7th October 2020 Current Affairs
EXAMSDAILY
National Affairs
COVID 19 Digital platform – To track vaccine administration
Digital platform is being built to track COVID-19 vaccine administration and movement, from procurement to storage to distribution to individual beneficiaries and that online training modules are being developed for vaccinators. This was announced by Rajesh Bhushan, secretary, ministry of health and family welfare.
- India’s COVID-19 recoveries have crossed 56 lakhs, with a recovery rate exceeding 84%
- More than 8 crore COVID tests have been conducted so far, of which 80 lakh tests were done in the last week
About Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:
- Union Minister: Harsh Vardhan
- Minister of State: Ashwini Kumar Choubey
Government approves 10 PLI projects of Rs 10.5 trillion in electronics manufacturing sector. The Government of India gives nod to 16 proposals under Make in India and Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan schemes in the electronics manufacturing sector.
- The projects are likely to bring Rs 11,000 crores of investments in the local electronics manufacturing sector.
- This will raise the production in the sector to Rs 10.5 trillion in the next five years.
Five proposals from Indian producers:
- Micromax
- Lava
- Padget Electronics
- UTL Neolyncs
- Optiemus Electronics
These 5 firms are estimated to have a possible to fabricate Rs 1.25 trillion price of handsets in the following 5 years.
Indian Railway presented “Man of the Month” safety awards
South Central Railway which is one of the 18 zones of Indian Railways has presented Man of the Month safety awards to its employees. Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, South Central Railway presented these Man of the Month awards. The award function is conducted virtually through video conferencing.
- South Central Railway conferred “Man of the Month” safety awards to 45 employees for taking timely action to prevent unsafe conditions.
About South Central Railway:
- Jurisdiction: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh
- Subsidiary: Hyderabad railway division
API integration between PM SVANidhi and SBI portal launched by Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra
Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra initiated the Application Programming Interface (API), integration between the PM SVANidhi Portal and the State Bank of India (SBI) portal to ease processing of loan applications.
- This integration will ease seamless flow of data between the PM SVANidhi Portal and SBI’s e-Mudra Portal in a secure environment and expedite the loan sanctioning and disbursement process, which will benefit the street vendors seeking working capital loan under the scheme
About SBI:
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Founded: 1 July 1955
Webinar on Citizen’s Duties for School Children Organised by Justice Department & Atal Innovation Mission
Department of Justice, Which is under Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, in association with Atal Innovation Mission under Niti Ayog conducted a Webinar on “Citizens’ Duties for School Children: Strive for Excellence, Develop Scientific Temper and Utilize Opportunities for Education”.
- Department of Justice in collaboration with CSC e-Gov is also undertaking Citizens’ Duties Awareness Programme in 1000 Digital Villages in 16 States on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. Under this initiative, programmes were conducted in 647 Common Service Centres (CSCs) in which nearly 12000 citizens participated.
28th Anniversary of Rapid Action Force
The Rapid Action Force (RAF), which is a specialized force, was established in October 1992 initially with 10 unattached battalions and increased with five more units on 1st January, 2018.
- The Rapid Action Force is a specialised wing of the Central Reserve Police Force of India to deal with riot and crowd control situations.
About RAF:
- Governing body: Ministry of Home Affairs (India)
- Headquarters: New Delhi, India
International Affairs
Quad 2020 – India, Japan hold strategic dialogue to expand association third countries
Union External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar conducted a bilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Tokyo after Quad ministerial meeting.
- During the 13th India-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue, progress made in India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership was reviewed.
- Discussions were also held on maritime security, trade and investment, manufacturing, skill development, connectivity and infrastructure, health and wellness, Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative and UN Reforms.
About Ministry of External Affairs:
- Union Minister: Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
About Japan:
- Capital: Tokyo
- Currency: Japanese yen
- Prime minister: Yoshihide Suga
State Affairs
Goa Chief Minister initiates “DISHTAVO” Platform for Online E-Learning
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant launched ‘DISHTAVO’ which is online platform for holistic teaching and virtual orientation for higher education.
- This platform has an objective to create online E-Content in form of video lectures of syllabus for colleges affiliated to Goa University.
About Goa:
- Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
- Capital: Panaji (Executive Branch)
- Chief Minister: Pramod Sawant
Naugarh Railway Station of Uttar Pradesh renamed to Siddharthnagar Railway Station; Union Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated
Union Minister of Commerce, Piyush Goyal inaugurated the renaming of 115 year old Naugarh Railway Station of Uttar Pradesh to Siddharthnagar Railway Station Virtually through Video Conferencing.
- In the vent, MP Jagadambika Pal and railway officials were also present.
About Uttar Pradesh:
- Governor: Anandiben Patel
- Capital: Lucknow
- Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
Awards & Honors
Nobel Prize 2020 in Chemistry Announced – Winners List
Nobel Prize in chemistry for the year 2020 is announced. The Prize was declared by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for the Nobel Prize. Earlier, the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine and Physics are announced by the Academy.
Nobel Prize 2020 in Chemistry Winners:
- Emmanuelle Charpentier
- Jennifer A. Doudna
Achievements:
- Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna have discovered one of gene technology’s sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors.
- Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision.
- This technology has had a revolutionary impact on the life sciences, is contributing to new cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true.
Banking & Economy
SEBI introduces ‘very high risk category’ in risk-o-meter tool in mutual fund schemes
SEBI (The Securities and Exchange Board of India) which is the regulator of the securities and commodity market in India owned by the Government of India launched a new “very high risk” category on its Mutual Funds (MF) riskometer tool, to warn investors, investing in mutual fund schemes.
- Presently the mutual fund (MF) risk-o-meter has five categories which are low, moderately low, moderate, moderately high and high. It indicates the scheme’s risk level.
- The modified 6 categories Risk-o-meter will come into effect from 01 January 2021.
About SEBI:
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Agency executive: Ajay Tyagi (Chairperson)
ICICI Bank in collaboration with Visa introduced the Loan against Securities Debit Card
ICICI Bank in collaboration with Visa launched a Debit Card Facility for customers who use Loan against Securities (LAS) from the bank. Customers can use this facility on the Visa Platform.
- The card offers a maximum daily transaction limit of Rs. 3 lakh each for POS and online transactions.
- The bank provides a digital card to customers, which is made available on iMobile app within one business day.
About ICICI Bank:
- Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
- MD&CEO: Sandeep Bakshi
Science & Technology
Google India announces Make Small Strong Campaign for Small Businesses
Google India launched Make Small Strong Campaign to support small businesses and drive demand through customer support
- Google India Partnered with Zoho and Instamojo to help Small and Medium Businesses to build a Digital Presence.
- It has also collaborated with Dunzo and Swiggy to accelerate small businesses on boarding process.
About Google:
- Headquarters: California, US
- CEO: Sundar Pichai
Rankings & Reports
United Nations World Water Development Report 2020
United Nations which is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation released the World Water Development Report 2020 and PCRWR Groundwater Investigation and Mapping report.
- Floods could cost South Asia as much as US$215 billion each year by 2030
- Global floods and extreme rainfall events have increased by more than 50% this decade, and are now occurring at a rate four times higher than in 1980.
- Around 74% of all natural disasters between 2001 and 2018 were water-related and during the past 20 years.
About UN:
- Headquarters: New York, United States
- Founded: 24 October 1945
- Secretary General: Antonio Guterres
NCRB Report – Kolkata emerged as Safest City for Women in India
NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) which is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code and Special and Local Laws. The board has released the report ‘safest city for women’ in India report.
- As per NCRB Report, Out of the 19 metros in India, Kolkata has recorded the least number of sexual assault cases on women.
- Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Patna in Bihar are the two cities that recorded a lesser number of sexual assault cases.
- Uttar Pradesh (59,853) has the highest number of crimes against women cases, Maharashtra (37,144) ranks third after Rajasthan (41,550).
Appointments
Dinesh Kumar Khara appointed as new Chairman of SBI
State Bank of India (SBI) has appointed Dinesh Kumar Khara as its new Chairman. He has replaced Former SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar, whose three-year term comes to an end on 7 October 2020.
- Previously, Khara was in the post of Managing Director in the State Bank for a three-year term from August 2016.
- Currently, Dinesh Kumar Khara is the Managing Director (MD) in-charge of Global Banking & Subsidiaries.
- On August 28, Bank Board Bureau had recommended the appointment of Dinesh Kumar Khara to the post of chairman of SBI.
About SBI:
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Founded: 1 July 1955
IPS officer MA Ganapathy appointed Director General of BCAS by ACC
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) which decides appointments to several top posts under the Government of India has approved the appointment of M A Ganapathy to the post of Director General, BCAS
- He has a tenure up to his superannuation on February 29, 2024 or until further orders. He is a 1986 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.
- The post of BCAS chief fell vacant after Rakesh Asthana was appointed as the Director General of Border Security Force in August.
About BCAS:
- Founded: 1978.
- Headquarters: New Delhi.
Summits & Conference
Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) which is under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment facilitates empowerment of the persons with disabilities in collaboration with University of Melbourne, Australia is organizing an International Conference on ‘Mental Health – Looking beyond COVID 19’ virtually through Video Conferencing .
- The Conference will be inaugurated by Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Thaawarchand Gehlot.
- On the Conference the discussions will be held on mental health rehabilitation, particularly, in the context of situation arising out of COVID 19 pandemic.
About Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment:
- Union Minister: Thaawar Chand Gehlot
- Minister of State: Krishan Pal
Agreements
IFFCO and Prasar Bharati sign Agreement to showcase & promote agriculture technology
Prasar Bharati and Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) inked pact to showcase and promote new agriculture technology and innovations.
- Under this MoU DD Kisan will showcase innovative techniques that is being adopted in agriculture field in an easy language.
- Also these new agriculture techniques and their implementation should be explained to the farmers.
- It will also help to achieve the target of doubling the income of farmers by 2022.
About IFFCO:
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Founded: 1967
About Prasar Bharati:
- CEO: Shashi Shekhar Vempati
- Founded: 23 November 1997
Defence News
Indian Coast Guard Seventh Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘Vigraha’ launched to enhance coastal security
The Indian Coast Guard (IGC) which is an Armed Force, Search and Rescue and Maritime Law Enforcement agency launched Seventh Offshore Patrol Vessel named Vigraha. The vessel was constructed by Larsen and Toubro (L&T), is the last in the series of seven OPVs (offshore patrol vessel) contracted to the company by the Ministry of Defence in 2015.
- The 98-metre long ship has a displacement of 2100 tons, which is capable of achieving a top speed of 26 knots
- It has an endurance of 5000 nautical miles and has the ability to stay at sea for 20 days without replenishment.
- Vigraha, also known as Yard-45007, is expected to be inducted into the Indian Coast Guard in March 2021.
About L&T:
- CEO: S N Subrahmanyan
- Founded: 7 February 1938, Mumbai
- Headquarters: Mumbai
Obituaries
Afghanistan Cricketer Najeeb Tarakai dies in road accident
The Afghanistan batsman passed away in Road Accident. He played 12 T20Is and one ODI for Afghanistan. He made his international debut at the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Tarakai’s last appearance in competitive cricket came last month in the Shpageeza Premier League.
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