Daily Current Affairs: October 17, 2020

Daily Current Affairs (October 17, 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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Important Days

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty- 17 October:

  • International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed on October 17 every year.
  • This year marks the 27th anniversary of the declaration by UN General Assembly, in 1992.  

 

  • Theme: “Acting together to achieve social and environmental justice for all”

 

National News

PM Narendra Modi releases Rs 75 coin to mark 75th year of Food and Agriculture Organisation:

 

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin of Rs 75 denomination to mark the 75th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

 

  • Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation 17 recently developed biofortified varieties of eight crops. FAO was founded on 16 October 1945.

Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO):

  • Headquarters: Rome, Italy.
  • Director General: QU Dongyu.

 

  • Founded: 16 October 1945.

 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Virtually Attends 102nd Meeting of the World Bank Development Committee Plenary

 

  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participated in 102nd meeting of the World Bank Development Committee Plenary through video conference. FM Sitharaman stated that COVID -19 Pandemic continues to impact the developing and developed countries and gains in reducing the level of poverty, achieved over a number of years, are at risk of being lost.
  • Government has committed $2.03 billion for the strengthening of health infrastructure in the wake of #COVID19 pandemic. #Unite2FightCorona #StaySafe”

 

Jammu & Kashmir government signs MoU with Flipkart to promote handloom, handicraft products:

  • To boost the sale of handicraft and handloom products in Jammu and Kashmir, the union territory government signed a pact with online retailer Flipkart for showcasing and facilitating the local artisans and craftsmen to reach customers across the globe.

 

  • Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor, UT of J&K stated the partnership will give a big boost to the rural economy and promote the versatile handicrafts and handlooms of Jammu and Kashmir to a Pan-India market.

 

Jammu & Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha launches ‘My Town My Pride’ Campaign to provide doorstep governance in urban areas:

  • Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has announced an initiative called ‘My Town My Pride’ to provide governance at the doorstep in urban areas. This programme is in line with the “Back to Village programme” launched for rural population.
  • The Urban Local Bodies will reach out to urban population living in towns, to provide governance at their doorsteps and ensure on spot redressal of their issues and grievances.

Jammu and Kashmir:

  • Capital: Srinagar (summer), Jammu (winter)

 

  • Lt Governor: Manoj Sinha
  • National Parks: Hemis National Park, City Forest (Salim Ali) National Park, Dachigam National Park, Kishtwar National Park.
  • Wildlife Sanctuaries: Changthang Cold Desert WLS, Gulmarg WLS, Jasrota WLS, Baltal-Thajwas WLS, Karakoram (Nubra Shyok) WLS.
  • Lakes: Mansar Lake, Nagin Lake, Wular Lake, Surinsar Lake, Dal Lake.

 

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari initiates Asia’s Longest Bi-directional Road Tunnel ZojiLa Tunnel works:

 

  • Union Minister Nitin Gadkari launched the first blasting for construction related work at the 14.15 km Zojila tunnel, one of the longest in Asia, that will provide all-year connectivity between Srinagar valley and Leh.

 

  • The project holds strategic significance as Zojila Pass is situated at an altitude of 11,578 feet on the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway and remains closed during winters due to heavy snowfall.

Government Launches Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) Portal Under PM Awas Yojana:

 

  • Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri stated that numerous benefits including free FAR (floor area ratio), concessional project Finance, trunk infrastructure facilities free of cost amongst others are a part of a scheme for Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) for urban migrants under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U).

 

  • ARHC portal has been taken up to provide dignified and affordable living spaces to varied groups of urban migrants/ poor including construction workers, migrants working with market associations, educational/health institutions, hospitality sector, long term tourists/ visitors, students etc.

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal inaugurates Innovation & Incubation Center and Sports Complex at IIT Jodhpur:

  • Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal inaugurated two facilities namely Innovation and Incubation Center and Sports Complex in the Permanent Campus of IIT Jodhpur. 
  • The event was also attended by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister for Jal Shakti and Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State for Education as Guest of Honor and Special Guest, respectively. Dr. R. Chidambaram, Chairman, BoG, IIT Jodhpur was also present at the event.

Rajasthan:

  • Capital: Jaipur
  • Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot
  • Governor: Kalraj Mishra

Leather Sector Skill Council Launches Mobile App “SCALE India” for quality assurance:

  • Leather Sector Skill Council (LSSC) announced the launch of Skill Certification Assessment for Leather Employees (SCALE) India android app to enhance quality assurance under Skill India Mission. It is a single platform to integrate quality assurance across all its services.
  • LSSC is committed to strengthen its digital capabilities on quality assurance across training delivery, monitoring, assessments, verification and linkages to the ASEEM portal.

Stellapps launches ‘mooPay’ for dairy farmers in Rajasthan:

  • Stellapps introduced the launch of a first-of-its-kind, fully-automated direct cost platform ‘mooPay’ for dairy farmers in Rajasthan.
  • The platform is among the fintech options the corporate has developed for dairies and dairy farmers.
  • MooPay enables dairy officials to transfer milk payments digitally to member farmers from the dairies’ existing bank account to farmers’ savings bank account.

Uttar Pradesh government decides to set up women help desk in every police station:

 

  • Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has decided to establish women help desks in each and every police station of state. The women police personnel deputed on helpdesk will not only listen to the complaints of women but will always be ready to help them anytime. Government had earlier established pink booths at various intersections of Lucknow.

 

Uttar Pradesh:

  • Capital: Lucknow
  • Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
  • Governor: Anandiben Patel

 

  • National Park: Dudhwa National Park (Tiger Reserve)
  • Zoological park: Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyan (Gorakhpur), Kanpur Zoological Park, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden.

 

International News

India hosts 7th meeting of Ministers of Justice of SCO member states:

 

  • India hosted the Seventh Meeting of Ministers of Justice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which is a permanent intergovernmental international organization. India was represented by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. 

 

  • The virtual meeting was attended by justice ministers from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, according to a statement by Ministry of Law and Justice.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO):

  • Headquarters: Beijing, China

 

  • Secretary General: Vladimir Norov

 

  • Founded: 15 June 2001
  • SCO Countries: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan

India designated as Vice-Chair of OECD Working Group on Good Laboratory Practice (GLP):

  • India has been designated the Vice-Chair of Good Laboratory Practice, GLP Working Group of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), recognising the contribution of the Indian GLP programme.

 

  • OECD also appointed Dr.Ekta Kapoor, Scientist ‘E’, National GLP Compliance Monitoring Authority (NGCMA), Department of Science & Technology (DST) as Vice-Chair of OECD Working Group on GLP for 2021 and 2022.  

 

  • Good Laboratory Practice has been evolved by OECD to ensure that safety data generated on various chemicals like industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic products and medical devices can be relied upon by regulatory authorities.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):

  • Headquarters: Paris, France

 

  • Secretary-General: José Ángel Gurría Treviño
  • Founded: 30 September 1961

 

Banking and Economy

RBI to conduct first-ever OMO purchase of State Developments Loans (SDLs):

  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct first-ever open market operation (OMO) purchase of State Developments Loans (SDLs) for Rs 10,000 crore on October 22, 2020.

 

  • The Reserve Bank had announced about the OMOs in the statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies after the monetary policy meeting. The RBI will purchase the SDLs through a multi-security auction using the multiple price method.

 

Reserve Bank of India (RBI):

  • Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • Formation: 1 April 1935
  • Governor: Shaktikanta Das
  • Deputy Governors: 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao)
  • Subsidiaries: Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC), Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (BRBNM).

Axis Mutual Fund launches ‘Axis Banking ETF’:

  • Axis Mutual Fund has launched a new fund offer of ‘Axis Banking ETF’. It is an Exchange Traded Fund that offers investors an opportunity to invest in the biggest banks in India at their own pace as it gives exposure to them all in a neatly packed bite-sized exchange traded fund.
  • Passive funds are designed to track the performance of an index. They achieve this by replicating the portfolio of the underlying index. Presently, index has 83.3 per cent exposure to private banks and 11.7 per cent to PSU banks.

Jana Small Finance Bank Becomes First SFB to Go Live Under Sponsor Bank Program:

  • Jana Small Finance Bank has joined hands with Ashoknagar Co-operative Bank Limited under the Bank Sponsorship Program. Jana Bank becomes the first Small Finance Bank to go live under this Program.
  • RBI has permitted co-operative banks which are CBS enabled, to issue ATM cards/ATM-cum-debit cards in tie-up with a sponsor bank. Ashoknagar Co-operative Bank Limited in association with Jana Small Finance Bank can now extend ATM, POS & E-commerce Services to its customers.

Jana Small Finance Bank:

 

  • MD and CEO:  Ajay Kanwal

 

  • Slogan: “Paise ki Kadar”

Acquisitions and Mergers

NTPC Partners with cement manufacturers across country to supply fly ash:

  • NTPC Limited has started to collaborate with Cement Manufacturers across the country to supply fly ash as part of its endeavour to achieve 100 per cent utilization of the by-product produced during power generation.

 

  • NTPC Rihand is the first power plant in Uttar Pradesh to send conditioned fly ash to cement manufacturers.
  • The plant recently transported 3,834 Metric Tonnes of conditioned fly ash to Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited plant at Nagaon, Assam.

 

Science and Technology

India to deliver kilo-class submarine INS Sindhuvir to Myanmar for training purpose:

  • India will deliver INS Sindhuvir to Myanmar as part of defence cooperation.
  • This will be 1st submarine of Myanmar Navy.
  • It is in accordance with India’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and in line with build capacities and self-reliance in neighbouring countries.
  • India and Myanmar share a 1,640-km border with the north-eastern states, including Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram also share 725 km India-Myanmar maritime boundary.

Japan Coast Guard Tests Unmanned Aircraft “SeaGuardian”:

 

  • Japan Coast Guard began test flights of an unmanned aerial vehicle “SeaGuardian” to learn whether it can be utilised to carry out the coast guard’s key duties, including search and rescue and maritime surveillance.
  • SeaGuardian will be based at the Maritime Self-Defence Force’s base in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan.

 

  • The drone has been developed by United States (US) based defence firm General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.  

Appointments

Vishal Sharma appointed as India’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO:

  • Shri Vishal V. Sharma has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO, Paris.
  • Sharma has succeeded Jawed Ashraf. He will be 3rd political appointee among Indian ambassadors around the world.

International Weightlifting Federation appoint Michael Irani as interim president:

 

  • International Weightlifting Federation announced the appointment of Michael Irani as its interim president.
  • Irani is chair of the IWF Medical Committee and a former chair of the IWF Anti-Doping Commission.
  • Britain’s Michael Irani taking over from Thailand’s Intarat Yodbangtoey. 

 

International Weightlifting Federation (IWF):

 

  • President: Michael Irani (Interim)
  • Headquarters: Budapest, Hungary

 

Awards and Recognitions

Seema Gupta wins 2020 STEVIE Awards for Women in Business:

  • Power Grid Corporation Director Seema Gupta has been named winner of GOLD Stevie Award in Lifetime Achievement- Business category in 17th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Stevie Awards have been hailed as the world’s premier business awards.
  • For this year, the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 180 business professionals around the world, working on seven juries.

Books and Authors

A New Book Titled “The Battle of Belonging” authored by Shashi Tharoor:

  • Author and MP Shashi Tharoor is set to release his book titled “The Battle of Belonging”.
  • It is published by Aleph Book Company.
  • The book appears to be an extension of his book “Why I Am a Hindu”.
  • He is the longest-serving member of the Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala since 2009.

Sports News

Pakistan Pace bowler Umar Gul announces retirement from all forms of cricket:

  • Pakistan pacer Umar Gul has announced he is retiring from all forms of cricket after his domestic team Balochistan failed to make the semifinals of the ongoing National T20 Cup. 
  • Gul brought an end to a 17-year international career that began with an ODI against Zimbabwe in April 2003. He played 47 Tests, 130 ODIs and 60 T20Is and took a combined 427 wickets across formats.

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