Daily GK Updates - 25th October, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. NS Venkatesh has been appointed as CEO of Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI): Before joining AMFI, Venkatesh served in Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) for over 19 years, where he held several senior positions, including that of chief financial officer and executive director. He was also working as the executive director at Lakshmi Vilas Bank.

2. Kanwaljit Singh Cheema appointed principal secretary BoA-Darjeeling:  West Bengal government appointed Kanwaljit Singh Cheema as the principal secretary of Board of Administrators (BoA) in Darjeeling. Kanwaljit Singh Cheema, was the principal secretary of the Mass Education Extension and Library Service Department. The BoA is a nine-member board.

3.  Meghalaya Election Department has entered Limca Book of Records for the formation of the biggest human logo comprising young voters in the state: The logo formation was part of Mission Unite (U and I towards Enrolment) as part of the Special drive to enroll young and left out voters. A total of 2,870 students, 113 schools, three colleges participated. The logo size was 120ft x 75ft.

4. MP aggressive in digital initiatives: As per a report by Coeus Age Consulting, Madhya Pradesh has emerged as the top state in terms of digital initiatives undertaken by State Government. Coeus Age Consulting is an organisation which provides consultancy services on various aspects of digital economy. A comparative assessment of digital initiatives by 36 states and Union Territories was undertaken by Coeus Age Consulting.

5.  Paika Bidroha: Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar mentioned that from the next academic session, ‘Paika Bidroha’ of 1817 will be included in history text books as ‘the First War of Independence’. Paika Rebellion was an armed rebellion against British East India Company, which broke out in the year 1817 across Odisha. Combination of social-political-economic causes triggered the Paika rebellion.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Central American country Nicaragua has signed the Paris Agreement on climate change: Only two countries, United States and Syria are left, who have not signed this global climate pact. Till June 2017, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, 148 of which have ratified it.

2. India’s gift to Bangladesh - memorabilia of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971: On 22nd October 2017, India gifted a memorabilia of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 to the Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. During the war, about 10 million Bangladesh people took refuge in India. India and Bangladesh fought together to drive out the Pakistani occupation army. The memorabilia includes military equipment utilized during the war, artifacts, documents etc.

3. India – Indonesia CORPAT: The 30th edition of CORPAT (Coordinated Patrol) and 3rd Bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy is being conducted in Belawan, Indonesia. The exercise will be held from 24th October to 5th November 2017. Indian Naval Ship Sukanya arrived at Belawan to participate in the 30th edition of CORPAT. CORPAT exercise is conducted on IMBL twice a year since 2002.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS:

1. Manav Thakkar has become the first Indian to occupy the top spot with 3,455 points on the ITTF World Junior Circuit standings:  Manav Thakkar hails from Surat. He was previously placed at No. 5 position. He has reached the top position of top ITTF Junior Circuit standings after finishing runner-up at the 2017 Serbian Junior and Cadet Open, Belgrade.

2. India’s Divij Sharan and America’s Scott Lipsky won the European Open trophy in Antwerp, Belgium:  Divij Sharan and Scott Lipsky defeated Santiago Gonzalez and Julio Peralta by 6-4, 2-6, 10-5 in the finals. They won the 2017 European Open title. Divij Sharan has won his first title of the 2017 season on the ATP World Tour, and third overall, by winning the European Open trophy.

BANKING/ FINANCE:

1. RBI assigned task Force on ‘Public Credit Registry’: Reserve Bank of India has constituted a 10-member ‘High Level Task Force on Public Credit Registry (PCR) for India’. It will suggest a roadmap for developing a transparent, comprehensive and near-real-time PCR for India. The committee will be Headed by YM Deosthalee, ex-CMD, L&T Finance Holdings.

2. EEPC India - PNB Pact: Engineering Export Promotion Council of India has signed an MoU with PNB to provide easy access to finance for SMEs and merchant exporters of the council. PNB will provide finance with assurance that loans up to Rs. 10 crore would be provided within 6 to 7 weeks at competitive rates. PNB would also extend foreign currency loan facilities and provide advisory support to EEPC India members.

3. SBI ties up with Escorts Ltd: SBI announced that it has entered into a tie-up with Escorts Ltd to finance farmers for the purchase of Escorts tractors. As per the terms of the tie-up, farmers across India, who wish to purchase Powertrac and Farmtrac brand tractors manufactured by Escorts, will be provided finance facility by SBI at competitive interest rates. This will help a large number of small and marginal farmers.

4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to make Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) compulsory for companies : Companies having aggregate fund-based and non-fund based exposure over Rs 5 cr. LEI is a unique 20 digit alphanumeric code that will be assigned to corporate borrowers. Fetching loan details on basis of LEI, will prevent banks from extending multiple loans to companies against the same collateral.

5. IndusInd Bank and MobiKwik announced the launch of a co-branded wallet, “IndusInd Mobikwik”: IndusInd Mobikwik wallet allows IndusInd bank’s customers to pay at the MobiKwik merchant network using their accounts. This wallet has a ‘direct debit feature’ which allows IndusInd Bank account holders to link their accounts just once and pay using the co-branded app as and when required.

OBITUARIES:

1. Noted Malayalam filmmaker I.V. Sasi passed away: He was 69 years old. He had been ill for a while. He has directed more than 150 movies in his 40 year career. He started his career as an art director for Kaliyalla Kalyanam in 1968. He made his debut as a director with the movie Ulsavam. He has won various awards like National Film Award, Kerala State Film Awards etc.