Current Affairs - October 7, 2020 Current Affairs

Scientists from India, Germany, United Kingdom and Switzerland have discovered a new family of bony fish from the Western Ghats, and named it Aenigmachannidae.

The red cherry pepper chilli of Sikkim which is locally known as the "Dalle Khursani" has earned the geographical indication (GI) tag from the Union department of Industry promotion and internal trade. Notably, it is considered as one of the hottest chillies in the world. Dalle Khursani fetches as much as Rs 480 per kg in the local market today.

The 12th BRICS Summit is scheduled to be held on 17th November 2020 via video conference. This is the first time in the history of the forum that the meeting will be held virtually, due to the global COVID pandemic. The Summit is being held under the Chairmanship of Russia.

The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) has presented the lifetime achievement award to business icon Ratan Tata for his pioneering role in the Business Relations of India-USA and for his lifetime achievement in Global Leadership. This award was announced in the virtual event of IACC "COVID Crusader Award-2020". This is the 1st time IACC conferred the Lifetime Achievement award to any individual.

On October 6, 2020, the foreign ministers of India, Japan, US and Australia held the Quad foreign ministers meet. India was represented by the External Affairs minister S Jaishankar.

The government has extended the appointment of Madhabi Puri Buch as a whole time member (WTM) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by a period of six months on Friday.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully flight tested the "Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo" (SMART) from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha. All the mission objectives including missile flight up to the range and altitude, separation of the nose cone, the release of Torpedo and deployment of Velocity Reduction Mechanism (VRM) have been met perfectly.

The scientists have discovered bio-decomposer capsule. These capsules when sprayed on crop residue will turn them into manure. This increases soil fertility and reduces use of fertilizers. According to the estimate of the Delhi Government, only Rs. 20 lakhs is required to manage 700 hectares of stubble through this method. This cost includes cost of preparation, transportation and spraying. On October 6, 2020, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that the Delhi Government is to adopt "Bio-Decomposer" spraying to counter stubble burning.

An IEEE Spectrum report, the Beijing-based company is set to send the world's first mining robot named 'asteroid mining robot' into space by November 2020 to identify and extract resources. The mining robot will be launched into space by a Chinese Long March series rocket.

According to the study around 40% of Amazon Forest are at the risk of changing into Savannah like environment. This is mainly because of increased Greenhouse gas emissions and reduced rainfall. The shrinking forest tend to lose their ability to absorb man-made emissions and thereby adding up to global warming.

The author of Baahubali series, Anand Neelakantan has authored his first kid's book titled "The Very, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales for Kids", published by Puffins Publishers Private Limited under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Iqbal Singh Chahal, I.A.S., Municipal Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, has become the first Indian bureaucrat to be recognised and receive global acknowledgment for his contribution in controlling the novel coronavirus infection in India's financial capital and for working to 'flatten the curve' in congested areas of the city, including Asia's biggest slum Dharavi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed an international webinar on textile traditions organized by ICCR. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister lauded Indian Council for Cultural Relations and Uttar Pradesh Institute of Design for their efforts in bringing people from different countries to participate in the webinar on the theme "Weaving Relations: Textile Traditions."

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has announced the launch of the anti-pollution campaign 'Yudh Pradushan Ke Virudh' to reduce the pollution level in Delhi. An anti-dust campaign is being initiated by the Delhi government to settle the dust.

Wildlife Week is annually celebrated across India between 2nd to 8th October with an aim to protect and preserve the flora and fauna of India. The first Wildlife Week was observed in 1957. The Wildlife Week 2020 is celebrated from 2nd October to 8th October 2020. Wildlife Week 2020 marks the 66th Wildlife Week which is celebrated under the theme RoaR (Roar and Revive) - Exploring Human-Animal Relationships.

Puducherry airport has become the Airports Authority of India's (AAI) first entirely solar-powered airport in the country with the commissioning of 500KWp ground-mounted solar power plant at a cost of Rs 2.8 crore.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has entered into an MoU with "Swiggy", one of the leading food delivery platforms, to onboard street food vendors on its e-commerce platform. The MoU aims at giving the street food vendors online access to thousands of consumers and help them grow their businesses. The arrangement has been facilitated under the Prime Minister Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.

The Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on October 6, 2020, launched the Ayush Standard Treatment Protocol at an event held via video conference. The protocols detail the self-care guidelines for preventive health measures which will help in protecting against COVID-19.

Minister and veteran Biju Janata Dal MLA Pradeep Maharathy passed away on Sunday, weeks after he tested positive for COVID-19. He was 66. He was undergoing treatment in a city-based private hospital and his health condition deteriorated in the past few days. He is survived by wife, son and daughter.

Jharkhand's minority welfare minister Haji Hussain Ansari died on Saturday at a hospital in Ranchi, official sources said. He was 73. Mr Ansari, a senior JMM leader, was admitted to the Medanta hospital around two weeks back after being diagnosed with COVID-19.