Daily Current Affairs 14th October, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 14 October 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Haryana govt launches mobile water testing labs
The Haryana government has launched a mobile water testing laboratory van, fully equipped with a multi-parameter system containing analysers, sensor, probes and instruments meant for assessing water quality, the Jal Shakti Ministry said.

  • The work under the Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to provide tap water to rural households by 2024, is being done on a war footing and it gives a lot of emphasis on water quality surveillance and monitoring.

Rajnath Singh lays foundation stone for Nechiphu tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh
Amid face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for the strategically important Nechiphu tunnel at West Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh via video conferencing.

  • The 450m-long tunnel, which will bypass the existing road, will be D-shaped and comprise two lanes of 3.5m width each. Another 1.8 km-long tunnel is also being constructed on the BCT road and both will reduce the distance to the area bordering China by 10km.
  • Besides this, the Defence Minister also inaugurated 43 BRO-made bridges across 7 Border States of the country, including 7 in Arunachal and 4 in Sikkim.

Chhattisgarh government launches ‘Tech for Tribals’ scheme
The Tribal Affairs Ministry launched an initiative that focuses on imparting entrepreneurship and business skills to tribals in Chhattisgarh.

  • The initiative, Tech For Tribals, was launched in association with Chhattisgarh MFP Federation and IIT, Kanpur.
  • Under the programme, tribal beneficiaries across all districts of Chhattisgarh will be trained in various facets of micro-enterprise creation, management and functioning till November 7.


BANKING & FINANCE

RBI raises banks’ aggregate exposure limit for small businesses to ₹7.5 crore
In a bid to increase credit flow to small businesses, the RBI raised banks’ maximum aggregate retail exposure limit to entities with turnover up to ₹50 crore to ₹7.5 crore, up from ₹5 crore.

  • The risk weight of 75 per cent will apply to all fresh exposures and also to existing exposures where incremental exposure may be taken by the banks up to the revised limit of ₹7.5 crore.
  • In another notification, the RBI said it has been decided to extend the dispensation of the enhanced Held to Maturity (HTM) limit of 22 per cent for SLR securities acquired between September 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, up to March 31, 2022. Banks may continue to hold such excess SLR securities in HTM category upto March 31, 2022.
  • RBI has also decided that the enhanced HTM limit would be restored to 19.5 per cent in a phased manner, beginning from the quarter ending June 30, 2022.

Axis Bank launches ACE Credit Card in collaboration with Google Pay and Visa
Axis Bank announced the launch of its ACE Credit Card in India in collaboration with Google Pay and Visa.

  • The card meant to help with digital payments. From application to issuance, with the entire user journey for the credit card application will be done digitally.
  • For essential use cases, including mobile recharges and bill payments made via Google Pay, users can earn a cashback of 5 per cent. The company is also offering 4 per cent-5 per cent cashback for expenses on food ordering, online grocery delivery, cab rides for transactions made on partner merchant platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato, BigBasket, Grofers and Ola.

ADB approves 300 million US dollar loan to finance water supply, sanitation infrastructure in Rajasthan
India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a 300 million US dollar loan to finance inclusive and sustainable water supply and sanitation infrastructure and services in 14 secondary towns of the state of Rajasthan.

  • The project aims at providing better quality and more sustainable Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) services in the project towns.
  • Through the project, water supply systems in at least eight project towns are expected to improve by 2027, benefiting more than five lakh 70 thousand people. Citywide sanitation systems will benefit about seven lakh 20 thousand people in at least 14 secondary towns.

Mastercard partners with Signzy for global rollout of video KYC
Mastercard, a global technology company in the payments industry, has partnered with Signzy, a RegTech startup based in India, for global rollout of Signzy’s video-based KYC (Know Your Customer) solution for its banking customers.

  • With this partnership, Mastercard customers will benefit from a completely paperless, remote and secure onboarding solution for end-users.
  • Signzy’s Video KYC solution will enable end-users to complete and submit their KYC application from the safety and security of their homes.

ADB, India sign $270 million loan to improve urban services in 64 Madhya Pradesh small cities
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $270 million loan to develop water supply and integrated stormwater and sewage management infrastructure and strengthen capacities of urban local bodies (ULBs) for improved service delivery in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

  • This is an additional financing to scale up the scope of the ongoing Madhya Pradesh Urban Services Improvement Project, which was approved in 2017 with a $275 million loan.
  • It will expand the outcome of the current project by covering additional 64 small cities benefiting 185,000 households consisting of about 1.3 million people.

Exim Bank extends $400 mn soft loan to Maldives for connectivity project
India has extended a USD 400 million (about Rs 2,932 crore) soft loan to Maldives through the Exim Bank for undertaking Greater Male’s connectivity project in Maldives.

  • With the signing of the above agreement, Exim Bank has till date extended three LoCs worth a cumulative USD 1.2 billion to Maldives, on behalf of India.
  • Exim Bank said the soft loans to Maldives have funded connectivity, water, sewerage projects, Addu Development Project, an international cricket stadium, Gulhifalhu port, Hanimaadhoo airport and road construction work.


BUSINESS & ECONOMY

IMF projects India’s GDP to contract 10.3% in 2020 due to Covid-19
The Indian economy, severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, is projected to contract by a massive 10.3 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said.

  • However, India is likely to bounce back with an impressive 8.8 percent growth rate in 2021, thus regaining the position of the fastest growing emerging economy, surpassing China’s projected growth rate of 8.2 percent, the IMF said in its latest ”World Economic Outlook” report
  • The report said global growth would contract by 4.4 percent this year and bounce back to 5.2 percent in 2021.

Government selects Hughes India to connect remotely located panchayats with satellite broadband
The government has selected Hughes Communications India to connect 5,000 village panchayats in border and Naxal-affected states as well as in island territories with satellite broadband under BharatNet project by March 2021.

  • The 5,000-gram panchayats are located in north-eastern states, including Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh as well as in Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep that lack terrestrial connectivity, such as fiber or cable.

Microsoft collaborates with AICTE to upskill students, educators in next-gen tech
Microsoft announced that it has partnered with the Government of India’s All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to provide online course modules to students across the country.

  • The tech giant will offer courses to help “learners and educators with future-ready skills.” It will offer over 1,500 course modules to students and educators free of cost through AICTE’s e-learning portal, ELIS.
  • The tech giant has also integrated its learning resource centre, Microsoft Learn, with the ELIS platform “to provide access to personalised learning paths and resources for students, covering a broad range of technologies including AI, IoT, data science and cloud computing, among others.


SPORTS

Los Angeles Lakers wins 17th NBA Championship
Los Angeles Lakers, fuelled by superstar LeBron James’ triple-double, dominated Miami Heat 106-93 to win its 17th NBA championship. It’s first in a decade pulled Lakers level with the Boston Celtics for the most number of crowns.

  • James added another chapter to an epic career, delivering 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists as he captured his fourth NBA title with a third team.
  • He earned NBA Finals Most Valuable Player honours for a fourth time, and said the accomplishment had a special flavour with the Lakers.


APPOINTMENTS

Bharate launches new brand campaign with 11 cricketers as brand ambassadors
BharatPe has announced the launch of its high impact TV campaign starring ‘Team BharatPe’ with 11 Cricket stars.

  • The TVC series has been directed by ace Bollywood director, Puneet Malhotra, and communicates the message ‘Hum Hai Team BharatPe – Jo Desh Ke Har Dukandaar Ke Saath Hai Khade’.
  • This is the first time that a new age FinTech company has rolled out a TV campaign with 11 top cricket stars as its brand ambassadors. Team BharatPe includes Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Shubhman Gill.


SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NIT Tiruchirappalli signs MoU with C-DAC Pune for installing state of art super computer
National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli has signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune for installing a state of the art super computer in the process of becoming part of the National Super Computing Mission of the Government of India.

  • A total of 10 Centrally Funded Institutions have been inducted into NSM including IISc, Bangalore and seven IITs in addition to NIT, Trichy.
  • The super Computing facility worth 17 crore rupees will be made available to neighbouring educational institutions, as mandated and in line with NEP-2020.


BOOKS & AUTHORS

PM Narendra Modi releases autobiography of Dr Balasaheb Vikhe Patil
Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the autobiography of late multiple term Lok Sabha MP Dr Balasaheb Vikhe Patil.

  • The autobiography is titled ‘Deh Vechava Karani’ or dedicating one’s life for a noble cause.
  • The prime minister also renamed the Pravara Rural Education Society to ‘Loknete Dr Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Pravara Rural Education Society.’ The society was established in Ahmednagar’s Loni district to provide world-class education to rural masses and empower the girl child.


OBITUARIES

Bihar Minister Vinod Kumar Singh passes away
Bihar Minister for Backward and Extremely Backward Classes Welfare Vinod Singh passed away in Delhi.

  • Mr. Singh, 50, was BJP MLA from Pranpur Assembly constituency of Katihar district in northeast Bihar. He has been elected MLA thrice from the constituency.

Eminent Kuchipudi dancer Shobha Naidu passes away
Well-known Kuchipudi classical dancer and Guru, Shobha Naidu passed away in Hyderabad. She was 64.

  • She choreographed over 80 solo numbers, 15 ballets, and trained over 1,500 students in India and overseas.
  • In recognition of her services, the Government of India presented her Padma Shri Award in 2001,Nritya Choodamani award in 1982 and Late Sri N T Rama Rao award in 1998 among many.

Charlie Moore, 1952 Olympic 400 hurdles champion, passes away
Charlie Moore, the 400-meter hurdles champion at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, has died from pancreatic cancer. He was 91.

  • After the Olympics, he set a world record of 51.6 in the 440 hurdles at the British Empire Games in London.
  • Charles Moore Jr. grew up in Pennsylvania and was a standout at Mercersburg Academy before going on to Cornell. He was inducted into Cornell’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978 and the USA Track and Field Hall in 1999.


IMPORTANT DAYS

National Philately Day 
The National Philately Day is celebrated on October 14 throughout the country.The Philately is the study of postage stamps and postal history.

  • The day also marks the collection, appreciation and research activities on stamps and other philatelic products.

World Standards Day
World Standards Day is an international day celebrated internationally each year on 14 October.

  • The day raises awareness about the importance of standardization to the global economy among the consumers, regulators, and industry.
  • The theme of World Standards Day 2020 is “Protecting the planet with standards.”

International Day for Disaster Reduction
World Calamity Control Day also known as the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction  is a United Nations designated day observed on October 13 every year. The World Calamity Day dedicated to disaster risk reduction was started in 1989.

  • The theme of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2020 is “Disaster risk governance”.  This year the celebration of the day is all about governance. 


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