1. 115 backward districts in India to be transformed by 2022

i. The government has embarked upon a major policy initiative for the rapid transformation of 115 backward districts across the country by 2022.

ii. Senior level government officials, at the rank of Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary, have been nominated as ‘Prabhari’ officers for each district.  A detailed briefing of these officials was held under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary P.K. Sinha.

• Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog is Rajiv Kumar

2. World’s First 3D Sanskrit Film Anurakthi Screened at 2017 IFFI Goa

i. World’s first Sanskrit 3D film ‘Anurakthi was among the main attraction in 3D category at the International Film Festival of India in Panaji in Goa.

ii. The motto of making the film is to make the Sanskrit language relevant even for today. The movie directed by Asokan PK revolves around the traditional art form of Kerala, Koodiyattam.

IFFI was founded in 1952 and held annually in Goa.
3. Trump Tower Launched in Kolkata

i. The iconic Trump Tower comprising 140 ultra-luxury apartments has been launched in Kolkata and its Indian developers are expecting to garner around Rs 700 crore in sales from this project.

ii. This is the third Trump Tower to be launched in India. Realty firms Unimark Group, RDB Group and Tribeca Developers have already sold about 50 per cent units since the project was soft-launched in mid-October.

The US President Donald Trump is the founder of the Trump Organization.

• India already has Trump-branded project in Pune partnering Panchshil Realty.
• Kolkata is the capital city of West Bengal.

4. Two-day Korea Tourism Festival 2017 opens in Haryana

i. 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, Haryana along with Joint Secretary in the Ministry Of Tourism Suman Billa.

ii. The event also saw the signing of an MOU between leading Korean companies such as LG, Hyundai, Samsung and KTO with an aim to promote the tourism by organising MICE groups to Korea for their employees and dealers.

• Chief Minister of Haryana is Manohar Lal Khattar
• Seoul is the capital of the Republic of Korea (ROK), also known as South Korea

5. Odisha Launches Rs 96-cr Scheme to Increase Fish Production

i. Odisha government 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’ in Bhubaneswar.

ii. The scheme aims to create additional 2,200 hectare of fresh water aquaculture farming with 50 per cent financial assistance to farmers.
Current Governor of Odisha is Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir
6. BillDesk launches cryptocurrency exchange Coinome in India

i. Indian online payments firm BillDesk-owned Hatio Innovations has launched cryptocurrency exchange ‘Coinome’ in India offering trading of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.

ii. Coinome allows users to register via an instant e-KYC process by using Aadhaar number. Unlike many other cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinome is an open order book cryptocurrency exchange which enables direct deals between buyers and sellers just like conventional stocks and commodities exchanges.

Headquarters of ‘Coinome’ is located in Mumbai.

• CEO of Coinome is Vivek Steve Francis

7. Bank of Baroda launches digital Supply Chain Finance solution

i. State-run lender Bank of Baroda launched digital Supply Chain Finance solution which aims to accelerate working capital loan opportunities for the small and medium enterprises and large corporate clients.

ii. The new product provides a range of supply chain finance products which covers pre- and post-shipment products like dealer and vendor finance. BoB’s digital Supply Chain Finance solution has been designed to ensure faster approvals, smoother transaction processing and availability of finance to the Small and Medium Enterprises.

• Headquarters of BOB is in Vadodara, Gujarat and Tagline is ‘India’s International Bank’.
• Current MD & CEO of BOB is P S Jayakumar.

8. Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters is Crowned Miss Universe 2017

i. Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters was crowned Miss Universe 2017 at the AXIS theater at Planet Hollywood casino-resort on the Las Vegas Strip, with Miss Colombia and Miss Jamaica making it to the final three

ii. Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, 22, who helps train women in self-defense, unleashed a big smile when she won. She hails from Western Cape Province and recently earned a business management degree from North-West University.
Capital of South Africa is Cape Town.

9. Nirmala Sitharaman Elected IDSA President

i. Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been elected as President of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA).

ii. The previous Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, had resigned from the post after shifting to Goa as Chief Minister.

• IDSA was set up in 1965 by the Ministry of Defence as an autonomous think tank.

10. Aegon Life Insurance Appoints Vineet Arora as MD & CEO

i. Aegon Life Insurance today announced the appointment of Vineet Arora as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer.

ii. Vineet Arora will replace K S Gopalakrishnan. Chief People Officer of Aegon Life Insurance, Saba Adil, will serve as the interim In-charge and Principal Officer.

• Aegon Life Insurance Company is an Indian life insurance provider founded in 2008 with headquarters in Mumbai.