DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 30 NOV 2017

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 30 NOV 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      ARUN JAITLEY LAUNCHES PAYTM PAYMENTS BANK
i. A new Payments Bank 'Paytm Payments Bank' was formally launched at the hands of the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Currently, India has four Payments Bank including Paytm Payments Bank. The other three operational ones are Airtel Payments Bank, India Post Payments Bank and Fino Payments Bank.
ii. A payments bank is a differentiated bank. A customer can open a savings bank account in them and have deposits of upto Rs. 1 lakh. These banks cannot however lend money to their customers.

2.      48TH EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA CONCLUDES
i. The festival concluded with the world premiere of Indo-Argentinian co-production "Thinking of Him", directed by Pablo Cesar. The closing ceremony was attended by Goa Chief Minister, Manohar Parikkar, Union Minister Smriti Irani.
ii. The legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan was honoured with the Indian film personality of the year Award at the glittering Closing Ceremony. The award was presented by Union Minister Smirit Irani and Akshay Kumar.

3.      SAUBHAGYA SCHEME LAUNCHED IN MANIPUR
i. Union Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R.K. Singh and N. Biren Singh, CM of Manipur, launched Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana in Manipur. 1.62 lakh rural households and 13 thousand urban households (total 1.75 lakh households) in Manipur will be included under this scheme.
ii. Mr. Singh also announced that Government of India would provide necessary financial assistance for strengthening the infrastructure in the power sector in Manipur. SAUBHAGYA scheme was launched by PM Narendra Modi in September 2017. Objective of this scheme is to achieve universal household electrification in all parts India.
iii. SAUBHAGYA scheme will be implemented across India at a cost of Rs. 16320 cr. Rural Electrification Corporation Limited, is the nodal agency for coordinating the implementation of SAUBHAGYA scheme.

4.      RUSSIA TO HELP INDIA TO SET UP NATIONAL CRISIS RESPONSE CENTRE
i. Russia will assist India to set up a national crisis management centre in the country to handle disaster and other emergency situations.
ii. This was agreed during a meeting between Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Russian Minister for Emergency Situations Vladimir Puchkov in Moscow. Both sides agreed that EMERCOM of Russia would cooperate with India in the establishment of the National Crisis Management Centre in India.
5.      INDIA AND UK TO SIGN AN MOU IN THE URBAN TRANSPORT SECTOR
i. India and United Kingdom will soon sign an memorandum of understanding in the urban transport sector for cooperation in policy planning, technology transfer and institutional organisation.
ii. Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari and Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport in the Government of UK discussed a draft MoU in this regard in London. The draft MoU includes the scope of cooperation between India and UK in the transport sector and enables the sharing of expertise and latest technology to promote efficient mobility solutions.
iii. Possibilities for introducing policy reforms aimed at transforming the transport sector through improved customer service/data analysis and better use of IT systems have also been stated in the MoU. The draft MoU also seeks cooperation in promoting digital transactions and induction of high capacity diesel/electric vehicles in India.

6.      FSSAI ISSUES DETAILED GUIDELINES ON RECALL OF FOOD PRODUCTS
i. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has asked companies to put in place a proper plan to recall food products from markets, if found unsafe.
ii. FSSAI has issued detailed guidelines on recall of food products and stated that the purpose is to help food business operators frame a proper recall plan and implement them when the situation demand.

7.      OLYMPICS: IOC BANS FIVE MORE RUSSIANS FOR LIFE OVER SOCHI DOPING
i. Five more Russian competitors from the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, including two gold medallists, have been banned for life over anti-doping rule violations by International Olympic Committee.
ii. Dmitrii Trunenkov and Aleksei Negodailo, both in the gold-medal winning four-man bobsleigh team, plus biathlon relay silver medalists Yana Romanova and Olga Vilukhina, who also won silver in the 7.5 kilometers event. Sergei Chudinov, who came fifth in the men's individual skeleton, was also disqualified for doping breaches.

8.      KARNATAKA BANK TIES UP WITH BCG FOR TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVES
i. Karnataka Bank Ltd has partnered with the Boston Consulting Group (India) Pvt Ltd for its transformation initiatives and the transformation project ‘KBL Vikaas’ was launched in Mangaluru.
ii. The transformation project is aimed at total transformation of the bank by re-positioning it as a relevant and significant bank by focusing on technology and by keeping intact its core values and identity.
iii. The bank has identified seven major intervention areas for this project. They are: growth aspiration and strategies to achieve growth; rationalisation of service outlets, including digital channels; human resource management structure and strategy; stakeholders’ value enhancement initiatives; efficiency enhancement strategy; corporate branding and repositioning; and partnering and collaborating with Fintech companies, startups etc.

9.      JET AIRWAYS, AIR FRANCE-KLM TIE UP TO BOOST TRAFFIC
i. Jet Airways and Air France-KLM announced a partnership to route more traffic through Europe and on to North America, in a potential challenge to Gulf carrier Etihad Airways that is a shareholder in Jet.
ii. The agreement also includes Delta Air Lines, with which Air France KLM has an existing partnership.

10.  FRENCH FILM ON AIDS WINS BEST FILM AWARD AT IFFI 2017
i. Robin Campillo’s French film 120 Beats Per Minute, about a passionate fight against indifference towards AIDS, won the prestigious Golden Peacock award for best film at the controversy-ridden 48th International Film Festival of India. The film’s actor Nahuel Perez Biscayart won the Silver Peacock in the best actor male category.
ii. Malayalam film Take Off, which is loosely based on the evacuation of nurses from Kerala, who were stranded in Iraq’s Tikrit in 2014, won two awards at the festival’s Indian Panorama section, winning Silver Peacocks for best direction (Mahesh Narayanan) and best actor female (Parvathy). Actor Amitabh Bachchan was also presented the Indian film personality of the year award.

11.  AUNG SAN SUU KYI STRIPPED OF FREEDOM OF OXFORD AWARD
i. Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been stripped of the Freedom of Oxford award over her "inaction" in handling the raging Rohingya refugee crisis and turning a "blind eye to violence" in the country that forced over 600,000 people to flee to Bangladesh.
ii. Oxford City Council in London voted unanimously to permanently remove the honour given to 72-year-old Suu Kyi in 1997.

12.  HYDERABAD METRO RAIL OPENS TO PUBLIC
i. The Hyderabad Metro Rail opened for public with the passengers describing their first-time travel by it as a “convenient, comfortable and awesome experience“. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first phase of the elevated Hyderabad Metro Rail project at the Miyapur station.
ii. The metro rail commenced its operations between Miyapur and Nagole, having a total distance of 30 kms and 24 stations, the concessionaire, L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd.

13.  CHHATTISGARH GOVT BANS BURSTING OF FIRECRACKERS IN SIX OF ITS CITIES
i. The Chhattisgarh Government has imposed a ban on the bursting of firecrackers in six of its cities, including the state capital Raipur, ahead of the wedding season from December 1st to January 31st. According to the statement issued by the State Environment Conservation Board, the decision has been taken to control the pollution, which increases during winters due to the direction of the wind.
ii. Besides Raipur, other cities, which have been banned from bursting firecrackers, include Bilaspur, Bhilai, Durg, Raigarh and Korba.