Current Affairs Update – 20th October, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 20th October, 2015. These are the final Current Affairs needed for IBPS PO Mains.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 October 2015 inaugurated
  the IDFC Bank in New Delhi.
• IDFC Bank Limited, which started its operations on 1 October
  2015, is an Indian Banking company with headquarters in Mumbai that forms a
  part of IDFC, an integrated infrastructure finance company.
• IDFC Bank was granted a universal banking license in July 2015
  by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• IDFC was incorporated on 30 January 1997. It founded a
  non-operative financial holding company (NOFHC) in 2014 to manage its five
  subsidiaries IDFC Bank, IDFC MF, IDFC Alternatives, IDFC IDF & IDFC
  Securities to conform with RBI guidelines.

• Union Government on 19 October 2105 raised the basic customs
  duty on wheat to 25 percent from 10 percent. This increase will be valid till
  31 March 2016.
• A statement from the Ministry of Finance said that the duty
  has been raised in view of the continued fall in international prices of wheat
  and the anticipated adverse impact of increased imports during the first half
  of financial year 2015-16.
• The increase in custom duty will presumably help protect
  Indian farmers against cheaper imports.International wheat prices have fallen
  considerably over 2014. The price of wheat in the US was 216 dollars a tonne on
  16 October 2015, which was -25.7 percent of what it was in 2014.

• The Controller-General of Accounts (CGA) in the second week
  of October 2015 announced that India’s fiscal balance turned from deficit to
  surplus for the first time in 8 years.
• Fiscal deficit-difference between revenue and expenditure
  excluding borrowings- for August 2015 was pegged at -15808 crore rupees that
  indicates surplus of revenues over expenditure.
• The surplus amount in the exchequer is significant due to
  the fact that the fiscal deficit was 73005 crore rupees during the same period
  in the previous fiscal-August 2014.
• In August 2015, the total expenditure was only 131214 crore
  rupees against the total revenue of 147022 crore rupees.

• Gujarat-based Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ)
  and India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) on 19 October 2015 signed a
  Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to handle pulses across its ports to ensure
  smooth and cost efficient availability of the commodity across the nation.
• The MoU is intended to develop a dedicated and efficient
  supply chain for pulses, using Adani Ports’ facilities to all key consumption
  centers in the country. This will help ensure smooth and cost efficient
  availability of pulses.
• According to port sources, Adani has developed the world
  class facilities for an agricultural market place at its all ports. It has
  largest dedicated covered warehouse space inside ports for Agri goods.

• The flamboyant Virender Sehwag, one of the world’s most
  destructive batsmen to have played the game, today announced his retirement
  from international cricket and the Indian Premier League, bringing an end to an
  illustrious career spanning over a decade.
• Sehwag had already hinted about his imminent retirement at a
  function in Dubai yesterday and chose his 37th birthday today to put an end to
  his amazing career and said he was grateful to have done things his way.
• In a glorious international career spanning over 12 years,
  Sehwag played 104 Tests scoring 8586 runs at an impressive average of 49.34,
  hitting 23 centuries and 32 half-centuries.
• He is the only triple centurion in Tests for India having
  scored a career-best knock of 319 against Pakistan at Multan, which also is an
  Indian record. He is also one of those rare batsmen to have scored two triple
  tons with his next one (309) coming against South Africa.
• In 251 ODIs, he accumulated 8273 runs at an average of 35.05
  and scored 15 hundreds apart from hitting 38 fifties. In 19 Twenty20
  Internationals, he managed 394 runs with two half-centuries.
• He has been a part of two World Cup winning teams under
  Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s leadership — 2007 World T20 in South Africa and the ICC
  ODI World Cup in India.
• The decision to retire comes after Sehwag signed up to play
  in the next year’s Masters Champions League 2020, where only retired cricketers
  can play. Sehwag was unveiled at the launch ceremony of the veterans 2020
  league in Dubai.
• The move also comes barely a few days after one of his
  contemporaries Zaheer Khan decided to call time on his career.

• The Uttar Pradesh Government on 20 October 2015 announced
  that it will provide 50000 rupees as monthly pension to Yash Bharti awardees of
  the state.
• The Yash Bharti Samman, which was instituted in 1994, is
  conferred by the Uttar Pradesh Government for excellence in literature, fine
  arts, folk and classical music and sports. The award carries cash prize of 11
  lakh rupees, a citation and a shawl.
• The Yash Bharti Samman 2015 was awarded to renowned
  journalist Vinod Mehta on 9 February 2015.

• The Karnataka and Gujarat Governments on 19 October 2015
  lifted the ban on manufacturing and sale of Nestle India’s popular instant food
  brand Maggi noodles.
• The decision came following the clean chit given by three
  government-approved laboratories to Maggi noodles. All the samples of Maggi
  cleared tests conducted by three laboratories, as mandated by the Bombay High Court.
  The company will now relaunch the product soon.
• The Gujarat Food and Drug Control Authority (FDCA) lifted
  the ban on sale of Maggi noodles after the Bombay High Court lifted the
  nationwide ban on it in August 2015.

• Government of Maharashtra on 16 October 2015 declared 14708
  out of 40053 villages as drought-hit where the monsoon rainfall was deficient
  by over 50 percent.
• As a relief measure to farmers in the drought-hit villages,
  the government announced several steps including waiver of land revenue and
  electricity charges among others.
• This is the second straight year of drought for Maharashtra
  where the south-west monsoon was deficient by 27 percent.
• Also, Maharashtra also became the second state in the
  country as Karnataka declared 27 out of 30 districts as drought-hit in August
  2015.
• The drought-hit villages in Maharashtra are spread across 20
  of the 35 districts in the state, including all eight districts of the
  Marathwada region.

• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  (MoEFCC) extended the validity of Environment Clearance (EC) from 5 years to 7
  years by amending the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2006.
  The draft notification regarding this was issued on 29 April 2015.
• This increase in period of validity of EC for longer time
  would provide more leeway to corporations to manoeuvre and manipulate the
  actions and activities.
• The validity of the prior environmental clearance granted
  for all other projects or activities would be seven years. Earlier it was five
  years.
• In the case of Area Development projects and Townships, the
  validity period shall be limited only to such activities as may be the
  responsibility of the applicant as a developer.

• Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announced on 19 October 2015
  that Konkan Railway will establish a tunnel technology institute at Goa’s
  Margao town. The institute will enable training for the technology, which is
  still not available in India.
• The institute, which is first of its kind in the nation,
  will be established in the honour of former Railway Minister George Fernandes,
  who is said to be the driving force behind the Konkan Railway. The institute
  will be called as George Fernandes Institute of Tunnel Technology.
• The proposed institute aims at being a depository of
  knowledge on tunnels and underground structures. The institute will provide
  training of tunnel technology and consultancy services for tunnels and
  underground construction.

• The World Statistics Day was observed across the world on 20
  October 2015 with the theme Better Data, Better Lives. This year celebrations
  mark the second observance of the World Statistics Day.
• The theme emphasizes the critical role of high-quality
  official statistical information in analysis and informed policy
  decision-making in support of sustainable development. The theme also reflects
  the importance of sustainable national statistical capacity to produce reliable
  and timely statistics and indicators measuring a country’s progress.
• The year 2015 marks the bicentenary of the birth of George
  Boole, whose work on the application of the principles of logic as a form of
  algebra underpins modern computer science.

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
  Organization (UNESCO) on 12 October 2015 released a report entitled Gender and
  Education for All (EFA) 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges. It was compiled
  by UNESCO’s Global Monitoring Report (GMR) and UN Girl’s Education Initiative.
• As per the report, which delineated educational attainments
  among girls across the world, only fewer than half the countries have achieved
  the goal of ensuring gender parity in both primary and secondary education before
  2005.
• In India, gender gaps in primary and lower secondary
  education have closed due to adoption of multiple strategies that include free
  textbooks for girls, back-to-school camps and bridging courses, recruitment of
  female teachers, and national programmes to increase demand for schooling among
  rural and disadvantaged girls among others.

• Moody’s Investors Service on 19 October 2015 released a
  report on the global green bonds market titled Third Quarter Issuance Lags, but
  COP21-Linked Increase Is Likely.
• The report says that in the third quarter (Q3) of 2015, the
  global green bond issuance reached 7.5 billion dollar, compared to bond
  issuance of 27.2 billion dollar in Q3 2014. But the increase is down from Q2,
  Moody’s expects issuance will pick up in the last quarter and exceed 40 billion
  dollar for the full year 2015.

• Issuance continued to break new ground in the third quarter
  in terms of noteworthy and first-time transactions
• 7.6 billion dollar issued in Q3 lagged the 13.4 billion
  dollar that came to market during the second quarter of the year, but did
  outpace the first quarter’s 6.3 billion dollar.

• India has set a target of 175 GW of renewable energy
  capacity by 2022
• India that came up as an early leader in Asia’s incipient
  green bond is expected to be a prominent driver of regional issuance in coming
  years.
• India has established itself as an early leader in Asia’s
  nascent green bond market, with three India-based issuers came to market in
  third quarter (July to September 2015).

• The 2015 Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index (MMGPI)
  report was released on 19 October 2015. This seventh edition of MMGPI report
  measured 25 retirement income systems against more than 40 indicators, under
  the sub-indices of Adequacy, Sustainability and Integrity.
• The 2015 report rated Denmark as the country with the best
  retirement system for the fourth consecutive year in 2015, with an overall
  score of 81.7.
• This study of retirement income systems in 25 countries
  confirmed that there is great diversity between the retirement systems around
  the world with scores ranging from 40.3 for India to 81.7 for Denmark.
• India’s retirement system ranked last in the 2015 MMGPI
  report. India’s index value fell from 43.5 in 2014 to 40.3 in 2015, primarily
  due to a recent review conducted by the Economic Intelligence Unit that showed
  a material reduction in its household savings rate. Also in the same group are
  Indonesia, China, Japan and South Korea.

• Canada’s Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau was on 19
  October 2015 elected as the Prime Minister of Canada after his Liberal Party
  won 189 seats, a majority of Parliament’s 338 seats. The party needed 170 to
  gain a majority.
• The Conservative Party was next with 97 seats, followed by
  the New Democratic Party at 28 seats and Bloc Quebecois with 9 seats. With
  this, nine-year reign of Conservative Party PM Stephen Harper and his party
  came to a sudden end.
• Justin Trudeau at 43 years of age became the second youngest
  Prime Minister in Canadian history. The earlier youngest prime minister was Joe
  Clark, a Conservative, who took office in 1979 the day before he turned 40.

• The Union Government on 19 October 2015 named veteran sports
  administrator Vijay Kumar Malhotra as the President of the All India Council of
  Sports. His position will be in the rank of Minister of State.
• The council also includes former sportspersons, including PT
  Usha, Limba Ram, N Kunjarani Devi, IM Vijayan, Baichung Bhutia and P Gopichand.
• Malhotra acted as the Senior Vice President of the Indian
  Olympic Association (IOA) and the acting President of the IOA after the arrest
  of Suresh Kalmadi in connection with the alleged irregularities in awarding
  contracts for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

• Model-actress Urvashi Rautela on 18 October 2015 was crowned
  as Yamaha Fascino Miss Diva 2015 at a star-studded event in Mumbai. With this,
  she became India’s representative for the Miss Universe pageant.
• Natasha Assadi from Bangalore was crowned 1st runner up
  while Naveli Deshmukh from Aurangabad was crowned 2nd runner-up.
• Born on 25 February 1994 in Nainital, Uttarakhand, Rautela
  had won the I Am She – Miss Universe India in 2012 but was dethroned from crown
  due to a controversy over her age. She had also been a winner of the title of
  Miss Asian Supermodel 2011 in South Korea.

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and partner
  nations on 19 October 2015 launched the Alliance’s Trident Juncture military
  exercise at the Trapani air force base in Italy. Trident Juncture will end on 6
  November 2015.
• The three week long intensive training involves 36000 troops
  from more than 30 nations across Italy, Spain and Portugal.
• The Trident juncture is the largest NATO exercise for over a
  decade and will increase readiness and ability to work together. It will also
  demonstrate that NATO is capable of responding to threats from any direction.
  The exercise will also certify next year’s NATO Response Force headquarters and
  the functions of the new very-high readiness Spearhead Force.

• Veteran filmmaker Kikkeri Shamanna Lakshminarasimha Swamy,
  popularly known as KSL Swamy, died on 20 October 2015 due to breathing
  complications in Bengaluru. He was 77.
• The multifaceted personality was also a playback singer,
  producer and actor.
• He started his career in film industry by assisting G. V.
  Iyer and M. R. Vittal. He debuted as an independent film director with the 1966
  film, Thoogudeepa.
• Swamy’s 1989 film Jamboo Savari won the National Film Award
  for Best Children’s Film at the 37th National Film Awards.

Regards

Team ExamPundit

Sponsored

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Books For 2015 Banking/Insurance Exams