1) India to host 18th World Road Meeting
•India is set to host the 18th World Road Meeting (WRM 2017) on November 13, 2017 as per the International Road Federation (IRF). The WRM is the biggest global platform for road engineers, safety and transport experts and companies engaged in road safety products.
•The meeting will be attended by over 4,000 delegates from across the world. The theme of this year's edition is 'Safe Roads and Smart Mobility: The Engines of Economic Growth'. The WRM is held every four years, gives a platform to come together, meet and discuss issues relevant to road infrastructure and mobility and to exhibit and showcase their products.
2) Centre Takes 10 New Swachh Iconic Places under Swachh Bharat Mission Phase II
•The 2nd quarterly review meeting on the Swachh Iconic Places (SIP), an initiative of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation under Swachh Bharat Mission, was held recently at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, in Katra, Jammu & Kashmir.
•On this occasion, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar announced 10 new Iconic places to be taken under the Phase II of Swachh Iconic Places initiative. These ten new iconic places which are to be brought to a higher standard of swachhta and visitors’ amenities are-
1. Gangotri
2. Yamunotri
3. Mahakaleshwar Temple, Ujjain
4. Char Minar, Hyderabad
5. Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assissi, Goa
6. Adi Shankaracharya’s abode Kaladi in Ernakulam
7. Gomateshwar in Shravanbelgola
8. Baijnath Dham, Devghar
9. Gaya Tirth in Bihar and
10. Somnath temple in Gujarat.
3) e-SOT and e-PRAN card launched for Atal Pension Yojana subscribers
•With a view to digitally empower the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) subscribers and improve the quality of service, the facility of online viewing of the statement of the transaction (e-SOT) and also the e- Permanent Retirement Account Number (e-PRAN card) have been launched.
•More than 45 lacs APY subscribers will be benefitted with this initiative.
•Must know points About the Scheme-
1. The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was launched by the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on 09th May 2015
2. It became operational from 1st June 2015.
3. APY is available for all citizens of India in the age group of 18-40 years.
4. Under the APY, the subscribers would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs. 1000 to Rs. 5000 per month from the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions, which depends on the age of the subscriber at the time of joining the APY.
4) Belgium, first to open honorary consulate in GIFT City, Gujarat
•Belgium has become the first country to open an honorary consulate office in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). Besides the Belgian Embassy in New Delhi, two Consulates-General in Mumbai and Chennai, and an honorary consulate in Kolkata, Belgium has expanded its diplomatic representation in India with this new office in Gandhinagar.
•The consulate was inaugurated by Belgian Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Pieter De Crem. Hari Sankaran was nominated as Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Belgium to the state of Gujarat.
5) NASA launches super balloon from New Zealand
•National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched its football-stadium-sized, heavy-lift Super Pressure Balloon (SPB) from Wanaka, New Zealand. The mission is designed to run 100 or more days floating at 110,000 feet (33.5 km) about the globe in the southern hemisphere's mid-latitude band.
•The balloon is designed by NASA to detect ultra-high energy cosmic particles from beyond the galaxy as they penetrate the earth's atmosphere. The International Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon (EUSO-SPB) payload is flying as a mission of opportunity. New Zealand was also the base for NASA's scientific balloon program in 2015 and 2016.
6) Srishti Kaur crowned Miss Teen Universe 2017
•Srishti Kaur was crowned Miss Teen Universe 2017 after beating 25 contestants from around the world at the annual beauty pageant. The event was held in Managua, the capital of Central American country Nicaragua.
•She also won the prize for best national costume. Samantha Pierre from Canada and Ary Trava from Mexico were the runners-up in the event. The pageant started six years ago, is organized by the Miss Universe organization for teens aged 15 to 19. It takes place once in a year.
