DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : October 29, 30 & 31, 2019

Daily Current Affairs (October 20 & 21, 2019) 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

TN Bill to safeguard contract farming gets President’s approval

President Ramnath Kovind has given assent to the Tamil Nadu Bill that puts in place a policy framework and institutional mechanism on agricultural products and livestock contract farming.
TN Agricultural Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and Services (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2019, adopted by Assembly is the first-of-its-kind legislation assuring farm income.
The Bill, aimed at benefiting marginal farmer. The Bill allows protection to farmers to carry out transaction of their farm or livestock produce with a processing firm on the rates arrived at on the date of entering into the contract.

HRD Minister to inaugurate Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat Parv

The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ will inaugurate Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat Parv being organized by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan under the Ministry of Human Resource Development in New Delhi.The Minister of State for HRD, Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre will be the guest of honor on the occasion.
This event is primarily to showcase the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshth Bharat’ and also to promote the communication and artistic skills of students through various competitions. Further, it also provides a platform for teachers to express their talent in performing and visual arts.

KVS organizes four-day event of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Parv’ 2019

Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat Parv 2019 was inaugurated in New Delhi by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, KVS.
The main objective of the event is to celebrate the unity in diversity and to promote the spirit of national integration through deep and structured engagement among all Indian states and Union Territories in a year-long planned engagement between states.
This event is primarily showcasing the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ and also promoting the communication & artistic skills of students.

V K Singh addresses 5th International Conference on Road Tech

Union Minister of State for Road Transport V.K. Singh said that infrastructure will propel the growth of economy and to achieve this growth country needs sustainable and environment friendly roads and highways.
Addressing the 5th International Conference on Road Tech (sustainable roads and highways) in New Delhi, he said in the last five years great amount of works have been done in the field of infrastructure and in future much more will be done.
He urged to the industry body to find the unique way to monetize the road projects in an environment friendly manner. He further said more focus may be given to the infrastructure sector to fight the economic slowdown.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Sheikh Sultan inaugurates Sharjah International Book Fair 2019

The 38th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) 2019 was inaugurated by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.
Nearly 1800 exhibitors from 77 countries are participating in the Fair. The fair will showcase 987 activities presenting scientific, knowledge and literary themes.
Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority, said that this year’s book fair will be carrying the theme of the Sharjah World Book Capital (SWBC), ‘Open Books Open Minds’, to promote books and reading across age groups and communities.
Republic of Mexico has been declared as the Guest of Honour at the 38th edition of SIBF. Steve Harvey, has been announced Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2019)’s ‘Principal Guest of Honour’.

Argentina’s left-leaning candidate Alberto Fernandez wins presidential election

Argentina’s left-leaning candidate Alberto Fernandez won the presidential election in the first round bringing to an end the crisis-plagued rule of market-friendly incumbent Mauricio Macri.
Fernandez, a 60-year-old law professor, got 47.36 percent votes crossing the threshold for outright victory. His win also caps a remarkable political comeback for ex-president Cristina Kirchner, who will be the vice-president.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel to meet PM Modi today, likely to sign 20 agreements

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay a day-long visit to India. The Chancellor will be accompanied by several Ministers and State Secretaries of the Federal Government, as well as a high-powered business delegation.
During the visit, Prime Minister Modi and the German chancellor will co-chair the fifth Biennial Inter-Governmental Consultations.

During the visit, India and Germany are expected to sign 20 agreements on various issues including on agriculture, development and social security, football and museum cooperation.

35th ASEAN Summit begins in Bangkok

The 35th ASEAN Summit began in Bangkok. Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan -o-Cha inaugurated this summit at IMPACT convention complex. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a group of ten member countries that encourages political,economic and social co-operation in the region. Advancing Partnership for sustainability is the theme of the summit.
During five days summit East Asia summit (EAS) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Summit (RCEP) will be also held. Apart from leaders of 10 Asean countries head of Eight dialogue partner countries including India, USA China, Japan, republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand are also participating in the summit.

Chilean president cancels Apec and climate summits amid wave of unrest

Chile’s embattled president has been forced to cancel two major international summits after government concessions failed to defuse weeks of violent protests that have seen thousands of arrests, left at least 20 dead and sent shock waves across Latin America.

BANKING AND BUSINESS ECONOMY

RBI Fined Rs 35 lakh penalty on Tamilnad Mercantile Bank

The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs.35 lakh on Tamilnad Mercantile Bank for violating norms on frauds classification and notification.
The bank has been penalised for “non-compliance with certain provisions of directions issued by RBI on frauds classification and reporting by commercial banks and select FIs directions 2016.

This action is based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

28th Vyas Samman conferred on Leeladhar Jagoori

The 28th Vyas Samman for the year 2018 was conferred on well known Hindi writer Leeladhar Jagoori in New Delhi.
Mr Jagoori has been chosen for the prestigious award for his poetry collection– Jitne Log Utne Prem.
Renowned Author and Scholar Govind Mishra gave away the award to him.
The Vyas Samman, started in 1991, is given by K K Birla Foundation for an outstanding literary work in Hindi authored by an Indian citizen published during the last 10 years. It carries an award money of four lakh rupees along with a citation and plaque.

RANKING AND INDEX

Three Indian-origin CEOs in Harvard Business Review’s top 10 best-performing heads

Three Indian-origin CEOs, Shantanu Narayen, Ajay Banga and Satya Nadella are among the world’s top 10 best-performing chief executives, featured in a list complied by the Harvard Business Review (HBR).

‘The Best-Performing CEOs in the World, 2019″ list by the HBR features 100 CEOs and has been topped by American technology company NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang.

Among the top 10 chief executives on the list, three spots have been occupied by the Indian-origin CEOs

On the 6th spot is Adobe CEO Narayen, followed by MasterCard CEO Banga, ranked 7th and Microsoft chief Nadella on the 9th spot.
The list also features India-born CEO of DBS Bank Piyush Gupta on the 89th spot.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is ranked 62nd.

Government schemes

Facebook launches healthcare tool for checkup reminders

Facebook has unveiled a ‘Preventive Health’ tool that connects people to health resources and sends check-up reminders.
Facebook has launched the tool in the United States.
The tool is designed to help users of the social networking giant to find affordable places to receive care, set reminders to schedule tests and mark when tests are completed. The recommendations to the users will be provided on the basis on their age and sex.

APPOINTMENTS

Pavan Kapoor appointed as Ambassador to UAE

Pavan Kapoor, a 1990 batch Indian Foreign Service officer today took charge as the new Ambassador to UAE.
Ambassador Kapoor replaced Navdeep Singh Suri, who retired last month. During his diplomatic career, Pavan Kapoor has served in different capacities at the Indian Missions in Moscow, Kyiv, London and Geneva.
During his last posting, Mr Kapoor served as the Ambassador to Israel.
He has also served in the Ministry of External Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi.

Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi appointed chief of UN nuclear watchdog

Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi was appointed to succeed late Yukiya Amano as the new director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
He will be appointed for a term of four years and assume office no later than January 1, 2020. The 58-year-old will be the sixth head of the IAEA since it was founded more than six decades ago.
Grossi is a nuclear and diplomatic veteran from Buenos Aires in Argentina.

After Bifurcation of J&K, GC Murmu Sworn as First Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory

GC Murmu was sworn in as the first lieutenant governor of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir following the bifurcation of the state into two union territories.

R K Mathur sworn in as Ladakh LG

Former bureaucrat Radha Krishna Mathur was sworn-in as the first Lieutenant Governor of the strategically located Union Territory of Ladakh, which came into existence after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir.

Former Mumbai Commissioner Datta Padsalgikar appointed as Deput NSA

Former Mumbai Police Commissioner and Maharashtra DGP Datta Padsalgikar has been appointed as Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA).

The 1982-batch IPS officer had earlier served in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) for 26 years before he was picked as the Mumbai Police Commissioner in 2016.

Lebanese PM resigns after weeks of anti-govt protests

In Lebanon, Prime Minister Saad Hariri has announced his resignation after nearly two weeks of massive anti-government protests over political corruption and economic turmoil.
As Hariri announced his resignation, scores of demonstrators in Beirut celebrated with joy and waved the Lebanese flag.

OBITUARY

Yoga grandma V Nanammal passes away at 99 in Coimbatore

Inspirational yoga teacher V Nanammal passed away in Coimbatore. She was 99 years old.
Known affectionately as “Yoga Grandma”, Nanammal received the Padma Shri – one of India’s highest civilian honours.
Nanammal was confined to her bed for the past 30 days after she suffered a fall. Nanammal has trained more than 10 lakh students in the course of her life.
Born into an agricultural family, she was taught yoga by her father.

Nation remembers former PM Indira Gandhi on her 35th death anniversary

Nation remembers former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 35th death anniversary.
She was martyred on this day in 1984 at her residence in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid heartfelt tribute to Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary.

Sadako Ogata: First female UN refugee chief dies at 92

A Japanese academic and diplomat Sadako Ogata who became the first female to be appointed UN High Commissioner for Refugees has died aged 92.
Sadako Ogata was born in Tokyo in 1927, worked on some of the largest crises of the decade during her time in service from 1991 to 2000.
Challenges included helping Kurdish refugees fleeing from Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War, and the Balkans War. She was known for her great passion in working to protect the “defenceless and dispossessed”.

Former Supreme Court Judge and Karnataka Lokyukta Justice Venkatachala Passes Away at 90

Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (Retd) N Venkatachala, who had become a household name for coming down heavily on corrupt officials during his tenure, passed away at the age of 90.
His stint as the Lokayukta from July 2001 to 2006 made him a household name. Under him, Lokayukta sleuths carried out raids in many of government offices and exposed a large number of corrupt officials.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Stroke Day, on October 29th

Each year, October 29 is observed as World Stroke Day to raise awareness and reduce the incidence of stroke across the world. The focus of this year is on prevention – more specifically, “Don’t be the one” where “one” refers to the one out of four people who will have a stroke at some point in their lives.

International Internet Day was observed on 29 October

International Internet Day is celebrated worldwide, every year on 29th of October.
Since the year 2005 the International Internet Day has been famously celebrated to commemorate a momentous day in the history of telecommunications and technology.
This was the event of the sending of the first message, first electronic message.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas 2019: This is How Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Birth Anniversary is Celebrated

The Iron Man of India, also known as the Loh Purush, Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was born on October 31, 1875. He is also popularly known as Sardar Patel and was one of the most known Indian politicians after Independence. Under Jawarharlal Nehru’s term as Prime Minister, Sardar Patel served as the first Deputy Prime Minister of India.
He played a significant role in integrating the independent provinces into a unified India just after the partition, the ‘Unifier of India’ was honoured with the Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue. Dedicated to Sardar Patel, the statue is approximately 182 metres (597 ft) in height.

The United Nations General Assembly has designated 31st of October as World Cities Day

The United Nations has designated every 31st of October as World Cities Day. The Day is expected to greatly promote the international community’s interest in global urbanization, push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world.
2019 Theme: Changing the world: innovations and better life for future generations

World Savings Day is Observed on October 31

World Savings Day, also called the World Thrift Day, is celebrated every year on October 31 across the world. The ceremony was introduced in 1924 for promoting the value of bank savings and re-establish citizen’s confidence in banks.
The Day was launched during the First Congress held at the International Savings Bank in Milan, Italy.

SPORTS NEWS

Ravinder settles for silver at U-23 World Wrestling Championship

At the Under-23 World Wrestling Championship in Budapest, Indian grappler Ravinder settled for a silver medal after going down to Kyrgyzstan’s Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov in the final.
He suffered a 3-5 loss to Ulukbek in 61-kg category. Ulukbek is the current Asian U23 champion. Ravinder led till the end of the first period but a strong comeback from Ulukbek ensured that the latter won the bout 5-3 by superiority of play.

Tokyo Olympics 2020: Mary Kom to represent Asian bloc in athlete ambassadors group

Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom has been included in a 10-strong athlete ambassadors group to represent boxers in the build-up to next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games by the IOC’s Task Force for the sport.
Mary Kom will represent the Asian bloc in the group, which also comprises two-time Olympic and world gold-medallist Vasyl Lamachenko and five-time world champion and 2016 Olympic gold-winner Julio Cesar La Cruz among others.
The 36-year-old Indian recently surpassed herself as the most successful boxer in the history of the world championships when she claimed her eighth medal, a bronze, at the marquee event’s latest edition in Russia.

Olympic Test Event Boxing: Shiva Thapa, Pooja Rani clinch gold, Ashish settles for silver

Indian pugilists Shiva Thapa and Pooja Rani clinched gold medals, while Ashish settled for a silver, as India ended with a decent haul of seven medals at the Olympic Test Event for Boxing in Tokyo, Japan.
The other four medals, all bronze were bagged by Nikhat Zareen, Simranjeet Kaur, Sumit Sangwan and Vahlimpuia in their respective weight categories.

Current Affairs Quiz – October

Attend Current Affairs Quiz for the Month of August- 2019 from the link that is provided below.