Current Affairs Updates - 2nd November 2017

Current Affairs Updates - 2nd November 2017

Important Days

Five states Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and  Karnataka celebrate 62nd foundation day on 1st November

• On the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted greetings to the states and wished each of them growth and empowerment.
• On the 62nd foundation day of Karnataka, the state is hosting Karnataka Rajyotsava and will gave away awards to 62 people, including historian Ramachandra Guha, playback singer KJ Yesudas, writer Vaidehi and hockey player VR Raghunath. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will give away the awards in Bengaluru.

New Appointments: National

Bharti AXA Life Insurance appoints Vikas Seth as Chief Executive Officer(CEO).

• Bharti AXA Life Insurance a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and AXA announced the appointment of Vikas Seth as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The appointment is subject to requisite Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) approval.
• Seth brings with him over 21 years of experience in diverse industries including life insurance, telecom and FMCG. Prior to joining Bharti AXA Life, Seth was with the Aditya Birla Group, where he worked for nearly 10 years in different roles.

Suresh Chukkapalli has been appointed as Honorary Consul General in Hyderabad by the Republic of Korea, with consular jurisdiction over the state of Telangana. He is currently appointed as the chairman of Phoenix Group of Hyderabad.

• Suresh Chukkapalli, Chairman of Phoenix Group of Hyderabad, has been appointed as Honorary Consul General in Hyderabad by the Republic of Korea, with consular jurisdiction over the state of Telangana.
• The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, notified the same recently.
• Suresh Chukkapalli will be given charge/invested formally on November 1 at a ceremony in New Delhi.
• Now Chairman of Phoenix group, Suresh Chukkapalli, who comes from a distinguished family of entrepreneurs, was former Director and founder Promoter of Lanco Group and former Member of Central Board of Film Certification.

Tata Steel elevates T V Narendran as global Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Managing Director (MD).

• Tata Steel has elevated T V Narendran as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director globally, the company said on Tuesday.
• “The Board of Directors of Tata Steel Ltd at its meeting on October 30, 2017 had decided to elevate T V Narendran as CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel globally,” the has company said in a statement.

Birendra Prasad Baishya retained president of Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF)

• Birendra Prasad Baishya has been re-elected president of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) in the Annual General Body Meeting on Monday.
• The newly formed Executive Committee of IWLF comprises seven vice-presidents, while Sahdev Yadav became the secretary general.
• The elections of IWLF was conducted under strict guidelines, issued by the sports ministry. The observers from the sports ministry and Indian Olympic Association supervised the elections.

A P Maheshwari appointed Director General of Bureau of Police Research and Development

• Senior police officer A P Maheshwari was today appointed Director General of Bureau of Police Research and Development.
• Maheshwari, a 1984 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, is currently a Special Director in Border Security Force.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has appointed Maheshwari to the post for a period up to his superannuation on February 28, 2021, an order issued by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.

S K Sinha appointed secretary (security) in Cabinet Secretariat, He has been appointed in place of A R K Kini.

• Senior police officer S K Sinha was appointed the secretary (security) in the Cabinet Secretariat Monday. Sinha, a 1983-batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre, is at present special director in the Intelligence Bureau. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post, according to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). He has been appointed in place of A R K Kini, who retires on November 30.

Banking/Economic Affairs

SBI & The World Bank sanction Rs 2,317-cr for 575 mw rooftop solar projects to 7 corporates.

• To boost clean energy, State Bank and the World Bank today announced Rs 2,317-crore credit facilities to seven corporates, including Adani Group and Hinduja Renewables, to finance grid connected rooftop solar projects which will together generate 575 mw. 
• JSW Energy, Tata Renewable, Azure Power, Cleantech Solar and Hero Solar Energy are the other companies that have been given sanction letters under the joint programme which will together generate 575 mw. 

Govt sets up Arun Jaitley-panel to oversee PSU bank mergers to revive PSU banks weighed down by bad loans.

• In another significant move to revive PSU banks weighed down by bad loans, the government on Monday set up a ministerial panel, led by finance minister Arun Jaitley, to consider and oversee mergers among the country’s 21 state-run banks.
• Members of the panel on PSU bank consolidation include railway and coal minister Piyush Goyal, and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, PTI reported.

Rankings

Ease of Doing Business rankings: India makes highest-ever jump to rank 100 out of 190 countries

• India jumped 30 spots to secure a place among the top-100 countries on World Bank's ease of doing business ranking list in 2018. With this year's performance, India became the first ever country to record highest jump in World Bank's ease of doing business ranking, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during a press conference on Tuesday.

National Affairs

Govt. of Haryana announces pension for Hindi ‘satyagrahis,’ World War-II veterans and their widows & provide 10hours power supply and those from the state who were jailed during the Emergency in 1975

• The Haryana government on Tuesday announced lifetime monthly pension to the Hindi 'satyagrahis' and those from the state who were jailed during the Emergency in 1975, hiked financial assistance to veterans of the Second World War (WW-II) and their widows, and provide 10-hour power supply to the agriculture sector from Wednesday.

Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu to inaugurate Chhattisgarh Rajyotsav, the 17th foundation day celebrations in Naya, Raipur.

• Vice president M Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate Chhattisgarh Rajyotsav, the celebrations to mark the 17th state foundation day, in Naya Raipur tomorrow.
• Chhattisgarh came into existence on November 1, 2000 after a bifurcation of Madhya Pradesh.
• While the celebrations will be held for five days at the sprawling Rajyotsav Sthal in Naya Raipur, the upcoming new capital, remaining 26 district headquarters will witness celebrations for three days, an official said.

Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck to arrive in India for four-day visit 

• Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will arrive here tomorrow on a four-day visit during which he will hold talks with the Indian leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation.
• This is the first high-level visit from Bhutan to India after the "disengagement" between Indian and Chinese troops on August 28, ending a tense 73-day-long stand-off near the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction in the Dokalam area.

At 27.9 lakh, India tops list of new tuberculosis cases in 2016: Global TB Report which was released by World Health Organisation (WHO). Headquarter of WHO - GENEVA.

• India topped the list of seven nations, accounting for 64 percent of the 10.4 million new tuberculosis (TB) cases worldwide in 2016, according to the Global TB Report 2017.
• As per the report, released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday, India saw 27.9 lakh TB cases in 2016, which was down marginally from the previous year’s 28.4 lakh, though. The country also recorded 4.23 lakh TB deaths (without HIV) in 2016, a slight dip from the 4.8 lakh deaths in 2015. Read: Tackling India’s tuberculosis crisis - CSIR's Chandigarh body, J&J to develop novel treatments for TB.

Application / Portal 

Rajasthan's Chief Electoral Officer Ashwini Bhagat launched the Election Commission's web- based project, ERO-Net, using which voters can register their names on electoral rolls. 

• Till date, the Electoral Roll Management System (ERMS) software was being used to make voter lists but it could not identify multiple entries of a voter, Bhagat told reporters here. 
• It was being replaced with ERO - Net which was a transparent mechanism to identify whether the voter was listed anywhere in the country, he said. 
• Using ERO-Net, people can register their names on electoral rolls, rectify the details of their voter identity card, and transfer their names to another constituency online. 

Schemes / Programme

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale launches Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana (Medical Store) in Mumbai

• Union Minister for state for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana in Mumbai.
• The Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana has been launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an objective of making quality medicines available at affordable prices to all, particularly to the poor and underprivileged, through exclusive outlets.
• Jan Aushadhi Medical store is set up with an aim to reduce out of pocket expenses in healthcare.

Agreements (MoU)

12th India- Tunisia Joint Commission Meeting with her Tunisian counterpart Khemaies Jhinaoui. India and Tunisia agreed to jointly combat terrorism and extremism while ramping up cooperation in the field of security.

• India and Tunisia today agreed to jointly combat terrorism and extremism while ramping up cooperation in the field of security.
• A review of bilateral ties was undertaken as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj co-chaired the 12th India- Tunisia Joint Commission Meeting with her Tunisian counterpart Khemaies Jhinaoui.
• Six agreements in the fields of judicial cooperation, cooperation in youth issues, information and communications technology, trade and business, were also signed. 

Sports: Awards & Honours

India's young table tennis player Diya Chitale wins one gold, one silver in the 2017 ITTF World Cadet Challenge.

• India's young table tennis player Diya Chitale won the silver medal in the girls' doubles category of the 2017 ITTF World Cadet Challenge on Sunday to make her mark on the world stage.
• The Mumbai lass, who was the only Indian player selected to represent Asia in this continental battle, paired up with Hanna Ryu of South Korea to make her way all the way to the title round.

Obituary 

Veteran journalist Khadri Achyutan passes away

• Veteran journalist and former Bengaluru Doordarshan Director Khadri Achyutan died here on Sunday night after a brief illness. He was 72. 
• Achyutan leaves behind a son and a daughter. He was admitted a super specialty hospital in the city two weeks ago after he had suffered chest related ailment.