Daily Current Affairs 4th October, 2019

Daily Current Affairs 4 October 2019 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Tourism Ministry launches App “Audio Odigos” for 12 sites of India

Tourism Ministry has launched the Audio Guide facility “Audio Odigos” for 12 sites of India (including Iconic Sites) on the occasion of “Paryatan Parv 2019”.

• Audio guide odigo offers Government of India verified content, with visuals & voice over support. With Audio Odigos, tourists will now enjoy a more enriching experience and take back historical insights of the Indian culture and heritage.

Govt launches portal for monitoring coal supply to power plants

Power Minister RK Singh and Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi have jointly launched PRAKASH – Power Rail Koyla Availability through Supply Harmony- portal in New Delhi.

• The portal aims at bringing better coordination for coal supplies among all stakeholders.

Telangana becomes fully electrified state

Telangana has become the fully electrified states in the country after providing electricity to over 5 lakh 15 thousand households under the Soubhagya Yojana introduced by the Centre in October 2017.

• During the last two years, the entire state has been covered and the households in remote areas have been provided electricity under the Sahaj Bijili Ghar Yojana (Soubhagya).

CM Yogi Adityanath flags off Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath flagged off Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express from capital of Uttar Pradesh. It is the first ‘private train’ of the country by IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) with world-class luxury and comfort.

• It is for the first time, IRCTC has introduced the concept of partial refunds if there is any delay in train.

‘Sarbat Da Bhala Express’ train flagged off at New Delhi railway station

Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Harsh Vardhan and Harsimrat Kaur Badal flagged off ‘Sarbat Da Bhala Express’ train at New Delhi railway station. The renamed New Delhi-Ludhiana Intercity Express will ply from New Delhi to Lohian Khas via holy city Sultanpur Lodhi.

Delhi Govt to set up ‘Sports University’

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that his government will set up a ‘Sports University’ in the national capital. Sportspersons will be able to devote all of their time to sports in the university. They will get graduate degrees in different sports like cricket, hockey, football and so on.

• Through their degree, they will be able to apply for any government job which has graduation as the eligibility criteria. They will be able to give exams like civil services.

Rajasthan becomes the third state to ban certain categories of pan masala

Rajasthan became the third state in India after Maharashtra and Bihar to ban certain categories of pan masala containing magnesium carbonate, nicotine, tobacco, mineral oil and flavoured ‘supari’. All such products will now be banned in the State under the Food Safety Act.

Jaipur has the cleanest railway station in the country, says survey

Jaipur topped the list of cleanest railway stations in the country, as per a report ‘Swachh Rail, Swachh Bharat 2019’ released by Ministry of Railways.

• Among the over 610 stations in the non-suburban category, Jaipur topped the list with a total score of 931.75, followed by Jodhpur, Durgapura, Jammu Tawi, Gandhinagar-Jp, Suratgarh, Vijayawada, Udaipur city, Ajmer and Haridwar.

Vice President Naidu inaugurates IANCON 2019 in Hyderabad

Vice President Naidu inaugurated IANCON 2019, 27th Annual Conference of the Indian Academy of Neurology in Hyderabad, Telangana.

• It will help spread awareness and contribute towards early detection on the growing epidemic of non-communicable diseases like brain stroke, epilepsy, headaches, and other diseases related to the brain and the spine.

NBCC sign MoU with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

National Buildings Construction Corporation(NBCC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to provide project management consultancy for the development of National Sports University at Imphal, Manipur. NBCC has bagged a Rs 400-crore contract to develop National Sports University.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Croatia unveils Gandhi statue in Zagreb to mark his 150th birth anniversary

Croatia has unveiled the bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Zagreb to commemorate the leader’s 150th birth anniversary.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Bank of Baroda signs MoU with Indian Army for customised services

Bank of Baroda (BoB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Army under which the bank would offer customised services along with a host of facilities to account holders.

RBI cuts repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.15 pc, reduces growth forecast to 6.1 pc

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut repo rate for the fifth consecutive time this calendar year to 5.15 per cent from the current 5.4 per cent in a bid to support government measures for boosting economic activity amid benign inflation.

Current Monetary Policy Rates:

• Repo Rate: 5.15%
• Reverse Repo Rate: 4.9%
• Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate: 5.4%
• Bank Rate: 5.4%
• GDP growth for 2019-20: 6.1%

More significantly, the central bank lowered the GDP growth forecast for current financial year 2019-20 to 6.1 per cent from 6.9 per cent earlier.

SPORTS

Former Indian cricketer, Kapil Dev resigned as chairman of CAC

The former Indian captain Kapil Dev has resigned from the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) of BCCI. This decision comes after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Ethics Officer D.K. Jain sent a notice to the panel comprising of Kapil, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy with regards to allegations of conflict of interest as claimed by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association MPCA life member Sanjeev Gupta.

India beat Belgium 5-1 in final Tour Game to maintain 100 Percent Record

The Indian men’s hockey team produced an attacking masterclass to defeat reigning world and European champions Belgium 5-1 in the fifth and last match to maintain their 100 per cent record in their tour of Belgium. The Indian team won all five matches during the tour, beating Belgium 2-0 in the opening match, and registering 6-1 and 5-1 wins over Spain in the next two games, before finishing off their Tour with two wins against Belgium (2-1 and 5-1).

APPOINTMENTS

SS Mallikarjuna Rao appointed MD and CEO of Punjab National Bank

SS Mallikarjuna Rao was appointed as the Managing Director(MD)and Chief Executive of the Punjab National Bank(PNB). He will replace Sunil Mehta.

Abhishek Singh appointed new MyGov CEO

Senior IAS officer Abhishek Singh was appointed the chief executive officer of MyGov India, the government’s citizen-centric online platform.

• The 1995-batch IAS officer of Nagaland cadre will succeed tech entrepreneur Arvind Gupta, who completed his tenure in July.

OIL India appoints Sushil Chandra as MD & CEO

Oil India Limited appointed Sushil Chandra Mishra as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. Mishra replaces Utpal Bora.

P K Gupta appointed as Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of NBCC

P K Gupta has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of NBCC(National Buildings Construction Corporation) Limited till September 30, 2023. He succeeds Shiv Das Meena.

AWARDS

Kyrgyz lawyer AzizbekAshurov wins 2019 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award

Human rights lawyer from Kyrgyzstan Azizbek Ashurov was awarded the 2019 UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) prestigious Nansen Award.

• The UNHCR hailed Azizbek Ashurov for helping Kyrgyzstan become the world’s first country to end statelessness, working through his organisation Ferghana Valley Lawyers Without Borders (FVLWB).

BOOKS

A new book titled “The Tech Whisperer” penned by Jaspreet Bindra released

A new book entitled “The Tech Whisperer”, written by digital transformation expert Jaspreet Bindra, features a chapter on AI (Artificial Intelligence). The book has been published by Penguin India.

• The book describes and simplify “emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, Internet of things, virtual reality,” and talk about how companies can employ these to drive their digital transformation.

OBITUARIES

Noted Nephrologist and Padma Shri Awardee HL Trivedi passes away

Renowned kidney transplant surgeon and Padma Shri recipient Dr Hargovind Laxmishanker Trivedi has passed away due to age-related illnesses. He was 87.

• Trivedi, hailed as an expert in handling kidney transplant surgeries, was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, in 2015 for his contribution to society as a nephrologist.

Hollywood tycoon Eric Pleskow passes away

American-Austrian film producer Eric Pleskow the Hollywood tycoon passed away. He was the president of the film company United Artists from 1973 to 1978 and then as co-founder of Orion Pictures where many films under these film companies won Oscar awards.

Click here to read Daily Current Affairs