16 October 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. World Food Day being observed today
- The ‘World Food Day’ is observed every year on 16th October globally to mark the foundation of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.
- The theme of World Food Day 2019 is “Our Actions Are Our Future. Healthy Diets for A #ZeroHunger World".
- Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations that works towards defeating hunger via international efforts.
- The objective of ‘FAO’ to achieve food security for all and to make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active healthy lives.
- It has 194 member states and it works in over 130 countries in the whole world.
Appointment
2. J.P.S. Chawla takes over as the Controller General of Accounts (CGA)
- Government of India has appointed Shri J. P. S. Chawla (Indian Civil Accounts Service Officer-1985 batch) as the new Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure.
- He will replace Girraj Prasad Gupta.
- Shri J. P. S. Chawla has been officiating as CGA with effect from 1st September 2019.
- Earlier, Mr. Chawla served as Principal Chief Controller of Accounts, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) where he was instrumental in the finalisation of the accounting procedure and operationalisation of GST Network (GSTN) before the national rollout of GST.
- Shri Chawla is a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) in mechanical engineering from the Delhi College of Engineering, Delhi.
- He has also served on deputation with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and served as Director (Finance) in the Indraprastha Power Generation Company Limited (IPGCL) and Pragati Power Limited (PPL).
- CGA works under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
- The Principal Advisor on Accounting matters to the Union Government
- The responsibility of establishing and maintaining a technically sound management accounting system rests with the CGA.
3. Conservative academic Kais Saied elected president of Tunisia
- A former professor of constitutional law, Kais Saied (61-years) has been elected new President of Tunisia after a landslide victory in the 2019 presidential election.
- He will succeed Mohamed Ennaceur who is currently the interim President of Tunisia since July 2019 following the death of President Beji Caid Essebsi.
- Mr. Saied will assume the office on 30th October 2019 as the 6th President of Tunisia.
- Tunisia is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa, bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east.
- Capital: Tunis
- Currency: Tunisian dinar (TND)
National Affairs
4. India ranked 102 in Global Hunger Index 2019
- India ranked 102 (last years- 103rd) position among 117 countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2019 report released by Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
- India is ranked below many neighbouring countries, including China (25th spot), Nepal (73th), Myanmar (69th), Sri Lanka (66th), Bangladesh (88th) and Pakistan (94th).
- The report warned that the progress towards a 2030 zero hunger target that was agreed upon by leaders across the words was “under threat”.
- GHI is a multidimensional measure that describes a state of hunger situation on regional, national and global level.
- It is published annually by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) since 2006.
- The proportion of undernourished as a percentage of the population.
- The proportion of children under five years of age suffering from wasting.
- The proportion of children under five years of age suffering from stunting.
- The mortality rate of children under the age of five years.
5. Govt. to set up 14 World Skills India Training Centres across 9 cities
- According to Mahendra Nath Pandey (Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister), Govt. is planning to set up 14 Authorized World Skills India Training Centres across 9 cities in the country for media and entertainment sector.
- The new institutes will be set up for advanced skill training of candidates in the media and entertainment sector and to further develop skilling eco-system for training candidates for the international market.
- Nine Cities are Chennai, Trivandrum, Chandigarh, New Delhi, Indore, Pune, Mumbai, Shillong and Hyderabad.
- The centres will offer (9 to 36 months duration) certification courses on 3D digital game, graphic design technology, and print media technology.
6. J&K govt to set up 50 PCOs in each district of Kashmir division
- Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government will set-up 50 Public Call Offices (PCOs) in each district of Kashmir Division soon in order to provide free of cost calling facilities to the general public.
- According to Baseer Ahmad Khan (Divisional Commissioner Kashmir), locations and other modalities have been finalized.
- General Public will avail calling facilities in these PCOs free of cost.
7. Delhi LG launches an online module for sanction of building plans
- Anil Baijal (Delhi Lieutenant Governor) has launched an online module for sanctioning building plans for plots up to 500 square metres on self-certification basis by municipal corporations.
- The process will require an architect to file the case online for obtaining the sanction of a building plan certificate.
- The submitted case will be scrutinised automatically by the rule engine of the Online Building Plan System (OBPS) module.
- Thereafter, in case of any shortcoming, an error report will be generated by the system.
Banking & Finance
8. ICICI Bank introduces an FD with free health insurance
- ICICI Bank has announced to launch a new Fixed Deposit (FD) scheme ‘FD Health’ that will offer the dual benefit of an FD along with free critical illness coverage with a sum assured of Rs 1 lakh.
- The customers will be offered the insurance cover free of cost for the first year and thereafter, they can renew it.
- This first-of-its-kind offering in the industry provides the customer with a complimentary critical illness cover of Rs. 1 lakh from ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company on opening an FD of Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 3 lakhs for the tenure of at least two years.
- This offering is a first in the industry and provides the advantage of safety and growth of a fixed deposit along with protection of critical illness cover which will provide financial help if needed.
- List of critical illnesses under the policy includes specified severities related to cancer, lung disease, kidney failure, liver disease and benign brain tumour, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
9. IMF cuts GDP growth forecast to 6.1% for 2019-20
- As per the World Economic Outlook released, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) cut its forecast for GDP growth for the financial year 2019-20 to 6.1% (in July 2019 - 7% growth).
- IMF revises GDP growth rate prediction for 2019 at 6.1% and for 2020 at 7.0%
- GDP Prediction of India in 2019: 6.1%
- GDP Prediction of India in 2020: 7.0%
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.
- IMF consisting 189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world while periodically depending on World Bank for its resources.
Honour & Awards
10. India wins four 2019 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation
- UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation 2019 has been announced at a ceremony in Penang, Malaysia.
- Indian bagged four awards in three categories.
- India’s Flora Fountain and three other landmarks in Mumbai are among the four sites that have been chosen from India.
| Award of Distinction | New Design in Heritage Contexts | Honourable Mention | Award of Merit |
| Vikram Sarabhai Library, IIM (Ahmedabad) India | Dry Pit Latrine in Jiaxian Ancient Jujube Garden (Shaanxi) China | Flora Fountain (Mumbai) India | Our Lady of Glory Church (Mumbai) India |
| Keyuan Garden (Suzhou) China | Joan Sutherland Theatre Passageway and Lift (Sydney Opera House) Australia | Westpac Long Gallery (Sydney) Australia | Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue (Mumbai) India |
| Nelson School of Music, (Nelson) New Zealand | The Mills (Hong Kong SAR) China | The 5s Classroom (Kew) Australia | Tseto Goenpa (Paro) Bhutan |
| Liddell Bros. Packing Plant (Wuhan) China | Guyue Bridge (Zhejiang) China | ||
| Lyttelton Timeball Station (Christchurch) New Zealand |
11. HCL’s Shiv Nadar tops EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2019
- Shiv Nadar (HCL founder and chairman) has achieved the top rank in the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2019.
- Mr Nadar made the highest contribution of Rs 826 crore (between April 2018 and March 2019) towards philanthropic causes.
- Azim Premji (Wipro) has been ranked second with total donations worth Rs 453 crore during the qualifying period.
- Mukesh Ambani (Chairman, Reliance Industries) came third with a total contribution of Rs 402 crore.
- The list has been compiled by the EdelGive Foundation and Hurun Research Institute.
- It ranks individuals from India who donated Rs 5 crore and above between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019, towards philanthropic contributions.
Books & Author
12. Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo’s new book to release in November
- Nobel 2019 Laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo have penned a book together titled 'Good Economics for Hard Times – Better Answers to our Biggest Problems'.
- The book talks about the pressing issues of our times and tries to find solutions to these questions.
- The book is published by Juggernaut and set to release on November 2019,
Sports
13. Sourav Ganguly set to be new BCCI President
- Former Indian cricket Captain Saurabh Ganguly (47-years) unanimously nominated as the new President of the Board of control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
- Jay Shah (son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah) has been unanimously selected as Secretary and Arun Dhumal (younger brother of MoS Finance Anurag Thakur) as Treasurer.
- All these candidates are expected to be elected unopposed at the Board's Annual General Meeting to be held on 23rd October 2019.
- Currently, CK Khanna is the acting president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)
- Saurabh Ganguly (President, Cricket Association of Bengal) was the chairman of the BCCI technical committee and has been a media personality for many years.
- The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India.
- It is a consortium of state cricket associations and the state associations select their representatives who in turn elect the BCCI Chief.
- Headquarter: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
14. Zimbabwe, Nepal readmitted as ICC members
- The International Cricket Council has readmitted Zimbabwe (suspended from July 2019) and Nepal (from 2016) as ICC members in a meeting held in Dubai.
- Zimbabwe Cricket had been suspended from membership of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with immediate effect in July this year.
- In 2016, Nepal had been banned for “governmental interference”.
- Now, Zimbabwe will be able to take up their place in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup in January and the ICC Super League later in 2020.
