1. Panneerselvam sworn in as new Tamil Nadu CM
i. Jayalalithaa loyalist O. Panneerselvam was on Monday was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, succeeding his party chief two days after her conviction in an illegal assets case.
ii. An emotional Mr. Panneerselvam was seen wiping his eyes as he was sworn-in as Chief Minister by Governor K. Rosaiah at the Raj Bhavan.
iii. The new Chief Minister’s cabinet was also sworn-in by the Governor.
iv. The 63-year-old Panneerselvam, who is the AIADMK Treasurer, was unanimously elected as Leader of AIADMK Party Legislature on Sunday following Jayalalithaa’s conviction and subsequent disqualification as MLA following her four year prison term awarded by the Bangalore Special Court in the Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets case.
2. World Heart Day: Adopt healthy lifestyle for a good heart
i. World Heart Day is being observed today.
ii. The objective of the day is to inform people around the globe that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading causes of death, claiming 17.3 million lives each year.
iii. Eating more of low-calorie and nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and less of high-calorie, high-sodium foods, such as refined, processed or fast foods, can shape up our diet as well as our heart.
3. Ashraf Ghani sworn in as Afghanistan President
i. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai has been sworn in as Afghanistan’s new President, replacing Hamid Karzai in the country’s first democratic transfer of power since the 2001 U.S-led invasion toppled the Taliban.
ii. He became President of Afghanistan in a peaceful transition Monday after a six-month election season that ended with marathon negotiations that gave the newly created position of chief executive to his challenger Abdullah Abdullah.
iii. Mr. Karzai had been Afghanistan’s only leader since 2001.
4. Modi announces lifelong visas for Indian Diaspora
i. Amid cheers from thousands of Indian-Americans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced several measures to ease travel to their motherland including life-long visas.
ii. “There is even more to come,” he said smilingly as he announced that People of Indian Origin (PIOs) in staying in India for long would not have to report to police. “There is no need for them to do that anymore.”
iii. Eventually the PIO and OCI schemes will be combined in a new scheme and also cover spouses.
Note: i. Currently PIO cards, given to those who themselves, their parents or grandparents or their spouse, were one-time Indian citizens, allow for visa-free travel to and from India. However, a PIO card is only valid for 15 years.
ii. Also, if one’s stay in India is going to exceed 180 days on any single visit, one needs to register within 30 days of the expiry of 180 days with the concerned Foreigners Regional Registration Officer/Foreigners Registration Officer or local police authorities.
5. Bombay HC directs centre to strictly ban manufacture of plastic flags
i. The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Union Government to strictly implement the ban on manufacture of national flags made from plastic. The Ministry of Home Affairs has been directed to take stringent measures against the use, distribution and sale of such plastic flags.
ii. The court thereafter directed the Maharashtra Government to make proper arrangements for the disposal of such flags. The tehsildars and the Collector offices will be the nodal agencies for the disposal of the national flags.
iii. The court also directed the State Government to allow NGOs and other organisations to collect the flags and hand them over to the district Collector office or Tehsildar office.
6. Govt. to launch Universal Health Assurance Mission
i. Government will soon launch Universal Health Assurance Mission to provide affordable health services to people
ii. Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said, the endeavor of the government is to provide affordable health care so that not a single patient remains undiagnosed.
iii. He said, under the mission about 50 essential drugs with a diagnostic package and 30 AYUSH drugs will be made available to all citizens at government hospitals and health centers across the country.
7. Alibaba gets approval to set up private bank in China
i. China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba, which completed the world’s largest initial public offering ever this month, has won approval from authorities here to establish a private bank as it diversifies into financial services.
ii. Alibaba, through its subsidiary Zhejiang Ant Small and Micro Financial Services Group Co, will hold 30 per cent of share capital of the new bank, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said.
iii. Having its own commercial bank will afford Alibaba greater control over many of its key services, including online payment and wealth management products.
iv. Alibaba is the latest company outside the financial sphere to win approval to start a bank in China. Beijing hopes private banks will help in its drive to open up the economy to more competition and get private capital to more parts of the economy.
Note: Alibaba completed the biggest initial public offering ever this month by selling $25 billion of stock to investors keen to tap into the world’s biggest pool of Internet users.
8. KV Kamath-led 15-member panel to study financing in MSME sector
i. The Finance Ministry has appointed a 15-member committee under the Chairmanship of ICICI Bank Chairman KV Kamath to examine the financial architecture for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
ii. The committee will, among other things, come up with concrete suggestions to improve the share of institutional finance to MSMEs.
iii. This Panel has been asked to submit its final report in three months.
9. Doha Bank to acquire India operations of HSBC Oman
i. Seeking to expand Asian operations, Qatar-based Doha Bank will acquire the Indian operations of the HSBC Bank Oman.
ii. The board of Doha Bank has approved the terms of amalgamation to “take over and combine” the banking operations of HSBC Bank Oman SAOG, India, with Doha Bank QSC India operation as a going concern, Doha Bank said a filing to the Qatar Stock Exchange.
Note: Late last year Doha Bank had secured licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to commence banking operations in India and has been permitted to open a branch in Mumbai to provide full—scale banking services.
10. Seema Poonia wins Gold in women's discus throw at the Incheon Asian Games
i. India's Seema Poonia grabbed gold in the women's discus throw event. This is India's fifth gold. Seema threw 61.03 meters to bag the gold.
ii. Her sister, Krishna Poonia figuring in the same event finished fourth. Two bronze medal also came from athletics today. O P Jaisha finished third in women's 1500 meter and Naveen Kumar won bronze in men's 3000 meter steeplechase.
11. Sania-Saketh win gold
i. The tennis mixed doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Saketh Myneni won the gold medal for India by defeating Chinese Taipei top seeds Hsien Yin Peng-Hao Ching Chan 6-4, 6-3 in Incheon on Monday. It is the sixth gold medal for India.
12. Wrestler Bajrang tennis combination of Sanam Singh and Saketh Myneni picked up silver medals
i. Wrestler Bajrang and the men’s tennis combination of Sanam Singh and Saketh Myneni picked up silver medals.
ii. Apart from Bajrang and the tennis team’s silver-winning feats, athlete O.P. Jaisha (women’s 1500m race) and wrestler Narsingh Pancham Yadav (74kg) clinched bronze medals on a rather mixed day for the Indian contingent.
Note: With the addition of five medals on Monday, India had a total of haul of 42 -- six golds, seven silver and 29 bronze. China maintained their supremacy with a tally of 231 (110-69-52) followed by hosts South Korea 144 and Japan 131.
13. Leander Paes wins Malaysian Open doubles title
i. Veteran Indian star Leander Paes has lifted the ATP Malaysian Open title with new partner Marcin Matkowski.
ii. At Kuala Lumpur today, the fourth seeded Indo-Polish pair rallied to beat the second seeded Briton-Australian combo of Jamie Murray and John Peers 3-6 7-6 10-5 in the summit clash.
14. Europe retains Golf's Ryder Cup
i. Europe has retained Golf's Ryder Cup, easily defeating the United States for its eighth victory in the last 10 times in the biennial event.
ii. The 12 man European team, a collection of the continent's best professional golfers, held a commanding four point lead heading into yesterday's decisive singles matches at the Gleneagles course in Scotland, and added to its margin, finishing ahead 16 1/2 to 11 1/2.
15. Volcano Mount Ontake erupted in Japan
i. Volcano Mount Ontake in Japan erupted on 27 September 2014 killing more than 30 people and injuring as many people.
ii. The volcano, which is a popular destination for religious pilgrimages, erupted when many hikers were out enjoying the beautiful start to the weekend and the autumn hiking season.
iii. The eruption led to pouring in of smoke and ash hundreds of meters into the sky. Ash was found on cars as far as 80km away.
16. Indo-US joint military Yudh Abhyas exercise underway in Uttarakhand
i. The 10th edition of annual Indo-US joint military exercise is on at Ranikhet in Uttarakhand. It is focused on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain in United Nations peace keeping scenario.
ii. The exercise, involving contingents from Garud division of the Indian army and the US' infantry division, is being held at Chaubattia forest range in the foothills of Himalayas.
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