24 November 2017 Current Affairs
Five Indian films nominated for ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal
The International Film festival of India (IFFI) has nominated nine movies for this year’s International council for Film, Television and Audio-visual Communication (ICFT) UNESCO Gandhi Medal. Among the total nine nominated films, five are from India. The Indian films competing for the prestigious ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal include Kshitij – A Horizon, Manusangada, Poorna, Railway Children and Take-Off. The competing foreign films include Amok from Poland, Khibula – a co-production of Germany, France and Georgia, The Last Painting from Taiwan and Women of the Weeping River – a joint production of the US and UK.
WB govt forms Hill Area Development Committee under Mann Ghising
The West Bengal government set up a four-member Hill Area Development Committee that will oversee work in the Hills. The Hill Area Development Committee will be headed by Mann Ghising, president of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF). The new committee will supervise all the development works in Darjeeling and Kalimpong and will come into effect immediately. This committee will start functioning from Pintail village on the outskirts of Siliguri.
SBI launches YONO, an Integrated app for Financial Services
State Bank of India, the country’s largest public sector bank, has launched a unified integrated app called YONO (You Need Only One) that would offer all kinds of financial and lifestyle products. YONO will also allow customers to meet their lifestyle needs across 14 categories including booking and renting cabs, entertainment, dining experience, travel and stay, medical needs and so on. To provide the customised offers and discounts, SBI has partnered with e-commerce players including Amazon, Uber, Ola, Myntra, Jabong, Shoppers Stop, Cox & Kings, Thomas Cook, Yatra, Airbnb, Swiggy and Byjus.
Union Cabinet introduces Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra
The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave approval for the expansion of schemes of the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) under the umbrella scheme “Mission for Protection and Empowerment for Women”. The expansion has been approved for a period from 2017-18 to 2019-20 with financial outlay of 3636.85 crore. The Central Share will be approximately Rs.3084.96 crore. Besides, a new scheme called ‘Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra (PMSSK)’, which will empower rural women through community participation approved.
Basel first city to jointly host Badminton and Para Badminton World Ch’ships
Basel will become the first city to jointly host the Badminton and Para-Badminton World Championships in 2019. The Badminton World Federation (BWF)confirmed that the two tournaments: Badminton and Para-Badminton World Championships will be held simultaneously for the first time. Basel beat off competition from Tokyo to land the 2019 Para-Badminton World Championships in a vote which was delayed by the BWF Council to allow further discussions. The event will be the last held in the sport before Para-Badminton makes its Paralympic Games debut at Tokyo 2020.
Paytm Payments Bank raises to 122 crore
Paytm Payments Bank raised 122 crores from Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications and its Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma. It is also the first bank to offer cash back on deposits, such as cash back of Rs 250 on depositing Rs 25,000 into the bank account. These are India Post Payments Bank, Airtel Payments Bank, Fino Payments Bank and Paytm Payments Bank. The surprising aspect related to the functioning of these payments bank as revealed through an RTI report from RBI is that none of these banks have really been able to attract deposits from the public in all these months.
HRD ministry launches Digital Signature campaign on Constitution Day
Ministry of Human Resources Development has launched a Digital Signature campaign on Constitution Day affirming faith in Indian Constitution and to generate awareness on fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution. Giving the link in a tweet, Mr Javadekar stated that people, can join the campaign by filling a form online. 26th November is celebrated as Constitution Day.
Reserve Bank of India raises Shareholding Limit of ARCs
The Reserve bank of India (RBI) allowed Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) to hold more than 26% post-conversion of debt into equity in companies undergoing restructuring. In a notification, the central bank notified the extent of shareholding post-conversion will be in accordance with permissible foreign direct investment (FDI) limit for that specific sector.
Mount Agung erupts after 54 years
Mount Agung, a volcano on the Indonesian island of Bali has erupted for the first time in more than 54 years. Mount Agung last erupted in 1963, claiming 1600 lives. Due to increased volcanic activity in the recent months, more than 1.4 lakh people have evacuated their homes.
Multi State Mega Mock Tsunami Exercise 2017 begins
The Ministry of Home affairs will conduct a multi-State mega mock exercise on tsunami preparedness on 24 November 2017. The Ministry with the help of the national Disaster Management Authority, NDMA and the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services will conduct the exercise simultaneously in 31 coastal districts across four States – West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu – and Union Territory Puducherry along with the entire East Coast. The exercise is one of the various activities planned on the occasion of the 2nd World Tsunami Awareness Day held on November 5 this year.
Jazz Singer and Lyricist Jon Hendricks dies
Jon Hendricks, a jazz singer and songwriter died in Manhattan. he was 96. He was jazz singer and songwriter who became famous in the 1950s with the vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross by putting lyrics to well-known jazz instrumentals and turning them into vocal tours de force. He first teamed up with Lambert, bebop singer he admired, in the mid- 1950s; the duo had a hit with “Four Brothers” and “Cloudburst”.
Bamboo not ‘Tree’ any more: President promulgates ordinance to amend Forest Act
President Ram Nath Kovind has promulgated an ordinance under Article 123 of Constitute to amend Indian Forest Act, 1927 to encourage bamboo plantation by farmers in private lands. The ordinance omits bamboo (taxonomically a grass) grown in non-forest areas from definition of trees. The omission, thereby exempts it from requiring permits for felling or transportation of bamboo grown in non-forest areas.
Migratory birds start arriving in Chilika Lake
Lakhs of migratory birds have made their way to Chilika Lake (Odisha) after a long flight of thousands of miles. Major bird congregations were spotted in wetlands of Nalabana Bird Sanctuary inside Chilika and Mangalajodi, a major village on banks of lake. During winter season, migratory birds fly across continents from Caspian Sea, Baikal Lake and remote parts of Russia, Mongolia and Siberia and flock to the marshy lands of Nalabana Bird Sanctuary inside Chilika Lake, which is spread across over 1000 sq. km.