Current Affairs 2nd November 2018

NATIONAL

Malayalam film Olu will be the opening film at the 49th International Film Festival of India, IFFI 2018. This was decided by the jury for the Indian Panorama. The IFFI will be held in Goa in November 2018
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the renaming of Jharsuguda Airport, Odisha as “Veer Surendra Sai Airport, Jharsuguda”. Veer Surendra Sai is a well-known freedom fighter of Odisha
India has signed a $950 million contract with Russia for two upgraded Krivak III-class stealth frigates. A government-to-government contract was signed between India and United Shipbuilding Corporation of Russia last week for the supply of two stealth frigates
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the Soura Jalanidhi scheme that aims to increase use of solar energy for helping farmers in irrigating their land

BANKING & ECONOMY

India jumped 23 positions in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index 2019 and is now ranked 77 out of 190 countries in 2018, a development that could help the country attract more foreign investments
The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has acquired IDFC Infrastructure Finance (IDFC-IFL), an infrastructure debt fund. This acquisition is the first investment from NIIF’s strategic fund. The acquisition is subject to approval from RBI.
The finance ministry has announced that the sixth tranche of electoral bonds sale has been started and will continue for 10 days. Electoral bonds are being pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding

APPOINTMENTS

HDFC Bank had announced that the RBI had approved the re-appointment of Aditya Puri as MD and CEO of the bank for another two years. Aditya Puri will now serve the office from November 1, 2018 to October 26, 2020

SPORTS

Steel manufacturing giant Tata Steel was announced as an official partner of the men’s hockey World Cup 2018 to be staged at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar from November 28 to December 16.
Nineteen-time world champion Pankaj Advani has won the second leg of the Asian Snooker Tour in Jinan, China

OBITUARY

Playwright, poet and author Ntozake Shange, whose most acclaimed theatre piece is the 1975 Tony Award-nominated play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf,” had passed away. She was 70.