Current Affairs - November 19, 2017 Current Affairs

Andhra Pradesh soon to get a Centre of Excellence in Space Sciences and Technologies. CANEUS International, a Canadian organization, will establish a Centre of Excellence on Space Sciences and Technologies for Development at Hindupur. The Coming up on 60 acres in Hindupur town of Anantapur district, the facility will create opportunities for 500 highly skilled direct jobs and over 1,000 indirect jobs. A MoU was signed by the Andhra Pradesh government with CANEUS International. A tripartite agreement for setting up the facility was signed with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) and the Andhra Pradesh State Skills Development Corporation (APSSDC).

The government of Assam inaugurated its first air ambulance of the state. It will operate from Guwahati airport. The air ambulance is equipped with all emergency medical equipment and medical team to take care of patients onboard. Unveiling the service, Patowary hoped that the air ambulance service would usher in a new era of healthcare for the patients of Assam and Northeast. Delhi-based Flaps Aviation Private Limited will operate its air ambulance service from Guwahati with "Book Air Ambulance" as its brand. The aim is to expand this facility to the capitals of all states.

Chakravarthi AVPS, Hyderabad-based packaging professional, has been appointed as Ambassador of World Packaging Organisation (WPO) at the 99th board meeting of WPO in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The recognition is bestowed on him for his contribution to the Indian and global packaging industry for over 30 years. With this, he has become the first Asian to be appointed as ambassador of WPO. Chakravarthi is the CEO and managing director of Hyderabad-based Ecobliss India. He has the distinction of working for several companies, including Ballarpur Industries, Akerlund & Rausing, Huhtamaki, Pragati among others.

Patanjali group today signed an MoU with the Telangana government for setting up a "large" food park in the state.

Private sector lender Yes Bank signed an MoU with Innovation Centre Denmark India (ICDK India), a partnership between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science to bring fintech innovations and startups from Denmark to India, and facilitate entry of Indian startups to the region. The partnership aims to build bridges to promote innovation and assist fintech companies in India and Denmark to expand into each other's markets.

France will host the 2023 Rugby World Cup , according to the global governing body "World Rugby". The country beat strong bids by South Africa and Ireland. Interestingly, the 2023 World Cup will take place in the year of the 200th anniversary of the legendary 'invention' of the sport by William Webb Ellis.The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. Japan will host the 2019 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held from September 20 to November 2.

India's leading car companies Toyota and Suzuki have joined their hands to make an electric car for our country. Both the companies have signed a memorandum of understanding which will see both companies working together for introducing electric vehicles (EVs) in the Indian market by around 2020. Suzuki is to produce Electronic Vehicle (EVs) for the Indian market and will supply some to Toyota, while Toyota is to provide technical support. Additionally, Toyota and Suzuki intend to conduct a comprehensive study of activities for the widespread acceptance and popular use of EVs in India.

Gopinath R., the famous Child Care activist from Bengaluru, has been chosen for Prof. Yashwantrao Kelkar Youth Award 2017 in appreciation of his work for "Child care, protection and development. The award will be given to him at the 63rd National Conference of ABVP at Ranchi, Jharkhand on December 2. The award consists of Rs 50,000/- in cash, a certificate and a memento. It was instituted by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in memory of Late Prof. Yashwantrao Kelkar.

Reliance General Insurance, a subsidiary of Reliance Capital, inks a bancassurance agreement with YES Bank. his is the first partnership signed by YES Bank since the open-architecture norms under the corporate agency regulations were introduced by the IRDAI in April 2016.

As per Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat scheme, the Madhya Pradesh Government has partnered with Nagaland and Manipur to strengthen cultural relations between them. For this, the MP Govt has made its Higher Education Department as a nodal department to execute the scheme. The team of MP will participate in Sangai Mahotsav which is being organized in Manipur. Similarly, teams of Manipur and Nagaland will take part in Lok Rang and Bal Rang programmes to present their cultural programmes and to apprise people with their culture. The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, 2015 with the prime objective to celebrate the unity in diversity culture of the country and to embolden the sentimental bonds between the people of different states.

The Union Government has given the go-ahead for setting up India's first mega coastal economic zone (CEZ) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Maharashtra as part of a plan to develop 14 such industrial clusters to spur manufacturing and generate jobs. About 45 companies across telecom, auto and IT sectors will soon bid for 200 hectares of land to set up manufacturing units in the zone. The plan envisages a total investment of Rs 15,000 crore in the first phase and creation of more than 1.5 lakh jobs.

Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy R.K. Singh launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana - 'Saubhagya' Web Portal. Saubhagya Dashboard is designed to monitor household electrification progress, which would disseminate information on Household Electrification Status (State, District, village-wise), Household Progress on live basis, State-wise Target vs Achievement, Monthly Electrification Progress, etc. Through this online platform every State would feed in the current status of progress of electrification works.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth on Friday approved the appointment of Sarah Clarke as the country's first female Black Rod, in over 650-year history of the office. She will formally take on the duties as Lady Usher of the Black Rod next year. The Black Rod is responsible for controlling access to and maintaining order within the UK's House of Lords.