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.

Finance/Industry
Union Government
reduced domestic natural gas price by 18 percent to 3.81 US dollars per mmBtu
  • 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).

Black money window: ₹3,770-cr
unaccounted foreign assets declared

  • 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 Card inks pact
with Flipkart for facilitating online shopping
  • 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 signs MoU
with L&T Shipbuilding for evaluating port operations

  • 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.

India
Union Government
notified Mid-Day Meal Rules, 2015

  • 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 partners
Ridley Scott, Richie Mehta to capture ‘India in a Day’
  • 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.

Appointments
Sarat Kumar Acharya
takes over as CMD of Neyveli Lignite

  • 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.

Awards
& Honors –
Zenia Bhumgara of
India conferred with Merlin Award by International Magicians Association
  • 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.

Shanti Swarup
Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology 2015 announced
  • 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.

The selected awardees in different fields are
  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

Ratan Tata honoured
by UK city of Coventry
  • 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.

RC Bhargava honoured
with the lifetime achievement award at the Forbes India Leadership Awards,
2015
  • 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.

World
Plestinian flag
hoisted at UN headquarters for the first time
  • 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.

Narendra Modi briefed
about Project Loon during Google headquarters tour
  • 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.

Days
World Vegetarian Day
observed globally

  • 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.

International Day of
Older Persons observed across the world
  • 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.

Sports
ICC Women’s Team
Rankings launched
  • 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.

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

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This post was last modified on July 20, 2019 10:16 am