International Day for Disaster Reduction: 13 October
The International Day for Disaster Reduction was observed
across the world on 13 October. The theme for 2017 IDDR is ‘Home Safe Home:
Reducing Exposure, Reducing Displacement’.
The 2017 campaign aims to raise global awareness about
effective actions, policies and practices taken to reduce exposure to disaster
risk at the community level, thereby contributing to saving homes and
livelihoods.
Gujarat Government Announces Garments & Apparel
Policy 2017
Gujarat Government has announced the Garments and Apparel
Policy-2017, with the aim of creating more opportunities in the garment sector
of Gujarat and to create huge employment opportunities for women through the
apparel industry.
This Policy is prepared with an aim to make Gujarat
number 1 in textile which produces more of cotton.
The State government will
also provide incentives, the women workers will get Rs 4,000 subsidy, while
their male counterparts will get Rs 3,500.
The Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley participated
in the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting in
Washington D.C.
The discussion focused on the agenda items pertaining to
Global Economy and Framework for Growth, Compact with Africa and International
Financial Architecture.
Indian Air Force Launched Health Mobile App 'MedWatch'
The Indian Air Force (IAF) launched an innovative health
mobile App named `MedWatch' on the occasion of its 85th anniversary.
It was
launched by Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa during the Air Force Commanders'
Conference in New Delhi.
The Mobile app was launched to keep up with the Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's vision of ‘Digital India'.
The app was developed in-house with zero financial outlay
by the Directorate of Information Technology (DIT).
Global Hunger Index: India Ranks 100 Among 119
Countries
India, which has more than a fifth (21 percent) of its
children wasted (weigh too little for their height), slipped three places to
100th in the 2017 Global Hunger
Index (GHI). The ranking of India in the
list was 97th in 2016.
The 2017 GHI released by the International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI) termed India's hunger levels ‘serious’ problem at
hand.
The data from the report showed that India ranked lower than all its
neighboring countries - Nepal (72), Myanmar (77), Bangladesh (88), Sri Lanka
(84) and China (29) - except Pakistan, which has been placed at 106th in the
global hunger list.
The hunger report index of 119 countries also showed that
in three years’ time India has seen a fall of 45 ranks from 55th in 2014.
Safe Cities Index 2017: Tokyo Safest, Delhi 43rd
Japanese capital city Tokyo has topped The Economist
Intelligence Unit's Safe Cities Index 2017, which ranked 60 cities on
parameters including personal and health security.
Singapore and Japanese city Osaka have ranked second and
third, while Indian cities Delhi and Mumbai have ranked 43rd and 45th
respectively.
Pakistani city Karachi has been ranked the least safe
city in the list.
Amazon, Microsoft Ties up to Launch Deep Learning
Platform
Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft have teamed up to
launch an open-source and deep learning interface 'Gluon' that will help
developers to deploy machine learning models across several platforms.
The interface would give developers a place where they
can prototype, build, train and deploy machine learning models.
GIC Re Launched India’s Third Largest IPO
General Insurance Corp of India (GIC Re) kicked off its
mega Rs 11,370 crore initial public offer (IPO).
This is India's third biggest
IPO ever after Coal India's Rs 15,200 crore and Reliance Power's Rs 11,700
crore issues.
General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) is the
largest reinsurance company in India in terms of gross premiums accepted in
fiscal 2017.
Reinsurance is insurance purchased by an insurance
company from other insurance firms to manage their risk.
Yuvraj Singh Named Laureus’ First Indian Ambassador
Indian Cricketer Yuvraj Singh was announced as the
Laureus' first Brand Ambassador.
The left-hander becomes Laureus' first Indian ambassador
and joins a host of cricket legends in the Laureus Family, including Indian
Academy members Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Kapil Dev.
Arjen Robben Retires from International Football
Netherlands captain Arjen Robben announced the end of his
international career after his country failed to reach the 2018 World Cup
finals despite a 2-0 win over Sweden.
The 33-year-old Robben scored 37 times in 96 appearances
for The Netherlands and helped them reach the 2010 World Cup final where they
lost 1-0 to Spain after extra-time.
Gautam Bambawale Appointed as India's Ambassador to
China
Gautam Bambawale was appointed as India's new Ambassador
to China.
Bambawale is an Indian Foreign Service Officer of the 1984 batch.
He will succeed Vijay Gokhale.
He is currently serving as
India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan.
Samsung Electronics CEO Kwon Oh-hyun Resigns
Samsung Electronics chief executive Kwon Oh-hyun has
resigned citing an "unprecedented crisis".
Mr Kwon is one of three co-chief executives of Samsung
Electronics. His resignation comes on the same day the firm forecast record
quarterly profits, citing higher memory chip prices.
Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational
electronics company headquartered in Suwon, South Korea.
SBI Launched SME Assist for MSME Clients
The State Bank of India has launched a new product to
provide a short-term working capital demand loan to its MSME clients.
The new
initiative, called SME Assist, would offer loans to MSME customers on the basis
of their input credit claims under Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The loan processing fee under the scheme is Rs 2,000.
The
companies applying for a loan under the product have to provide a certificate
from their chartered accountant confirming the input credit claims.
Under the
scheme, the SME borrowers would have a moratorium period for the first three
months.
Mastercard Launched its First Innovation Centre in
India
US-based fintech company Mastercard has announced the
launch of its global research and development arm Mastercard Labs in Pune,
India.
After Singapore, this will be the second Mastercard Labs
in Asia-Pacific, and ninth in the world.
The initiative aims to bring and
harness new commerce, payment and technology ideas at a fast pace in the
country.
India Beat Macau to Qualify for 2019 AFC Asian Cup
Indian football team has qualified for the 2019 Asian Cup
after they had a convincing 4-1 win over Macau with two matches still to go in
the qualifying round.
This is the third time the country has qualified for the
continental showpiece.
India has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup finals only
twice in the past 37 years.
The last time it happened was in 2011 and their
only appearance before that was way back in 1984.
New Test Championship, ODI League Gets ICC’s Nod
The International Cricket Council Board has given an
in-principle nod to the proposed nine-team Test Championship and a 13-team
One-Day International league at the end of the meeting in Auckland.
The Test competition will begin after the 2019 World Cup
and the 50-over event sometime in 2020.
The Test Championship will have nine
teams play six series over two years – three at home and three away.
Dave Richardson is the chief executive officer of ICC.
