DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 19 OCT 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 19 OCT 2017

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.         CHHATTISGARH GOVERNMENT REDUCES INTEREST ON LOAN UNDER SAKSHAM YOJNA

i. Chhattisgarh State Government has reduced the rate of interest on loan given to women and their self help groups under ‘Saksham Yojna’ from 6.5% to 5%.

ii. This decision was taken by Chhattisgarh Women and Child Development Minister Ramsheela Sahu while chairing a meeting of ‘Chhattisgarh Mahila Kosh’.

iii. Through various schemes, ‘Chhattisgarh Mahila Kosh’ disburses easy term loans to women and SHGs in Chhattisgarh. Saksham Yojana too is operated by Chhattisgarh Mahila Kosh, under which loans to the tune of Rs 72 lakh had been distributed to about 111 SHGs during current fiscal year 2017-18.

iv. In the previous fiscal – 2016-17, Rs 2.44 cr loans were sanctioned to 407 SHGs under Saksham Yojana.

2.         ANDHRA CM CHANDRABABU NAIDU LAYS FOUNDATION STONE FOR TU142M AIRCRAFT MUSEUM

i. Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and Eastern naval command Chief Vice Admiral H. C. S. Bisht laid the foundation stone of the TU142M aircraft museum. This is being built at the Beach Road in Visakhapatnam.

ii. The Russian aircraft TU142M was decommissioned at INS Rajali in Tamil Nadu after 29 years. It was brought to Visakhapatnam on 8th April 2017 to be converted into a Museum.

iii. The TU142M aircraft museum will be inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind in December 2017.

3.         DHARMENDRA PRADHAN’S TWO DAY VISIT TO JAPAN

i. An Indian delegation led by Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan visited Tokyo, Japan to participate in LNG Producer- Consumer Conference 2017.

ii. Besides attending LNG Producer- Consumer Conference 2017, Pradhan also met Hiroshige Seko, the Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan. Both the ministers discussed issues of bilateral engagement in the hydrocarbon sector.

iii. On the sidelines of LNG Producer–Consumer Conference 2017, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan met Energy Minister of Mozambique, Leticia Klemens to discuss the development of the gas fields in Mozambique.

4.         INDIA, BRAZIL, SOUTH AFRICA SIGN IBSA TRUST FUND AGREEMENT

i. India, Brazil and South Africa signed the IBSA Trust Fund Agreement that seeks to combat poverty in developing countries. On behalf of Indian Government, the agreement was signed by Minister of State for External Affairs, V K Singh, who led the Indian side at the 8th IBSA trilateral Ministerial Commission Meeting in Durban, South Africa.

ii. The meeting was also attended by Brazil’s Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira and South African Foreign Minister Maite Emily Nkoana-Mashabane.

iii. The IBSA Fund was created in 2004 with an aim at to support viable and replicable projects that contribute to the national priorities of other developing countries. Each country contributes USD 1 million annually to this fund.

iv. The fund is managed by the UN Development Programme’s Special Unit for South-South Cooperation.

5.         NORTH EAST SMALL FINANCE BANK STARTS OPERATIONS: RBI

i. North East Small Finance Bank Limited has commenced operations as a small finance bank from October 1, 2017. Guwahati-based RGVN Microfinance Limited, was one of the 10 applicants which got Reserve Bank of India’s in-principle approval for setting up a small finance bank in September 2015.

ii. In April 2017, it received the final licence from RBI under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to carry on the business of small finance bank in India.

iii. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, Capital Small Finance Bank, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Suryoday Small Finance Bank, and Utkarsh Small Finance Bank are the other entities which have already commenced operations as Small Finance Bank.

iv. Small finance banks are a type of niche banks that have been set up with an objective to further financial inclusion.  Small Finance Banks can provide basic banking service of acceptance of deposits and lending to unserved and underserved sections.

6.         US AUTHOR GEORGE SAUNDERS WINS 2017 MAN BOOKER PRIZE

i. US author George Saunders has won 2017 Man Booker Prize for his novel ‘Lincoln in the Bardo’.

ii. George Saunders has become 2nd American author to win this award. In 2016, Paul Beatty became the first American to win this award for his novel ‘The Sellout’.

iii. British writers Ali Smith and Fiona Mozley, American writers Auster and Emily Fridlund, and British-Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid were the other shortlisted writers for this year’s Booker Prize.

7.         JAVED AKHTAR TO BE HONOURED WITH HRIDAYNATH MANGESHKAR AWARD

i. Veteran writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar is to be honoured with the Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award 2017.

ii. Javed Akhtar will be awarded Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award on the 28th  anniversary of Hridayesh Arts and the 80^th birthday of veteran music composer Hridaynath Mangeshkar. The programme is being presented to celebrate the 75 year old music career of singer Lata Mangeshkar. Hridayesh Arts, in association with Jay Satya Charitable Trust, is organising a music programme titled ‘Amrut Hriday Swar Lata’, presented by Annu Kapoor Films Pvt Ltd.

iii. The event is to be held at Shanmukhanand Hall, Kings Circle in Mumabi. It will be directed and anchored by actor Annu Kapoor.

8.         NARESH KUMAR GUPTA APPOINTED AS MADHYA PRADESH LOKAYUKTA

i. The Madhya Pradesh government appointed Naresh Kumar Gupta as the Lokayukta (Ombudsman) of the state.

ii. He is a retired judge of Madhya Pradesh High Court. The post of Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta had been vacant since June 2016 after the retirement of PP Naolekar, former Justice of Supreme Court.

iii. UC Maheshwari, former judge of MP High Court, who is six years senior to Naresh Kumar Gupta, was looking after the work of Lokayukta since June 2016.  Maheshwari was appointed as Madhya Pradesh Deputy Lokayukta in 2016.

9.         RICHARD WILBUR, POET LAUREATE AND PULITZER WINNER, DIES AT 96

i. Richard Wilbur, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and translator died in Belmont, Massachusetts, US.. Richard Wilbur poem about a nightingale was published in John Martin’s Magazine.

ii. His first book, “The Beautiful Changes and Other Poems,” came out in 1947. He also wrote children’s books and translated many European poets.  In 2004, his “Collected Poems, 1943-2004” was published. He was also known for his translations.

iii. He received numerous literary honors, including the National Book Award and two Pulitzer Prizes, for “Things of This World,” and “New and Collected Poems”.

10.     BEYOND THE DREAM GIRL – HEMA MALINI’S BIOGRAPHY LAUNCHED

i. Deepika Padukone launched the biography of veteran actress Hema Malini named ‘Beyond the Dream Girl’ in Mumbai.

ii. The biography of Bollwood actress Hema Malini titled ‘Beyond The Dream Girl’, is written by Ram Kamal Mukherjee. It was unveiled on Hema Malini’s 69th birthday by Bollwood actress Deepika Padukone.

iii. The biography’s foreword has been written by PM Narendra Modi. Hema Malini is currently a BJP MP from Mathura constituency.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHAT IS TU142M RELATED TO?

a)  Aircraft Museum

b)  Fort

c)  Defence

d)  Ships Museum

Q2. WHICH STATE GOVERNMENT HAS REDUCED THE RATE OF INTEREST ON LOAN GIVEN TO WOMEN AND THEIR SELF HELP GROUPS UNDER ‘SAKSHAM YOJNA’ FROM 6.5 PER CENT TO 5%?

a)  Uttarakhand

b)  Chhattisgarh

c)  Tripura

d)  Mizoram

Q3. UNION MINISTER OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS, DHARMENDRA PRADHAN VISITED TOKYO, JAPAN AND MET HIROSHIGE SEKO, THE MINISTER OF ECONOMY, TRADE, AND INDUSTRY OF JAPAN TO DISCUSS THE ISSUES OF BILATERAL ENGAGEMENT RELATED TO WHICH SECTOR?

a)  Satellites

b)  Banking Sector

c)  Hydrocarbon Sector

d)  IT Sector

Q4. WHAT ARE THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY SMALL FINANCE BANKS?

a)  Lending To Unserved And Underserved Sections

b)  Lending For Business & Educational Institutions

c)  Service of Acceptance of Deposits

d)  a & c

Q5. NAME THE US AUTHOR WHO WON 2017 MAN BOOKER PRIZE?

a)  Fiona Mozley

b)  George Saunders

c)  Ali Smith

d)  Emily Fridlund

ANSWERS: 

1 - A    2 - D    3 - C    4 - B    5 - A