Current affairs : October 4, 2016 for all competetive exams
India fair to boost intra-BRICS trade
The first BRICS Trade Fair
& Exhibition will be held from October 12-14 in the national capital, ahead
of the BRICS political summit in Goa (October 15-16, 2016).
- This initiative was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. The focus of the Fair is ‘Building BRICS – Innovation for Collaboration’.
Centre constitutes Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board
The Centre has constituted a four-member Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of
India (IBBI) under the Chairmanship of MS Sahoo.
The members of the IBBI are
1.
Ajay Tyagi, Additional Secretary, Finance
Ministry;
2.
Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Joint Secretary,
Ministry of Corporate Affairs;
3.
GS Yadav, Joint Secretary, Department of
Legal Affairs; and
4.
Unnikrishnan, Legal Advisor, Reserve Bank of
India.
Jharkhand become 1st state to implement DBT in kerosene
Jharkhand
has become the first state in the country to implement Direct Benefit Transfer
(DBT) in Kerosene in four identified districts namely, Chatra, Hazaribagh,
Khunti and Jantara from 1st October, 2016.
- Under the DBTK Scheme, PDS
kerosene is being sold at non-subsidised price, and, subsidy, as
admissible, is being transferred to consumers directly into their bank
accounts.
- This initiative of the governments is aimed at rationalising subsidy, based on the approach to cut subsidy leakages but not subsidy per se.
Delhi tops most polluted megacity list
According to WHO, Delhi’s air is the worst among world megacities.
- The data show that fine-particulate-matter (PM2.5)
levels were almost four times above daily safe levels, on average, for the
seven-day period from September 22 to 28, 2016. For long-term exposure,
these 24-hour levels are nearly 11 times above the WHO health standards.
- Delhi recorded a PM10 level of 229 µg/m³, followed by Cairo with 179 µg/m³ and Dhaka with 158 µg/m³ – the top three megacities with the most polluted air globally. Beijing and Shanghai were sixth and seventh on that list.
Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to Yoshinori Ohsumi
The 2016 Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Yoshinori
Ohsumi “for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy.” The professor is
currently at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
- Ohsumi is a cell biologist. He discovered and elucidated mechanisms underlying autophagy, a fundamental process for degrading and recycling cellular components. He received the Kyoto Prize for Basic Science in 2012.
Regional Anti-Dumping Workshop
Regional Anti-Dumping Workshop for Asian Investigating Authorities was
recently held in Delhi.
- The Workshop organised by the World Trade Organisation and the Centre for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade brings together 37 senior officials from 18 investigating authority systems.
4–10 October: World Space Week
World Space Week is an
annual event that is observed from 4-10 October every year in various parts of
the world including Europe and Asia.
- World Space Week, 2016 is being observed with the theme, Remote Sensing: Enabling our Future.
SBI becomes first domestic
bank to open branch in Yangon
The State Bank of India
today announced its entry into Myanmar by opening a branch in the capital city
of Yangon, becoming the first domestic lender to do so.
- The Yangon branch is the 54th foreign branch of the nation's largest lender.
Putin scraps plutonium disposal deal with U.S.
Russian President Vladimir
Putin ordered a halt to an agreement with the United States on plutonium
disposal, citing Washington’s “unfriendly actions”.
- The deal, signed in 2000, was meant to allow both nuclear powers to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium from their defence programmes, a move seen as a key step in the disarmament process.
France confers knighthood on
elephant researcher
Film-maker and elephant
researcher Prajna Chowta has been appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre National du
Mérite (Knight in the National Order of Merit), one of the highest civilian
recognitions of the French government.
- The appointment of Chowta by the President of the French Republic comes in recognition of a life devoted to caring for wild Asian elephants.
Reliance ties up with Dassault
to execute Rafale offsets
Dassault Aviation of France
has entered into a partnership with Reliance group to execute offsets for the
recently concluded deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets.
- This is the largest offset contract to be executed
by any defence company in India till date.
- India agreed to buy 36 Rafale jets in a flyaway condition from France for €7.87 billion, or about Rs. 59,000 crore, on September 23.
KJ Yesudas, the brand
ambassador of Kerala's Haritha Keralam project
Playback singer K J Yesudas
has been roped in by the Kerala' government as the brand ambassador of its
ambitious ‘Haritha Keralam' project.
- ‘Haritha Keralam’ (Green Kerala) project, a massive initiative envisaged for a garbage-free and clean state.
Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar
Sircar resigns
Jawhar Sircar has resigned
as the Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati Corporation.
- His resignation came 4 months ahead of the end of his tenure which was about to end in February 2017.
