Current Affairs - October 13, 2017 Current Affairs

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has become the first cricketer from Bangladesh to be inducted in the MCC World Cricket Committee under the chairmanship of Mike Gatting. He is regarded as one of Bangladesh's finest players since they were awarded the Test status in 2000, with the all-rounder having played 51 Test matches and 177 One-day Internationals (ODI). Beside him, other cricketers added to the committee are Suzie Bates, Ian Bishop and Kumar Dharmasena.

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. The main aim to make Gujarat number 1 in textile which produces more of cotton. The State government will also provide incentives for garment unit owners for generating employment by providing subsidy in wages. The women workers will get Rs 4,000 subsidy, while their male counterparts will get Rs 3,500.

Uber, the ride sharing app, is bringing its restaurant delivery service. The UberEats app, which is a separate download from the Uber ride sharing app, allows diners to order food and have it delivered wherever they may be by Uber drivers. UberEats currently operates in 120 cities around the world, compared to 734 for its ride sharing app.

The 3rd edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF-2017) has inaugurated by Union Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on October 13, 2017. The fest is being jointly conducted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA).The prime objective of the 4-day festival is to instill scientific temper among the masses and showcasing India's contribution in the field of S&T over the years. It aims to build a strategy for rural India through the advancement of Science and Technology. Further, the science festival also intends to make innovation beneficial for the people and develop technology that is affordable to the masses. Approx 3000 people including young scientists, students,teaching faculties and international delegates are participating in the fest.

Prakash Rai, actor, director and producer, has been chosen for the annual Dr. Kota Shivaram Karanth Huttura Prashasti (Dr. Kota Shivaram Karanth Birthplace Award) for 2017. Prakash Raj received the award amidst strong protests by members of BJP Yuva Morcha. The protests were conducted due to Prakash Raj's comment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on journalist Gauri Lankesh's murder.

HSBC has appointed John Flint as its next CEO, in London. John Flint currently runs HSBC's retail and wealth management business. Flint has worked across most of HSBC's business lines. He spent the first 14 years of his career with the bank in Asia, which gave him a great experience that is necessary to the CEO role.

India is ranked 100th among 119 developing countries on the Global Hunger Index 2017. As per the report, India ranks below many of its neighbouring countries such as China (29th rank), Nepal (72), Myanmar (77), Sri Lank (84) and Bangladesh (88). It is ahead of Pakistan (106) and Afghanistan (107).

American financial technology company Mastercard launched its first innovation lab in India in Pune, Maharashtra. In India, Mastercard will collaborate with financial institutions, merchant partners and the technology community to identify and experiment with future technologies in a few key areas including digital payments, data solutions, financial inclusion, alternative payments and safety and security.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved two new World Bank supported schemes Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) and Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE).

Bharti Airtel announced the acquisition of Consumer Mobile Businesses (CMB) of Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTSL) and Tata Teleservices Maharastra Ltd (TTML). As a part of the Agreement, Bharti Airtel will absorb Tata consumer mobile businesses (CMB) operations across the country in nineteen circles (17 under TTSL and 2 under TTML). The proposed merger will include transfer of all the customers and assets of Tata CMB to Bharti Airtel.

Yuvraj Singh has become the first Indian ambassador of Laureus. Laureus works to improve the lives of young people through sport.

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.

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.

State Bank of India (SBI) launched a new product called 'SME Assist' to provide a short-term working capital demand loan to its Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) clients. The loans shall be provided on the basis of clients' input credit claims under Goods and Services Tax (GST), subject to submitting of a certificate from their chartered accountant confirming the input credit claims. This will help clients to manage their working capital requirement till the time they get input credit and will thereby ensure stability in operations.

Mitra Shakti 2017, a joint exercise between India and Sri Lanka for military co-operation and interoperability, will be conducted at the Aundh Military Camp in Pune between October 13 and 25. The training exercise is considered an important effort in India's response to China's growing influence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean region.