NATIONAL UPDATES
1. Union Government initiates ‘Safe City’ Plan for women in 8 metropolitan
cities: Home Ministry announced that
under the Safe City plan, a robust emergency response system, as well as a
police, verified public transport system will come into place. This safe city
plan, which was reviewed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv
Gauba, will be implemented in implemented in Delhi, Mumbai,
Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Hyderabad.
2. 5th Global Conference on Cyberspace
inaugurated by Prime Minister: Prime Minister, Narendra
Modi inaugurated the 5th edition of Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS) in
Delhi. ‘Cyber4All: A Secure
and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development’ is the theme of the
two-day conference. The inception of GCCS took place in 2011 in London. The
second meet was held in Budapest in 2012, third in Seoul in 2013 and the fourth
in The Hague, Netherlands in 2015.
3. Shubhangi Swaroop to become the first woman pilot in the
Indian Navy: Indian Navy has inducted Shubhangi Swaroop as its
first woman pilot. She hails from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.
4. 'UMANG’ App launched by the Prime
Minister: Narendra Modi launched an all in one 'UMANG' app at the Global
Conference on Cyber Space, as an initiative to promote Digital India
Program. UMANG stands for Unified Mobile Application for New-age
Governance and can be downloaded by the people to avail various Government
services. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
and National e-Governance Division (NeGD) have together developed this
app. The app provides 162 services from 33 state and central
government departments and four states.
5. Union Cabinet grants approval to set up
the 15th Finance Commission: The 15th Finance Commission
will look into the distribution of tax proceeds among centre, states and local
bodies post GST. The commission will be set up for a period of 5 years It is
noteworthy that the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, headed by
former RBI Governor YV Reddy, will be valid till the year 2020.
6. Cabinet approves membership
for EBRD: Union Cabinet has approved India’s Membership for
European Bank for Reconstruction & Development. Membership
of EBRD would enhance India’s international profile & promote its economic
interests and contribute to an improved investment climate in the country.
7. Income Tax Act replacement, panel set up: Govt. has formed a task force to draft a new direct tax law to
replace existing Income Tax Act, which has been in force since 1961. Arbind Modi, Member of CBDT will steer a 6 member panel on the issue. Chief
Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian will be a permanent special invitee on the
panel.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES
1. Latin America named the most violent region in the world for Women: UN Women and the
UN Development Programme (UNDP) in a report presented in Panama found Latin
America and the Caribbean as the most violent region in the world for women. Central
America and Mexico were named as particularly dangerous places in the report.
2. Emmerson Mnangagwa will be sworn-in as the new President of Zimbabwe:
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former Vice President, will be sworn
in as the President of the Zimbabwe on November 24, 2017 after the resignation
of Robert Mugabe following a military intervention. The ruling ZANU-PF party
has nominated him to fill the vacancy left by Mr Robert Mugabe.
OTHER UPDATES
BUSINESS/ECONOMY:
1. Hike, Airtel Payments Bank
tie-up: Messaging app Hike has tied up with Airtel Payments Bank to power its
mobile wallet product. Through this partnership, Airtel Payments Bank gets
access to over 100 million users on Hike and will begin powering the Hike
Wallet product. People using Hike will get access to Airtel Payments Bank’s product
line including merchant and utility payments and KYC infrastructure.
2. Sunil Mittal’s family pledges Rs.7000 cr
to charity: Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has pledged 10% of his wealth to
support activities of the group’s philanthropic arm, Bharti Foundation. The
foundation will set up Satya Bharti University to offer free education to
underprivileged youth.