DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 24 SEP 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 24 SEP 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.   NARENDRA MODI’S VISIT TO VARANASI, INAUGURATES 17 PROJECTS, LAYS FOUNDATION STONE FOR SIX MORE
i. Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi visited Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and inaugurated 17 projects. He digitally laid foundation stones for 6 more projects.
ii. Mr. Modi inaugurated the Deendayal Hastkala Sankul, a Trade Facilitation Centre, at Bada Lalpur, Varanasi.The facility has been named after former BJP President Mr. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.
iii. The Prime Minister dedicated it to the nation. It focuses on handicrafts. Modi flagged off the Vadodara-Varanasi weekly express remotely through a video link.
iv. Mr. Modi inaugurated banking services of the Utkarsh Bank in Varanasi. He also laid foundation stone for the headquarters building of the bank. This bank focuses on micro-finance.


2.   SECOND STATE START UP CONFERENCE IN NEW DELHI
i. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion organised the Second State Startup Conference in New Delhi. The conference was inaugurated by the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Mr. C. R. Choudhary.
ii. Higher Officials from various States and Union Territories, Incubators, Funding agencies, Accelerators, Venture capitals, Angel investors and Startups attended the conference.
iii. The following topics were discussed: Reforms to be made by state governments for Startups, Role of State Governments in developing incubation centres for Startups, Making regulations easier for Startups and Role of State Governments in setting up funds for Startups.
iv. Developing a ranking system for states and union territories based on the initiatives taken to promote Startups was also discussed.

3.   ANGELA MERKEL WINS 4TH TERM AS CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY
i. Angela Merkel won a 4th term as chancellor in Germany elections that lifted the far-right party Alternative for Germany into parliament for the first time since the immediate aftermath World War II.
ii. Merkel’s Christian Democrat-led bloc took 32.5% to defeat Martin Schulz’s Social Democrats, whose 20% is its worst result since the war, the exit polls for national broadcasters ARD and ZDF showed.

4.   CHINA'S HUI KA YAN BECOMES ASIA'S RICHEST MAN
i. Hui Ka Yan, the chairman of big China real estate developer China Evergrande Group, has become Asia’s richest man according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List.
ii. Among mainland Chinese, Hui’s estimated fortune of $42.2 billion puts him ahead of Tencent Holdings Chairman Ma Huateng ($39.1 billion), Alibaba Group Chairman Jack Ma ($38.9 billion), and Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin ($30.4 billion). Ma Huateng currently ranks second in Asia and Jack Ma third.

5.   ANDHRA CM NAIDU DECLARES 2017 AS E-PRAGATI YEAR
i. Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu declared the year of 2017 as e-Pragati year. The flagship program will help the government to make real-time governance.
ii. The Chief Minister also inaugurated the Andhra Pradesh Sports Policy 2017.

6.   SBI LAUNCHES INDIA’S FIRST BOND INDEX SERIES IN UK
i. State Bank of India launched India’s first bond index series for overseas investors at the London Stock Exchange, in United Kingdom.
ii. SBI launched the Financial Times Stock Exchange SBI Bond Index Series in alliance with FTSE Russell at the London Stock Exchange.
iii. Russell, is one of the top three fixed income index providers in the world. This is the first transparent benchmark for investors in international markets to analyse India’s government bond market.
vi. SBI has planned to make an exchange-traded fund in the next 4-5 months.

7.   INDIAN START-UP KHEYTI WINS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD IN ISRAEL
i. An Indian, Kheyti, a Hyderabad-based startup has won a prestigious award and a cash prize of USD 42,000 in Israel for developing an affordable modular greenhouse that aims to give farmers a steady and dependable income.
ii. Kheyti provides technology solutions for small farmers. It has developed a ‘greenhouse-in-a-box’, an affordable, modular greenhouse bundled with full stack services that, as per claims, uses 90% less water, grows seven times more food and gives farmers a steady dependable income.
iii. There are 500 companies from 40 different countries had participated n the prestigious Mass Challenge Israel contest event.
iv. Another Indian start-up ‘Sukriti’ were also in top ten finalists. Sukriti developed a smart toilet cabin employing hygiene maintenance systems to enhance user experience in sanitation.

8.   RIZ AHMED BECOMES FIRST ASIAN MAN TO WIN AN ACTING 69TH EMMY AWARD
i. Riz Ahmed has become the first man of Asia to win an acting award at the 69th Emmy Award. He is a British actor of Pakistani descent.
ii. Riz won in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie category for his role in ‘The Night Of’. He plays Nasir “Naz” Khan, a Pakistani/Iranian-American college student accused of murdering a young woman
iii. The two actors of Asian descent who have won at the Emmys earlier are British-Indian Archie Panjabi in 2010 for ‘The Good Wife’ and Iranian-American actress Shohreh Aghdashloo in 2009 for ‘House of Saddam’.

9.   BANDHAN BANK APPOINTS FIVE LEAD MANAGERS FOR ITS IPO
i. Bandhan Bank’s Board has decided to appoint Goldman Sachs Group, Axis Bank, JPMorgan Chase,  JM Financial and Kotak Mahindra Bank as lead managers to manage its proposed initial public offering.
ii. The size of the share sale, its timing and all other related aspects, have not been finalized as yet.
iii.The final decision on the proposed IPO will be subject to all regulatory approvals. Bandhan Bank could raise at least Rs 5000 cr (USD 780 million) and aims to sell shares in 2018.
iv. Investors will be offered about 10% stake in Bandhan Bank through the IPO. The bank’s investors include Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, world bank arm International Finance Corp and Small Industries Development Bank of India as its investors.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHERE DID PRIME MINISTER MR. NARENDRA MODI VISIT IN UTTAR PRADESH AND INAUGURATED 17 PROJECTS?
a)  Meerut
b)  Kanpur
c)  Varanasi
d)  Mathura
Q2. WHO WAS INAUGURATED SECOND STATE START UP CONFERENCE IN NEW DELHI?
a)  Mr.Ramvilas Paswan
b)  Mr.Suresh Prabhu
c)  Mr.C.R.Choudhary
d)  Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad
Q3. WHICH ENTITY HAS APPOINTED FIVE LEAD MANAGERS FOR ITS INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING?
a)  Axis Bank
b)  Bandhan Bank
c)  JPMorgan Chase
d)  Goldman Sachs Group
Q4. WHO OF THE FOLLOWING HAS BECOME ASIA’S RICHEST MAN?
a)  Hui Ka Yan
b)  Mukesh Ambani
c)  Yang Huiyan
d)  Jack Ma
Q5. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING CHIEF MINISTER HAS DECLARED 2017 AS E-PRAGATI YEAR?
a)  K Chandrasekhar Rao
b)  Vijay Rupani
c)  N. Chandrababu Naidu
d)  Pinarayi Vijayan

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