CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
World Statistics Day: 20th October
- The third World Statistics Day will be celebrated around the globe on 20 October 2020 with the theme “Connecting the world with data we can trust.” This theme reflects the importance of trust, authoritative data, innovation and the public good in national statistical systems.
- The celebration of World Statistics Day 2020 is a global collaborative endeavour, organized under the guidance of the United Nations Statistical Commission.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Gadkari to lay foundation stone for country’s first multi-modal logistic park in Assam
- Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will virtually lay the foundation stone for the first-ever multi-modal logistic park in Assam.
- The Rs 693.97 crore park will provide direct connectivity to air, road, rail and waterways to the people. It will be developed under the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana of the Government of India.
- Meanwhile, the NHAI has awarded TOT 3 bundle (566 Km in length) consisting of nine toll plazas in the state of UP, Jharkhand, Bihar and Tamil Nadu under its ambitious Toll-Operate-Transfer (ToT) model to Cube Mobility Investment Pte. Ltd. (Cube Highways) and has received upfront consideration of Rs 5,011 crore.
- The award ceremony was held through video conferencing and chaired by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Gadkari, MoS Road Transport and Highways General V.K. Singh and NHAI Chairman SS Sandhu.
About MoRTH
- Minister for Road Transport & Highways andMSME: Nitin Jairam Gadkari
- Constituency: Nagpur, Maharashtra
RPF launches ‘Meri Saheli’ initiative on AP Express
- Railway Protection Force (RPF), Visakhapatnam, started implementing ‘Meri Saheli’ initiative in AP Express (Visakhapatnam to New Delhi in order to provide proactive security to women passengers.
- The main motto of ‘Meri Saheli’ is to provide safety and security to women passengers travelling in trains throughout their journey.
- A team of women Sub Inspectors and women constables of RPF will enter all coaches including ladies coaches and identify women passengers, who are travelling alone before the departure of the train.
- These passengers will be briefed about all precautions to be taken during the journey and inform about help no. 182 apart from giving contact numbers of RPF to contact in case of any issue.
NITI Aayog to establish Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Centre with AWS
- NITI Aayog announced the establishment of a Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Centre, CIC with Amazon Web Services, AWS. It is the first of its kind in India.
- This CIC is part of the AWS CIC Global Programme which provides an opportunity for government agencies, non-profits and educational institutions, to come together on pressing challenges, apply design thinking, test new ideas, and access the technology expertise of AWS.
- The NITI Aayog Frontier Technologies CIC will be a great enabler to budding innovators and start-ups and help in piloting state-of-the-art, cloud-centric digital innovations by leveraging emerging technologies such as AI, IOT and robotics, blockchain.
About Niti Aayog:
- Headquarters:New Delhi
- Narendra Modi, (Chairperson)
- Rajiv Kumar, (Vice Chairperson)
- Amitabh Kant, (CEO)
CSIR-IHBT makes history by introducing asafoetida (Heeng) cultivation in Indian Himalayan region
- Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur, a historical shift in farming practices is in the offing with farmers of the remote Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh taking up cultivation of asafoetida (Heeng) to utilize vast expanses of waste land in the cold desert conditions of the region. CSIR-IHBT brought in seeds of asafoetida and developed its agro-technology.
- Asafoetida is one of the top condiments and is a high value spice crop in India. India imports about 1200 tonnes of raw asafoetida annually from Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan and spends approximately 100 million USDper year. Lack of planting material of Ferula assa-foetida plants in India was a major bottleneck in cultivation of this crop.
- Since asafoetida is a major condiment in Indian cuisines, team CSIR-IHBT made relentless efforts for introduction of this important crop in the country. The institute introduced six accessions of seeds from Iran through ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR), New Delhi in October, 2018. ICAR-NBPGR confirmed that in the past thirty years, this has been the first attempt for introduction of asafoetida (Ferula assa-foetida) seeds in the country.
- CSIR-IHBT raised the plants of heeng at CeHAB, Ribling, Lahaul & Spiti, H.P. under the vigil of NBPGR. The plant prefers cold and dry conditions for its growth and takes approximately five years for the production of oleo-gum resin in its roots, therefore cold desert areas of Indian Himalayan region are suitable for cultivation of asafoetida.
About CSIR-Institute Of Himalayan Bioresource Technology:
- Situated among pristine environ in the lap of Dhauladhar ranges, CSIR-IHBT is the only laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research in the State of Himachal Pradesh (H.P.), India. Institute has a focused research mandate on bioresources for catalysizing bioeconomy in a sustainable manner.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launches AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme
- Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR The scheme is a unique way to assist cooperatives play an important role in creation of healthcare infrastructure in the country. AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme has been formulated by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
- Tomar announced that NCDC would extend term loans to prospective cooperatives to the tune of 10 thousand crore in the coming years. NCDC’s scheme will be a step towards strengthening farmers welfare activities by the Central Government.
- NCDC’s Ayushman Sahakar scheme aims at bringing transformation in the health services primarily in the rural areas. The scheme also provides working capital and margin money to meet operational requirements of the health facilities. It provides interest subvention of one percent to women majority cooperatives.
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
Singapore Becomes First Country to Use Facial Recognition to Pay Taxes
- In Singapore, online government services can now be accessed by facial recognition — a world first.
- This technology is being rolled out to the city-state’s SingPass digital identity scheme, offering access to no less than 400 online services, including tax declarations and public housing applications. Facial recognition is also increasingly being used to access other online services, such as banking.
- The function is designed to work via home computers, tablets and cell phones, as well as at public kiosks.
- According to the Singapore authorities, the technology helps ensure that the right person is genuinely present in front of their screen, rather than a photograph, a video, a replayed recording or a deepfake.
- In the future, facial recognition could find other applications in Singapore, such as making sure students sit their own examinations or for verification purposes in secure areas of the city-state’s ports.
About Singapore
- Capital: Singapore City
- Currency: Singapore dollar
India , Netherlands collaborate in e-health initiative
- India and the Netherlands discussed a joint thrust in e-health sector with the purpose of providing digital health facilities and security to Indians and helping the Netherlands accelerate the digital transformation of health.
- Part of India”s ambitious National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), this collaboration will see the two countries work closely to create capacities and put in place the requisite technology backbone to enable this revolutionary initiative, according to a statement.
- The NDHM, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day, aims to create a mechanism to improve healthcare significantly and provide better access to it.
- “The National Digital Health Blueprint provides for the architectural approach towards realising the goal of longitudinal electronic health record. A mission mode approach is being followed through launch of National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) in that direction. The activities have already been embarked in selected Union territories under pilot phase,” he stated.
About Netherlands:
- Capital: Amsterdam
- Currency: Euro
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance launches Invest 4G plan with multiple saving options, protection cover
- Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance has launched a new Unit Linked insurance plan (Ulip) titled ‘Invest 4G’.
- It is an individual life insurance savings plan which can be customized as per the goals and changing requirements of the individual.
- This Unit Linked Individual Life Insurance cum Savings Plan provides a combination of Portfolio Management Options and flexibilities which gives choice to opt for protection suiting the demand for every individual as well as provide an opportunity to save for future goals.
- New “Invest4G” offers three options to the individuals: Life Option, Care Option and Century Option.
- Life option ensures financial protection to a family in case of the customer’s unfortunate demise. Care Option provides life coverage along with Premium Funding Benefit and Century Option is a whole life option available for the policyholder till the age of 100 years.
About Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance
- Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana
- MD & CEO: Anuj Mathur
