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Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017

The eighth annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2017 will be held in Hyderabad, India from 28 to 30 November 2017. A high-level delegation from the Government of India and the USA met at NITI Aayog to plan the summit. The Summit will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Advisor to the President of the US Ivanka Trump, who will lead the US delegation. The GES is the paramount annual meeting of emerging entrepreneurs, business leaders and investors from around the world.  Through mentoring, networking and workshops, the GES allow entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas, secure funding, build partnerships, and create innovative goods and services that will change societies. This year, the focus will be on women entrepreneurs and the incredible potential women bring to entrepreneurship. GES 2017 • GES 2017 will generate an environment that will give power to innovators, particularly women, to take their ideas to the next level. • Women signify tremendous promise for economic growth and success but in both developing and developed countries, also face terrific barriers to building businesses. • The theme for this year summit is “Women First, Prosperity for All” to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit in all its strengths and diversity. • GES 2017 will be graced by over 1600 delegates, including investors and entrepreneurs, CEOs of major knowledge-based industries. The participants will represent 160 countries, almost from every region of the world. • NITI Aayog on behalf of Government of India is taking the lead in organising this Summit. This summit will be the unique occasion for Indian Startups and Innovators to interact and network with the finest entrepreneurs of the world. • The agenda of GES 2017 consists of breakout sessions, workshops and master classes.  In the Breakout Sessions panelists will argue on key themes, innovative industries, and other aspects of entrepreneurship that are being highlighted in GES 2017.

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UP constructs 3.2 lakh toilets in 17 days

The Uttar Pradesh government stated that it has built over 3.52 lakh toilet units in 17 days under the Centre's Swachhta hi Seva campaign thereby, topping other states in the  effort. According to an official statement, the toilets were constructed between 15 September and 2 October. Following UP in the effort is Rajasthan, which constructed around 2, 54,953 toilets and then Karnataka, which built around 2, 41,708 toilets in the same period. Overall, almost 18, 24,549 toilets were constructed across states.

The statement also added that nagar panchayat Sahanpur in Bijnore district was declared open defecation free.

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Swacch Andhra Mission

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu launched ‘Swachh Andhra Mission’ on 2 October 2017, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. Ace shuttler PV Sindhu was appointed as the brand ambassador of the mission. The state government is working on making the state 100 per cent Open Defaciation Free by March 2018. For this the state would have to construct 22 lakh more toilets by March 2018.

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Mukya Mantri Kaushal Samvardhan and Kaushalya Yojana

Madhya Pradesh Government has implemented the Chief Minister's Skill Promotion and Skills Scheme to provide jobs by providing employment oriented training to the youth. The Tribal Affairs Department of MP government will train educated youths of Scheduled Tribe category for job in various employment-oriented professions and establish their own venture through MAPCET. All the youth who are in the age group of 18-35 are being benefitted through Mukhya Mantri Kaushal Samvardhan Yojana and Mukhya Mantri Kaushalya Yojana.  The Madhya Pradesh government has permitted Rs 30 crores for constant execution of the scheme from year 2017-18 to 2019-20. This scheme is aimed to cover 6,000 youth and  nearly 2000 youths will be trained every year.

Mukhya Mantri Kaushalya Yojana The Chief Minister Kaushalya Yojana is being launched to train the women and make women self-reliant by the state government. The main objective of this scheme is to provide necessary skill to women to get employment and self employment, to ensure the participation of women by providing skill in non-conventional areas and to increase the employment opportunities of women. The plan has been set to train two lakh women every year in this scheme. Under this scheme, women will be provided healthcare, telecom, retail, security, construction, automotive, IT and ITES, banking and financial services, apparel med-ups and home furnishing, tourism and hospitality, electronics and hardware, beauty and wellness, capital goods, Domestic worker and food processing sector will be provided free training.

Mukhya Mantri Kaushal Samvardhan The main objective of the Chief Minister Skill Promotion Scheme, being trained to train youth and self-help, is to bring uniformity in the skill development training programs being run by different departments, to increase the quality of training and increase the employment potential, bringing uniformity according to the national standards. In this scheme, the youth will be encouraged to provide retail, agriculture, security, construction, automotive, furniture and fittings, IT and ITES, banking and financial services, apparel med-ups and home furnishing, plumbing, telecom, green jobs, food processing, capital goods, domestic Free training for workers, tourism and hospitality and electronic and hardware will be given.

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Paryatan Parv

The Union Ministry of Tourism would be organising Paryatan Parv, a festival of tourism, from 5 October 2017 in collaboration with other central ministries, state governments and stakeholders. The main objective behind organising the festival is to draw focus on the benefits of tourism and showcase the cultural diversity of the country and to reinforce the principle of ‘Tourism for All’. The 20-day festival would be beginning at Humayun's Tomb in Delhi. It will end on 25 October. The festival will have three main components: • Dekho Apna Desh • Tourism for All • Tourism & Governance

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New Chairman of SBI

Rajnish Kumar was appointed the next chairman of the State Bank of India. He is at present the Managing Director of State Bank of India (SBI). Rajnish Kumar will succeed Arundhati Bhattacharya, who is at present serving her one-year extension. The Cabinet appointment committee has permitted the selection of Kumar for a period of 3-years from 7th October, as per the order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

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New Governors of Tamil Nadu, Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh

President Ram Nath Kovind appoints new Governors to Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Meghalaya. President appointed appointed:-

Banwarilal Purohit - Tamil Nadu

Brig. (Dr.) B.D. Mishra (Retd.) - Governor of Arunachal Pradesh

Satya Pal Malik - Governor of Bihar

Jagdish Mukhi - Governor of Assam

Ganga Prasad - Governor of Meghalaya.

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Fourth gravitational wave detected

Gravitational waves were predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago as part of his theory of general relativity, but the first hard evidence of their existence came only in 2015, when two U.S. detectors found the first such signal. A fourth gravitational wave has been detected — this time with help from Italy-based equipment — after two black holes collided, sending ripples through the fabric of space and time. The latest space-time ripples were detected on August 14, 2017 at 10.30 a.m. GMT (4 p.m. IST) when two giant black holes with masses about 31 and 25 times the mass of the Sun merged about 1.8 billion light-years away. The Virgo detector — an underground L-shaped instrument that tracks gravitational waves using the physics of laser light and space — recently underwent an upgrade, and while still less sensitive than its U.S. counterparts, it was able to confirm the same signal. Known as interferometers, these high-tech underground stations do not rely on light in the sky like a telescope does, but instead sense vibrations in space and can pick up the “chirp” created by a gravitational wave.

Previously, gravitational waves have been found using two U.S.-based detectors, which are the most sophisticated in the world — known as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington. The first was found in September 2015 and announced to the public in early 2016, a historic achievement that culminated from decades of scientific research.

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India GDP to hit $6 trillion by 2027: Morgan Stanley report

India is likely to be the world’s fastest-growing large economy in the next 10 years, driven by digitisation, favourable demographics, globalisation and reforms, predicts a Morgan Stanley report. Morgan Stanley expects digitisation will provide a boost of 50-75 bps to GDP growth and forecast that India will grow to a $6-trillion economy by 2026-27.

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India gets first-ever U.S. crude oil shipment

‘Such supplies will help mitigate risks’ The first ever shipment of U.S. crude oil of 1.6 million barrels, purchased by state-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), was received at Paradip Port. The shipment is a part of recent commitments to purchase U.S. oil by IOC, Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL). IOC has placed a cumulative order for 3.9 million barrels from the U.S. while BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum have placed orders for about 2.95 million barrels and one million barrels, respectively.

This marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Indo-U.S. trade, particularly in the oil and gas sector.

Advantages for India The inclusion of the U.S. as a source for crude oil imports by India’s largest refiner will go a long way in mitigating the risks arising out of geo-political disruptions. This will also usher in price stability and energy security for India, which is witnessing robust growth in demand for petroleum products. Bilateral trade boost U.S. crude oil shipments to India have the potential to boost bilateral trade by up to $2 billion, according to a. U.S. Embassy release.

The crude oil shipment was delivered by MT New Prosperity, a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) of capacity 2 million barrels of crude oil.

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8 core sectors witness growth by 4.9% in August, highest since April

Eight core sectors grew by 4.9% in August, the highest growth rate since April. This growth is on account of robust performance of coal, natural gas and electricity segments. The sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity — had witnessed 3.1% expansion in August last year. The infrastructure growth was 2.6% in July.

The production of coal, natural gas and electricity rose by 15.3%, 4.2% and 10.3%, the data said. However, crude oil, fertiliser and cement recorded negative growth in the month under review. The production growth of refinery products and steel slowed down to 2.4% and 3% in August, against 2.5% and 16.7% respectively in the same month last year. Cumulatively, the eight core sectors in April-August recorded a growth rate of 3%, against 5.4% in the same period a year ago. The healthy growth of key sectors would have positive implications on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), as these segments account for about 41% to the total factory output.

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Modernisation of Police Forces

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi led Union Cabinet has given its nod for implementation of umbrella scheme of “Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF)” for years 2017-18 to 2019-20.

The total budget outlay for the Modernisation of Police Forces scheme over the three year’s period is Rs.25,060 crore, in which the Central Government will contribute Rs.18,636 crore and the States will contribute Rs.6,424 crore.

Important features of this scheme:

There are provisions madeunder the Scheme for law & order, internal security, women security, accessibility of modern weapons, versatility of police powers, logistic support, procuring of helicopters, upgradation of police wireless, National Satellite Network, CCTNS venture, E-prison project and so forth.

Under the umbrella scheme for Modernisation of Police Forces, budget outlay of Rs.10,132 crore by central government has been earmarked for internal security related expenditure for North Eastern States, Jammu & Kashmir, and left wing extremism affected States.

The outlay of Rs.3,000 crore for the Scheme of Special Central Assistance (SCA) for worst LWE affected districts (35) has been introduced to tackle the issue of non-development in these district.

A budget of Rs.100 crore has been earmarked in the North Eastern States (NE states) for police training institutes, infrastructure upgradation, investigation facilities etc.

Impacts: -

Implementation of this Modernisation of Police Forces scheme would boost the Government’s ability to address challenges faced in different areas affected by some sort of instability like Jammu and Kashmir, LWE, and North East effectively and undertake the development initiations which will bolster the quality of life in these areas and help combat these issues effectively at the same time.

The umbrella scheme also makes a way for upgradation of Sardar Patel Global Centre for Security, Counter Terrorism and Anti Insurgency in Jaipur and setting up of a State-of Art forensic science laboratory in Amravati, Andhra Pradesh and and Gujarat Forensic Science University in Gandhi Nagar.

Why Police Reform?

From 2005 to 2015, Crime per lakh persons increased by 28%, whereas, State police forces have 24% vacancies and they have shortages in weaponry and vehicles

Low quality of state investigation departments and Political interference.

Police arms and equipment in most of the states are outdated.

Police departments have lack of coordination within.

Lack of training and manpower.

Police departments are facing the challenges like lack of police force, police training along with the quality, the long working hours sometimes without any leave, as well as the isolation of police force from the public in the form of separate living quarters .

Police forces are a part of society and they should be made an integral part the society they live in.

Police is a state subject

Police is in a state list and hence it is exclusive to states. Therefore, the centre has its limitations in this regard.

Post-independence, some of the states came out with their own police acts. For example, the Kerala Police act 1960; Bombay Police act, 1951; the Delhi Police act, 1978.

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New species of snake discovered

Aquatic Rhabdops, a new species of non-venomous aquatic snake was identified and described as new species from northern Western Ghats in Maharashtra, Goa and North Karnataka.

The snake has been misidentified since 1863. The new species was earlier was considered as a variant of Olive Forest Snake, first described in 1863.

However, a new study has confirmed that Aquatic Rhabdops has different colours and patterns and also vary in other features of size, shape and structure, and also genetic make-up.

Main Features:-

Aquatic Rhabdops snakes belong to genus Rhabdops which are endemic to India.

The species has been named after its aquatic nature since the adults are mostly associated with freshwater forest streams and juveniles are seen in water-logged areas.

The three-foot-long nocturnal snake hunts for prey underwater.

Adults of the Aquatic Rhabdops have off-white bellies and black spots on their olive brown skin, juveniles are olive green, with yellow undersides. This colour difference in life stages could possibly be due to the different local habitats.

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First women chief of Banaras Hindu University (BHU)

The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) appointed Royana Singh as the first woman Chief Proctor of the institution. The appointment was approved by Vice Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi.

Royana would be succeeding O.N. Singh, who resigned on 26 September taking “moral responsibility” for the recent incidents of violence on students inside the premises of the university.

Besides being the first woman ever to hold the post in the university’s history, Royana also heads the university’s women grievance cell.

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3rd India International Science Festival

The 3rd edition of India International Science Festival (IISF) 2017 will be held in Chennai from 13 October 2017 to 16 October 2017.

The Festival will be held at various venues, which include Anna University, Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Structural Engineering Research Centre (SERC), National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and IIT-Madras.

The India International Science Festival is organised jointly by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA).

Aim of the festival

The prime objective of the IISF 2017 is to instil scientific temper among the masses and showcasing India’s contribution in the field of science and technology over the years.

India has declared 2010-20 as the ‘Decade of Innovation’.

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Indian Railways to work with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to make trains safer

Indian Railways would be working with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to devise safety mechanisms to make travel by trains safer.

Indian Railways is also working along with RailTel to explore the use of space technology for safety in the rail network.

Besides this, modern technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning would affect a change in the working environment.

Background

The Indian Railways was recently shrouded by controversy following back-to-back rail accidents. The incident also prompted the then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to offer to resign.

In the latest cabinet reshuffle, Power Minister Piyush Goyal was given the charge of the Railway Ministry. Suresh Prabhu on the hand was made the new Minister of Commerce & Industry of India.

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Web Portal of Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) & Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWR) System Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan launched the Web Portal of Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) & Electronic Negotiable Warehouse Receipt (e-NWR) System in New Delhi. Key features The e-NWRs would be immune from any tempering, mutilation, fudging, loss or damage and with no possibility of any multiple financing. Therefore, the NWRs will not only facilitate an easy pledge financing by banks and other financial institutions but also smooth trading on various trading centres like commodity exchanges, electronic National Agriculture Markets (e-NAM) and other electronic platforms. These e-NWRs will save expenditure in logistics as the stocks could be traded through multiple buyers without physical movement and can be even split for partial transfer or withdrawal. Divyang Sarathi Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment launched the Beta version of ‘Divyang Sarathi’—The accessible and comprehensive mobile application for easy dissemination of information to ‘Divyangjans’. This mobile application will undoubtedly empower the ‘Divyangjans’ by giving easier and helpful access of data to them as they would now be able to receive all details relating to the plans, grants, schemes, scholarships, and other crucial and relative information at a single click. Objective of this Mobile App As per the Census 2011, there are more than 2.68 crore ‘Divyangjans’ in India which constitute over 2.2% of the population. The mobile application 'Divyang Sarathi’ is compliant with the standards of UNCRPD for Universal Access and the arrangements of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Act commands that all data to be made accessible in an accessible form. Features of the App: The interesting highlights of the application 'Divyang Sarathi’ are its audio notes (text to-voice change programming) installed in the application which changes the written information into a voice record and also the customizable text dimension which can be adjusted according to the user’s necessity. The mobile application will unquestionably have a wide outreach as it has been created bilingually i.e., the data is accessible in Hindi and additionally English. The application has been developed with that sense that once downloaded, it can be accessed by any Android phone. The mobileapplication will be accessible for download on Google Playstore. Tackling illegal trade - Sebi tightens broker-client contact record rules To stop unauthorised trading activities by brokers in their clients’ accounts, markets regulator Sebi asked brokers to store all records of orders placed by clients which are accepted in a court of law. These records include written documents signed by the client, recording of telephone conversations, emails from authorised email IDs, log for online transactions, SMSs or any other form of proof that is legally verifiable. When dispute arises, the burden of proof will be on the broker to produce the above records for disputed trades notification. The new rules will come into effect on January 1, 2018. At present, a system similar to the one Sebi is putting in place is applicable for trades in the commodity derivative markets.However, no such requirement is there in stocks, stock derivatives and currency derivatives markets. The regulator also asked the stock exchanges to implement these new rules and report compliance to it. There have been several instances where brokers, often to generate commission for themselves, trade in their clients’ accounts without proper authorisation. At times, such trades lead to huge losses for the clients while at the same time generate brokerage fee for the broker. The regulator is trying to stop such practices.

GST collection dips 3.6% in August on delayed filing Goods and services tax (GST) collections dipped 3.6% in August from the previous month as delayed filing on account of technical glitches took a toll on the overall collection. Latest data released by the finance ministry on Tuesday showed that in August, the government managed to rake in Rs 90,669 crore, marginally lower than the revised mop-up of Rs 94,063 crore in July . Initial estimates released on August 29 had estimated the July collections at Rs 92,283 crore. The final returns for August (GSTR 3B) had to be filed by September 20. The data revealed that there were segments where collections had soared, such as through compensation cess, which is levied on tobacco products, pan masala and automobiles. There was a pickup in demand for large cars, especially SUVs, as the government had planned to increase the cess on these vehicles. Till Monday , 37.63 lakh of the 68.2 lakh entities registered for GST had filed their returns. Businesses have been complaining about difficulty in filing and submitting returns through the GST Network (GSTN) tax portal with many consultants complaining of regular outages and have blamed the lack of adequate capacity on the IT backbone supporting the new tax regime. The accusation has, however, been trashed by GSTN. Tesla to enter Indian Market Tesla, which makes electric cars, has initiated talks with the government to enter India through the single-brand retail route. Tesla requested temporary relief on import penalties restrictions until a local factory is built. The proposal comes amid a push from the government to move to electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2030. Already, several companies such as Maruti and Ford are planning forays into the segment. Govt may let doctors work till they are 65 The Union Cabinet is likely to approve an increase the retirement age of government doctors, from 60 years at present to 65. A move that will help strengthen the healthcare sector and increase the availability of doctors. In July, the government had given its approval for the enhancement of retirement age to 65 years for general duty medical officers of the central armed police forces and the Assam Rifles.

BEL gets new finance director Koshy Alexander has taken charge as defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd’s (BEL) finance director. He was general manager (finance) and chief financial officer (CFO) before his elevation. Alexander joined BEL in June 1986 as accounts officer. Canara bank opens Aadhaar centre Canara Bank has opened an Aadhaar enrolment centre in Jayanagar. With over 7,350 branches across the country, the bank is planning to set up 1,040 such centres. In Karnataka, 142 centres will be opened in select branches. They will help people get new Aadhaar cards and update details on existing ones. CISF security at Mumbai airport rated best in world The CISF security at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai has been recognised as the best service in this domain by the World Quality Congress (WQC) The latest initiative of doing away with tagging and stamping of hand baggage, handling increasing passenger footfalls smoothly , curtesy and helpfulness of CISF personnel and restoring forgotten items of the passengers were taken into account while deciding the award. SBI’s new index at LSE to help investors track Indian bonds State Bank of India, in partnership with FTSE Russell introduced a new index series at the London Stock Exchange to enable investors and market participants to track Indian bond movement. FTSE Russell is a global data and analytics provider. This index will act as a key benchmark for Indian debt for foreign investors looking to invest in Indian debt market. It will significantly contribute to development and broadening of the Indian bond market. The launch follows the November 2015 visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the UK when a letter of intent was singed between SBI and FTSE to jointly develop the new index tracking Indian fixed income securities. This initiative was also announced as a priority under the India UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP).