Latest Current Affairs – October 08 2018
1. Weightlifter Jeremy gives India 1st gold in Youth Olympics history
Weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga has become India’s first-ever gold medallist in the history of Youth Olympics. The 15-year-old achieved the feat by lifting a total weight of 274 kg in the men’s 62 kg category at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Monday. Jeremy had won silver at last year’s Youth World Weightlifting Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.
2. Only 12 yrs left to limit catastrophe of climate change: UN
Global temperatures may exceed 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052, which could lead to a catastrophic climate change, a UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report has warned. To contain warming at 1.5°C, greenhouse gas emissions need to decline by 45% by 2030 from 2010 levels. Further, renewable energy would be needed to supply up to 85% of electricity by 2050.
3. DRDO employee arrested for leaking BrahMos missile secrets to Pakistan
A man employed with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was arrested on suspicion of leaking sensitive details about the BrahMos cruise missile to Pakistan. The man, identified as Nishant Agarwal, was detained from Nagpur in a joint operation by UP Anti-Terrorism Squad and Military Intelligence. He was employed at a BrahMos production centre near Nagpur since last four years.
4. Chelsea legend and ex-England captain John Terry retires aged 37
Chelsea legend and ex-England captain John Terry has retired from football at the age of 37 after being without a club since leaving Championship side Aston Villa this summer. Terry played 78 matches for England and represented Chelsea 717 times in 19 seasons, winning 15 major trophies. “My…heart will always belong to Chelsea,” Terry wrote in his farewell note.
5. William Nordhaus, Paul Romer win 50th Nobel Prize for Economics
American economists William D Nordhaus and Paul M Romer were awarded the 50th Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for innovation, climate and economic growth. While William was recognised for his work on climate economics, Romer was awarded for his work on endogenous growth theory. They will share a $1-million cash prize.
6. India can be hit by 2015-like heatwave that killed 2,500: UN
India could be hit by a 2015-like heatwave, which killed 2,500 people, if global warming increases by 2°C over pre-industrial levels, according to a UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. It specifically mentions Kolkata among cities that face higher threat of heatwaves. The report claimed several hundred million people will escape climate-risks if global warming is limited to 1.5°C.
7. Indian Navy begins bilateral exercise with Japan after 5 yrs
The Indian Navy began the third edition of JIMEX, a nine-day bilateral maritime exercise with Japan, after a gap of five years. The exercise is aimed at improving understanding and imbibing the best practices of each other, the Navy said. The exercise, being held in Visakhapatnam, shows an “upswing” in defence relations between the two nations, it added.
8. Government panel to probe big discounts by Amazon, Flipkart
The government is probing the Competition Act 2002 to check if the big discounts offered by online retailers like Amazon, Flipkart promote competition. A 10-member panel has been set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) for the same. The competition law review panel will be chaired by corporate affairs secretary, Injeti Srinivas.
9. Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton moved to the brink of a fifth World Championship with a lights-to-flag Japanese Grand Prix victory. Mercedes’ Hamilton was dominant as title rival Sebastian Vettel ran into trouble attempting to gain ground from eighth place on the grid.
10. Nirman Kusuma programme launched by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
The main objective is to provide financial assistance for technical education to children of construction workers. The total cost of the project is around Rs. 1.09 crore that has been deposited to the accounts of the beneficiaries.
11. Scientists developed a new DNA analysis tool that can help arresting criminals
The researcher at the Flinders University in Australia has developed a new test that can reveal the amount of DNA people shed, a tool that could be used by forensic experts to catch criminals using genetic clues left at crime scenes.
A single tap of a finger on items like door handles, glass or even shaking hands can help identify and link potential suspects to a crime.
12. India’s Keerthana Pandian wins Girls Title in IBSF World U-16 Snooker Championships
India’s Keerthana Pandian won her first international title when she lifted the the girls’ title in the IBSF World Under-16 Snooker Championships. In the corresponding boys category, Ben Martens of Belgium clinched the title in St Petersburg, Russia. Keerthana won the girls’ title by outclassing Belarussian rival Albina Leschuk 3-1 in the final.
13. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates first Uttarakhand Investors Summit in Dehradun
PM Modi participated in the two-day event to explore investment opportunities in the hill state in 12 major sectors, including tourism and hospitality. A large number of leading business firms and industrial houses are likely to participate in the two-day event in the state. In the last two years, Centre and state governments have taken more than 10,000 steps which have helped India gain more than 42 points in Ease of Business.
14. Maharashtra launches website and app Maha madat to analyze drought situation
The main aim of the Website app to help in the accurate analysis of the drought-like situation in villages of the state. The website has been created by the Relief and Rehabilitation Ministry with the help of the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Centre (MRSAC). The Region is declared as Drought based on the two criteria laid down by the Centre in 2016. Drought can be declared if a region does not receive rain for a span of 21 days.
15. Natwar Thakkar passed away
Eminent Gandhian Natwar Thakkar passed away on 7th October 2018 due to his ill health. His efforts to spread Gandhian philosophy and peace had earned him the title ‘Nagaland’s Gandhi’. He was the founder of Nagaland Gandhi Ashram. He was honoured with the Padma Shri award.
Mr.Thakkar had been chosen as a member of a committee constituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the year-long celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary across the country. He went Nagaland from Maharashtra in 1955 when the movement for secession from India under the legendary Naga leader A.Z. Angami was gaining momentum. His Gandhian mission was viewed as a front for espionage by New Delhi and he was often told, at gunpoint, to leave the Naga domain.
16. India celebrates its 86th Air Force Day on 8th October
India celebrates its 86th Air Force Day on 8th October 2018. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is to hold a grand parade-cum-investiture ceremony at the Air Force Station at Hindon in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. President Ram Nath Kovind congratulated the valiant air warriors of IAF on its 86th anniversary.
IAF is the fourth largest air force in the world, after the United States, Russia and China. IAF has around 1,500 aircraft in its fleet that operates out of 60 air bases. It has more than 600 combat aircraft and over 500 transport carriers and choppers.
The Indian Air Force has five commands across India: the Western Air Command, with its headquarters in New Delhi, the Southwestern Air Command at Jodhpur in Rajasthan, the Eastern Air Command at Shillong in Meghalaya, the Central Air Command at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, and the Southern Air Command at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
