Current Affairs Update – 15-17th October, 2016

• India and Russia on 15 October
  2016 signed 16 agreements during India-Russia Annual Summit across multiple
  sectors.
• The MoUs were signed in Goa
  during India-Russia Annual Summit co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
  and Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Putin is on a visit to India to
  attend 2016 Goa BRICS summit.

• MoU on studying perspectives for
  cooperation in shipbuilding, implementation of infrastructure projects,
  transfer of technologies and training foreign specialists: It was inked between
  JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation and the Council for Economic Cooperation of
  Andhra Pradesh.
• MoU on Cooperation in the
  implementation of smart cities program in India with the use of IT solutions of
  the Russian companies: It was inked between JSC “Rusinformexport” and the
  Ministry of Urban Development of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, State Company
  National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd., Government of Haryana.
• MoU on the joint study of a gas
  pipeline to India and the other possible areas of Cooperation: It was inked
  between Gazprom and Engineers India Limited.
• Rosneft to purchase 98% Essar
  Oil: as per the decision a Russian consortium comprising energy giant Rosneft
  Oil Company, commodities trader Trafigura and private investment group United
  Capital Partners agreed to purchase 98 percent of Essar Oil for 10.9 billion
  dollars.
• Cooperation Agreement in the area
  of Education and Training: It was inked between Rosneft Oil Company and ONGC
  Videsh Limited.
• MoU on setting up of Investment
  Fund: It was inked between NIIF and RDIF.
• Signing of MoU for Cooperation in
  increasing the speed of trains between Nagpur- Secundrabad / Hyderabad: It was
  inked between Indian and Russian railways.
• Signing of the shareholder
  agreement for establishing a Joint Venture to manufacture Ka-226T helicopter in
  India.
• MoU on Mutual Allocation of
  Ground Measurement Gathering Stations for GLONASS AND NAvIC: It was inked
  between ISRO and ROSCOSMOS.
• MoU on expansion of Bilateral
  Trade and Economic Cooperation: it was inked between Ministry of Economic Development
  of the Russian Federation and the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• MoU between Department of Science
  & Technology (India) and FASO (Russia)
• Programme of Cooperation in Oil
  and Gas Sector for the period 2017-18
• Protocol for consultations
  between the Ministry of External Affairs & Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
  Russia for the period 2017-18.
• Agreement on cooperation in
  International Information Security
• Signing of IGA to
  purchase/construct four additional 1135.6 frigates though partnership between
  Russian and Indian shipyard
• Signing of IGA for the
  procurement of S-400 Air Defence System.

• Private sector Axis Bank has cut
  the marginal cost of fund based lending rate by 0.05 per cent across all
  tenors, effective tomorrow.
• “The bank has decided to reduce
  the MCLRs (marginal cost lending rate) of the bank by 5 basis points across all
  tenors.
• This will be effective from
  October 18, 2016,” the bank said in a regulatory filing.
• For six-month period, the new
  MCLR will be 9.15 per cent, one year at 9.2 per cent, for two years it will be
  9.3 per cent and that for a tenor of three years it is fixed at 9.35 per cent.
• The overnight MCLR will be 8.8
  per cent.
• The new loans will be priced at
  these internal benchmark MCLRs, it added.

• A memorandum of understanding
  (MoU) was signed on Monday between the state government and mobile phones major
  Samsung for setting up a manufacturing unit in Uttar Pradesh.
• The MoU was signed in the
  presence of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and senior Samsung officials. Under
  the agreement, Samsung would be investing Rs 1,970 crore in the state.
• A manufacturing plant would be
  set up in Noida and the company would also be making smartphones for the
  ambitious free Samajwadi Smartphone Scheme, announced by the Chief Minister.
  The scheme would be rolled out next year after the state assembly polls, if the
  Samajwadi Party (SP) returns to power.
• Under the scheme, free
  smartphones will be given to bona fide residents of Uttar Pradesh —
  individuals over 18 years and having a minimum educational qualification of
  matriculation (having passed Class 10).

• Russia’s Rosneft Oil Company and
  its partners on 15 October 2016 acquired India’s second biggest private oil
  firm Essar Oil in an all-cash deal valued at about 13 billion US dollars.
• Rosneft Oil Company’s partners
  include Rosneft Oil Company, Netherlands-based commodities trader Trafigura and
  private investment group United Capital Partners. The acquisition was announced
  during the 8th BRICS Summit in Goa.

• Rosneft will have a 49 percent
  stake in Essar Oil’s refinery, port and petrol pumps.
• Trafigura Group Pte and United
  Capital Partners will split 49 percent equity equally.
• The remaining 2 percent is held
  by minority shareholders after delisting of Essar Oil.
• The deal includes 10.9 billion US
  dollars for Essar Oil’s Vadinar refinery of Essar Group and 2 billion US
  dollars for a port terminal that helps feed refinery.
• It also includes Essar Oil’s debt
  of 4.5 billion US dollars and about 2 billion US dollars debt with the Port
  Company and power plant.

• India and Hungary on 16 October
  2016 signed two agreements to enhance the bilateral relations between the two
  countries.
• The first agreement is for
  cooperation in the field of water resources, including innovations in
  irrigation technology. The second agreement is for promotion of co-operation
  between Indian Council of World Affairs and its Hungarian counterpart.
• The two agreements were inked in
  Budapest during Vice President, Mohammad Hamid Ansari’s visit to that country.
  Vice President is on a two-nation tour to Hungary and Algeria.
• During the visit, Vice President
  had bilateral discussions with Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban and other
  leaders. He also met the Hungarian President Janos Ader and the Speaker of
  National assembly.

• The eighth BRICS (Brazil, Russia,
  India, China and South Africa) summit was held from 15 to 16 October 2016 in
  Benaulim city of Goa, India. It was held under the theme Building Responsive,
  Inclusive and Collective Solutions.
• The summit was attended by the
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian
  President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African
  President Jacob Zuma.
• At the end of the summit, Goa
  Declaration was released by the leaders saying it is the responsibility of all
  states to prevent terrorist actions from their territories. In the 109 point
  Declaration, the leaders called upon all nations to adopt a comprehensive
  approach in combating terrorism. They condemned the recent attacks against some
  BRICS countries, including the Uri terror attack in India.
• China to host next BRICS summit
  in 2017.

• Report on Palaeo Channel of North
  West India: Review & Assessment by Expert Committee was released by Union
  Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma
  Bharati on 15 October 2016.
• The report prepared by a
  seven-member committee headed by Prof KS Valdiya, eminent Geologist suggests
  that the Saraswati River was not mythical and it existed.
• The report is based on the study
  of the land texture of states of North-West India including- Rajasthan, Haryana
  and Punjab.
• It is based on the account of the
  geological changes that had occurred in the past.
• The report is an assertion of the
  assumption that River Saraswati originated from Adibadri in Himalaya to
  culminate in the Arabian Sea through the Runn of Kutch.
• It was approximately 4000 km in
  length of which about 3000 kilometer fell in India while the remaining 1000
  kilometer fell in present-day Pakistan.
• It had two branches, namely
• a) Western Branch: It is
  represented by the Himalayan-born Satluj River of the past that flowed through
  the channels of present-day Ghaggar-Patialiwali rivulets.
• b) Eastern Branch: Sarsuti and
  Markanda rivulets in Haryana represented the western branch of River, known as
  Tons-Yamuna.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
  14 October 2016 inaugurated ‘Shaurya Smarak’, the war memorial in Bhopal,
  Madhya Pradesh. The ‘Shaurya Smarak’ was constructed by the state government in
  honour of those who laid down their lives for the country.
• The Smarak built over an area of
  12.67 acres of land.
• It was developed at an expense of
  41 crore rupees includes a 62-foot Shaurya Stambh.
• It has light and sound facility
  to narrate stories of bravery of the nation’s valiant soldiers, who have laid
  down their lives fighting enemies on the borders.
• Various stages of life, war,
  death and victory over death have been displayed here.

• India on 13 October 2016
  announced its decision to eliminate the HCF-23 gas. The decision was made in
  line to its commitment to combat the threat emanating from climate-damaging
  HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons).
• The announcement was made by
  Minister of State Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Anil Dave at
  Kigali, Rwanda, at a meeting of parties to the Montreal Protocol, where final
  negotiations are taking place to substantially reduce the use of HFCs
  (hydrofluorocarbons) by 2030.
• HFC–23 gas, a potent greenhouse
  gas, with Global Warming Potential of 14800, is produced during the manufacture
  of a common refrigerant gas, HCFC-22. If vented out in environment, is a threat
  to the environment. HCFC stands for hydrochloroflurocarbon.

• Companies have to internalise the
  cost of this environmental externality and create sufficient storage facility
  to take care of down time and run the incinerators to ensure and not release of
  HFC–23 in the atmosphere.
• The move will potentially check
  emissions of HFC-23 equivalent to 100 million tonnes of CO2 over the next 15
  years, Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment.

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• World Food Day 2016 was observed
  across the world on 16 October 2016 with the theme Climate is changing. Food
  and agriculture must too.
• Growing food in a sustainable way
  means adopting practices that produce more with less in the same area of land.
  It also means reducing food losses before the retail stage through a number of
  initiatives including better harvesting, storage, packing, transport, infrastructure
  and market mechanisms.
• Like every year, this year as
  well a large number of events from marathons to exhibitions, cultural
  performances, contests and concerts were organised in around 150 countries
  across the world to celebrate World Food Day.

• International Day for the
  Eradication of Poverty was observed on 17 October 2016 with theme Moving from
  humiliation and exclusion to participation: Ending poverty in all its forms.
• 2016 theme of the day highlights
  how important it is to recognize and address the humiliation and exclusion
  endured by many people living in poverty.
• Apart from this, fighting poverty
  remains at the core of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the
  development of the post-2015 development agenda.

• The International Day of Rural
  Women was observed across the world on 15 October 2016.
• The theme for the day for the
  year 2016 is Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too.
• The theme tries to bring focus on
  farmers, fishers and pastoralists who are standing on the frontlines of food
  insecurity as temperatures rise, weather patterns become less predictable and
  climate-related disasters become more frequent. As key actors in food systems,
  as small-scale farmers and those in charge of ensuring adequate nutrition for
  families, rural women are at the centre of this challenge.
• As per the United Nations,
  empowering rural women is a pre-requisite to fulfilling the vision of the
  Sustainable Development Goals that aim to end poverty and hunger, achieve food
  security and empower all women and girls.

• In Uttar Pradesh, the Safe
  Motherhood Week is being observed from 14 October to 21 October 2016. The main
  aim of the ‘Safe Motherhood Week’ is to decrease the ‘Mother Mortality Rate’
  (MMR) and ‘Infant Mortality Rate’ (IMR).
• At present, the MMR in the state
  is 258 per lakh deliveries, which is above the national average of 167. For
  this purpose, the state has decided to bring down the MMR to 200 till the end
  of 2016.
• During the campaign, the
  expecting mothers will be provided with all necessary medical aid and
  assistance to the pregnant women and to ensure safe delivery in the entire
  state.

• Eminent writer C Radhakrishnan
  was on 15 October 2016 selected for the Mathrubhumi Literary Award 2016 in
  recognition of his contribution to the field of literature.
• Radhakrishnan was selected by a
  panel chaired by novelist M Mukundan with Sethu and Sarah Joseph being the
  other members of the jury.
• The award carries a cash prize of
  2 lakh rupees, a citation and a statuette.

• Kirtiraj Kundlik Gaikwad, an
  Indian scientist, was on 12 October 2016 awarded with the prestigious IAFP
  Young scientist scholarship award 2016 for his research work on development of
  novel oxygen absorbing package in the field of active packaging for oxygen
  sensitive food products.
• The award worth 2000 US dollars
  and an award plaque was presented to him in the annual meeting of International
  Association Of Food Protection (IAFP) held in St Louise, USA by The IAFP
  Foundation, USA.

• Maldives government in October
  decided to leave the 53-member Commonwealth of Nations. The decision was
  announced weeks after the organisation warned it of suspension by the
  Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) if it failed to take further steps
  to promote the rule of law and democracy.
• Maldives had decided to leave the
  Commonwealth saying it was treated unjustly and unfairly by the Commonwealth.
• The organisation also asked
  Maldives to encourage political dialogue and release its opposition leaders and
  improve the democratic institutions.
• The nation was put on CMAG’s
  formal agenda on 23 September 2016 and cautioned that if it fails to saw
  progress in the six identified priority areas, then it will be suspended from
  the council of Commonwealth at its next meeting in 2017.

• Brazil on 15 October 2016 won the
  first BRICS U-17 football tournament. In the title clash played at Nehru
  Stadium of Margo, Goa, Brazil defeated South Africa 5-1.
• Brazil’s Paulo Henrique Samapaio
  Filho scored the very first goal of the match in 24th Minute. Followed by
  Vinicius de Oliveira in the 34th minute, Victor de Oliveira scored a brace in
  the 40th & 61st minute to give Brazil an upper hand.
• South Africa’s S’miso Bophela
  scored the only goal for his team. The icing on Brazil’s cake was set by Alan
  de Souza Guimaraes in the 6 minutes after the second half resulted the score in
  favor of Brazil as 5-1.
• Earlier in the match for the 3rd
  place between Russia and China, Russia defeated China 2-1.

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