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IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 14^th, 2018

                         IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 14^th, 2018

1.       (14th October) is World Standards Day / International standards day.

a.      This day honors the efforts of the thousands of experts who develop voluntary standards within standards development organizations such as the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU),Institute of Electrical and

Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and theInternet Engineering Task Force (IETF). 

b.       This day was initially launched in 1970, and is now recognized and celebrated by nations around the globe.  

c.       The aim of World Standards Day is to raise awareness among regulators, industry and consumers as to the importance of standardization to the global economy.

d.       World Standards Day 2018 Theme : “Innovation Nation”

e.       Important Heads :

i)       IEC President - James M. Shannon

ii)     ITU Secretary General - Houlin Zhao

iii)   ISO President - Zhang Xiaogang

2.      A Malaysian delegation led by the Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran visited India.

a.       This visit is the follow up of the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s visit to Malaysia in May 2018.

b.       During the visit, various issues related to bilateral cooperation in the field of recruitment, training and other aspects of public services came up for discussion. 

c.       Mr. Kulasegaran called for strengthening of mutual cooperation between Malaysia and India in the area of public service.

3.      President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of the Republic of Uzbekistan was on a visit to India.

a.       This is his first official state visit. 

b.       During this visit, he met the President and Prime Minister of India, as well as Indian government officials, and discussed various issues of mutual benefit.

c.       This visit marks a new chapter in Indo-Uzbek ties and a future that is rich in programs of bilateral cooperation. 

d.       A series of contracts and agreements set to boost trade ties between the two countries were signed during this visit.

4.      Japan joined joint exercise ‘Kamandag’(venom) with the United States and Filipino troops in Philippines for first time since World War II. 

a.       Its first time Japanese armoured military vehicles were used on foreign soil since 1945.

b.       The exercise was held at a Philippine navy base facing the South China Sea about 250km from the Scarborough Shoal, a territory claimed by Manila that was seized by China during a 2012 naval stand-off.

5.      Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today announced a proposal was put forward to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj and the government supported it. 

a.       He added that Governor Ram Naik has also given his consent for the renaming. 

b.       Important Note : Recently, Mughalsarai town and railway station in UP were renamed after RSS ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya.

6.      The 13th Convention of Central Information Commission was held in New Delhi. 

a.       It was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind and was attended by Chief Information Commissioner, Information Commissioners, State Information Commissioners, former information Commissioners, Central Public information officer, NGOs and other stake holders.

7.      The Arunachal Pradesh government has launched two farmer welfare schemes. They are :

a.       CMSKY : Chief Minister's Sashakt Kisan Yojana 

i)       This scheme would subsume 3 programmes - CM's Employment Generation Scheme, CM's Agri-Mechanization Programme and the CM's Flagship Programme on Tea and Rubber.

b)     CMKSY : Chief Ministers Krishi Samuh Yojana

i)       This scheme aims at empowering farmers through cooperative approach, by providing them timely support and marketing intervention for better price realization and income.

8.      Haryana Government launched an Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) ‘Kavach, to deal with security challenges. 

a.       For this, Haryana police recruits will be trained by National Security Guard (NSG).

9.      Indian Navy today inducted its 1st Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV).

a.       DSRV can be used to rescue downed or disaster-struck submarines in sea. 

b.       Other than rescuing personnel in downed submarines, DSRV can be used for missions like laying cables on sea bed as well. 

c.       Important Note : Currently, US, China, Russia and a few other countries have the capabilities to deploy DSRVs.

10. American online social media and social networking service company Facebook is  testing 'Unsend' feature for chats on Messenger.

a.       This feature would allow users to delete sent messages.

b.       After users send a message, they will have a time limit to delete it from both sides of the conversation. 

11. Government’s premier think tank NITI Aayog has inked agreement with Microsoft India to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to address challenges in agriculture and healthcare and promote adoption of local language computing among others.  

a.       This partnership will help NITI Aayog to move beyond pilots and understand how to scale AI implementation in sectors characterized by preponderance of public goods.

12. India and Azerbaijan have signed protocol on trade and economic, science and technology cooperation. 

a.       It was signed at 5th meeting of India-Azerbaijan Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade and Economic, Science and Technology Cooperation (IA-IGC) held at New Delhi. 

b.       The meeting was co-chaired by Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev.

13. Guadeloupean author Maryse Conde (81) was awarded New Academy Prize in Literature.

a.       This is an alternative award formed in protest to Nobel Literature Prize.  

b.       About Maryse Conde :

i)       Conde is author of around 20 novels, including Desirada, Segu and Crossing the Mangrove. 

ii)     She is considered as grand storyteller who belongs to world literature. 

iii)   Her writings mostly describes ravages of colonialism and post-colonial chaos in language which is both precise and overwhelming.

b)     About New Academy Prize :

i)       New Academy Prize in Literature was formed by New Academy consisting of more than 100 Swedish writers, artists and journalists in protest to denounce what its founders called bias, arrogance and sexism of Swedish Academy, which selects Nobel laureates. 

ii)     The Swedish Academy was plunged into turmoil in 2017 over its ties to Frenchman Jean-Claude Arnault, who was jailed for two years in early October for rape after the scandal came into light as part of the #MeToo movement.

14. Sikkim was awarded UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Future Policy Gold Award (Gold Prize) for its achievement in becoming the world’s first totally organic agriculture state. 

a.       Sikkim beat out 51 other nominees from around the world for the award. Policies from Brazil, Denmark and Quito (Ecuador) were joinlty Silver Awards.

15. Great Britain lifted the 2018 Sultan of Johor Cup (Hockey) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia today.

a.       Great Britain defeated India 3-2 in the final.

b.       The 2018 Sultan of Johor Cup is the 8th edition of the Cup, a field hockey tournament. 

16. India's 17-year-old shuttler Lakshya Sen settled for a Silver medal after he lost the men's singles final against Li Shifeng of China in straight games in the Youth Olympics today.