VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 11^th, 2018

                         IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 11^th, 2018

1.     (11th October) is International Day of the Girl Child.

a.      This is an international observance day declared by the United Nations.

b.     On December 2011 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution to declare 11th October as the International Day of the Girl Child to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

c.      First International Day of the Girl Child was observed on 11th October 2012.

d.     Theme of International Day of the Girl Child 2018  : ‘With Her: A Skilled Girl Force’. 

2.     Today (11th October) is World Obesity Day.

a.      This day is observed globally with the view of promoting practical solutions to end the global obesity crisis.

b.     Note : Child and teenage obesity levels have risen ten-fold in the last four decades, meaning 124 million boys and girls around the globe are too fat.  

c.      Theme of World Obesity Day 2018 : "End Weight Stigma"

3.     External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Dushanbe (capital of Tajikistan). 

a.      During this visit she will attend a 2-day conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

b.     This conclave is expected to focus on boosting cooperation in fighting terrorism, besides deliberating on pressing regional and global issues. 

c.      It will be the second CHG meeting since India became a full member of SCO in June 2017. 

4.     Amid domestic opposition to the practice, Malaysia's cabinet has agreed to abolish the death penalty.

a.      Capital punishment in Malaysia is currently mandatory for murder, kidnapping, possession of firearms and drug trafficking, among other crimes.

5.     Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is on a 3 day visit to France. 

a.      During this visit, she will hold wide-ranging talks with her French counterpart Florence Parly on ways to deepen strategic cooperation between the two countries and also deliberate on major regional and global issues of mutual interests.

6.     The Union Cabinet has approved establishment of National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET).  

a.      It will be set up by merging existing regulatory institutions in the skills space – National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) and National Skill Development Agency (NSDA).

b.     It will regulate functioning of entities engaged in vocational education and training, both long-term and short-term. 

c.      It will also establish minimum standards for functioning of such entities.

7.     Union Cabinet has also approved the payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days’ wages for financial year 2017-18 for all eligible non-gazetted Railway employees. 

a.      It will be not available to Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel. This decision will benefit about 11.91 lakh non-gazetted Railway employees.

8.     Former Miss Chhattisgarh Veena Sendre has been chosen as India's first 'Miss Trans Queen'. 

a.      She defeated Namita Ammu of Tamil Nadu to claim the title at the national-level beauty contest organised in Mumbai today.

9.     Environmentalist G D Agrawal (86), who was on 'fast unto death' since June 22 to urge the government to clean river Ganga, passed away due to heart attack.

a.      A former professor at Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Agrawal was demanding the government to stop construction of all hydroelectric projects along the tributaries of the Ganga.

10.                       AirAsia India, the joint venture between Tata Sons and Malaysia's AirAsia Group, has named Tata Steel's Sunil Bhaskaran as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO).

11. The former Chairperson of India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI), Arundhati Bhattacharya, has joined homegrown private equity firm ChrysCapital as an Adviser. 

a.      Founded in 1999, ChrysCapital manages assets of around $3 billion across seven funds. 

b.     Note : Besides Bhattacharya, former HCL Technologies CEO Vineet Nayar is also an adviser at the private equity firm.

12. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has appointed Pravin Srivastava, Additional Director General, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, as Chief Statistician of India, and Secretary of the Statistics Ministry.

a.      This appointment comes into effect from the date of his assuming charge of the post till the date of his superannuation (August 31, 2020) or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

13.                       Indian shooter Saurabh Chaudhary won the Men's 10m Air Pistol event to bag India's second shooting and overall third Gold medal at 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina's Buenos Aires. 

14. The 'W Series', an All-female Formula One-like driving competition, to encourage female drivers towards Formula One racing will start next year.

a.      Important Points to Note : 

b.     In the history of Formula One racing, over 900 drivers have competed since the championship began in 1950, with only two of them being female drivers. 

c.      The last official female driver's Formula One appearance was Lella Lombardi in 1976.

15. World number two Caroline Wozniacki won her 30th WTA singles title with victory over Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova in the China Open 2018 final in Beijing.