IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 13th, 2017

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 13th, 2017

1. International Day for Disaster Reduction: 13 October

i. The International Day for Disaster Reduction was observed across the world on 13 October. The theme for 2017 IDDR is ‘Home Safe Home: Reducing Exposure, Reducing Displacement’.

ii. The 2017 campaign aims to raise global awareness about effective actions, policies and practices taken to reduce exposure to disaster risk at the community level, thereby contributing to saving homes and livelihoods.

2. Gujarat Government Announces Garments & Apparel Policy 2017

i. 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.

ii. This Policy is prepared with an aim to make Gujarat number 1 in textile which produces more of cotton. The State government will also provide incentives, the women workers will get Rs 4,000 subsidy, while their male counterparts will get Rs 3,500.

3. Arun Jaitley Attends G-20 Finance Ministers Meeting

i. The Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley participated in the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) Meeting in Washington D.C.

ii. The discussion focused on the agenda items pertaining to Global Economy and Framework for Growth, Compact with Africa and International Financial Architecture.

4. Indian Air Force Launched Health Mobile App 'MedWatch'

i. The Indian Air Force (IAF) launched an innovative health mobile App named `MedWatch' on the occasion of its 85th anniversary. It was launched by Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa during the Air Force Commanders' Conference in New Delhi.

ii. The Mobile app was launched to keep up with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of ‘Digital India'.

5. Global Hunger Index: India Ranks 100 Among 119 Countries

i. India, which has more than a fifth (21 percent) of its children wasted (weigh too little for their height), slipped three places to 100th  in the 2017 Global Hunger Index  (GHI). The ranking of India in the list was 97th in 2016.

ii. The 2017 GHI released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) termed India's hunger levels ‘serious’ problem at hand. The data from the report showed that India ranked lower than all its neighboring countries - Nepal (72), Myanmar (77), Bangladesh (88), Sri Lanka (84) and China (29) - except Pakistan, which has been placed at 106th in the global hunger list.

6. Safe Cities Index 2017: Tokyo Safest, Delhi 43rd

i. 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.

ii. Singapore and Japanese city Osaka have ranked second and third, while Indian cities Delhi and Mumbai have ranked 43rd and 45th respectively.

7. Amazon, Microsoft Ties up to Launch Deep Learning Platform

i. 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.

ii. The interface would give developers a place where they can prototype, build, train and deploy machine learning models.

8. GIC Re Launched India’s Third Largest IPO

i. General Insurance Corp of India (GIC Re) kicked off its mega Rs 11,370 crore initial public offer (IPO). This is India's third biggest IPO ever after Coal India's Rs 15,200 crore and Reliance Power's Rs 11,700 crore issues.

ii. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) is the largest reinsurance company in India in terms of gross premiums accepted in fiscal 2017.

9. Yuvraj Singh Named Laureus’ First Indian Ambassador

i. Indian Cricketer Yuvraj Singh was announced as the Laureus' first Brand Ambassador.

ii. The left-hander becomes Laureus' first Indian ambassador and joins a host of cricket legends in the Laureus Family, including Indian Academy members Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Kapil Dev.

10. Arjen Robben Retires from International Football

i. Netherlands captain Arjen Robben announced the end of his international career after his country failed to reach the 2018 World Cup finals despite a 2-0 win over Sweden.

ii. The 33-year-old Robben scored 37 times in 96 appearances for The Netherlands and helped them reach the 2010 World Cup final where they lost 1-0 to Spain after extra-time.

11. Gautam Bambawale Appointed as India's Ambassador to China 

i. Gautam Bambawale was appointed as India's new Ambassador to China. Bambawale is an Indian Foreign Service Officer of the 1984 batch.

ii. He will succeed Vijay Gokhale. He is currently serving as India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan. 

12. Samsung Electronics CEO Kwon Oh-hyun Resigns

i. Samsung Electronics chief executive Kwon Oh-hyun has resigned citing an "unprecedented crisis". 

ii. Mr Kwon is one of three co-chief executives of Samsung Electronics. His resignation comes on the same day the firm forecast record quarterly profits, citing higher memory chip prices.

13. SBI Launched SME Assist for MSME Clients

i. The State Bank of India has launched a new product to provide a short-term working capital demand loan to its MSME clients. The new initiative, called SME Assist, would offer loans to MSME customers on the basis of their input credit claims under Goods and Services Tax (GST).

ii. The loan processing fee under the scheme is Rs 2,000. The companies applying for a loan under the product have to provide a certificate from their chartered accountant confirming the input credit claims. Under the scheme, the SME borrowers would have a moratorium period for the first three months.

14. Mastercard Launched its First Innovation Centre in India

i. US-based fintech company Mastercard has announced the launch of its global research and development arm Mastercard Labs in Pune, India.

ii. After Singapore, this will be the second Mastercard Labs in Asia-Pacific, and ninth in the world. The initiative aims to bring and harness new commerce, payment and technology ideas at a fast pace in the country.

15. India Beat Macau to Qualify for 2019 AFC Asian Cup

i. Indian football team has qualified for the 2019 Asian Cup after they had a convincing 4-1 win over Macau with two matches still to go in the qualifying round. This is the third time the country has qualified for the continental showpiece.

ii. India has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup finals only twice in the past 37 years. The last time it happened was in 2011 and their only appearance before that was way back in 1984. 

16. New Test Championship, ODI League Gets ICC’s Nod

i. The International Cricket Council Board has given an in-principle nod to the proposed nine-team Test Championship and a 13-team One-Day International league at the end of the meeting in Auckland.

ii. The Test competition will begin after the 2019 World Cup and the 50-over event sometime in 2020. The Test Championship will have nine teams play six series over two years – three at home and three away.