Daily Current Affairs 20th October, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 20 October 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Agri Minister launches Rs 10,000 Cr Ayushman Sahakar Fund
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme which has been formulated by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).

  • NCDC’s Ayushman Sahakar scheme aims at bringing transformation in the health services primarily in the rural areas. The scheme also provides working capital and margin money to meet operational requirements of the health facilities. It provides interest subvention of one percent to women majority cooperatives.
  • Mr. Tomar announced that NCDC would extend term loans to prospective cooperatives to the tune of 10 thousand crore in the coming years.

UP Governor launches Safe City Project, a women’s safety campaign, in Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel launched the ‘Safe City Project’, a 180-day-long campaign under which the police and other departments will work towards safety of women in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

  • The Governor flagged off 100 pink scooties and 10 four-wheeler police vehicles. These vehicles have first-aid kit, flashlights and other facilities. The women personnel will combat crimes against women, which will make them feel secured.
  • Lucknow is among eight cities in the country selected for the ‘Safe City Project’. The central government has approved the project for Lucknow at a total cost of Rs 194 crore with an aim to strengthen security of women in public places. The cost of the projects is shared between the Centre and the state in 60:40 ratio. 

Kati Bihu celebrated in Assam
Locals in Bongaigaon celebrated the Kati Bihu festival in Assam. Kati Bihu is celebrated on the first day of ‘Kati’ month in Assamese calendar.

  • Kati Bihu marks an important day for the Assamese people as they celebrate it by lighting up their homes and agricultural fields. People perform cultural dances and organise feasts.

NITI Aayog to establish Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Centre with AWS
The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) said that it had established a Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center (CIC) with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help address societal challenges through digital innovation.

  • This is the first AWS Cloud Innovation Center in India, the 12th around the world, and the first AWS Center that will address societal challenges at a national level.
  • The AWS Cloud Innovation Centers Global Program works with government agencies, academic institutions and non-profits to apply design thinking methodology to test new ideas and collaborate on challenge.

Nitin Gadkari lays foundation stone for country’s first-ever multi-modal logistic park in Assam
The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for India’s first-ever multi-modal logistic park in Assam.

  • The multi-modal logistic park will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 700 crores at Bongaigaon district. The park has been developed under the Bharatmala Pariyojana of the Central Government.
  • The park will be providing employment to 20 lakh people. The park will also provide direct connectivity to air, rail, road, and waterways to the citizens of Assam and other parts of the North East.


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Australia to join Malabar Naval exercise with India, US and Japan
Australia will join Malabar naval exercise involving India, US and Japan.

  • The Malabar drill is a milestone opportunity for the Australian Defence Force. The exercise showcases the deep trust between four major Indo-Pacific democracies and their shared will to work together on common security interests.
  • The Annual Naval Exercise Malabar-2020 is expected to be held in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea later this year. This year, the exercise has been planned on a ‘non-contact-at sea’ format.

India hosts 7th meeting of Ministers of Justice of SCO
The 7th meeting of Ministers of (Law and) Justice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States was virtually hosted by Indian Minister of Law & Justice, Communication and Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad.

  • The Indian side urged the SCO Member States to promote the exchange of ideas, best practices and experiences in identified areas through the platform.
  • The virtual meeting was attended by justice ministers from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Singapore becomes first country to use Facial Recognition to pay taxes
In  Singapore, online government services can now be accessed by facial recognition — a world first.

  • This technology is being rolled out to the city-state’s SingPass digital identity scheme, offering access to no less than 400 online services, including tax declarations and public housing applications.
  • This new operate, dubbed SingPass Face Verification, lets customers join securely to authorities web sites, in addition to on-line companies on personal web sites. The operate is designed to work by way of dwelling computer systems, tablets and cell telephones, in addition to at public kiosks.

Indian spends 3.5% of average daily income on food, New Yorker 0.6%: UN report
On an average an Indian spends 3.5% of his/ her daily income for a plate of food as compared to 0.6% by a New Yorker, according to the “Cost of a Plate of Food” report released by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP).

  • As per the report, the most expensive plate of food is of South Sudan where people on average would have to spend 186% of their daily salary on basic ingredients.
  •  In the list that features 36 countries across the globe, India stands at 28th position as per the percentage of money, people would pay on a plate of food compared to their salaries.


BANKING & FINANCE

Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance launches Invest 4G plan with multiple saving options, protection cover
Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance has launched a new Unit Linked insurance plan (Ulip) titled ‘Invest 4G’.

  • It is an individual life insurance savings plan which can be customized as per the goals and changing requirements of the individual.
  • New “Invest4G” offers three options to the individuals: Life Option, Care Option and Century Option. Life option ensures financial protection to a family in case of the customer’s unfortunate demise. Care Option provides life coverage along with Premium Funding Benefit and Century Option is a whole life option available for the policyholder till the age of 100 years.

GOI, ADB inks 177 million dollar loan pact to upgrade 450 kms of state highways & major district roads in Maharashtra
Asian Development Bank, ADB and Government of India signed a 177-million dollar loan to upgrade 450 kilometres of state highways and major district roads in Maharashtra.

  • The feature of the project is to road maintenance system by encouraging 5-year performance-based maintenance obligations to contractors to sustain asset quality and service levels.
  • Overall the project will upgrade two major district roads and 11 state highways, with combined length of 450 km, to two-lane standard across seven districts of Maharashtra and improve connectivity to national highways, interstate roads, seaports, airports, rail hubs, district headquarters, industrial areas, enterprise clusters and agricultural areas.

Stellapps launches ‘mooPay’ for dairy farmers in Rajasthan
The IIT-Madras incubated dairy-tech startup and World Economic Forum’s technology pioneer, Stellapps, launched announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind, fully-automated direct payment platform ‘mooPay’ for dairy farmers in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan.

  • mooPay acts as a payment gateway for dairies to make payments to every registered farmer, removing the risks and costs of transferring money to hundreds of thousands of farmers in hundreds of villages.
  • mooPay enables dairy officials to transfer milk payments digitally to member farmers from the dairies’ existing bank account to farmers’ savings bank account.


BUSINESS & ECONOMY

FSSAI’s new food safety compliance platform to become operational across India from Nov
Food regulator FSSAI said its Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) will become operational in the entire country from November 1, 2020. 

  • FoSCoS is conceptualized to provide one point stop for all engagement of a food business operator (FBO) with the department for any regulatory compliance transaction.
  • The system is operational in nine States/UTs -Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Odisha, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur, Puducherry and Ladakh since June.


AWARDS

ISA Confers the Very First ISA Solar Awards 
For the first time since the inception of the framework agreement of ISA, Solar Awards were conferred on countries of the region as well as institutions working for solar.

  • The awards went to Japan for the Asia Pacific region and the Netherlands for Europe and other regions.
  • The awards named after Bharat Ratna M. Visvesvaraya to the representatives of the countries of Japan, and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The winners received USD 12,330 prize money.
  • Kalpana Chawla awards received by Dr Bhim Singh from IIT Delhi (India) and Dr Aaesha Alnuaimi from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (United Arab Emirates).
  • Diwakar award won by the Arpan Institute (Haryana) and Arushi Society.


OBITUARIES

Veteran Bengali Vocal Artiste Pradip Ghosh passes away
Noted Bengali elocutionist Pradip Ghosh passed away at his Jodhpur Park residence. He was 78.

  • Ghosh was a prominent recitor and renowned vocal artist, who was well-known for his inimitable style of recitation. His most notable works included his recitation of Tagore’s poems, especially those for children.


IMPORTANT DAYS

World Trauma Day
Every year, 17th October is celebrated as World Trauma Day. 

  • This day highlights the increasing rate of accidents and injuries causing death and disability across the world and the need to prevent them.

World Osteoporosis Day
World Osteoporosis Day is observed annually on October 20th, and launches a year-long campaign dedicated to raising global awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease.

  • In 2020 the Global WOD Campaign theme is “THAT’S OSTEOPOROSIS”, highlighting emotionally impactful visuals and stories of real people living with osteoporosis in all regions of the world.

World Statistics Day
Every five years, October 20 is celebrated as World Statistics Day across the globe. The day intends to emphasise the importance of data authenticity and credibility

  • The theme this year for World Statistics Day is ‘connecting the world with data we can trust.’


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One Thought to “Daily Current Affairs 20th October, 2020”

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