Hello and welcome to exampundit.in. Here are the important Current Affairs Today 6th October 2020. These are important for the upcoming Exams. Candidates who were preparing for the examination can use these current affairs and also you can download the same as PDF.
Current Affairs Today – 6th October 2020
NEWS AT A GLANCE
- World Habitat Day is observed every year on the first Monday of October throughout the world to reflect on the state of our towns and cities.
- Wildlife week is celebrated on October 1 to 8. The Wildlife Week was adopted by National Board of Wildlife.
- Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched a financial inclusion and literacy initiative ‘Gram Sampark Abhiyan’ to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
- The Puducherry airport has become the first airport of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which is entirely solar-powered.
- The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh inaugurated the Super Speciality Block (SSB) at Motilal Nehru Medical College, Prayagraj on 5 October 2020 via video conferencing.
- The government announced the launch of an ambitious information technology project ‘Sunidhi’ to digitise all provident fund and pension related activities of the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO).
- The Indian Army has constructed a memorial in Ladakh to pay tribute for the twenty soldiers who dies in the Galwan Clash between Indian Army and Chinese Army in June 2020 in the Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi road.
- Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar digitally launched ‘Gram Darshan’, which will allow accessibility to data of development projects of 6,197gram panchayats of the state.
- Chhattisgarh State Government has organised Corona Intensive Community Survey Campaign.
- Union Minister for Railways Shri, Piyush Goyal inaugurated Phoolbagan Metro station of East-West Metro.
- The Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a Mega Anti-Pollution Campaign, called “Yudh Prasudushan ke Virudh”.
- India is currently in advanced talks with Russia to acquire light weight tanks. These are newly developed tanks in Russia.
- the Government of India contributed 3,000 vials to Myanmar under the framework of India-Myanmar Foreign Office Consultation.
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated RAISE 2020, a Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI) on 5th October 2020.
- NITI Aayog, The New and Renewable Energy Ministry, and Invest India which is a non-profit venture under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has organised India PV-Edge 2020 summit.
- On October 5, 2020, Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitaraman chaired the 42nd GST Council Meet.
- Ravi Santhanam, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), HDFC Bank has been recognised in the Forbes list of ’The World’s Most Influential CMOs’.
- India and France have collaborated to jointly launch the constellation of maritime surveillance satellites for the Indian Ocean Region, to trace illegal spillage of oil by ships.
- Nasrin Sotoudeh of Iran, Bryan Stevenson of the United States(US), Lottie Cunningham Wren of Nicaragua and Ales Bialiatski of Belarus, have won the Right Livelihood Award 2020.
- The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet announced the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on 5th October 2020.
- The government on Monday appointed three eminent economists Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma and Shankanka Bhide as members of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee of the RBI.
- Accenture has appointed Bhaskar Ghosh as its Chief Strategy Officer.
- the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART) from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha.
- Paytm which is an Indian e-commerce payment system and financial technology company launched mini-app store to support Indian developers with an aim to increase their production.
- The Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia released the book named “Bapu-The Unforgettable”.
- Former Acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court Justice Anantkumar Surendraray Dave passed away at the age of 62
- Three-time member of Legislative Council and veteran Samajwadi Party leader from Auraiya, Mulayam Singh Yadav has passed away after a prolonged illness. He was 92.
NEWS IN DETAILS
IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES
World Habitat Day 2020 observed on 05 October (1st Monday of October)
- World Habitat Day is observed every year on the first Monday of October throughout the world to reflect on the state of our towns and cities.
- In 2020, the World Habitat Day is being celebrated on 5th October.
- It was officially designated by the United Nations in 1985 and first celebrated in 1986.
- The theme for 2020 World Habitat Day is ‘Housing For All — A Better Urban Future’
Extra Shots:
UNGA
- President: Volkan Bozkır
- Headquarters: New York, United States
- Founder: United Nations
Wildlife Week observed on October 1 to 8
- Wildlife week is celebrated on October 1 to 8.
- The Wildlife Week was adopted by National Board of Wildlife.
- This Week was conceptualized in 1952 with an objective of raising awareness to serve the long-term goal of safeguarding the lives of wildlife through critical action.
- The Government of India is also established an Indian Board of Wild Life which works to improve awareness towards the preservation of wildlife.
- The annual theme of the campaign is to promote the preservation of fauna of animal life.
BANKING & FINANCE
PNB launches financial inclusion, literacy initiative Gram Sampark Abhiyan
- Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched a financial inclusion and literacy initiative ‘Gram Sampark Abhiyan’ to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
- The nationwide campaign was launched by Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar.
- The campaign is centred on four key themes -digital, credit, social security and financial literacy that will encapsulate various activities and prescribes the cherished theme of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
- This campaign will culminate on December 31, 2020 covering 526 districts in 24 states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Odisha, Manipur, Tripura and Telangana.
Extra Shots:
PNB
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- CEO: S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao
- Founded: 19 May 1894, Lahore, Pakistan
NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
Puducherry airport becomes AAI’s first 100% solar-powered airport
- The Puducherry airport has become the first airport of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which is entirely solar-powered.
- The 500KWp ground-mounted solar power plant was commissioned on 2nd October 2020. The approx cost of the plant is Rs 2.8 crore.
- With becoming absolutely power-neutral, the Puducherry airport will be able to meet its entire power requirement through the solar power plant.
Extra Shots:
AAI
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Founded: 1 April 1995
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan digitally inaugurates Super Speciality Block dedicated to COVID at Motilal Nehru Medical College, Prayagraj
- The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh inaugurated the Super Speciality Block (SSB) at Motilal Nehru Medical College, Prayagraj on 5 October 2020 via video conferencing.
- The Super Speciality Block (SSB) is a 220-bedded facility, dedicated as a COVID Hospital (DCH) to the nation.
- It has been built with an investment of Rs 150 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
- Apart from this, the Union Health Minister also digitally inaugurated first high throughput COBAS 6800 machines.
- It is the first such machine in Uttar Pradesh, installed by ICMR.
- The COBAS 6800 is a fully automated, high end machine for performing real time PCR testing for COVID-19 to provide quality, high-volume testing with a high throughput of around 1200 samples in 24 hours.
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Uttar Pradesh:
- Statehood Day: January 26, 1950
- Capital: Lucknow
- Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
- Governor: Anandiben Patel
- Literacy Rate: 67.68%
- Nation Park: Dudhwa National Park
‘Sunidhi’ project launched to digitise Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation services
- The government announced the launch of an ambitious information technology project ‘Sunidhi’ to digitise all provident fund and pension related activities of the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation (CMPFO).
- The Sunidhi module was inaugurated by settling the provident fund and pension dues of three retired employees of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL).
- This software application is running from its data centre at Hyderabad in sync with the Disaster Recovery Centre at Bhubaneshwar.
- CMPFO, a statutory body under the coal ministry, administers different schemes of provident fund, pension and deposit linked insurance for coal mine workers.
Indian Army constructs Memorial in Ladakh for soldiers martyred in Galwan Clash
- The Indian Army has constructed a memorial in Ladakh to pay tribute for the twenty soldiers who dies in the Galwan Clash between Indian Army and Chinese Army in June 2020 in the Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi road.
- The memorial has the names of the soldiers who dies in the clash and the soldiers been mentioned as “Gallants of Galwan”.
Extra Shots:
China (Capital/Currency): Beijing/ Renminbi
- President: Xi Jinping
STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS
Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar launches Gram Darshan
- Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar digitally launched ‘Gram Darshan’, which will allow accessibility to data of development projects of 6,197-gram panchayats of the state.
- With the launch of Gram Darshan, the details of the completed, ongoing and required development projects of every village in Haryana will be digitally available.
Extra Shots:
Haryana
- Statehood day: 1 November 1966
- Capital: Chandigarh
- Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar
- Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya
‘Corona Intensive Community Survey Campaign’ begun in Chhattisgarh – A door-to-door survey
- Chhattisgarh State Government has organised Corona Intensive Community Survey Campaign.
- Through this campaign a door-to-door survey is being held to identify patients with COVID19 symptoms infection in rural and urban areas of the state by October 12.
- The main aim of this Campaign is to identify Corona patients as soon as possible by conducting intensive community survey in urban and rural areas.
Union Railway Minister inaugurated Phoolbagan Metro Station in Kolkata
- Union Minister for Railways Shri, Piyush Goyal inaugurated Phoolbagan Metro station of East-West Metro.
- The inaugural function was conducted virtually through video conferencing.
- Total length of this project is 16.5 kms and the total estimated project cost is Rs. 98 Cr.
- This will connect Howrah on the West bank of the river Hooghly with Salt Lake City on its East bank.
- Phoolbagan Metro Station is a station of the Kolkata Metro in Phoolbagan, a north neighbourhood of Kolkata, India.
Extra Shots:
Ministry of Railways
- Union Minister: Piyush Goyal
- Constituency: Rajya Sabha (Maharashtra)
Yudh Prasdushan Ke Virudh: Mega Anti-Pollution Campaign launched by Delhi CM
- the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a Mega Anti-Pollution Campaign, called “Yudh Prasudushan ke Virudh”.
- The campaign was launched to reduce pollution levels in Delhi.
- During the campaign, the Delhi Government will focus on technology developed by Pusa Agriculture Institute to control stubble burning.
- Under the campaign, thirteen pollution hotspots were identified.
- A separate plan has been prepared for each hotspot based on their respective cause of pollution.
- A new policy and a new anti-dust campaign has been introduced.
- According to the new policy, an agency that cuts down trees in Delhi has to plant 80% of them in a new spot.
INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
India to acquire Sprut Light Tanks from Russia
- India is currently in advanced talks with Russia to acquire light weight tanks. These are newly developed tanks in Russia. They are being acquired to be used in high altitude areas of Line of Actual Control.
- India is to acquire two dozen Sprut light weight tanks in the first tranche. The cost of one tank is less Rs 500 crores. This falls within the emergency financial powers provided to the chiefs after Galwan clash.
Sprut Light Tank
- It is a self-propelled tank destroyer and a light tank. These tanks shall be air dropped from an aircraft with three operating men sitting inside. It weighs 18 tonnes and can reach a speed of 71 kilometres per hour.
India contributes 3,000 vials of Remdesivir to Myanmar
- the Government of India contributed 3,000 vials to Myanmar under the framework of India-Myanmar Foreign Office Consultation.
- The 3,000 vials of Remdesivir drug was provided by Army Chief Naravane to the Myanmar State counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
- The vias were provided under Neighbourhood First Policy of India to help the friendly neighbour fight against COVID-19.
Extra Shots:
Myanmar (Capital/Currency): Naypyitaw/ Burmese kyat
- President: Win Myint
SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES
PM Modi inaugurates RAISE 2020, a Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated RAISE 2020, a Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI) on 5th October 2020.
- RAISE (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment) 2020 Summit hasa been organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog from October 5-9, 2020.
- RAISE 2020 is a platform where delegates and experts in research, policy and innovation on Artificial Intelligence will join from across the globe to exchange ideas and chart a course for using AI for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment in areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility, among other sectors.
Extra Shots:
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
- Union Minister: Ravi Shankar Prasad
- Minister of State: Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao
India PV-Edge 2020 – A Global Summit on solar manufacturing
- NITI Aayog, The New and Renewable Energy Ministry, and Invest India which is a non-profit venture under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has organised India PV-Edge 2020 summit.
- The summit will be held on October 06.
- This India PV-Edge 2020 is being organised in order to boost solar cell manufacturing in India.
- There will be sessions contain the plenary session, sessions on ‘Wafers and Cells, Session on ‘Modules and Production Equipment’ and a session on ‘Supply Chain.
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NITI Aayog
- Formed: 1 January 2015
- Objectives: Foster involvement and participation in the economic policy-making process by the State Governments of India
- Jurisdiction: Government of India
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Chairperson: Narendra Modi
42nd GST Council Meet held
- Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitaraman chaired the 42nd GST Council Meet.
- The GST Council could not finalize borrowing plans of states to meet the compensation short fall after eight hours of meet.
- 18% of GST over launch satellite launches exempted. The Indian firms earlier had to pay 18% GST to launch their satellites on ISRO rockets. This has now been exempted
- The GST Compensation Cess levy has been extended beyond 2022.
- The dues of IGST of Rs 24,000 crores are to be given to those states that were paid less early.
- The GST compensation collected in 2020, which is Rs 20,000 crores is to be disbursed immediately.
- The states may borrow Rs 1.1 lakh crores instead of Rs 97,00 crores as fixed in the earlier GST Council meet.
RANKS AND INDICES
HDFC Bank’s Ravi Santhanam in Forbes list of World’s Most Influential CMOs
- Ravi Santhanam, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), HDFC Bank has been recognised in the Forbes list of ’The World’s Most Influential CMOs’.
- Ranked at Number 39, he is the only CMO of an Indian company to be featured in the illustrious list which includes marketing heads of Apple, BMW, Lego, Adobe, Microsoft, P&G among others.
- This is the 8th edition of this annual list released by Forbes with research partners Sprinklr and LinkedIn.
- This year, 427 global CMOs were eligible for consideration.
- It is generated using data from news reports, websites and social networks to measure influence.
Extra Shots:
HDFC Bank
- CEO: Aditya Puri
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Founded: August 1994, India
AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED
Indo-French to launch constellation of maritime surveillance satellites to trace illegal oil spillage in IOR
- India and France have collaborated to jointly launch the constellation of maritime surveillance satellites for the Indian Ocean Region, to trace illegal spillage of oil by ships.
- The satellite will be the first space-based system in the world capable of tracking ships continuously.
- In August 2019, the French Space Agency, CNES and ISRO committed to developing and building a constellation of satellites carrying telecommunications and radar and optical remote-sensing instruments.
- The monitoring centre of the satellite will be based in India and will be operated jointly by France and India to monitor ships in the Indian Ocean.
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France (Capital/Currency): Paris/Euro
- Prime Minister: Jean Castex
- President: Emmanuel Macron
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
Rights activists from Belarus, Nicaragua, the US and Iran selected for Right Livelihood Awards 2020
- Nasrin Sotoudeh of Iran, Bryan Stevenson of the United States (US), Lottie Cunningham Wren of Nicaragua and Ales Bialiatski of Belarus, have won the Right Livelihood Award 2020.
- The Right Livelihood Award is an international award, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize.
- The Award was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull to “honour and support those who offer practical and exemplary contribution in such fields as environmental protection, human rights, sustainable development, health, education, which are not included in Nobel Prize list.
- Each winner will receive a cash prize of one million Swedish kronor (approximately $110,000) during a virtual Award Presentation on December 3, 2020.
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Iran (Capital/Currency): Tehran/ Iranian rial
- President: Hassan Rouhani
Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice jointly wins Nobel For Medicine 2020 “for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus”
- The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Instituted announced the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on 5th October 2020.
- The award has been jointly conferred upon Harvey J Alter and Charles M Rice of America, and British scientist Michael Houghton for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus.
- The trio made decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer in people around the world.
APPOINTMENTS IN NEWS
Govt appoints Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma, Shankanka Bhide as MPC members
- The government on Monday appointed three eminent economists Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma and Shankanka Bhide as members of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee of the RBI.
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime Minister approved the names.
- The new members replace Chetan Ghate, professor at the Indian Statistical Institute; Pami Dua, director at the Delhi School of Economics (DSE); and Ravindra Dholakia, professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Accenture appoints Bhaskar Ghosh as Chief Strategy Officer
- Accenture has appointed Bhaskar Ghosh as its Chief Strategy Officer.
- Ghosh succeeds Simon Eaves who has now been appointed as the company’s Managing Director of UK and Ireland effective January 1, 2021.
- Ghosh will be responsible for the company’s strategy and investments, including ventures and acquisitions.
Extra Shots:
Accenture
- CEO: Julie Sweet
- Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland
- Founder: Clarence DeLany
- Founded: 1989, Hamilton, Bermuda
DEFENCE CURRENT AFFAIRS
DRDO successfully flight tests ‘Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo’ (SMART) Off Odisha Coast
- The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART) from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha.
- SMART is a missile assisted release of lightweight Anti-Submarine Torpedo System for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations for far beyond torpedo range.
- The technologies required for SMART have been developed by a number of DRDO laboratories, including DRDL, RCI Hyderabad, ADRDE Agra, NSTL Visakhapatnam.
Extra Shots:
DRDO
- Founded: 1958
- Headquarters: DRDO Bhavan, New Delhi
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CURRENT AFFAIRS
Paytm launched mini-app store to support Indian developer
- Paytm which is an Indian e-commerce payment system and financial technology company launched mini-app store to support Indian developers with an aim to increase their production.
- The mini apps are a custom-built mobile website which give users app-like experience without having to download them, and can be built using HTML and Javascript technologies.
- Paytm will add a new section on its main application wherein these mini apps will be listed and can be accessed by Paytm app users.
Extra Shots:
Paytm
- Founded: Noida
- CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Book named “Bapu-The Unforgettable” released by Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia
- The Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia released the book named “Bapu-The Unforgettable”.
- The book was released on Gandhi Jayanti virtually through video conferencing.
- The event was organised by the Delhi Archives & Department of Art, Culture and Language, Government of Delhi.
- A webinar titled “Footprints of Gandhi Ji in Delhi” also took place in that event.
OBITUARY
Justice AS Dave, former Judge and acting CJ of the Gujarat HC passes away at 62
- Former Acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court Justice Anant kumar Surendraray Dave passed away at the age of 62
- Justice Dave was appointed as a Gujarat High Court Judge in 2004 and was made permanent in 2006.
- He was appointed as an Acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court on November 14, 2018 and served until the present Chief Justice Vikram Nath took over the helm in September 2019.
Veteran Samajwadi Party leader and former MLC Mulayam Singh Yadav passes away at 92
- Three-time member of Legislative Council and veteran Samajwadi Party leader from Auraiya, Mulayam Singh Yadav has passed away after a prolonged illness. He was 92.
- He had been the block chief of Auraiya’s block, Bhagya Nagar for more than a decade and the member of the Legislative Council for three consecutive terms.
