Daily Current affairs - November 3rd, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing the inauguration Function of Umiya Dham Ashram via Video Conferencing, in New Delhi on October 05, 2017.
- Narendra Modi inaugurated the most anticipated International Mega Food event- World Food India 2017, the biggest congregation of global investors and business leaders of major food companies.
- The event is organised by the Food Processing Industries Ministry in Delhi. The three-day event aims to transform food economy and realise the vision of doubling of farmers’ income by establishing India as a preferred investment destination and sourcing hub for the global food processing industry.
President inaugurates 21st World Congress of Mental Health, calls for fighting stigma
World Congress of Mental Health is taking place in India for the first time.
- Our National Mental Health Survey 2016 found that close to 14 per cent of India’s population required active mental health interventions. About two per cent suffered from severe mental disorders.
- Biggest obstacle that mental health patients have to encounter is stigma and denial. This leads to the issue being ignored or simply not discussed.
7th Asian Energy Ministers’ Round Table organised by International Energy Forum (IEF) in Bangkok
India is the current Chair of the IEF
- India’s unprecedented leap of 30 places in the ease of doing business and also how PM Ujjwala Scheme can be a model to be adopted in developing countries of Asia and Africa was also highlighted in the meet
- IEF is the largest inter-governmental organisation in the field of oil and gas comprising 72 member countries, accounting for 90% of global supply and demand of oil and gas. Members include developing, developed, OPEC, Non-OPEC and G20 countries. 18 of the G20 countries are members of IEF.
FASTag made compulsory for all 4-wheeler vehicles
A FASTag is a device that employs radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly from the prepaid or savings account linked to it.
- It will be mandatory from December 01 for all new four-wheelers to have FASTag devices fixed on the front windscreens by automobile manufacturers or authorised dealers.
Kerala formulating trauma care scheme
The government has decided to formulate a trauma-care scheme in the State wherein all emergency care and treatment will be provided to accident victims free-of-cost for the first 48 hours once the person has been admitted to a hospital.
- The government will pay for the emergency care expenses incurred by a hospital for an accident victim for the first 48 hours, which would be recouped from insurance companies later.
- No money should be collected from the accident victim or his/her relatives for the emergency care provided to the victim for the first 48 hours.
Blackbuck conservation reserve to come up in U.P.
A wildlife conservation reserve dedicated exclusively to the blackbuck is coming up over 126 hectares in the trans-Yamuna region of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh.
- The State cabinet has approved a Blackbuck Conservation Reserve in the Meja forest division that is known for its rocky, undulating and arid terrain.
- The area has more than 200 species of birds and herbivores like blackbucks and bluebull, and carnivores like jackals and striped hyena.
PowerGrid completes extending grid connectivity to Leh-Ladakh region
This is the first time in the country that any 220kV voltage level substation is built at such a high altitude of over 11,500 feet.
- It is a prestigious project of Indian government to extend grid connectivity to difficult geographical areas of Leh- Ladhakh Region in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Implementation of Srinagar-Leh Transmission System has been entrusted to Power Grid Corporation of India Limited.
Ex-bureaucrat to head Meghalaya’s social audit panel
Former bureaucrat Toki Blah has been appointed as the chairman of Social Audit Council, a panel to review government programmes during the course of their implementation.
- Meghalaya is the first state to have a Social Audit Act. This will empower people to audit government expenditure.
- The State government had passed the Bill in the last session of the Assembly, following which the council was formed.
- All heads and Secretaries of government departments, Deputy Commissioners and members of prominent civil society organisations in the State would be a part of the council
- The new council would mobilise public and civil societies to carry out concurrent audit of all development works in the State.
Mumbai’s Royal Opera House has been awarded the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation
The Royal Opera House has been awarded the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
- The building was closed to the public in 1993 and sat crumbling for years before a restoration project was undertaken eight years ago to replicate the heritage structure.
- It was originally inaugurated by Britain’s King George V in 1911 and completed in 1916.
BRO builds world’s highest motorable road
The Border Roads Organisation has constructed the world’s highest motorable road in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
- The 86-km-long road passing through Umlingla Top is at a height of over 19,300 feet.
India offers to share real-time maritime data
India has made an offer to share intelligence of maritime movements in the Indian Ocean in real-time with 10 Indian Ocean littoral States.
- The Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) was inaugurated at the Tarang Auditorium of INS Mandovi, Goa.
- The conclave was aimed at “Addressing Regional Maritime Challenges” wherein the deliberations were focused on emerging maritime threats and force structuring, maritime domain awareness, maritime security architecture, and maritime security challenges in the Indian Ocean Region(IOR).
Russian film fete to be held in Delhi, Mumbai and Panaji
‘Russian Film Days’, a film festival organised as part of an Indo-Russian government co-operation initiative, will be held in Delhi, Mumbai and Panaji.
- The film festival will open in New Delhi at Siri Fort complex on November 10 with the drama film Bolshoi , which will be presented by the director himself, Valery Todorovsky.
- The festival is being organised to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and India.
- The opening ceremony will see a tribute paid to the legendary Raj Kapoor and his hallmark 1970s film Mera Naam Joker that ran successfully across the USSR 45 years ago.
- Special guest for the evening will be Randhir Kapoor and Kseniya Ryabinkina, a former ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater, who played one of the key roles in the film.
- This is the first time that the festival is being held in Goa. The film festival will travel from Delhi to Mumbai and culminate in Goa at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Pathbreaking films such as Light up , Hostage andCloseness will be screened at IFFI.
PAN Indian Army Release of Integrated Quarter Master Package (IQMP) Software Application
IQMP is web based software developed by Army Software Development Centre in association with M/s TCS Ltd.
- The application automates various logistics related functions of an Army Unit. The application will replace numerous legacy applications such as ‘Vastra’ and ‘Quarter Master Package’.
- The application can be dynamically configured to meet the specific requirements of various types of Army units and is capable of sharing information and data with other software applications in the domain of logistics management.
Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) opens
World’s Third Largest Book Fair Opens in Sharjah, With more than 1.5 million book titles and 1,650 publishing houses from 60 countries, Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) opened its doors to public and trade visitors.
- It is the third largest book fair in the world. The book fair was held under the theme ‘A World in My Book’.
- The event has been organised by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA). Sharjah also inaugurated Sharjah Publishing City (SPC) which is the world’s first specialised book publishing free zone.
Walmart India launched its first fulfillment centre in Mumbai, Maharashtra
Walmart India launched its first fulfillment centre in Mumbai.
- The fulfillment centre is a new format of its cash-and-carry store model that will focus exclusively on FMCG products and staples and will not stock fresh food or electronics.
- The company has also planned another fulfillment centre in Lucknow.
“PRABAL DOSTYK – 2017” between the Indian Army and the Kazakhstan Army begins
A fourteen-day joint training exercise “PRABAL DOSTYK – 2017” between the Indian Army and the Kazakhstan Army commenced with the Opening Ceremony at Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh.
- The joint exercise is aimed at enhancing the military ties between the two countries as also at achieving interoperability between the two armies.
- The training contingents comprise of platoon strength from the 11th Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army and a similar strength of the Kazakhstan Army.
SBI cuts home loan rate to 8.3%
State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest lender, reduced retail loan rates by 5 basis point (100 basis points = 1 percentage point).
- With the change effective November 1, SBI’s home loan rates stand at 8.3% for loans up to Rs. 30 lakh, the lowest in the industry, while its car loan rates are at 8.7%.
Chanda Kochhar and including Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra in World’s Most Powerful Women list released by Forbes
Five Indian women led by ICICI Bank chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) Chanda Kochhar and including Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra, have featured on the list of the world’s 100 most powerful women compiled by Forbes.
- The list was topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Satya Nadella's 'Hit Refresh’ Out Soon in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil
India-born Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's bestseller "Hit Refresh" will soon be available in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.
- The Hindi edition, published by HarperCollins India, will be available at bookstores by the end of this month.
- The Tamil and Telugu editions, published by Westland Books, will be available from November 7.
- In "Hit Refresh" - while taking the readers through his personal journey from Hyderabad to the company's ongoing transformation at Redmond, Washington State, in the US - Nadella is confident that the knowledge he inherited in India is helping him write new codes of life for Microsoft's global audience: Be it Cloud, Microsoft 365, Windows 10 and the emerging disruptive technologies.
Olympic bronze-medallist Gagan Narang Wins Silver in Commonwealth Shooting Championships
Gagan Narang won a silver medal in the men’s 50m rifle prone event at theCommonwealth Shooting Championships in Gold Coast, Australia.
- Annu Raj Singh has also won the bronze medal in the women’s 50m pistol competition.
- London Olympics bronze medallist Narang, who is appearing in his first major tournament since the 2016 Rio Olympics, shot a total of 617.6 in the qualification to end fourth.
