CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
- The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is celebrated each year on October 17 throughout the world.
- 2020 Theme: Acting together to achieve social and environmental justice for all.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
GST compensation: Centre to borrow Rs 1.1 lakh crore to meet shortfall
- The central government will borrowRs 1 lakh crore under the special window to meet the shortfall of Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation.
- The amount borrowed will be passed on to the states as back-to-back loan in lieu of GST compensation cess.
- This borrowing will not have any impact on the fiscal deficit of the government. The amount will be reflected as the capital receipts of the state governments and as part of financing of its respective fiscal deficits.
- The general government (states + centre) borrowings will not increase because of this, as the states that get the benefit from the special window are likely to borrow a considerably lesser amount from the additional borrowing facility of 2 percent of gross state domestic product (from 3 percent to 5 percent) under the Aatma Nirbhar Package.
About MoF
- Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India: Nirmala Sitharaman
- Constituency: Karnataka
Union Education Minister virtually launches ‘KAPILA’ Kalam Program for IP Literacy and Awareness Education campaign
- Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually launched the ‘KAPILA’ Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness campaign on the 89th birth anniversary of former President and Scientist Late APJ Abdul Kalam.
- Under this campaign, students pursuing education in higher educational institutions will get information about the correct system of application process for patenting their invention and they will be aware of their rights.
- The Institution Innovation Council (IIC 2.0) annual report was also presented on the occasion and the launch of IIC 3.0 was announced. It has also been decided to celebrate the week of October 15th to 23rd as ‘Intellectual Property Literacy Week’. The IIC 3.0 website was also launched.
About MoE
- Minister of Education: Ramesh Pokhriyal
- Constituency: Haridwar, Uttarakhand
Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates Food and Agri Week 2020
- Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Food Processing Industries, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar virtually inaugurated the India – International Food & Agri Week being organised from 16th to 22nd October 2020.
- Tomar stated that Indian food processing sector is 32% of India’s food market. He stated that the focus of this agro and food tech is the use of technology in the field of food and agriculture sector to increase the income of farmers.
- MFP scheme is an important element of PMKSY whose objective is to link agricultural production to the market by bringing together the farmers, processors and retailers.
- Under this scheme, Ministry will provide 50% subsidy for transportation of eligible crops from surplus production cluster to consumption centre for six months and/or Hiring of appropriate storage facilities for eligible crops (for maximum period of 3 months).
- CII in association with the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Fisheries & Animal Husbandry and Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, is organizing its first ever Virtual CII Agro & Food Tech : India – International Food & Agri Week from 16th to 22nd October 2020 on CII HIVE – virtual platform with an intent to create a platform for the benefit of the stakeholders involved in the agriculture & allied sectors.
About Minister of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare:
- Narendra Singh Tomar, (Cabinet Minister)
- Constituency: Morena, Madhya Pradesh
- Parsottambhai Rupala, (Minister of State)
CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL
Myanmar Navy to acquire its first submarine, INS’ retrofitted Sindhuvir
- Myanmar is all set to acquire its first diesel-electric submarine, with the Indian Navy handing over its retrofitted INS Sindhuvir to the country for training and operations.
- India will be delivering a kilo class submarine INS Sindhuvir to the Myanmar Navy. This will be the first submarine in the Myanmar navy. This is in accordance with our vision of SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region.
- New Delhi and Naypyidaw are also working on the supply of Indian field guns (105 mm artillery guns), ammunition, night vision devices and other military hardware.
- Both India and Myanmar are in talks for the supply of more military hardware, including 105 mm artillery guns, ammunition, sonars and advanced light torpedoes ‘Shyena’. The two countries are also working on more joint-training and exercises to enhance Indo-Myanmar military-to-military cooperation.
- The Indian Navy had bought the INS Sindhuvir, a Soviet-origin Kilo-class submarine, from Russia in 1980s and has operated it since 1988.
- It is currently being modernized by the Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Vizag, after which its service life will be extended by 10-15 years. It will then serve the Myanmar Navy till the 2030s.
About Myanmar
- Capital: Naypyitaw
- President: Win Myint
- Currency: Burmese kyat
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
Jana Bank to be sponsor bank for Ashoknagar Co-operative Bank
- Jana Small Finance Bank, a Bengaluru-based small finance bank (SFB), has partnered with Ashoknagar Co-operative Bank Limited under the bank sponsorship programme.
- With this, Jana Bank has become the first SFB to go live under the sponsorship programme.
- Recently, the RBI permitted co-operative banks that are Core Banking Solution (CBS)-enabled, to issue ATM cards/ATM-cum-debit cards in a tie-up with a sponsor bank.
- Ashoknagar Co-operative Bank Limited, in association with Jana Small Finance Bank, can extend ATM, POS and e-commerce services to its customers.
- This association marks the fulfilment of Jana Bank’s endeavour to promote a full suite of services to co-operative banks.
About Jana SFB
- Headquarters: Bengaluru
- MD&CEO: Ajay Kanwal
About Ashoknagar Co-operative Bank Limited
- Headquarters: Bengaluru
- President: Nagaraj
SBI authorised to issue, encash Electoral Bonds from Oct 19-28
- The Ministry of Finance has stated that the State Bank of India (SBI), in the 14th Phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorized Branches with effect from 19th October to 28th of October this year. Electoral Bonds will be valid for fifteen calendar days from the date of issue and no payment will be made to any payee Political Party if the Electoral Bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period. The Ministry stated, the Electoral Bond deposited by an eligible Political Party in its account will be credited on the same day.
- It stated, Election Commission of India has accorded ‘No objection’ from Model Code of Conduct (MCC) angle with conditions that no political functionary will make any reference in this regard during any public speech or communication to the press or public in the constituencies going for poll and the relevant provisions of MCC will be strictly followed. The Government had notified the Electoral Bond Scheme in 2018.
About SBI:
- Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Founded: 1 July 1955
About electoral bond:
- An electoral bond is like a promissory note that can be bought by any Indian citizen or company incorporated in India from select branches of State Bank of India. The citizen or corporate can then donate the same to any eligible political party of his/her choice.
- The bonds are similar to bank notes that are payable to the bearer on demand and are free of interest. An individual or party will be allowed to purchase these bonds digitally or through cheque.
RBI imposes Rs 4.5-cr penalty on IndusInd Bank for non-compliance with its directions
- The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 4.5 crore on IndusInd Bank Ltd for non-compliance with certain provisions of directions issued by it
- The central bank stated the non-compliance was with respect to certain provisions of directions issued by it on ‘Exposure Norms’, ‘Prudential Norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning pertaining to Advances’, among others.
- RBI also flagged non-compliance of its directions on ‘SPARC (Supervisory Programme for Assessment of Risk and Capital) – Monitoring of Information Submission by bank’, ‘Creation of a Central Repository of Large Common Exposures – Across Banks’ read with directions on ‘Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) – Revision in Reporting’, and ‘Disclosure in Financial Statements – Notes to Accounts’.
- “This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under…the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (the Act).
About RBI:
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Governor: Shaktikanta Das
- Deputy Governor: Shri M. K. Jain, Shri B.P. Kanungo, Michael Debabrata Patra.
About Indusind Bank:
- CEO: Sumant Kathpalia
- Headquarters: Pune
IDBI Bank launches banking services on WhatsApp
- IDBI Bank announced the launch of banking services on WhatsApp. The WhatsApp Banking service is being offered through a dedicated WhatsApp verified number ensuring end-to-end encryption, the Bank stated.
- The facility will enable IDBI Bank customers to avail various essential services such as account balance information, last five transactions, request for a cheque book and an email statement, interest rates, as well as details of IDBI Bank branches/ATMs in the vicinity, to begin with.
About IDBI bank:
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- CEO: Rakesh Sharma
CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES
IAV’s first phase becomes operational at Thonnakkal
- The Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV) in the district will evolve into a global centre for high-end virology research and help Kerala scale greater heights in its efforts to improve public health and contain virus outbreaks, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has stated.
- The first phase of IAV, situated at the Bio 360 Life Science Park at Thonnakkal, became functional with two divisions. Dedicating the facility to the State at an online function, the Chief Minister stated it was heartening to note that IAV has become functional at a time when Kerala is battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A robust public health system has helped Kerala effectively check the Nipah virus outbreak of 2018 and fight the current COVID-19 pandemic. However, such a system alone will not help the State tackle lifestyle diseases or epidemics. Institutes such as the IAV gain relevance in this context, according to him.
About Kerala:
- Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
- Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan
- Chief minister: Pinarayi Vijayan
UP govt to launch 6-month long women empowerment programme ‘Mission Shakti’ to raise awareness
- Uttar Pradesh government will launch 6-month long women empowerment programme ‘Mission Shakti’ to raise awareness and tackle crime against women in the state. Governor Anandiben Patel will launch the campaign in Lucknow while chief minister Yogi Adityanath will kick-start it in Balrampur. Ministers and other people’s representatives will launch the campaign in other districts.
- Six month campaign has two phases, Mission Shakti’ and ‘Operation Shakti. Mission Shakti will feature awareness campaigns related to women’s safety. The CM’s Office stated that initiatives like gender-based sensitisation, training, corporate activity, voice messages, interviews, programmes in Durga Puja and other cultural pandals should be organised to create greater awareness under ‘Mission Shakti’.
- A weeklong special campaign will be launched every month during the campaign to create awareness among masses and sensitise people on the subject.
About UP:
- Capital: Lucknow
- Governor: Anandiben Patel
- Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS
Leather Sector Skill Council launches SCALE India android app
- The Leather Sector Skill Council (LSSC) announced the launch of Skill Certification Assessment for Leather Employees (SCALE) India android app. Operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(MSDE), LSSC is committed to strengthening its digital capabilities on quality assurance across training delivery, monitoring, assessments, verification and linkages to ASEEM portal.
- The services are accessible through the web and android application that virtually works on any smart handheld device, desktop/laptop, smartphones, tablets. Apart from providing end to end quality assurance across training, assessment, and certification services, the app will also help employers engage with other stakeholders seamlessly and provide a marketplace for human capital for the leather industry.
- SCALE will help candidates in the skilling ecosystem to get assessed and certified on their knowledge, skills and behaviour on a specific qualification pack. It also enables access to micro-learning modules for bridging the skill gaps that are identified and can be re-assessed and certified at the end of the learning on the specific qualification pack. It further assists the candidate to become a productive resource who is readily employable in the industry.
About Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship:
- Mahendra Nath Pandey, Cabinet Minister
- Constituency: Chandauli
- Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of State
J&K L-G launches mobile app for Vaishno Devi devotees
- Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, who is also the chairman of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, launched a mobile app for the cave shrine devotees at the civil secretariat in Srinagar.
- This initiative has been taken by the shrine board with a view to maximise the use of available technology and digitisation for the larger facilitation of devotees.
- Initially, five links have been provided in the app including today’s darshan, live aarti, yatra registration parchi, pooja prasad (home delivery) and donations.
- The facility of booking of various services like battery operated vehicles, helicopter services, accommodation, online havan, etc. will also be made available on the app shortly.
About Jammu and Kashmir:
- Capital: Srinagar (May-October),Jammu (November-April)
- Lieutenant Governor: Manoj Sinha
