Important Current Affairs 23rd October 2018 English

(International News)

India – Czech Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation held in Prague

 
•    The eleventh session of India – Czech Republic Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) was held on 22nd – 23rd October 2018 at Prague.
•    Both sides reviewed developments in their bilateral trade since the 10th Session of the Joint Commission held in New Delhi in January 2015 and welcomed the increasing trend in the volume of trade.
•    Czechoslovakia is preparing a project called Czech Industrial Cluster (CIC) near Bengaluru. The CIC will comprise administrative and production units and will serve as a hub for Czech companies that intend to settle down in India. 

Forty-five Indian companies participate in SIAL Paris exhibition

Forty-five Indian companies are participating in the SIAL Paris exhibition – the largest international market place for food service professionals.  Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) has inaugurated a special Indian pavilion in the ongoing mega exhibition for the participating companies. 
SIAL Paris exhibition
The Global Food Marketplace (French: Salon International de l’alimentation, or SIAL) is a trade fair held every two years, which specializes in the food processing industry. This event was first held in 1964 in Paris.

Netherlands becomes first country to issue gender-neutral passport

•    Netherlands has become the first country to issue a gender-neutral passport to one of its citizens.
•    The news came after a court in the country gave a ruling earlier this year saying that a third gender should be recognised for people who don’t identify as male or female.
•    The first gender-neutral passport was given to 57-year-old Leonne Zeegers. Their passport now has an 'X' mark as their gender specification, rather than an 'M' for mannetje (male) or a V for vrouw (female).

China opens world's longest sea-crossing bridge

Chinese President Xi Jinping has officially opened the world's longest sea crossing bridge, nine years after construction first began.
Important to Know:
•    Including its access roads, the bridge spans 55km (34 miles) and connects Hong Kong to Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai.
•    The bridge has cost about $20bn (£15.3bn).
•    Mr Xi attended the opening ceremony of the bridge, which took place in Zhuhai, along with the leaders of Hong Kong and Macau.
•    The crossing connects three key coastal cities in southern China - Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai.
•    The bridge, designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons, was built using 400,000 tonnes of steel, enough to build 60 Eiffel Towers. 
•    It is part of China's plan to create a Greater Bay Area, including Hong Kong, Macau and nine other cities in southern China.

Infosys, Finnish firm in AI alliance

•    Leading global corporations Pöyry and Infosys announced the release of Krti 4.0® Artificial Intelligence (AI) Framework for Operational Excellence.
•    The framework overcomes some complex and expensive lifecycle management challenges faced by organisations across operational technology (OT) systems.
Krti 4.0 model
•    The Krti 4.0 model based data driven framework applies AI, cognitive/machine learning and Machine to Machine (M2M) capabilities to the industrial environment.
•    Krti 4.0 is designed to dramatically reduce system maintenance costs and expensive operation shutdowns, and improve reliability, employee and environmental safety.

(Sports News)

French Open Badminton tournament begins in Paris

•    French Open Badminton tournament begins in Paris this afternoon. 
•    Ace Indian shuttlers, including defending champion Kidambi Srikanth, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will be eying their first major title of the year. 
French Open Badminton tournament
The French Open is an annual Badminton tournament held in France since 1909 and hosted by the Fédération française de badminton (FFBa). The tournament was halted between 1915 and 1934, in 1965, 1970, 1972, 1994 and 2006.

 (National News)
 “Harit Diwali-Swasth Diwali” campaign launched by Ministry of Environment 

•    Environment Ministry has launched Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali campaign. This campaign was initiated in 2017-18 wherein large number of school children participated and took pledge to minimize bursting of crackers. 

The Ministry has initiated the campaign on the similar lines but extended to a pan-India. 
•    The Harit Diwali-Swasth Diwali campaign is now merged with “Green Good Deed” movement that has been initiated as a social mobilization for conservation and protection of environment. The Ministry is encouraging all schools and colleges to be part of this campaign. 
•    Air pollution is a serious health issue in the country especially in the northern parts during winter seasons. It is attributed to dust, burning of crops in certain states, burning of garbage construction and prevailing climatic conditions. Diwali falls during the same period.

PNB Metlife launches AI-powered customer service app

 
•    Life insurer PNB Metlife has unveiled an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered customer service app ‘Khushi’. 
•    The app is designed to be a one-stop shop providing insurance-related information, anytime, anywhere, such as policy features, premium due details besides providing fund value and portfolio details. It has the ability to understand customer intent and provide tailored responses.
•    Khushi can interact with customers via text as well as speech. When requested, the app can also locate the nearest PNB MetLife branch, arrange a call back from call centre representatives, fix an appointment with an advisor and much more, according to the company.
•    In 2016, the company had launched ‘conVRse’, virtual reality (VR) service platform as well as ‘eBranch’, a paperless digital platform enabling real time transfer of information.