Important Current Affairs 1st October 2017

Important Current Affairs 1st October 2017

Current Affairs 1st October 2017: DAYS AND DATES

Military Nursing Service celebrates its 92nd Raising Day 

Military Nursing Service (MNS) of the Armed Forces celebrated its 92nd Raising Day today. 
●    New Addl. Director General Military Nursing Service Maj Gen Elizabeth John led the celebrations at MNS Officers Mess of Army Hospital (Research & Referral), Delhi Cantt. 
●    In order to pay homage to the Nursing Officers who did supreme sacrifice for the nation, 30 MNS Veterans team, led by Maj Gen Usha Sikhdhar and Maj Gen Sushila Shahi, laid wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti, India Gate. 
●    Names of three nursing officers Matron Fransis Mary F M, Miss Ethel E and Miss Letetia Gladys L G are engraved on India Gate War Memorial who lost their lives in the line of duty during 1st World War. 
●    On October 1, 1926 MNS was formally established as permanent nursing service in the Indian Army, which has come a long way in serving the three Services round-the-clock.
●    Since the time of its inception the MNS has been a part and parcel of the war efforts of the country. 
●    During the 1st World War, dire need of nursing care of Indian soldiers was recognised; the Army nurses served in Flanders, the Mediterranean, the Balkans, West Asia and on board hospital ships. 
●    More than 200 nurses died in active service and many of whom were Indian. 

Current Affairs 1st October 2017: DEFENSE

Headquarters Integrated Defense staff celebrates its 17th Raising Day 

Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) celebrated its 17th Raising Day today. 
●    To commemorate the momentous occasion, Chief of the IDS to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) Lt General Satish Dua paid homage to the valiant martyrs of the Armed Forces by laying a wreath at ‘Amar Jawan Jyoti’, India Gate in New Delhi.
●    Senior officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force of the IDS were present on the occasion. 
●    A Tri Services guard was in accompaniment. 
●    Conveying his best wishes on the occasion, Lt General Dua complimented all ranks of the

IDS for their commitment and selfless service and exhorted them to maintain the highest standards of professional integrity and excellence in the years to come. 

●    It may be noted that the Government had taken a decision in October 2001 to create the HQ IDS in the aftermath of ‘Operation Vijay’ (Kargil Operations). 
●    The main objective was to promote synergy among the three Services and to integrate these with the Ministry of Defence. 
●    The overarching aim of IDS is to achieve ‘Victory through Jointness’. 
●    The IDS has taken significant strides towards achieving this objective.

Current Affairs 1st October 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

FB Group ‘My Delhi Keep It Clean’ gets Swacchata Award for voluntary citizen action 

Fertilizer Cooperative, KRIBHCO will be conferred the Swacchata Award tomorrow by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs on the occasion of the third anniversary of the launch of Swacch Bharat Mission(Urban) for leading in marketing of compost made from Municipal Solid Waste. 
●    The Ministry will felicitate 20 individuals and agencies in 7 categories for significant contribution towards furthering the Clean India objective in urban areas.
●    KRIBHCO has been chosen among the Companies category for marketing the highest quantity of 22,768 tons of compost during 2016-17.
●    Delhi based citizen group ‘My Delhi Keep It Clean’ gets the award for promoting voluntary efforts to clean public places effectively using Face Book, in the Self-Help Group category.
●    Richmond Park, Gurugram, located in DLF Phase-IV and completed in 2002 has been chosen for the award for exemplary decentralized waste management initiative through waste segregation at source, in the RWAs category. 
●    RWA Federation of Mysuru has shown the way in Zero-waste effluent management system. Roseland Housing Society, Pune also gets the award for waste segregation initiative.

Wardha Dry Port will be constructed over an area of 350 Acres with an investment of Rs.500 Crore 

The Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways and Water Resource, River Interlinking and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari will perform the Bhoomi Poojan ceremony of the Wardha dry port at Sindi (Railway) in Wardha, Maharashtra on 2nd October, 2017.  
●    The Dry Port is being developed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in a bid to cater effective logistics services to the industries in Vidarbha region and improve cargo throughput at the Port.
●    The proposed Wardha Dry Port is to be constructed over an area of 350 acres in phased development with a total estimated investment of Rs 500 Crore. 
●    The Phase-I would involve development of around 25 Ha of the total area, with an estimated cost of Rs.180 Crores (including private investment of Rs. 79 Crore).
●    The proposed dry port is estimated to generate traffic of almost 7,000-9,000 TEUs in next 5-7 years. 
●    The traffic is expected to ramp up gradually to around 30,000 TEUs in medium term (by 2030) considering the geographical location advantage, upcoming road and railway connectivity, increased focus on warehousing and other ancillary industries in the region. 
●    The project is expected to attract a direct employment of at least 1000 persons. 
●    The project would have the necessary facilities as one-stop shop for the EXIM based industries such as customs clearance facilities, Container Freight Station, Warehousing Space, Cold Storage, Liquid Storage, truck terminals etc.

Shripad Naik graces the Curtain Raiser event of AYUSH Festival of Stamps 

The Curtain Raiser of AYUSH Festival of Stamps, scheduled to be held on 17th and 18th October 2017 was organised at Kala Academy, panaji in Goa on 29th Sept. 2017. 
●    Minister of State for Ayush (I.C.) Shri Shripad Naik graced the occasion. P. N. Ranjeet Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Dr. N. Vinod Kumar, Postmaster General, Goa region, Dr. K. Satyalakshmi, Director NIN Pune, Smt. Archana Gopinath, Sr. Supdt. of Post offices , Goa Division, school principals and representatives of Philatelist society of Goa were also present. 
●    The AYUSH Festival of Stamps is a joint venture of AYUSH Ministry and Department of Posts. 
●    The main objective of the event is to spread the message of Ayurveda and Philately as a hobby to the young generation. 
●    A facebook page, 'Philately for Ayush' was launched on the occasion by the Minister. The page contains various activities / programmes online and offline organised for the festival. 
●    Viz. Poster making competition, blog writing, quize, elocution, paint and post, design a stamp competition etc. 

RCOM and Aircel's merger plan canceled

Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) has called off the merger of its wireless services business with Aircel Ltd, citing regulatory delays and opposition from some creditors, in a development that will further impede its efforts to pare its huge debt.
●    RCom said it is now looking at alternative ways to reduce its debt, including sale of real estate assets and “optimization of spectrum”, the company said in a filing to stock exchanges on Sunday.
●    The merger of the wireless business with Aircel and a separate deal to sell RCom’s telecom tower assets was the cornerstone of the Anil Ambani-controlled firm’s plan to pare its Rs45,000 crore debt, amid pressure on earnings because of aggressive tariffs offered by Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, controlled by his elder brother Mukesh Ambani.
●    The company said that the merger agreement with Aircel was allowed to “lapse by mutual consent” as the deal had been facing regulatory delays and opposition from operational creditors.
●    RCom’s lenders had invoked strategic debt restructuring (SDR) for the telecom company in June. 
●    SDR allows creditors to convert a firm’s debt into equity and take over the management of defaulting companies.
●    The banks, however, allowed the company to postpone debt-servicing payments till December after it presented a restructuring plan involving the sale of its telecom tower business and the spin-off and merger of its wireless assets.
 

Current Affairs 1st October 2017: GLOBAL NEWS

China’s Fosun eye stake in Symbiotec Pharmalab

Global private equity (PE) fund Advent International and Chinese strategic investor Fosun International Ltd are in separate talks to acquire a controlling equity stake in Indore-based Symbiotec Pharmalab Pvt. Ltd from existing investor Actis Capital, according to two people privy to the development.
●    “The firm has given a mandate to the investment bank Rothschild to conclude the transaction and is seeking a valuation of $160 million for the 70% equity stake held by the PE fund,” said one of the persons cited above on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
●    London-based Actis had picked up the stake in the bulk-drug maker for about $48 million in 2013. 
●    Anil Satwani, managing director of Symbiotic, and his family own the remaining 30% stake in the company.
●    Separate emails sent to Fosun International, Anil Satwani and Rothschild seeking confirmation and further details had not elicited a response at the time of going to press. 
●    A spokesperson for Advent International declined to comment.
●    Mint was the first to report on Actis’s stake sale plans last September.
●    That Symbiotec has been able to elicit interest from potential PE investors was reported by VCCircle earlier this month.
●    If concluded, the transaction will be Actis’s second major exit after it sold its 63% stake in Paras Pharmaceuticals Ltd to Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc in 2010, in a deal that valued the company at $726 million.

Current Affairs 1st October 2017: ECONOMY

GREENKO estimates Reliance Infra's Mumbai Electricity Business as 14000 crore

Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra) has received interest from at least four players for its Mumbai power business, comprising generation, transmission and distribution with estimates suggesting that the sale will help the Anil Ambani group repay around 70% of the Rs 20,000-crore debt with the company.
●    R-Infra intends to focus on defence and EPC business after exiting what was once a prime business with road projects -also proposed to be monetised. 
●    Given the high debt levels, the focus is on businesses that require less capital and the sale is targeted to clear around 14,000 crore of loans on the company's books.
●    Sources said that Hyderabad-based Greenko, CLP of Hong Kong, Tata Power and Enel of Italy had evinced interest in the assets that are now on the block. 
●    Tata Power, however, denied it. In a statement, Tata Power said, "We are not aware of anyone from Tata power having been approached." The others could not be reached for comment.
●    When contacted, an R-Infra spokesperson said, "As Reliance Group chairman Anil D Ambani announced at the recent AGM of the company , `We continue to explore and examine various opportunities for the asset monetisation of Reliance Infrastructure and unlocking shareholder value, which is part of the ongoing transformation strategy at Reliance Group.'" 
●    R-Infra's Mumbai generation assets included a 500MW facility, which was commissioned in 1995 with the trans mission sy stem having a capacity 3,000MVA.