Daily Current Affairs 16th October, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 16 October 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

PM Modi releases commemorative coin to mark 75th Anniversary of FAO
Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin of ₹75 denomination to mark the long-standing relation of India with Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO).

  • The coin was released on the occasion of 75th Anniversary of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
  • The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation 17 recently developed biofortified varieties of eight crops on World Food Day.

Gujarat govt announces setting up of world’s biggest Zinc Smelter project in Dosawada in Tapi district
Gujarat government has announced the setting up of the world’s biggest Zinc Smelter project in Dosawada in Tapi district.

  • The proposed 300 KTPA production capacity project would provide big employment opportunities to the local youths in this tribal area.
  • The first phase of the proposed plant will be operational in 36 months.
  • The project with the investment of Rs.10 thousand crore will also have a State-of-the-art Research and Development Centre.

Odisha launches ‘Sujal’ Mission, first state to provide tap water fit for drinking in Urban Areas
The Odisha government, launched the ‘Sujal-Drink from Tap Mission’ in the state’s capital, Bhubaneswar and Masani Chandi in Puri to provide quality drinking water which would be suitable for consumption from the tap.

  • With this initiative, Odisha has become “the first state in the country to provide quality drinking water, fit for direct consumption, in urban areas.”
  • ₹1300 crore will be spent by the state government to provide tap quality water to over 15 lakh people in 15 towns in a phased manner.

AICTE constitutes panel for engineers Bill
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal has informed that the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has constituted a committee for preparing the Professional Engineers Bill.

  • The committee will function under the chairmanship of M.S. Ananth, former director, IIT Mardas.

Government sets up a panel of secretaries to streamline telecom spectrum allocation
The government has constituted a panel of secretaries under cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba to streamline the spectrum allocation process and examine the possibility of drawing up an annual calendar for auction of airwaves that will give telcos a clear road map of the quantum as well as the frequency of spectrum on offer for commercial use.

  • Besides cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba, the Panel also constitutes the secretaries of house, defence, railways, telecom, I&B and division of the house.
  • The immediate and initial task for the panel is to resolve a tussle between the telecom department and Department of Space on 5G spectrum in the 26 GHz band.

Delhi CM Kejriwal launches ‘Red light On, Gaadi off’ campaign to curb air pollution
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a new anti-pollution campaign under which people will be encouraged to switch engines of their vehicles off while waiting at traffic signals.

  • The ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign will aim to bring a behavioural change in that regard. It will help reduce air pollution.


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

New Zealand passport most powerful, India ranked 58 in Global Passport Index
New Zealand has knocked off Japan for the strongest passport in the world according to the latest Global Passport Index compiled by global financial advisory firm Arton Capital.

  • The US passport ranked 21 and India, 58. The passport index lists the power of passports in terms of real-time, visa restrictions, factoring in legislative changes, and entry requirements.
  • The index, which compares the access granted by the passports of 193 United Nations member countries.


BANKING & FINANCE

IKEA partners Mastercard, Citi to launch Family Credit Card
Citibank India (Citi) and Mastercard jointly announced the launch of ”IKEA Family Credit Card by Citi’‘ to make shopping at the Swedish furnishing company more affordable, convenient and rewarding.

  •  The card provides instant in-store card bookings, direct payments via Bharat QR, accelerated reward points and attractive EMIs and would also offer reward points on all purchases with instant reward redemption at IKEA.
  • The card is available to IKEA family members at ”zero joining fee and zero annual fee’‘ and can be used for purchases made on IKEAs online and offline stores, or anywhere in the world that accepts credit cards.

EarlySalary launches ”Salary Card” powered by RuPay to meet the Rising Demand for Digital Credit
EarlySalary, India’s largest consumer lending platform, announced the launch of ‘Salary Card’ a zero-touch digital card that provides instant access for salaried professionals, enabling them to make instant purchases across thousands of merchants across India.

  • Powered by RuPay, the Salary Card comes with a unique feature that allows consumers the flexibility of setting up a dynamic credit limit to suit that shopping, medical, travel, entertainment and other needs.
  • The ‘Salary Card’ backed by advanced Machine Learning (ML) technologies and risk-oriented decision making mechanisms, is designed to serve as a secure payment mode to help consumers spend responsibly.


BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Centre notifies DG Shipping as the National Authority for Ship Recycling
The Centre notified the directorate general of shipping as the National authority for recycling of ships, as it moves closer to aligning India with an international convention for safe recycling of ships.

  • As an apex body, DG Shipping is authorized to administer, supervise and monitor all activities relating to ship recycling in the country.
  • DG Shipping will also be the final authority for the various approvals required by the ship-recycling yard owners and state governments.
  • The notification was issued under the section 3 of the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019.


APPOINTMENTS

Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbai Jeenbekov resigns 
The president of the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan, Sooronbai Jeenbekov resigned after 10 days of unrest sparked by disputed parliamentary elections.

  • The 61-year-old becomes the third president of the small Central Asian state to be toppled in a popular uprising since 2005. Kyrgyzstan has been in turmoil since the Oct. 4 parliamentary election, which the opposition rejected after Jeenbekov’s allies were declared the winners.
  • He has served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 2017 to 2020. He was also the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from April 2016 to August 2017.

Dita named ambassador for Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020
Romania’s 2008 Olympic champion Constantina Dita has been named an ambassador for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships to be held in Gdynia.

  • Dita competed at eight editions of the World Half Marathon Championships and earned seven medals in the process, making her one of the most successful athletes in the history of the event. Her double victory in Edmonton in 2005, taking individual and team gold medals, remains one of the highlights of her career.

NTPC CMD Gurdeep Singh’s term extended till July 2025
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has extended the tenure of state run NTPC Ltd chairman and managing director, Gurdeep Singh till 31 July 2025. 

  • This extension makes him one of the longest serving chief at India’s largest power generation utility
  • Singh’s extension comes in the backdrop of NTPC’s pivot towards green energy.


AWARDS

Bank of Ghana wins 2020 Central bank of the year award
The Republic of Ghana’s central bank Bank of Ghana has won the 2020 Central bank of the year award.

  • Apart from this, Economist Mark Joseph Carney, Governor of the central bank of the United Kingdom Bank of England, has won the 2020 Governor of the year at the Central bank of the year award .
  • Central Banking Awards is held annually to recognize excellence in the central banking community. This was the 7th edition of the award and the ceremony was held virtually.


SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Three Tamil Nadu students made nano-satellite, to be launched by NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has chosen an indigenous experimental satellite developed by three students from Tamil Nadu for launch in suborbital space.

  • The three students are mentored and guided by Chennai-based Space Kids India.They hail from pockets in Tamil Nadu – M Adnaan of Thanthonrimalai, M Kesavan of Nagampalli village near Malaikovilur and V Arun of Thennilai.
  • They gained this opportunity as they bagged the Cubes in Space competition, a global competitive programme for aspiring space scientists by Idoodledu Inc in association with NASA.


OBITUARIES

Renowned cricket commentator and sports writer Kishore Bhimani passes away
Veteran sports journalist, writer and commentator Kishore Bhimani passed away after contacting COVID-19. He was 80.

  • Bhimani joined The Statesman in 1964 and rose to become its sports editor.He influenced a new trend in sports writing with his unique style and approach.
  • He was also a famous voice in cricket commentary in the 1980s and 90s and worked both for All India Radio and Doordarshan.
  • Bhimani penned several books, including one on India’s tour of West Indies in 1976 titled India’s Caribbean Adventure. But what earned him fame was his non-sports fiction ‘The Accidental Godman.’

India’s first Oscar winner Bhanu Athaiya passes away
Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, India’s first Oscar winner, died at her home after prolonged illness. She was 91.

  • Ms. Athaiya began her career as a costume designer in Hindi cinema with Guru Dutt’s 1956 superhit “C.I.D.”. She went on to work in over 100 films.
  • He won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi , with Ben Kingsley as the Mahatma, along with John Mollo. The lavish biopic of Mahatma Gandhi swept the Oscars with eight awards.

Music composer Rajan passes away
Music composer Rajan of the famous Rajan-Nagendra duo, passed away at his residence in Bengaluru. He was 85.

  • Hailing from Mysuru, brothers Rajan and Nagendra debuted as music directors in 1952 with the Kannada film Soubhagya Lakshmi, and went on to have a very successful career for nearly four decades. They composed music for over 375 films, over 200 in Kannada and the rest in Telugu, Tamil, Tulu and Sinhala.
  • The brothers were fondly referred to as Kalyanji-Anandji of Kannada cinema


IMPORTANT DAYS

World Food Day
United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) marked October 16 of every year as World Food Day.

  • The day is earmarked to spread awareness about food security.
  • In light of the current pandemic this year, the day will be celebrated with the theme – “Grow, nourish, sustain. Together. Our actions are our future.”

International E-Waste Day
International E-Waste Day observed every year on October 14 since 2018.

  • The day was developed by the WEEE Forum in order to raise the public profile of e-waste recycling and encourage consumers to recycle their e-waste with the resulting increase in e-waste recycling rates on the day itself and into the future.
  • The WEEE Forum members have decided to focus the celebration on International E-Waste Day 2020 on the theme of education.

Global Handwashing Day
Global Handwashing Day occurs on 15 October of each year to highlights the importance of handwashing with soap and water at home, in the community, and around the world.

  • This year’s theme, “Hand Hygiene for All,” seeks to raise awareness of making soap and water available globally, especially in public places, schools, and health care facilities


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One Thought to “Daily Current Affairs 16th October, 2020”

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