Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

Notes:
The mini-ministerial meeting of WTO members from both rich and developing nations is proposed to be hosted by India in February 2018 to revitalize the multi-lateral trade body. The objective of the meeting is to discuss ways to revitalise the WTO, which is the best available multilateral institution to ensure predictable and transparent system of rule-making in the area of international trade. About 40 WTO member countries are expected to participate in the meeting, which is taking place after collapse of the ministerial talks held in Buenos Aires in December 2017. The meeting would be in the backdrop of rich nations forming groupings to prepare ground for pushing new issues such as investment facilitation, preparing rules for e-commerce, promoting gender equality and reducing subsidy on fisheries.

Notes:
US buyout giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) & Co. has become the first foreign investor to fully own an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) in India as it received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at a time when lenders are fighting with a pile of bad loans that have crippled their businesses. KKR is one of the most aggressive investors in financial services. It has plans to deploy a major chunk from its record Asia fund for buying troubled assets in the country, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Its headquarters is located in New York, United States. An ARC is in the business of acquiring Non-Performing Assets (NPAs). The Banks and an ARC get into an agreement in which the ARC take over the NPAs from the Banks Balance Sheet at a certain amount, lower than the Book Value. After this process, the particular ARC tries to recover this amount from the borrowers.

Notes:
Maneka Gandhi, the union minister of Women and Child Development (WCD), has inaugurated an online portal NARI in New Delhi for the empowerment of women. The portal – nari.nic.in – will provide easy access to information on government schemes and initiatives for women. The portal, which is developed by the Ministry, summarise over 350 government schemes and other important information. It elaborates how the Government is focussed to economically empower women through schemes under Direct Benefit Transfer. The portal provides links to the Ministries, Departments and autonomous bodies offering these schemes as well as easy access to online applications and grievance redressal. Also, there are tips on nutrition, suggestions for health check-ups, tips for job search, investment and savings advice, information on crimes against women and reporting procedures, contacts of legal aid cells, adoption procedures and much more.

Notes:
Salil S Parekh, an aeronautical engineer from IIT Bombay, has formally taken charge as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Infosys on January 2, 2018. Parekh joins Infosys from Capgemini, where he was a member of the Group Executive Board. He has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay.

Notes:
Bengaluru will host the first edition of Karnataka International Travel Expo’ (KITE) at the Bangalore International Exhibition Center (BIEC) from February 28, 2018. The expo is being touted as the largest B2B travel event in India, which is providing a platform for over 400 registered buyers and media representatives from over 25 countries. The government expects to attract over 1,000 delegates and facilitate 10,000 or so meetings during the 3-day event. The purpose of expo is to project Karnataka globally and attract tourist footfall, with emphasis on promoting the state’s adventure and wildlife, business travel, pilgrimage, UNESCO world heritage sites, festivals of Karnataka, etc. The event would provide impetus to inbound travel and tourism and enhance the marketing efforts of Karnataka Tourism to promote destinations in the State.

Notes:
The 16th edition of the Sundaram Finance Mylapore Festival (SFMF-2018) has started at Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple and Nageswara Rao Park in Chennai, Tamil Nadu from January 4. The 4 day fest will include about 40 events, such as heritage walks, competitions and cultural performances. It has been organized by city based non banking finance company Sundaram Finance.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) against public sector lender Allahabad Bank, owing to its high net Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) and negative Return on Assets (RoA) for two consecutive years. The action would contribute to the overall improvement in risk management, asset quality, profitability, efficiency of the bank. The RBI has initiated similar action against other public sector banks, including IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and UCO Bank. The RBI in April 2017 had issued a new set of enabling provisions under the revised PCA framework with a clause that if the bank does not show improvement then it could be either be merged or taken over by other bank.

Notes:
Vasant Shankar Davkhare (67), the senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Deputy Chairman of the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC), has passed away in Mumbai on January 4, 2018. He was known for his loyalty to NCP chief Sharad Pawar and was also known for having cordial relations across party lines; especially with Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray. His closeness to Thackerays always ensured his easy win in Council polls. However, he tasted defeat last year as the Sena decided to contest against him. His son Niranjan is also an MLC from the NCP.

Notes:
The New Delhi World Book Fair has started at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on January 6, 2018. It is organised by the National Book Trust (NBT) in association with India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). The main theme of 2018 fair is “Environment and climate change” and European Union is the focus country. More than 40 countries including Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom are participating in the book fair. The annual event will come to an end on 14th of this month.

Notes:
The Himalayan Hydro Expo 2018 has started at Kathmandu in Nepal on January 5, 2018. President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the exhibition. The basic objective of Expo is to unleash massive hydro power potential of Nepal and bring all stakeholders under one roof. According to experts Nepal has approximately 40,000 MW of economically feasible hydro power potential and so far it has developed just around 600 MW. The delegates from various countries including India, China, Austria, Czech Republic and Norway are participating in the expo. Seminars, discussions and competitions for engineering students will also be organised during three day event.