- South Africa’s Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters wins Miss Universe 2017
Hold your breath, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters from South Africa, has won the coveted title of Miss Universe 2017.
This is the 66th edition of the world-renown beauty pageant, where India was represented by Miss Diva Shraddha Shashidhar.
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South Africa |
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| Capital | Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein |
| Currency | South African rand |
| President | Jacob Zuma |
- Ishaan Khatter wins Best Actor award at Turkish Film Festival
Ishaan Khatter was named the Best Actor for his debut film Beyond the Clouds at the International Bosphorus Film Festival in Turkey.
Ishaan was present at the festival in support of his film along with Majidi, Malavika, producers Shareen Mantri Kedia (from Namah Pictures) and Vibha Chopra from (Zee Studios International) along with Neelima.
- Ruskin Bond gets Lifetime Achievement Award
The Chandigarh Literary Society has conferred upon children’s author Ruskin Bond its first Lifetime Achievement Award, comprising a citation and Rs. 2 lakh.
Children from different schools thronged the sylvan surroundings of Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh which formed the backdrop to the fifth edition of the international literature festival ‘Literati 2017’.
- IIM Ahmedabad ranked among world’s top 50 MBA institutes
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad has secured 49th position in the QS Global MBA Rankings 2018. Harvard Business School in the US has attained the first rank, followed by INSEAD and HEC Paris.
IIM Bangalore and Indian School of Business were the other Indian institutes named among top 100, being ranked 58 and 93, respectively.
- Nirmala Sitharaman elected IDSA President
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been elected President of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA).
IDSA was set up in 1965 by the Ministry of Defence as an autonomous think tank, and it is customary to have the Defence Minister as its President. The Minister chairs the Executive Council which governs the Institute.
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Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses |
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| Headquarters | New Delhi, India |
| Director General | Jayant Prasad |
- Two-day Korea Tourism Festival 2017 opens in Haryana
A two-day Korea festival showcasing Korea’s rich art, culture and heritage was inaugurated by Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) Executive Vice President Min Hong Min at the Ambience Mall here along with Joint Secretary in the Ministry Of Tourism Suman Billa.
The initiative by KTO, Korea Culture and Tourism Festival 2017 showcased famous South Korean tourist destinations, delicacies, art, culture and the country’s heritage.
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Haryana |
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| Capital | Chandigarh |
| Chief Minister | Manohar Lal Khattar |
| Governor | Kaptan Singh Solanki |
- Odisha launches Fish Pond Yojana to increase fish production
Odisha government has launched a scheme to boost fish production in the state with a budgetary provision of Rs 96 crore.
The ‘Fish Pond Yojana’ scheme was launched by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, while inaugurating a workshop on ‘Doubling of Farmer Income through Dairy and Allied Farming Practices.
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Odisha |
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| Capital | Bhubaneswar |
| Chief Minister | Naveen Patnaik |
| Governor | Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir |
- Bank of Baroda launches digital Supply Chain Finance solution
State-run Bank of Baroda has launched a supply chain finance solution to offer working capital loans to small and medium enterprise and large corporate clients.
The solution will cover pre and post shipment products – dealer or channel finance, vendor finance and payable finance.
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Bank of Baroda |
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| Head Quarters | Vadodara |
| CEO | P. S. Jayakumar |
| Founder | Sayajirao Gaekwad III |
| Tagline | India’s International Bank |
- Axis Bank starts cross-border payments on blockchain
Axis Bank, India’s third-largest private sector bank, has launched instant international payment services using Ripple’s enterprise blockchain technology solution.
The bank has launched a service for its retail customers in India to receive payments from RAKBANK in UAE and for its corporate customers in India to receive payments from Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore.
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Axis Bank |
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| Head Quarters | Axis Bank |
| CEO | Shikha Sharma |
| Tagline | Badhti ka naam zindagi |
- New Zealand gets world’s first AI politician
Scientists have developed the world’s first artificial intelligence politician, that can answer a person’s queries regarding local issues such as policies around housing, education and immigration.
The virtual politician, called SAM, was created by Nick Gerritsen, a 49-year-old entrepreneur in New Zealand.
- Asian Development Bank to extend $20 bn loan to India over 5 years
Multi-lateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) will raise annual funding to India up to $4 billion from existing $2.7 billion, from next year.
To accelerate the inclusive economic transformation of India, ADB has decided to provide loans up to $4 billion on annual basis including non-sovereign debt during 2018-22, said Kenichi Yokoyama, ADB Country Director in India.
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Asian Development Bank |
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| Headquarters | Mandaluyong, Philippines |
| President | Takehiko Nakao |
- India win 5 gold medals at Women’s Youth World Boxing C’ship
Haryana shone as it rained gold for India at the AIBA Women’s Youth World Championship.
Four boxers from Haryana – Nitu in light flyweight (45-48 kg), Jyoti in flyweight (51 kg), Sakshi in bantamweight (54 kg) and Shashi Chopra in featherweight (57 kg) – won gold in the first four final bouts. Assam’s Ankushita Boro added the fifth in welterweight (64 kg) category.
This is India’s best performance in the AIBA women’s youth event after 2011 when Sarjubala Devi of Manipur had won the lone gold medal.
- Indian men’s team beats Pakistan to win Asian Kabaddi C’ship
India’s men and women kabaddi teams maintained their unbeaten run with comfortable victories over their Pakistani rivals to storm into the semi-finals of the 12th South Asian Games.
The Indian men’s team thrashed Bangladesh 30-17 in the morning session before scrapping past Pakistan in the evening with a 9-8 result at the R G Baruah Sports Complex. The home team topped the league table with an unbeaten record.
- Hamilton wins his 4th F1 World Championship
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won his fourth F1 World Championship, finishing the season with 363 points after securing second position in the last race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel finished second in the championship with 317 points. Mercedes clinched the 2017 constructors’ championship with 668 points, 146 points ahead of second-placed Ferrari.
- France beat Belgium to win first Davis Cup title in 16 years
France won the Davis Cup for the first time in 16 years after beating Belgium 3-2. France joined Britain in third place on the list for the most Davis Cup titles, behind the United States (32) and Australia (28).
France had won its last title in 2001, and lost in finals in 2002, 2010 and 2014.
- Gopi Thonakal 1st Indian man to win Asian Marathon C’ship
Gopi Thonakal became the first Indian man to win Asian Marathon Championship after he achieved the feat in the 16th edition of the prestigious event.
Gopi Thonakal clocked 2 hours, 15 minutes and 48 seconds to clinch the gold. Andrey Petrov of Uzbekistan bagged the silver. Byambalev Tseveenravdan of Mongolia won bronze.
Thonakal is the first Indian male runner to have won the Asian Marathon Championship. Vijay Singh (1988) and Deep Chand (2010) have earlier won a bronze each.
Vally Sathyabhama and Indiresh Dhiraj are the other two Indian women medallist as they have won a silver and bronze respectively in the 1998 edition.
- India wins 10 medals in Para-Badminton World Championships
India clinched 10 medals, including two golds, at the BWF Para-Badminton World Championships.
India’s Parul Parmar defeated Thailand’s Wannaphatdee Kamtam 21-8 21-17 in the finals of the women’s singles Standing Lower (SL3) to clinch the gold medal.
Parmar also combined with Japan’s Akiko Sugino to win the gold in the women’s doubles (SL 3-4) after beating Chinese pair of Cheng Hefang and MA Huihui 21-16 21-19 in the summit clash.
Tarun Dhillon and Manoj Sarkar won the silver in the men’s singles (SL 4) and (SL 3) respectively.
- Jazz singer Jon Hendricks passes away
Jon Hendricks, a jazz singer and songwriter who became famous in the 1950s with the vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross by putting lyrics to well-known jazz instrumentals and turning them into vocal tours de force, died. He was 96.
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