17 October 2018 - Daily Current Affairs

17 October 2018 - Daily Current Affairs

1. British writer Anna Burns wins 2018 Man Booker Prize for ‘Milkman’

• British writer Anna Burns (56-year) has won the prestigious Man Booker for her Novel 'Milkman'.
• Milkman is a vibrant, violent story about men, women, conflict, and power set during Northern Ireland’s years of Catholic-Protestant violence.
• Ms. Burns won the 50,000-pound ($66,000) prize.
• Anna Burns was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• She is the author of two novels, No Bones and Little Constructions, and of the novella, Mostly Hero.

Note:

• The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel, written in the English language, and published in the UK.

2. H M Pernal gets Vishwa Konkani book award

• According to the World Konkani Centre, H M Pernal has won the prestigious ‘Vimala V Pai Vishwa’ Konkani best book award for the year 2018.
• He has conferred this award for ‘Beeg Ani Beegath’, a collection of short stories in Konkani.

Important Dates

3. 17th October: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

• The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is an international observance celebrated every year on 17th October throughout the world.
• The theme of 2018 is ‘Coming together with those furthest behind to build an inclusive world of universal respect for human rights and dignity’.
• This year marks the 70th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Books & Authors

4. 'Building A Legacy': Mr. Naidu releases the biography of Anumolu Ramakrishna

 Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has released a biography of late Anumolu Ramakrishna titled 'Building a Legacy'.

• The biography is authored by Chartered Accountant V Pattabhi Ram.
• Ramakrishna (former president and Managing Director at Larsen and Toubro) is the pioneer of the application of innovative systems and construction techniques in the Indian construction sector.
• Ramakrishna posthumously awarded Padma Bhushan in 2014.

5. Vice President leaves for Brussels to attend the 12^th ASEM summit

• Today, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu left for Brussels (Belgium) to attend the two-day Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit.
• The theme of this year’s ASEM Summit is "Global Partners for Global Challenges”.
• Mr. Naidu will also participate in the Plenary Session and interact with various stakeholders.
• ASEM Agenda for 2018 will prioritize issues related to connectivity, trade and investment, sustainable development, climate change, terrorism, migration, maritime security and cyberspace.
• Mr. Naidu will also address the Indian Diaspora at the Jain Culture Centre in WILRIJK, ANTWERP.

Note:

• The Summit will bring together Heads of state or governments of 30 European and 21 Asian countries besides top representative of the European Union and Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Banking & Finance

6. Govt hikes GPF interest rate to 8% for Oct-Dec quarter

• The union government has increased the rate of interest for General Provident Fund (GPF) and other related schemes by 0.4 percentage points to 8 percent from 1^st October-31^st December 2018.
• The interest rate on GPF was 7.6 percent for the July-September quarter.
• The interest rate would apply on Provident Funds of central government employees, railways and defense forces.
• Earlier, the union government has announced that the interest on small savings, including NSC and PPF, will be hiked by up to 0.4 percentage point for the October-December quarter.

7. India is 58th most competitive economy in the WEF index

• India has been ranked as the 58th most competitive economy on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) global competitiveness index for 2018.
• On the list of 140 economies, the US (1st) is followed by Singapore(2nd) and Germany (3rd).
• India’s rank rose by five places from 2017.

8. MoU signed between Lady Irwin College & MoRD for Roshni

• Ministry of Rural Development and Lady Irwin College have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishing ROSHNI – Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action.
• ROSHNI is technically and financially supported by UNICEF India serving as a technical support unit at the national level.

9. IRCTC gets new AI-based assistant 'Disha' to Resolve Problems 

• IRCTC has launched a new (artificial intelligence) AI-based assistant, 'Ask Disha' for its website.
• This new assistant will be prompt in answering generic queries about most frequently asked questions on the ticket booking platform. 
• 'Ask Disha' is powered by CoRover (Bengaluru-based startup) that owns the platform which is built on artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

10. Kamal Haasan launched a safety app named ‘Raudram’

• Indian film actor ‘Kamal Haasan’ has launched a safety app ‘Raudram’ to ensure the safety of women in the city.
• If the person feels any trouble, she should press the power button thrice within a minute.
• Once this is done, the emergency contacts, the call centre and the nearby police station will receive an instant alert.
• One can store three contact numbers upon registration in the app.
• The alerts are generated via the mobile net as well as SMS.
• The app also enables the recording of audio and video footage of the situation and sends it.

11. IRDAI panel to study the feasibility of paying claims in installments

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has formed a panel under the chairmanship of Suresh Mathur, ED (Health), IRDAI to examine the feasibility of payment of general and health insurance claims in installments.
• The concept of the settlement of claim benefits in installments will enable the beneficiaries/claimants receive payments in a series of pre-determined installments.
• The regulator ‘IRDAI’ has constituted a working group with Suresh Mathur, ED (Health), IRDAI, as its chairman.

12. Praveen Chitravel bags a Bronze medal at 2018 Summer Youth Olympics

• Indian Triple Jumper ‘Praveen Chitravel’ won the Bronze medal at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Argentine.
• Praveen ended at the third spot with a combined effort of 31.52 meters.
• Cuba won the Gold, while Nigeria won the Silver.
• This was India's second medal in Athletics at the Games after Suraj Panwar clinched a Silver in Men's 5,000 meters race walk event.
• Currently, India has 12 medals in its kitty (3 Gold, 8 silver and 1 Bronze) and they are 14th in the table.