DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 29 NOV 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 29 NOV 2017

(DAILY NEWS INDIA)

SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      FIRST EDITION OF INSPIRE 2017 KICKED OFF IN JAIPUR

i. First edition of the International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency begun in Jaipur, Rajasthan. 5-day symposium, INSPIRE 2017 is being organized by Energy Efficiency Services Limited in partnership with The World Bank, and Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy.

ii. INSPIRE 2017 brings together various stakeholders such as innovators, policy makers, financiers and experts to showcase best practices in the sector. During the course of this 5-day symposium, experts from Bureau of Energy Efficiency, The Energy Institute, The World Bank Group, International Energy Agency, and representatives of the Clean Energy Ministerial will hold high level deliberations on various aspects of energy efficiency sector.

iii. Representatives from several global organizations like African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, The World Bank and International Energy Agency will also share their perspectives at INSPIRE 2017.

2.      ADB TO EXTEND $20 BILLION LOAN TO INDIA OVER 5 YEARS

i. Multi-lateral funding agency Asian Development Bank announced that it increase annual funding to India to up to $4 billion from existing $2.7 billion from next year to accelerate inclusive economic transformation.

ii. So cumulatively, India, the largest recipient of ADB, will get about $20 billion over a period of 5 years. Under this strategy, ADB’s annual sovereign funding to India will increase from $2 billion to $3 billion while private sector funding will be doubled to $1 billion.

3.      NK SINGH APPOINTED AS 15TH FINANCE COMMISSION CHAIRMAN

i. The government announced that former revenue secretary NK Singh will be the chairman of the 15th Finance Commission that will recommend distribution of taxes between the Centre and the states

ii. Other members of the commission are former department of economic affair secretary Shaktikanta Das, Anoop Singh, professor at Georgetown University, former chief economic advisor Ashok Lahiri, agricultural expert and NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand. Chand and Lahiri are part time members. The commission has to submit its report by October 30, 2019.

4.      AEGON LIFE INSURANCE APPOINTS VINEET ARORA AS MD & CEO

i. Aegon Life Insurance today announced the appointment of Vineet Arora as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer.

ii. Vineet Arora will replace K S Gopalakrishnan. Chief People Officer of Aegon Life Insurance, Saba Adil, will serve as the interim In-charge and Principal Officer.

5.      IVANKA TRUMP ARRIVES FOR GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT IN HYDERABAD

i. The first South-Asian edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which is being organised by the NITI Aayog in partnership with the government of the United States of America, started in Hyderabad, Telangana.

ii. U.S. President Donald Trump’s Adviser and daughter Ivanka Trump, who is leading the US delegation for GES 2017 attending the summit at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre. This year’s Summit will highlight the theme "Women First, Prosperity for All".

6.      PROFESSOR HIROSHI MARUI CONFERRED WITH 3RD ICCR DISTINGUISHED INDOLOGIST AWARD

i. President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the 3rd Indian Council for Cultural Relations Distinguished Indologist Award on Professor Hiroshi Marui of Japan at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

ii. Professor Marui has spent over 40 years working on Indian philosophy and Buddhist Studies. He is President of Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies and has made significant contribution to Indology in Japan.

7.      ICICI PRUDENTIAL LIFE BECOMES FIRST PRIVATE LIFE INSURER TO IMPLEMENT E-NACH

i. ICICI Prudential Life has become first private Life Insurer in India to implement Electronic – National Automated Clearing House service of the National Payment Corporation of India.

ii. e-NACH mandate service is a digital registration process through which a customer issues a mandate to the bank to debit his/her account at pre-determined frequencies. Customer can register for this mandate at the time of purchasing a life insurance policy, by sharing bank details and Aadhaar number.

iii. The mandate is then authenticated through One Time Password received on mobile number registered with Aadhaar. e-NACH service will not only eliminate the need to sign a physical mandate form but will also ensure an error-free registration for the mandate which will facilitate a timely payment of renewal premium.

8.      INDIA WIN 10 MEDALS IN PARA-BADMINTON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

i. Indian contingent to BWF Para-Badminton World Championships in Ulsan, South Korea has clinched 10 medals, including two golds.

ii. India’s Parul Parmar defeated Thailand’s Wannaphatdee Kamtam in the finals of the women’s singles Standing Lower. Other gold was also won by Parul Parmar, who paired with Japan’s Akiko Sugino in women’s doubles final.

9.      INDIA CLAIM 5 GOLD MEDAL, BECOME CHAMPIONS AT WORLD YOUTH BOXING

i. India won 5 gold medals at the AIBA World Women’s Youth Boxing Championships, in Guwahati.

ii. Nitu (48kg), Jyoti Gulia (51kg), Sakshi choudhury (54kg), Shashi Chopra (57kg) and Ankushita Boro (64kg) won gold medals for India in the finals. Jyoti Gulia also qualified for next year’s Youth Olympic Games in Argentina. Ankushita was named the boxer of the tournament.

10.  INDIAN MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TEAMS WIN 2017 ASIAN KABADDI CHAMPIONSHIPS

i. The Indian men’s and women’s kabaddi teams were both crowned the champions of Asia after beating Pakistan and South Korea in Gorgan, Iran.

ii. Star raider Ajay Thakur led from the front in the men’s final, as India beat their arch-rivals Pakistan 36-22. The Indian women’s team beat South Korea 42-20 in their final.

11.  SHAKTIKANTA DAS NAMED INDIA’S G20 SHERPA

i. The Ministry of Finance appointed former economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das as India’s G20 Sherpa for the Development Track of the grouping.

ii. There are two tracks in G-20 — Finance Track and Development Track. Finance Track is managed by the secretary (economic affairs) as India’s Deputy to G-20 and the Development Track is coordinated by the Sherpa.

12.  INDIA, GREECE SIGN MOU FOR AIR SERVICES AGREEMENT

i. India and Greece have signed Air Services Agreement and MoU on Cooperation in field of New and Renewable Energy.

ii. The agreements were signed after bilateral talks between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her visiting counterpart Minister for Foreign Affairs of Greece Nikos Kotzias in New Delhi. The ASA between India and Greece will allow airlines from Greece to operate unlimited flights to six Indian metropolitan airports and Indian carriers can fly to Greece without any such restriction.

OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED ON TODAY’S NEWS

Q1. WHICH STATE INAUGURATED THE FIRST EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM TO PROMOTE INNOVATION & RESEARCH IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY?

a)  Uttarkhand

b)  Madhya Pradesh

c)  Rajasthan

d)  Odisha

Q2. WHICH INSURANCE COMPANY HAS BECOME THE FIRST PRIVATE LIFE INSURER IN INDIA TO IMPLEMENT ELECTRONIC – NATIONAL AUTOMATED CLEARING HOUSE SERVICE OF THE NATIONAL PAYMENT CORPORATION OF INDIA?

a)  Aviva India

b)  HDFC Life

c)  SBI Life

d)  ICICI Prudential Life

Q3. TO WHOM DID THE PRESIDENT RAM NATH KOVIND CONFERRED THE 3RD INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL RELATIONS DISTINGUISHED INDOLOGIST AWARD?

a)  Hiroshi Marui

b)  Hung Cheng

c)  Gilbert strang

d)  Richard Stanley

Q4. WHO WAS APPOINTED AS INDIA’S G20 SHERPA TILL DECEMBER 31, 2018 FOR THE DEVELOPMENT TRACK?

a)  Azim Premji

b)  Shaktikanta Das

c)  Anil Agarwal

d)  Pirosha Reddy

Q5. WHO WAS APPOINTED AS THE CHAIRMAN OF 15TH FINANCE COMMISSION?

a)  Vijay Sharma

b)  Gautam Thappar

c)  Shiv Nadar

d)  NK Singh

ANSWERS: 

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