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VIVEK COACHING CENTER
Daily Current Affairs Updates–4th October 2016:
4–10 October: World Space Week
World Space Week observed with theme Remote Sensing: Enabling our Future
World Space Week is an annual event that is observed from 4 October to 10 October 2016 in various parts of the world including Europe and Asia. 2016 World Space Week is
being observed with theme Remote Sensing: Enabling our Future.
This year's theme celebrates Earth Observation from Space for the betterment of the
human race.
NATIONAL
Jharkhand becomes first state to implement Direct Benefit Transfer in Kerosene
Jharkhand has become the first state in the country to implement Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in Kerosene. The scheme is being implemented in four identified districts of the
State from October 1. These districts are Chatra, Hazaribagh, Khunti and Jamtara.
In a statement, Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry said that under the DBT Scheme, PDS kerosene is being sold at non-subsidized price and the subsidy is being transferred
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to consumers directly into their bank accounts. This initiative is aimed at rationalizing
subsidy and plugging the leakages.
Indian Bridge Management System Launched
Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari formally launched the
Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS) in New Delhi.
IBMS is being developed to create an inventory of all bridges in the country and rate their structural condition so that timely repair and rehabilitation work can be carried out based
on the criticality of the structure.
Urban areas of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh declared open defecation free
Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh became the first states to declare their urban areas as Open
Defecation Free (ODF) on the second anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Other states that will soon declare all their urban centres as ODF are Kerala, Himachal
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram and a few other Northeast states.
The mission launched by PM Narendra Modi, with its urban and rural component handled
by the respective ministries, aims to make the country ODF by 2019.
Yesudas to be brand ambassador of ‘Haritha Keralam’ project
CPI (M)-led LDF government has roped in eminent Carnatic vocalist and playback singer K J Yesudas as the brand ambassador of its ambitious ‘Haritha Keralam’ (Green Kerala)
project, a massive initiative envisaged for a garbage-free and clean state.
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Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday informed the state Assembly that the veteran
singer had given his consent to be associated with the project.
INTERNATIONAL
Indo-Czech JWG Meet Held
The fourth meeting of the JWG held at Brno (Czech) on October 3-6, 2016 wherein a review of the progress in bilateral ties was taken up and a roadmap for future cooperation
was finalized.
Accompanied by senior representatives of companies, institutions and SMEs in the
engineering and allied areas, the Indian delegation was led by Mr. Girish Shankar.
Indian officials and industry leaders has shared with their Czech Republic counterparts a slew of measures being taken by India to encourage foreign investors, particularly in the areas of high technology, including Capital goods & Engineering, under the government’s
flagship,’ Make in India ‘programme.
Keen on engaging actively with Czech Republic and other eastern and central European nations, India has been working under a framework of an Indo-Czech Working Group in
the area of Heavy Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, since 2013.
The government led by Narendra Modi has liberalized the FDI policies and procedures,
assuring the global investors the maximum ease of doing business.
Initiatives like hike in the FDI limit, integrating India into a single market through the tax reforms through legislations like Goods and Services Tax, have enhanced the confidence of global investors into the Indian economy, which has emerged as the fastest growing in
the world.
Beijing Issues Yellow Air Pollution Alert
Chinese capital Beijing city issued its first yellow alert for air pollution in the second half of
this year.
The alert puts restrictions on work at construction sites, outdoor barbecues and straw
burning by farmers.
The reading of Air Quality Index (AQI) in Beijing was between 200 and 300.
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China has a four-tier colour-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most
serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
China:
Capital: Beijing
Currency: Renminbi (yuan ¥)
President: Xi Jinping
‘Project Energia’ Launched
BANKING NEWS
Highlights of RBI's fourth bi-monthly monetary policy statement
Repo rate: 6.25%
Reverse Repo: 5.75%
CRR: 4%
Growth forecast at 7.6% for the current fiscal
RBI's 24th Governor Urjit Patel, who has been recently appointed, has announced his first and country's 4th Bi-monthly Policy Statement for the year 2016-17. Monetary policy is the
process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money.
The RBI has reduced the policy Repo Rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 6.5 per cent to 6.25 per cent with immediate effect. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 5.75 per cent, and the marginal
standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.75 per cent.
India's GDP growth to remain 7.6% in 2016: World Bank
Describing South Asia as a global growth hotspot, the World Bank has said that India's GDP growth will remain strong at 7.6% in 2016 and 7.7% in 2017. The growth will be supported by expectations of a rebound in agriculture, pay reforms, positive contributions from exports, and a medium-term growth in private investment, the global development
bank added
Economy to grow 7.4% in FY17, will touch 8% in FY19
Global agency Fitch Ratings on Monday projected that the Indian economy will grow at 7.4% in 2016-17 and touches 8% growth only in 2018-19. Further, it also predicted that the RBI will cut interest rates by 0.25% before 2016-end. Fitch said it expects the benefits
of reforms and the impact of monetary easing to kick in with a lag.
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Startups Allowed Raising $3m via ECBs
Reserve Bank has decided to allow start-ups to raise external commercial borrowings (ECBs) of up to 3 million in a financial year. They will be permitted raise the overseas funds in rupees as well as in foreign currency. RBI will issue guidelines in this regard by
month-end.
India has the third-largest number of start-ups globally. Start-ups have the potential to play a significant role in economic growth and job creation by spurring innovation and injecting
competition.
Background:
In January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled a slew of incentives for them including tax holiday, inspector raj-free regime, capital gains tax exemption and Rs 10,000
crore corpus to provide funds. Government has also relaxed procurement norms for them.
BUSINESS NEWS
Ratan Tata Invests in GOQii
Ratan Tata has invested in GOQii, a virtual fitness coaching platform. GOQii has been
ranked number one with a market share of 16.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2016.
Headquartered in California with offices in Mumbai and Shenzhen, China, GOQii is one of
the world’s leading health and lifestyle coaching platforms.
GOQii offers a wearable app, guidance from global experts and counselling. The company
earlier raised $13.4 million in a Series ‘A’ funding in November last year.
AGREEMENTS & MoUs
Dassault, Rel Aerospace tie up to execute Rafale offsets
Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance ADA Group on Monday said it has signed an agreement with Dassault Aviation of France, the manufacturer of Rafale fighter jets, for a joint venture in India which will benefit from the largest-ever local sourcing and manufacturing
obligation of up to Rs 30,000 crore.
The JV, Dassault Reliance Aerospace, comes after India and France on September 23 inked the 7.87-billion-euro (around Rs 59,000-crore) deal for the direct acquisition of 36
Rafale fighters, with the first jet to be delivered between October 2019 and early-2022.
Ducati and YES Bank Signs Pact
Italian motorcycle company Ducati has signed a pact with YES Bank to provide retail
finance to customers.
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As part of the agreement, YES Bank will offer multiple financial options to Ducati
customers at the best options available in the segment.
Ducati has launched four new Ducati in India including the XDiavel, 959 Panigale,
Multistrada Enduro and Hypermotard.
APPOINTMENTS
New DG of Defence Estates
Jojneshhwar Sharma joined as Director General of Defence Estates.
Sharma, a 1982-batch Indian Defence Estate Services officer, previously served in positions such as Principal Director, Defence Estates, Southern Command and Additional
Director General (Lands).
Ashish Vohra appointed as CEO of Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Ltd
Ashish Vohra was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Ltd. The position of CEO of the company was lying vacant after Anup Rau left the company in June 2016.Prior to this appointment, Vohra was working at Max Life
Insurance.
Jawhar Sircar resigns as CEO of Prasar Bharati Corporation
Jawhar Sircar resigned as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prasar Bharati Corporation. His resignation came four months ahead of the end of his tenure which was
about to end in February 2017.
As per rules of the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990, chairman or any other member may resign the office by giving notice thereof in writing to the President of India and on such resignation being accepted, the chairman or other member
shall be deemed to have vacated his office.
Sircar was appointed as Prasar Bharati CEO in 2012 during the rule of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. He had also served as the Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India from late 2008 to February 2012, where he
reported directly to the Prime Minister for most of his tenure.
Indian-American Vinaya Manchaiah named Future Leader of Audiology
Vinaya Manchaiah, an Indian-American associate professor at Lamar University in Texas, in the first week of October 2016 was named to the 2016 class of the Jerger Future
Leaders of Audiology by the American Academy of Audiology.
Manchaiah is one of only a dozen individuals selected nationwide for the honour
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Kersti Kaljulaid elected as first female President of Estonia
Kersti Kaljulaid on 3 October 2016 was elected as the President of Estonia by the
parliament.
With this, Kaljulaid will become Estonia’s first female president.
Kaljulaid won vote 81-0, with 20 members absent or abstaining. Her selection follows two
failed votes and weeks of heated debate
AWARDS
Nobel Prize in Physics 2016
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2016 for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological
phases of matter
1. David J. Thouless (University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA) from UK
2. F. Duncan M. Haldane (Princeton University, NJ, USA) from UK
3. J. Michael Kosterlitz (Brown University, Providence, RI, USA) from UK
Wildlife film-maker Prajna Chowta conferred knighthood by France
Film-maker and elephant researcher Prajna Chowta was recently appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite (Knight in the National Order of Merit) by the French
Government.
The official ceremony is expected to be held later in 2016 in Bengaluru.
The appointment of Chowta by the President of the French Republic comes in recognition
of a life devoted to caring for wild Asian elephants.
Ramesh Won Lemelson-MIT Prize
Ramesh Raskar, founder of the Camera Culture research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab and associate professor of Media Arts and Sciences at
MIT won the $5,00,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize
The Lemelson-MIT Prize honours outstanding mid-career inventors improving the world through technological innovation and demonstrating a commitment to mentorship in
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Raskar is the co-inventor of radical imaging solutions, including Femto photography, an ultra-fast imaging camera that can see around corners, and provide low cost eye care
solutions for the developing world.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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World’s First Dengue Vaccine
World’s first dengue vaccine ‘Dengvaxia’ has received approval in 14 countries. Recent
approvals were granted in Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
Mexico, the Philippines, Brazil, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Guatemala, Peru,
Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore have already granted it the approval.
Sanofi-Pasteur — a unit of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi manufactures this
vaccine for dengue.
In the clinical study population nine years old and older, the dengue vaccine has been
documented to prevent two-thirds of dengue cases due to all four serotypes of dengue.
SPORTS NEWS
Project Energia by INTERPOL and World Andi-Doping Agency (WADA)
INTERPOL and World Andi-Doping Agency (WADA) have launched a joint Project
Energia to combat doping abuse in sports.
Project Energia will focus on substances used with the exclusive aim of improving physical fitness and athletic performance. It includes anabolic steroids, growth hormones,
peptides and erythropoietin (EPO).
This new initiative aims to help member countries understand and combat the trafficking
of performance-enhancing drugs through targeted criminal analysis.
The Energia project is a key component in the global fight against doping. By joining forces, WADA and INTERPOL are better able to share intelligence on trafficking methods and on those who manufacture and distribute dangerous substances to athletes seeking
an edge.
Tendulkar felicitates India's Paralympic medalists
India's Rio Paralympic medalists, Devendra Jhajharia, Mariyappan Thangavelu, Deepa Malik and Varun Singh Bhati, were felicitated by Sachin Tendulkar and other celebrities at an event in Mumbai on Monday. Each medal winner received a cheque of INR 15 lakh, contributed by a number of industrialists and celebrities. India's Paralympic medalists from previous editions will also receive the same amount.
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