Current Affairs - October 24, 2017 Current Affairs

United Nations Day is observed globally on 24 October. It marks the 72nd anniversary of the UN Charter's entry into force and celebrates everything that the UN represents and has achieved since its establishment in 1945. All the member states of the United Nations contribute finances to its operation to help further its goals.

Odisha government approved the Bijepur lift irrigation project and construction of sewerage system for Bhubaneswar. It was approved in the cabinet meeting chaired by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The Bijepur lift irrigation project is named after renowned poet Gangadhar Meher. The project is estimated for Rs.1246 crore. It will be completed by March 2018.

The World Development Information Day (WDID) is observed every year on October 24 to draw the attention of the world to development problems and the necessity of strengthening international cooperation to solve them.

The Government promoted senior IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as Special Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Other appointments were also made as a part of bureaucratic reshuffle. It has promoted Gurbachan Singh as Special Director of Intelligence Bureau (IB). Earlier he was Additional Director in IB. Deepak Kumar Mishra and Sudeep Lakhtakia have been promoted as Special DG in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Earlier they were earlier Additional DG in CRPF.

The 20th International Children's Film Festival (ICFFI) is to be held in Hyderabad between 8 and 14 November 2017. It will be hosted by the Telangana government jointly with CFSI and the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The theme for this year's festival is 'New India'. This festival would screen features, shorts, live action and animation films.

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) appointed Mr. Suresh Sethi, the former MD of Vodafone M-Pesa Ltd. as its Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Sethi takes over from the dynamic leadership of Mr. A.P. Singh who had been the interim MD & CEO of IPPB since January 2017.

International Stuttering Awareness Day was observed all over the world on October 22, the theme for International Stuttering Awareness Day 2017 is 'A World That Understands Stuttering'. The International Stuttering Association has been conducting online conference since 2013.This year's online conference was conducted from 1st October to 22nd October 2017.

Haryana State Government announced to set up 'PGs (Paying Guests) for cattle', through which people living in high-rises or in urban areas will be able to rear their own cattle and produce quality milk for their personal consumption. Under this initiative, Haryana State Government will earmark 50 to 100 acres of land for dairy business. The Government is taking several measure to boost dairy industry in the state with an objective to make Haryana as the best state in milk production.

Former IB Chief Dineshwar Sharma, a 1976 batch Kerala cadre IPS officer, has been appointed as the Government of India (GoI) special representative to hold sustained dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) with all stakeholders. He will hold the position of a Cabinet Secretary. As an interlocutor, he will hold peace talks with Assam's insurgent groups, including the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and will be free to decide whom to talk to. Sharma is retired as director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) on December 31, 2016.

Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has won the 2017 Denmark Open Superseries Badminton trophy by defeating South Korea's Lee Hyun-il in straight games 21-10, 21-5 on October 22 at Odense. With this, he bagged his third Super Series title of the year and 5th overall. It was the first time Srikanth and Lee had faced each other.

Dineshwar Sharma, the Former director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) taken charge as the interlocutor, for peace talks with Assam's insurgent groups, including the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA). He addressed to the media that the rank of the former IB Director, Dineshwar Sharma, will be equivalent to that of a Cabinet Secretary. The appointment of Dineshwar Sharma and intention towards the unrest prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir.

The National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) Tiruchi has recently signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Andhra Pradesh government to develop technologies relating to banana production. As per the agreement, NRCB will be the knowledge partner in developing technologies towards value chain management, supporting banana export, organic production and waste utilisation. It will provide training, human resource development and hand hold growers and entrepreneurs to promote indigenous and commercial varieties for domestic and export markets. NRCB is an institution under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The 4th edition of ASEAN Defence Minister's Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) meeting has started in Philippines from October 23, 2017.The purpose of the 2-day conference is to promote mutual trust and confidence between defence establishments through greater dialogue and transparency. The conference is also likely to discuss enhancing maritime security cooperation among the member countries. The Indian delegation will be lead by Union defense minister Nirmala Sitharaman. During her three-day stay, Ms Sitharaman is also likely to hold bilateral talks with her counterparts from a number of countries. The ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN and its eight dialogue partners to strengthen security and defence co-operation for peace, stability, and development in the region.

26 major American companies headed by Aircraft Manufacturer Boeing interacted with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adtiyanath to explore investment opportunities in the state. This interaction has been given the tagline 'US in UP'. It focuses on creating strong strategic partnership between the US and India and promotes bilateral trade. 'US in UP' tagline has been inspired from 'Vibrant Gujarat', a similar event which is held to attract investments in Gujarat State.

IndusInd Bank, in association with MobiKwik, announced the launch of a co-branded wallet 'IndusInd MobiKwik' that allows its customers to pay at the MobiKwik merchant network using their accounts, with a 'Direct Debit Feature'. The direct debit feature will allow IndusInd Bank account holders to link their accounts just once and pay using the co-branded app as and when required, thereby eliminating the need to load the MobiKwik prepaid wallet separately.