank and preferred banker for the start-up community in the country.

• Towards this end, HDFC Bank announced the launch of SmartUp zones in its branches across India.

NBFC bad loans rise to 5% in 5 years: RBI

According to the Reserve Bank of India, Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio for NBFCs increased to 5% at end-March 2017 from 2.9 per cent at end-March 2012.

• On the other hand, the NPA ratio of banks increased to 10.21 per cent in June 2017 from 8.42 per cent in June 2016.

Banks need to set aside Rs 3.3 lakh crore as NPA provisioning in FY18

According to a Crisil report, banks are likely to need nearly Rs 3.3 lakh crore this fiscal as provisioning for large NPA accounts in the current financial year.

BUSINESS

Amazon, Microsoft launch deep learning platform

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft have teamed up to launch an open-source and deep learning interface ‘Gluon’ that will help developers to deploy machine learning models across several platforms.

• The interface would give developers a place where they can prototype, build, train and deploy machine learning models.

Shriram Automall partners with SBI for its SME segment

Shriram Automall India Limited (SAMIL), a platform for the exchange of pre-owned vehicles and equipment, joined hands with the State Bank of India (SBI) to extend the benefits of its holistic solutions for the disposal of all types of pre-owned vehicles and equipment.

SCIENCE

Astronomers find Sun-like star that devoured its own planets

Astronomers have discovered that a Sun-like star lurking around 350 light-years away consumed the rocky equivalent of 15 Earths.

• Dubbed Kronos after the child-eating Titan of Greek mythology, the star is the clearest and most dramatic case yet of a Sun-like star consuming its own planets.

SPORTS

Arjen Robben retires from international football

Netherlands captain Arjen Robben announced the end of his international career after his country failed to reach the 2018 World Cup finals despite a 2-0 win over Sweden.

Shakib Al Hasan becomes 1st cricketer from Bangladesh to be inducted in MCC World Cricket Committee

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan became the first cricketer from Bangladesh to be inducted in the MCC World Cricket Committee under the chairmanship of Mike Gatting.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Bambawale appointed as next Indian ambassador to China

India’s high commissioner to Pakistan Gautam H. Bambawale has been appointed as next ambassador to China. Bambawale is believed to be an expert on China. He will replace Vijay Gokhale in China.

Samsung Electronics CEO resigns over ‘unprecedented crisis’

Kwon Oh-hyun, Samsung Electronics’ CEO, vice chairman, and the head of its hugely successful components business, has announced his resignation. He will step down from the CEO role, as well as his positions on the board and as CEO of Samsung Display, in March 2018.

AWARDS

Prakash Raj receives Karanth award amid protests

Actor Prakash Raj who had triggered a huge controversy with his remarks on PM Modi, was honoured with ‘Shivarama Karanth Huttura Prashasti’ amidst opposition from the BJP and saffron outfits.

• Mr Raj had questioned the PM’s silence on the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh at a recent programme in Bengaluru which made saffron outfits stage the protest against conferring the award on him. Despite the stiff opposition, Kotatattu panchayat which is ruled by members backing the BJP, decided to go ahead and present the award to the well known actor who has excelled in villain roles.

BOOK LAUNCH

HRD Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar presents book ‘Guru-Sangraha’ to Shri Pranab Mukherjee

Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar presented a book “Guru-Sangraha” which is a compilation of convocation addresses given by Shri Pranab Mukherjee to Shri Pranab Mukherjee, former President of India. The book has been prepared by National Book Trust of India.

Third volume of Pranab Mukherjee’s autobiography released

The third volume of former President Pranab Mukherjee’s autobiography titled “The Coalition Years — 1996-2012” has been released.

• The book being published by Rupa Publications tracks Mukherjee’s journey from 1996 and explores the highs and lows that characterized 16 years of “one of the most tumultuous periods in the nation’s political history”

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Arthritis Day: 12 October

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

• This year’s theme for World Arthritis Day is ‘It’s in your hands, take action’.

World Sight Day: 12 October 2017

World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. World Sight Day 2017 is on 12 October 2017.

Theme of World Sight Day 2017 : ‘Make Vision Count’

International Day for Disaster Reduction: 13 October

The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) is observed annually on 13 October. IDDR encourages every citizen and government to take part in building more disaster resilient communities and nations.

• International Day for Disaster Reduction 2017 theme is ‘Home Safe Home: Reducing Exposure, Reducing Displacement’.

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