CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/14/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/14/2015

1. ‘PRESIDENT PRANAB MUKHERJEE’ CONFERRED WITH HONORARY DOCTORATE BY AL-QUDS UNIVERSITY

i. Al-Quds University conferred Honorary Doctorate on President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony held in Ramallah.

ii. President Pranab Mukhrejee is on a visit to Palestine and he is the first Indian president to visit Palestine.

iii. India has also given a grant of 5 million US Dollars to Palestine as Budgetary assistance.

iv. Al-Quds University is a Palestinian university. It was established  in 1984.

PM OF PALESTINE: Rami Hamdallah

2. ‘KETOPROFEN DRUG’ BANNED IN TAMIL NADU

i. Tamil Nadu  government banned the use of Ketoprofen drug  which is used extensively for veterinary purposes.

ii. The government have banned ketoprofen drug to save critically endangered vultures in the state.

iii. Ketoprofen drug has man negative effects on vultures such as Doses administered to cattle in India are sufficient to kill the birds,The drug causes the birds to suffer acute kidney failure.

3. ‘SHWETA RATHORE’ 1ST INDIAN FEMALE BODYBUILDER TO WIN SILVER IN ASIAN BODY BUILDING CHAMPIONSHIP

i. Indian female bodybuilder Shweta Rathore won a silver medal in the 49th Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Championship, held in Uzbekistan.

ii. She became the first ever Indian female bodybuilder to win a medal at a continental level tournament.

iii. After winning silver medal in Asian body building championship,she qualified for the World Championship, to be held in Thailand in November 2015.

4. GREEN INDIAN MISSION PLANS APPROVED FOR 4 STATES

i. Union Environment Ministry has approved annual plans of National Mission for Green India of four states including Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur and Jharkhand.

ii. The approval has been granted for maximizing the use of environment friendly energy devices such as biogas, LPG, solar devices, biomass-based systems and improved stoves.

iii. This will reduce carbon emission, along with health and other associated benefits.

iv. National Mission for Green India aims at protecting,enhancing and restoring India’s decreasing forest cover and responding to climate change by a combination of mitigation and adaptation measures.

5. ‘FILMMAKER I.V. SASI’ HONOURED WITH J.C. DANIEL AWARD

i. Malayalam filmmaker I.V. Sasi  honoured with the prestigious J.C. Daniel Award for the year 2014 .

ii. He is awarded  for his contributions towards the Malayalam entertainment industry.

iii. The J.C. Daniel Award is given by the Government of Kerala. It was started in 1992.

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/13/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/13/2015

1.  ‘ECONOMIST ANGUS DEATON’ WINS 2015 NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMIC SCIENCES ANNOUNCED

i. Economist Angus Deaton has won 2015 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.

ii. He is selected for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare.

iii. His analysis and research work has linked detailed individual choices and aggregate outcomes which has helped to transform the fields of macroeconomics, microeconomics and development economics.

2.  ‘NOVAK DJOKOVIC’ IN MEN AND ‘GARBIÑE MUGURUZA’ IN WOMEN WON 2015 CHINA OPEN

i. The 2015 China Open for the men was won by Novak Djokovic and Women’s Singles title was won by Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain.

ii. Men’s Doubles title was won by Vasek Pospisil of Canada and Jack Sock of US.

iii. Women’s Doubles title was won by Sania Mirza of India and Martina Hingis of Switzerland.

3. ANNUAL MEETINGS OF WORLD BANK GROUP AND IMF HELD IN PERU

i. Annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund were held in Peru.

ii. The meeting was attended by central bankers, finance ministers and private senior executives from the member countries of both the World Bank Group and the IMF.

iii. They have discussed the Role of World Bank and the IMF to support the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and implementation of the 2010 IMF quota and governance reforms.

4. ‘RANGANATH D MAVINAKERE’ IS APPOINTED AS NEW CFO OF INFOSYS

i. Infosys has appointed Ranganath D Mavinakere as its new Chief Financial Officer.

ii. Ranganath D Mavinakere will replace Rajiv Bansal.

iii. Infosys is India’s second largest software services firm.

5. INDIA-SRI LANKA ‘EXERCISE MITRA SHAKTI’ BEGINS

i. Mitra Shakti exercise between India and Sri Lanka begins in Pune, Maharashtra.

ii. It is started to understand the transnational terrorism, developing interoperability and conduct of joint tactical operations.

iii. The main purpose of exercise is to eradicate the menace of terrorism in all its forms between both countries.

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/12/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/12/2015

1. ‘PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK’ GRABBED BEIGHTON CUP OF HOCKEY

i. Punjab National Bank grabbed the Beighton Cup hockey tournament at the Sports Authority of India  ground in Kolkata.

ii. PNB  has defeated Indian Oil Corporation by 5-3 in final.

iii. Beighton Cup is  one of the oldest field hockey tournaments, which  was started in 1895,in the Remembrance of   T.D. Beighton, Legal of the Government of Bengal.

2. ‘K P SHARMA OLI’ ELECTED AS THE NEW PRIME MINISTER OF NEPAL

i. Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli of Communist Party of Nepal CPN-UML was elected as new Prime Minister of Nepal.

ii. He became first Prime Minister of Nepal under the newly adopted secular, republic and federal Constitution of Nepal.

3.’ NOVAK DJOKOVIC’ WON 2015 CHINA OPEN MEN’S SINGLES TITLE

i. Novak Djokovic won the China Open Men’s Singles title h held at the National Tennis Centre in Beijing.

ii. Novak Djokovic defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain to won the title

iii. He is the only player to have won the title six times.

4. ‘AJAY JAYARAM’ GRABBED 2015 DUTCH OPEN MEN’S SINGLES TITLE

i. Ajay Jayaram of India grabbed  the 2015 Dutch Open Men’s Singles badminton title held at Almere in Netheralnds.

ii. Ajay Jayaram defeated Estonia’s Raul Must by 21-12 21-18.

iii.Ajay Jayaram won his maiden title in 2014, it was the fourth overall title for India.

iv.Earlier the other two titles were won by Prakash Padukone and Chetan Anand in 1982 and 2009 respectively.

5. ‘TAPAN RAY’ APPOINTED TO BOARD OF SEBI

i.Tapan Ray Secretary of Corporate Affairs was  appointed to the Board of  Securities and Exchange Board of India.

ii.Tapan  Ray has  succeeded Anjuly Chib Duggal on the SEBI board.

SEBI was formed in 1988,

Chairman of SEBI: Upendra Kumar Sinha,

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/11/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/11/2015

1. ‘MISSION ABAAS’ LAUNCHED BY ODISHA GOVERNMENT

i. Odisha Government launched Mission Abaas, state’s urban housing mission, to provide affordable houses to Economically Weaker Sections, Low Income Groups and slum dwellers.

ii. The main objective of scheme is  protection and welfare of slum dwellers by providing affordable housing  with basic amenities of life such as regular water supply, electricity,roads, and drainage facilties.

CM OF ODISHA: Naveen Patnaik

2. ‘INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD’ OBSERVED ON 11 OCT

i. International Day of the Girl Child was observed across the world on 11 October.

ii. The Theme of the day was :The Power of Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030.

iii. The objective of the day is to raise awareness about importance of girl child and steps to promote gender equality.

3.  ‘LEWIS HAMILTON’ WON 2015 FORMULA-1 RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX TITLE

i. Lewis Hamilton of Britain and Mercedes racing driver  won the 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix title held at Sochi Autodrom in Sochi, Russia.

ii. Hamilton  has won the ninth title in the 2015 season.

iii. He had already won titles in Australia, China, Bahrain, Canada, the UK, Belgium, Italy and Japan prior to the present victory.

4. ‘INDIA WON MEN’S HOCKEY TEST SERIES’ AFTER DEFEATING NEW ZEALAND

i. India won the Men's Hockey Test series after defeating New Zealand in, India BY 2-1.

CAPTAIN OF INDIA MEN HOCKEY TEAM: Sardar Singh

CAPTAIN OF INDIA WOMEN HOCKEY TEAM: Ritu Rani

5. ‘NOVEMBER 26’ TO BE OBSERVED AS ‘CONSTITUTION DAY’

i. India will observe 26 November as Constitution Day.

ii. The day is observed to spread awareness of Indian Constitution and its architecture.

iii. Importance of the day is that on 26 November 1949, Indian constitution was adopted by the 389 member Constituent Assembly and it came into force on 26 January, 1950.

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/10/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/10/2015

1. ‘SEKHAR BASU’ AS NEW  CHAIRMAN OF ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION

i. Sekhar Basu  appointed as the  new chairman of Atomic Energy Commission.

ii. Sekhar Basu will replace  RK Sinha who superannuates on 23 October 2015.

iii. The Atomic Energy Commission was established in August 1948 to look after atomic energy activities in the country.

iv. The Atomic Energy Commission is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister.

2. VETERAN MUSIC DIRECTOR ‘RAVINDRA JAIN’ PASSED AWAY

i. Renowned music director and lyricist Ravindra Jain passed away due to multiple-organ failure in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

ii. His famous songs are Geet Gaata Chal, Chor Machaye Shor, Chitchor, Nadiya ke Paar, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, Do Jasoos and Henna.

3. ‘WORLD EGG DAY’ OBSERVED ON 9^TH OCT

i. World Egg Day was observed on 9 October 2015 across the world.

ii. The Day is observed raise awareness of the benefits of eggs and is celebrated in countries all around the world.

4. ‘V20 GROUP’ LAUNCHED BY VULNERABLE NATIONS

i. V20 Group launched by Finance Ministers of 20 nations vulnerable to climate change.

ii. The Group was launched during the annual meeting of International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Lima, Peru.

iii. The Group aims to pool resources for their fight against the impact of global warming and is a counterpoint to the G20 group of leading industrialised and emerging economies.

5. RENOWNED FLAUTIST ‘N. RAMANI’ PASSES AWAY

i. Renowned flautist Dr. Natesan Ramani passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

ii. He was known for introducing the long flute in Carnatic music and had developed his own inimitable style in the field of flute music especially on Venu flute.

6. ‘JOINT DECLARATION TO ENSURE ORDERLY & LEGAL MIGRATION’ ISSUED BY BRICS

i. BRICS released Joint Declaration to ensure orderly and legal migration between member nations and to respect human rights.

ii. The declaration was issued at the first BRICS Ministerial meeting on Migration held in Sochi, Russia..

iii. The Indian delegation was headed by Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju.

BRICS INCLUDE: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/09/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/09/2015

1. ‘NATIONAL DIALOGUE QUARTET’ GRABBED 2015 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

i. National Dialogue Quartet in Tunisia has won 2015 Nobel Peace Prize.

ii. National Dialogue Quartet   is selected for its decisive contribution in building pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the 2011 Jasmine Revolution.

iii. National Dialogue Quartet was established in 2013 as an alternative, peaceful political process at a time, when Tunisia was on the brink of civil war aftermath of revolution.

2. ‘WORLD POST DAY’ OBSERVED ON 9^TH OCTOBER

i. World Post Day was observed on 9 October.

ii. The Theme of world post day was ‘Posts claim their place in the changing communication landscape’.

iii. The day marks the date of establishment of Universal Postal Union  in 1874 in Bern, Switzerland.

iv. World Post Day is observed to create awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s lives.

3. INDO-CHINA JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE ‘HAND-IN-HAND’

i. Joint Military exercise between India and china HAND-IN-HAND will be conducted at Kunming Military Academy of Yunnan province in China

ii. It will be the fifth joint military exercise in the Hand-in-Hand series between armies of both countries which started in 2007.

4. ‘INDIAN AIR FORCE DAY’ OBSERVED ON 8TH OCTOBER 2015

i. Indian Air Force  on 8 October  celebrated its 83nd foundation day as Air Force Day at the Air Force Station in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

ii. The day is observed to increase the awareness about the importance of IAF as an important part of the national security.

Air Chief Marshal: Arup Raha

5. ‘AR RAHMAN’ NAMED AS CULTURAL AMBASSADOR OF SEYCHELLES

i. Music composer AR Rahman was named as the Cultural Ambassador of Seychelles.

ii. He named as   Cultural Ambassador of Seychelles for his contribution in enhancing the country’s Art and Culture Development.

6.  ‘SVETLANA ALEXIEVICH’ NAMED FOR 2015 ‘NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE’

i. Svetlana Alexievich of Belarus has been selected for 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature.

ii. He is selected for her polyphonic writings, courage and a monument to suffering.

iii. She became 14th women Literature Laureate and she is also the first writer from Belarus to receive this award.

7. FORBES ‘ASIA’S RICHEST FAMILIES LIST’ RELEASED

i. Forbes released the list of Forbes' 50 richest families in Asia.

ii. The list was topped by Lee family of South Korea with 26.6 billion dollar.

iii. Ambani family ranked 3^rd in the list with worth of 21.5 billion dollar.

iv. India with 14 persons in the list has the most spots from any country.

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/08/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/08/2015

1. ‘CYCLIST DEBORAH HEROLD’ 1^ST INDIAN TO WIN FIVE MEDALS AT TAIWAN CUP

i. Indian cyclist Deborah Herold grabbed 1gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal at the 2015 Taiwan Cup held in Taiwan.

ii. She became the first ever Indian cyclist to win in women's elite section.

2. ‘PROTOCOL FOR COOPERATION IN BLUE ECONOMY’ BETWEEN INDIA AND SEYCHELLES APPROVED

i. The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the protocol for cooperation in the field of blue economy between India and Seychelles.

ii. The Blue Economy is marine-based economic development that leads to improved human well-being and social equity, reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.

iii. It includes the Reframing the oceans as “Development Spaces” that are subject to spatial planning.

3. ‘RAIF BADAWI AND JAMES FENTON’ SHARED 2015 PEN PINTER PRIZE

i. Raif Badawi and James Fenton  honored with the 2015 PEN Pinter Prize.

ii.Raif Badawi was named as the 2015 International Writer of Courage by Fenton himself during a public event held at the British Library in London.

iii.The PEN Pinter Prize is an annual literary award launched in 2009 by English PEN in honour of the late Nobel Literature Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter.

4. NOBEL PRIZE IN ‘CHEMISTRY’ FOR 2015 ANNOUNCED

i. Tomas Lindahl of UK, Paul Modrich of US and Aziz Sancar of US  have jointly won 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

ii. Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has chosen them for their research on mechanistic studies of  Deoxyribo nucleic acid  repair.

iii. They have provided basic knowledge of functioning of living cell functions and its application for the development of new cancer treatments.

5. UNION CABINET APPROVED SETTING UP OF ‘3 AIIMS’ UNDER PRADHAN MANTRI SWASTHYA SURAKSHA YOJNA

i. The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of 3 new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna.

ii. The new AIIMS will be set up at Nagpur in Maharashtra, at Manglagiri in Andhra Pradesh and at Kalyani in West Bengal.

iii. These AIIMS will provide quality medical education, nursing education and also to provide tertiary healthcare facilities to the people of these locations.

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/07/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/07/2015

1.’SERGEY KARJAKIN’ GRABBED 2015 WORLD CUP CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

i. Sergey Karjakin of Russia has won 2015 World Cup Chess Championship held at Baku, Azerbaijan.

ii. Sergey Karjakin defeated Peter Svidler by 6-4 score.

iii. He holds the record for being world’s youngest Chess Grandmaster at the age young of 12 years and 7 months.

2. ‘TAKAAKI KAJITA AND ARTHUR B. MCDONALD’ HAVE JOINTLY WON THE 2015 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS

i. Takaaki Kajita of Japan and Arthur B. McDonald of Canada have jointly won the prestigious 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics.

ii. They are selected for their key contributions to experiments showing that neutrinos change identities. They individually have discovered neutrino oscillations and shown that neutrinos have mass.

3. ‘INS ASTRADHARANI’ INDUCTED INTO INDIAN NAVY

i. INS Astradharani was inducted into Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

ii. It is Indian‘s first indigenously- built Torpedo launch and recovery vessel.

iii. It has replaced INS Astravahini which was decommissioned from India Navy in July, 2015.

4. ‘PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS CONFERENCE 2016’ TO BE HELD IN NEW DELHI

i. The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Conference 2016 will be held in New Delhi from 8 January to 10 January 2016.

ii. The objective of the conference is developing a new paradigm for engagement with the Diaspora over the next decade.

5. ‘JACK DORSEY’ APPOINTED AS NEW PERMANENT CEO OF TWITTER

i. Twitter has appointed Jack Dorsey as permanent CEO for second time.

ii. He will replace Dick Costolo who had resigned in June, 2015.

ii. With this new appointment he will cease to be chairman of the board of Twitter but will continue to serve as a member of the board.

iii. Twitter is an online social networking service.

6.’CHINA’ GRABBED 2015 FIBA ASIAN BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

i. China grabbed the International Basketball Federation Asia Championship by defeating the Philippines in the final.

ii. The victory of FIBA Asian Basketball Championship has made china’s qualification for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

7. ‘WORLD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK REPORT’ RELEASED BY IMF

i. International Monetary Fund  released World Economic Outlook report  titled ‘Adjusting to Lower Commodity Prices’

ii. India’s growth is expected to strengthen from 7.3 percent 2015 and last year to 7.5 percent in 2016.

iii. Global growth is projected to decline from 3.4 percent in 2014 to 3.1 percent in 2015, before picking up to 3.6 percent in 2016

iv. According to report inflation in India, is expected to decline further in 2015, reflecting the fall in global oil and agricultural commodity prices.

8. RBI RELAXED NORMS OF FPI INVESTMENT IN GOVERNMENT SECURITIES

i. The Reserve Bank of India5 relaxed the norms of Foreign Portfolio Investors of government debt.

ii. It also announced higher investment limits in rupee terms in government securities with a view to bring in an additional 1.2 lakh crore rupees by March 2018.

iii. These directions were issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/06/2015

CURRENT AFFAIRS OCT/06/2015

1. ‘RULED OR MISRULED: STORY AND DESTINY OF BIHAR’ BOOK  WRITTEN  BY SANTOSH SINGH RELEASED

i. Ruled or Misruled: Story and Destiny of Bihar written  by the Assistant Editor of the Indian Express’ Santosh Singh was released .

ii. The book provide a 360 degree journey of Bihar politics since Independence.

iii. The book also explains the stories of repair, hope and construction under Nitish Kumar.CM OF BIHAR: Nitish kumar

2. ‘SHASHI KAPOOR’ HONOURED WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

i.Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor honoured with Lifetime Achievement award during the  6th Jagran Film Festival in Mumbai.

List of winners:

• Best Director award to Shoojit Sircar for his film Piku

• Best Feature Film award to Kaushik Ganguly's Bengali film Chotoder Chobi

• Best Actor (male) award to Dulal Sarkar for an outstanding performance in Chotoder Chobi

• Best Actor (female) award to Bhumi Pednekar for her portrayal of Sandhya in Dum Laga Ke Haisha

• Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema award to Veteran make-up artiste Pandhari Juker

3. ‘INDIA AND GERMANY’ INKED 18 MOUS AND AGREEMENTS IN NEW DELHI

i. India and Germany have signed 18 agreements and memorandum of understanding in various sectors at the end of third edition of Indo-German Inter-governmental Consultations in new delhi.

ii. The Indo-German ICG was co-chaired by PM Narendra Modi and his  counterpart German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

 Some important agreements signed are:

i) Joint Declaration of Intent on Languages: It will promote German as a foreign language in India and promote modern Indian Languages in Germany.

ii) MoU on Solar Energy: will promote Indo-German Development Cooperation for Indo-German Solar Energy Partnership.

iii) Joint MoU on Skill Development will Boost cooperation in the Field of Skill Development and Vocational Education and Training.

iv) MoU on Security Cooperation was signed between Union Ministry of Home Affairs and Federal Ministry of the Interior of Germany.

4. ‘NATIONAL ANTI-DRUG ADDICTION DAY’ OBSERVED ON 2^ND OCT

i. The National Anti-Drug Addiction Day was observed on 2 October  across the country to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi .

ii. The aim of the National Anti-Drug Addiction day is to make India free from drug and to preserve the talent.

iii. It was created by the Union Government against the backdrop of growing drug addiction in the country.

5. ‘NOBEL PRIZE’ IN PHYSIOLOGY OR MEDICINE-2015 ANNOUNCED

i. The Nobel Committee announced names of recipients in Physiology or Medicine   .

ii. The 2015 prize for physiology or medicine  will be given jointly to William C Campbell of Ireland and Satoshi Omura of Japan for their discoveries against infections caused by roundworm parasites and the other half to You Tu of China for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria.