Current Affairs Update – 13-14 October, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the important Current Affairs of 13th and 14th October, 2016. These are important for the upcoming IBPS PO Mains, IBPS Clerk Mains, NIACL AO Mains and BOM PGDBF 2016 Exams.

Current Affairs at a Glance – 13-14 October, 2016
  1. India and Hungary
    will sign a Memorandum of Understanding
    (MoU) for mutual cooperation on a wide range of issues in the field of water
    management
    . The proposal was approved by the Union Cabinet on Thursday.
  2. Foreign lender Standard
    Chartered Bank
    (SCB) on 10
    October 2016 tied-up with Uber under which its credit cardholders will get a cash-back of up to 25 percent for hailing
    cabs from the app across six countrie
    s.
  3. India and Russia on 13 October 2016 signed
    a bilateral agreement for cooperation in
    the development of a network of integrated infrastructure irradiation centres
    .
  4. Union Cabinet on 13 October 2016
    approved MoU between Export-Import Bank
    of India (Exim Bank) on General Cooperation with the BRICS promoted New
    Development Bank (NDB)
    , along with other Development Financial Institutions
    of BRICS nations. This will be achieved through the BRICS Interbank Cooperation
    Mechanism.
  5. The National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR)
    established a high altitude research station in Himalaya called HIMANSH.
    The station is situated above 13500 feet at a remote region in Spiti, Himachal
    Pradesh.
  6. The Union Cabinet on 13 October
    2016 approved the establishment of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Jammu. The
    institute will from a temporary campus at Old Government College of Engineering
    and Technology from academic year 2016-17.
  7. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on 11
    October 2016 released the 2016 Global Hunger Index (GHI). India is ranked
    at 97th
    and Pakistan at 107th. All other Asian neighbours did
    relatively better- China (29), Nepal (72), Myanmar (75), Sri Lanka (84) and
    Bangladesh (90).
  8. The 2016 World Sight Day (WSD)
    was observed across the world on 13
    October 2016
    .
  9. International Day for Disaster Reduction
    (IDDR)
    was observed globally on 13 October 2016.
  10. The First World Tsunami Awareness Day will be
    celebrated on 5 November 2016
    .
  11. Former Indian Foreign Service
    (IFS) officer Renu
    Pall
    was on 8 October 2016 appointed as the Ambassador of India to Austria.
  12. Portugal’s former Prime Minister Antonio
    Guterres
    was on 13 October 2016 appointed as the next Secretary-General of
    the United Nations by the General Assembly
    .
  13. Reserve Bank’s Executive Director
    Gurumoorthy
    Mahalingam
    was on 7 October 2016 appointed as a Whole-Time Member of market
    regulator SEBI
    .
  14. Bank of Baroda, the Indian
    public sector bank, has sealed a 3-year
    principal sponsorship contract with badminton players PV
    Sindhu and K Srikanth
    .
  15. Bob Dylan on 13 October 2016 won the
    2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.
  16. Author Arundhati Roy in the first week of October 2016 announced her
    latest novel titled The Ministry of
    Utmost Happiness
    .

Finance/Banking –
India, Hungary set to sign MoU on water management

  • India and Hungary will sign a
    Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for mutual cooperation on a wide range of
    issues in the field of water management. The proposal was approved by the Union
    Cabinet on Thursday.
  • The MoU will be signed between
    Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation,
    Government of India and the Ministry of Interior, Government of Hungary.
  • An official statement said that
    the ministry is signing the MoU with Hungary with wide-ranging areas on water
    sector for the first time.
  • It will enhance bilateral
    cooperation in the field of water management, on the basis of equality and
    mutual benefits. This will encourage the development of bilateral relations
    between public and private organisations concerning water resources of both the
    countries, it said.
Standard Chartered Bank ties-up with Uber to offer discounts

  • Foreign lender Standard Chartered
    Bank (SCB) on 10 October 2016 tied-up with Uber under which its credit
    cardholders will get a cash-back of up to 25 percent for hailing cabs from the
    app across six countries.
  • In India, the cardholders will
    get a 20 percent cash-back on all Uber rides, subject to a cash—back cap of 600
    rupees per month. Additionally, first-time Uber users will get a discount of 50
    rupees for the first three rides.
  • The offer will be available to
    all SCB cardholders from October 2016 to 30 September 2017. Apart from India,
    the partnership was activated in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
  • This is the first multi-market
    partnership for the two companies.
India, Russia sign agreement to set up agro irradiation centres

  • India and Russia on 13 October
    2016 signed a bilateral agreement for cooperation in the development of a
    network of integrated infrastructure irradiation centres.
  • The agreement was signed between
    the Indian Agricultural Association, Hindustan Agro Co-Op Ltd (HACL) and United
    Innovation Corporation (UIC), a subsidiary of ROSATOM State Atomic Energy
    Corporation of Russia.
  • It was signed by Bharat Dhokane
    Pandurang, Chairman of HACL and Denis Cherednichenko, CEO of UIC.
  • It will be implemented through a
    Joint Venture and aims to set up 25 integrated irradiation centres.
  • In the first phase, seven centres
    will be set up in Maharashtra, which will begin with the upgradation of the
    current centre at Rahuri in Ahmednagar district.
  • The 7 centres are likely to be
    established in Sindhurg, Satara, Solapur, JNPT, Jalana, Napur and Pune in the
    first phase.
  • UIC will be a technology partner
    and will help set up the irradiation centres in India.
CCEA approves revision of ethanol prices for supply to Public Sector
Oil Marketing Companies
  • Cabinet Committee on Economic
    Affairs (CCEA) on 13 October 2016 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) Programme.
  • The administered price of ethanol
    for the Programme will be 39 rupees per litre for the next sugar season from 1
    December 2016 to 30 November 2017.
  • Charges will be paid to the
    ethanol suppliers as per actuals in case of Excise Duty and VAT or GST and
    transportation charges as decided by the oil marketing companies.
  • The prices of ethanol will be
    reviewed and suitably revised by Government at any time during the ethanol
    supply period depending upon the prevailing economic situation and other
    relevant factors.
  • The revision in ethanol prices
    will facilitate Government in providing price stability and remunerative prices
    for ethanol suppliers.
Union Cabinet approves MoU between EXIM bank and NDB
  • Union Cabinet on 13 October 2016
    approved MoU between Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) on General Cooperation
    with the BRICS promoted New Development Bank (NDB), along with other
    Development Financial Institutions of BRICS nations. This will be achieved
    through the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism.
  • This approval will help in
    enhancing trade and economic relations among the BRICS countries and benefit
    the participating institutions from the BRICS nation. There is no financial
    implication involved in signing of the MoU.
Key Highlights
  • The MoU is a non-binding umbrella
    agreement.
  • It aims at establishing a
    cooperation framework in accordance with the national laws and regulations,
    besides skills transfer and knowledge sharing amongst the signatories.
  • Establishment of the NDB reflects
    the close relations among the BRICS countries and provides a powerful
    instrument for increasing their economic cooperation and help India play an
    enhanced international role.
Dharmendra Pradhan launches National Seismic Programme in Mahanadi
Basin

  • Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of
    State (with Independent charge) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, on 12 October
    2016 launched the National Seismic Programme (NSP) on Mahanadi basin (onshore)
    in Odisha.
  • The Programme was launched to
    carry out assessment of unappraised areas across the country for potential oil
    and natural gas reserves.
  • The massive 2D seismic survey
    will cost the government more than 5000 crore rupees.
  • ONGC will carry out the National
    Seismic Programme in most parts of the country.
  • Oil India Ltd will undertake the
    project in north-eastern states.
  • NSP will cover an estimated 48243
    line kilometre, covering 26 sedimentary basins divided into 11 units.
  • The presence of gas has been
    established about 30 km offshore of Dhamra in a discovery by Reliance in the
    past.
India –
HIMANSH, India’s remote and high-altitude station opened in Spiti,
Himachal Pradesh

  • The National Centre for Antarctic
    and Ocean Research (NCAOR) established a high altitude research station in
    Himalaya called HIMANSH. The station is situated above 13500 feet at a remote
    region in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.
  • The station was unveiled by M.
    Rajeevan, Secretary to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, on 9 October 2016.
  • The ongoing initiatives by NCAOR
    will contribute to the integrated study the glaciers in the upper Indus basin
    (Chandra basin) in Himachal Pradesh and their contribution to discharge.
Union Cabinet approves setting up of IIM at Jammu
  • The Union Cabinet on 13 October
    2016 approved the establishment of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at
    Jammu. The institute will from a temporary campus at Old Government College of
    Engineering and Technology from academic year 2016-17.
  • The project will involve a cost
    of nearly 62 crore rupees for initial four years from 2016 to 2020.
  • The student strength intake for
    this year in the Post Graduate Diploma Programme (PGDP) in Management is 54
    which will progressively go up to cumulative student strength of 120 in the 4th
    year.
  • The detailed project report for
    the permanent campuses is under preparation and thereafter the process for
    setting up the campuses will start.
Reports & Indexes –
Global Hunger Index 2016 released: India ranked at 97th position

  • The International Food Policy
    Research Institute (IFPRI) on 11 October 2016 released the 2016 Global Hunger
    Index (GHI).
  • It says if hunger declines at the
    same rate as it has since 1992, more than 45 countries including India,
    Pakistan, Haiti, Yemen, and Afghanistan will still have moderate to alarming
    hunger scores in 2030.
Highlights of the Global Hunger Index
  • The Central African Republic,
    Chad, and Zambia had the highest levels of hunger in the report.
  • Seven countries had alarming
    levels of hunger, while 43 countries including high-population countries like
    India, Nigeria and Indonesia had serious hunger levels.
  • The level of hunger in developing
    countries has fallen by 29 percent since 2000.
  • Twenty countries including
    Rwanda, Cambodia, and Myanmar have all reduced their GHI scores by over 50
    percent each since 2000. And no developing countries were in the extremely
    alarming category.
India’s position in Global Hunger Index 2016
  • India is ranked at 97th and
    Pakistan at 107th. All other Asian neighbours did relatively better- China
    (29), Nepal (72), Myanmar (75), Sri Lanka (84) and Bangladesh (90).
  • India’s GHI score of 28.5 is
    worse than the developing country average score of 21.3.
  • Although India runs two of the
    world’s biggest children’s nutrition programmes, the ICDS for children under 6
    years and the mid-day meal programme for school going kids up to the age of 14,
    still malnutrition continues to haunt India.
WHO releases Global Tuberculosis Report 2016

  • The World Health Organisation
    (WHO) on 13 October 2016 released the Global Tuberculosis Report 2016
    highlighting that countries need to move much faster to prevent, detect and
    treat Tuberculosis (TB) in order to meet global targets.
  • The report highlights the
    considerable inequalities among countries in enabling people with TB to access
    existing cost-effective diagnosis and treatment interventions that can accelerate
    decline in TB worldwide.
Highlights of the report
  • The report signals the need for
    bold political commitment and increased funding.
  • While efforts to respond to TB
    saved more than 3 million lives in 2015, however TB burden is actually higher
    than previously estimated, reflecting survey data from India.
  • In 2015, there were an estimated
    10.4 million new TB cases worldwide.
  • Six countries accounted for 60
    percent of the total burden, with India bearing the brunt, followed by
    Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa.
India under-reported TB for 15 years
  • Inaccurate estimates of the
    tuberculosis burden in India between 2000-2015, has led the World Health
    Organisation (WHO) to underestimate the global TB epidemic.
  • India had reported only 56
    percent of its TB burden in 2014 and 59 percent in 2015.
  • Since India accounts for more
    than one quarter of the world’s TB cases and deaths, the revisions in the
    estimates have had a major impact on global estimates.
  • The revised estimates put the
    incidence of TB in India at 217 per 100000 population in 2015 as against the
    previously estimated 127 per 100000.
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Days –
World Sight Day 2016 observed with theme Stronger Together

  • The 2016 World Sight Day (WSD)
    was observed across the world on 13 October 2016.
  • The theme for the WSD 2016 is
    Stronger Together.
  • The Day is an annual day of
    awareness held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on
    blindness and vision impairment.
  • The day was originally initiated
    by the SightFirstCampaign of Lions Club International Foundation in 2000.
  • WSD is co-ordinated by
    International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) in cooperation with
    the World Health Organization under the VISION 2020 Global Initiative.
International Day for Disaster Reduction observed with theme Live to
Tell: Raising Awareness, Reducing Mortality

  • International Day for Disaster
    Reduction (IDDR) was observed globally on 13 October 2016 with theme Live to
    Tell: Raising Awareness, Reducing Mortality. The day encourages every citizen
    and government to take part in building more disaster resilient communities and
    nations.
  • The 2016 edition marks the launch
    of the new “Sendai Seven” campaign by United Nations Office for
    Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Sendai Seven is centred on the seven targets
    of the Sendai Framework, the first of which is reducing disaster mortality.
    UNISDR’s campaign seeks to create a wave of awareness about actions taken to
    reduce mortality around the world.
  • The Sendai Seven Campaign is an
    opportunity for all, including governments, local governments, community
    groups, civil society organisations, the private sector, international
    organisations and the UN family, to promote best practices at the
    international, regional and national level across all sectors, to reduce disaster
    risk and disaster losses.
First World Tsunami Awareness Day to be celebrated on November 5

  • The First World Tsunami Awareness
    Day will be celebrated on 5 November 2016 at the Asian Ministerial Conference
    for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016.
  • The event will be organised with
    Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Champions at the Conference.
  • The Conference will be organised
    from 3 November to 5 November 2016 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi by the
    Government of India in collaboration with the United Nations Office for
    Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
Appointments –
Renu Pall appointed as Ambassador of India to Austria
  • Former Indian Foreign Service
    (IFS) officer Renu Pall was on 8 October 2016 appointed as the Ambassador of
    India to Austria. Her appointment was announced by the Union Ministry of
    External Affairs.
  • She will succeed Rajiva Misra in
    Austria. Currently, Pall is serving as the Ambassador of India to the Czech
    Republic.
  • Austria is a German-speaking
    country in Central Europe, characterized by mountain villages and baroque
    architecture.
Portugal’s Antonio Guterres appointed UN Secretary-General
  • Portugal’s former Prime Minister
    Antonio Guterres was on 13 October 2016 appointed as the next Secretary-General
    of the United Nations by the General Assembly.
  • The 193 member states of the UN
    General Assembly adopted a resolution by acclamation, appointing Guterres as
    the ninth U.N. Secretary-General.
  • Guterres, who succeeds Ban
    Ki-moon, will assume his new role on 1 January 2017 for a five-year term that
    can be renewed by member states for an additional five years.
Gurumoorthy Mahalingam appointed as Whole-Time Member of SEBI

  • Reserve Bank’s Executive Director
    Gurumoorthy Mahalingam was on 7 October 2016 appointed as a Whole-Time Member
    of market regulator SEBI. His appointment was approved by the Union Finance
    Ministry for a period of five years or till he attains the age of 65 years,
    whichever is earlier.
  • Mahalingam succeeds Prashant
    Saran as the Whole-Time Member as Saran retired from the post in June 2016.
  • Apart from the Chairman, the
    Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) can have three Whole-Time Members
    (WTMs).
Sports –
Bank of Baroda endorses PV Sindhu, K Srikanth

  • Bank of Baroda, the Indian public
    sector bank, has sealed a 3-year principal sponsorship contract with badminton
    players PV Sindhu and K Srikanth.
  • As part of the deal, Bank of
    Baroda logo will appear on the centre chest of the two athletes’ playing jersey
    in international as well as domestic tournaments under the aegis of Badminton
    World Federation Events (BWF) and Badminton Association of India sanctioned
    events, respectively.
  • Facilitated by Baseline Ventures,
    the sports marketing and a brand licensing firm that manages both Sindhu and
    Srikanth, the deal with the two players was agreed in-principle before they
    represented India on the International stage at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Virat Kohli presented with ICC Test Championship mace

  • Virat Kohli on 11 October 2016
    was presented with the ICC Test Championship mace for leading his team to the
    top of the Test Team Rankings. On behalf, of ICC the mace was presented by
    former India captain and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar following the
    conclusion of the third and final Test against New Zealand in Indore.
  • The achieved the number-one spot
    on the ICC Test Rankings after it took a 2-0 lead in Kolkata, but the Test team
    rankings are only updated at the end of the series. Thus on completion of the
    series, India formally replaced its arch rival Pakistan at the top of the table
    at the end pf Indore Test. India won the Indore Test by 321 runs.
  • With this, Kohli became only the
    second India captain after Mahendra Singh Dhoni and 10th overall to receive the
    mace, even though it is for the third time since Kohli took over as captain
    that India has led the rankings table.
Awards & Honors –
Bob Dylan wins 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature

  • Bob Dylan on 13 October 2016 won
    the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.
  • Dylan was bestowed with the
    precious award for having created new poetic expressions within the great
    American song tradition.
Books & Authors –
Author Arundahti Roy announces second novel titled The Ministry of
Utmost Happiness

  • Author Arundhati Roy in the first
    week of October 2016 announced her latest novel titled The Ministry of Utmost
    Happiness.
  • The novel will be published by
    Hamish Hamilton UK and Penguin India. The novel will hit the stands in June
    2017.
  • It is after 19 years that Roy has
    announced the release of her next novel after her Booker prize-winning novel
    The God of Small Things was published.
Obituaries –
Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand, passes away
  • Thailand’s King Bhumibol
    Adulyadej passed away on 13 October 2016 at Bangkok, Thailand. He was 88.
  • King Adulyadej was the world’s
    longest reigning monarch.
  • After the demise of the Thai
    King, 63-year old Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn is expected to become the
    new king.

Regards

Team ExamPundit

This post was last modified on November 27, 2017 8:55 am