Current Affairs Updates - 25th October 2017

Current Affairs Updates - 25th October 2017

Important Days

24th October is observed as United Nations Day.Theme: Greening the Blue

• 24 October has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948. In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly recommended that the day be observed by Member States as a public holiday.
• This was the 72nd anniversary of UN.

New Appointments: National

Government appoints former IB Director Dineshwar Sharma as special interlocutor on Kashmir

• Restarting the dialogue process for solution on Kashmir, government today appointed former IB Director Dineshwar Sharma as special interlocutor for sustained dialogue on Kashmir with all stakeholders. 

Ngangom Sarat Becomes Member of Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission  JERC for Manipur and Mizoram

• The power ministry said Ngangom Sarat Singh has been appointed as member of Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for Manipur and Mizoram.
• “Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh administered oath of office and secrecy to Ngangom Sarat Singh, today, on his appointment as member of the JERC for Manipur and Mizoram,” the ministry said in a statement.

Shri Alok Kumar Pateria appointed as ADG, CISF

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Alok Kumar Pateria, IPS (MP:86) as Additional Director General, CISF on deputation basis for a period upto 31.05.2020 i.e. date of his superannuation from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier. 

Banking/Economic Affairs

IndusInd Bank launches m-wallet with MobiKwik

• IndusInd Bank, in association with MobiKwi announced the launch of a co-branded wallet, “IndusInd Mobikwik”, that allows its customers to pay at the MobiKwik merchant network using their accounts, with a “direct debit feature”.
• The direct debit feature will allow IndusInd Bank account holders to link their accounts just once and pay using the co-branded app as and when required, thereby eliminating the need to load the MobiKwik prepaid wallet separately.

SBI Launches ‘2nd SBI Digital Hackathon’ – Digitize For Bank (#D4B2017)

• State Bank of India launched its second edition of its Hackathon – Digitize For Bank (#D4B2017) at the hands of DMD and CIO of SBI, Mrutyunjay Mahapatra.
• Digitize for Bank (#D4B2017) presented by SBI Collaborative Innovation Centre (CIC) is a curated Digital Hackathon on four use cases across “Cognitive” theme. They are: Facial Recognition, Signature Recognition, Voice based Authentication and Cheque Truncation Value Enhancers.

India Post Payments Bank gets private-sector stamp

• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) appointed Suresh Sethi as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer on Monday.
• IPPB has been incorporated as a public limited company under the Department of Posts with 100 per cent Government of India equity.
• The company plans to leverage the reach of the India Post network to achieve a pan-India rollout of 650 branches by early next year.

National Affairs

Afghan president Ashraf Ghani arrives in New Delhi; bilateral ties, infrastructure development may feature on agenda

• Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday morning for a day-long visit. According to media reports, Ghani's tour will include a meeting with his Indian counterpart Ram Nath Kovind, and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Ghani is the third Afghan government official to have visited India in the recent past. Moreover, India's national security adviser Ajit Doval was also in Kabul on 16 October to meet his counterpart Hanif Atmar.

BHEL starts execution of 4,000 megawatt Yadadri plant in Telangana

• State-run power equipment maker BHEL on Monday said it has commenced execution of Rs 20,400-crore Yadadri supercritical thermal power project ordered by the Telangana State Power Generation Corporation. “The execution of the 4,000 MW Yadadri Supercritical Thermal Power Project ordered on Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) by Telangana State Power Generation Corporation Limited (TSGENCO) has commenced with the issuance of revised Letter of Intent by TSGENCO,” BHEL said in a regulatory filing.

SWARAJ OPENS INDIA'S NEW CHANCERY COMPLEX IN DHAKA

• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj opened the new chancery complex of the Indian High Commission in Dhaka today on the last day of her Bangladesh visit.
• Swaraj lit a candle to mark the opening of the huge complex at Dhaka's Baridhara diplomatic enclave while the High Commission was previously operating from a house in Gulshan area of the city.

Govt de-affiliates 400 ITIs over failure to meet quality standards

• The government has de-affiliated close to 400 ITIs after quality inspections administered by it found the institutes lacking the requisite infrastructure and trainers for imparting vocational training to students.
• Asked about around 400 out of the 13,000-odd industrial training institutes (ITIs) being de-affiliated, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajesh Agarwal replied in the affirmative.

International Affairs

Robert Mugabe removed as WHO goodwill ambassador after outcry

• The World Health Organization has removed the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, as a goodwill ambassador following outrage among donors and rights groups at his appointment.
• The WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who made the appointment at a high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Uruguay on Wednesday, said in a statement that he had listened to those expressing concerns.

Agreements (MoU)

Bangladesh signs gas oil deal with India

• Bangladesh on Sunday signed a long-term sales and purchase agreement with an Indian refiner to import gas oil to meet the country’s energy demand, officials said.
• The deal between Bangladesh Petroleum Corp. (BPC) and Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) was signed in presence of India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who arrived in Dhaka on Sunday on a two-day visit to discuss bilateral issues.

SBI signs MoU with Escorts to finance tractors for farmers

• The State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest public sector lender, on Monday said it has signed an agreement with Escorts Ltd to finance farmers for purchase of Escorts tractors.
• The aim of the tie-up with Escorts is to promote, market and make accessible organized finance facility, with superior features and at competitive interest rates, to farmers across the country who wish purchase Powertrac and Farmtrac tractors manufactured by Escorts, a statement issued said.

Summit /Conference / Events / Host

2nd World Congress on Marxism to be held in Beijing

• The 2nd World Congress on Marxism is scheduled to be held in Peking University in Beijing next May, the organiser said on Sunday.
• The congress, to be held from May 5 to May 6, is expected to attract more than 300 Marxism researchers to discuss Marxism in the 21st century and its developments in China, Xinhua reported.

Sports: Awards & Honours

Cristiano Ronaldo named Best FIFA Men's Player for second year running

• Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has beaten Lionel Messi and Neymar to win the Best FIFA Men's Player award for the second year running.
• Ronaldo, who won the inaugural prize last year, was presented the award at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony in London on Monday.
• The Portugal captain had been favourite to claim the accolade after a year that saw him help Madrid to a third Champions League crown in four seasons and a first La Liga title in five years, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup.

Indian women boxers win five more medals at 'Balkan' meet 

• India's women boxers rounded off the 'Balkan' International Boxing Championship here by clinching five more medals including a coveted gold.
• The country's youth boxers had set the tone on Saturday by sweeping eight medals and also becoming the most successful team in the competition.