DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 18 NOV 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 18 NOV 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      INDIA, FRANCE AGREE TO DEEPEN SECURITY CO-OPERATION
i. India and France have agreed to deepen security cooperation, bilaterally and in the multilateral fora, and strengthen strong commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
ii. After holding delegation-level talks with Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean Yves-Le Drain, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj stated both countries have vowed to get rid of the menace of terrorism.

2.      CENTRE OKAYS RS 10,000 CR FOR 107 MAHARASHTRA IRRIGATION PROJECTS
i. The Centre has given an in-principle approval to provide an assistance of Rs 10,000 cr to fund 107 irrigation projects in drought-hit Vidarbha and Maratha regions of Maharashtra.
ii. The announcement was made by the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis.

3.      1ST WHO GLOBAL MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON ENDING TB HELD IN RUSSIA
i. The WHO Global Ministerial Conference “Ending TB in the Sustainable Development Era: A Multisectoral Response” was held in Moscow, Russia.
ii. It aims to accelerate implementation of the WHO End TB Strategy - with immediate action. A Ministerial Declaration was signed at the Conference, containing bold commitments by countries to accelerate action to end TB and meet the milestones towards the 2030 SDGs.

4.      INDIA’S FIRST MEGA COASTAL ECONOMIC ZONE TO COME UP IN MAHARASHTRA
i. The government has given the go-ahead for setting up India’s first mega coastal economic zone at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra as part of a plan to develop 14 such industrial clusters to spur manufacturing and generate jobs.
ii. The plan envisages a total investment of Rs 15,000 cr in the first phase and creation of more than 1.5 lakh jobs.


5.      FORTNIGHT LONG TRIBAL FESTIVAL “AADI MAHOTSAV” HELD IN NEW DELHI
i. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ a fortnight long tribal festival at Dilli Haat, in New Delhi.
ii. The theme of the festival is ‘A Celebration of the Spirit of Tribal Culture, Cuisine and Commerce’. More than 750 tribal artisans and artisans from over 25 states are taking part in the festival.
iii. The inaugural function was presided over by Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram. Aadi Mahotsav is organised at four venues throughout Delhi. It showcases tribal lifestyles. It will be conducted till 30 November 2017. It features exhibition-cum-sale of tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric, jewellery etc. A special feature of the festival is tribal India cuisine, recreated and presented to suit urban tastes by special tribal chefs.

6.      RELIANCE CAPITAL ARM, YES BANK IN BANCASSURANCE PACT
i. Reliance General Insurance, a subsidiary of Reliance Capital, has signed a comprehensive bancassurance-corporate agency agreement with YES Bank. YES Bank with its network of 1,040 branches across all 29 States and seven Union Territories will enable Reliance General Insurance to reach a large base of retail and MSME clients.
ii. This is the first partnership signed by YES Bank since the open-architecture norms under the corporate agency regulations were introduced by the IRDAI in April 2016.

7.      INDIA’S FIRST MEGA COASTAL ECONOMIC ZONE TO COME UP AT JNPT IN MAHARASHTRA
i. Central Government has given approval for setting up India’s first mega coastal economic zone at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra.
ii. India’s first mega CEZ will stretch along north Konkan region spread across Nashik, Thane, Mumbai, Pune and Raigarh. Despite of JNPT being one of the busiest cargo ports, it has been chosen for this project due to availability of sufficient land.

8.      YES BANK TIES UP WITH CENTRE DENMARK INDIA FOR FINTECH COLLABORATION
i. Private sector lender Yes Bank has signed an MoU with Innovation Centre Denmark India, a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science to bring fintech innovations and startups from Denmark to India, and facilitate entry of Indian startups to the region.
ii. The partnership aims to build bridges to promote innovation and assist fintech companies in India and Denmark to expand into each other’s markets.

9.      PAYTM, ICICI BANK COLLABORATE TO GIVE USERS SHORT TERM DIGITAL CREDIT
i. Paytm and ICICI Bank have collaborated to announce an all-new initiative where users can get interest-free short-term digital credit.
ii. As per the offer, customers can get digital credit account with instant activation without documentation or branch visit, and the activation will be online.

10.  SHAGUN CHOWDHARY CROWNED NATIONAL WOMEN’S TRAP CHAMPION AT 61ST NATIONAL SHOOTING CHAMPIONSHIP
i. Shagun Chowdhary bagged a national champion crown when she won the women’s trap event at the 61st National Shooting Championship, in New Delhi. Shagun Chowdhary represented ONGC. She is the first Indian woman trap shooter to win an Olympic berth. She overcame the challenge from Punjab’s Rajeshwari Kumari.
ii. N Nivetha of Tamil Nadu won the Junior Women’s title in the same event shooting 37. Rajeshwari led a team consisting Sukhreet Kaur and Inaya Vijaya Singh to claim the women’s team trap gold. Madhya Pradesh won medals both in the senior and junior women’s team events.

11.  NICARAGUA'S SERGIO RAMIREZ WINS SPAIN'S CERVANTES PRIZE
i. As per the Spanish government, Nicaraguan author and former politician Sergio Ramirez Mercado has won the 2017 Cervantes Prize It is the Spanish-speaking world's highest literary honor.
ii. Ramirez has written "Margarita, esta linda la mar" (Margarita, How Beautiful the Sea), which won Spain's prestigious Alfaguara award in 1998. Ramirez was deputy vice president of Nicaragua between 1985 and 1990.

12.  FRANCE NAMED AS HOST OF 2023 RUGBY WORLD CUP
i. France will host the 2023 Rugby World Cup to stage one of the world’s best attended and lucrative sporting events.
ii. The country beat strong bids by South Africa and Ireland, but the award represents a repudiation of the sport’s leadership which have transformed the quadrennial tournament into a multi-million-pound enterprise.

13.  LEGENDARY HINDI POET KUNWAR NARAYAN PASSES AWAY
i. Eminent Hindi poet and Jnanpith awardee Kunwar Narayan passed away in New Delhi. He was 90.
ii. Born on 9 September 1927 in Uttar Pradesh's Faizabad, Kunwar Narayan was known for his poetry, stories, and critiques. His first poetry collection was "Chakravyuh".

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. IN WHICH PLACE, THE GLOBAL MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE ON ‘ENDING TB IN THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ERA: A MULTISECTORAL RESPONSE’ WAS HELD AT?
a)  New York, USA
b)  Beijing, china
c)  Moscow, Russia
d)  Vladivostok, Russia
Q2. WHICH INDIAN CITY CELEBRATES THE FORTNIGHT LONG TRIBAL FESTIVAL “AADI MAHOTSAV”?
a)  New Delhi
b)  Mumbai
c)  Ahmadabad
d)  Kolkata
Q3. IN WHICH PORT, INDIA’S FIRST MEGA COASTAL ECONOMIC ZONE (CEZ) WAS SET UP?
a)  Haldia Port, West Bengal
b)  Vishakapatnam Port, Andhra Pradesh
c)  Mundra Port, Gujarat
d)  Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Maharashtra
Q4. WHICH STATE GOVERNMENT HAS GIVEN AN IN-PRINCIPLE APPROVAL TO PROVIDE AN ASSISTANCE OF RS 10,000 CR TO FUND 107 IRRIGATION PROJECTS IN DROUGHT-HIT AREAS?
a)  Karnataka
b)  Maharashtra
c)  Andhra Pradesh
d)  Kerala
Q5. WHO BAGGED THE NATIONAL CHAMPION CROWN AFTER WINNING THE WOMEN’S TRAP EVENT AT THE 61ST NATIONAL SHOOTING CHAMPIONSHIP, IN NEW DELHI?
a)  Manavjit Sindhu
b)  Beena Mol
c)  Shagun Chowdhary
d)  Anju Bobby George

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