Daily Current Affairs 30-31 October 2018 with PDF

Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Daily Current Affairs 30-31 October 2018. These are important for the upcoming Indian Bank PO, IBPS PO and Clerk 2018 Exams.

Daily Current Affairs 30-31 October 2018 for Bank, SSC and Competitive Exams

Current Affairs related to Banking and Finance

ICICI Bank launches co-branded credit card with Amazon
  • ICICI Bank on Tuesday said that it has entered into an exclusive partnership with ‘Amazon Pay’ to launch a co-branded credit card, ‘Amazon Pay ICICI Bank Credit Card’.
  • This is the first credit card in the country to enable Amazon Prime members earn 5 per cent reward points on shopping on Amazon.in.
  • Other customers get 3 per cent reward points. They also earn 2 per cent reward points on spends at Amazon Pay partner merchants across categories such as food delivery, utility payments, movie ticketing and much more. This co-branded card is available on Visa platform.

New SBI ATM withdrawal limits to come into effect
  • The new ATM cash withdrawal rules for SBI account holders will come into effect from today, October 31, 2018.
  • The country’s largest bank will reduce the daily cash withdrawal limit for Classic and Maestro debit cards to Rs 20,000 per day, from Rs 40,000.
  • SBI account holders having higher daily cash withdrawal requirements can apply for other debit card variants that have a higher daily withdrawal limit, the bank has said in a communication.
  • There will be no changes in the daily withdrawal limits on other SBI debit cards.

Government approves construction of over two lakh additional houses in urban areas under PMAY
  • The government has approved the construction of over two lakh additional houses in urban areas under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
  • An official release said West Bengal has been sanctioned over one lakh affordable houses and Uttar Pradesh more than 50,000 houses.
  • Andhra Pradesh has been sanctioned over 41,000 houses and Maharashtra over 20,000. Further, over 1,400 houses have been sanctioned for Nagaland and around 500 houses for Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

13th India-Japan Annual Summit: India, Japan sign various agreements, agree to start ‘2+2’ dialogue
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Japan on October 28-29, 2018 to attend the India-Japan Annual Summit with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
  • After the summit, the two sides exchanged 32 MoUs or agreements including USD 75 billion currency swap agreement and agreed to ‘2+2’ dialogue.
  • Japan and India entered into a USD 75 billion currency swap agreement that will boost Indian economy as it encounters a steep drop in the rupee’s value. This swap arrangement would be 50 percent higher than the previous swap agreement. Japan had offered a USD 50 billion currency swap in 2013.
  • This facility will enable the agreed amount of foreign capital being available to India for use as and when the need arises. Equally, Japan can also seek dollars from India in exchange for yen.

Union Transport Minister to lay the foundation for India’s largest Dry Dock
  • The foundation stone for India’s largest Dry Dock will be laid by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Cochin Shipyard in Kerala on October 30, 2018.
  • The Dry Dock will give a major boost to the “Make in India” initiative under Sagarmala and raise India’s share in global shipbuilding to 2 percent. India currently occupies 0.66 per cent share in global shipbuilding market.
  • The commercial ship building industry in India is worth Rs. 3,200 crore and focuses primarily on small-medium sized offshore vessels and cargo/bulk carriers.
  • Currently, the Cochin Shipyard has two dry docks. One that has a size of 255m x 43 x 9m and capacity 1,10,000 DWT is predominantly used for ship building and the other one, which has a size of 270 x 45 x 12m and capacity 1,25,000 DWT, is used for ship repair.

FPIs pull out INR 35,600 crore from Indian capitals market in October
  • Foreign investors pulled out Rs 35,600 crore from the Indian capital markets in October 2018. The outflow is higher than Rs 21,000 crore withdrawn in September.
  • Prior to that, overseas investors had invested Rs 7,400 crore in the capital markets (both equity and debt) in July-August period.
  • According to the latest depository data, foreign portfolio investors, FPIs, sold equities worth Rs 24,186 crore during October 1-26 period and bonds worth Rs 11,407 crore, taking the total to Rs 35,593 crore.
  • FPIs have been net sellers almost throughout this year barring a couple of months such as January, March, July and August. In these four months, overseas investors have put funds totalling over Rs 32,000 crore.
  • So far this year, FPIs have pulled out a total of Rs 97,000 crore from the capital markets. This includes over Rs 37,000 crore from equities and close to Rs 60,000 crore from the debt markets.

NMCG approves 12 projects worth Rs 929 crore under Namami Gange programme
  • The Executive Committee (EC) of the National Mission for Clean Ganga on October 29, 2018 approved 12 projects worth Rs 929 crore under the Namami Gange programme in its 16th meeting.
  • The committee sanctioned two sewage treatment plants for Delhi, various projects for Uttar Pradesh, two projects for West Bengal, and two projects under CSR category.
  • The committee sanctioned two Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) for Delhi for creating 340 MLD (Millions of Liters per Day) waste treatment capacity at a cost of Rs 580 Crore.
  • The first STP will be of 318 MLD capacity at Coronation Pillar.
  • The second is a project in Chattarpur assembly constituency where various sewage pumping stations and 9 STPs of total 22.5 MLD capacity will be constructed.

Current Affairs related to India and states

PM Modi unveils world’s tallest statue ‘Statue of Unity’
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31, 2018 unveiled the bronze statue of India’s first deputy prime minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at Kevadia in Gujarat’s Narmada district.
  • The ‘statue of unity’ dedicated to the ‘Iron Man of India’ has been constructed on a river island called the Sadhu Bet on the Narmada river in Kevadiya town.
  • The Prime Minister inaugurated the structure on the occasion of Sardar Patel’s 143rd birth anniversary, dedicating the Statue of Unity to the country.
  • At 182 metres, the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel will be the tallest statue in the world, surpassing the height of Spring Temple Buddha in China, which had previously held the record at 153 metres.
  • The structure will be double the size of the Statue of Liberty in New York city in the United States.
  • A viewing gallery has been set up at a height of 135 metres, which can accommodate 200 visitors at one time. It offers a spectacular view of the Sardar Sarovar Dam, its reservoir, and the Satpura and Vindhya mountain ranges.
  • The Statue, set up under the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust, has been constructed at a cost of Rs 2,989 crore in less than four years.
  • Built by engineering major Larsen & Toubro Ltd, the statue will be treated as the largest memorial to the ‘Iron Man of India’.

India’s First Justice City Coming Up in Andhra Pradesh
  • Andhra Pradesh is building a world-class and India’s first ‘Justice City’ within its new capital Amaravati with the vision to provide a state-of-the-art ecosystem built on latest technology for supporting the judicial system in the state.
  • Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has taken up this task upon himself to ensure that state-of-the-art complexes and facilities are developed which are needed to support quick and efficient court system.
  • Once the Justice City is ready, Amaravati will be the first city in India to be home to the nation’s first dedicated city on Justice.

Supreme Court prohibits plying of 15-year-old petrol, 10-year-old diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR
  • The Supreme Court on October 29, 2018 prohibited the plying of 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles in the Delhi-NCR (national capital region) in a move to deal with the prevailing “very critical” and “horrible” pollution situation in Delhi-NCR.
  • A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta also clarified that such vehicles would be seized, if found on roads in Delhi-NCR.
  • The apex court directed that a list of 15-year-old petrol and 10-year-old diesel vehicles will be published on the website of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and transport departments of the NCR area.
  • The bench directed the CPCB to immediately create a social media account on which citizens could lodge their complaint about pollution directly, which will be acted upon by the task force responsible for implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
  • It said a “meaningful advertisement” shall be published in a local newspaper for convenience of the owners of these vehicles.

India, Qatar establish joint commission to strengthen bilateral relations
  • India and Qatar on October 29, 2018 established a joint commission to review all bilateral matters, as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest. A joint declaration was issued to this effect.
  • The decision was taken following a meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, during former’s visit to Qatar.
  • During the meeting, both the sides held comprehensive discussions on bilateral relations and regional and international issues.
  • India and Qatar have decided to establish a joint commission to strengthen the relations between the two countries in various fields with a view to further the common interests of their people.

Fifth National Summit on Public Health Care held
  • The 5th National Summit on Good and Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Health Care Systems in India began in Kaziranga, Assam on October 30, 2018.
  • Addressing the summit Union Health Minister J P Nadda  stressed on perform, reform and transform as emphasised by Prime Minister.
  • Speaking on the occasion Union Minister of state for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey  said  health sector in the country has improved of late.

INS Tarangini returns after Vogage across the World
  • The sail training ship of Indian Navy, INS Tarangini based at Kochi, returned after a seven month long sailing across the world to a grand reception at naval base, Kochi on October 30, 2018.
  • The ship was received by Rear Admiral RJ Nadkarni, VSM, Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command. A welcoming ceremony was conducted by the Southern Naval Command at South Jetty of the naval base to mark the occasion.

UP and Uttarakhand sign agreement to strengthen bus services
  • The Uttar Pradesh government on October 19, 2018 signed an agreement with its neighbouring state Uttarakhand to strengthen inter-state bus services.
  • Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said his government is committed to provide better transport facilities to the people of the state.
  • He further added that better mode of transportation will make commuting easy and will help economy in turn and boost cultural integration. He said both the states share common tradition and heritage.

Delhi Metro Pink Line: Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake – Shiv Vihar section opens for public
  • The Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake to Shiv Vihar section of the Delhi Metro Pink Line was flagged off by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on October 31, 2018.
  • With the opening of this 17.86 km long section, Delhi Metro joined the league of top metro networks around the world which have an operational length of over 300 km like those in London, Beijing, Shanghai and New York.
  • Delhi Metro Network has now become 314 kilometres long with 229 metro stations. From now on, Delhi Metro will be running 4,749 trips a day, the highest ever so far.

Successful night trial of Agni-1 ballistic missile
  • A night trial of India’s indigenously developed nuclear-capable Agni-1 ballistic missile with a strike range of 700 km was successfully conducted on October 30, 2018 from a test range off Odisha coast as part of a user trial by the Army.
  • The launch of the surface-to-surface missile was undertaken as a part of periodic training activity by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) from Dr Abdul Kalam Island to consolidate operational readiness. The trail was adjudged as successful with all mission objectives being met.

Defence Minister flags off ‘Run for Unity’ in Chennai
  • Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on October 31, 2018 flagged off the ‘Run for Unity,’ an event organised to mark the birth anniversary of freedom fighter and India’s first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
  • Sitharaman, besides Tamil Nadu Ministers D Jayakumar and SP Velumani, participated in the event.
  • The run was conducted to mark the dedication of the ‘statue of unity’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat. The event saw a large participation from the youth.

Anupam Kher resigns as Chairman of Film and Television Institute of India
  • Anupam Kher on October 31, 2018 resigned as Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), citing international film and TV assignments.
  • Anupam Kher took office as the Chairman of the prestigious organisation in October 2017. Prior to Kher, Gajendra Chauhan was the Chairman of FTII. Chauhan left office in March 2017.

Current Affairs related to Index

Ease of Doing Business Index: India jumps to 77th rank
  • In a big boost for Narendra Modi government, India climbed another 23 points in the World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking to 77th place, becoming the top ranked country in South Asia for the first time and third among the BRICS.
  • In the last two years the country has climbed 53 notches, a performance matched in the past only by Bhutan. The biggest gain was in construction permit where India climbed 129 ranks to 52nd place on the back of targeted government effort to remove hurdles.
  • The details were revealed in World Bank’s Doing Business Report which is an assessment of business regulation across 190 economies.
  • Further, India now ranks in the top 25 in the world on three indicators- getting electricity, getting credit and protecting minority investors, department of industrial policy and promotion said on Wednesday.
  • The doing business report ranks countries on the basis of distance to frontier (DTF), a score that shows the gap of an economy to the global best practice. India’s DTF score improved to 67.23 from 60.76 last year.

Current Affairs related to World

Seychelles launches world’s first sovereign Blue Bond
  • The Republic of Seychelles on October 29, 2018 launched the world’s first Sovereign Blue Bond, a financial instrument designed to support sustainable marine and fisheries projects.
  • The bond raised USD 15 million from international investors. The bond demonstrates the potential for countries to harness capital markets for financing the sustainable use of marine resources.
  • With this, Seychelles became the first nation to pioneer such a novel financing instrument.
  • The World Bank assisted in developing the Blue Bond and helped the country in reaching out to the three investor.

Angela Merkel to step down as German chancellor in 2021
  • Germany’s Angela Merkel has said she will step down as Chancellor in 2021, following recent election setbacks.
  • Merkel said in a news conference in Berlin that she would not seek re-election as leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union( CDU). She has held the post since 2000.
  • The CDU was severely weakened in yesterday’s poll in the state of Hesse, the latest in a series of setbacks.
  • Both the CDU and its coalition partners, the Social Democrats, were 10 percentage points down on the previous poll there.

Current Affairs related to Appointments

Justice Naresh Patil sworn in as Bombay HC Chief Justice
  • Justice Naresh Harishchandra Patil was on October 29, 2018 sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.
  • The state’s Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao administered the oath of office to Justice Patil at a brief ceremony at Raj Bhavan.
  • Justice Patil had been serving as Acting Chief Justice of the High Court from August 12.

Current Affairs related to Awards

Malala Yousafzai to be honoured by Harvard University
  • Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai will be honoured by Harvard University for her work promoting girls’ education. Harvard’s Kennedy School said Yousafzai will be conferred with the 2018 Gleitsman Award at a ceremony on December 6.
  • Yousafzai became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 when she was recognized for her global work supporting schooling for all children.
  • As a teen in Pakistan, she survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban. She later founded the nonprofit Malala Fund to support her work.

Current Affairs related to Days

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas 2018 observed to commemorate 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Patel
  • India observed Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, also known as National Unity Day, on October 31, 2018 to commemorate the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Iron Man of India.
  • On this occasion, Home Minister Rajnath Singh flagged off the ‘Run for Unity’ from Major Dhyanchand Stadium. He also administered unity pledge to the participants.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated world’s tallest ‘Statue of Unity’ to the nation at Kevadiya in Narmada district of Gujarat. The Prime Minister also unveiled the ‘Wall of Unity’, a wall created with the earth samples collected from various states across the country.

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