08-09 October 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

08-09 October 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. 3 Scientists win the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics

• Three scientists, James Peebles, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz have won the Nobel Prize 2019 in Physics for their contribution to the understanding of the evolution of the universe and earth's place in the cosmos.
• The announcement of the Nobel Prize 2019 for Physics was made at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Solna, Sweden.
• One half of the award was given to James Peebles for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology and the other half jointly to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.
• They will receive nine million Swedish Krona (equivalent to 7 crores and 32 lakh rupees) cash award, a gold medal and a diploma.
• The award is presented in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on 10th December (the anniversary of Nobel's death).

Note:

• The Nobel Peace for Physics is one of the five Nobel Prizes (Chemistry, Peace, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature) established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel.

Source: AIR News

National Affairs

2. India International Cooperative Trade Fair to be held in New Delhi

• A three-day International Cooperative Trade Fair will be held in New Delhi from 11^th to 13^th October 2019.
• The first-ever such fair is aimed at promoting cooperative to cooperative trade within India and abroad leading to enhanced rural and farm prosperity.
• According to Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomer, Representatives from over 150 cooperative societies and 35 countries including, Australia, Japan, China, Brazil, US, UK, Germany and Iran are going to participate in the fair.
• The event will offer a huge opportunity for the industry and business houses from India and abroad to build an alliance, business networking, product sourcing and interact with primary producers of a wide range of products and service providers.

Note:

• This will be India's first and the largest international cooperatives trade fair promising to usher in a new era of cooperative excellence.
• The fair is expected to evolve a conducive environment for co-operative trade in the global arena.

Source: AIR News

3. Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC) in New Delhi

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has inaugurated National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC) in New Delhi.
• The Income Tax Department’s NeAC will reduce face-to-face interaction between taxpayers and tax officials.
• The setting up of NeAC of the Income Tax Department is a momentous step towards larger objectives of better taxpayer service, reduction of grievances in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India.
• They will also receive real-time alerts by way of SMS on their registered mobile number, specifying the issues for which their cases have been selected for scrutiny.
• This is another initiative by CBDT in the field of ease of compliance for the taxpayers.

Source: The Hindu

4. AIIMS & Health ministry launches “eDantSeva”

• The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in collaboration with the Union Health Ministry launched the first-ever website and mobile application on oral health awareness 'eDantSeva'.
• The digital platform ‘eDantSeva’ will provide oral health information gathered from authentic scientific resources and connect the people to timely advice for managing any dental emergency or oral health problem.
• The website also provides GPRS route and satellite images of the facility for easier access to the people.
• It also constitutes a unique feature called the ‘Symptom Checker’.
• A Braille booklet and voice-over on oral health education for visually impaired were also released on the occasion.

Source: Hindustan Times

5. India, Mexico agree to work together on multilateral issues

• The fifth round of Foreign Office Consultations between India and Mexico were held in New Delhi.
• The Indian side was led by Secretary (East) Vijay Thakur Singh and Mexican side was led by Deputy Minister of External Affairs of Mexico Julián Ventura Valero.
• The two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation, including political, trade and economic cooperation.
• Both sides underscored the need to hold a regular dialogue in these areas through the established bilateral mechanisms.

Source: AIR News

6. 50th IFFI 2019 to be held in Goa from November 20-28

• The 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI)- 2019 (Golden Jubilee edition) will be held from 20-28 November 2019 in Goa.
• Over 200 best films from 76 countries, 26 feature films and 15 non-feature films in the Indian Panorama section will be screened at the film festival.
• Around 10 thousand people and film lovers are expected to participate in the Golden Jubilee edition of the festival.
• 12 prominent films in different languages that have completed 50 years this year, will also be showcased.

Note:

• The International Film Festival of India (IFFI)(founded in 1952) is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia.
• The festival is conducted jointly by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Directorate of Film Festivals and the Government of Goa.

Source: AIR

Important Days

7. IAF celebrates its 87th anniversary

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) has celebrated its 87th anniversary across India.
• The Indian Air Force has displayed various Aircraft at Air Force Station Hindan airbase near Delhi with a parade and air display.
• The highlight of the event was Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman leading a MiG formation and flying a MiG Bison Aircraft.
• The Chiefs of the three Services R K S Bhadauria (Air Chief Marshal), Bipin Rawat (Army Chief) and, Admiral Karambir Singh (Chief of Naval Staff) visited the National War Memorial in New Delhi and paid tributes at the memorial.

Note:

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian armed forces.
• It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire and the prefix Royal was added in 1945 in recognition of its services during World War II.

Source: DD News

8. World Post Day is being observed today

• World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9th October, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern.
• It was declared World Post Day by the UPU Congress held in Tokyo, Japan in 1969.
• Since then, countries around the world participate annually in the celebrations.
• Posts in many countries use the event to introduce or promote new postal products and services.

Source: AIR News

Appointment

9. Justice Lingappa Narayana Swamy takes oath as Himachal Chief Justice

• Justice Lingappa Narayana Swamy was sworn in as the 25^th Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
• He was administered the oath of office by Governor Bandaru Dattatraya in a ceremony held at Darbar Hall of Raj Bhawan in Shimla.
• Justice Swamy served as the Acting Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court from 18th January 2019 to 9th May 2019.

Note:

• Himachal Pradesh was born as a result of the integration of 26th Province and four Punjab hill States into a Centrally Administered Area on 15 April 1948.
• It was vested with the powers of a High Court under the Judicial Commissioner's Court Act, 1950.

Source: ND TV

10. Indrajit Mahanty takes oath as Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court

• Justice Indrajit Mohanty was sworn in as the 37^th Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court.
• He was administered the oath of office by Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra in a ceremony held at Raj Bhawan.
• Justice Mohanty is the former Judge of Bombay High Court.
• Rajasthan Chief Secretary D B Gupta read out the appointment warrant issued by President Ramnath Kovind.

Banking & Finance

11. SBI lowers rates on non-repo-linked loans by 10 bps

• State Bank of India (SBI) has announced a reduction in its marginal cost of fund-based lending (MCLR) rate by 10 basis points across all tenors (effective from 10^th October 2019).
• This is the sixth time that the country’s largest lender has cut its MCLR or minimum lending rate in the current financial year.
• The rate reduction is not applicable to the repo-linked loans.
• With this reduction, the one-year MCLR, to which all the lending rates are linked to, is set at 8.05% as against 8.15% earlier.
• The cut in MCLR follows a 25-bps reduction in repo rate by the RBI last week.

Source: The Hindu

International Affairs

12. WTO hosts first World Cotton Day celebrations in Geneva

• The first-ever World Cotton Day (WCD) was hosted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva.
• This event stems from the application by the Cotton-4 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali) to the United Nations General Assembly for its official recognition of a World Cotton Day, reflecting the importance of cotton as a global commodity.
• Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani representing India in the five-day event of World Cotton Day being observed at Geneva.
• As one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of cotton, India supports the World Cotton Day as an opportunity to recognise the significance of cotton as a global commodity.

Note:

• Cotton is a global commodity that is produced all over the world and a single tonne of cotton provides year-round employment for five people on average.
• Cotton is a drought-resistant crop ideal for arid climates, it occupies just 2.1 per cent of the world’s arable land, yet it meets 27 per cent of the world’s textiles need.

Science & Defence

13. India gets its 1st of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh received the first of the 36 long-awaited Rafale fighter jets on behalf of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in France.
• The first batch of four combat jets is expected to be ferried to India by May 2020.
• The fighters to be armed with the SCALP ground attack missiles that have a range well over 300 km.
• It will be flown by IAF pilots in France for at least 1,500 hours as part of the testing and acceptance process before they come to their home base in Ambala.
• India had signed an agreement with France for the procurement of 36 Rafale jets at a cost of Rs. 59,000 crores.

Note:

• The Rafale is a twin-jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base.
• It is described as a fully versatile aircraft which can carry out all combat aviation missions to achieve air superiority and air defence, close air support, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence.

Sports

14. Simone Biles wins 15th World title as US Claims team Gold

• American artistic gymnast Simone Biles (22-years) has clinched a record-extending 15th World Gymnastics Championship title in Stuttgart, Germany.
• She collected her 21st medal at the championships to become the most decorated women's gymnast.
• Biles played a key role in a commanding performance by the USA, earning the most points in three of the four disciplines: the vault, balance beam and floor.

Source: Times of India

15. Surender Singh creates three world records at World Powerlifting C’ ship

• India’s Surender Singh created three world records at the ongoing World Powerlifting Championship in Berlin, Germany.
• Surender bagged the gold medal in 110 kg category, Classic Raw and the Best Lifter Award in Classic Raw and Single Ply.
• Three-time World Champion Mukesh Singh went on to add another feather to his cap by winning yet another gold only to be known as 4-time World Champion.

Source: AIR News