Current Affairs Current Affairs October 2018

  Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, N D Tiwari, passed away after a prolonged stint of hospitalization in New Delhi. Mr. Tiwari who began his career with the erstwhile Praja Socialist Party (PSP) to then serve his entire career in the Congress was 93 at the time of his death.    Apart from serving as the Ministry of External Affairs in the Rajiv Gandhi Cabinet between 1986-87, Mr Tiwari was thrice elected Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in varied stunts between 1976–77, 1984–85, 1988–89 and was for one term the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, between 2002-2007. 
Source- The Hindu

 An ATM for deposit and withdrawal of money for cryptocurrencies has been installed in Bengaluru's Kemp Fort Mall by virtual currency exchange Unocoin. Users can deposit money to buy currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum using an OTP received on their registered numbers. In order to withdraw money, a request has to be first made on the Unocoin website.
Source- The Indian Express

The World Economic Forum released the Global Competitiveness Report 2018.According to the report, India has jumped five spots to become the 58th most competitive economy on the Global Competitiveness Index 2018 (GCI 4.0). India witnessed the largest gain among the G20 nations. The index covers 140 nations and it measures national competitiveness. The United States ranked number one again with a score of 85.6. India ranked highest among South Asian countries with a score of 62.0. Sri Lanka was ranked 86, Bangladesh 103, Pakistan 107 and Nepal 109. As for the BRICS nations, China topped the list at 28th position with a score of 72.6 followed by Russian Federation, India, South Africa and Brazil respectively. 
The Top 5 countries on the Index are:
  • 1. US, 
  • 2. Singapore, 
  • 3. Germany, 
  • 4. Switzerland, and 
  • 5. Japan. 
  • Source-  Times Now News

     ‘Beeg Ani Beegath’, a collection of short stories in Konkani by the well-known writer, journalist, and critic H M Pernal bagged the prestigious ‘Vimala V Pai Vishwa’ Konkani best book award for the year 2018. H M Pernal is the pen name of Henry M Mendonca, a native of Pernal in Udupi district, who currently lives in Mangaluru. Konkani poet Sharathchandra Shenoy from Kochi won the Vishwa Konkani best poetry award for his book ‘Idam Na Mama,‘ while Vishwanath M Shet from Uttara Kannada bagged the Vishwa Konkani lifetime achievement award. Each award carries a purse of Rs one lakh each, a certificate, memento and shawl.
    Source- Business Standard

     Northern Irish author Anna Burns has won the 2018 Man Booker Prize for her novel‘Milkman’, which is her third full-length novel. The book is about an 18-year-old girl, known as “middle sister”, who is sexually harassed by an older paramilitary figure, called the “milkman”. Anna Burns has become the first Northern Irish author to win the Man Booker prize.
    Source- The Guardian

     The sixth meeting of the UAE – India High Level Joint Task Force on Investments (‘the Joint Task Force’) was held in Mumbai to review the progress being made in addressing the agreed actions of the previous meeting held in Abu Dhabi in January 2018 and to elaborate  a number of new key issues of mutual importance. The two sides noted the positive outcomes achieved by the Joint Task Force to date and agreed upon the need to further explore ways to facilitate investment in key Indian and UAE sectors with the potential for economic growth. 
    Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

     Canada has become the second country after Uruguay to legalize possession and use of recreational cannabis. Canadians can now grow up to four plants in their own home and carry up to 30 grams of dried cannabis for personal use. Cannabis possession first became a crime in Canada in 1923 but medical use has been legal since 2001. 
    Source- The Livemint

     The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed on October 17 each year since 1993. It promotes people’s awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution worldwide, particularly in developing countries.  The theme for International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2018 is “Coming together with those furthest behind to build an inclusive world of universal respect for human rights and dignity”. 
    Source- The United Nations

     India and Tanzania signed two MoUs in presence of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Tanzanian Foreign Minister Dr. Augustine Mahiga. The MoUs are between Foreign Service Institute of India and Centre for Foreign Relation, Tanzania and National Research Development Corporation and Tanzania Industrial Research and Development Corporation. The agreements were signed following India-Tanzania 9th Session of Joint Commission on Economic, Technical and  Scientific Cooperation in New Delhi. 
    Source- News On AIR

     Online financial services marketplace BankBazaar has appointed former RBI Deputy Governor (DG) S S Mundra as an advisor to the company. Mundra was a deputy governor at the RBI for three years till July 2017. BankBazaar Co-Founder & CEO Adhil Shetty stated that as the digital mode is increasingly becoming the preferred way to transact, there is a greater need for collaboration between fin-tech, regulators, and financial institutions. He also stated that Mundra’s expertise will help in driving 100 percent paperless and presence-less financing by the company in India.
    Source- Business Standard


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