DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 23 OCT 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 23 OCT 2017

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      NIRMALA SITHARAMAN LEFT FOR PHILIPPINES TO ATTEND SOUTHEAST ASIAN DEFENCE MINISTERS’ MEETING

i. In her first foreign visit as Defence Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman left for the Philippines to attend the Southeast Asian Defence Ministers’ Meeting.

ii. The 2-day ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus meeting will discuss ways to enhance defense and security cooperation among the member nations. During her 3-day stay, Ms. Sitharaman is also likely to hold bilateral talks with her counterparts from a number of countries.

2.      INDIA’S FIRST PRADHAN MANTRI KAUSHAL KENDRA LAUNCHED

i. The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh along with Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated India's first Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra for Skilling in Smart Cities, in collaboration with New Delhi Municipal Counci.

ii. It is launched under skill India Mission. The ministers also laid the foundation for a Skill Development Centre at Moti Bagh and a Centre of Excellence at Dharam Marg, New Delhi.

3.      BANGLADESH SIGNS GAS OIL DEAL WITH INDIA

i. Bangladesh has signed a long-term sales and purchase agreement with an Indian refiner to import gas oil to meet the country’s energy demand.

ii. The deal between Bangladesh Petroleum Corp. and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd was signed in presence of India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who arrived in Dhaka recently on a 2-day visit to discuss bilateral issues.

4.      JAIPUR AND SRINAGAR AIRPORTS RATED BEST AIRPORTS IN THE WORLD: ACI-ASQ SURVEY

i. The Jaipur and Srinagar Airport got First and Second rank respectively in the category of 2-5 million passengers in ACI-ASQ Survey. Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, Airports Authority of India along with his team received the ACI-ASQ Award at a function held in Mauritius.

ii. Jaipur was ranked as the Best Airport in the World catering to a traffic volume of 2 to 5 million passengers per year in 2016 also.

5.      RAKESH ASTHANA APPOINTED CBI SPECIAL DIRECTOR

i. Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana was appointed the special director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

ii. Asthana, a 1984-batch IPS officer, had been serving in the Central Bureau of Investigation as additional director.

6.      HSBC APPOINTS JAYANT RIKHYE AS CEO INDIA

i. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation has announced the appointment of Jayant Rikhye as the Chief Executive Officer for India. The appointment would be effective from December 1 subject to regulatory approvals.

ii. He succeeds Stuart Milne. Mr. Rikhye is currently Head of International, Asia-Pacific, responsible for 11 markets in the region.

7.      AMJYOT SINGH BECOMES THIRD INDIAN IN NBA

i. The Chandigarh hoopster Amjyot Singh became the third Indian - after Satnam Singh and Palpreet Singh Brar to walk into the National Basketball Association league.

ii. Amjyot made it to the NBA's minor league - the G-League. The Indian skipper was picked by Oklahoma City Blue. The OKC Blue is NBA development league affiliate of the Oklahoma City Thunder, an American professional basketball team.

8.      CRISTIANO RONALDO TOPS THE FORBES RICH LIST OF SPORT STARS

i. Cristiano Ronaldo is the richest sports personality in the world, according to the latest Forbes' Rich List.

ii. The Real Madrid striker has earned an incredible £70million in the last year, along with picking up another Champions League medal and becoming the inaugural winner of The Best FIFA Men's Player award.

9.      GAGANJEET BHULLAR CLINCHES MACAO OPEN GOLF TITLE 2017

i. Gaganjeet Bhullar had completed a wire-to-wire victory and lifted his eighth Asian Tour title at the Macau Open. He drained five birdies on the front nine and won by three shots despite a nerve-jangling double bogey.

ii. The 29-year-old fired rounds of 64, 65, 74 and 68 for an aggregate score of 13-under 271, lifting his first Asian Tour trophy of the year.

10.  ASIA CUP HOCKEY 2017: INDIA BEAT MALAYSIA TO LIFT THEIR 3RD CONTINENTAL TITLE

i. India beats Malaysia in the finale to win the 2017 Asia Cup Hockey tournament held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This was India's 3rd continental title. Ramandeep Singh scored the opening goal in the third minute while Lalit Upadhyay extended India's lead in the 29th minute of the game.

ii. India had reached the final after defeating Pakistan in the semi-finals.  Lalit Upadhyay won the goal of the match award while Akashdeep Singh was adjudged the Man of the match.

11.  KIDAMBI SRIKANTH LIFTS DENMARK OPEN SUPERSERIES TROPHY 2017

i. In Badminton, ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has lifted the Denmark Open Superseries trophy at Odense, Denmark.

ii. In the title clash, Srikanth, seeded 8th, defeated South Korea’s Lee Hyun-il in straight games, 21-10, 21-5 to bag his third Super Series title of the year and fifth overall.

12.  IPPB APPOINTS SURESH SETHI AS ITS MD & CEO

i. India Post Payments Bank has appointed Mr. Suresh Sethi as its Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer. Mr Sethi was the former MD of Vodafone M-Pesa Ltd.

ii. Mr. Sethi takes over from the dynamic leadership of Mr. A.P. Singh who had been the interim MD & CEO of IPPB since January 2017.

13.  KANDLA PORT GETS GREEN NOD TO DEVELOP RS 1,176 CRORE SMART CITY

i.  Government-owned Kandla Port Trust has received environment clearance for setting up a smart industrial port city in Kutch, Gujarat. As per the proposal, smart industrial port cities will be set up at two separate sites in Gandhidham city, in Kutch district of Gujarat.

ii. These industrial port cities would house about 35,700 residential flats, schools and parks, and would generate jobs for more than 60,000 people. Cost for setting up these industrial port cities is estimated at Rs. 1176 crore.

iii. One smart port city will be set up on 580 acres of land whereas the other will be spread across an area of 850 acres.