DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 31 OCT 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 31 OCT 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
                                  SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      ITALY PM PAOLO GENTILONI ON TWO-DAY VISIT TO INDIA
i. Prime Minister of Italy Paolo Gentiloni arrived in New Delhi on a 2-day visit to India. The visit is aimed at strengthening the bilateral political and economic relations between the two countries.
ii. The last visit of the Italian Prime Minister to India was in February 2007.

2.      GOVT MAKES USE OF PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM MANDATORY FOR CENTRAL SCHEMES
i. The Centre has made the use of Public Finance Management System mandatory for all central schemes. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stated that making use of the PFMS mandatorily will ensure benefits of government schemes to reach the last mile.
ii. The move would help in tracking and monitoring the flow of funds to the implementing agencies. A total of 613 schemes of the central government will be covered under PFMS.


3.      INDIA, UAE SECOND STRATEGIC TALKS HELD IN ABU DHABI
i. India and the United Arab Emirates held 2nd round of strategic dialogue in Abu Dhabi with an objective to deepen bilateral cooperation in various areas such as trade and investment.
ii. M.J. Akbar, Minister of State for External Affairs led the Indian delegation, whereas UAE side was represented by Dr. Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
iii. Both Ministers held discussions on a range of bilateral, regional and international matters of mutual interest. 1st strategic dialogue between India and UAE was held in January 2017 in New Delhi, India.
iv. U AE is India’s third largest trading partner and also one of the top investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments.

4.      TRANSCORP LAUNCHES PRE-PAID CARD IN ASSOCIATION WITH YES BANK
i. Foreign Exchange and inward remittance service provider company Transcorp International has launched a platinum pre-paid card in association with Yes Bank.
ii. This card can be used for transactions in stores and ATMs across the country.  It can even be used by companies/organisation to disburse wages and salaries to those employees who do not have a bank account.
iii.Transcorp-Yes Bank pre-paid card has been launched in association with RUPAY, powered by National Payments Corporation of India. This card can either be prefunded or money can be loaded in by the employer or by the card holder himself.
iv. Maximum limit for Know Your Customer compliant cards is Rs. 100000, whereas for non- KYC compliant cards, maximum amount that can be loaded is Rs. 10000.

5.      DASSAULT TO INVEST $116 MN IN VENTURE WITH RELIANCE AEROSPACE
i. French Aircarft manufacturer, Dassault Aviation will invest over USD 116 million in a joint venture with Anil Ambani-led Reliance Aerospace to manufacture aircraft components of 36 Rafale fighter jets, which India has agreed to purchase from France.
ii. As per the offset obligation under the India-France deal for 36 Rafale Fighter Jets signed in 2016, Dassault Aviation is under an obligation to manufacture several components of the fighter jets in collaboration with an Indian company.
iii. Thus, it has entered into a joint venture with Reliance Aerospace and formed an entity named Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited for this purpose. Foundation stone laying ceremony of the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited’s manufacturing facility was held on October 28, 2017 at Dhirubhai Ambani Aerospace Park in Mihan Special Economic Zone near Nagpur airport, Maharashtra.
iv. It is to be noted that this joint venture is the largest ever foreign direct investment in the defence sector in India.

6.      VICE ADMIRAL AJIT KUMAR ASSUMES CHARGE AS THE VICE CHIEF OF NAVAL STAFF
i. Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P, AVSM, VSM has assumed charge as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff from Vice Admiral Karambir Singh AVSM at a formal ceremony held in New Delhi.
ii. Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P, AVSM, VSM is an alumni of the National Defence Academy. The Flag Officer was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 01 Jul 81 and is a specialist in Missiles & Gunnery.

7.      CLEARTRIP NAMED 'BEST MOBILE APP FOR TRAVEL' AT MOBEXX AWARDS
i. Online travel solutions provider Cleartrip was named the 'Best Mobile App for Travel and Leisure' at the Mobexx Awards 2017.
ii. The award was conferred for the success that it has had on the mobile platform, seen by many as the future of advertising and brand marketing. IIT-Roorkee won Schneider's 'Go Green in the City' contest held in Paris.

8.      BOOK ON DR. APJ ABDUL KALAM'S INSPIRATIONAL WORDS RELEASED
i. An illustrative book containing inspiring words of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was released online by Indian women cricket team captain Mithali Raj on the 86th birth anniversary of the former President.
ii. Titled "Dreamnation: Uniting a Country with Handwritten Dreams", the book includes a collection of 200-plus handcrafted and handwritten postcards from across India. The book is Co-authored by Saji Mathew and Jubie John and published by Bloomsbury.

9.      JOHOR CUP HOCKEY: INDIAN JUNIOR TEAM WIN BRONZE MEDAL
i. Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team beat hosts Malaysia 4-0 in the Bronze medal match of the 7th Sultan of Johor Cup 2017 at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium, in Malaysia
ii. Goals from Vishal Antil, Vivek Prasad and Shilanand Lakra were enough for India to finish their tournament with the Bronze medal.

10.  KIDAMBI SRIKANTH WINS FRENCH OPEN TO CLINCH 4TH SUPER SERIES TITLE OF 2017
i. India's Kidambi Srikanth created history as he became the 1st Indian player to win four Superseries titles in a year after he won the men's singles title at the French Open.
ii. He defeated Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in the final to achieve this feat. This win was another addition to the Indian's list of firsts as he also became the only Indian to win the French Open since it became a Superseries event in 2007.

11.  MITHALI RAJ AND VIRAT KOHLI TOPS ICC RANKING
i. India captain Mithali Raj moved up one place to occupy the number one spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batswomen. Ellyse Perry of Australia and Amy Satterthwaite of New Zealand also jumped one place each to be at second and third spots. Mithali has 753 points.
ii. Also, Indian captain, Virat Kohli returned to the top of the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen after logging career-high rating points, going past the iconic Sachin Tendulkar in the process. The 28-year-old Delhi batsman has reached 889 points, which is the best ever by an India batsman.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHO IS THE NEWLY APPOINTED VICE CHIEF OF NAVAL STAFF?
a)  Vice Admiral Karambir Singh
b)  Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar
c)  Vice Admiral Ashok Kumar
d)  Vice Admiral Krishnan
Q2. PAOLO GENTILONI, WHO IS ON 2-DAY VISIT TO INDIA IS THE PRME MINISTER OF WHICH COUNTRY?
a)  France
b)  Russia
c)  Spain
d)  Italy
Q3. WHERE DID THE INDIA-UAE SECOND STRATEGIC DIALOGUE HELD AT?
a)  Iraq
b)  Dubai
c)  Abu Dhabi
d)  Saudi
Q4. “DREAMNATION: UNITING A COUNTRY WITH HANDWRITTEN DREAMS” IS A BOOK, WRITTEN ON WHOSE INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES?
a)  Abdul Kalam
b)  Aringar Anna
c)  Rabindranath Tagore
d)  Manmohan Singh
Q5. WHICH APP IS NAMED ‘THE BEST MOBILE APP FOR TRAVEL AND LEISURE’ AT MOBEXX AWARDS 2017?
a)  Redbus   
b)  Cleartrip
c)  Ticketgoose
d)  Makemytrip

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