1. 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Announced
i. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons".
ii. The 2017 Peace Prize calls upon nuclear-armed states to initiate negotiations to the gradual elimination of the world’s 15,000 nuclear weapons adding that ICAN has in the past year given the efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons a new direction and new vigour.
Important Takeaways from Above News-
- The Nobel Peace Prize 2016 was awarded to Juan Manuel Santos "for his resolute efforts to bring the country's more than 50-year-long civil war to an end".
2. Donald Trump is Most Followed World Leader on Twitter, PM Modi Third
i. Donald Trump is now the world’s most followed leader on Twitter, while Narendra Modi is the third, according to the latest report by Twiplomacy, a Burson Marsteller research project that tracks the use of Twitter by governments and international organisations.
ii. Trump overtook Pope Francis by a few thousand followers to occupy the first place in Twiplomacy’s October report. India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has kept his third place consistently since 2016.
Important Takeaways from Above News-
- India’s Foreign Minister, @SushmaSwaraj, is the most followed female world leader in the world with a 9.6 million following on Twitter.
3. Gauri Lankesh, First Indian Journalist to win Anna Politkovskaya Award
i. Journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead by unknown assailants recently, has been posthumously accorded with the prestigious Anna Politkovskaya Award, instituted by Reach All Women (RAW) in War.
ii. It was honoured to award the annual Anna Politkovskaya Award for women human rights defenders from war and conflict zones jointly to Gauri Lankesh posthumously and to a brave Pakistani activist Gulalai Ismail, who similarly is fighting against Islamic extremism.
Important Takeaways from Above News-
- Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian journalist was killed in 2006 in Moscow for her courage to speak out on behalf of the suffering of the civilians in the war in Chechnya.
- Gauri was awarded Periyar Award posthumously by the Thinkers Forum on September 17 in Bengaluru.
4. Banwarilal Purohit Sworn-in as Governor of Tamil Nadu
i. Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit was sworn-in by Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee at the Raj Bhavan in Chennai.
ii. He entered the Maharashtra Assembly for the first time in 1978 from the Nagpur east seat. Mr. Purohit was appointed as Governor of Assam State by the President of India on August 17, 2016.
Important Takeaways from Above News-
- Thiru Edappadi K. Palaniswami is the present Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
5. HDFC Life, Apollo Munich Team up for Dual Cover
i. HDFC Life Insurance and Apollo Munich Health have come together to launch ‘Click2Protect Health plan’, which provides both life and health cover under a single plan. This plan combines the benefits of HDFC Life’s ‘Click2Protect 3D Plus (term) protection plan’ and Apollo Munich’s ‘Optima Restore health indemnity plan’.
ii. The features of the product include the waiver of future premiums on account of accidental total permanent disability or on the diagnosis of critical illness; and special premium rates for women and non-tobacco users.
Important Takeaways from Above News-
- Aditya Puri is the CEO of HDFC Bank.
- It headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
6. Tata AIA Life Launches ‘Eazy Connect’
i. Private insurer Tata AIA Life announced the launch of ‘Eazy Connect’, that will extend online customer service to social media platforms.
ii. The chatbot will be available through social media platforms and is developed to respond to the most frequently asked queries.
Important Takeaways from Above News-
- Naveen Tahilyani is the CEO and MD of Tata AIA Life.
i. Brazilian police arrested the chairman of the country’s Olympic Committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman as part of a probe into alleged vote-buying to secure Rio’s hosting of the 2016 Games.
ii. Twenty federal police agents swept into Rio de Janeiro’s upscale Leblon neighbourhood to arrest 75-year-old Carlos Nuzman.
8. Vijaya Bank Inks MoU with HPCL for Digital Payments
i. Vijaya Bank has entered into an MoU with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for enabling all HPCL retail outlets with BHIM/UPI merchant solutions. This rollout will empower all petrol pump attendants and LPG delivery personnel to accept digital payments.
ii. Customers can make payments by scanning a payment QR code, using BHIM Vijaya or any BHIM app that supports payments via UPI. Both Vijaya Bank and HPCL have inked the pact in line with the GOI initiative to encourage digital payments, especially BHIM/UPI.
Important Takeaways from Above News-
- R A Sankaranarayanan is the MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank.
9. First ASEAN-India Music Festival Begins in New Delhi
i. The first ever ASEAN-India music festival began at Purana Quila in New Delhi. The 3-day festival is being organised by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India in collaboration with Culture Ministry to celebrate the 25th year anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations.
ii. It will conclude on 8 October 2017. The theme for this commemorative year is ‘Shared Values, Common Destiny’.
Important Takeaways from Above News-
- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising ten Southeast Asian states.
10. FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 Started
i. The much-awaited FIFA U-17 World Cup started with four opening day matches to be played in Delhi and Mumbai. The opening matches would be played by teams in Group A and B.
ii. In Delhi, the inaugural match would be played between Group A teams Colombia and Ghana at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, followed by hosts India who would take on Team USA in the second match. In Mumbai, Group B team New Zealand would be taking on Turkey in the first game at DY Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai.
Important Takeaways from Above News-
- The Official Mascot of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 is a clouded leopard called Kheleo.
- This is the first FIFA tournament hosted by India.
- The final will be held at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 28 October 2017.
