Current Affairs - October 31, 2020 Current Affairs

DBS Bank today announced that it has been named the 'Safest Bank in Asia' for the 12th consecutive year by New York-based trade publication Global Finance. DBS' rankings as the fourth-safest commercial bank in the world and 14th safest bank globally remain unchanged from 2019 and 2018.

IndusInd Bank announced that it has gone live as a 'Financial Information Provider' (FIP) under the new 'Account Aggregator Framework' of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), making it the first bank in the country to do so. With this, customers can now avail a host of benefits such as viewing statements of their accounts, track deposits, plan investments (such as shares, mutual funds, Insurance, EPF, PPF), avail credit cards, etc. on a single window, thereby empowering them to take informed decisions pertaining to their finances.

A six-year-old Bangladeshi boy, Anzar Mustaeen Ali won a special prize of USD 1000 for his artwork in the global art competition organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR). The ICCR had launched a global painting competition named 'United Against CORONA- Express through Art' which attracted 8000 artwork entries from around the world. After the first round of competition 210 artworks were shortlisted.

A unique Plastic Premier League (PPL) tournament is being played in Indore, Madhya Pradesh to free the city from single-use plastic. Indore is known for its innovative efforts regarding cleanliness. Indore has been awarded as the cleanest city in the country four times so far.

India hosted the 19th Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Ministers of Foreign Economy and Foreign Trade. In his opening remarks, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said the current crisis due to Covid-19 is a clarion call to the SCO countries to leverage the economic strength and explore partnerships that enhance trade and investment in the region.

Government of India has approved the name of Former Foreign Service officer, Yashvardhan Kumar Sinha as the new Chief Information Commissioner. He was already the Information Commissioner and was also the most senior. The post of CIC chairman had been vacant for several months after Bimal Zulka retired.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today participated in the 10th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue on Global Responses to coronavirus through Video Conferencing in New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, Mrs Sitharaman said, India-UK economic ties are important, as together they are two of the world's top seven economies with a combined GDP of over five trillion dollar.

Indian Army has launched Infrastructure Management Software. As the Indian expands to accommodate its growing ranks and capacities, infrastructure development has gained significant importance in many of the Army stations where major works are planned to replace vintage accommodation of the pre-independence era.

ICICI Lombard, the largest private company in the non-life insurance sector of the country, has introduced the group's health insurance scheme, along with FreePayCard. This is an insurance scheme for members of FreePayCard Retail Private Limited. According to this insurance scheme, if the holder of the FreePayCard accident or had to be hospitalized for treatment, then they will get the insurance cover.

Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga has stated that the country will achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Prime Minister stated he intends to make a sustainable economy a pillar of his growth strategy and put maximum effort into achieving a green society.

World Stroke Day is observed on October 29 to underscore the serious nature and high rates of stroke, raise awareness of the prevention and treatment of the condition, and ensure better care and support for survivors.

NITI Aayog and Quality Council of India today launched the 'National Program and Project Management Policy Framework' (NPMPF), envisaged to bring radical reforms in the way infrastructure projects are executed in India. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari unveiled the Indian Infrastructure Body of Knowledge (InBoK), a book on the practice of program and project management in India, and launched the framework, along with Union Minister Piyush Goyal, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, and QCI Chairman Adil Zainulbhai. Dignitaries from across the government, infrastructure sector, global project management companies, large contracting firms such as L&T India, PSUs, global and Indian development banks, etc., also participated in the event.

Two new studies published in Nature Astronomy suggest there could be much more water than previously thought, including ice stored in permanently shadowed "cold traps" at lunar polar regions. Using data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Airborne Telescope, researchers scanned the lunar surface at a more precise wavelength than had been used before - six microns instead of three. This allowed them to distinguish the spectral fingerprint of molecular water.

Tech giant IBM on Thursday said it has collaborated with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) to transform the latter's customer experience using digital tools. Around 12,400 IOCL distributors covering about 130 million consumers can now use the Indian Oil One mobile app and portal, developed by IBM Services, a statement said.

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.

Microsoft has collaborated with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to impart digital skills to more than one lakh underserved women in India over the next ten months. This initiative is an extension of Microsoft's partnership with NSDC to provide digital skills to over 1 lakh youth in the country.

As a part of the Vigilance Awareness Week (VAW), the nation's leading public sector bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), today launched the PNB Tracking & Monitoring Staff Accountability Cases (TMSAC) portal and PNB's 2020 Vigilance Manual. The ceremony was graced by the presence of Suresh N Patel- Vigilance Commissioner, Central Vigilance Commission and P. Daniel - Secretary-in-charge of Central Vigilance Commission along with CH S.S. Malikarjuna Rao - Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of PNB.

A leading merchant payment network, BharatPe has announced the launch of digital gold on its platform. The launch of this new category of fintech product is in line with the company's commitment to offering the entire gamut of financial products to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

India on Wednesday announced extending USD 1 billion line of credit for "priority" developmental projects in central Asian countries while vowing to further expand cooperation with the resource-rich region including confronting the common challenges of terrorism and extremism.

The European Commission and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) on Wednesday signed a new implementing arrangement to enhance scientific cooperation. According to an official statement issued by the European Union, Ambassador of the European Union to India, Ugo Astuto, and the Member Secretary of the ICSSR, Professor Virendra Kumar Malhotra, signed the Implementing Arrangement in a virtual mode.