TNPSC Current Affairs October 1-3, 2017 (English)
International Affairs
SAARC Speaker, Parliamentarians Conference 2017 (October 4 to 6) in Sri Lanka
- The Eighth conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians (ASSP) will take place from October 4 to 6 at the Hotel Hilton in Colombo.
- The 8th Conference, organized by the Parliament of Sri Lanka, will bring together Speakers and Parliamentarians from the member countries of the SAARC.
- The Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians was set up in 1992 with the vision to promote friendship and understanding among the peoples of South Asia to promote co-ordination and exchange of information among the Parliaments and Parliamentarians of SAARC countries and to provide a forum to exchange ideas and information on parliamentary procedures and practices of the region.
List of ASSP Conferences (1995-2017)
- First ASSP Conference 1995 - India
- Second ASSP Conference 1997 - Pakistan
- Third ASSP Conference 1999 - Bangladesh
- Fourth ASSP Conference 2006 - Srilanka
- Fifth ASSP Conference 2011 - India
- Sixth ASSP Conference 2012 - Pakistan
- Seventh ASSP Conference 2013 - Maldives
- Eighth ASSP Conference 2017 - Srilanka
2018 World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai
- Sixth edition of the World Government Summit (WHS) is scheduled to be held from February 11th-13th, 2018 in Dubai, UAE. India will be the guest of honour in this summit.
- The summit is the largest movement to review and share the best experiences, and the first global forum for governments, countries, organizations and private sector leaders interested in the industry of the future.
- At its 5th session in February 2017, the World Summit of Governments attracted more than 4,000 participants from 139 countries and 150 speakers attended 114 sessions.
2018 World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai
- Sixth edition of the World Government Summit (WHS) is scheduled to be held from February 11th-13th, 2018 in Dubai, UAE. India will be the guest of honour in this summit.
- The summit is the largest movement to review and share the best experiences, and the first global forum for governments, countries, organizations and private sector leaders interested in the industry of the future.
International Day of Non-Violence is observed on October 2
- The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Non-Violence is observed every year on October 2 to mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence.
- The day is an occasion to disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness. This day is referred to in India as Gandhi Jayanti.
International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1
- The International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1 each year. On December 14, 1990 the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons as recorded in Resolution 45/106. The day was observed for the first time on October 1, 1991.
- The theme of the International Day of Older Persons 2017 is “Stepping into the Future: Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of Older Persons in Society.”
International Coffee Day is observed on October 1
- World Vegetarian Day and International Coffee Day was also observed on October 1. International Coffee Day is used to promote and celebrate coffee as a beverage across the world. The first official date was 1 October 2015, as agreed by the International Coffee Organization and it was launched in Milan.
World Vegetarian Day is observed on October 1
- World Vegetarian Day is a day World Vegetarian Day is observed on October 1, the celebration established by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977 and approved by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978. World Vegetarian Day initiates the month of October as Vegetarian Awareness Month which ends with November 1, World Vegan Day, as the end of that month of celebration.
2017 Global Wildlife Programme (GWP) conference started in New Delhi
- The Global Wildlife Programme (GWP) conference has started in New Delhi on October 2, 2017. India is hosting the programme jointly with World Bank (WB) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to address illegal wildlife trade across 19 Asian and African countries.
- The 4-day conference will act as a platform for knowledge exchange and coordination on the action taken on the ground to combat illegal poaching of wildlife and improve governance on wildlife conservation.
- Environment Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan unveiled the 3rd National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) for 2017-2031 to spell out the future road map for wildlife conservation.
Admiral Sunil Lanba, visits Vietnam
- Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Naval Staff is visiting Vietnam on a bilateral visit from 04 to 07 October 2017.
- The visit aims to consolidate cooperation between the Armed Forces of India and Vietnam and also to explore new avenues of defence cooperation. He will also visit Vietnam People’s Navy ‘Naval Region 4’, Vietnam Naval Academy and lay a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.
India opened Two Immigration Check Posts along the borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh.
- Indian Government has designated Zorinpuiland check post in Lawngtlai district of Mizoram as an authorised immigration check post for entry into or exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers to or from Myanmar.
- Indian Government has also designated Kawrpuichhuah land check postin Lunglei district of Mizoram as an authorised immigration check post for entry into or exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers to or from Bangladesh.
- India shares a 4,096-km-long border with Bangladesh which touches Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya and West Bengal.
UAE begins collecting ‘sin’ taxes on tobacco, energy drinks
- From October 1, 2017, United Arab Emirates (UAE) has begun collecting new “sin” taxes on tobacco products, energy drinks and soft drinks. Tobacco and energy drinks will be taxed at 100% and soft drinks at 50%.
US Senate confirms Ajit Pai's Nomination for Second term at FCC
- The US Senate today confirmed the nomination of Indian-American, Ajit Varadaraj Pai to serve as the chairman of the powerful Federal Communications Commission for the second time. The Senate voted to confirm Pai's nomination for his second five-year term.The vote was 52-41 for Pai, who has served as a commissioner at the FCC since 2012.
- He is the first Indian American to hold this post. The FCC is an independent agency created by Congressional statute to regulate interstate communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and US territories.
India to be guest country at World Government Summit 2017 in Dubai
- India will be the guest of honour during the sixth edition of the World Government Summit scheduled from February 11th - 13th, 2018 in Dubai. The World Government Summit has said that the hosting of India comes as part of its endeavor to strengthen its partnerships with countries with pioneering and distinctive experiences in strategic areas that serve communities.
- The summit is the largest movement to review and share the best experiences, and the first global forum for governments, countries, organizations and private sector leaders interested in the industry of the future. At its fifth session in February 2017, the World Summit of Governments attracted more than 4,000 participants from 139 countries and 150 speakers attended 114 sessions.
National Affairs
President of India appoints Governors to Five States and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The President has been pleased to make the following appointments:
- Brig. (Dr.) B. D. Mishra (Retd.) as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh
- Shri Satya Pal Malik as the Governor of Bihar
- Shri Banwarilal Purohit as the Governor of Tamil Nadu
- Prof. Jagdish Mukhi as the Governor of Assam
- Shri Ganga Prasad as the Governor of Meghalaya
- Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi was appointed as the Lieutenant Governor for Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
President Ramnath Govind Appoints Commission to Examine Sub Categorization of OBC
The President Ramnath Govind on 02.10.2017, in exercise of the powers conferred by article 340 of the Constitution appointed a Commission to examine the sub-tegorisation of Other Backward Classes.
The composition of the Commission is as follows:
- Chairperson -Justice (Retd.) G. Rohini.
- Member -Dr. J.K. Bajaj.
- Member(Ex-officio)-Director, Anthropological Survey of India.
- Member (Ex-officio)-Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India.
- Secretary of the Commission-Joint Secretary, Department of SJ&E, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
P M Narendra Modi lays foundation stone for AIIMS at Bilaspur
- The Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), at Bilaspur. This 750 bed hospital will be built at a cost of approximately Rs. 1350 crore.
- In addition to healthcare, it will also provide medical education at the under-graduate and post-graduate level, besides nursing. The Prime Minister also unveiled a plaque to mark the launch of Digital Nerve Centres for primary healthcare.
- The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), at Una.
- Shri Narendra Modi also inaugurated a Steel Processing Unit of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), at Kandrori, Kangra.
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu lays foundation stone for National Waterway on Krishna river
- Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu (3.10.2017) laid the foundation stone to develop the stretch on River Krishna from Muktyal to Vijayawada as part of the 4th National Waterway at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh.
- The 82-km inland waterway is the Phase-1 of the National Waterway-4 under the Sagar Mala project and will be used mainly for transportation of cement and construction material for the new capital city Amaravati.
Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2017 to be Held in Hyderabad, November 28-30
- A high-level delegation from the Government of India and the United States met on 3.10.2017, at NITI Aayog to plan the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which will be held November 28-30 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre in Hyderabad, India.
- The Summit will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump, who leads the U.S. delegation.
- The GES is the preeminent annual gathering of emerging entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders from around the world.
- GES 2017 will create an environment that empowers innovators, particularly women, to take their ideas to the next level.
- This year’s theme is “Women First, Prosperity for All” to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in all its strengths and diversity.
- NITI Aayog is taking the lead in organising this Summit for the Government of India. Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog stated that this is a unique opportunity for Indian Startups and Innovators to interact and network with the finest entrepreneurs of the world.
One million children saved, says a new study published in the Lancet
- Significant reductions in mortality from pneumonia, diarrhoea, neonatal infections and birth asphyxia
- India has avoided about 1 million (10 lakh) deaths of children under age five since 2005, owing to the significant reductions in mortality from pneumonia, diarrhoea, neonatal infections and birth asphyxia/trauma, measles and tetanus, according to study published in the latest issue of The Lancet.
- The ‘India’s Million Death Study’, implemented by the Registrar General of India,is the first study to directly quantify changes in cause-specific child deaths in India, nationally and sub-nationally, from 2000-15 among randomly selected homes.
- The Million Death Study builds on the SRS by directly monitoring the causes of death in over 1.3 million (13 lakh) homes.
Unprecedented Public Participation in Gram Sabhas
- Unprecedented public participation was seen in Gram Sabhas organised on Mahatma Gandhi’s Birth Anniversary on 2nd October in Gram Panchayats across the country, in partnership with States and Local Governments as part of the Gram Samridhi Evam Swachta Pakhwada (Village Well-being and Cleanliness fortnight) from 1-15 October, 2017.
Pratham-Shyok Bridge in Leh Inagurated
- Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the Pratham-Shyok bridge that will link Leh to Karakoram, providing connectivity on the strategically important Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Olde axis for military transport.
- The bridge is a major development on the Shyok Gong river which will enhance travel of locals as well as the Army in this strategic region. It will increase travel and communication for strategic transport, the Minister said.
Government to celebrate Swachh Bharat Diwas on 2nd October 2017
- The third anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission will be celebrated as "Swachh Bharat Diwas" on 2nd October. The mission is bifurcated into sub-missions as
- Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Gramin), under Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Urban), under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It includes ambassadors and activities such as a run, national real-time monitoring and updates from NGOs.
- The campaign was officially launched on 2 October 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a campaign by the Government of India to keep the streets, roads and infrastructure of the country's 4,041 statutory cities and towns and its rural areas clean.
All cities and towns in five more States declared Open Defecation Free
- Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Haryana reach ODF milestone.
- HUA Minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri calls for ‘life style change’ to make the country clean
- Five more States viz., Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Haryana have reached the milestone of making all cities and towns ‘Open
- Defecation Free’ as the Swacch Bharat Mission completed three years today.
- This was announced by the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri while speaking at a programme here today on the occasion of the third anniversary of the mission.
Rajghat gets Mahatma Statue, for the first time
- Rajghat, the Samadhi of the Father of the Nation in the national capital , has for the first time acquired a new feature that could appeal to the large number of visitors.
- Vice-President of India Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu today unveiled a 1.80 metre tall bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of the 148 Birth Anniversary of the champion of country’s independence.
Union Government approved development of Harohalli industrial park in Karnataka
- Union Government has given approval for the combined development of phase II and phase III of Harohalli industrial zone in Ramnagara district of Karnataka.
- This industrial park will be built by Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) in about 904.86 hectares of land. Cost of the project is pegged at Rs 1,561 crore and is expected to generate 23,500 jobs.
Madhya Pradesh launches ‘Single Click Pension Delivery’ scheme
- On October 1, 2017, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched ‘Single Click Pension Delivery’ scheme. Under this scheme, the money will go directly into the account of the beneficiaries.
- L&T Infotech bags $100-mn Government contract to Nab Tax Evaders L&T Infotech, the infotech arm of engineering giant Larsen & Toubro has bagged $ 100-mn Government contract for an initiative to use social media analytics to identify tax non-compliance.
- The project involves creating a ‘semantic web’ where web pages are structured and tagged in such a way that can be directly read by the computers.
Awards/ Prizes
2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine
- American Scientists Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young have won the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
About Winners of 2017 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine:
- Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young have been awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling our biological clocks.Jeffrey C Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W Young awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine
- Their discoveries explain how plants, animals and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that it is synchronized with the Earth’s revolutions.
- The team identified a gene within fruit flies that controls the creatures’ daily rhythm, known as the “period” gene.
- £825,000 prize money will be shared equally between the three scientists.
Indian entrepreneur Birendra Sasmal wins International Business Person of the Year award 2017
- Birendra Sasmal, a Ghana-based Indian entrepreneur, has won a prestigious International Business Person of the Year at the Asian Achievers Awards in London for his efforts to bring innovative IT solutions to Africa.
- Sasmal is CEO of Subah Group, which employs around 350 people with offices in Guinea, Sierra Leone, New York City and Dubai.
2017 Women of India Organic Festival in New Delhi
- The 3rd edition of Women of India Organic Festival has started at Dilli Haat in New Delhi on October 1, 2017. The purpose of the 15-day festival is to promote women entrepreneurs and farmers in the organic sector.
- Maneka Gandhi, the Union Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD) has inaugurate the festival. The theme of the festival is – Good for Women, Good for India, Good for You.
Ministry of Health adjudged best for ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’, receives award
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been adjudged as the best department for its contribution during Swachhta Pakhwada, an inter-Ministry initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
- The Health Ministry observed the Swachhta Pakhwada from 1st February, 2017 to 15th February, 2017. The award was presented to the Ministry on 2nd October, 2017, the third anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission. Shri C K Mishra, Secretary (HFW) received the award on behalf of the Ministry.
Madurai Meenakshi temple wins Swachh Award 2017
- The Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai has been adjudged the cleanest iconic place in the country under Swachhta Hi Seva (cleanliness is service) programme. Meenakshi temple earned the top slot from among 10 iconic places selected under the Swachh Bharath Mission in the country.
- Dedicated to Meenakshi, an incarnation of Parvati, and her consort Sundareswar, an incarnation of Shiva, the temple was adjudged the Best Swachh Iconic Place from a formidable list of contenders that included the Taj Mahal, Ajmer Sharif Dargah, the Golden Temple, Tirupathi temple and Sri Vaishno Devi temple.
INA veteran, 91 year old Rama Khandwala awarded the ‘Best Tourist Guide’
- On 27th September 2017, tour guide Ms.Rama Khandwala was awarded a National Tourism Award in the `Best Tourist Guide’ category, in Delhi. Ms.Rama Khandwala was awarded the `Best Tourist Guide’ award by President Mr.Ram Nath Kovind.
Economy
First US crude oil shipment arrives in Paradip
- The first US crude oil cargo of 1(point)6 million barrels bought by Indian Oil Corporation from the US reached Paradip Port on 3.10.2017. Indian Oil will process the crude at its East-Coast base refineries, located at Paradip, Haldia, Barauni and Bongaigaon.
- Indian Oil, which became the first Indian public sector refiner to source US crude has placed a cumulative order 3.9 million barrel from the US. Bharat Petroleum has also placed orders from the US for about 2.95 million barrels and Hindustan Petroleum 1 million barrels for their Kochi and Vizag refineries.
Sports Affairs
National Hard Court Tennis Championship 2017
- The National Hard Court Tennis Championship has started in New Delhi on October 2, 2017.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen wins Malaysian Grand Prix 2017
- A commanding drive from Red Bull's Max Verstappen saw him soundly beat three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton to win Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Circuit.
- Verstappen grabbed the lead from then race leader Hamilton on lap 4. Daniel Ricciardo held off Sebastian Vettel for third. Sebastian finished in fourth place.
Isle of Man Championship 2017: Viswanathan Anand finishes Second
- Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand finished second at the Isle of Man Chess Championship at Douglas. He defeated the Chinese grandmaster Hou Yifan in the 9th and final round. He took 53 moves to overpower Yifan to finish with 7 points. Anand shares second position with America's Nakamura Hikaru.
- World Champion Magnus Carlsen won the title with 7.5 points after a short draw against Nakamura.