Daily Current Affairs 19th November, 2017

Daily Current Affairs 19 November 2017 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Indian Oil launches nation’s first electric charging station

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has collaborated with app-based taxi aggregator Ola to launch the country’s first electric charging station at one of its petrol/diesel stations in Nagpur.

• This is a big leap towards contributing to the vision of ‘Green India’.

42nd International Congress of Military Medicine begins in New Delhi

The 42nd World Congress of the International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM) organised by the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) began in New Delhi.

• The ICMM is an international inter-governmental organisation created in 1921 with its secretariat at Brussels in Belgium and currently has 112 nations as members.
• The theme of this 42nd World Congress is “Military Medicine in Transition: Looking Ahead.”

International Conference & Exposition of Society of Petroleum Geophysicists Concludes

The 12th Biennial International Conference & Exposition of Society of Petroleum Geophysicists (SPG) India was inaugurated by Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship at Jaipur, Rajasthan. The three days International Conference & Exposition of SPG India was organised from 17th to 19th November.

Steering Committee of SARTTAC met in New Delhi

An Interim Meeting of the Steering Committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) was held in New Delhi to assess the Center’s activities since its inauguration in February 2017 and to review the Fiscal Year 2018 Work Plan. 

• Officials from all Six (6) Member countries attended, together with the Development Partner representatives (the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, and USAID), and IMF staff.
• Located in New Delhi, India, SARTTAC works with Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. 

Assam CM Sonowal inaugurates Namami Barak festival

The first ever Namami Barak festival was held at Silchar in Assam. It was inaugurated by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

• It was organised at 3 locations in Barak Valley also known as Southern Assam. Silchar is main event area while other two locations are Hailakandi and Karimganj district.

BANKING & FINANCE

Govt sets Rs 10,000 min balance in bank accounts as rural poverty measure

The government will now look at the bank accounts of families in a rural set up to determine the level of poverty in a gram Panchayat. According to a report, the minimum amount in such accounts has been set as Rs 10,000. This threshold is one of several metrics that will be used to measure the economic condition in a village.

• The more the number of families with such a minimum balance, the better a panchayat’s chance of being on the positive list of the poverty index.
• Under Mission Antyodaya, there are 21 parameters to measure the economic status of any gram panchayat. The aim of the mission is to create 50,000 poverty-free panchayats.

ECONOMY

India moves up one notch to 126 in GDP per capita terms’: IMF Data

India has moved up one position to 126th in terms of per capita GDP of countries, still ranked lower than all its BRICS peers, while Qatar remains the world’s richest on this parameter, as per International Monetary Fund (IMF) data.

• The data, which forms part of the latest World Economic Outlook report of the IMF, ranks over 200 countries in terms of per capita GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP).

Govt seeks Rs 13,000-cr surplus from RBI

In August, the RBI had paid a dividend of Rs 30,659 crore for the fiscal ended June 2017. It was less than half the Rs 65,876 crore it had paid in 2015-16. The government had budgeted for a Rs 58,000 crore dividend from the RBI in its Budget for this fiscal year.

• Now, the Government has seeked Rs 13,000 crore of surplus lying with the central bank.

SPORTS

Manavjit Sandhu wins trap gold in shooting nationals

Former World and six-time Asian champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu defended his national Men’s Trap Shooting title at the ongoing 61st National Shooting Championship Competitions in New Delhi at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range.

AWARDS

Manmohan Singh bags Indira Gandhi Prize

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development this year for his leadership of the country between 2004 and 2014 and for enhancing India’s stature globally.

• A panel of jury, headed by former President Pranab Mukherjee, made the decision on the same.
• This award is given annually to individuals and organisations, recognising their efforts toward promoting international peace, development and a new international economic order.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Toilet Day: 19 November

World Toilet Day (WTD) is an official United Nations international observance day, celebrated on 19 November, to raise awareness of the global sanitation crisis. This is done through public communications, campaigns, reports and events. Worldwide, 4.5 billion people live without “safely managed sanitation.”

• Theme of World Toilet Day 2017 is ” Wastewater” which is in accordance with the theme of World Water Day 2017 – “Why Waste Water?”.

Qaumi Ekta Week being observed across country

The Qaumi Ekta Week is being observed across the country from 19th to 25th November, 2017 to foster and reinforce the spirit of communal harmony and national Integration.

• The observation of the week will help to highlight the inherent strength and resilience of the nation to withstand actual and potential threats to the eclectic and secular fabric of the country.
• The occasion also provides an opportunity to reaffirm age old traditions and faith in the values of tolerance, co-existence and brotherhood in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society.

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