VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 26^th, 2018

                       IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 26^th, 2018

1.     The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)  has announced that the Vigilance Awareness Week 2018 will be observed from 29th October to 3rd November 2018.

a.      Theme of Vigilance Awareness Week 2018 : “Eradicate Corruption-Build a New India (भ्रष्टाचार मिटाओ- नया भारत बनाओ)”.

b.      Important Note : The commission observes the Vigilance Awareness Week every year

during the week in which the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (31st October) falls.

2.     Indian banking company IDFC Bank, has proposed to change its name to 'IDFC First Bank Ltd' as it is in the process of amalgamating non-banking financial company Capital First with itself.

a.      The Board of Directors of IDFC Bank have already applied for approval of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to rename the bank. 

3.     International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced that, India will become the world’s 3rd largest aviation market around 2024 surpassing the United Kingdom. 

a.      India is at present, the world’s 7th largest aviation market. 

4.     Pakistan's Minister of Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry today announced that the country is going to send a Pakistani astronaut to space for the first time in 2022. 

a.      An agreement in this regard has been signed between Pakistan's space agency SUPARCO (Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission) and a Chinese company. 

b.      Note : Earlier this year, Pakistan launched two indigenously built satellites into orbit, using a Chinese launch vehicle.

5.     Agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan will receive the 1st World Agriculture Prize instituted by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) in New Delhi. 

a.      The prize has been instituted by the ICFA with an aim to recognise individuals who have served humanity through agriculture.

6.     3 Indian-Americans have been named in the Time magazine’s 2018 list of the 50 most influential people whose work is transforming healthcare in the US. 

a.      The list included physicians, scientists, business and political leaders, whose work is transforming healthcare.

b.      They are :

i)      Divya Nag

ii)    Dr Raj Panjabi 

iii) Atul Gawande

7.     India has won the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) Award 2018. 

8.     The Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 were recently awarded. The winners are :

a.      2014 : Rajkumar Singhajit Singh (doyen of Manipuri dance who is also a teacher, performer and choreographer).

b.      2015 : Chhayanaut (Bangladesh’s leading cultural outfit), established in 1961, it has played a leading role in promoting Tagore’s works in Bengali culture.

c.      2016 : Ram Vanji Sutar (sculptor), his first notable work was the 45-feet Chambal monument at the Gandhi Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh.

d.      The Award jury was headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and included Chief Justice of India Justice Ranjan Gogoi, former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami and national vice president of the BJP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe. 

e.      About the Award :

                                                i.      The award was instituted by the government during the commemoration of the150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in 2011. 

                                              ii.      It was conferred first on sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar. It carries an award prize of Rs 1 crore, a citation in a scroll and a plaque.

9.     The Ethiopian parliament today elected 68-year-old veteran diplomat, Sahle-Work Zewde as new President.

a.      With this, Zewde became the country's 1st female President. 

b.      Zewde has also became the only female head of state in Africa following her appointment to the ceremonial post of the President.

10.Home rental startup Airbnb today announced it has appointed Google's former Vice President of Engineering, Aristotle Balogh, as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). 

11.US President Donald Trump has appointed Indian origin Neil Chatterjee as the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) which oversees electricity transmission and interstate natural gas pipelines and facilities. 

a.      Chatterjee, a Republican from the state of Kentucky, is currently serving as a Commissioner of the FERC. 

12.Iraq’s new Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was sworn in today. 

a.      He could not announce the full cabinet after legislators failed to reach a consensus on key postings. 

13.1989 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Saurabh Kumar has been appointed India’s ambassador to Myanmar. 

a.      He is currently serving as the Indian envoy in Iran.

b.      He will succeed Vikram Misri who has been serving as Indian envoy in Myanmar since August 31, 2016.

14.India's Pooja Dhanda won a Bronze medal in the women’s freestyle 57kg weight class in Wrestling World Championships held at Budapest, Hungary.

a.      She defeated Norway's Grace Bullen.