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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS – 17.11.2017 TO 19.11.2017

NATIONAL Cabinet approves Continuation of sub-schemes under Umbrella Scheme “Integrated Child Development Services (a) The sub-schemes that will be continued are Anganwadi Services, Scheme for Adolescent Girls, Child Protection Services and National Crèche Scheme. (b) Besides, cabinet has also approved conversion of National Crèche Scheme from Central Sector to Centrally Sponsored Scheme. This scheme aims to provide a safe place for mothers to leave their children while they are at work. (c) These sub-schemes will be continued till November 30, 2018 with financial outlay of over Rs.41000 crore. (d) Above mentioned sub-schemes are continuing from the 12th Five Year Plan. However, Government has rationalised these sub-schemes in financial year 2016-17 and have been brought under Umbrella ICDS as its sub-schemes. (e) It is expected that around 11 crore children, pregnant women & Lactating Mothers and the Adolescent Girls will gain benefits through these schemes. Cabinet okays increase in carpet area of houses under PMAY (a) Cabinet has approved increase in carpet area of houses eligible for interest subsidy under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) for the Middle Income Group (MIG) under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). (b) For MIG I, the existing carpet area of 90 sq mt (968.752 sq ft) will be increased to 120 sq mt ( 1291.668 sq ft.) and instead of 110 sq mt (1184.03 sq ft) for MIG II category, it will now be 150 sq mt ( 1614.585 sq ft). These changes will be effective Jan 1, 2017, the date when it was initially implemented. (c) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY – U)scheme launched in June 2015 by PM Modi has a vision to provide Housing For All by year 2022, which coincides with 75 years of Indian independence. Govt sets April, 2018 date to roll out BS-VI fuel in (a) Coming under massive public pressure over alarming air pollution in Delhi, the government advanced the roll out of BS- VI fuel in the national capital Territory to April 1, 2018 from April 1, 2020. (b) The PSU OMCs have also been asked to examine the possibility of introduction of BS-VI auto fuel in the whole of NCR area from April 1, 2019.The government had earlier decided to leapfrog from BS-IV to BS-VI grade by April 1, 2020, skipping BS-V. Saubhagya’ Web-Portal – a Platform for Monitoring Universal Household Electrification launched (a) Power and New & Renewable Energy Ministry, launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – ‘Saubhagya’ Web Portal. (b) The Saubhagya Dashboard is a platform for monitoring household electrification progress, which would disseminate information on Household Electrification Status (State, District, village-wise), Household Progress on live basis, State- wise Target vs Achievement, Monthly Electrification Progress, etc. President Ram Nath Kovind launches schemes worth Rs 3,455 crore in (a) President Ram Nath Kovind launched various schemes and laid the foundation stones of infrastructure projects in Jharkhand. These schemes and projects are to be carried out at an expenditure of Rs 3455 crore. It is to be noted that November 15, 2017 was 17th Statehood Day of Jharkhand. (b) Firstly, he launched Rs 290-crore ‘108 Ambulance’ service in the state. This service will have 329 life support system equipped ambulances which will provide free round the clock service across the state. (c) Thereafter, President Kovind launched Jharkhand State Government’s JOHAR (Jharkhand’s Opportunities for Harnessing Rural Development) scheme. The objective of this scheme is to help tribal and Dalit families double their incomes in four years by creating employment in rural areas. This will be done by initiating micro irrigation projects in these areas. Financial outlay for JOHAR is Rs. 1500 crore. (d) Kovind also launched Mukhyamantri Swasth Bima Yojana. Under this scheme, 57 lakh households in Jharkhand whose annual incomes are less than Rs 72000 will be provided premium free medical insurance cover. (e) In Ranchi, President Kovind also laid foundation stone for three projects (two flyovers at Harmu and Kantatoli and one road widening project). These projects will be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs. 1000 crore. (f) During the course of this visit to Jharkhand, President Kovind also distributed 40000 tablets to the teachers under Manki Munda and e-Vidya Vahini scheme. He also unveiled a commemorative stamp on the terracotta temple complex in Maluti village in Dumka. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates AP AgTech Summit 2017 in Visakhapatnam (a) Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the three-day AgTech Summit 2017 in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. (b) Chief Guest for the Valedictory session on 17 November 2017 was Bill Gates. (c) This summit is organised by the Andhra Pradesh Government in association with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Dalberg Advisors. launches Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat Yojana (a) Madhya Pradesh is the partner state of and under ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat’ Yojana. Thus, Madhya Pradesh State Government has assigned the task of implementing this scheme to Higher Education Department of State. (b) It has been decided that Madhya Pradesh will participate in Manipur’s Sangai Mahotsav from 21st – 30th November, 2017 and teams of Manipur and Nagaland will take part in Madhya Pradesh’s Lok Rang and Bal Rang programmes. (c) ‘Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat’ Yojana was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, 2015 (celebrated as Ekta Diwas) on the occasion of birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. to Host Global Conference on Cyber Space 2017 (a) India, for the first time ever, is going to host the Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS), one of the world’s largest conferences in the field of Cyber Space and related issues, on 23 & 24 November 2017, at Aerocity, .

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS – 17.11.2017 TO 19.11.2017

(b) Themed on Cyber4All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development, this is the fifth edition of GCCS wherein international leaders, policymakers, industry experts, think tanks and cyber experts will gather to deliberate on issues and challenges for optimally using cyber space. 12th North East Business Summit inaugurated in New Delhi Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh inaugurated the 12th North-East Business Summit in New Delhi. The two-day summits aims to explore the scope for business opportunities in the North-Eastern region of the country. bans Plastic Bottles at Government Offices, Hotels The Maharashtra government, in a bid to become plastic-free state from March 2018, has banned packaged water bottles in Mantralaya and other government offices. The regulation will soon be imposed on restaurants. Maha govt sets up committee to curb custodial deaths The Maharashtra government has set up a seven-member committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sudhir Shrivastava to recommend ways to stop the custodial deaths. The formation of the panel comes in the wake of the the custodial death of Aniket Kothale in Sangli city earlier this month. Seminar on cyber security held in New Delhi A seminar on cyber security in the context of Indian Navy was held in New Delhi. The seminar provided a platform for interaction and sharing of knowledge and experience in Cyber security among the experts in the field. Nagaland becomes first NE state to launch POS for paying electricity bills (a) Nagaland scripted history when it became the first State in the Northeast to launch Point of Sale (POS) facility for electricity bill payment, where the mode of payment will be cashless. (b) The POS facility would now enable the consumers to pay their electricity bills as cashless transactions has been made available to them. India’s First Mega Coastal Economic Zone to Come up in Maharashtra The government has given the go-ahead for setting up India’s first mega coastal economic zone (CEZ) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra as part of a plan to develop 14 such industrial clusters to spur manufacturing and generate jobs. The plan envisages a total investment of Rs 15,000 crore in the first phase and creation of more than 1.5 lakh jobs. to launch vaccination campaign to combat Japanese Encephalitis (a) The Odisha government will launch a massive vaccination drive to combat killer Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in 13 districts of the state. (b) Over 71 lakh children in the age group of 1 year to 15 years would be vaccinated with one dose of the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine during the campaign. (c) The disease had killed over 100 children in the state last year. Mega Business Expo to be held at Hyderabad on Nov 25-26 (a) Hyderabad is all set to host the ‘Skill Seeds International MSME and Startup Expo 2017’ from November 25-26 at the National Small Industries Corporation Campus. (b) It is an international Expo for trade, industry, MSMEs and startups. (c) The expo will provide a platform for businesses to exhibit their products and services, network and find new business opportunities, markets, buyers, sellers, raw materials and investments. BILATERAL India and : Union Cabinet has been apprised of the agreement between the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) on Scientific and Technological Cooperation for mutual benefit in the areas of science, technology, agriculture, etc. This agreement was exchanged at New Delhi during the visit of Belarus President H.E. Mr. Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus:Capital – , Currency – Belarusian ruble, Current President – Alexander Lukashenko India and : Cabinet approves MoU between India and Poland for the promotion of Civil Aviation Cooperation with a special emphasis on improving Regional Air Connectivity in India.Term of the MoU is 5 years. Poland:Capital – , Currency – Polish zloty, Current President – Andrzej Duda INTERNATIONAL NASA launches Joint Polar Satellite System-1 into space NASA launched a next-generation satellite into space designed to monitor weather around the world and help improve forecasts. The satellite, called the Joint Polar Satellite System-1, is a joint venture between the US space agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which provides weather reports and forecasts. The satellite will orbit the Earth 14 times each day from one pole to the other at 824 kms above the planet, providing scientists full global coverage twice a day. Opens World’s Coolest Library China unveiled one of the world’s coolest library with more than one million books to readers. It took an innovative step and built the world’s most beautiful and modern library. It has a giant spherical auditorium in the middle that looks just like a giant eye. It has near about 1.2 Million Books. It is located in the Binhai Cultural District in Tianjin, China. NEA, CTGC sign Joint Venture Pact to construct West Seti Hydropower Project Electricity Authority, NEA has signed a joint venture agreement with a Chinese company to construct 750 MW West Seti hydropower Project. The West Seti Dam is a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Seti River in the Far-Western Development Region of Nepal. U.S. approves first pill with digital tracking device The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first drug Abilify MyCite in the with a digital ingestion tracking system, in an unprecedented move to ensure that patients with mental illness take the medicine prescribed for them.

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS – 17.11.2017 TO 19.11.2017

‘1st WHO Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB in Sustainable Development Era’ held in The first Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB in the Sustainable Development Era held in Moscow, Russia Federation. The conference was themed “Ending TB in the Sustainable Development Era: A Multisectoral Response”. Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare represented India. There, he reaffirmed India’s commitment to eliminating TB by 2025. Founding Ceremony of International Solar Alliance Held in Germany (a) A Curtain Raiser Event for the Founding Ceremony of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) was held in Bonn, Germany. (b) Shri Anand Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy was present at the event from the Indian side. (c) The ISA was jointly launched on 30 November 2015 by Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and then-President of , H.E. Francois Hollande, on the sidelines of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties 21 (CoP21) at Paris, France. Headquarters: Gwal Pahari, Gurugram Syria Signs up Paris Agreement on Climate Change According to the UN report, Syria has officially signed up to the Paris Agreement, leaving only the United States as the only country to reject the global climate-rescue pact. Syria became the 169th of 196 countries that are members of the UN climate convention to take the legal step of ratification. After Nicaragua signed up in October 2017, Syria and USA were the only countries not to have adopted the pact. UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference 2017 Held in Canada hosted the 2017 UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference in Vancouver, Canada. This conference is the largest gathering of Defence ministers dedicated to UN Peacekeeping. India’s global rank up to 14th for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (a) India is ranked 14th in this year’s Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2018 out of 56 nations and the European Union by environmental organisation Germanwatch, an improvement from its 20th position last year, for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by opting to transform its electricity sector towards green technology. (b) The top three rankings are unoccupied as the report says no country is on a Paris-compatible path yet that aims to keep the average global temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celcius. ranks fourth in this year’s CCPI, following the empty top three. ECONOMY Government launches BHARAT-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) (a) Government of India launched New Fund Offer (NFO) for BHARAT-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), through which it is targeting to raise initial amount of about Rs. 8000 crore as a part of disinvestment programme for the current fiscal. (b) New Fund Offer of Bharat-22 ETF will be open till November 17, 2017, and is being managed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund. (c) This ETF is a unique blend of shares of key Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and Government owned shares in blue chip private companies like Larsen & Tubro (L&T), Axis Bank and ITC held under the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI). (d) The ETF features four banking stocks — SBI, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda and Indian Bank. (e) Specially created ‘S&P BSE BHARAT-22 INDEX’ is the benchmark index for this ETF. (f) It is a broad-based and diversified index as it comprises 22 companies that represent 6 important sectors of the economy – Finance, Industry, Energy, Utilities, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Basic Materials. What is Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)? An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund traded on stock exchanges, just like stocks. An ETF holds assets such as stocks, commodities, or bonds and tracks an index, such as a stock index or bond index. ETFs may be attractive as investments because of their low costs, tax efficiency, and stock-like features. Paytm, ICICI Bank collaborate to offer short term instant digital credit Digital payments major Paytm has announced its tie-up with ICICI Bank to jointly launch ‘Paytm-ICICI Bank Postpaid’, the most seamless way to access interest-free short-term digital credit. Paytm: CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma , Headquarters: Noida RBL Bank opens all women branch in Chennai Private sector RBL Bank has set up an all women branch in Chennai, . The branch at R A Puram, would be managed by eight women and offer all products and services across liability and assets. The women branch is a testament to the bank’s efforts in encouraging gender equality. Yes Bank ties up with Centre India for fintech collaboration Private sector lender Yes Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Innovation Centre Denmark India (ICDK India), a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science to bring fintech innovations and startups from Denmark to India, and facilitate entry of Indian startups to the region. RBI will not pursue proposal to introduce Islamic banking in India In a major move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided not to pursue a proposal for introduction of Islamic banking in the country. Islamic or Sharia banking is a finance system based on the principles of not charging interest, which is prohibited under Islam. The issue of introduction of Islamic banking in India was examined by the RBI and the government of India, RBI said. RBI withdraws sale of Rs 10,000 crore worth of govt securities under Open Market Operations The Reserve Bank of India, RBI, has withdrawn the sale of Rs Ten thousand crore worth of government securities under Open Market Operations, OMO. The central bank in a statement, in view of the recent market developments and based on

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS – 17.11.2017 TO 19.11.2017

a fresh review of the current and evolving liquidity conditions, it has been decided to withdraw the OMO scheduled for November 23. Reliance Capital arm, YES Bank in bancassurance pact Reliance General Insurance, a subsidiary of Reliance Capital, has signed a comprehensive bancassurance-corporate agency agreement with YES Bank. YES Bank with its network of 1,040 branches across all 29 States and seven Union Territories will enable Reliance General Insurance to reach a large base of retail and MSME clients. PNB, ACE tie-up for farm machinery financing National Bank (PNB) and Action Construction Equipment Ltd (ACE) have tied up for augmenting tractors/agricultural implements financing to the farmers across the country through PNB’s branch network. RBI Governor appointed to Financial Stability Institute Advisory Board RBI Governor Urjit Patel has been appointed to the Financial Stability Institute Advisory Board or the Bank of International Settlement (BIS). Bank for International Settlements is an international financial organisation owned by 60 member central banks across the world. The Financial Stability Institute (FSI) of the BIS assists financial sector authorities worldwide in strengthening their financial systems. PERSON IN NEWS AVPS Chakravarthi: Ecobliss India managing director AVPS Chakravarthi has been appointed as the ambassador of World Packaging Organisation at its 99th board meeting held in Rio de Geneiro, recently. Justice V Khalid: Former Supreme Court judge and eminent jurist, Justice V Khalid, has passed away. Abdul Mannan Hossain : Former Murshidabad MP and senior Trinamool Congress leader Abdul Mannan Hossain has passed away. AWARD India’s Manushi Chillar crowned 2017 India’s Manushi Chillar won the coveted pageant, 17 years after won the title in 2000. , who is Miss was the first runner up and from was second runner up.Chillar competed against 108 contestants from various countries at a glittering event held at City Arena in China. Apart from the title, Chillar also won the Beauty with Purpose award. Chillar, who is from , had earlier this year won the 2017. Indonesian beauty queen crowned 2017 ’s was crowned at an event held at the Dome City Hall. Lilliana also won the award for being the best dressed contestant. Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth win NTR Award Veteran actors Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and film director K. Raghvendra Rao have bagged the NTR National Film Awards for 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Andhra Pradesh government announced the Nandi state film award winners and also the winners of the NTR, B. N. Reddy, Nagi Reddy-Chakrapani (all national) and Raghupathi Venkaiah film awards. Directors S.S. Rajamouli, Trivikram Srinivas and Boyapati Srinivas won the BN Reddy Award. Sri Lankan author Anuk Arudpragasam bags 2017 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature Sri Lankan author Anuk Arudpragasam’s “The Story of a Brief Marriage” — a touching tale of a young man trapped on the frontlines between the Sri Lankan Army and the Tamil Tigers — has bagged the $25,000 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2017. MISCELLANEOUS Indian Army to conduct joint exercise with (a) Indian and Myanmar armies will conduct their maiden joint exercise in India’s northeastern state of . The five-day exercise slated to start on November 20 will be held at the newly-inaugurated state-of-the-art Joint Training Node at Umroi Cantonment, about 25 km from Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya. (b) Exercise “IMBAX-2017” is the first-ever military training exercise on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKO) between the two nations, being conducted on the Indian soil. (c) Some days back, 7th Indo- joint training exercise ‘Sampriti’ was also held at Umroi cantonment of Ri Bhoi district in Meghalaya. Mukesh Ambani family tops Forbes list of Asia’s richest families India’s Ambani family has topped the Forbes list of Asia’s 50 Richest Families for the first time, with a net worth of $44.8 billion. The family’s net worth rose by $19 billion, making it the biggest gainer in dollar and percentage terms. ’s Lee family, which controls Samsung, has been ranked second with a fortune of $40.8 billion. IFFI 2017: Amitabh Bachchan to be honoured with Personality of the Year Award Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured with personality of the year award at the upcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in IMPORTANT NEWS • Ravindra Gupta, Member (Rolling Stock), Ministry of Railway said that, the target for 100 % completion of installing bio-toilets in railway coaches has been advanced to December 2018.

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