CURRENT AFFAIRS – OCTOBER 22
1. October 22 – International Stuttering Awareness Day
October 22 was designated International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD) in 1998. The day is intended to raise public awareness of the millions of people – one percent of the world’s population – who have the speech disorder of stuttering, also known as stammering. ISAD includes an online conference, running annually from October 1 to 22 each year, targeted at people with an interest in stuttering as well as speech-language pathologists and their clients.
ISAD 2015 Theme – Spread the Word – Education, Cooperation, Communication
2. Japan offers to fund India’s $15-bn bullet train in edge over China
First ever Bullet train in India?? Yes, Japan is going to join a hand with India by providing USD 15 billion at an interest rate of less than 1% to build bullet trains. Tokyo was picked to assess the feasibility of building the 505-kilometre corridor linking Mumbai with Ahmadabad, the commercial capital of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, and concluded it would be technically and financially viable. Last month China won the contract to assess the feasibility of a high-speed train between Delhi and Mumbai, a 1,200-km route estimated to cost twice as much. No loan has yet been offered.
3. PM lays foundation stone of Amravati
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for Amaravati, the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh, at a village not far from Guntur. The capital city is a dream project of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, whose TDP-BJP government was hoisted to power in state elections last year. The state Assembly building will come up at the place where the PM laid the foundation stone. The master plan of the city was prepared with the help of the Singapore government which has expertise in urban planning.
4. Odisha village generates 100 pc electricity via solar energy
After waiting for electricity for several years, lives of the residents of Baripatha, a tribal village in Odisha, changed for the better on Oct. 2, 2015. October 2 marked a life-changing transition for the 350-odd dwellers of Baripatha, a tribal village 25km southwest of Bhubaneswar. It made history by becoming the first village in the state to be entirely solar powered. The Baripatha model is low-cost, low-maintenance and community-owned and hence different from other solar projects across India.
5. ISRO to launch six Singapore-made satellites in December
India will launch six Singapore-made satellites, including a dedicated 400 kg spacecraft for carrying out surveillance missions for maritime and border security, in mid-December onboard PSLV-C29. The six satellites will be launched on PSLV-C29 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh on December 16, 2015. Among them is a 400 kg satellite that can conduct surveillance missions for maritime and border security, The Strait Times reported. The satellites will then hover about 550 km above ground for up to five years.
6. Rafale deal: France agrees to invest 50% of contract’s worth in India’s related sectors
India and France have firmed up an understanding on the offsets segment under which the French have agreed to invest 50 per cent of the Rafale deal’s worth in related sectors. Even as the deal was being reached, French aircraft manufacturer Dassault had already reached out to Indian companies in the defence and security industry for possible Make in India partnerships. Estimated at $4.5 billion, or about Rs 30,000 crore, this will make it one of India’s biggest-ever offsets deals.
7. India tops in trade facilitation in South-Asian sub-region: UN report
According to UN Report, India is top trade facilitation performer in South Asian sub-region while Singapore and Korea lead East Asia in moving goods. The inaugural Global Report of the Trade Facilitation and Paperless Trade Implementation Survey provides data for 119 countries and serves as a useful basis for benchmarking and monitoring trade facilitation performance.
8. India ranked second on global business optimism Index in September quarter
According to a Grant Thornton’s International Business Report, India has been ranked second on global business optimism Index in the July-September quarter. Notably, the same report had put India at fourth position between April-June this year. The surge is being seen on account of various reasons like the consistent high growth rate, the entrepreneurial dynamism in being able to create new opportunities and businesses and the lower reliance on global trade based on significant domestic demand.
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