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Top 20 Current Affairs of 15 October 2020
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Atal Innovation Mission, CGI India sign SOI to boost innovation in Schools
On October 13, 2020, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) with CGI India to promote innovation in schools.
i.CGI India will adopt 100 schools with Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai to promote and train students.
ii.CGI will conduct training workshops for teachers on design thinking, computational thinking, robotics and coding.
About Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)
Mission Director – Ramanan Ramanathan
Headquarters – New Delhi
<<Read Full News>>
PM Modi Released Rs.100 Coin to Honour Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia
On 12th October 2020, Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi released the new coin of Rs.100 denominations to honour the legacy of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia on the occasion of her birth centenary over a virtual event. She was born on 12th October 1919.
Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of Culture and the family members of Vijayaraje Scindia participated in the event.
About Vijayaraje Scindia:
i.Vijayaraje Scindia played a major role in inspiring a generation of Party Karyakartas through her courage, compassion and ideologies.
ii.She contributed to popularizing the Ram Janmabhoomi movement of BJP following the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.
iii.She served as a member of parliament from 1957 to 1967.
iv.She served as the vice president of BJP till she stepped down and quit electoral politics in 1998 due to health reasons.
v.She passed away in January 2001.
Books:
She penned her autobiography “The last Maharani of Gwalior” with the support of author Manohar Malgonkar.
Joint Anti Terrorist Exercise ‘Suraksha Kavach’ held between Army and Maharashtra Police
On October 9, 2020, a joint anti-terrorist exercise “Suraksha Kawach (security shield)” between Indian Army and Maharashtra Police at Lullanagar Pune (Maharashtra) was organized by Agnibaaz Division (41 Artillery Division) of Southern Command of the Indian Army, along with equipment display. It was carried out taking all safety norms of COVID-19.
- The aim of the exercise was to coordinate the drills and procedures of both Army and Police to counter any terrorist actions in Pune.
- The exercise involved the participation of Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs), Dog Squads, Bomb Disposal Teams of Army as well as Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and QRT of Maharashtra Police.
About Exercise:
As a part of exercise a scene regarding the presence of terrorists in family accommodations was built up.
- Traffic control on the nearby roads was jointly carried out by Maharashtra traffic police and Corps of Military Police Army.
- Joint action was carried out by Army’s Counter-Terrorism Task Force (CTTF) and QRT of Maharashtra Police to neutralize terrorists involving room intervention drill.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
ASEAN-India Track 1.5 Dialogue focuses on cyber security during COVID-19 pandemic
On October 13, 2020, The Second Edition of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-India Track 1.5 Dialogue took place virtually. The summit was organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in partnership with the External Affairs Ministry (EAM).
The summit held discussions on cooperation safety in the virtual and cyber area during the pandemic.
About ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations):
Members – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Chair – Vietnam (2020)
Headquarters – Jakarta, Indonesia
<<Read Full News>>
Sixth Session of India-Norway Joint Commission Meeting held virtually
i.On October 13, 2020, the 6th session of India-Norway Joint Commission was held virtually where Indian delegation was led by Union Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Norwegian delegation was led by Ms. Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide, Foreign Minister of Norway.
ii.It was held to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations and to expand it further to boost trade and investment ties.
iii.Both sides decided to hold the next round of Joint Commission Meeting in Oslo, Norway at a mutually convenient date.
About Norway:
Capital– Oslo
Currency– Krone
Prime Minister– Erna Solberg
<<Read Full News>>
India ranks 58th in the List of Arton Capital’s Passport Index 2020; New Zealand tops the Index
According to Arton Capital’s Passport Index 2020, India has been ranked 58th in the list of World’s Most Powerful Passports. New Zealand topped the list followed by Japan, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, South Korea and Australia in second place. About New Zealand: According to International Debt Statistics 2021 released by the World Bank Group, COVID-19 has deepened the Debt Crisis in Developing Countries. BANKING & FINANCE i.In accordance with the latest data of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), between 2015-16 and 2019-20, digital payments increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 55.1% from 593.61 crore in FY2015-16 to 3,434.56 crore in FY19-20. i.On October 14, 2020 EarlySalary in collaboration with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched ‘Salary Card’, a Zero-Touch Digital card. The Salary Card credit solution is powered by Rupay. ECONOMY & BUSINESS i.On October 13, 2020, International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO-October 2020), titled “A Long and Difficult Ascent” projected India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to contract 10.3% (i.e.-10.3 %) in comparison to June forecast of 4.5% amid COVID19. APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS i.On October 14, 2020, the Central Government has formulated a panel of secretaries under cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba to streamline the spectrum allocation process and examine the possibility of making the auction of spectrum an annual calendar event. The panel comprises the secretaries of home, defence, railways, telecom, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) and department of space. i.Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Union Minister of Education informed K. Somaprasad, Member of Parliament(MP) through letter, that All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has constituted a Committee to Prepare the Professional Engineers Bill. On 13th October the World Athletics named Constantina Dita, Romanian long-distance runner and the Champion of 2008 Beijing Olympics as the brand ambassador of World Athletics Half Marathon Championships 2020 which will be held on 17th October 2020 at Gdynia, Poland. ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS On October 14, 2020 The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given approval to the following acquisition, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY i.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) has chosen ‘India Sat’, an indigenous experimental satellite developed by 3 students from Tamil Nadu namely, M. Adnaan of Thanthonrimalai, M. Kesavan of Nagampalli and V. Arun of Thennilai for launch in suborbital space in June, next on NASA’s sounding rocket 7. SPORTS On October 13, 2020 The State Government of Odisha signed an Agreement with Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to sponsor the Indian National Rugby Team for a period of 3 years (till 2023). The agreement was signed at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. OBITUARY On 11th October 2020, Veteran Kannada Music Composer Rajan of the popular Rajan – Nagendra duo passed away at the age of 85 in his residence at Bengaluru, Karnataka.He was born in 1933, in Mysuru, Karnataka. On October 14, 2020 Renowned Kuchipudi dancer Padma Shri Shobha Naidu passed away at the age of 64 in a private hospital Hyderabad, Telangana. She was a disciple of the legendary guru Vempati Chinna Satyam. She was the Principal for Kuchipudi Art Academy, Hyderabad. She was born at Anakapalli in Visakhapatnam district in 1956. IMPORTANT DAYS i.World Standards Day or International Standards day is annually celebrated on October 14 by the members of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The Third International E-Waste Day was observed on 14th October, 2020. The day is observed to raise awareness about e-waste recycling and encourage consumers to recycle e-waste. It aims to sensitise the youth on E-waste. STATE NEWS i.On October 2, 2020 In an effort to address the pressing need of testing water at the doorstep, Manohar Lal, Chief Minister(CM) of Haryana launched a state-of-the-art Mobile Water Testing Laboratory Van, an innovative solution for Water testing of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED). i.On 13th October 2020, Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik virtually launched the “Sujal- Drink From Tap mission”, 1st of its kind initiative to enable a 24-hour supply of quality drinking water to all the urban areas of Odisha. AC GAZE Sixteen-Year Old Indian Chess Player Nihal Sarin emerged winner in Chess.com’s 2020 Junior Speed Online Chess Championship. He defeated Russia’s Alexey Sarana in the final. With this win, Sarin will qualify for the 2020 Speed Chess Championship Final which will feature the world’s best players. Nihal Sarin hails from Thrissur, Kerala. ******* Click Here View – AC Excluded News 2020 Current Affairs Today (AffairsCloud Today)
Country Rank (Based on Access to Number of Destinations) India (52 Destinations) 58 New Zealand (129 Destinations) 1 Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, Japan, South Korea, Australia (128 Destinations) 2 Sweden, Belgium, France, Finland, Italy, Spain (127 Destinations) 3 Afghanistan, Iraq (31 Destinations) 75 (Bottom of the rankings)
Prime Minister – Jacinda Ardern
Capital – Wellington
Currency – New Zealand Dollar (NZ $)
<<Read Full News>>Debt Crisis has increased in Developing Countries due to Pandemic : World Bank
The International Debt Statistics 2021 has been prepared by the Debt Statistics Team of Development Data Group (DECDG) at the World Bank.
i.The Top 10 Borrowers with largest end-2019 External Debt Stock are Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Thailand, Turkey and South Africa.
ii.According to the report, the total External Debt Stocks of India in 2019 was USD 560, 035 Billion.
About World Bank Group:
President- David R. Malpass
Headquarters- Washington, D.C., United States
<<Read Full News>>Digital payments increased in 5 years to 3,434.56 cr in FY20; RBI to Adopt NGTA for Managing Forex, Gold Reserves
ii.In absolute terms, this value has grown from Rs 920.38 lakh crore to Rs 1,623.05 lakh crore during this period at an annual compounded rate of 15.2%.
iii.As percent of card usage, they are being used increasingly for payments–from 20 per cent in FY16 to 45 per cent in FY20, with debit card turnover outpacing credit card values.
iv.RBI has decided to adopt Next Generation Treasury Application (NGTA) for managing India’s foreign exchange and gold reserves in order to improve its functioning.
Static points about Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
-It was established on the recommendation of the Hilton Young Commission.
-RBI is responsible only for printing the currency notes. Minting of coins is done by the Government of India.
-Dr. Manmohan Singh is the only Prime Minister to have also served as the Governor of RBI.
<<Read Full News>>EarlySalary in Collaboration with NPCI Launched ‘Salary Card’, a Zero-Touch Digital card Powered by RuPay
ii.The Salary card has a unique feature that enables the customers to set up a dynamic credit limit to suit their shopping, medical, travel, entertainment and other needs.
iii.Vivifi India Finance Private Limited (Vivifi) has launched FlexPay, which offers credit on Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
About EarlySalary:
Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Co-Founder– Akshay Mehrotra
HeadQuarters– Pune, Maharashtra
About National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI):
Managing Director(MD) & CEO– Dilip Asbe
Head Office– Mumbai, Maharashtra
<<Read Full News>>IMF Projected India’s GDP to contract 10.3% from 4.5% in FY21
ii.On the other hand for FY21-22 Indian economy is expecting a rebound of 8.8% growth rate higher than the 6% forecast earlier.
iii.On global front, the economy growth is downgraded to -4.4% as compared to 5.2% projected earlier.
iv.The global recovery in 2021 is projected to be at 5.2%. After 2021, global growth is expected to ease off at 3.5% in the medium term.
About International Monetary Fund (IMF):
Managing Director (MD)– Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva Kinova
Economic Counsellor and Research Department Director– Gita Gopinath
Headquarter– Washington, DC, United States of America (USA)
Members– 189 countries
<<Read Full News>>Government sets up Panel of Secretaries under Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba to Streamline Telecom Spectrum Allocation
ii.The decision regarding formulation of the panel has been made on the lines of telecom sector demand for the requirement of a clear road map for auctioning spectrum enabling them to plan and allocate resources efficiently.
iii.In the past 10 years, the government has auctioned spectrum six times viz. 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 but there is no clarity on the frequency of future airwaves sale.
About Ministry of Communication:
Union Minister– Ravi Shankar Prasad
Minister of State (MoS)– Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre
<<Read Full News>>AICTE Constituted a Committee Headed by M.S Ananth to Prepare the Professional Engineers Bill
ii.The committee is chaired by M.S. Ananth, Former Director of Indian Institute of Technology Madras(IIT-M).
About All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) :
Chairman– Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe
Headquarters– New Delhi
About Ministry of Education(MoE):
Union Minister– Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
Minister of State(MoS)– Sanjay Dhotre
<<Read Full News>>Olympic Champion Constantina Dita Named Brand Ambassador for World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020
About Constantina Dita:
i.Constantina Dita won the 2004 Chicago Marathon and came second in the 2005 Chicago Marathon (major City Marathons).
ii.She made her double victory (both individual and team gold) in the 2005 Edmonton.
iii.She also made into the podium position in 3 editions of the London Marathon.
iv.She is the founder and President of the annual Bucharest International 10 kilometers(Km).
v.She completed the 2019 Berlin and New York marathons in 3.07 and 3.30 respectively.
Note:
She earned 7 medals out of the 8 editions of World Half Marathon Championships in which she had competed.CCI Approves Acquisition of CG Power and Adani Green Energy Ten Ltd’s Solar Energy Generation Assets
i.Tube Investments of India Limited (TIIL)’s acquisition of more than 50% equity share capital of CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited(CG Power).
ii.Adani Green Energy Twenty-Three Ltd’s Acquisition of solar energy generation assets of Adani Green Energy Ten Limited.
Note- AGE23L will acquire 100% of the share capital of the targeted companies.
About Competition Commission of India (CCI):
Chairperson– Ashok Kumar Gupta
HeadQuarters– New Delhi, India
<<Read Full News>>NASA to Launch Nano Satellite, ‘India Sat’ Developed by 3 Tamil Nadu Students into Sub-orbit
ii.This satellite model has outnumbered many other satellites designed as part of the global competition conducted by the Cubes in Space, a programme of Idoodledu Inc in association with NASA.
About National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):
Administrator– James Frederick “Jim” Bridenstine(13th administrator)
Headquarters– Washington, United States of America
<<Read Full News>>Odisha, IRFU sign agreement to sponsor Indian National Rugby Team for 3 years
It was signed by R Vineel Krishna, Director of Sports & Youth Services Department, Odisha and Maneck Unwala, President of IRFU.
About Odisha:
Folk Dances – Gotipua, Chhau, Ghumura, Ranappa, Chaiti Ghoda, Sambalpuri
Festivals – Dola Purnima, Budi Thakurani Yatra, Magha Saptami, Chhau, Dhanu Yatra
<<Read Full News>>Veteran Kannada Music Composer Rajan Passed Away at 85
About Rajan:
i.Rajan debuted into the Kannada film industry as a music director along with his brother Nagendra through the film “Sowbhagya Lakshmi” in 1952.
ii.The duo were popularly known as the Kalyanji-Anandji of Kannada film music.
iii.For around 40 years (1952 to 1999) of this career as the Music Directors, they have composed music for around 375 films in Kannada, Telugu, Tulu, Tamil and Sinhala.
iv.Most of his songs were sung by SP Balasubramanyam and S.Janaki.
v.Some of his popular works include, Akashave beelali mele (Nyayave Devaru), Aakaashadinda Dharegilid(Chandanada Gombe) etc.
vi.After his retirement from composing music for films, Rajan started his classical music school “Sapta Swaranjal” in Bengaluru.
Awards:
The Rajan-Nagendra Duo won the Kannada State Awards for Best Music Director for Eradu Kanasu (1973-1974) and Parasangada Gendethimma (1978-1979).
Note:
Nagendara passed away in 2000 at the age of 65.Renowned Kuchipudi Dancer Padma Shri Shobha Naidu Passed Away at 64
About Shobha Naidu:
i.She was among the foremost Kuchipudi dancers of India.
ii.Her portraits of Satyabhama, Padmavathi and Chandalika, are her best roles.
iii.She has choreographed about 80 solo numbers and about 15 ballets.
iv.She has also trained over 1,500 students from India and overseas.
v.She had given stage performances in the countries namely US, UK, among others.
vi.She declined to enter the cinema field.
Awards & Honours
i.She has received the following awards, namely, Nritya Choodamani award(1982), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award(1991), Nritya Kala Siromani award(1996) from the Sri Krishna Gana Sabha of Madras, Late Sri N T Rama Rao award(1998), Padma Shri in 2001 for Art and Hamsa award by State Government of Andhra Pradesh among others.
ii.Visakha Music and Dance Academy (VMDA) honoured her with the title ‘Navarasa Natya Kalanidhi’ at Kalabharathi in 2013.
iii.She was awarded the title ‘Nritya Kala Siromani’ from the Nungambakkam cultural association.World Standards Day 2020: October 14
ii.It is celebrated as a way of paying tribute to the collaborative efforts of many experts globally, namely American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) who develop the voluntary technical agreements that are published as International Standards.
iii.Theme of World Standards Day 2020– “Protecting the planet with standards”.
About International Organization for Standardization (ISO):
HeadQuarters– Geneva, Switzerland
Members– 165, including India
President- Eddy Njoroge(Kenya)
<<Read Full News>>International E-Waste Day observed on 14th October 2020
i.International E-Waste Day has been observed since 2018 by WEEE (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment) Forum.
ii.This year the day will be observed on the Theme of Education.
About WEEE (Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment):
President of WEEE Forum – Jan Vlak
Headquarters – Brussels (Belgium)
<<Read Full News>>Haryana CM Manohar Lal Launches a State-of-the-Art Mobile Water Testing Laboratory Van
ii.Haryana CM also launched Swachhta Pakhwada in Panchkula. The state government has decided to celebrate “Swachhta Pakhwada” in all cities of the State from October 2, 2020 to October 17, 2020.
About Haryana:
Wildlife Sanctuary– Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary, Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhilchhila Wildlife Sanctuary, Nahar Wildlife Sanctuary, Abubshahar Wildlife Sanctuary
Zoological park– Mini Zoo Bhiwani, Rohtak Zoo, Mini Zoo Pipli
<<Read Full News>>Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Virtually Launched 1st of its kind mission ‘Sujal- Drink From Tap’ to Ensure Quality Drinking Water
ii.Odisha is set to become the first state to provide piped water connection to all urban areas of the state by March 2022.
iii.The Drink From Tap mission was launched in Salia Sahi, Bhubaneswar and Mas Chandi, Puri.
iv.The Drink from tap mission will be implemented phase wise and benefit all the parts of the state.
About Odisha:
Wildlife Sanctuary(WLS)– Nandankanan WLS, Kuldiha WLS, Kotagarh WLS, Chandaka-Dampara WLS, Balukhanda-Konark WLS, Baisipalli WLS, Bhitarkanika WLS, Karlapat WLS, Badrama WLS, Hadagarh WLS, Kapilash WLS.
Lakes of Odisha– Chilika Lake (2nd largest brackish water lagoon in the world), Ansupa Lake, Pata Lake, Kanjia Lake.
<<Read Full News>>Nihal Sarin emerges winner in Chess.com’s 2020 Junior Speed Online Championship
S.no Current Affairs 15 October 2020 1 Atal Innovation Mission, CGI India sign SOI to boost innovation in Schools 2 PM Modi Released Rs.100 Coin to Honour Rajmata Vijayaraje Sindhia 3 Joint Anti Terrorist Exercise ‘Suraksha Kavach’ held between Army and Maharashtra Police 4 ASEAN-India Track 1.5 Dialogue focuses on cyber security during COVID-19 pandemic 5 Sixth Session of India-Norway Joint Commission Meeting held virtually 6 India ranks 58th in the List of Arton Capital’s Passport Index; New Zealand tops the Index 7 Debt Crisis has increased in Developing Countries due to Pandemic : World Bank 8 Digital payments increased in 5 years to 3,434.56 cr in FY20; RBI to Adopt NGTA for Managing Forex, Gold Reserves 9 EarlySalary in Collaboration with NPCI Launched ‘Salary Card’, a Zero-Touch Digital card Powered by RuPay 10 IMF Projected India’s GDP to contract 10.3% from 4.5% in FY21 11 Government sets up Panel of Secretaries under Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba to Streamline Telecom Spectrum Allocation 12 AICTE Constituted a Committee Headed by M.S Ananth to Prepare the Professional Engineers Bill 13 Olympic Champion Constantina Dita Named Brand Ambassador for World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 14 CCI Approves Acquisition of CG Power and Adani Green Energy Ten Ltd’s Solar Energy Generation Assets 15 NASA to Launch Nano Satellite, ‘India Sat’ Developed by 3 Tamil Nadu Students into Sub-orbit 16 Odisha, IRFU sign agreement to sponsor Indian National Rugby Team for 3 years 17 Veteran Kannada Music Composer Rajan Passed Away at 85 18 Renowned Kuchipudi Dancer Padma Shri Shobha Naidu Passed Away at 64 19 World Standards Day 2020: October 14 20 International E-Waste Day observed on 14th October 2020 21 Haryana CM Manohar Lal Launches a State-of-the-Art Mobile Water Testing Laboratory Van 22 Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Virtually Launched the Sujal- Drink From Tap Mission to Ensure Quality Drinking Water 23 Nihal Sarin emerges winner in Chess.com’s 2020 Junior Speed Online Championship
