Daily Current Affairs 13th October, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 13 October 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced LTC cash voucher scheme
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a Leave Travel Concession (LTC) cash voucher scheme and a special festival advance of Rs 10,000 to all government employees to increase consumer spending.

• Under this LTC Cash Voucher Scheme, government employees can opt to receive cash amounting to leave encashment, plus three times ticket fare, to buy items which attract a GST of 12 percent or more before March 31, 2021. Only digital transactions allowed, GST invoice to be produced.
• LTC Cash Voucher Scheme is expected to generate additional consumer demand in the range of Rs 28,000 crore. Central government payout on cash-in-lieu-for-LTC will be Rs 5,675 crore, and another Rs 1,900 crore will be payout by central PSUs and public sector banks.

Arunachal Pradesh to feature on country’s aviation map with Greenfield airport at Hollongi
Arunachal Pradesh is poised to feature on country’s aviation map with a greenfield airport at Hollongi. With estimated cost of 650 crore rupees, the project includes the development work, construction of airport pavements, air side work, terminal Building and city side works.

• The new domestic airport, with an area of 4,100 square metres, the Hollongi Airport will be able to handle 200 passengers during peak hours.
• The terminal will be an energy efficient building provisioned with Rain Water Harvesting system and sustainable landscape. The tentative date for completion of the project is November, 2022.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman announces fiscally prudent proposals to tune of Rs 73,000 cr to boost demand
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced 73 thousand crore rupees to stimulate consumer spending in the economy in an effort to fight the slowdown due to COVID-19 pandemic following lockdown.

• Ms. Sitharaman informed that the new proposals aim at giving a thrust of around 36 thousand crore rupees to the consumer demands by the Leave Travel Concession LTC Voucher and Festival advance scheme.Additionally she said, 37 thousand crore rupees will be infused in the capital expenditure by the Centre and the State Governments.
• In her announcement towards special assistance for states for utilisation under capital expenditure, Finance Minister informed that special interest free loans with a 50 year repayment term and amounting to 12 thousand crore rupees will be disbursed. Under the assistance scheme, 2 thousand 500 crore rupees will be given to the North Eastern States and Northern States Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.Seven thousand 500 crore rupees will be given to other states in proportion to their share in Finance Commission devolution.
• The minister also announced that an additional amount of 25 thousand crore rupees will be provided by the Centre through capital expenditure on roads, defence infrastructure, water supply, urban development and domestically produced capital equipment.

UP Govt to dedicate Navratra Festival to ‘Women’s Safety’ by launching ‘Mission Shakti’
The Uttar Pradesh government will dedicate the coming Navratra festival to women’s safety, dignity and empowerment by launching “Mission Shakti”.

• Various programmes will be organised from gram panchayats to industrial units, school campuses to government offices, from Durga Puja pandals to Ramlilas to reaffirm the faith and resolve towards women power.

Kerala becomes first state to have completely digital, hi-tech classrooms in all public schools
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has declared the state public education sector completely digital as Kerala has become the first state in the country to have high-tech classrooms in all its public schools.

• All 16,030 public schools in Kerala now have laptops, multimedia projectors, LED TVs, and over 12,000 have broadband internet connectivity.
• The state government  took up the Public Education Rejuvenation Mission aimed at upgrading all classrooms to international standards and to set-up Hi-Tech IT labs. The Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) was assigned the task to carry out the Mission with funding from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India slips to rank 151 in protecting labour rights
India has fared poorly in protecting labour rights and has slipped to rank 151 among 158 countries, according to Oxfam’s Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index (CRII) report. 

• India also slipped from rank 141 to 151 with weak labour rights and high incidence of vulnerable employment.
• Highest presence of informal sector for men was in Uttar Pradesh at 86.9 per cent and for women was in Andhra Pradesh at 73.6 per cent.
• Overall, India ranked 129 in the CRI index out of 158 countries on government policies, and actions in areas of public services of education, health, social protection, taxation, and workers’ rights. Norway topped the CRI index.
• The CRII is a global report that ranks 158 governments, including India, on their commitment to reducing inequality.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India will be 3rd-largest economy by 2050: Lancet
India is likely to overtake Japan as the third largest economy in the world by 2050 and continue in that position till 2100, according to a study published in the medical journal Lancet. The study constructed scenarios for GDP using the working age population of countries.

• The study based 2017 as the reference when India was the seventh largest economy in the world, and forecast that India will emerge as the fourth largest economy by 2030 behind USA, China, Japan and by 2050 it will go onto the third spot.
• By 2100, India was forecasted to still have the largest working-age population in the world, followed by Nigeria, China, and the USA.
• Other countries bolstered by immigration that rose up in the global rankings by GDP were Australia and Israel. Despite huge declines in population forecasted this century, Japan remained the fourth-largest economy in 2100, according to the study on fertility, mortality, migration and population scenarios for 195 countries from 2017 to 2100.

SPORTS

Polish teenager Iga Swiatek becomes the new French Open Champion
In Tennis, Polish teenager Iga Swiatek has become the new French Open Champion. She beat the American Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in the Women Singles final by 6-4, 6-1.

• The 19-year-old Swiatek will earn $1,900,000 for the incredible achievement and moves to 17th position in the world ranking.

AIFF announces ‘Indian Football – Forward Together’ as its new motto
All India Football Federation, the apex body for the sport of football in the country, announced the launch of their new motto  ‘Indian Football. Forward Together’, defining the new brand direction.

• The motto is based on the core belief of the Federation to promote, grow and develop the game of football throughout India with the support of the football community, and creates synergy with the core values of the organization – passion, respect, leadership, teamwork, integrity, professionalism and inclusivity.

APPOINTMENTS

Akbar Ebrahim Gets A Second Term As FMSCI President
Former racer Akbar Ebrahim was unanimously elected for a second term as the president of India’s motorsports governing body, FMSCI.

• Farooq Ahmed was unanimously elected as the vice-president
• Ebrahim had his first stint as FMSCI chief from 2016-2018 following which he was replaced by J Prithviraj.

New Delhi woman Chaitanya Venkateswaran ‘becomes’ British High Commissioner for a day
Delhi girl Chaitanya Venkateswaran recently became the British high commissioner to India for a day.

• The 18-year-old won the ‘High Commissioner for the Day’ contest organised by the mission in the run-up to the International Day of the Girl Child, which is on October 11.

AWARDS

8 Indian beaches awarded international ‘Blue Flag’ certification
Eight beaches in India have been awarded the coveted ‘Blue Flag’ certification by an eminent international jury, which comprises members of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

• The beaches selected for the certification are: Kappad (Kerala), Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri (Karnataka), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh), Golden (Odisha) and Radhanagar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands).
• The ‘Blue Flag’ is a certification that can be obtained by a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator, and serves as an eco-label. The certification is awarded by the Denmark-based non-profit Foundation for Environmental Education.

Prince William and Sir David Attenborough launches £50m Earthshot Prize for environmental solutions
Prince William and Sir David Attenborough  launched the Earthshot Prize, which offers £50m (US$65m) in funding for solutions to the environmental and climate crises.

• The aim of the prize, which was launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation, is to provide an incentive to find solutions to repair the planet over the next decade.

Nobel Prize 2020 in Economics awarded to Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson for improvements to auction theory
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Economics, also called the Memorial Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economics, has been awarded to a pair of Stanford professors – Professor Paul R Milgrom and Professor Robert B Wilson for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats.

• Wilson shared the prize for developing a theory that clubs together auction items with similar value.
• Prof Milgrom was awarded half the prize for his contributions in understanding how private action values vary from bidder to bidder in an auction.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IIT Delhi-incubated Startup Launches Antimicrobial Water Storage Containers ‘AqCure’
IIT Delhi-incubated startup Nanosafe Solutions has developed a range of antimicrobial mixing traditional science with nanotechnology i.e. antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal water storage containers and launched it as “AqCure”, which is based on the inherent antimicrobial properties of copper.

• AqCure water containers have>99.99% antibacterial, >99.99% antifungal, and >99% antiviral activity tested as per ISO and ASTM standards.
• These containers are made from BPA/BPS-free high quality food grade polymers and is ideal for home and office use.

North Korea unveils massive new ballistic missile in military parade
North Korea unveiled what analysts believe to be one of the world’s largest ballistic missiles at a military parade celebrating the 75th anniversary in Pyongyang.

• The massive weapon Hwasong-15, was carried by an 11-axle truck, capable of carrying a super-heavy nuclear warhead.
• Solid-fueled missiles offer an advantage over liquid-fueled ones in that they can move without fuel trucks accompanying them. This means they can be launched more quickly and hidden more easily from spy satellites.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

A former RAW officer unravels the path to 1984 in his book `The Khalistan Conspiracy’
A former intelligence officer with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), GBS Sidhu has written the book titled ” The Khalistan Conspiracy”.

• The book published by HarperCollins will be released on October 24.
• The contents of this book revolve around a two-phased, top-secret operation, which he named “Operation Bhindranwale-Khalistan”. It was initiated and managed by some senior and influential Congress leaders operating from the prime minister’s residential office at 1 Akbar Road, New Delhi.

OBITUARIES

Former Odisha Assembly Speaker Sarat Kar passes away
Former speaker of Odisha Assembly and renowned writer Sarat Kumar Kar, passed away at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar. He was 81.

• Kar was a member of the ruling Biju Janta Dal ( BJD), he was selected as a Janata Party (Lok Dal) MP in 1977 from Cuttack, he was also elected three times (2000-04, 1990-95 and 1971-74) to the Odisha Legislative Assembly from Mahana, he also became Education minister in 1971 in the Buswanath Das lead coalition government.

Philanthropist Savithri Vaithi passes away at 92
Renowned philanthropist and social worker Savithri Vaithi succumbed to a cardiac arrest in Chennai . He was 92.

• Vaithi was the founder of the Vishranthi Old Age Home and Madras Charity Club.Vishranthi home has been providing shelter for women aged above 60, abandoned by families since 1978. The home now has 175 residents.

Nagaland Environment Minister C M Chang passes away
Nagaland Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Justice and Law C.M. Chang passed away at Naga Hospital Authority, Kohima. He was 77.

• He was the sitting MLA of NDPP from 51-Noksen Assembly Constituency.
• He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009 and had served the state government in various capacities as an IAS officer.

Former Indian football captain Carlton Chapman passes away
Former India football captain Carlton Chapman, who had formed a deadly trio in club football with Bhaichung Bhutia and IM Vijayan in the 1990s, died following a heart attack in Bengaluru. He was 49.

• Chapman – an integral part of the Indian team from 1995 to 2001 – was among the last footballers from Karnataka to make a big impression on the international stage. A midfielder known for his speedy runs and clever assists, Chapman was the perfect foil for strikers.
• Under his captaincy, the Indian team won the SAFF Championship trophy in Kathmandu (Nepal) in 1997. Chapman was part of the Indian team which won the SAF Games (1995) in Chennai, Nehru Cup (1997) in Kochi, and SAFF Championship (1999) in Margao.

Kannada film director Vijay Reddy passes away
Veteran film-maker B. Vijaya Reddy, better known as Vijay in the Kannada film industry, passed away in Chennai. He was 84.

• Reddy worked primarily in Kannada cinema with over 50 movies to his credit including 48 in Kannada. His debut directorial venture was Rangamahal Rahasya in the year 1970.

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