13th October Current Affairs

• Centre approved land pooling policy for Delhi
  • The government of India has approved a land pooling policy for Delhi.
  • The policy was approved by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) under the chairmanship of Lt Governor Anil Baijal in September 2018.
  • Under the policy, agencies will develop infrastructures like roads, schools, hospitals, community centres and stadia on part of the pooled land

  
• Over 900 prisoners get special remission
  • As part of the commemoration of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, over 900 prisoners have been released in the first phase of the Government’s scheme for grant of special remission to specific categories of prisoners.

  

  
  

  • The decision was taken by the Union Cabinet on July 18, 2018.
  • The prisoners will be released in three phases- October 2, 2018, April 6, 2019, and October 2, 2019.
• Silver Jubilee celebrations of NHRC began
  • Silver Jubilee celebrations of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) began on 12 October 2018.

  

  • The Commission will organize a ‘Human Rights Mela’ and ‘Human Rights Street Theatre Festival’.
  • NHRC is an autonomous public body responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights.
  • Retired Justice HL Dattu is the Chairperson of NHRC.
• Govt hiked import duty on electronic items
  • The government has increased basic customs duty on electronic and telecom equipment to 20% from the current 10%.
  • The items that will face customs duty hike include smartwatches, optical transport equipment and voice over internet protocol equipment.

  

  • The hike will come into effect on 12 October 2018.
  • Restricting imports is a part of the government’s strategy to arrest the rupee’s fall.
• World Arthritis Day observed on October 12
  • World Arthritis Day is observed on the 12th of October every year.
  • The theme of World Arthritis Day 2018 is “It’s in your hands, take action”.
  • World Arthritis Day was launched by the Arthritis Foundation.
  • The objective of the day is to spread awareness about arthritis, and how it affects the lives of those that suffer with it.
• India suffered economic loss due to disasters
  • The report titled ‘Economic Losses, Poverty and Disasters 1998-2017’ was released by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
  • According to the report, India suffered a $79.5 billion economic loss due to climate-related disasters in the last 20 years.

  

  
  

  • The greatest economic losses have been experienced by the US at $944.8 billion, followed by China, Japan, India and Puerto Rico.