Daily Current Affairs Updates –11th October 2016

Daily Current Affairs Updates–11th October 2016:

Daily Current affairs News Updates about the National and International events were listed here. Candidates those who are preparing for IBPS/SBI/PO/Clerk exam and all other competitive exams can use this.

IMPORTANT DAY

International Day of the Girl Child: 11 October

i. International Day of the Girl Child is observed annually on 11 October; it is also called the Day of the Girl. The theme for this year's International Day of the Girl (11 October) is "Girls' Progress = Goals' Progress: What Counts for Girls".

ii. The International Day of the Girl Child focuses attention on the need to address the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.

Centre to invest Rs 15000 cr to increase Panipat oil refinery capacity

i. The Central Government will invest 15,000 crore rupees to increase the capacity of Panipat refinery in Haryana from existing 15 Million Tonnes to 25 Million Tonnes. An ethanol plant would also be set up at a cost of Rs 500 crore by the Indian Oil Corporation in Panipat to generate alternative fuel from agricultural residue which would boost agriculture sector.

ii. This was announced by Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan at a function in Panipat yesterday. The Minister said that this would not only create employment opportunities for the people, but would also help in raising quality of fuel in the country by the year 2020.

Telangana announces creation of 21 new districts

i. Telangana has announced the creation of 21 new districts from Tuesday, taking the total number of districts in the state from 10 to 31. The reorganisation of districts has been taken up for better administration, CM K Chandrasekhar Rao said. The original plan was to create about 17 more districts but the government was forced to add four more.

Uttar Pradesh to participate in BRICS Trade Fair

i. Uttar Pradesh will participate in the BRICS Trade Fair in New Delhi, to be held from October 12-14, an official release stated on Monday. Upcoming infrastructure and industrial projects in the state like the Lucknow-Agra expressway, metro rail initiatives, and projects under Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, among others, will be showcased at the event, a UP government official has said.

Centre to invest Rs 1k cr in PSUs for skill development

i. The Centre is looking to pump in around 1,000 crore in public sector undertakings (PSUs) through the skill development initiative. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has reportedly held discussions with the PSUs over deploying 5 lakh apprentices as against 36,000 now. The ministry will pay these companies 18,000 per apprentice deployed, secretary Rohit Nandan has said.

Amity University to open 1st US branch in 2017

i. India-based Amity University is planning to open its first branch in US with the purchase of a New York campus for which it paid $22 million. It will open the branch after gaining ownership in 2017 and has also proposed to buy two other campuses. However, the move received opposition from state officials regarding quality of education Amity will offer.

Indian Railways to introduce train coaches with glass tops

i. Indian Railways will introduce three train coaches with glass ceilings in trains in Kashmir Valley and Araku Valley. ii. The project, which was started in 2015, is slated to be launched in December this year. Jointly designed by organisations including IRCTC and Integral Coach Factory (ICF), the manufacturing cost of each coach is reportedly around 4 crore.

Goa's 1st Vintage Bike and Car festival

i. Goa Tourism Development Corporation recently held its very first vintage car and bike rally, called the 'Vintage Bike and Car festival 2016'. The event witnessed the participation of 83 vintage cars and 40 vintage bikes as the vehicles participated in a rally in Panaji. The event was flagged off by Minister for Tourism, Dilip Parulekar.

INTERNATIONAL

India to supply 500 MW power to Sri Lanka via sub-sea cables

i. India is planning to supply 500 MW power to Sri Lanka through a network of sub-sea underground cables, Union Power Secretary PK Pujari has said. Sri Lanka needs power from India to meet its domestic needs but nothing has fructified in the absence of an adequate transmission infrastructure. "[Submarine cable] is a good technology at a reasonable cost,” Pujari added.

India donates Rs 9.3 million to Mandela Foundation

i. India donated 9.3 million rupees to the Nelson Mandela Foundation to help it in its welfare work for the people of South Africa. Announcing the donation at the offices of the Foundation in Johannesburg yesterday, Indian High Commissioner Ruchi Ghanashyam said, the donation was a direct result of the recent visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

ii. The Nelson Mandela Foundation was established in 1999 after the then President Nelson Mandela stepped down as the President of South Africa. The Government of India helped in the building of the Foundation's premises. The Foundation has duly acknowledged this contribution on the plaque at the entrance.

Sri Lanka: Samudra Paheredar reaches Colombo

i. A state of the art Pollution Control Vessel of the Indian Coast Guard, Samudra Paheredar, reached Colombo, Sri Lanka last evening on its maiden visit to the country. ii. During its halt in Colombo, the ship’s crew will participate in professional training and sports interactions with Sri Lanka Coast Guard personnel.

iii. It is aimed at strengthening ties and mutual understanding between the two Coast Guards. The ship will also conduct practical training in harbour and at sea for Sri Lanka Navy and Coast Guard personnel in the field of Pollution Response.

iv. The visit of Samudra Paheredar will further boost the defense and maritime cooperation between the two countries. During its stay, the ship will conduct practical training for Sri Lanka Coast Guard in the field of Pollution Response. This would impart greater confidence to the countries for working together at sea in case of any disaster or emergency. The indigenous built ship with a crew of over 100 personnel, is capable of containing major oil spills and storing recovered pollutants on-board.

BANKING NEWS

Indian banks' Tier 1 capital 3rd lowest in emerging markets

i. Indian Banks have been ranked third from the bottom in terms of Tier 1 capital ratio among major emerging market economies, according to the International Monetary Fund’s latest Global Financial Stability Report. Only Russian and Chilean banks were ranked below India. Tier 1 capital is the core measure of a bank's financial strength from a regulator's point of view.

Standard Chartered Bank forms tie-up with Uber

i. Foreign lender Standard Chartered Bank has announced a tie-up with Uber under which its credit cardholders, across six countries, will get a cash-back of up to 25 per cent for hailing cabs from the app.

ii. In India, the cardholders will get a 20 per cent cash-back on all Uber rides, subject to a cash—back cap of Rs. 600 per month. Additionally, first-time Uber users will get a discount of Rs.50 for the first three rides. Apart from India, the partnership has been activated in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and UAE

BUSINESS NEWS

TRAI proposes Rs 130 monthly rental per set top box

i. TRAI, in its draft telecommunication order, has proposed a Rs 130 monthly rental per set top box, for 100 standard definition channels from April 1, 2017. Beyond that, the channels will be available in slabs of 25 and an amount of Rs 20 (excluding taxes) will be charged per slab. The regulator has invited comments from various stakeholders by October 24.

Tata Motors' global sales up 5.35% in September

i. Tata Motors on Monday reported a 5.35% increase year-on-year in its global sales at 1.02 lakh units for September. ii. The sales of Tata-owned luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover were up by 3.6% from the year-ago period to 52,914 units during the month. Further, the automaker's commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles sales grew 1.85% and 7.2% respectively.

AGREEMENTS & MoUs

IAE to tie up with India for its global LED programme:

i. The International Energy Agency (IAE) is going to partner with India to implement its Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) initiative globally for energy savings.

ii. IAE has been impressed with performance of India’s UJALA programme in terms of vastly improving access to LED lighting while reducing their cost drastically.

iii. UJALA scheme is LED-based Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) that aims to promote efficient lighting, reducing energy consumption and energy savings.

Russia & Turkey agree to intensify military, intelligence contacts

i. The Russian and Turkish leaders have agreed to intensify military and intelligence contacts after a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. After his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, they have agreed on the need for aid to get to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.

ii. The two countries have also signed a deal to construct two pipelines to send Russian gas under the Black Sea to Turkey. Ties were strained after Turkish forces downed a Russian war plane in November 2015. Speaking at a joint news conference with Mr Putin, Mr Erdogan said he was confident that the normalisation of relations would take place rapidly.

APPOINTMENTS

China appoints basketball player as ambassador to Mars

i. China has appointed Basketball player Yao Ming as its ambassador to Mars, in order to promote country's first mission to the Red Planet in 2020. Ming is one of the eleven ambassadors the state has recruited to generate support for its Mars mission. China notably aims to send a rover to Mars to join NASA's Curiosity spacecraft.

5 Indian-Americans in Forbes US' 400 richest list

i. A total of five Indian-Americans have been featured on Forbes list of the US' 400 richest people in 2016. These include Symphony Technology founder Romesh Wadhwani, who was ranked highest among the Indian-American's named in the list at 222, followed by Syntel co-founders Bharat and Neerja Desai who were ranked 274. ii. Notably, Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates topped the list.

Amitabh was voted 'Actor of the Millennium' in BBC poll

i. Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was voted the 'greatest star of screen' in a millennium-celebrating poll conducted by BBC. He was ranked above personalities like Charlie Chaplin, Robert De Niro, Marilyn Monroe, and Govinda. The actor, who made his debut with the 1969 movie 'Saat Hindustani', is celebrating his 74th birthday today.

SPORTS NEWS

World's first Cybathlon Championship for Athletes with Disabilities aka Bionic Olympics

i. The world's first Cybathlon Championship for Athletes with Disabilities organised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich at the SWISS Arena in Kloten, canton Zurich. Popularly known as 'Bionic olympics', it differs from the paralympics as it sees participants compete against each other using the latest assistive technologies in terms of their ability to help users navigate the tasks and challenges of daily life.

ii. The Cybathlon has six major events or disciplines, each highlighting a particular assistive technology. For each of these disciplines, winning teams were given two medals: one for the pilot or athlete sporting the device and another for the device provider.

iii. The six major events are:

The Brain Computer Interface (BCI) Race, which uses a video game for pilots with severe loss of motor function.

iv. The Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) Bike Race, featuring pilots with spinal cord injuries and their non-motorized FES bikes.

v. The Powered Arm Prosthesis Race, where pilots who've lost one or both arms complete challenges designed to mimic everyday tasks.

vi. The Power Leg Prosthesis Race, for pilots with transfemoral or knee ex-articulation amputation wearing so-called "active" prostheses, which allow for more accurate movement control.

vii. The Powered Exoskeleton Race, an obstacle course of typical everyday tasks for pilots with complete paraplegia wearing motorized supports (orthoses).

The Powered Wheelchair Race, where pilots on motorized wheelchairs compete on parallel tracks to complete a series of obstacles.