Daily Current Affairs : October 18 & 19, 2020

Daily Current Affairs (October 18 & 19 2020) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK, and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness, and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

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National News

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates India International Food & Agri Week (October 16-22):

• Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Food Processing Industries, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the India-International Food & Agri Week (October 16-22) virtually.
• The focus of the Food and Agro Tech will be on the use and benefit of the technology in the field of food and agriculture sector. 
• Tomar stated that Indian food processing sector is 32% of India’s food market. He stated that the focus of this agro and food tech is the use of technology in the field of food and agriculture sector to increase the income of farmers.

Minister of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare:

• Cabinet Minister: Narendra Singh Tomar. Constituency: Morena, Madhya Pradesh.

• Minister of State: Parsottambhai Rupala.

Asan Conservation Reserve becomes Uttarakhand”s first wetland to make it to the Ramsar list:

• Asan Conservation Reserve has become Uttarakhand’s 1st Ramsar site, making it Wetland of International Importance. Reserve is located on the banks of Yamuna river and is home to many rare & endangered species like Ruddy Shelduck, Red Crested Pochard. India now has 38 wetlands, the highest in South Asia.
• The aim of the Ramsar list is to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of Global Biological Diversity and sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes and benefits.

Uttarakhand:

• Capital: Gairsain (summer capital), Dehradun (winter capital).
• Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat
• Governor: Baby Rani Maurya.
• National Parks- Corbett NP, Gangotri NP, Govind PashuVihar NP, Nanda Devi NP, Rajaji NP, Valley of Flowers NP.

International News

India and Chile Hold First Joint Commission Virtual Meeting:

• India and Chile held their first joint commission meeting and agreed to add new momentum to their relations in a wide range of fields including trade and commerce, agriculture, health and social security, defence and space. 
• The meeting held virtually was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chilean counterpart Andres Allamand Zavala.

Chile:

• President: Sebastian Pinera 
• Capital: Santiago
• Currency: Peso.

India joins hands with the Netherlands for its eHealth initiative “eHealth Magazine”:

• India and Netherlands discussed a joint thrust in e-health sector to provide digital health facilities and security to Indians and helping Netherlands accelerate digital transformation of health. It is Part of India’s ambitious National Digital Health Mission.
• This collaboration will see the two countries work closely to create capacities and put in place the requisite technology backbone to enable this revolutionary initiative.

Netherlands:

• Capital: Amsterdam
• Currency: Euro
• Prime Minister: Mark Rutte

Indian and Sri Lankan navies to conduct maritime exercise SLINEX-20:

• The 8th edition of the annual bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX-20 between the Indian Navy and Sri Lanka Navy is scheduled off Trincomalee in Sri Lanka. It aims to enhance inter-operability & improve mutual understanding for multi-faceted maritime operations.
• The Sri Lanka Navy will be represented by SLN Ships Sayura (Offshore Patrol Vessel) and Gajabahu (Training Ship) led by Rear Admiral Bandara Jayathilaka. Indian Navy will be Represented by Indigenously built Kamorta and Kiltan will represent.

Sri Lanka:

• Capital: Colombo 
• Currency: Rupee
• Prime Minister: Mahinda Rajapaksa
• President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Banking and Awareness

IDBI Bank Launches Banking Services 24X7 on WhatsApp:

• IDBI Bank Limited announced the launch of banking services on WhatsApp for its customers. WhatsApp Banking facility, shall enable IDBI Bank customers to avail various essential banking services such as account balance information, last 5 transactions etc., 
• This launch is a part of sustained initiatives the Bank has taken to enable the customers to access banking services remotely at their convenience.

Acquisitions and Mergers

Tata Motors partners with HDFC to provide financing offers for passenger vehicles:

• Tata Motors has partnered with HDFC Bank for financing of its passenger vehicles. Through the partnership Tata has introduced two new schemes ‘Gradual Step Up Scheme’ and ‘TML Flexi Drive Scheme’ with an eye on making its products more accessible and driving up sales in the festive season.
• It can be redeemed on the entire new Bharat stage (BS) -VI range of cars and SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles) along with the company’s EV range.

HDFC Bank (Housing Development Finance Corporation):

• Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman– Deepak S. Parekh
• CEO: Aditya Puri.
• Tagline: “We understand your world”

Science and Technology

India Conducts Successful Night Trial of Nuclear-Capable Prithvi-2 Missile from Odisha Coast:

• India successfully conducted the night trial of its nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile as part of a user trial by the Army from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore, off Odisha coast.

• The state-of-the-art missile is India’s first indigenous Surface-To-Surface strategic missile, developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. The 9-metre tall liquid-propelled Prithvi-2 has a range of 250 km and can carry a 1 tonne warhead.

Appointments

Jacinda Ardern wins second term as New Zealand’s Prime Minister:

• Jacinda Ardern has won a second consecutive three-years term in office after her rival conceded in New Zealand’s general election.
• Ardern’s centre-left Labour Party won 49.2% of the total 83.7% votes counted in the 120-member parliament.
• The 40-year-old is serving as the 40th Prime Minister of the country since 26 October 2017.

New Zealand:

• Capital: Wellington
• Currency: New Zealand dollar
• Prime Minister: Jacinda Ardern

Supreme Court Appoints Justice Madan B. Lokur as One-Man Panel to Help Prevent Stubble Burning:

• Supreme Court appointed retired apex court judge Justice Madan B. Lokur as a one-man committee to take steps for preventing stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh which is a source of pollution in Delhi-national capital region (NCR).
• The order was passed by an apex court bench headed by Justice SA Bobde.
• As many as 2,873 incidents of stubble burning were reported between 21 September and 12 October, up from 755 a year ago.

Union Bank of India CEO Rajkiran Rai is new chairman of Indian Banks Association:

• Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) Union Bank of India’s MD and CEO Rajkiran Rai G has been elected as the association’s chairman for the term 2020-21. Rai succeeds Rajnish Kumar as the IBA Chairman after Kumar recently retired as SBI Chief.
• State Bank of India’s Chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara has been elected as the Deputy Chairman of the association.

Rohan Jaitley unanimously elected Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) president:

• Advocate Rohan Jaitley, son of late Union Minister Arun Jaitley was elected unopposed president of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) after the lone candidate who had filed his nomination against him withdrew his candidature.
• Elections for six posts are to be held between November 5 and 8.

Ashwani Kumar Appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of Suzlon Group:

• One of India’s largest renewable energy solutions provider Suzlon Group has announced that it has appointed Ashwani Kumar as its Group CEO. Kumar has over 3 decades of experience in projects, business development & finance at leading Indian power/Infra companies.
• He is a mechanical engineer and an alumnus of IIM Bangalore and The Harvard Business School.

RBI appoints Sashidhar Jagdishan as HDFC Bank’s new MD and CEO:

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan as Managing Director and CEO of HDFC Bank.
• The appointment is for a period of 3 years beginning October 27, 2020 and is subject to the approval of the Bank’s board and shareholders.
• Jagdishan was appointed as Chief Financial Officer in the year 2008. He will replace its Founder/CEO Aditya Puri.

HDFC Bank (Housing Development Finance Corporation):

• Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman– Deepak S. Parekh
• CEO: Aditya Puri.
• Tagline: “We understand your world”

F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton appointed as global Brand ambassador for LG SIGNATURE:

• LG Electronics (LG) announced that Six-Time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton has been signed to be the global ambassador for its LG SIGNATURE.
• Hamilton will initially star in a new campaign to communicate the brand’s philosophy, “Art Inspires Technology, Technology Completes Art.”

Awards and Recognitions

Aishwarya Sridhar becomes first Indian woman to win at Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards:

• Aishwarya Sridhar’s photo titled ‘Lights of Passion’ has won the ‘Highly Commended’ award at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020. She became the first Indian Woman to win this award. The announcement was made in 56th year of the prestigious award at the Natural History Museum in London. She won among 50,000 entries from over 80 countries across the world.

India-US Patents for Electric Vehicle Technology Awarded to Devansh Manoj Jalan:

• Devansh Manoj Jalan has received Indian & US Patents for ‘Method and System for Managing the Usage of a Plurality of Battery Units to Power an Electric Vehicle’. Technology aims to make usage of EVs more practical, flexible & economical in India.
• He worked on developing this technology for a while and in July 2019, filed for a provisional patent with the Indian Patent Office.

Books and Authors

Author Deepankar Aron’s new book titled “On the Trails of Buddha: A Journey to the East” released by West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar:

• Governor of West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankar released the book “On the Trails of Buddha: A Journey to the East” authored by Deepankar Aron, IRS (Indian Revenue Service) Officer. The book was published by Niyogi Books Private limited. 

Rankings

India ranks 94 among 107 Countries in Global Hunger Index 2020:

• India has been ranked at 94 among 107 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2020 report released. With a score of 27.2, India has been placed in the “Serious” category in the GHI scale.
• Last year, India’s rank was 102 out of 117 countries. The index is published jointly by Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and Concern Worldwide, to measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels.
• 17 nations, including China, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba and Kuwait bagged the top rank with GHI scores of less than five.

Obituary News

Veteran Bengali Vocal Artiste Pradip Ghosh passes away at 78:

• Noted Bengali elocutionist Pradip Ghosh has passed away at his residence in Kolkata.
• He tested coronavirus positive, in a swab test which was taken after his death. 
• Ghosh was a prominent recitor and renowned vocal artist, who was well-known for his inimitable style of recitation.

Freedom Fighter and ‘Maddale’ Artist Hiriadka Gopal Rao passes away at 100:

• Yakshagana artist and freedom fighter Hiriyadka Gopal Rao, popularly known as ‘Maddale Mantrika’, a maestro in playing the maddale, a percussion instrument, passed away at his residence in Ontibetti near Hiriyadka in Udupi.

Sports News

Nozomi Okuhara clinches Women’s Singles title at Denmark Open:

• Former World Champion Nozomi Okuhara clinched the Denmark Open title beating three-time world champion Carolina Marin in women’s singles. The Japanese star took 56 minutes to get the better of the Olympic gold medallist Spaniard in two games 21-19, 21-17, at Odense.
• In the Men’s Singles Final, world number seven Anders Antonsen of Denmark defeated his compatriot Rasmus Gemke by 18-21, 21-19, 21-12. 

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Daily Current Affairs Quiz – October 18 & 19, 2020

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