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IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 12^th, 2018

                         IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF OCTOBER 12^th, 2018

1.      (12th October) is World Egg Day.

a.      This day is celebrated around the world to help raise awarness of the benefits of eggs and their importance in human nutrition.

b.      Theme of World Egg Day 2018 : “Protein for Life”

c.      The global campaign will focus on the crucial role that eggs play during each stage of our lives – before birth to age 100+.

d.      CEO of International Egg Commission : Julian Madeley

2.     The World Bank has released it's 1st-ever Human Capital Index report.

a.      Singapore topped the poll after it was highly rated for its universal healthcare system, education exams results and life expectancy figures. 

b.      Top 5 Countries in Human Capital Index Report 2018 :

i)      Singapore

ii)    South Korea

iii) Japan

iv)  Hong Kong

v)    Finland

c)     Important Note : India ranked at 115 out of 157 countries, lower than Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh, however the Indian government has rejected the findings. 

3.     The UNICEF and the WHO today reiterated India's status as a polio-free countryafter some oral polio vaccine vials were found contaminated with the type-2 polio virus last month. 

a.      India has a high routine immunisation coverage and so the risk of children getting vaccine-derived polio virus was "minimal", said the two global organisations in a joint statement.

4.     The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which has served as a "watchdog of democracy" and been part of some landmark cases in which its intervention had significant impact, has completed 25 years today.

a.      The commission was established on 12th October 1993 under the Protection of the Human Rights (PHR) Act, 1993.

b.      Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend the Silver Jubilee Foundation day function which was held at being hosted by the NHRC at the Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

5.     The Punjab government today launched 3 android mobile applications aimed at checking crop residue burning and creating awareness about its ill-effects. 

a.      They are :

i)      i-Khet Machine

ii)    e-PEHaL 

iii) e-Prevent

b)    These apps will help farmers access agriculture machinery, monitor tree plantation and access prompt and accurate information about incidents of crop residue burning, respectively.

6.     The Union Home Ministry has advised the Chandigarh administration to exempt Sikh women, including non-turbaned, from wearing helmets while riding two-wheelers. 

a.      This comes after Home Minister Rajnath Singh received representations from various Sikh bodies that wearing helmets would hurt their religious sentiments. 

b.      Note : Sikh men, who wear turban, have already been exempted from the rule.

7.     American multinational technology company Google has added support for 13 new languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Punjabi, Arabic and Vietnamese on the camera mode of its Google Translate app.  

8.     Google has launched its new cloud storage subscription plan Google One in India. 

a.      The new service will offer storage plans ranging from 100GB to 30TB across its products including Google Drive and Google Photos.

9.     Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi today released a 200-page book titled 'Lalu-Leela', which documents alleged illegal dealings by RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family members.  

a.      It is a compilation of documents distributed to mediapersons by Modi in the past one year on acquisitions of properties made allegedly by Lalu and his family.

10.In a bid to narrow the current account deficit, the government today raised the basic customs duty on several electronic items and communication devices. 

a.      Customs duty on items like smart watches and Voice over Internet Protocol equipment, among others has been hiked to up to 20%. 

b.      Note : Last month, the government raised import tax on 19 items, including ACs and refrigerators.

11.Yes Bank has appointed US-based advisory firm Korn Ferry to assist the bank's 'Search and Selection Committee' in finding a successor to MD and CEO Rana Kapoor. 

a.      The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had denied a three-year extension to Kapoor and asked him to step down by January 31 next year. 

12.The government today extended the Bank of Baroda's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) PS Jayakumar's tenure for 1 year. 

a.      He had joined Bank of Baroda in October, 2015. 

13.India took over the podium claiming all the medals in the Men's high jump T42/63 event at the Asian Para Games 2018 in Indonesia. 

a.      Defending champion Sharad Kumar won the Gold medal while Varun Bhati and Thangavelu Mariyappan picked up Silver and Bronze respectively. 

14.The Indian women's cricket team has been ranked 5th in the newly launched ICC Global Women's T20I Team Rankings. 

a.      Top 5 in the Rankings :

i)       Australia

ii)    New Zealand

iii) England

iv)  West Indies

v)    India