IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 4th, 2017

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 4th, 2017

1.    On 4th October is World Animal Day.

a.     This is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare celebrated annually on 4th October, the feast day of Franis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

2.    The Lower House of French Parliament On 4th October passed a new anti-terror law thatallows police to conduct house raids and searches without a warrant. 

a.     It also allows police to place restrictions on gatherings and close places of worship, among other measures.

3.    India is among 13 nations which voted against a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution to denounce death penalty for consensual same-sex relations.

4.    President Ram Nath Kovind On 4th October reached African country Djibouti on his maiden foreign trip as India's first citizen. 

a.     Kovind is on a four-day visit to Djibouti and another African nation Ethiopia.

5.    A new law targetting hate speech on social media platforms has come into effect inGermany. 

a.     This new law requires social media platforms to remove hate speech and offensive content within 24 hours, or within seven days if the content is difficult to evaluate. 

b.    Those failing to comply could face fines of up to €50 million (over ₹385 crore).

6. Japan has given initial approval to restart two reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, theworld's biggest nuclear power plant, which was shut down post the 2011 magnitude-9 earthquake. 

a.     The reactors would be operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which also operates tsunami-hit and now-defunct Fukushima plant. 

7.    The Union Ministry of Water Resources has approved project to set up Turtle sanctuary in Allahabad along with River Biodiversity Park at Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh under Namami Gange programme.

a.     The purpose of the Turtle sanctuary is to protect the rich aquatic biodiversity of river Ganga from escalating anthropogenic pressures.

8.    The 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to three scientists Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson for developing cryo-electron microscopy. 

a.     The technique makes it possible to see biomolecules in 3D after rapidly freezing them around -150ºC, preserving their natural shape. 

b.    It has helped scientists view biomolecule structures like that of Zika virus.

9.    The government On 4th October named Rajnish Kumar as the new Chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) for a period of three years.

a.     He is going to replace Arundhati Bhattacharya, whose term comes to an end on October 6. 

10.The World Health Organisation (WHO) On 4th October appointed Indian doctor Soumya Swaminathan as its Deputy Director General, the second-highest position at the UN's health agency. 

11.          Satya Pal Malik was On 4th October sworn-in as 35th Governor of Bihar. 

a.     He was administered oath to office by Chief Justice of Patna High Court Rajendra Menon.

b.    He has replaced the West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi who was holding additional charge of Bihar after the elevation of Ram Nath Kovind as President.

12.Former President of Iraq and its first non-Arab head of state, Jalal Talabani (83), has passed away. 

13.The former Chief Executive Officer of Intel, Paul Otellini (66), passed away.

14.In it's 4th bi-monthly policy review, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the Repo rate unchanged at 6%. 

a.     The status quo comes after retail inflation hit a 5-month high of 3.36% in August. 

b.    Note : In the last review policy in August, RBI reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6%.

15.State Bank of India (SBI), country’s largest bank, revises its one-year retail fixed deposit rates up to Rs 1 crore to 6.50 percent, down by 25 basis points (bps).

a.     Senior citizens will now get an interest rate of 7 percent, down from 7.25 percent.

b.    From October 1, SBI also reduced its base rate to 8.95 percent p.a. (from 9 percent) while its MCLR or marginal cost based lending rate continued to be at 8 percent on one-year tenure loans.

16.Bangladesh On 4th October signed a $4.5-billion, third line of credit agreement with India for its infrastructure and social sector development. 

a.     The deal would help in funding 17 major projects in Bangladesh that include electricity, railroads, roads, shipping and ports.