Daily Current Affairs, 17th April 2019

1) IMF & World Bank Launched ‘Learning Coin’ For In-House Purposes

•The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have together launched a private blockchain with a pseudo-token. The new token, called “Learning Coin” and only accessible within the IMF and World Bank, has a purpose to teach relevant individuals within the organizations about blockchain.

•Though the coin has no real value – hence the description pseudo-token – staff members who pass educational milestones will receive the tokens which can then be redeemed for certain rewards. The purpose is to get employees to understand the applications of blockchain technology in the real world.

2) Google Opens Its First African AI Lab in Ghana

•Google has opened its first African artificial intelligence (AI) centre in Ghana’scapital Accra, one year after announcing the project. The research laboratory will host software engineers and research scientists to work on projects dedicated to next-generation technology.

3) Mohammed Ishtayeh Appointed As PM of Palestine

•The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed Mohammed Ishtayeh as the new Prime Minister. Mohammed Ishtayeh will succeed Rami Hamdallah.

•The 18th Palestinian government since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1995 was sworn in according to a presidential decree issued by Abbas, a move at a time when prospects for a peace deal with Israel are possibly at their lowest point ever.

4) Mithali Raj Named Goodwill Ambassador Of Team India At The Street Child Cricket World Cup

•Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj has been named the goodwill ambassador of Team India at the Street Child Cricket World Cup (SCCWC). Mithali joins IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals and former captain Sourav Ganguly in supporting the team.

•The Street Child Cricket World Cup 2019 SCCWC is the first cricket world cup for street-connected children. The tournament is being organised by Street Child United (SCU), a UK based organisation.

5) Indian Navy-Vietnam Peoples’ Navy Bilateral Exercise Concludes

 

•The Indian Navy undertook the second edition of the bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and Vietnam Peoples’ Navy, (IN – VPN BILAT EX) at/ off Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. The exercise was undertaken as a part of the ongoing Overseas Deployment of Eastern Fleet ships to South East Asian countries.

6) India Becomes Net Steel Importer In 2018-19

•India was a net importer of steel during the 2018-19 fiscal year, the first time in three years, as the country lost market share among its traditional steel buyers and imports jumped on demand for higher-quality steel domestically.

•The country’s finished steel exports fell by 34% in the fiscal year that ended in March to 6.36 million tonnes, according to preliminary government data given to Reuters on Friday. During the same period, finished steel imports rose 4.7% to 7.84 million tonnes.

7) Canara Bank Becomes The First Public Sector Bank In India To Meet RBI’s EMV Mandate

•ACI Worldwide, a global provider of real-time electronic payment and banking solutions, announced that Canara Bank has successfully rolled out major new functionality to support EMV card acquiring across its ATM network and Aadhaar Authentication, leveraging ACI’s UP Retail Payments solution to achieve market firsts.

•Canara Bank, with nearly 6,300 branches and a network of more than 10,000 ATMs, is the first public sector bank to shift to EMV chip and PIN for card present transactions across the country’s vast ATM network.