Current Affairs Update – 1st October, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 1st October, 2015. These are important for the upcoming IBPS PO and IBPS Clerk Exam.

• The Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell of the Union
  Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on 31 September 2015 announced that the
  price of domestic natural gas was slashed by 18 percent to 3.81 US dollars per
  mmBtu.
• It was reduced from 4.66 US dollars per mmBtu on gross
  calorific value (GCV) basis that had been in force since 1 April 2015.
• The new price that came into effect on 1 October 2015 will
  be operational for six months till 31 March 2016.
• The reduction in price is likely to benefit power and
  fertilizer firms but it may also hurt producers like Reliance Industries and
  Oil and Natural Gas Corportaion Limited (ONGC).

• Nearly 638 declarations have been received through the
  one-time compliance window for disclosing black money under a new law enacted
  by the Modi-led Government.
• The total unaccounted foreign assets declared under this
  one-time compliance window stood at Rs. 3,770 crore, an official release said.
• The compliance window closed on Wednesday (September 30).
• Soon after the disclosure of the total amount, Government
  declared that it would initiate “action” against those who have not disclosed
  their black money and assets stashed abroad.
• The Government disclosure immediately drew a derisive
  reaction from Congress which said the “hollowness” of Prime Minister Narendra
  Modi’s claim on black money “stands exposed before the entire country“.

• ItzCash has announced its partnership with Flipkart to reach
  out to the next billion segments, especially those without having access to either
  a debit or a credit card.
• This partnership is in the form of a co branded online store itzcash.store.flipkart.com, which will be available across all the
  75,000+ franchisee stores of ItzCash called ItzCash World (ICW).
• With festive season around the corner, this is the right
  time to launch this service, as both franchisees and ItzCash Prepaid Card users
  will have valued offers and discounts on the site.

• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited today informed
  the Bombay Stock Exchange that the company has entered into a non-binding
  memorandum of understanding (MoU) with L&T Shipbuilding Limited for
  evaluating the operations of the port at Kattupalli, Tamil Nadu, with effect
  from October 1, 2015 for a period of one month.
• The move is to strengthen its presence in East Coast.
• L&T built the Port at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore.
• Adani Group were looking at Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh,
  Karaikkal (near Puducherry) and L&T’s Kattupalli (near Chennai). Gangavaram
  did not work out due to high valuation. Karaikkal has some other issues, though
  it is still under consideration. L&T is a safer bet for them.

• The Union Government on 30 September 2015 notified Mid Day
  Meal Rules, 2015 under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA, 2013) that
  contains provisions related to welfare schemes including Mid Day Meal Scheme.
• In accordance with the provisions of the NFSA Act, the Union
  Ministry of Human Resource Development finalized the Mid Day Meal (MDM) Rules
  after consultation with the States and other related Central Ministries. The
  rules will be in effect from the date of notification in the Gazette of India.
• It also seeks to improve efficiency in implementation by
  plugging loopholes, check irregularities and ensure quality of food served,
  officials in HRD Ministry said on Thursday.
• Testing of the meals by accredited labs has been made
  mandatory under the new rules to ensure nutritional standards.
• Hot cooked meal provided to children will be evaluated and
  certified by the government food research laboratory or any laboratory
  accredited or recognised by law so as to ensure that the meal meets with the
  nutritional standards and quality.
• The Food and Drugs Administration department of the State
  will be engaged to collect samples to ensure the nutritive value and quality of
  the meals.
• The samples will be collected at least once a month from
  randomly selected schools or centralised kitchens and sent for examination to
  the laboratories, the rules state.

• Google in partnership with filmmakers Ridley Scott, Richie
  Mehta and Anurag Kashyap is coming out with a film project titled ‘India in a
  Day’ that will capture the essence of evolving India across 24 hours.
• The project is asking everyone across India to grab a camera
  and film their day on October 10th. The project will reach out to communities
  across the country to capture their day.
• Participants can shoot their footage and upload it on
  indiainaday.withgoogle.com on Saturday, 10th October 2015.
• Those whose footage makes it into the finished film will be
  credited as a “co-director”, getting a chance to feature in the first
  user-generated feature-length documentary shot in a single day on life in
  India. The film is scheduled for release in 2016.

• Sarat Kumar Acharya today assumed office as
  Chairman-and-Managing Director of Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd. (NLC), a
  Navratna company which comes under Ministry of Coal. The company is in the
  business of Lignite and Coal mining and Power generation.
• Acharya served in NLC as Director (Human Resource) and has
  varied experience of over 35 years of working in BHEL, NTPC, NTPC-SAIL Power
  Company and NLC.
• He will replace Surender Mohan, who has retired on
  Wednesday.
• NLC plans to achieve a total generation capacity of 12,221
  MW by the end of the 13th five year plan in 2022, against 2,990 MW at present.
• The corporation expects to achieve a lignite mining capacity
  of 49 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by that year, compared to 30.60 MTPA in
  the lignite mines of Tamil Nadu/ Rajasthan at present.

• Zenia Bhumgara of India in the fourth week of September 2015
  was conferred with the Merlin Award in Mumbai.
• The award is a prestigious honour in the field of magic
  conferred by the International Magicians Association (IMS).
• Also, it is presented to those magicians who have achieved
  the highest level in their craft, both on the national and international stage.
• Before Bhumgara, Prodip Chandra Sorcar, Jr. was the only
  other Indian to receive the award.
• Zenia Bhumgara is the daughter Mhelly Bhumgara and sister of
  Pearl who are also performing magicians.

• CSIR on 26 September 2015 announced Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar
  (SSB) Prize for Science and Technology 2015 for eleven scientists in
  recognition of their work. The awardees were announced to mark the CSIR’s 73nd
  Foundation day.
• The SSB Prize consists of a citation, a plaque and a cash
  prize of 5 lakh rupees. 

1. Biological Sciences: Dr Balasubramanian Gopal of Molecular
   Biophysics Unit Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
2. Dr Rajeev Kumar Varshney of Centre of Excellence in Genomics
   International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT),
   Hyderabad
3. Chemical Sciences: Dr D Srinivasa Reddy Division of Organic
   Chemistry CSIR National Chemical Laboratory, Pune
4. Dr Pradyut Ghosh of Department of Inorganic Chemistry Indian
   Association for the Cultivation of Science in Jadavapur, Kolkata
5. Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences: Dr
   Jyotiranjan Srichandan Ray of Geosciences Division Physical Research
   Laboratory, Ahmedabad
6. Engineering Sciences: Dr Yogesh Moreshwar Joshi of
   Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
7. Mathematical Sciences: Dr K Sandeep of TIFR Centre for
   Applicable Mathematics, Bangalore
8. Dr Ritabrata Munshi School of Mathematics Tata Institute of
   Fundamental Research, Mumbai
9. Medical Sciences: Dr Vidita Ashok Vaidya of Department of
   Biological Sciences Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
10. Physical Sciences: Dr Bedangadas Mohanty of School of
    Physical Sciences National Institute of Science Education and Research,
    Bhubaneswar
11. Dr Mandar Madhukar Deshmukh of Department of Condensed
    Matter Physics and Materials Science of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research,
    Mumbai

• The city of Coventry on 1 October 2015 honoured Ratan Tata,
  chairman Emeritus of Tata sons, with its highest award in recognition of his
  contributions to the West Midlands region of central England.
• The leading Indian industrialist took oath as an Honorary
  Freeman of the City of Coventry. Since 1914, only 13 people have been conferred
  with the honour.
• Indian-origin professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, founder of
  the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), was also honoured with the title
  alongside Tata, at the University of Warwick in Coventry.
• Earlier in 2015, Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover had announced
  its long term commitment to Coventry and the West Midlands with a confirmation
  of a further 600 million pound investment to support product creation and
  superior vehicle manufacturing.

• Maruti Suzuki Chairman RC Bhargava has been honoured with
  the lifetime achievement award at the Forbes India Leadership Awards, 2015. The
  award recognises his invaluable contribution to the Indian business community
  and exemplary leadership demonstrated over the years, Maruti Suzuki India said
  in a statement.
• An IAS topper of 1956 batch, Bhargava was one of the
  founding members of Maruti in 1982. He led the company as Managing Director
  from 1990 to 1997.
• Bhargava, who has been Chairman of the country’s largest car
  maker since 2007, also serves on the board of several leading corporates.

• Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at United
  Nations headquarters in New York on 30 September 2015. The politically
  sensitive flag raising ceremony took place at 1:16 pm at the UN’s Rose Garden.
• The flag hosting raising ceremony was attended by the
  President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas.
• Earlier on 10 September 2015, United Nations General
  Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly approved the Resolution on Raising of Flags by
  Non-Member Observer States.

• Google’s flagship Project Loon was in news on 30 September
  2015 because Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the ambitious project and
  believed that it has multiple uses like long distance education, rural schools
  and telemedicine.
• PM Modi was briefed about the project during his visit to
  the Google headquarters in the Silicon Valley on 27 September 2015. Google
  informed the PM that the company is already doing a pilot project in Andhra
  Pradesh with a special focus on rural areas which still do not have internet
  penetration.
• Project Loon began in June 2013 with an experimental pilot
  in New Zealand.
• Loon uses high-altitude balloons placed in the stratosphere
  at an altitude of about 32 km to produce an aerial wireless network with up to
  3G-like speeds.

• World Vegetarian Day was observed on 1 October 2015. The day
  was established as an annual celebration to promote the joy, compassion and
  life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism.
• It brings awareness to the ethical, environmental, health
  and humanitarian benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle.
• The day was originated by the North American Vegetarian
  Society in 1977 and endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in 1978.

• The International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) was on 1
  October 2015 observed across the world with the theme Sustainability and Age
  Inclusiveness in the Urban Environment. The 2015 IDOP celebration demonstrated
  that an age inclusive agenda is crucial to promote equity, welfare and
  prosperity for all.
• The 2015 celebration of the 25th anniversary of
  International Day of Older Persons focused on the impact of the new urban
  environment on older persons and impact of older persons on the new urban
  environment.

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) on 1 October 2015
  launched the official ICC Women’s Team Rankings, which incorporate results in
  all three formats of the game into one rankings system. The innovative new
  system treats results from Test, ODI and T20I cricket equally.
• Australia was ranked number one following its success in the
  ICC Women’s World Cup 2013 in India and the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 2014 in
  Bangladesh. It also leads the ICC Women’s Championship, which is the qualifying
  tournament for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.

1. Australia
2. England
3. New Zeland
4. India
5. West Indies

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