Current Affairs Today

Rein in hotheads or lose global credibility, Moody's tells Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi must keep “his party members in check“ from making controversial statements “or risk losing domestic and global credibility“, an arm of global ratings agency Moody's said on Friday while urging the government to focus its attention on the reforms agenda.

“In recent times, the government also hasn't helped itself, with controversial comments from various BJP members. While Modi has largely distanced himself from the nationalist jibes, the belligerent provocation of various Indian minorities has raised ethnic tensions,“ Moody's Analytics said.

Air travel to cost more as govt plans 2% cess

Flying between metros and other big cities and abroad may cost 2% more from next year as the government has decided to impose a levy to enhance regional connectivity by air.Fares for flights to and between small towns -that can be enabled by reviving 400 unused airstrips in the country -will be restricted at Rs 2,500 per hour. This will be done by keeping airlines' cost of operation low and giving them direct subsidy from the regional connectivity fund that will come from the 2% cess. Acting on PM Modi's di rective to make flying affordable to the common man, the aviation ministry on Friday released a draft aviation policy which aims to ensure that at least one member of India's 30-crore strong middle class families flies once a year -up from the present 7 crore domestic flyers in a year. The cess will, however, make it a little more expensive to fly between big cities.

BRICS nations signed Moscow Declaration for supporting Multilateral Science Projects

BRICS nations Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa signed Moscow Declaration for partnership in addressing common regional and global socio-economic challenges by utilising science, technology and innovation (STI). It was signed at the third meeting of the BRICS Ministers for Science, Technology and Innovation held in Moscow, Russia. Indian delegation to this meeting was led by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences.

China abandons its decades old One Child Policy

China, world most populous country has announced to abandon its three decades-long one-child policy and changed it two-child policy. The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) in this regard has issued an official communiqué at  the end of party’s 4 day plenary session headed by President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
 

RBI allows NRIs to subscribe to National Pension System

RBI allows NRIs to subscribe to National Pension System

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to subscribe to the National Pension System (NPS) enabling them access old age income security. RBI has taken this decision in consultation with Union Government under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to appease NRIs.

WCD Ministry launched initiative to spread awareness about Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme

The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development on 29 October 2015 launched a new initiative to spread awareness about the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme.

The initiative was launched in partnership with Celltick Mobile Media India Pvt. Ltd. to generate awareness about BBBP Scheme to an estimated 100 million mobile users in India.

 

Global Tuberculosis Report 2015 released by WHO

World Health Organization (WHO) on 28 October 2015 released Global Tuberculosis Report 2015 in Washington. This is the twentieth global report on tuberculosis (TB) that started in 1997. 

The 2015 edition focuses on whether 2015 global TB targets set in the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were achieved worldwide and at regional and country levels.

Amit Kumar won silver in men's club throw F51 event of IPC Athletics World Championships

Indian para-athlete Amit Kumar Saroha on 28 October 2015 won silver medal in men's club throw F51 event in the IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha. With this, Amit sealed a berth for 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi awarded 2015 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi on 29 October 2015 awarded Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for the year 2015.

An announcement in this regard was made by the President of European Parliament Martin Schulz at European Parliament assembly in Strasbourg, France; Subsequently, Schulz appealed to Saudi King Salman to free him, so he can accept the prize.

Latest News of 29th October

Protest spirals: Top scientist to return Padma Bhushan

Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology founder-director P M Bhargava on Wednesday became the first Indian scientist to join the bandwagon of writers and filmmakers returning their awards when he told TOI that he will return his Padma Bhushan to protest against “the government's at tack on rationalism, reasoning and science“.

12 filmmakers to turn in their national awards

Twelve filmmakers, includ ing `Khosla Ka Ghosla' director Dibakar Banerjee, documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and `Gulabi Gang' director Nishtha Jain, are set to return their national awards over “growing intolerance“, reports Anahita Mukherji. They also expressed solidarity with FTII students who on Wednesday called off their strike against Gajendra Chauhan's appointment as FTII chairman.

53% vote in 50 seats in phase 3 of Bihar polls

The Bihar capital saved the state the blushes by turning out in large numbers and bettering its previous record by 10% in some seats in the third phase of assembly polls on Wednesday , reports Vithika Salomi. At 53.32% turnout, polling was up 3% from the last assembly polls in 2010 and general elections in 2014. As in the first phase, women took the lead in voting.

Second Metro link to Noida by Dec 2016

Connectivity to Noida via the New Delhi Metro corridor is set to be sooner than scheduled. The Janakpuri (west) to Botanical Garden line, which will have two stations in Noida, was scheduled to be complete by July 2017 on the Noida end. It will now be completed by December 2016January 2017, said sources at Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

The Janakpuri (west)-Botanical Garden corridor, also known as line 8, will only be the second corridor to connect Delhi with neighbouring Noida. According to officials, line 8 was supposed to be completed by 2016 till Kalindi Kunj, which is the Delhi side of the corridor. This was to be commissioned in sections. On the Noida side though, the two stations--Okhla Bird Sanctuary and Botanical Garden--were to be completed by mid-2017.

CLICK ON THE WALL - Zuckerberg gets hero rating in IIT-D, insists internet.org is not a villain

 New Delhi: Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday said that he supported net-neutrality “100%“, but added that he also strongly backed zero-rating.

Facebook's initiative, In ternet.org, rebranded as `Free Basics' a couple of months ago, has generated much debate on the subject. The service, delivered in collaboration with telecom operators, allows access to online content on “basics“ such as health, education and employment and subscribers aren't charged for the data used.

Chemicals in shampoos may up breast cancer risk

Parabens -common chemicals found in personal care products such as shampoos, body lotions and sunscreens -may increase breast cancer risk even at low doses, according to a new study .

Parabens are a class of preservatives widely used in consumer products. They are considered estrogenic because they activate the same estrogen receptor as the natural hormone estradiol.

Current Affairs of 27th & 28th October

28h Oct.

Samiran Chakraborty appointed as Chief Economist of Citibank India

Samiran Chakraborty has been appointed as Chief Economist of global banking major Citibank for India. Prior to this appointment, he was Managing Director (MD) and head at Standard Chartered Bank for macro research in South Asia. Chakraborty has more than a decade of rich experience in conducting macro research and covering various asset classes including currency, credit markets and interest rates. Earlier, he had worked with India’s largest private sector bank, ICICI as chief economist and also as faculty for mathematical economics and open-economy macro-economics at Delhi School of Economics.

India ranks 130 in World Bank’s 2016 rankings of Ease of Doing Business

India has been placed at 130th position among the 189 countries in the recently released World Bank’s 2016 rankings of Ease of Doing Business Report. In this edition of list, India has moved up by four spots in the global rankings compared to earlier 134th rank in recalculated 2015 rankings. Key highlights of report India is one of the countries that have made the most improvement, capturing the initiative of the government in a separate section.

US Senate passes Cyber Security Legislation

US Senate has passed Cyber Security Legislation to facilitating sharing of cyber-attack threats. It was passed by 74 votes in favour of it and 21 votes against it. The passage of legislation is being considered a critical step to address cyber threats and ensure tools are in place in to deter future cyber-attacks.

AR Rahman conferred with 2015 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award

Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman has been conferred with prestigious 2015 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award in Mumbai. He was presented with fifth edition of award by Veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai for his contribution to the Indian music on the occasion of 78th birthday of Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

27^TH OCT

7.5 magnitude earthquake hits Hindu Kush Region of Afghanistan

A powerful earthquake of magnitude of 7.5 on the Richter scale has hit the Hindukush region of north-eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan. The focus of earthquake was centred 196 km deep beneath the Hindu Kush Mountains. It was centred 82 km southeast of Feyzabad district in Afghanistan’s sparsely populated Badakhshan province bordering with Pakistan, Tajikistan and China. Tremors from this earthquake were felt in northern India and Tajikistan.

8th Edition of National Seed Congress begins in Hyderabad

The Eighth edition of National Seed Congress (NSC) has begun in Hyderabad to deliberate on advanced seed development technologies and regulatory measures. The event was formally inaugurated by the Telangana state Agriculture Minister Shrinivasa Reddy and has been organized by Union Agriculture Ministry. The three day congress aims to provide common platform to all stakeholders to discuss a variety of issues including advances in seed development technologies and various seed policies with respect to the seed industry. In this edition of Seed Congress, over 600 delegates are taking part from national and international research and development agencies such as ICRISAT. Over dozen breakout sessions are being organised along with a special session dedicated for seed development to promote Telangana as the seed bowl of the country. About 80 progressive farmers involved in the seed development are also going to take part in the congress.

Current Affairs Of 27th October

7.5 quake in Hindu Kush kills 200 in Pak & Af, 4 in India

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake, centered in the Hindu Kush mountains, hit northern Afghanistan and Pakistan killing around 200 people on Monday , with authorities fearing the death toll could rise as the true extent of damage could take several more hours to establish.

Pakistan was the worst hit with 143 fatalities. The temblor struck exactly 10 years after a quake had flattened northern parts of the country and killed 73,000 in 2005.

Maggi sales to resume by November

Swiss food giant Nestle has begun production of Maggi from three of its plants in India and the popular noodle can be expected to be back on shop shelves in a few weeks.The final date, however, has not been fixed yet, the company said on Monday .

India's daughter is home at last

A shy smile that refused to fade marked deaf and mute Geeta's `Bajrangi Bhaijan' moment as she stepped on Indian soil after over a decade in Pakistan during which hope often threatened to give way to despair.

The frail 23-year-old arrived in Delhi, accompanied by five members of the Edhi family whose charitable foundation had cared for Geeta all these years soon after she strayed into Pakistan.

CHHOTA RAJAN BADA CATCH

Twenty-five years after he fled India, fugitive underworld don Chhota Rajan alias Rajendra Sadashiv Nikhalje, a one-time trusted aide of Dawood Ibrahimturned-bitter foe, who is wanted for heinous crimes ranging from murder and extortion to smuggling, drug trafficking and threatening Bollywood personalities, was arrested by a joint Australian and Bali police team in Bali on Sunday .

His dramatic apprehension, after evading the law for decades and surviving at least one assassination bid by the D-gang, was based on an Interpol Red-Corner Notice and an affirmation of the don's identity by the CBI. Rajan had been hiding in Australia for the last seven years under the identity of Mohan Kumar, sources said.

TIME TO REFLECT AND PLAN

A review of a team's performance, after it has just suffered the second-worst defeat in its history, can tend to be harsh. But the fact is, India's maiden ODI series defeat to South Africa at home has provided the Men in Blue with some honest answers. It is now up to the decision-makers of Indian cricket to respond to them. Oscillating between bril iance and mediocrity , India surrendered to the better team in a rather tame manner in the end.

GK Updates of 24th October

GK Updates of  24^th October

Hurricane Patricia struck Mexico's Pacific coast

Hurricane Patricia, one of the most powerful storms on record, struck Mexico's Pacific coast on 23 October 2015. The hurricane carrying destructive winds with a speed of 165mph forced thousands to flee homes and beach front resorts.

ii. Patricia landed about 55 miles west-northwest of Manzanillo, home to the largest container port on Mexico's Pacific seaboard. There were no reported casualties and officials said the damage might not be as catastrophic as feared.

iii. The US National Hurricane Center said the hurricane hit as a Category Five storm - the highest classification. But it has since weakened to a Category Four, and will be downgraded to a tropical storm in the coming hours. It also said that it would lead to life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in rural areas.

Indian mountaineers climbed an untouched mountain peak, named it after APJ Abdul Kalam

Two mountaineers Arjun Vajpai and Bhupesh Kumar in third week of October 2015 created history by becoming first people to climb 6180 meter high unnamed peak in Himachal’s Spiti Valley. The duo named the peak as Mout Kalam, in honour of former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam.

President gives away Sangeet Natak Akademi awards, fellowships

President Pranab Mukherjee presented the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards for the year 2014 at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.

ii. While leading musicologist S R Janakiraman, theatre doyen and noted filmmaker M S Sathyu, and musicians Vijay Kumar Kichlu and Tulsidas Vasant Borkar were awarded fellowships of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, 35 eminent personalities were honoured with Akademi Awards in the categories of music, dance, theatre, traditional folk/tribal music/dance/theatre and puppetry and overall contribution/scholarship in the performing arts.

iii. Nine artistes — including Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Iqbal Ahmed Khan, Nath Neralkar, Nayan Ghosh and Ronu Majumdar— received awards for their contribution to music, while eight artistes were honoured for their contribution to dance.

iv. Eminent folk singer from Jammu and Kashmir Abdul Rashid Hafiz, who is known for his renditions of traditional  Chakri singing, was among eight artistes facilitated for their contribution to traditional arts. Noted playwright Asgar Wajahat was amongst the eight artists honoured for their contribution to theatre.

Ratan Tata invests in virtual cash start-up Abra

Abra, a Silicon Valley bitcoin startup, on Thursday revealed it had raised money from Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata and American Express, as part of its $12-million Series-A funding.. Abra raising funds was reported last month, but the company did not reveal Tata’s participation then. These are the first investments in the crypto-currency world for both American Express and Ratan Tata.

Japan offers soft loan to India for bullet train project

Japan has offered soft loan of 15 billion dollars (Rs 90,000 crore) at an interest rate of less than 1 per cent to India’s ambitious first bullet train project viz. Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor along with technology.

Himachal Pradesh to host India’s first Paragliding World Cup

India’s first Paragliding World Cup has begun at Bir Billing near Baijnath town in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Snow leopard is the official mascot of this World Cup. It is for the first time that Paragliding World Cup is being organised in a South Asian country. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju flagged off the event.

ii. In this one week competition, more than 130 registered pilots including 14 women pilots from 35 countries would take part. Indian side is represented by 8 flyers and 6 among them are from the Himachal Pradesh.

Latest Current Affairs, Today Current Affairs

Remark dogs V K Singh, SC/ST panel tells UP govt to file case

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has said V K Singh's “dog analogy“, while referring to the murder of two Dalit children in Haryana, is an offence under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Indian Penal Code. It has issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh police chief asking whether a case is made out against the minister.

No service tax on `charitable' yoga income

There's good news for yoga gurus who carry on their activities via charitable trusts. Income of such trusts from yoga-related activities will now not be subject to service tax. Thus, attendees of yoga camps or classes conducted by charitable trusts will not have to pay service tax of 14%. T he amendments made consequent to the budget of 2015 had granted income-tax exemption to income arising from promotion of yoga activities. While the PM has put yoga on the world map, the finance ministry has done its bit to boost yoga-related activities via income tax and service tax exemptions.

Processed meats as big a cancer risk as smoking

The World Health Organisation is reportedly set to declare that bacon, sausages and other proc con, sausages and other processed meats cause cancer. Red meat is also expected to be listed in the next lower risk category of being “probably carcinogenic to humans“.According to a report in The Daily Mail, the announcements were expected to be made on Monday with proc essed meat being put in the same category as cigarettes, alcohol and asbestos.

After 8 yrs at CSK, Dhoni to join new IPL team

If there is one cricketer who has been virtually synonymous with an IPL franchise, it is

M S Dhoni.After Chennai Super Kings bought him for the highest price of $1.5 million (then worth around Rs 7.5 crore) at the very first IPL auction in January 2008, Dhoni has captained the team in all eight editions of the IPL so far -a record unmatched by any other player.Understandably , there was much speculation about what Dhoni would do after CSK was suspended from the IPL for two years.Some said he might even sit out of the IPL rather than play for any other franchise.However, it is now learned that Dhoni has made up his mind to ch to another team. switch to another team.

`Sami is eligible to be granted citizenship'

Singer Adnan Sami, who was allowed in August to stay indefinitely in India following non-renewal of his Pakistani passport, is likely to be granted Indian citizenship.Sami's request for Indian citizenship on the grounds that he has renounced his Pakistani citizenship, making India, where he has been staying for a decade-and-a-half, his “home“, has been endorsed by the attorney general of India. The Union home ministry is mulling granting him “citizenship by naturalisation“, in view of his “distin guished service to the cause of art“.

Current Affair of 23rd October

Current Affair of 23^rd October

2cr LED bulbs distributed so far, save Rs 1,000cr a yr

The Narendra Modi government's programme to get consumers to replace less efficient CFL or incandescent lights with latest LED bulbs is gaining momentum, with the number of bulbs distributed crossing the 2-crore mark and generating annual savings of over Rs 1,000 crore.

The Narendra Modi government's programme to get consumers to replace less efficient CFL or incandescent lights with latest LED bulbs is gaining momentum, with the number of bulbs distributed crossing the 2-crore mark and generating annual savings of over Rs 1,000 crore.

SWAVALAMBAN YOJANA - Eye on polls, govt fast-tracks fee dole

In a desper ate bid to damage control following major unrest over Patidar reservation agitation, Anandiben Patel government has put dis bursement of benefits of the much hyped economic package `Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojana to deserving students on the fast track.

In a government resolu tion (GR) issued to univer sities across the state, the state government has asked them to identify students who qualify to avail benefits of the scholarship The GR is aimed at dous ing angry sentiments stoked by Patidar agitation ahead of the local body polls and winning sympathy of poor sections across other castes ahead of the 2017 polls as well.

Warring Chandrababu & KCRcome together for birth of a new capital

Decades from now, when Amaravati truly becomes a world-class city , Vijayadashami of 2015 will be remembered as a milestone in the history of not just Andhra Pradesh but also of the country , said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new capital on Thursday .

Delhi's 1st Car-Free Day `a good beginning'

Delhi's first CarFree Day went off mostly as a symbolic affair. Conceived of as a means to curb pollution as well as decongest the capital's roads, Thursday's event could at best be described, like transport minister Gopal Rai did, as a “good beginning“.While it began well enough with a cycle rally flagged off by CM Arvind Kejriwal, it then turned into an exercise to enthuse motorists into giving up their cars for a day , with not much reciprocal enthusiasm.

VIRAT SETTLES THE SCORE

On a day when India's Virat Kohli (138, 6x4, 5x6) rung in his 23rd ODI hundred, AB de Villiers (112, 10x4, 2x6) threatened to spoil his party with a blistering 22nd ton that kept South Africa in pursuit of 300 in the fourth ODI here on Thursday. But once AB was dismissed in the 45th over of the chase, courtesy a low catch by skipper MS Dhoni off Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-68), the lights went off South Africa's innings as they fell short by 35 runs, ending up at 264-9, as India levelled the series 2-2.

Current Affairs, Latest Current Affairs

For first time, Pak admits it's ready with battlefield nukes

Pakistan ramped up its nuclear sabre-rattling ahead of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif 's meeting with President Barack Obama on Wednesday , saying its development and deployment of tactical battle-field nuclear weapons (or mininukes) was only aimed at deterring any conventional Indian attack through New Delhi's socalled `Cold Start' doctrine.

In a bold rationalization of Pakistan's offensive nuclear posture, the country's foreign secretary Aizaz Chaudhury told Pakistani journalists ahead of the Obama-Sharif meeting that India had moved cantonments to the Pakistan border and created a gap in the conventional capabilities of the two countries through its Cold Start doctrine, and that has forced Pakistan to developed short-range nuclear weapons to deter any possible Indian attack.

Ex-HC judge is Delhi's new Lokayukta

Delhi got its new Lokayukta on Tuesday , nearly two years after the key antigraft post fell vacant leading to a huge backlog.

At a meeting convened by the lieutenant governor, the name of Justice (Retired) Reva Khetrapal as the next Lokayukta was unanimously agreed upon by other participants, including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Justice of Delhi high court G Rohini and leader of the opposition Vijender Gupta.

Fogging not effective, affects health: CSE

With over 12,500 dengue cases being reported in Delhi, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Tuesday claimed that fogging was “not effective“ in fighting the vector-borne disease and is “harmful“ as the gas contains “95%“ diesel.

472 schools must refund excess fees

All 472 private unaided schools identified by the Justice Anil Dev Singh Committee on fee review have been directed to return within 15 days excess fees charged and submit compliance reports. The committee, through eight interim reports, identified these schools as having overcharged parents on the pretext of implementing recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission while not doing the same. The committee was established on the instructions of the high court and HC had accepted the eight reports. The reports had also recommended measures for redress.

Through an October 20 circular, the directorate of education, Delhi, has “directed“ these 472 school “to comply with the said reports within a period of 15 days and to submit compliance report to the district authorities“.

Latest Current Affairs

Infosys to acquire US based firm Noah Consulting

India’s second largest software services major Infosys has announced acquisition of US-based oil and gas consulting firm Noah Consulting for 70 million US Dollars in an all-cash deal. This acquisition is part of Infosys strategy to bring next generation data analytics solutions to the oil and gas industry.

US, Spain ink new accord to cleanup nuclear accident site at Palomares

United States and Spain have reached an in principle agreement to clean up land at Palomares site (in Spain) contaminated by plutonium radiation from undetonated US nuclear bombs. The binding clean up deal was finalised in Madrid during US Secretary of State John Kerry official visit to Spain. Under the agreement, US will remove the soil contaminated by nuclear radiation at Palomares.

Virender Sehwag announces retirement from International Cricket

Ace Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has announced his retirement from international cricket. This announcement comes after more than two-and-a-half years on from his last appearance in Test match for India in March 2013 against Australia in Hyderabad.

Health Ministry modifies National Blood Policy to allow Blood banks to borrow units from one another

Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has made a major modification in the National Blood Policy (NBP), 2002 to allow blood banks to borrow units from one another in case of a shortage. This decision was taken as part of reforms for handling of blood units in the country based on the recommendation of the National Blood Transfusion Council (NBTC). The ministry also has made modification in the policy to fix an exchange value for surplus plasma available at some blood banks in the country. This move will help to curb the trading or selling of surplus plasma by the blood banks with proper regulatory framework.

Today Current Affairs

Today Current Affairs

Telecom operators to compensate consumers by Rs 1 for call drop: TRAI
Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indian (TRAI) has made it mandatory for telecom operators to compensate consumers by Rs.1 for call drops with effect from 1 January 2016. As per new TRAI rules The compensation will be limited to three dropped calls in a particular day. It is mandatory for telecom operators to send a message to the calling customer within 4 hours of the occurrence of call drop along with details of amount credited in his account. In case of post-paid customers, the compensation details of the credit should be provided in the next bill.

Great Britain wins 2015 Sultan of Johor Cup of Hockey
Great Britain won the 2015 Sultan of Johor Cup under-21 field hockey tournament by defeating defending champions India. In the final, India lost to Great Britain in penalty shoot by 3-4 goals score. Both teams had equaled by 2-2 goals score in regular full time match played at Johor Bahru, Malaysia. In this edition of Cup, Sumit Kumar and Harmanpreet Singh of India with three goals each have been the top scorers in the tournament for the country.

Typhoon Koppu hits northern Philippines
Powerful Typhoon Koppu (also known as Lando) has hit the northern Philippines battering the coast with powerful winds with speed of 240 kph. The eye of tropical cyclone (typhoon) Koppu has struck the remote northern coastal town of Casiguran which is 215 kms northeast of Philippines capital city Manila.

Indian short film An Old Dog’s Diary wins award at 2015 London Film Festival
An Indian short film, An Old Dog’s Diary has won prestigious Best Short Film Award at the 2015 London Film Festival (LFF). The award was bestowed by the British Film Institute (BIF) at 59th edition of LFF. The 11-minute film has been directed by Shai Heredia and Shumona Goel. It story of film reveals the cultural conditions of Indian avant-garde painter Francis Newton Souza’s work and its institutionalisation by assembling the puzzle-piece evocations of his portrait. Earlier the film was showcased in the Wavelengths category at 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

Latest Current Affairs

President Pranab Mukherjee conferred with Honorary Doctorate by Al-Quds University, Ramallah, Palestine

President Pranab Mukherjee conferred with Honorary Doctorate by Al-Quds University, Ramallah, Palestine on 13th October 2015.

 

Marlon James of Jamaica won Man Booker Prize 2015

Marlon James of Jamaica won Man Booker Prize 2015 on 13th October 2015 for his novel ‘A Brief History of Seven Killings’. He became 1st Jamacian to win the Prize. The award was established in 1969.

BSE became Wolrd’s fastest stock exchange

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) became World’s fastest stock exchange with a median response time of 6 micro seconds. Ashish Kumar Chauhan is its Managing Director and CEO.

‘Arun Jaitley chosen as ‘Finance Minister of the Year, Asia’

According to the ‘Emerging Markets’, Arun Jaitley chosen as ‘Finance Minister of the Year, Asia’ on 13th October 2015 while Atiur Rahman of Bangladesh chosen for ‘Central Bank Governor of the Year, Asia’.

Kailash Satyarthi selected for 2015 Harvard Humanitarian of the Year Award

Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi has been selected for the prestigious 2015 Harvard Humanitarian of the Year Award. He has been awarded this award in recognition for championing the cause of child reform and ending all forms of violence against children.

Current Affairs of 14th October

Punjabi author returns grows Padma as protestAgra

Taking the dissent of writers to a new level, Punjabi author Dalip Kaur Tiwana announced on Tuesday that she would return her Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian honour conferred on her in 2004, to mark her protest over the growing intolerance in the country .

China opens huge Brahmaputra dam

A 510MW Chinese hydroelectric dam became operational on the Brahmaputra on Tuesday . Official Xinhua news agency said electricity from all units of the Zangmu Hydropower Project in Tibet, just 550km from the border and regarded as the highest in the world, had been connected to China's national power grid.

Party drug meow meow seized in city

For the second time this year, police have seized the party drug `meow meow' in the city and arrested three suspected pushers.Sources said the drug was to be sold at American electronic dance music (EDM) artiste Skrillex's Gurgaon concert on Sunday where a 23-yearold fashion designing student from Delhi died of suspected suffocation.

Two youths aged 21and 25, respectively, were arrested on Sunday night and north Delhi police caught their supplier, a Nigerian, in a secret operation on Monday night. Police suspect bulk orders of the drug are placed online and it is smuggled inside cargo.

Now, a literary award in name of late AAP volunteer

A Hindi Academy award in the name of Aam Admi Party volunteer Santosh Koli, whose death in a road accident before the 2013 assembly elections remains shrouded in mystery is the latest from the Arvind Kejriwal government on institutionalising AAP in governance. The `Santosh Koli Smirti Samman' will carry a reward of Rs 2 lakh for the chosen recipient.

Traditional parties like Congress have faced the ire of critics for decades over christening projects ranging from parks and roads to buil dings after the Gandhi family .Now AAP's decision to name an award after a colleague, linked to Hindi academy is bound to raise questions. The award has the approval of the board of the academy which is headed by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Today Current Affairs

New Book Launched by former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri

New Book Launched by former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri is “Neirther Hawk Nor a Dove”. An insider’s Account of Pakistan Foreign Policy.

Dell to buy EMC in $ 67 b deal

Dell had agreed to buy data storage company EMC Corp in a $67 billion record technology deal that will unite two mature companies and create an enterprise tech powerhouse.

“Dell wants to become the old IBM Corp, a one stop shop for corporate clients. That model fell apart a couple of decades ago. Reviving it would be a stunning Coup for Dell,” said Erik Gordon.

 Industrial output up 6.4%  in Aug. CPI inflation at 4.4%  in September

Growth in retail inflation accelerated to 4.4 percent in September following three months of decelaration.

South Asian Games 2016 re-scheduled

The South Asian Asian Games 2016, which was originally scheduled between January 10 and 20  at Guwahati and Shilong, is now set to take place in the second fortnight of February. The decision was taken ananimously at a meeting of the South Asian Olympic Council here on Sunday.

Nobel Prize for physics

This year it is awarded in equal share to Mr. Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. Mcdonald or the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass.

Major question remains about ordering of relative masses of neutrinos, which needs to be taken care of in India based neutrino observatory (INO) detector.

Nobel Prize for economics

Nobel Prize in economics has been awarded to Mr. Angus Deaton. He is known for his work on consumption, poverty and welfare. He conducted extensive research in-

·       Health Care Delivery in Rural Rajasthan (with Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo).

·       Food and nutrition in India: Facts and Interpretations

He was born of in Edinburgh, Scotland and went to same school as Tony Blair. He studied in Cambridge, where he taught and at present he is at Princeton University.

Latest Current Affairs for SSC and Banking

Setting up of new AllMS under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna 

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for setting up of three new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AllMS) at Nagpur in Maharashtra, at Manglagiri in Andhra Pradesh and at Kalyani in West Bengal under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY). This involves financial implication of Rs.4949 crore. 

The new AIIMS will be established as institutes of national importance for providing quality medical education, nursing education and also to provide tertiary healthcare facilities to the people of these locations. The proposed institution shall have a hospital with capacity of 960 beds. In addition, there shall be a teaching block, administrative block, AYUSH block, auditorium, nursing college, night shelter, hostel and residential facilities. 

Of the total expenditure of Rs. 4949 crore, the cost of the new AIIMS at Manglagiri in Andhra Pradesh will be to the tune of Rs. 1618 crore, at Nagpur in Maharashtra of Rs.1577 crore and at Kalyani in West Bengal of Rs. 1754 crore. 

Setting up of these AIIMS will address regional imbalances in availability of affordable and reliable tertiary health care services in these regions. It will augment the facilities of quality medical education and would also address the shortfall of health care professionals in these regions. 

The large populations of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra (Vidarbha) and West Bengal along with adjoining States and region will be beneficiary of this project. 

Six new AIIMS under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY) have been made functional. Also construction of AIIMS, Rae Barely is under progress. 

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