DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS –04.10.2018 TO 05.10.2018
NATIONAL 2nd Global Renewable Energy Investment Meeting and Expo held in Noida The second Global Renewable Energy Investment Meeting and Expo (REINVEST- 2018) was organised by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in Noida. 2nd Global RE-INVEST also hosted First Assembly of International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Meeting of the Energy Ministers of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) countries. 21 countries in Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) adopted Delhi Declaration on Renewable Energy in Indian Ocean Region. IORA member countries also resolved to collaborate with International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and ISA member nations to exchange knowledge and share views and potential interests in renewable energy sector. Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) IORA is international organisation consisting of coastal states bordering Indian Ocean, established in 1997 to promote cooperation in IOR.IORA comprises 21 member states (including India) . Headquarters: Ebene, Mauritius NOTE:-IRENA-Headquarters: Abu Dhabi. Founded: 26 January 2009. Leader: Adnan Z. Amin National Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018: The rankings were based on the National Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018 of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. This ranking was done based on a comprehensive set of parameters including surveys of public places like schools, Anganwadis, PHCs, Bazaars, Panchayat. It also took into consideration citizen‟s perception of Swachhata and their recommendations for improvement of program and data from SBM-G. As part of this survey, 6786 villages in 685 districts across India were covered. Overall Ranking Top 3 States: Haryana (1st), Gujarat (2nd) and Maharashtra (3rd). Top 3 Districts: Satara (Maharashtra), Rewari (Haryana) and Pedapalli (Telangana). The latest ranking of 2018 by Swachh Bharat Abhiyan announced Indore as the cleanest cities in India for a second time. Government releases Digi Yatra policy on biometric based digital processing of passengers at airports Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has released policy on biometric based digital processing of passengers at airports called Digi Yatra. Under it, there will be one-time verification at departure airport while travelling for first time using ID. After successful verification, facial recognition biometric will be captured and stored in Digi Yatra ID. With this initiative, ticket booking, airport entry and boarding pass security check-in will be made digital. The initiative seeks to promote paperless and hassle-free air travel. It will be operational by end of February, 2019 at Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports. In later phase, Airports Authority of India (AAI) will roll out this initiative at Kolkata, Varanasi, Pune and Vijayawada airports by April 2019. Project Utkrisht: Railways to roll out 640 rakes by 2020 for Rs 400 crore Indian Railways have plans to develop 640 Utkrisht rakes under its project of upgrading the mail/express trains in the next two years at a cost of Rs 400 crore. The first upgraded Utkrisht rake, Howrah-Kalka Mail, rolled out recently. The project has been undertaken as „Green Rakes‟(consisting of 20 or 22 coaches) at Eastern Railways‟ Liluah workshop and they cost Rs 60 lakh each. Following this, the Railway Board has plans to roll out 500 more rakes by March 2020. The unique feature of this Utkrisht Rake is the provision of Swachh Rail Toilet (SRT), which is a hybrid design of the bio-toilet system. India aims to generate 40% power from non-fossil fuel by 2030 Stressing that India would generate 40 per cent of power from non-fossil fuels by 2030, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for connecting solar energy supply across borders giving the mantra of „One World One Sun One Grid‟.Modi said he saw the 121-country International Solar Alliance as the future OPEC for meeting energy needs of the world. OPEC-Headquarters: Vienna, Austria. Secretary General: Mohammed Barkindo Haryana’s MDU declared cleanest govt university by HRD Ministry Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar announced the “Swachh Campus rankings” under different categories. Haryana‟s Maharshi Dayanand University has been declared the cleanest government varsity by the HRD Ministry, followed by Guru Nanak Dev University in Punjab‟s Amritsar. Among the residential campuses of private universities, Pune‟s Symbiosis International University has been ranked at the top followed by O P Jindal Global University in Sonipat, Haryana. Raipur‟s ITM University has been ranked at the top among non-residential campuses of private universities. 4th India International Science Festival-2018 held in Lucknow
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The fourth India International Science Festival 2018 (IISF 2018) will be held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.The theme of this edition of the Science Festival is “Science for Transformation“. As part of the event, “science village” will be set up at National Botanical Garden in Lucknow where people will get to know about the progress of science. National Khadi Festival 2018 inaugurated by Union MSME Minister A month-long National Khadi Festival 2018 to promote Khadi products has been inaugurated on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti 2018, by Union Minister for Micro Small & Medium Enterprises, Shri Giriraj Singh. The fest is being organised by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) KVIC-Chairman-Vinai Kumar Saxena. Headquarters: Mumbai Indore, Bhopal Metro Rail projects get Cabinet approval The Union Cabinet approved two Metro rail projects in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh at Indore and Bhopal The Indore project will run along the Ring Line (Bengali Square – Vijay Nagar – Bhawarsala – Airport – Patasia – Bengali Square). The total number of stations on the line are 30. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 7,500.80 crore and the project will be completed in four years. The Bhopal project comprises two corridors of total length 27.87 Km Karond Circle to AIIMS and Bhadbhada Square to Ratnagiri Tiraha. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 6,941.40 crore and the project will be completed in four years. A special purpose vehicle, Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Co Ltd. (MPMRCL), has been constituted to implement both these projects. News in Brief Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje inaugurated the city‟s „Dravyavati River Rejuvenation Project‟ executed by Tata Projects Ltd. spread over 47.5 km rain-fed riverfront. National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC), India‟s and Asia‟s first dolphin research centre to come up soon in Patna, Bihar. The Union Cabinet has remodified its earlier decision to establish of National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation (NIMHR) in Sehore District (Bhopal-Sehore highway) instead of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. IIT-Kharagpur has been named the national coordinating institute of the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Manipur declared as 23rd open defecation free state: CM N Biren Singh Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh declared Manipur as the 23rd state to become Open Defecation Free (ODF) in India. It is the 5th state in the North East to get the ODF tag. Dr Najma Heptulla, the Governor of Manipur handed over the certificate of ODF Manipur to Singh during the observance of National Cleanliness Day at Gandhi Memorial Hall in Imphal. INTERNATIONAL UN postal agency issues commemorative stamps on International Day of Non-Violence In commemoration of the International Day of Non-violence, marked on Mahatma Gandhi‟s birth anniversary, the UN postal agency issued a new collection of stamps featuring artistic interpretation of „The Knotted Gun‟, an iconic global sculpture giving the message of peace and non-violence. The stamps in the collection feature artistic interpretation of „The Knotted Gun,‟ and have been issued by the UNPA in celebration of the International Day of Non-violence to spread the message of non-violence and the universal desire of a culture of peace, tolerance and understanding. Kurdish leader Barham Salih elected as Iraq President Iraq's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) selected Barham Salih as the President of Iraq. Last month, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said that he won't run for the post of prime minister for a second term. Adel Abdul Mahdi who has earlier served as the vice president will be the new Prime Minister. Iraq-Capital: Baghdad,.Currency: Iraqi dinar BILATERAL Operation Samudra Maitri’: India has launched a massive operation „Operation Samudra Maitri‟ to provide assistance to the earthquake and tsunami victims in Indonesia.( Indonesia : Jakarta, Currency: rupiah) Under this operation, India has dispatched two aircraft C-130J and C-17 and three naval ships INS Tir, INS Sujatha and INS Shardul. A shallow earthquake of magnitude 7.5 (richter scale) had struck in neck of Minahasa Peninsula, Indonesia on 28 September 2018 with its epicentre located in mountainous Donggala Regency, Central Sulawesi. The earthquake was located 77 km away from provincial capital Palu. Sahyog HOP TAC -2018: The maiden joint exercise of Coast Guards of India and Vietnam “Sahyog HOP TAC - 2018” was held in the Bay of Bengal off the Chennai coast, Tamil Nadu. IBSAMAR VI: India, Brazil & SA Navies train to build interoperability With the aim to build interoperability and mutual understanding as well as sharing of best practices, the 6th edition of IBSAMAR, a joint Multi National Maritime Exercise between the Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies, is being held at Simons Town, South Africa from Oct 1-13. The first phase of the exercise between October 1 -3 will be in Simon‟s town harbour followed by a three day sea phase in and around False Bay in South Africa.
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ECONOMY Bank of Maharashtra shuts down 51 branches to cut costs Pune based Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has announced the closure of 51 branches across the country as part of cost-cutting measures being implemented in the banking industry The BoM had hit headlines after Maharashtra police had nabbed its Chairman-cum-Managing Director Ravindra Marathe and five others for the alleged Rs 2,043-crore scam involving the prominent realtor, DSK Group of Pune. SIDBI launches national level entrepreneurship awareness campaign Udyam Abhilasha Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched Udyam Abhilasha in 115 Aspirational Districts identified by NITI Aayog in 28 States. The campaign will run from 3 October to 8 October, 2018 across India and reach out to around 15,000 youth. For implementing this campaign, SIDBI has partnered with CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle, (CSC SPV) under Ministry of Electronics & IT through their CSCs. It will also tie-up with Banks, NABARD, NBFCs, SFBs, District Industries Centres, State Government etc. SIDBI:-Headquarters: Lucknow, Founded: 2 April 1990, CMD: Mohammad Mustafa 2018 Government e-Payments Adoption Ranking (GEAR) ranking India was ranked 28th among 73 countries in 2018 Government e-Payments Adoption Ranking (GEAR).Norway has topped 2018 GEAR list scoring 89.7 points in seven categories. GEAR is an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) global Index and benchmarking study commissioned by financial services corporation Visa. Tata Communications acquires IoT firm Teleena Tata Communications, a leading global digital infrastructure provider, is acquiring Teleena, a Netherlands- based Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity specialist and mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE). Teleena‟s solution is a key part of the Tata Communications‟ MOVE platform, which enables enterprises and device manufacturers to capture, move and manage information worldwide through borderless, secure and scalable connectivity. Tata Communications formerly called VSNL is a global provider of telecommunications solutions and services.Headquarters: Pune Apple world’s top brand, Facebook slips to 9th spot: Report Apple displaced Google to become the top brand in the world in 2018 while Facebook, mired in data breach controversies, fell to ninth place in the top 100 brands globally. According to global brand consultancy Interbrand‟s “Best 100 Global Brands 2018” report, Amazon achieved a 56 per cent growth to become the third top brand globally. MobiKwik’s ‘Boost’ to offer instant loan in 90 seconds MobiKwik announced the launch of its breakthrough product called „Boost‟, that offers instant loan approval and disbursal to MobiKwik users. This is the first-of-its-kind of credit disbursal product, wherein loans of upto Rs 60,000 are sanctioned as well as disbursed in a matter of 90 seconds. MobiKwik is the first wallet player to disburse loan amount in the user‟s mobile wallet. „Boost‟ offers loans without any hassles of submission of paperwork or collaterals. The loan sanction decision will be taken in 30 seconds, on the basis of an innovative risk scoring model called „Mobiscore‟, developed by MobiKwik. Users can apply for loans ranging from Rs. 5,000 upto Rs 60,000 through MobiKwik app. NEWS IN BRIEF India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $240 million loan agreement to provide safe drinking water to about 1.65 million people in three districts of West Bengal. Bharti Airtel has acquired technology of artificial intelligence (AI) service provider AuthMe ID Services. Bharti Airtel- CEO: Gopal Vittal, Headquarters: New Delhi, Founder: Sunil Mittal PERSON IN NEWS Ravi Venkatesan: The UNICEF has appointed Ravi Venkatesan has its special representative of young people. UNICEF-The United Nations Children's Fund. Headquarters: New York. Head: Henrietta H. Fore. Founded: 11 December 1946. Polish physician Ludwik Rajchman is widely regarded as the founder of UNICEF. R N Ravi: R N Ravi has been appointed as Deputy National Security Advisor (Internal Affairs). He will be third deputy NSA to National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval after former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief, Rajinder Khanna and serving diplomat Pankaj Saran. WFE appoints NSE’s Vikram Limaye as Chairman of Working Committee World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), has appointed NSE‟s Managing Director and CEO Vikram Limaye as the chairman of its working group committee. His name was announced at the 58th General Assembly and Annual Meeting in Athens, Greece.WFE Headquarters: London Chanda Kochhar: Chanda Kochhar quit as CEO of ICICI Bank after her plea for early retirement was accepted by the bank. She is also stepping down from the board of directors of its units, including ICICI Securities where she had sought reappointment as the chairperson. Sandeep Bakhshi has been named as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer following Kochhar‟s move.
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AWARD Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2018 Frances H. Arnold and George P. Smith from the US and Sir Gregory P. Winter from the UK were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This year‟s Chemistry Laureates have taken control of evolution and used the same principles genetic change and selection to develop proteins that solve humankind‟s chemical problems. 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Norwegian Nobel Committee has selected Dr. Denis Mukwege (63) and Nadia Murad (25) jointly for 2018 Nobel Peace Prize.They were given award for their efforts to end use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. Dr. Denis Mukwege: He is Congolese gynecological surgeon. He has been involved in helping victims of sexual violence in African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo. Nadia Murad: She was one of the thousand Yazidi women who were abucted, abused and raped by IS (Islamic State) and kept in captivity.She has shown uncommon courage in recounting her own sufferings and speaking up on behalf of other victims. In 2016, Murad was named UN‟s first Goodwill Ambassador for Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking. NOTE: The Nobel Prize in literature will not be awarded this year following sex-abuse allegations and other issues that have affected the public image of the Swedish Academy that selects the winner. The noble prize for literature 2018 will give in 2019. PM Narendra Modi conferred UNEP Champions of Earth Award 2018 Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with United Nation‟s Champions of the Earth Award 2018 by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at ceremony in Delhi. He is among the six winners who received this award. PM Modi was jointly awarded this award along with French President Emmanuel Macron under the „Political Leadership‟ category for their work in championing International Solar Alliance (ISA) Cochin International Airport also received Champions of Earth Award 2018 for „Entrepreneurial Vision and for its leadership in the use of sustainable energy. It is world‟s first fully solar-powered airport. It is UN‟s highest environmental recognition celebrating exceptional figures from public and private sectors and from civil society, whose actions have had transformative positive impact on the environment. It was established in 2005 by United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment). South Sudanese surgeon to receive 2018 Nansen Refugee Award Evan Atar Adaha, a surgeon who runs a remote hospital in South Sudan, received the prestigious 2018 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award. Lilima Minz to receive Ekalabya Puraskar, 2018 Hockey player Lilima Minz, who hails from Odisha, has been selected for the prestigious Ekalabya Puraskar, 2018. The annual award, comprising a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh along with a citation, would be presented at the Ekalabya Award function. The Ekalabya Puraskar has been instituted by IMPaCT, the social wing of Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys (IMFA), which has been promoting literature, sports, arts, culture and other socially meaningful activities in Odisha for decades. Gandhiji to be posthumously honored with US Congressional Gold US lawmakers, including four Indian Americans, have moved a resolution in the US House of Representatives to posthumously award the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi in recognition of his promotion of peace and non-violence. MISCELLANEOUS IAF successfully conducts series of flight trials of Astra Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully undertaken series of flight trials of Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVR-AAM) from September 26 to October 3, 2018. The tests were conducted at Integrated Test Range (ITR), Balasore, Odisha as part of final development trials of the missile. Astra is air to air beyond visual range air-to-air indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). length:3.8-metre, weight: 154kg. payload capacity:15 kg SPORTS 3rd Youth Olympic Game, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Teenage shooting star Manu Bhaker was named as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the 3rd Youth Olympic Games to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev is retiring from international soccer after leading the national side as captain to this year‟s World Cup quarter-finals on home soil. Manipur clinch Women’s National Football Championship crown: Manipur claimed victory in the final of the 24th Senior Women‟s National Football Championships, defeating hosts Odisha in the summit clash by a 2- 1 margin in Cuttack. The final held at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha. Thangvellu Mariyappan named India’s flag-bearer for Asian Para Games: Rio Paralympic gold medallist Thangvellu Mariyappan was named as flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the 3rd Para Asian Games to be held in Jakarta.
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