Current Affairs: Daily GK Update 11th October 2017

i. Actor Anupam Kher has been appointed the new chairman of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), located in Pune. He succeeds former television actor Gajendra Chauhan.

ii. Mr Kher has appeared in over 500 films and has been part of the theatre circles. He has previously held the post of chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification and the National School of Drama.

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2. ‘Sex With Minor Wife is to be Considered Rape’: Supreme Court

i. In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court of India ruled that sex with a wife who is under 18 years of age is rape and therefore a crime. The top court did not rule on ‘marital rape’, which is sexual intercourse forced upon a spouse no matter what their age.

ii. Before SC ruling, there was an exception in Section 375 rape law provisions that protected a man who had sexual relations with his wife even if she was under 18, which is the age of consent. Exception 2 in Section 375 of IPC (Indian Penal Code) granting protection to husband is violation of the constitution and fundamental rights of minor bride, according to the Supreme Court.

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• The top court’s verdict upholds the rights of 2.3 crore child brides in the country. 
• A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta read down exception 2 to Section 375 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code.

i. Himachal Pradesh government implemented the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS) to provide easy access to curative geriatric health care services by way of additional cover.

ii. The scheme would provide top-up coverage of Rs 30,000 per senior citizen to all existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) smart card holders. This would be in addition to the basic coverage of Rs 30,000 in Trust and Society mode.

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• Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh is Virbhadra Singh.
• Acharya Dev Vrat is the Governor of Himachal Pradesh.  

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Rs 2,000 crore specifically for setting up Aadhaar centres in post offices, a move that will see private contractors phased out from the data collection process. 

ii. The centres will have machines approved by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and trained personnel who will be responsible for the operations. Aadhaar enrolment and updation facilities will be available in around 15,000 post offices by March 31, 2018.

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i. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has trimmed India’s growth forecast for Financial Year 2017-18. In its latest World Economic Outlook released, the IMF lowered India’s growth forecast for 2017 to 6.7% from its earlier estimate of 7.2 percent.

ii. As per IMF, India is expected to regain the fastest growing major economy tag next year when it is forecast to grow 7.4 percent, slower than earlier estimate of 7.7 percent but higher than China’s 6.5 percent.

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i. Since 2012, 11 October has been marked as the International Day of the Girl Child. The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face while promoting girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.

ii. This year’s theme is “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030.”

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i. Nisha Desai Biswal, former Indian-American assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia has been appointed as the new president of US India Business Council (USIBC).
ii. As Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs in the US Department of State from 2013 to 2017, Biswal oversaw the US-India strategic partnership during a period of unprecedented cooperation, including launching the US-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue.

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• The Council aims to create an inclusive bilateral trade environment between India and the United States by serving as the voice of the industry, linking governments to businesses, and supporting long-term commercial partnerships.

i. ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, committed financial assistance of Rs. 10 crore to the Indian Armed Forces.

ii. This contribution by ICICI Bank would be made in two equal tranches. This fund will be used for two programs. The first will support post-graduation education of the widows of the soldiers and education for their wards. The second program will provide financial assistance for marriages of the daughters of ex-servicemen.

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i. Visa has tied up with the Andhra Pradesh government for Digital Dhan Sankalp project. It is an initiative to develop Visakhapatnam into India’s first ‘less cash’ city.

ii. The e-transformation of large state-owned service providers of the state into digital payments mode under the Vizag Digital Dhan Sankalp (VDDS) project is now accessible to over 90 percent of the city’s two million-strong population.

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i. Shri Vinay Mohan Kwatra has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Principality of Monaco, with residence in Paris.

ii. Mr Kwatra is presently Ambassador of India to France.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

i. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has bought an additional 7% stake in Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for Rs 900 crore from public sector lender IDBI Bank Ltd.

ii. This is the largest investment made by the apex rural financial institution so far and raises its total shareholding in Sidbi to 10%.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Harsh Kumar Bhanwala is the present Chairman of NABARD. 
• Mohammad Mustafa is SIDBI’s CMD. 
• Mahesh Kumar Jain is the Managing Director & CEO of IDBI Bank.

i. Iceland created history by qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. This is the first time that Iceland qualified for the World Cup.

ii. Iceland became the smallest country to clinch a position at the 21st FIFA World Cup. The previous smallest country to have reached the World Cup was Trinidad & Tobago.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• 21st FIFA World Cup will be held in 2018 in Russia.
• This is the first time when Iceland and Panama will be participants.

i. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis launched ‘MahaLabharthi‘ web portal that will help people get information about all the government schemes that they are eligible for.

ii. The web portal, https://www.mahalabharthi.in, works on the basis of personal, educational and professional information provided by a person while registering on it. 

Important Takeaways from Above News-

14. Axis Bank Appoints Sangram Singh as Freecharge CEO

i. Axis Bank Ltd has recently completed the acquisition of mobile wallet firm Freecharge and appointed Sangram Singh as its CEO.  He has replaced Jason Kothari.

ii. Freecharge presently has a revenue of about Rs80 crore. Snapdeal had bought Freecharge in April 2015 for an estimated $400 million or over Rs2,500 crore at current rates.

i. The mixed pair of Jemson Ningthoujam and Ankita Bhakat clinched the gold medal as India returned with three medals from the World Archery Youth Championship in Rosario, Argentina.

ii. This is India’s first world title at the youth championships since Deepika Kumari’s victories in 2009 and 2011. India also bagged one silver and one bronze in a promising show by the youngsters.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Buenos Aires is the Capital of Argentina.
• Argentine Peso is the Currency of Argentina.

i. FIFA has decided to suspend the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) with immediate effect in accordance with the decision of the Bureau of the FIFA Council on account of undue third-party interference.

ii. The national and club teams will not be allowed to take part in international competitions till the suspension is lifted. FIFA suspended PFF since its accounts were in control of a court-appointed administrator, which is against FIFA rules. The suspension will be lifted when the body becomes independent.

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