Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Current Affairs Today 22nd October 2019. These are important for the upcoming Exams. Candidates those who were preparing for the examination can use these current affairs and also you can download the same as PDF.
Current Affairs Today – 22nd October 2019
BANKING CURRENT AFFAIRS
SBI Card launches contactless mobile phone payments facility
- SBI Card announced the launch of ‘SBI Card Pay’, a feature which allows contactless payment using mobile phones at PoS terminals.
- Using SBI Card Pay, customers can make contactless payments at near field communication (NFC) enabled point of sale terminals with just one tap of their mobiles, without using the physical credit card or entering any PIN.
- SBI Card Pay is a payment feature based on Host Card Emulation (HCE) technology for faster, convenient and more secure card payments using mobile phones.
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State Bank of India: Founded on: As 2 June 1806 (Bank of Calcutta), 15 April 1840 (Bank of Bombay), 1 July 1843 (Bank of Madras), 27 January 1921 (Imperial Bank of India), 1 July 1955 (State Bank of India)
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Chairman: Rajnish Kumar
- SBI is the largest commercial bank and the largest mortgage lender across the country.
- SBI has 22,010 branches and 58,000 ATM/CDM across India.
NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
United Nations WFP launches ‘Feed Our Future’ cinema ad campaign
- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a cinema advertisement campaign ‘Feed Our Future’ to raise awareness and take steps against hunger and malnutrition in India.
- This programme held in Facebooks Mumbai office, Maharashtra with support from UFO Moviez India Limited and Indian digital cinema distribution network.
- The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization committed to saving lives in emergencies and changing lives through sustainable development.
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United Nations: It is an International Organization. Its Objective of UN is to not only maintain International Peace and Security but also to develop Friendly relations among nations.
- Founded – 24th October, 1945
- Headquarter- New York,United States
- Secretary General- Antonio Guterres (9th SG OF UN)
- He is from PORTUGAL
- Portugal (Capital/Currency) – Lisbon/ Euro
- United States (Capital/Currency) – Washington, D.C/ US Dollar
Siachen base camp to Kumar Post opened for tourism purposes
- Government of India has decided to open the entire area from Siachen base camp to Kumar Post for tourism purposes.
- The step has been taken to boost tourism in Ladakh.
- It will also give people a window to appreciate the tough work done by Army jawans and engineers in extreme weather and inhospitable terrains.
Centre launched Jaipur Sikar, DEMU Passenger Service
- The Jaipur-Sikar-Jaipur DEMU was flagged off for its service on 21 October.
- The Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, inaugurated the 79603/04 Jaipur-Sikar-Jaipur diesel-electric multiple units (DEMU) Service between Jaipur and Sikar.
INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
World’s oldest pearl ‘Abu Dhabi Pearl’ discovered on Abu Dhabi Island
- The world’s oldest natural pearl named ‘Abu Dhabi Pearl’ has been discovered on an island off Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
- The 8,000-year-old pearl was found during excavations at Marawah Island which also revealed the earliest architecture in the UAE.
- Archaeologists used radiocarbon dating to determine that the pearl dated back to between 5800 and 5600 BC, during the Neolithic period.
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UAE (Capital/Currency): Abu Dhabi/Dirham
- President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
RANKS AND INDICES
NCRB releases Crime in India Report 2017
- National Crime Records Bureau has released the annual “Crime in India Report 2017”.
- According to the report, 3.59 lakh cases of crime against women were reported in the country.
- Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 56,011 cases followed by Maharashtra with 31,979 cases and West Bengal 30,002 in cases of crime against women.
- A total of 28,653 murder cases were registered across the country in 2017 and enmity cited as the maximum triggers for such murders. Among Union Territories, Delhi recorded the most murder cases in 2017 at 487.
- The NCRB for the first time collected data on circulation of “false/fake news and rumours”. Under the category, maximum incidents were reported from Madhya Pradesh (138) followed by Uttar Pradesh (32) and Kerala (18).
- Maximum incidents of rioting were reported from Bihar (11,698), followed by Uttar Pradesh (8,990) and Maharashtra (7,743).
AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED
India, Pakistan to sign MoU for Kartarpur corridor
- India and Pakistan are to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 23 October for the opening of the Kartarpur corridor.
- The corridor will link two important Sikh shrines on either side.
- The Indian government has asked Pakistan to reconsider its demand for charging $20 service fee a pilgrim.
- On 9 November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would flag off the first jatha (group) of 550 pilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib.
- The move by the Indian government is to open the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
- This will help the pilgrims from India andthe people overseas Citizen of India Card can undertake a visit to the holy Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.
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Kartarpur corridor:
The Kartarpur corridor is being built by India and Pakistan to connect Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur and Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur, the final resting place of Guru Nanak. The reconstruction of the corridor is to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism, on 12 November.
Pakistan (Capital/ Currency): Islamabad /Pakistani rupee
- Prime minister: Imran Khan
SPORTS CURRENT AFFAIRS
Riya Bhatia wins ITF title in Nigeria
- Riya Bhati has won the ITF women’s tennis tournament in Lagos, Nigeria.
- She defeated Slovenian player Nastja Kolar of Slovenia 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in the summit clash of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament.
- This was the 3rd singles title in the professional circuit for Riya, who had won her last two titles in 2016 and 2017.
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Nigeria (Capital/Currency): Abuja/ Nigerian naira
- President: Muhammadu Buhari
Rohit Sharma set a record of highest average in Test cricket
- Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma smashed the former Australia cricketer Don Bradman’s record of highest average in Test cricket on home soil.
- He set the record on day two of the third Test match against South Africa.
- He broke the 71-year-old record that was previously held by Bradman by scoring an average of 99.84.
- Bradman, the legendary Australia cricketer had an average of 98.22.
Denis Shapovalov wins the Stockholm Open
- Canadian player Denis Shapovalov has won the Stockholm Open title.
- He defeated Filip Krajinovic by 6-4, 6-4 in the Stockholm Open final.
- Denis Shapovalov has become the first Canadian ATP singles champion since Milos Raonic won at Brisbane in January 2016.
Raunak Sadhwani becomes India’s 65th Grandmaster
- Raunak Sadhwani has becomes India’s 65th Grandmaster.
- He defeated Russian GM Alexander Motylev to become the Grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 9 months and 28 days.
- Sadhwani’s first GM norm came in the 2019 Aeroflot Open and the 2nd in the 2019 Porticcio Open and the final norm at FIDE-Chess Grand Swiss.
- With the victory, Sadhwani has joined the growing list of country’s teenaged GMs that includes enormously-talented Nihal Sarin, R. Praggnanandhaa and D. Gukesh, among others.
Andy Murray won the European Open 2019 Championship
- Andy Murray won the men’s singles title at the European Open 2019 on 20 October.
- He defeated Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka by scoring 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
- This is his 1st ATP title since March 2017.
Results:
- Men’s singles: Andy Murray (United Kingdom)
- Men’s doubles: Kevin Krawietz, Andreas Mies (Germany)
DEFENCE CURRENT AFFAIRS
DAC cleared indigenous projects worth Rs 3,300 crore
- The Defence Acquisition Council has approved 3 projects worth Rs 3,300 crore of “indigenously designed and developed equipments”.
- The projects include 3rd generation Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) and Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) for the T-72 and T-90 Tanks to be executed by the Indian industry.
- This is the first time the Ministry of Defence has offered complex military equipment to be designed, developed and manufactured by the Indian private industry.
- The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
AWARDS
Jennifer Aniston to receive People’s Icon Award 2019
- Jennifer Aniston to receive People’s Icon Award 2019 at the 2019 People’s Choice Awards.
- The actress would be the 2nd-ever recipient of the title.
- 50-year-old Aniston has played the most iconic, unforgettable characters and has conquered comedy and drama on both the small and big screen.
- She is a 7-time People’s Choice Award winner.
“Gully Boy” & “Delhi Crime” wins at Asian Academy Creative Awards
- “Gully Boy” & “Delhi Crime” have won awards at the Asian Academy Creative Awards. Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt-starrer “Gully Boy” won the best film from India award in the regional finals at the Asian Academy Creative Awards ceremony.
- Netflix series “Delhi Crime” has won in a number of categories at the Asian Academy Creative Awards.
- Delhi Crime won for Best Actress, Best Direction, Best Drama Series, Best Editing and Best Original Programme.
OBITUARIES
Dhyanchand award recipient Wrestler Dadu Chougule passes away
- Dadu Chougule, wrestler and recipient of Major Dhyanchand award, passed away.
- In 1973, Chougule had won the titles ‘Rustum-e-Hind’ and ‘Mahan Bharat Kesari’ in national-level tournaments.
- In the 1974 Commonwealth Games, he won the silver medal. He won the ‘Maharashtra Kesari’ title twice in 1970 and 1971 and was awarded by the state government with ‘Shivchattrapati Puraskar’.
MISCELLANEOUS
World fastest ant “Saharan silver ant” found in northern Sahara
- The Saharan silver ant is the fastest of the world’s 12,000 known ant species, clocking 855 millimetres nearly a metre per second.
- Its scientific name is Cataglyphis bombycina.
- Silver ants travel 108 times their body length per second and have a stride rate 10 times that of Usain Bolt.
- A team of German researchers from the University of Ulm and Freiburg(Germany) discovered the ant in Douz area of Tunisia in Northern Sahara.
