17 October 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. President Kovind embarks on a two-nation visit to Philippines and Japan
- President Ram Nath Kovind has left for a two-nation visit to the Philippines and Japan.
- The president will hold delegation-level talks with his Filipino counterpart Rodrigo Roa Duterte in Manila and attend business and community events ((17th to 21st October).
- Mr Kovind is visiting Japan (from 21st to 23rd October) to attend the enthronement ceremony of the Emperor of Japan Naruhito.
- The Philippines (world's 5th largest island country) is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia.
- Capital of Philippines: Manila, Currency: Philippine peso
- Japan (world's 4th largest island country) is an island country in East Asia, Located in the Pacific Ocean.
- Capital of Japan: Tokyo, Currency: Yen
2. India-Bangladesh rail links closed after 1965 war with Pakistan will reopen
- Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has announced that all the rail links with India closed after the 1965 war will be reopened.
- Trains from Bangladesh to Darjeeling via Siliguri operated till 1965.
- Earlier, PM Sheikh Hasina has inaugurated the first intercity train between Dhaka and Kurigram.
- The first rail line between India and Dhaka was opened in 2008 when Maitree express between Dhaka and Kolkata was started.
- In 2017 Bandhan express was also started between Kolkata and Khulna.
- At present, there are four operational rail links between India and Bangladesh.
- Two more rail links namely Karimganj/Mahisasan in India to Shahbazpur in Bangladesh and Haldibari in India to Chilhati in Bangladesh are being revived to connect West Bengal and Assam with Bangladesh.
3. Indian artists perform Mahatama Gandhi's favourite Bhajan in Sharjah
- Indian artists performed Mahatma Gandhi's favourite Bhajan “Raghupati Raghav Rajaram” on occasion of 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Bapu in Sharjah.
- The function, which was organised by the Indian Association in Sharjah, was attended by Minister of State for External Affairs V Murleedharan among others.
- Mr Murleedharan is on a two-day visit to the UAE to attend the 5th Abu Dhabi Dialogue.
Important days
4. 17th October: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
- The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is an international observance celebrated on 17th October throughout the world.
- The main objective of this day is to raise awareness about the efforts being made to eradicate poverty in the world community.
- The theme of 2019 is ‘Acting together to empower children, their families and communities to end poverty’.
National Affairs
5. Tunnel on NH 44 in J&K to be named after Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee: Gadkari
- Chenani- Nashri Tunnel on NH 44 (in Jammu & Kashmir) will be named after Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
- According to Union Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, it is the humble homage to Mukherjee whose battle for Kashmir, One Nation One Flag.
- Syama Prasad Mukherjee was an Indian politician, barrister and academician, who served as the Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet.
- With the help of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), Mr Mukherjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor to the Bharatiya Janata Party (in 1951).
6. FSSAI launches Food Safety Mitra Scheme
- FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) has introduced a new scheme ‘Food Safety Mitra (FSM)’ to engage motivated individuals with the food safety ecosystem at ground level.
- The ‘FSM’ scheme has been launched by Dr Harsh Vardhan (Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare).
- Food Safety Mitra (FSM) is an individual professional certified by FSSAI who assists in compliances related to FSS Act, Rules & Regulations.
- They will be available in three avatars- Digital Mitra, Trainer Mitra and Hygiene Mitra depending upon their respective roles and responsibilities.
- The scheme will open opportunities for youths in the area of online licensing and registration of food businesses, food safety training and hygiene auditing.
7. GOAL: Digital Skill Training Programme for Tribal Women
- Arjun Munda (Union Minister of Trible Affairs) has announced the 2nd phase of programme GOAL (Going online as leaders) for tribal women.
- The objective of this GOAL program is to digitally mentor 5000 young women in India’s tribal-dominated districts.
- Ministry of Tribal Affairs partners with Facebook and Niti Aayog are running GOAL for tribal women.
- The GOAL program will give technical support to the socially and economically marginalized women for their needs to succeed, using the technology they may otherwise have not had access to.
State Affairs
8. Shirui Lily Festival inaugurated in Manipur
- Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism & Culture Prahlad Singh Patel has inaugurated ‘2019 Shirui Lily Festival’ (3rd) at Shiru Vangayan Ground of Ukhrul in Manipur.
- The festival featured demonstrations of the age-old traditions and culture of the inhabitants of the district of Ukhrul.
- This initiative will provide an opportunity to youth outside the region to develop a positive perception of North-East.
- Mr Patel along with N. Biren Singh (Manipur Chief Minister) jointly inaugurated the Strength of Unity Statue as a mark of opening the third edition of the four-day state festival.
9. Andhra Pradesh CM launches 'YSR Rytu Bharosa - PM KISAN' scheme
- Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has launched 'YSR Rytu Bharosa - PM KISAN' in Nellore.
- Under the scheme, farmers will get financial assistance of Rs 13,500 per annum in three instalments.
- The State Government contributing Rs 7,500 and the Centre Rs 6,000.
- Andhra Pradesh Government allocated budget of Rs 5,500 crore for the scheme and the number of beneficiaries is initially put at roughly Rs 40 lakh.
Science & Defence
10. NASA unveils spacesuits to be worn by the first woman on the moon
- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has unveiled its next-generation space suits for upcoming Artemis programme, which aims to land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024.
- The garment, known as the exploration extravehicular mobility unit (xEMU).
- The xEMU suits will allow astronauts to move more freely on the moon and during spacewalks.
- The suit has been designed for exploring the lunar surface, specifically the south pole – the target for Nasa’s next crewed lunar landing.
11. India-Japan joint Air Force Exercise ‘Shinyuu Maitri’ in West Bengal
- The Indian Air Force and Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) has carried out the annual joint military exercise ‘Shinyuu Maitri’ at Air Force Station, Arjan Singh, Panagarh, West Bengal (17 to 23rd October)
- C-130 J aircraft of the Special Operations Squadron of IAF and C-130 H of Tactical Airlift Squadron of JASDF is participating in the exercise.
- The focus of the exercise, to undertake Joint Mobility and Tactical interoperability among the two forces.
Banking & Finance
12. RBI guidelines for ‘on tap' payment systems
- Reserve bank Of India (RBI) has issued some instructions and guidelines 'on tap' authorisation of payment systems.
- The RBI has been decided to offer on-tap authorisation for Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU), Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) and White Label ATMs (WLAs).
- The payment system operators should ensure interoperability among different retail payment systems.
- As per the guidelines, interested entities should have a minimum of 100 crore rupees net worth and should always be maintained.
- TReDS scheme is to facilitate the financing of invoices and bills of MSMEs drawn on corporate buyers by way of discounting by financiers.
- White Label ATMs are set up by non-bank entities.
13. Mastercard launches an initiative to promote digital payments in India
- Mastercard has tied up with Indian Cricketer M.S. Dhoni (brand ambassador of Mastercard) to launch a nationwide initiative to accelerate the acceptance and adoption of digital payments in India.
- The initiative dubbed as ‘Team Cashless India‘.
- The objective of this initiative to bring consumers and merchants to the “forefront of the digital payments dialogue”.
- Mastercard will work together with Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), acquirer banks and financial technology companies to support nominated merchants to deploy digital payments acceptance infrastructure.
- To take part in ‘Team Cashless India’, anyone can either nominate merchants online or give a missed call to 9016861000.
- Team Cashless India’ is an important step towards Mastercard’s goal to equip 10 million merchants in India with digital payments acceptance capabilities by 2020.
Sports
14. Mumbai's Yashasvi Jaiswal, youngest cricketer to score 200 in One Day cricket
- Mumbai teenager Yashasvi Jaiswal (17 years- 192 days) has become the youngest cricketer in the world to score a double century in One Day Cricket.
- Playing in his debut Vijay Hazare season, Yashasvi Jaiswal (left-handed batsman) scored 203 runs (in 154 balls-12 sixes and 17 fours) against Jharkhand at Alur, Karnataka.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal became the seventh Indian batsman to score a double century in List A cricket and fourth to achieve it in the domestic circuit.
- Riding on Jaiswal's quickfire double hundred, Mumbai posted 358 for 3 in 50 overs and bowled out the opposition for 319.
