Mumbai Central gets India's first 'Eat Right Station', 4-star rating by FSSAI

NATIONAL NEWS

Mumbai Central gets India's first 'Eat Right Station', 4-star rating by FSSAI

• The Mumbai Central Terminus of the Western Railway has been certified as India's first "Eat Right Station" with a 4-Star rating awarded by the FSSAI.
• The honour came on the basis of compliance of food safety and hygiene, availability of healthy diet, food handling at preparation, trans-shipment and retail/serving points, food waste management, promotion of local and seasonal foods and creating awareness on food safety and a healthy diet.
• 'Eat Right India' built on two broad pillars -- Eat Healthy and Eat Safe -- aimed to engage, excite and enable people enhance their health and wellbeing.

VP Naidu launches new Rotavirus vaccine - ROTAVAC-5D

• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu launched the new Rotavirus vaccine - ROTAVAC-5D designed and developed by Bharat Biotech in New Delhi.
• ROTAVAC is an example of a true social innovation that was realized through a partnership between scientists from India and the USA.
• India is committed to the goal of protecting the health of each and every one of its children.  India is firmly committed to ending morbidity and mortality in children caused due to diarrhoea by 2022.
• The first generation, Rotavirus vaccine, ROTAVAC developed under a Public-Private Partnership with the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, has put India on the global map for setting new standards in pharmaceutical Research and Development.

Bangladesh-India shipping secretary-level meeting begin

• A two-day-long meeting between Shipping Secretaries of India and Bangladesh began in Dhaka.
• That the two countries will discuss issues like land port facility, transhipment fees, dredging of navigational rivers among others and will also discuss ways to improve immigration and customs arrangement and management of passenger and cruise ships.

BANKING

Grameen Bank signs MoU for bancassurance

• Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) and Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Ltd. signed an MoU for bancassurance (for selling life insurance products through the branches of KVGB).
• The bank will market products of Canara HSBC through its 636 branches. KVGB general manager I.G. Kumar Goud and Canara HSBC CEO Anuj Mathur signed the MoU.

Walmart launches credit card in partnership with HDFC Bank

• Walmart India, in partnership with HDFC Bank launched a co-branded credit card exclusively for members of its Best Price Modern Wholesale "B2B Cash & Carry" stores, offering "free credit up to 50 days.
• The card was launched at Best Price Storeby Krish Iyer, president and CEO, Walmart India and Parag Rao, Country Head, Payments Business and Marketing, HDFC Bank.
• Simultaneously, the card was launched at 26 other Best Price Modern Wholesale Store locations across the country.

FACTS

Headquarters of Walmart India-Gurgaon, Haryana.

President and CEO of Walmart India-Krish Iyer.

IFC to invest $200 mn in Mahindra Finance to fund MSMEs in poor states

• World Bank Group arm IFC has anchored an investment round of USD 200 million (about Rs 1,433 crore) in Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services to create a dedicated pool of financing for MSMEs in low-income states.
• At least USD 100 million will be earmarked for women-owned micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
• IFC (International Finance Corporation) has invested USD 75 million from its own account and is mobilising another USD 125 million as parallel loans.
• The USD 100 million dedicated to women will be supported by blended finance from the IFC-Goldman Sachs' Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility.

APPOINTMENT

Chief of the Air Staff Participates in Pacific Air Chiefs’ Symposium 2019

• Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria PVSM AVSM VM ADC, Chief of the Air Staff is participating in the Pacific Air Chiefs’ Symposium 2019 (PACS 2019) at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
• The theme for this year’s symposium is ‘A Collaborative Approach to Regional Security’.
• The conference will bring together Air Chiefs from across the Indo-Pacific region who will provide perspectives on common challenges faced and on shared mutual interests while focusing on relevant topics like ‘Regional Security’, ‘Domain Awareness’, ‘Multi-Domain Awareness’, Ínteroperability’ and ‘HADR’.
• The symposium will also entail discourse and discussions on the combined effort required to maintain peace and security within the region.

Masatsugu Asakawa Elected ADB President

• Masatsugu Asakawa has been unanimously elected President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) by its Board of Governors.
• Mr. Asakawa, 61, currently Special Advisor to Japan’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, will assume office as ADB's 10th President on 17 January 2020.
• He will succeed Takehiko Nakao, who will leave office on 16 January 2020.
• Mr. Asakawa will finish the unexpired term of President Nakao, which ends on 23 November 2021.

AWARD

Former FM Arun Jaitley conferred with ET Lifetime Achievement Award

• Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was conferred posthumously the Lifetime Achievement award for Public Service at the Economic Times Award 2019.

OBITUARY

Veteran Journalist Bhaskar Menon Passes Away

• Veteran journalist Bhaskar Menon died following cardiac arrest.
• The 87-year old Menon, who retired as the Regional Manager (South) of the Press Trust of India (PTI).
• He had joined the news agency as a Sub-Editor and rose through the ranks before retiring as the head of its regional bureau.
• Menon was known for his command over English language and sharp editing skills and always insisted on speed and accuracy.

IMPORTANT DAY

International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development 2019

• International Volunteer Day (IVD), is an opportunity for us all to promote volunteerism, encourage governments to support volunteer efforts and recognize volunteer contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at local, national and international levels.
• At UNV, we are marking IVD2019 with the theme "Volunteer for an inclusive future", highlighting SDG 10 and the pursuit of equality – including inclusion – through volunteerism.
• Volunteering provides opportunities for people, particularly those often excluded, to concretely impact their own lives and play a constructive role in their communities by volunteering their time and skills.
• Through volunteerism, communities around the world often experience strengthened solidarity and inclusion.

World Soil Day-December 5^th

• World Soil Day 2019 (WorldSoilDay) and its campaign "Stop soil erosion, Save our future" is envisaged to raise awareness on the importance of sustaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the increasing challenges in soil management and, raise the profile of healthy soil by encouraging governments, organizations, communities and individuals around the world to engage in proactively improving soil health.