CURRENT AFFAIRS October Week II

Awards And Honours

Appointments

National Round-Up

• Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in Maharashtra to provide free LPG connections to BPL households.
• Indiawill host the Asian ministerial conference for disaster risk reduction which will focus on partnership with governments and stakeholders toimbibe the practices in the region’s development narrative.
• The Union Health Ministry has made mandatory screening of oral, cervix and breast cancer for male and female above the age of 30.
• The first project will start in Agartalain November and then the government will take it forward.
• India’s highest mountain peak Mount Kanchendzonga and Kanchendzonga National Park, recently declared a world heritage site, will be promoted as eco-tourism 
• India ranked 97th out of 118 countries on the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI) Global Hunger Index (GHI) in 2016.
• The 42nd edition of the gifts and handicrafts fair IHGF-Delhi Fair Autumn 2016, to be held in New Delhi from October 14-18.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, has approved the mechanism for revision of ethanol price for supply to Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to carry out the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP)
• The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment and operationalization of an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Jammuin a transit/ temporary campus in the Old Government College of Engineering & Technology from the academic year 2016-17.
• India is home to the fourth-largest population of high net worth individuals (HNIs) in the Asia-Pacific, with total wealth of $797 billion, says a report. 
• The Centre has considered a three-pronged approach to revitalise India’s retail and wholesale trade. This includes establishing a regulatory body for national internal trade (retail and wholesale), a comprehensive domestic trade policy and a Board for Internal Trade.

Snippets From The States

• Haryana‘s hinterlands into tourist hot-spots, the stategovernment started the ‘Farm Tourism‘ scheme, under which registered farm owners can host tourists under holiday packages.
• The BJP inArunachal Pradesh officially became a part of the People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) government with the induction of senior BJP MLA Tamiyo Taga in the council of ministers.
• Goa tourismis set to launch its amphibious bus service as it has now got all the required permissions, including the crucial permission from the transport department.
• Telangana state festival ‘Bathukamma’entered the Guinness Book of World Recordsas 9,292 women participated in the ceremony at L.B. Stadium that was also attended by Tennis star Sania Mirza.
• Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated India’s firstcentre for international arbitration in Mumbai.
• The Haryana governmentis considering a proposal to install telephones in all state jails specifically for the use of prisoners.
• TheTelangana government created 21 new districts, taking the total number to 31 in the state. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao cut a ribbon in the new district of Siddipet,

Cabinet Approvals: 13 October 2016

• Union Textiles Minister to Inaugurate India International Silk Fair
• PetroFed Signs MoU with TERI To Undertake a study On Climate ChangeRisks
• Meeting between, Commerce and Industry Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman and Mr. Marcos Pereira, Minister of Industry, Foregin Trade and Services, Brazil.
• Bilateral Meeting of the Commerce and Industries Minister, Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman With Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister For Ministry of Finance and Commerce, China.
• Cabinet Approves MoU between Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) On General Cooperation With the New Development Bank (NDB), Along With Other Development Financial Institutions of BRICSNations
• Cabinet Approves New Link between Sahibganj Bypass In Jharkhand To Manihari Bypass In Bihar Including Four Lane Bridge On River Ganga
• Cabinet Approves MoU between India and the Russian Federation On Expansion of Bilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation
• Cabinet Approves MoU between India and Hungary On Cooperation In the Field of Water Management
• Cabinet Approves Redevelopment of Residential ColoniesAt West Ansari Nagar and Ayur Vigyan Nagar Campuses of AllMS, New Delhi
• Cabinet Apprised of the MoU between India and Qatar On Cooperation In the Field of Youth and Sports

International Round-Up

• The United Nationshas ratified an agreement to curb the aircraft emissions, the first such pact to set worldwide limits on a single industry.
• The unrest has cast a shadow over Ethiopia, whose state-led industrial drive has created one of Africa’s fastest growing economies.
• One of India’s largest colleges, Amity University, is expanding into the US with the purchase of one campus in New York.
• World Economic Forum is establishing a new center inSan Francisco to connect tech companies and policymakers in the heart of the world’s technology industry.
• China and Russia will hold their second joint anti-missile drills over installing the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to protect against any North Korean threats.
• Philippine President Rodrigo Duterteis set to sign a regulation this month banning smoking in public across Southeast Asia’s second-most populous country,.
• India is the 12th largest foreign holder of the US government securitieswith exposure to the tune of $ 118.9 billion as of March-end.
• Russia’s upper houseof the parliament has approved an agreement with the Damascus government that allows the Russian Air Force to stay indefinitely in Syria.
• The United Nations will name the comic book characterWonder Woman as its new Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Woman and Girls.
• Tuberculosisis killing more people than thought, yet governments are not doing enough to bring the debilitating infectious disease under control, the World Health Organisation.
• The Philippineshas sent an invitation to United Nations rapporteur Agnes Callamard to probe the increasing number of drug-related killings in the country.
• Jubilant Life Sciences has received the final approval from the US health regulator for Darifenacin Extended-Release Tablets, used for the treatment of urinary incontinence condition.
• In a historic step towards realizing the Paris Agreement on climate change, nearly 200 nations unanimously decided global phase out of super greenhouse gases, replacing them with climate-friendly alternatives.
• Israelhas suspended ties with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), after a draft decision that Israel says ignores Judaism’s ties to the religion’s holiest site.
• China is set to loans worth more than $24 billion to Bangladesh during President Xi Jinping’s state visit on 14 October 2016.

India and the World

• India will host the 8thBRICS Summit, in Goa on 15-16 October 2016 during its Chairmanship of BRICS, which it assumed on 15 February 2016.).
• India is the 12th largest foreign holder of the US government securitieswith exposure to the tune of $ 118.9 billion as of March-end.
• India and Russiafor setting up units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP).
• Indiawould collaborate with Germany on projects for improving rail connectivity of Indian ports.

Banking and Economy

• Foreign lender Standard Chartered Bankannounced a tie-up with Uber under which its credit cardholders, across six countries, will get a cash-back of up to 25 per cent for hailing cabs from the app.
• Indian banksare staring at a deposit erosion of Rs 1.5-2 lakh crore between September and November as Foreign currency non-resident deposits (FCNR) mobilised in 2013 mature around that time.
• India has reportedly nominated State Bank of India chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya as the World Bank managing director and chief operating officer’s position, but road to final selection may not be easy.

Science And Technology

• The Union government gave its nod to HLL Lifecare to sub-lease over 300 acres of land in Chennai to set up the country’s first medical devices manufacturing park.
• European Space agency plans to build on the legacy of British Mars lander Beagle2 by placing the Schiaparelli module on the Red Planet in October.
• US space agency NASA has developed ahigh-tech electro active bandage that creates an electric charge to help promote the healing process of wounds.
• Scientists have discovered a new dwarf planet looping around the sun in the region beyond Pluto, named 2014 UZ224.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is exploring possibilities of setting up a telescope on moon as part of enhancing its scientific observation capacity.

Sports Point

Obituary

Important Days