Important Current Affairs 12th November 2017

Important Current Affairs 12th November 2017

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Current Affairs 12th November 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Govt To Start Rs 34,000 Crore BharatNet Phase 2 Project

The government will start its second and final phase of BharatNet project with an outlay of around Rs 34,000 crore to provide high-speed broadband in all panchayats by March 2019, Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan said on Sunday.
●    Under the project, the government aims to connect 1.5 lakh panchayats through 10 lakh kilometres of additional optical fibre and give bandwidth to telecom players at nearly 75 per cent cheaper price for broadband and wifi services in rural areas.
●    The telecom ministry will sign agreements with seven states -- Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand -- which will roll out the project on their own with partial funding from the central government.
●    She said around Rs 4.5 lakh crore value can be added to the national gross domestic product on completion of BharatNet phase 2 as a study has suggested that every 10 per cent usage of Internet in India drives up GDP by 3.3 per cent. 

No Islamic Bank In India : RBI

In a major move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided not to pursue a proposal for introduction of Islamic banking in the country. 
●    Replying to an RTI query, the central bank said the decision was taken after considering "the wider and equal opportunities" available to all citizens to access banking and financial services. 
●    Islamic or Sharia banking is a finance system based on the principles of not charging interest, which is prohibited under Islam.
●    The issue of introduction of Islamic banking in India was examined by the RBI and the government of India, it said. 
●    The RBI was asked to provide details of steps being taken for the introduction of Islamic or 'interest-free' banking in India. 
●    Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on August 28, 2014 launched Jan Dhan Yojana, a national mission to bring about comprehensive financial inclusion of all the households in the country. 
●    In late 2008, a committee on Financial Sector Reforms, headed by former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, had stressed on the need for a closer look at the issue of interest-free banking in the country.

ITPO to approach Cabinet for hotel at Pragati Maidan

The commerce ministry's trade promotion body ITPO will approach the Union Cabinet seeking nod to monetise a small portion of land at Pragati Maidan for construction of a hotel, an official said.
●    Set up in 1977, the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) is the nodal trade promotion agency that works under the commerce ministry.
●    "We will be going to the Cabinet and seek its approval. The land would be monetised on a long-term lease basis for building a hotel. It would enhance the value of the upcoming exhibition-cum-convention centre at Pragati Maidan," the ministry official said.
●    About 3.7 acres land would be given on a long-term lease or on free hold to a private player for construction of a luxury hotel.
●    As part of the redevelopment plan of Pragati Maidan, a world-class Integrated Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre is under construction with an estimated cost of Rs 2,254 crore.
●    The convention centre will have a seating capacity of over 7,000 persons.
●    ITPO CMD L C Goyal said that after construction of the hotel, the centre would become an unmatched venue for exhibitions and conventions.

4th India-Canada Annual Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi Tomorrow 

A high level delegation led by the Canadian International Trade Minister, Mr. François-Philippe Champagne is visiting India to attend the 4th Annual Ministerial Dialogue (AMD) scheduled to begin tomorrow in New Delhi. 
●    The Indian delegation will be led by the Commerce and Industry Minister, Shri Suresh Prabhu. 
●    In the current round of the Ministerial Dialogue, India and Canada would be focusing on some of the key commercial drivers to enhance the India-Canada partnership. 
●    Efforts would be made to work towards the expeditious conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) for a progressive, balanced, and mutually beneficial agreement covering both goods and services. 
●    Considering the high potential for bilateral trade, the trade ministers of both countries are likely to discuss issues to explore ways of expediting the early conclusion of the CEPA and the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA). 
●    India has long standing friendly bilateral relations with Canada. 

National Conference on BharatNet - Launch of Phase II, Signing of MoU with States and Utilisation of Network 

With Optical Fibre connectivity now available at 1 lakh Gram Panchayats under Phase-1 of BharatNet, DoT has initiated discussions on delivering Broadband enabled Citizen Services in these locations
●    The National Conference on Signing of MoU with States and Utilisation of Network will be held in New Delhi on 13th November 2017 with States and Service Providers
●    Telecos like Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone and Idea have expressed interest in providing last mile connectivity on BharatNet Infrastructure.
●    Memorandum of Understanding to be signed with States for Implementation of BharatNet Phase II
●    DoT is organizing a National Conference with the State Governments and Service Providers on Monday (13.11.2017) to brainstorm and showcase various utilization models leveraging BharatNet infrastructure.  
●    The Conference will be attended by IT Ministers and IT Secretaries from States.

Current Affairs 12th November 2017: SPORTS

Mary Kom won fifth gold medal at Asian Boxing Championships

Mary Kom won her fifth Asian Boxing Championships title by beating Korea’s Hyang Mi Kim on Wednesday. 
●    In a fiercely-contested final in Ho Chi Min City, Mary Kom won by 5-0 unanimous decision ending her gold medal drought in international competitions since Asian Games 2014.
●    The five-time world champion and Olympic bronze-medallist, unlike her previous bouts, got a competitive rival. 
●    The earlier bouts, Mary used the opening three minutes were invariably spent measuring up the rival, but on Wednesday both the Mary Kom and Hyang Mi were lunging at each other within seconds of the bell going off.  
●    Mary Kom scored for her ringcraft, which included some fine footwork to outpace Hyang Mi at crucial junctures.
●    There was hardly any power-hitting on display but the contest was made engaging by the boxers’ fast-paced exchange of punches. 
●    The North Korean was relentless with her left hooks but the Manipuri did not allow herself to be rattled and scored on counter-attack with her combination blows.
 

Pankaj Advani wins 17th World Billiards Championship title

Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani on Sunday clinched his 17th world title after he thrashed his arch-rival Mike Russell of England in the IBSF World Billiards Championship in Doha.
●    Advani beat Russell 6-2 (0-155, 150-128, 92-151, 151-0, 151-6, 151-0, 150-58, 150-21) to defend the 150-up format title he had won in Bengaluru last year. 
●    The Indian did not have an ideal start to the best-of-11 summit clash as Russell drew first blood with a well-crafted break of 155.
●    Advani drew parity in the next frame but still seemed to be looking for his best to arrive. 
●    The Englishman bounced back with breaks of 84 and 67 to win what was going to be the last frame to his name in the final.
●    From the fourth frame, the Indian was a transformed player. 
●    Advani, winner of maximum number of world titles in any sport by an Indian, increased his total by one more as he dominated the remainder of the final. 
●    He clinically constructed lethal breaks of 151, 151, 151, 145 and 110 to completely dismantle his longstanding rival.
 

Current Affairs 12th November 2017: SUMMIT

Mumbai to host Asian Bankers Association summit

For the first time, the nation’s financial capital will host the 34th annual conference of the Asian Bankers Association (ABA) this week.
●    The two-day conference will be held in the megapolis from November 16 and will be hosted by State Bank, with the theme of ‘Asia’s turn to transform’, SBI said.
●    The event is expected to see the presence of over 160 domestic as well as international bankers and Reserve Bank deputy governor Viral V Acharya will deliver the special opening address on the second day.
●    Founded in 1981, the ABA serves as a forum for advancing the cause of the banking industry and promote regional economic cooperation across the continent.
●    With around 80 members from 25 countries, the association holds conferences on issues of concern to the banking sector, policy advocacy discussions, and training programmes.
●    Some of the key foreign speakers at the event include ADB’s Noritaka Akamatsu, Chikahisa Sumi of IMF and Cheng Cheng-Mount of Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan.