1) World Book & Copyright Day being observed today
•World Book and Copyright Day (WBCD) is being observed today (23rd April 2017). The day seeks to raise awareness about the importance of reading and promote publishing and the protection of copyright around the globe. It is a yearly event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The focus, this year is on the visually impaired to have easy access to printed materials. In 1995, UNESCO at its General Conference held in Paris chose 23rd of April to celebrate World Book Day as it is a highly symbolic date for world literature.
•Each year, UNESCO and the international organizations representing the three major sectors of the book industry - publishers, booksellers, and libraries, select the World Book Capital for a one-year period, effective 23 April each year. Conakry, the capital of Guinea has been designated World Book Capital 2017. A series of events, conferences, debates, exhibition, workshops are being held around the world to mark the day.
2) 1st ‘India Indonesia Energy Forum’ held in Jakarta
•Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal and Indonesia's Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Ignasius Jonan met for the 1st ‘India Indonesia Energy Forum’, held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
•The Energy Forum was preceded by 2nd Joint Working Group (JWG) on Oil and Gas, 4th Joint Working Group on Coal and 1st Joint Working Group on New and Renewable Energy. The reports of three Joint Working Groups were presented to two Ministers during the Energy Forum.
3) China successfully launched first cargo spacecraft
•China successfully launched its first unmanned cargo spacecraft named Tianzhou 1.
•It is programmed to conduct scientific experiments after reaching the now-crewless Tiangong 2, China's second space station. China aims to build up the permanent space station by 2022. China becomes the 3rd country after US and Russia to Master the techniques of refueling in Space.
4) GNFC wins Golden Peacock Award
•The Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd (GNFC) won the prestigious Golden Peacock Award 2017 in the category of Innovative Product/Service for pioneering a cashless township transformation model.
•The Golden Peacock Awards were established by the Institute of Directors (IOD) in India in 1991. The GNFC won from among 313 applicants for Golden Peacock Global Award for Innovative Product/Service. Applicants for 2017 included SMEs, and public, private, and government enterprises.
•Justice Dr. Arijit Pasayat, a former judge of the Supreme Court was the Chairman of Jury. Rajiv Kumar Gupta, the managing director of the GNFC, was given the award at a ceremony at the 27th World Congress at the Dubai Global Convention.
5) AU Financiers converts to small finance bank
•AU Financiers India, a non-banking finance company (NBFC), has converted itself into a small finance bank by the name AU Small Finance Bank.
•AU obtained a fresh certificate of incorporation from the Corporate Affairs Ministry on April 13, 2017, and the Reserve Bank of India on April 19, 2017, notified the commencement of operations of this small finance bank.
•As an NBFC, AU had a network of 300 branches spread across 10 States namely Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Goa.
6) RBI signs MoU with the Bank of Guyana
•The Reserve Bank of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on “Supervisory Cooperation and Exchange of Supervisory Information” with Bank of Guyana.
•The MoU was signed by Dr. Gobind N. Ganga, Governor of Bank of Guyana and Dr. Urjit R. Patel, Governor of Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank has entered into MoU, Letter for Supervisory Co-operation and Statement of Co-operation with supervisors of a few countries to promote greater co-operation and share supervisory information.
•Earlier, RBI has signed 40 such MoUs, one Letter for Supervisory Co-operation and one Statement of Co-operation.
