Current Affairs - October 25, 2018 Current Affairs

World Polio Day was observed all over the world on 24th October. World Polio Day was initiated by Rotary International more than a decade ago to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who developed a vaccine against poliomyelitis. This day aims to create awareness on polio and efforts taken to eliminate this disease. India received polio-free certification along with the entire South-East Asia Region of WHO (World Health Organisation) on 27th March 2014 by WHO.

Indian IT industry's apex body Nasscom has entered into a partnership with the Hiroshima government for co-creating a Japan-India IT Corridor in Hiroshima. It main objective is to promote a business-to-business cooperation and talent transfer from India to Japan. The project will be formally initiated by early 2019. India would be getting a gate way to the cutting-edge manufacturing technology of Japan. Indian companies on the software side can help Japanese manufacturing companies adopt digital transformation and create innovative product and solutions lines.

International Conference on Status and Protection of Coral Reefs STAPCOR 2018 was held in Lakshadweep. The conference was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan. The theme for the conference was: "Reef for Life". Nearly 150 delegates from India and other countries participated.

Paytm Payments Bank has appointed veteran banker Satish Kumar Gupta as its new Managing Director and CEO. The post was lying vacant after Renu Satti stepped down in July 2018. Satti now heads the company's new retail business. The veteran banker had earlier served as the Deputy General Manager at State Bank of India where he worked for over three decades. Following that, he became the Chief Project Officer at National Payments Corporation of India that manages the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States (US) started a two-week military exercise named"Iron Magic 19" in the Arabian Gulf. Iron Magic 19 will be held till November 1, 2018. It is part of a series of joint military exercises throughout the year between the UAE armed forces and the armed forces of other countries. This exercise aims to enhance cooperation, joint actions and exchange of expertise in military areas. A major part of UAE military hardware, like F-16 fighter jets, Mirage jets and Apache Longbow attack helicopters, are manufactured by companies from the US, Britain and France.

State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has won an additional $777 million contract to supply LRSAM air and missile defence systems to seven ships in the Indian navy. The contract is with the Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), which is the main contractor in the project. The LRSAM, part of the Barak 8 family, is an air and missile defence system used by Israel's navy as well as India's navy, air and land forces. With this deal, sales of the Barak 8 over the past few years total over $6 billion.

Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda will be conferred with the Maharshi Valmiki Jayanti Award on the occasion of Valmiki Jayanti, in Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru, Karnataka. HD Deve Gowda is awarded for his contribution to the welfare of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes communities. The award will be given by Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. HD Deve Gowda will not be available to receive the award as he will be travelling to London.

Athletics Federation of India will be awarded the FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) India Sports Awards 2018 for the category of Best National Sports Federation (NSF). The award will be presented at the India Sports Awards ceremony, at Federation House, New Delhi. The Jury for the awards was chaired by Justice (retd) Mukul Mudgal. Pankaj Singh is the sports head of FICCI.

Public sector Syndicate Bank announced capital infusion of Rs 728 crore from the government in lieu of preferential allotment of shares. The government in its October 17th order issued that it would infuse Rs 728 crore to Syndicate Bank against preferential allotment of equity shares during 2018-19. On October 22 the bank had received the amount and kept it in Syndicate Bank Share Application Money Account. In 2017-18, Rs 88,139 crore was infused into 20 public sector banks (PSBs). The banks will get capital infusion of Rs 65,000 crore in 2018-19.

Thirty-eight pacts worth $5 billion were signed among 20 technology providers, capital goods manufacturers and steel producers, which will give impetus to the manufacturing of capital goods for the iron and steel industry. Of the 20 companies who exchanged the MoUs, about 12 are foreign players. The MoUs were signed at a conclave on Capital Goods for Steel Sector, manufacture in India, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) jointly with Mecon and Steel Ministry.

An ancient Greek trading ship dating back more than 2,400 years found virtually intact at the bottom of the Black Sea. The vessel is one of more than 60 shipwrecks including Roman ships and a 17th-century Cossack raiding fleet identified by the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project. The ship, which is lying on its side with its mast and rudders intact, was dated back to 400 BC -- a time when the Black Sea was a trading hub filled with Greek colonies.

Indian researchers have developed a gel when applied on the skin, can inhibit some pesticides from getting absorbed into the body, and would help preventing serious adverse effects and even death. The gel was developed by a team led by Dr. Praveen Kumar Vemula from the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Bengaluru. Organophosphate-based pesticides, commonly used by farmers in India, penetrate through the skin and affect the nervous system and heart, and cause cognitive dysfunction. Active ingredients of the gel are attached to chitosan (a substance found in the hard outer shells of crab and shrimp) so the gel does not penetrate the skin.

UNESCO MGIEP(Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education) in association with Government of Andhra Pradesh announces TECH 2018, an international conference which aims to showcase the role of games and digital learning in enabling a shift from "transmissive pedagogies" to "transformative pedagogies" to create peaceful and sustainable societies. The three-day event will be held from 15-17 November 2018 at Novotel, Vizag City, Andhra Pradesh, India. UNESCO MGIEP is the first UNESCO the first category 1 institute in the Asia-Pacific region focused on mainstreaming socio-emotional learning in education systems.

A Chinese company has tested the 'world's largest' cargo drone Feihong-98 (FH-98) which can carry a payload of 1.5 tonnes (1,500kg). The FH-98 has a maximum takeoff weight of 5.25 tonnes (5,250 kg) and maximum range of 1,200 km. Further, it is capable of reaching a flying altitude of 4.5 km and a cruising speed of 180 kmph.

India and Myanmar signed a MoU for the appointment of a private Port Operator for the Operation and Maintenance of Sittwe Port, Paletwa Inland Water Terminal and associated facilities included in the Kaladan Multi Model Transit Transport Project in implementation of India's Act East Policy. Once operations commence at this port, it will provide new infrastructure for trade between India and Myanmar. It will enhance job opportunities and development in the entire region, mainly in the Rakhine and Chin States of Myanmar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with IT and electronic manufacturing professionals and key industry leaders from across the country in New Delhi. The Prime Minister launched the "Main Nahin Hum" Portal and app on the occasion. The portal which works on the theme "Self for Society" will enable IT professionals and organizations to bring together their efforts towards social causes, and service to society, on one platform.

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu presented the 19th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence 2018 in Public Administration to senior advocate Fali S Nariman. The award has been institutionalized in the name of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the 2nd Prime Minister of India and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress political party.