GK Update 17th October, 2015

GK Update: 17th October, 2015

1. Civil Aviation Minister inaugurates International Civil Helicopters Conclave 2015

Union Minister of Civil Aviation Sh. P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju inaugurated the International Civil Helicopters Conclave 2015 in New Delhi today. He said that a new Civil Aviation Policy is in the process of being drafted. Once it is ready, response and comments of stakeholders will be sought, so that a vibrant and forward looking policy can be put in place. The minister also said that the facility of flying should not be restricted to only the privileged people in the country. We should put policies in place so that flying becomes affordable and reaches the masses.

2. GR Chandak appointed as Director of CDFD

G R Chandak, has been appointed as the Director, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad, under the Department of Biotechnology.

3. M.K. Surana appointed new HPCL CMD

4. Nepal Elects First Woman as Parliament Speaker

Nepalese lawmakers today elected the country's first woman speaker of Parliament following formation of a new government after promulgation of the Constitution. Parliament unanimously elected UCPN-Maoist lawmaker Onsari Gharti Magar as the Speaker of the House.

5. AMFI elects Leo Puri as chief

The Association for Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the industry body for mutual funds, on Friday elected Leo Puri of UTI AMC as its new Chairman and retained A Balasubramanian as Vice-Chairman. The former chairman had been Sundeep Sikka of Reliance AMC.

6. Mumbai metro users can recharge their smartcards on Paytm

Paytm, a leading mobile commerce platform, has tied up with the Mumbai metro to offer online ticketing and recharges on the ‘Paytm platform’.

7. PM Narendra Modi says India proud to host India-Africa Summit

Ahead of the India-Africa Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India was proud to host the event which reflects a desire by the two sides to engage more intensively for a better future. In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister said India’s engagement with Africa has been scaled up and trade has been growing remarkably in recent years.The Prime Minister said in another tweet that the “Level of engagement for @indiafrica2015 has been tremendously scaled up. Several African leaders will join us”

8. Prasoon Joshi gets award

Bank of Baroda has conferred poet, lyricist and advertising guru Prasoon Joshi with Maharaja Sayajirao Bhasha Samman.The bank said in a statement that the award, in memory of Bank of Baroda’s founder Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad-III, was given to Joshi for his outstanding contribution in promoting Hindi.

9. China launches new communication satellite for HK firm

China today put into orbit a new communication satellite in a commercial mission by the Long March-3B carrier rocket from the southwestern Xichang Satellite Launch Centre.