Current Affairs - October 29, 2020 Current Affairs

Kerala has become the first state in the country to set floor prices of 16 varieties of vegetables, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan informed today (October 27). He said that The scheme would come into effect from November 01, 2020.

The Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda has launched two Centres of Excellence (CoE) for Tribal Welfare in a collaboration between Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and Art of Living (AoL) through video conference.

International Animation Day is observed globally on 28 October every year. The day has celebrated the art of animation and also recognise the artists, scientists and technicians behind animation. This year marks the 19th International Animation Day. The day was created in 2002 by International Animated Film Association (ASIFA), an International Animated Film Association, a member of UNESCO.

The Reserve Bank of India has barred Payment System Operators (PSOs) from launching any new proprietary QR code for payment transactions. Currently, there are two interoperable QR codes - UPI QR and Bharat QR. The decision to continue with the two existing Quick Response (QR) codes was based on the recommendations of the committee which was set up by the Reserve Bank under the chairmanship of Deepak Phatak to review the current system of such codes in India and suggest measures for moving towards interoperable QR codes.

Veteran Gujarati film star-turned-politician, Naresh Kanodia passed away. He was the younger brother of Gujarati singer Mahesh Kanodia who died on 25 October 2020 in Gandhinagar after a prolonged illness.

Private-sector lender CSB Bank, formerly Catholic Syrian Bank, today said that it has entered into a partnership with non-banking finance company, IIFL Finance (IIFL) for sourcing and managing retail gold loan assets. Acting as Business Correspondent (BC) of the bank, IIFL will source new business from markets where CSB Bank does not have adequate branch network. IIFL, with its vast branch network, would help CSB Bank penetrate the lower strata of customers and rural areas resulting in scaling up of the customer base.

India and US recently held the two plus two dialogue. During the meet the country's decided to share space situational awareness information. This will catalyse efforts in creating safe and sustainable space environment A joint statement issued after the dialogue read that the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar called the NISAR is to be launched by 2022.

Ministry of Defence announced that Australia would join the Malabar 2020 naval exercise, consisting of India, Japan and the U.S., to be held in the coming month, more than three years after Australia first requested to join.

The Centre has set up a high-level committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate the 400th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur. Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla will be the member secretary of the 70-member high-level committee.

Every year, October 27 is celebrated as Infantry Day by the Indian Army in Jammu & Kashmir (known by the nickname, Chinar Corps). The Chinar Corps celebrated the 74th Infantry Day on October 27, 2020, to honour the supreme sacrifice of the gallant soldiers in fighting the Pakistani invaders, in Jammu and Kashmir, in 1947.

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage explores issues such as ways to preserve audiovisual material and documents. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) works with organisations, governments and communities promote the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on October 27 each year.

Luis Arce has been chosen as the President-elect of Bolivia, after winning a landslide victory in the 2020 Bolivian general election. He captured 55.1% of the total votes. Arce will take the charge of the office on 8 November 2020. He would succeed Jeanine Anez, who is serving as the interim President of Bolivia.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HDFC Bank, Aditya Puri has stepped down, after 25 years of a highly successful career at India's largest private sector lender. The 70-year-old Puri had transformed a start-up in a sector dominated by state-owned banks into an industry leader. At nearly Rs 6 trillion, HDFC Bank leads the industry in terms of market capitalisation and remains the most profitable by a long margin.

Uttar Pradesh government has secured the 1st rank in central government's one of the most ambitious schemes - the PM Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme (SVANidhi Scheme) by approving the highest number of loans under the scheme in the country.

India is hosting the third India-US two plus two Ministerial Dialogue at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar are leading the Indian delegation. The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark Esper are leading the US delegation. The First two plus two dialogue was held in New Delhi in September 2018 and the Second in Washington DC in 2019.

The Union Minister of State for Shipping (I/C), Mansukh Mandaviya has inaugurated the 'Direct Port Entry (DPE) facility' of V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust in Tamil Nadu. This will help in increasing Ease of Doing Business for the exporters, as the facility will bring efficiency and reduce dwell time, lower tariff cost and improve the competitiveness of shipper in the international trade.

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 activities under this MoU will be coordinated by professor Mukesh Sharma, department of Civil Engineering, IIT-Kanpur.

NITI Aayog Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) virtually launches India Australia Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE) in association with Australia's national science agency, CSIRO. The hackathon will focus on the identification and development of innovative technology solutions by bright students, start-ups, and MSMEs of both nations for fostering a sustainable circular economy with the aim of increasing the long-term health and resilience of our planet.

Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to establish anti-human trafficking Police Stations in each and every district in a major step towards the security of women and children. These Police Stations will be given enough powers to register the case and investigate the matter independently.

A direct port entry facility was launched at the V O Chidambarnar port in Tuticorin by Union minister of state for shipping and minister of state for Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya.