Saturday 31 October 2020

Current Affairs October- 30

BITA  

(Banking Institude & TNPSC  Academy)      

                  Current Affairs October- 30                  

International News

1. Japan to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050

 ·   Aapanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga has stated that the country will achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.

 ·         The Prime Minister stated he intends to make a sustainable economy a pillar of his growth strategy and put maximum effort into achieving a green society. 

·         Suga emphasized the need to shift away from fossil fuels to counter climate change as an opportunity rather than a burden. As per Japan’s current energy plan, 56 per cent of its energy requirements come from fossil fuels.

2. Yashvardhan K. Sinha appointed as new Chief Information Commissioner

  • Government of India has approved the name of Former Foreign Service officer, Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha as the new Chief Information Commissioner.
  • He was already the Information Commissioner and was also the most senior. The post of CIC chairman had been vacant for several months after Bimal Zulka retired.
  • A Marathi journalist, Uday Mahurkar has been selected for the post of Information Commissioner. Uday Mahurkar worked as a deputy editor in India Today Group and is considered close to the Sangh Parivar.
  • Uday Mahurkar has also written a book on Prime Minister Modi titled “Merging with a Billion” and “Center Stage: Inside Narendra Modi”.

3. Microsoft & NSDC tie-up to empower 1 lakh women with digital skills

  • Microsoft has collaborated with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to impart digital skills to more than one lakh underserved women in India over the next ten months.
  • This initiative is an extension of Microsoft’s partnership with NSDC to provide digital skills to over 1 lakh youth in the country.
  • The programme will curate a series of live training sessions and digital skilling drives to help create opportunities for young girls and women, particularly first-time job seekers and those whose jobs may have been impacted by Covid-19, to join the future workforce
  • 4. IIT Kanpur, ASI sign MoU with Italian institutes for restoration of monuments

·      The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) and the Archaeological Survey of India have signed an agreement with two institutions from Italy, seeking restoration and protection of historical monuments.

·         The MoU was signed among IIT-K, Ca’Foscari University of Venice, Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti E Paesaggio, Venice, on creating a network and sharing skills for restoration and protection of historical monuments.

·         All institutes have agreed to develop collaborative scientific study activities and sharing skills to restore and protect monuments on a reciprocal and equal basis.

·         All institutes shall seek to promote collaboration and activities in areas such as collaboration in scientific studies and skill sharing, the exchange of knowledge, experience, academic materials and publications, conducting workshops, undertaking joint field studies and technology development.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams: 

·         Archaeological Survey of India Director-General: V. Vidyavathi.

·         Archaeological Survey of India Headquarters: New Delhi.

Business News

5. BharatPe launches digital gold on its platform

·         A leading merchant payment network, BharatPe has announced the launch of digital gold on its platform.

·         The launch of this new category of fintech product is in line with the company’s commitment to offering the entire gamut of financial products to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

·         BharatPe’s merchants will be able to buy and sell 99.5 per cent pure 24-carat gold. Merchants can choose to buy in rupees or grams, any time of the day and from anywhere, by using the BharatPe app.

·         To facilitate this, BharatPe has also partnered with Safegold, a digital platform that allows customers to buy, sell and receive vaulted gold.

·         SafeGold has appointed IDBI Trusteeship Services to protect the interest of merchants with regard to their gold purchases.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

·         Chief Executive Officer of BharatPe: Ashneer Grover.

·         BharatPe Founded: 2018.

Award News

6. Anzar Mustaeen Ali wins special prize in Global Art Competition

·         A six-year-old Bangladeshi boy, Anzar Mustaeen Ali won a special prize of USD 1000 for his artwork in the global art competition organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR).

·         The ICCR had launched a global painting competition named ‘United Against CORONA- Express through Art’ which attracted 8000 artwork entries from around the world. After the first round of competition 210 artworks were shortlisted.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

·         ICCR President: Vinay Sahasrabuddhe

·         ICCR Headquarters: New Delhi

  ·         ICCR Director General: Shri Dinesh. K. Patnaik

Defence News

7. Indian Army launches indigenous mobile application SAI

  • The Indian Army has launched a secured messaging application platform named ‘Secure Application for the Internet’ (SAI).
  • This mobile application for Android will support end-to-end secure voice, text and video calling services. This application is similar to applications like Telegram and WhatsApp.
  • SAI has been vetted by CERT-in empanelled auditor and Army Cyber Group. It also informed that the process for filing Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) hosting the infrastructure on NIC and working on iOS platform is currently in progress.
  • Ministry of Defence also informed that SAI will be used by pan Army to ensure securing messaging.
  • Upon reviewing the functionalities of the application, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised Col Sai Shankar for his skill and ingenuity for developing the application.

Science and Technology

8. NASA’s SOFIA discovers water on Sunlit Surface of Moon

·         Two new studies published in Nature Astronomy suggest there could be much more water than previously thought, including ice stored in permanently shadowed “cold traps” at lunar polar regions.

·         Using data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Airborne Telescope, researchers scanned the lunar surface at a more precise wavelength than had been used before — six microns instead of three. This allowed them to distinguish the spectral fingerprint of molecular water.

·         Previous research has found indications of water by scanning the surface, but these were unable to distinguish between water (H2O) and hydroxyl, a molecule made up of one hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom. But a new study provides further chemical proof that the Moon holds molecular water, even in sunlit areas.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams: 

·         The administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Jim Bridenstine.

·         Headquarters of NASA: Washington D.C., United States.

Obituaries

9. Award-winning author and editor Daniel Menaker passes away

·         Daniel Menaker, an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction and a longtime editor at The New Yorker and Random House who worked with Alice Munro, Salman Rushdie, Colum McCann and many others, passed away.

·         Daniel Menaker was the author of several books, including the memoir My Mistake and the comic psychological novel The Treatment, adapted into a 2007 movie starring Chris Eigeman and Ian Holm. He was also known for the O Henry Award-winning title story of his collection The Old Left.

Miscellaneous

10. Plastic Premier League tournament to be played in Indore

·         A unique Plastic Premier League (PPL) tournament is being played in Indore, Madhya    Pradesh to free the city from single-use plastic. Indore is known for its innovative efforts regarding cleanliness.

·         Indore has been awarded as the cleanest city in the country four times so far.

·         Four teams have been formed for the Plastic Premier League competition.

·         The 19 zones of Indore Municipal Corporation are divided into these four teams.

·         For the competition, the team captain Radio Jockey will encourage citizens to donate more  and more plastic from their radio station.

·      These teams have been provided by municipal workers and five vehicles to collect plastic.

·     The team that collects the most single-use plastics in this 45-day competition will be awarded the PPL Trophy.

             Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

·         Madhya Pradesh Capital: Bhopal.

·         Madhya Pradesh Governor: Anandiben Patel(additional charge).

·         Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

 

 

 

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