Current Affairs - October 18, 2017 Current Affairs

Prabha Varma, the well-known poet, lyricist and journalist, has been chosen for the 2017 Padma Prabha Puraskaram for his contribution to Malayalam literature. Varma's major works include 'Chandananaazhi','Kalaprayaaga', 'Avicharithram' and 'Manjinotu Veyil Enna Poleyum'. The award carries cash prize of Rs 75,000, a plaque and a citation. It was instituted by Kalpetta-based Padma Prabha Memorial Trust in memory of M K Padmaprabha, a leading socialist and one of the founders of modern Wayanad.

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) is observed every year on October 17 to raise people's awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution worldwide, particularly in developing countries. The 2017 theme 'Answering the Call of October 17 to end poverty: A path toward peaceful and inclusive societies' reminds us of the importance of the values of dignity, solidarity and voice underscored in the Call to Action to fight to end poverty everywhere.

Kavita Devi from Haryana has become the first ever woman wrestler from India to sign up for the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). She also has the distinction of being the first Indian woman to compete in a WWE ring, as she was a featured participant in the Mae Young Classic women's tournament. She is expected to begin training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida from January 2018. The WWE Performance Center is the home of the developmental system for WWE.

US Trump Government has promised to provide the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System(EMALS) technology to India for aircraft carriers. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be visiting India soon and before his visit Trump administration has informed of its decision to give EMALS to India. EMALS also weighs less, is expected to cost less and require less maintenance, and can launch aircraft that are heavier or lighter.

US author George Saunders has won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for his first full-length novel "Lincoln in the Bardo" and became only the 2nd American writer to win £50,000 ($66,000) Britain's prestigious English-language literary award. The book is a fictional account of US President Abraham Lincoln burying his 11-year-old son Willie at a Washington cemetery. In 2016, American author Paul Beatty became the first American to win the award for his novel 'The Sellout', a biting satire on race relations in the US.

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has launched an online campaign #IamThatWoman to end gender bias in women against women.Through the campaign, the Ministry seeks to highlight the various aspects of women standing 'by' and 'for' women. The purpose of the campaign is to shed light on the enormous contributions made by women for women. For this, Twitter and Facebook users have been encouraged to tag and share stories of women helping women with a photograph and post online with the hashtag #IamThatWoman. Hence, join the '#IamThatWoman' campaign and spread the message that a woman can move mountains for another woman".

The east African landlocked country Zimbabwe, with immediate effect, banned the import of fruits and vegetables to preserve the scarce foreign currencies. Last year Zimbabwe spent more than $80 million on fruit and vegetables which included tomatoes, onions, carrots, grapes, apples and oranges.

The 6th annual LNG Producers Consumer Conference has started in Tokyo, Japan from Oct 16-18, 2017. In it, India has signed a Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC) with Japan to send youngsters there as technical interns for on-the-job training for a period of three to five years. The MoC on Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP) was signed by Union Minister of Skill Development Dharmendra Pradhan and Japanese Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare with Katsunobu Kato in Tokyo on October 17, 2017. The MoC on TITP is expected to significantly expand the bilateral cooperation between India and Japan in the field of skill development. India is the third country with which Japan has signed the MoC. As per the Japan's official data for 2016-end, approximately 2.3 lakh technical intern trainees from multiple countries are on training in the island nation.

The Income Tax Department has launched an 'online chat' service for taxpayers to seek answers to their basic queries and doubts relating to direct tax issues. A window has been hosted on the main page of the income tax department's website -www.incometaxindia.gov.in/ - with an icon stating 'Live Chat Online - ask your query'. A team of experts from the department and independent tax practitioners have been assigned to answer the general queries of a taxpayer.

The Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) has launched India's first commodity options in gold and gave stakeholders a new set of financial instruments to hedge their price risks. It is launched by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on October 17, 2017. MCX has currently launched a Gold Option contract, with Gold (1 Kg) futures as the underlying asset, with expiry on November 28, 2017 and January 29, 2018.

Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has ranked No. 1 in the Airports Council International's (ACI) service quality survey in the category of 5 to 15 million passengers per annum. It was opened in year 2008 and is operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL). A trophy for this accomplishment for the year 2016 was handed over to GHIAL CEO, S G K Kishore during the 27th ACI Africa/world annual general assembly at Port Louis in Mauritius on October 18, 2017.

Assam State Government approved a new Information Technology (IT) Policy. Under the new IT policy, companies involved in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), companies engaged in software development and firms carrying out research will be provided financial support. Call centres will receive one-time incentive of Rs. 1.20 lakh per employee, with minimum intake of 100 employees. Companies engaged in software development will receive one-time support of Rs 1.50 lakh per employee.

The biography of Bollwood actress Hema Malini titled 'Beyond The Dream Girl', is written by Ram Kamal Mukherjee. It was unveiled on Hema Malini's 69th birthday by Bollwood actress Deepika Padukone.