Current Affairs 4th November 2017 (04/11/2017)

National Current Affairs

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a new consumer protection law is on the anvil to crack down on misleading advertisements and simplify the grievance redressal mechanism. Speaking at the inauguration of a two-day international conference on Consumer Protection for East, South, Southeast and Asian nations, he said that the GST would benefit consumers in the long run as prices would come down because of competition among manufacturers.
• The govenment is making all efforts to ensure adequate fund flow to the States and Union Territories under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. It has released Rs. 40,480 crore so far in this Financial Year which is around Rs. 4,500 crore more than the release during the corresponding period of the last financial year.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Phase 1 of the Roll on, Roll off (RO RO) ferry service between Ghogha in Saurashtra, and Dahej in South Gujarat which shall reduce the travel time from eight hours to over an hour.
• India’s first Pradhan Ma. Kaushal Kendra has been set up under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana by National Skill Development Corporation in collaboration with New Delhi Municipal Council.
• Former Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief Dineshwar Sharma has been appointed as Representative of Government of India to initiate and carry forward a dialogue with the elected representatives, various organizations and concerned individuals in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the ‘Paika Bidroha’ (Paika Rebellion) of 1817 will find a place in the history books as ‘the First War of Independence’ from the next academic session. Mr Javadekar informed that the Centre has allocated Rs. 200 crore for commemorating it across the country.
• Sailboat INSV Tarini, with an all-women crew, reached Fremantle Port in Australia during its maiden voyage to circumnavigate the globe. This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew.
• Eminent classical singer and Padma Vibhushan awardee Girija Devi passed away on October 24, 2017.A legendary singer of the Benaras gharana, Girija Devi was awarded the Padma Shri in 1972, the Padma Shushan in 1989 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2016.

International Current Affairs

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani discussed a range of bilateral, regional and global issues and expressed their “firm resolve” to end the menace of terrorism. The two leaders also agreed that ‘renunciation of violence and terror; and closure of cross-border safe havens and sanctuaries were essential for any meaningful progress and lasting peace”.
• Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has scored a major victory in national elections that returned his ruling coalition to power in decisive fashion. Mr. Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and a small coalition partner together secured at least 312 seats in the 465-seat lower house of parliament, passing the 31 barrier for a two-thirds majority.
• United States has said it is looking at a working-level quadrilateral meeting in the near term with India, Japan and Australia. Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice G Wells said in Washington that the first of those meeting at the working level will be held soon, which includes India, Japan and Australia. Responding to questions, Wells refuted reports that such a move is aimed at containing China.
•  The US has firmly told Pakistan that if it fails to take decisive actions against terror groups, the US will adjust its tactics and strategies to achieve the objective in a different way. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told this a day after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson concluded his maiden trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
• Syria has rejected a report sent to the UN Security Council that blamed it for a chemical attack on the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in April in which dozens of people were killed. Citing an official in Syria’s foreign ministry, State news agency SANA reported that Damascus rejects in form and substance what was included in the report of the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM).
• Spain dissolved Catalonia’s Parliament and called new regional elections after separatists voted for independence in a sharp escalation of a constitutional crisis that has stoked alarm in Europe. Ina televised address after an emergency Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also removed secessionist Catalan leader Cartes Puigdemont and his executive. He called for regional elections as part of efforts to restore normalcy.
• 24 October, 2017 was celebrated as United Nations Day. The day has been observed since 1948 as it marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter.

Business Current Affairs

• The Government has unveiled an ambitious plan to infuse Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital over the next two years into public sector banks (PSBs). It plans to fund through budgetary provisions of Rs 18,139 crore and the sale of recapitalisation bonds worth Rs 1.35 lakh crore. The balance would be raised by the banks themselves by diluting the government’s equity share. The Union Cabinet has also approved Rs 5.35 lakh crore for massive road infrastructure investment under Bharat Mala Programme.
• The govemment has extended the deadline by a month till 30^th of next month for businesses to in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The official twitter handle of the government for GST, GST@Gol, said this in a tweet. TRAN-1 is to be filed by those businesses that are keen to claim credit for taxes paid before the launch of GST on 1st July. The GST Council, in its 21st meeting in Hyderabad, had decided to extend the deadline for filing TRAN-1 form to 31st of this month, from September-end earlier. It also allowed businesses to revise the form once in case of any discrepancy.
• Ina bid to encourage the power loom sector in the country, the Ministry of Power along with the Ministry of Textiles have launched its new initiative named Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help Small Industries (SAATHI).

Sports Current Affairs

• Indian shuttlers, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu have entered semifinal of the French Open Super-series Badminton tournament in Paris. In women’s singles, Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu defeated World No. 10 Chinese Chen Yufei in straight games 21-14, 21-14. In men’s singles, HS Prannoy beat Jeon Korean Hyeok-jin 21-16, 21-16 while Kidambi Srikanth defeated fourth seeded Chinese Shi hard-fought match.
• India’s Sourav Kothari reached the finals of the Lite Task World Billiards Championship at the Northern Snooker Center in Leeds, United Kingdom. He wrapped up four games on the trot with complete command to defeat his fellow countryman Siddharth Parikh 7-5.