Daily Current Affairs 31 October for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.
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NATIONAL NEWS
India gives ‘Letter of Request’ to France for buying 26 Rafale-M fighter jets for Navy
In a significant development, India has given the Letter of Request to the French government for the procurement of 26 Rafale Marine fighter aircraft for the Indian Navy under a government-to-government deal.
- The Letter of Request has been delivered to the French government a few days back and they are expected to decide on the Indian request and respond in the near future, top defence sources told.
- The LoR is like a tender document in which the Indian government has specified all its requirements and capabilities that it would want to have in the Rafale Marine aircraft being acquired for the aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
IMF projects global growth to slow to 2.9% in 2024 amid economic slowdown
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released its latest economic projections, stating that global growth is expected to remain at 3 percent in 2023 and further decline to 2.9 percent in 2024. This marks one of the lowest growth rates in decades.
- According to the IMF’s “Navigating Global Divergences” report for October 2023, substantial economic recovery on a global scale faces significant challenges. The baseline forecast indicates a slowdown in global growth from 3.5 percent in 2022, to 3 percent in 2023, and 2.9 percent in 2024, falling below the historical average of 3.8 percent recorded between 2000 and 2019.
- Advanced economies are also expected to experience a decline, dropping from 2.6 percent growth in 2022 to 1.5 percent in 2023 and 1.4 percent in 2024. This is attributed to policy tightening aimed at curbing inflation.
Ola, Uber and Dunzo among worst platforms for gig workers, bigbasket tops fair work norms list
Ride hailing platform Ola and tech-enabled logistics company Porter scored zero in fair work standards for gig workers on a scale of 0-10, according to Fairwork India report 2023. bigbasket topped the list with six points.
- The ‘Fairwork India 2023’ report, spearheaded by the Centre for IT and Public Policy (CITAPP) at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B), in association with Oxford University, examined Amazon Flex, bigbasket, BluSmart, Dunzo, Flipkart, Ola, Porter, Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company, Zepto and Zomato for the survey.
- Fairwork India interviewed workers from 12 platforms in four cities — Bengaluru, Delhi, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram — for minimum standards of fair work in the platform economy. The agency examined the working conditions of platform workers on digital labour platforms in India.
SPORTS
National Games: Jyothi Yarraji clinches 100m hurdles gold in record time
Hangzhou Asian Games silver medallist Jyothi Yarraji smashed the National Games records to won the gold medals in 100m in athletics competitions.
- At the 37th National Games here, Jyothi finished the race in 13.22s to improve upon her own mark, while Tejas, who had clocked 13.80s to rewrite the Games record in the morning, improved his timing further by winning the final in 13.71s.
- Maharashtra are leading the medals tally with 47 gold, 34 silver and 33 bronze followed by Haryana with 18 gold, 15 silver and 17 bronze.
Kashmiri youth Zahid Hussain shines with silver at Asian Shooting Championship
Zahid Hussain, hailing from Anantnag, achieved a remarkable feat by securing the silver medal at the prestigious Asian Shooting Championship held in South Korea.
- Anisha Sharma secured bronze, while Sheetal Devi from Kishtwar district in Jammu province won three medals, including two gold and bronze, at the Asian Para Games 2023.
- Meanwhile, Sheetal Devi once again won the Asian Para Games 2023. She won the gold medal in the women’s individual compound archery competition in Hangzhou. Along with this, she also bagged one gold and silver medals in other categories.
- This event offers a total of 24 Olympic quotas, with the top two finishers from each country in the 12 Olympic shooting events securing spots for their national teams.
APPOINTMENTS
Standard Chartered Bank appoints Zuzar Tinwalla as CTOO
Standard Chartered Bank announced the appointment of Zuzar Tinwalla as its Chief Technology and Operations Officer (CTOO) for operations in India and South Asia region.
- Tinwalla, who has been working with the bank for the last 26 years, was Standard Chartered Chief Operating Officer (COO).
AWARDS
Lionel Messi wins record eighth Ballon d’Or for best player in the world
Argentina captain Lionel Messi won a record eighth Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world, beating Norway’s UEFA player of the year and treble winner Erling Haaland of Manchester City to the prestigious prize.
- Inter Miami’s Messi, who last won the award in 2021, played a pivotal role in guiding Argentina to their first World Cup title in 36 years when they beat defending champions France in the final last year.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) To Launch Its Own Satellite
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), under the department of space, government of India, has approved Aligarh Muslim University’s (AMU) proposal for development of the varsity’s first satellite, to be named after its founder Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. The satellite is tentatively scheduled to be launched in 6 months.
- The SS AMU SAT is a nano satellite project which began in November 2021 under AMU Robo Club. It is a 3U CubeSat with multiple objectives, including the study of economic growth in India’s poorest districts using satellite imagery and implementation of an in-house developed image compression technology for a faster multimedia transmission.
- In addition to these, the satellite will test various sub-systems that have been built in-house,” said project head Prof Ekram Khan, chairman, department of electronics engineering. A 3U CubeSat is a standardised and relatively small satellite used for various purposes, including research, technology demonstration, and earth observation.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
PM Modi releases three books at Tulsi Peeth in Chitrakoot
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tulsi Peeth in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh. During the function, he released three books, namely Ashtadhyayi Bhashya, Ramanandacharya Charitam and Bhagwan Shri Krishna ki Rashtraleela.
- During the visit, the PM also visited Shri Ram Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya and paid tribute to the ‘samadhi’ of industrialist late Arvind Bhai Mafatlal.