DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 16 NOV 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 16 NOV 2017

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      IMPORTANT CABINET APPROVALS- 16TH NOVEMBER 2017

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Shri Narendra Modi has given the following set of approvals. The full list of Cabinet Approvals is given as follows.

ii. The Cabinet has approved-

1. The establishment of the National Anti-profiteering Authority under GST.

2. Resolution for adoption of the recommendations of the Railway Convention Committee (2014) as contained in their 6th Report on "Rate of Dividend payable by the Railways to the General Revenues for the year 2016-17 and other ancillary matters".

3. Agreement between India and Belarus on Scientific and Technological Cooperation for mutual benefit in the areas of science, technology, agriculture, etc.

4. MoU between India and Poland for the promotion of Civil Aviation Cooperation.

5. Continuation of sub-schemes under Umbrella Scheme “Integrated Child Development Services” for the period till November 2018.

2.      GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED BHARAT 22 ETF

i. The government launched the ‘Bharat 22’ exchange traded fund managed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, targeting an initial amount of about Rs8,000 cr.

ii. The ETF is part of the government’s overall disinvestment programme and mirrors the S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index, which comprises select companies from the central public sector enterprises universe, stakes held under the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India, and state-run banks.

3.      US CONSULATE GENERAL LAUNCHES FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

i. The US Consulate General, Kolkata launched ‘Youth for Business-Y4BIZ’, a support programme for young entrepreneurs in the eastern region of India.

ii. Under ‘Youth for Business-Y4BIZ’ programme, a group of 50 young entrepreneurs will be supported to transform their business ideas from the initial stage to a sustainable business model.

iii. This programme will be launched soon in three other cities of eastern India – Guwahati (Assam), Patna (Bihar), Ranchi (Jharkhand). The 50 entrepreneurs will be selected through a screening process after the programme is launched in all four cities.

iv. This programme is an initiative undertaken by US Consulate General in collaboration with social enterprise Contact Base and is part of a series of activities in the run up to the upcoming 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit which will be held in Hyderabad from 28th – 30th November, 2017.

4.      RBI REJECTS HDFC BANK'S REQUEST TO DECLASSIFY HDFC AS FII

i. The Reserve Bank of India has reportedly rejected HDFC Bank's plea to declassify its parent Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited as a foreign institutional investor.

ii. The RBI has rejected the request citing current rules which require HDFC to be classified as FII. The move will have an impact on HDFC Bank's fundraising program from qualified institutional placement.

5.      SYRIA SIGNS UP PARIS AGREEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

i. According to the UN report, Syria has officially signed up to the Paris Agreement, leaving the United States as the only country to reject the global climate-rescue pact.

ii. Syria became the 169th of 196 countries that are members of the UN climate convention to take the legal step of ratification. After Nicaragua signed up in October 2017, Syria and USA were the only countries not to have adopted the pact.

6.      INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES SETTING UP 1000 GW OF SOLAR ENERGY BY 2030

i. The International Solar Alliance has announced a target to support setting up 1000GW of solar energy capacity by 2030 across its member countries. It will be met through projects that ISA will support under its various work programmes.

ii. This target does not take into account renewable energy targets or projects that countries are pursuing on their own as part of their national efforts.

iii. This initiative by India to harness the untapped resource of sunshine-rich countries between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn was backed by France, and was launched at the Paris climate talks in 2015. 16 countries have ratified the framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance and it will come into force on 6 December 2017.

7.      AMBANIS TOP FORBES LIST OF ASIA'S RICHEST FAMILIES

i. India’s Ambani family has topped the Forbes list of Asia’s Richest Families for the first time with a net worth of $44.8 billion, up $19 billion from the previous year. The collective wealth of Asia’s 50 richest families on the list is a record $699 billion, according to the Forbes.

ii. Top 3 Families in Asia- India's Ambani Family- $44.8 billion, Korea’s Lee family- $40.8 billion and Hong Kong’s Kwok family- ($40.4 billion).

iii. Top 3 Families in India- India's Ambani Family- $44.8 billion, Premji family (Rank 11; $19.2 billion, Mittal family $17.2 billion.

8.      UN PEACEKEEPING DEFENCE MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE 2017 HELD IN CANADA

i. Canada hosted the 2017 UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference in Vancouver, Canada. This conference is the largest gathering of Defence ministers dedicated to UN Peacekeeping.

ii. The goals of this conference are- to measure the progress made since the 2016 UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial;

iii. To encourage new pledges from the Member States, particularly in areas where the UN faces gaps, such as rapid deployment, helicopters, and francophone units.

9.      US APPROVES FIRST PILL WITH DIGITAL TRACKING DEVICE

i. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug in the United States with a digital ingestion tracking system, in an unprecedented move to ensure that patients with mental illness take the medicine prescribed for them.

ii. The drug Abilify MyCite, developed by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, was first approved by the FDA in 2002 to treat schizophrenia.

10.  R.K. SINGH LAUNCHES ‘SAUBHAGYA’ WEB-PORTAL

i. Shri R.K. Singh, Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – ‘Saubhagya’ Web Portal.

ii. The portal can be accessed at http://saubhagya.gov.in. ‘Saubhagya’ scheme was launched by PM of India, Shri Narendra Modi on 25th September 2017 with an outlay of Rs. 16,320 Crores including Budgetary Support of Rs. 12,320 Crores.

11.  ABU DHABI AWARD FOR APMDC

i. The Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation has bagged an international award from Abu Dhabi.

ii. The ADI PEC (Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference) Excellence in Energy Awards 2017 had adjudged the APMDC as the winner for the second position in the category of “social contribution in country value.”

12.  BSE APPOINTS S RAVI AS ITS NEW CHAIRMAN

i. Eminent chartered accountant Sethurathnam Ravi has been appointed as the chairman of the leading Bombay Stock Exchange.

ii. Ravi, who was a public interest director at the BSE, replaced Dhirendra Swarup.

13.  NATIONAL PRESS DAY: 16 NOVEMBER

i. National Press Day is celebrated on November 16 to commemorate the establishment of the Press Council of India.

ii. Formed in 1966, the Press Council keeps a check on the quality of reportage provided by the Indian press.

14.  VETERAN VOCALIST JAGDISH MOHAN PASSES AWAY

i. Renowned Hindustani vocalist of Kirana Gharana, Jagdish Mohan has passed away. He aged 87. He was from Haridwar.

ii. Mohan was honored with the Sangeet Sartaj award by Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh for his vast contribution to Indian classical music.