Current Affairs - October 19, 2017 Current Affairs

Indian consumers regard Google as the most authentic brand, even though Amazon.com tops the list globally, reveal results of the 2017 "Authentic Brands Study" by the new survey of global communications agency Cohn & Wolfe. In India, Google is followed by Microsoft, Amazon.com, Maruti Suzuki and Apple. Globally, Apple takes the second spot after Amazon in the authenticity race.

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) has emerged as top-ranked Indian institute in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings 2018. IT Bombay has ranked 34th and is the only Indian institute to better its performance among the top 100 universities in QS Asia University Rankings 2018. It is to be noted that IIT Bombay was ranked 179th in the latest edition of QS World University Rankings.

Kotak Mahindra Bank has tied up with Samsung, under which its credit and debit cardholders will be able to tap and pay using Samsung smart phones at merchant establishments. Currently, Samsung Pay works on 2.9 million points-of-sale card machines across India. It uses the Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology which enables consumers to make in-store payments without the need for a physical card.

AYUSH Festival of Stamps 2017 was held at Panaji, Goa. It was inaugurated by Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar at Maquinez Palace, Panaji, Goa. Its objective is to promote healthy hobbies such as stamp collection among students and healthy lifestyle habits. Stamps related to ayurveda, yoga and related traditional practices from India and abroad were displayed at the event. About 150 schools and 5,000 students participated in the festival.

Chhattisgarh State Government has reduced the rate of interest on loan given to women and their self-help groups (SHGs) under 'Saksham Yojna' from 6.5 percent to 5 percent. Saksham Yojana too is operated by Chhattisgarh Mahila Kosh, under which loans to the tune of Rs 72 lakh had been distributed to about 111 SHGs during the current fiscal year 2017-18.

Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) was awarded Swachh Bharat Inter-Ministerial Award in Swachh Bharat National Award ceremony on Gandhi Jayanti, in New Delhi. The Swachh Bharat Inter-Ministerial Award was given by Minister of State, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation S.S.Ahluwalia to MoPNG. The award was received by Senior Adviser (PNG). The focus of MoPNG has been not only to improve peoples' involvement but also to bring behavioral change through Swachh Bharat Mission.

Indian cricket team coach Ravi Shastri is the world's highest-earning cricket coach in the world. He is paid around 1.17 million dollars per year from the BCCI which is more than the salary of Indian cricket team's captain Virat Kohli. Next to Ravi Shastri, the Australia coach Darren Lehmann who earns aroiund $0.55 million.

50 Indian peacekeepers placed in South Sudan were awarded the UN Medal for their service in maintaining peace in South Sudan. The award was presented by UNMISS Force Commander General Frank Mushyo Kamanzi. Indian Ambassador to South Sudan, Srikumar Menon, attended the medal ceremony.

Indian-American attorney Ajay Raju honoured with the 3rd American Bazaar Philanthropy award. Ajay Raju has been awarded for his philanthropic activities in the US. He is honoured with for his commitment to revive Philadelphia through the Germination Project.

India 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 was signed by Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Japanese Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare with Katsunobu Kato in Tokyo. India is the third country with which Japan has signed the MoC.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the ambitious 'Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojna' for the farmers of the state. Madhya Pradesh is the first state to lend money to farmers at zero percent interest. The government has approved a web of irrigation projects across the Sagar District which will cover 96-hectare fields.

The15 member nations including Pakistan have been elected to serve on the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council. 15 new member nations who have been elected are Afghanistan, Angola, Australia, Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain and Ukraine.

SBI Foundation granted Rs.10 crore for the conservation and restoration of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSTM) of Mumbai over the period of 3-5 years. Central Railway's Divisional Railway Manager SK Jain and SBI Managing Director PK Gupta signed a MoU. As per the MoU, SBI Foundation will provide Rs.10 crore for the project under the "SBI-Project Swachh Iconic CSMT". Through this project, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of SBI aims to contribute in development and preservation of world heritage structures.

Canada has been chosen as the partner country for the 23rd edition of Technology Summit which is scheduled to be held from 14th - 15th November, 2017 in New Delhi. This event is India's largest knowledge and technology conference and exhibition. It is jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST). The theme of this summit will be 'Advanced Manufacturing' focusing on advances in various sectors including aerospace, Aviation, Artificial Intelligence and Life Sciences.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone for the TU142M aircraft museum in Visakhapatnam. It is being built at the Beach Road in Visakhapatnam. The TU142M aircraft museum will be inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind in December 2017. The Russian aircraft TU142M was decommissioned at INS Rajali in Tamil Nadu after 29 years. It was brought to Visakhapatnam on 8th April 2017 to be converted into a Museum.