Current Affairs: Daily GK Update 30th September 2017

Dear Readers,

1. President Appoints Governors for 5 States, Banwarilal Purohit Named TN Governor

i. Former Union Minister Satya Pal Malik has appointed as the new Governor of Bihar while Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit will now be the new Governor of Tamil Nadu. Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar, Prof Jagdish Mukhi will replace Mr Purohit as the Governor of Assam. Admiral (Retd) Devendra Kumar Joshi will be the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar in place of Prof. Mukhi. 

ii. President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Governors in five states and Lieutenant Governor in one Union Territories. Brigadier (Retd) BD Mishra has been appointed as the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and former member of Bihar Legislative Council Ganga Prasad Governor of Meghalaya.

2. Government Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged on Small Savings Schemes

i. Ahead of monetary policy review, the government has kept unchanged the interest rates on small savings schemes like PPF, Kisan Vikas Patra and Sukanya Samriddhi for October-December quarter. Investments in the Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme will fetch annual rate of 7.8 percent while Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) investments will yield 7.5 percent and mature in 115 months.

ii. The one for girl child savings, Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme will offer 8.3 percent annually. Similarly, the investment on 5-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme will yield 8.3 percent. The interest rate on the senior citizens scheme is paid quarterly.

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3. Aeris Communications partners BSNL for IOT solutions

i. Aeris Communications has entered into a partnership with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to provide packaged Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and services to small, medium businesses and public sector undertakings (PSUs) in India. 

ii. The company will leverage BSNL’s wide network coverage, to provide a comprehensive, end-to-end IoT services platform for enterprises, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and service providers. 

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4. US fines HSBC $175 mn for Lax Forex Oversight

i. The US central bank has fined global banking giant HSBC $175 million for failing to oversee foreign exchange traders who misused confidential client information and colluded with traders at competing banks. Between 2008 and 2013, the bank failed to detect misconduct by senior traders, including its global head of foreign exchange cash trading, according to the Federal Reserve.

ii. The enforcement action comes two months after the Fed also fined BNP Paribas USD 246 million over similar violations. HSBC was one of six major US and European banks fined a total of $4.2 billion by global regulators in a November 2014 crackdown for attempted manipulation of the foreign exchange market.

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5. Veteran actor Tom Alter dies at 67

i. Veteran film, television and theatre actor and Padma Shri Tom Alter has died at aged 67. The renowned actor and one-time sports writer and author had been battling stage four skin cancer.

ii. Alter acted in over 300 movies apart from numerous TV shows, most famously as the gangster Keshav Kalsi in the hit soap opera Junoon which ran for a record five years during the 1990s. In addition to acting, Alter also ventured into direction and was a sports journalist in the 80s and 90s. He was the first person to interview Sachin Tendulkar for TV when the cricketer was yet to debut for India. Alter has written three books, one non-fiction and two fiction, and in 2008 was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Indian government in recognition for his services to the field of arts and cinema.