Current Affairs 30th September and 01st October 2018: Daily GK Update

Dear Aspirants,

The General Awareness Section of Banking Exams covers numerous sections in it like Banking Awareness, Static GK, and Current Affairs. But the most important thing that you might have noticed is that both the Banking Awareness and Static Awareness questions asked in the General Awareness Section are based on Current Affairs only. The questions on Static and Banking Awareness are related to the countries, events or anything that has been in news for a while. Here is the Daily GK Update to get you acquainted with the top events that made the headlines today!!

Current Affairs 30th September and 01st October 2018: Daily GK Update

National News

1. PM Modi Inaugurates Various Projects in Gujarat: Complete Highlights

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated various projects in Gujarat.

ii. The Various Projects launched/Inaugurated are as follows:

1. PM was in Anand to inaugurate a state-of-the-art Amul chocolate plant set up with an investment of about Rs. 190 crore.

2. PM launched Mujkuva Solar Energy Cooperative Group created with the assistance of the National Dairy development Board.

3. PM also inaugurated a take-home ration plant with production capacity of 600 tonnes per day and a ready-to use therapeutic food plant with monthly capacity of 600 tonnes along with the incubation center cum center of excellence in food processing for promoting entrepreneurs and start ups.
4. PM inaugurated the Mahatma Gandhi Museum in Rajkot.
5. PM inaugurated the Mundra LNG terminal, the Anjar-Mundra Pipeline Project and the Palanpur-Pali-Barmer pipeline project, at Anjar.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NIACL Assistant Mains-

Chief Minister of Gujarat- Vijay Rupani.
Governor of Gujarat- Om Prakash Kohli.

2. Assam, 1st State To Launch Wage Compensation Scheme For Pregnant Women In Tea Gardens

i. Assam Government has become the first Indian state to offer a Wage Compensation Scheme for pregnant women working in the tea gardens of the state. The scheme will be launched by Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal in Guwahati. The announcement was made by the state’s Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

ii. Under the scheme, an amount of Rs 12,000 will be given to the pregnant women so that they can take care of themselves and the unborn baby. The compensation of wages to pregnant women will be given in 4 instalments - Rs 2,000 in the first trimester, Rs 4,000 in the second trimester, Rs 3,000 for institutional delivery and Rs 3,000 for registration of the child's birth.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for RRB Clerk Mains Exam 2018-

Jagdish Mukhi is the Present Governor of Assam.
Dispur is the Capital city of Assam.

3. Government Constitutes Competition Law Review Committee

i. In pursuance of its objective of ensuring that Legislation is in sync with the needs of strong economic fundamentals, the Government has constituted a Competition Law Review Committee to review the Competition Act.

ii. The Committee will be headed by Injeti Srinivas, Secretary of the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The Competition Act was passed in the year 2002 and the Competition Commission of India was set up in pursuance of the same.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Arun Jaitley is the Present Minister of Corporate Affairs of India.

4. Sushil Modi-Led GoM To Examine Modalities For 'Calamity Tax' Under GST

i. The Government constituted a seven-member ministerial panel headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi to examine modalities for revenue mobilisation in case of natural calamities and disasters.

ii. The panel would look into five issues flagged by the Council, including whether the new tax should be levied only in the state concerned or should it be an all-India levy, and that should it be on specified luxury or sin goods only.

5. Kolkata Gets India's 1st Comprehensive City-Level Flood Forecasting and Warning System

i. Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) launched a Flood Forecasting and Early Warning System (FFEWS) for Kolkata City. It is also India’s first comprehensive city-level FFEWS. It will reduce economic loss and impacts on livelihood and improve flood awareness and safety at the community level.

ii. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded the design and implementation of the FFEWS through a $1 million technical assistance to KMC from its Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund under the Urban Financing Partnership Facility.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

The Asian Development Bank is a regional development Bank established in 1966.
Headquarters of ADB is in Manila, Philippines.
Takehiko Nakao is Present President of the Asian Development Bank.

6. Maharashtra Tops List Of States With Maximum Average AUM: AMFI

i. According to Association of Mutual Funds of India’s (AMFI) statistics, Maharashtra tops the chart for state with the maximum penetration and Assets Under Management (AUM). Also, as per August, average assets under management (AUM) of mutual funds rose to an all-time high of Rs 25.2 lakh crore across the country.

ii. For Maharashtra, it touched Rs 10.35 lakh crore, about 41.1% of the all-India total. It is followed by Delhi having Rs 2.35 lakh crore and Karnataka having Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Association of Mutual Funds of Indian (AMFI) Headquarters in Mumbai.
A. Balasubramanian is the present Chairman of AMFI.

7. Goa And Portugal Inks MoU for Water and Sewage Management

i. The MoU between the Portuguese Environment Ministry and Goa Public Works Department (PWD) was signed. It will help Goa manage its water resources better.

ii. The signing of the two-year long arrangement is a significant move to work in tandem to develop common initiatives for water supply and wastewater management in the state. The projects would include:

1. Opa water supply project in north Goa,

2. Sewage water treatment plant in Valpoi and

3. Manganese-removal efforts in Selaulim Reservoir.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Goa CM: Manohar Parrikar, Governor: Smt. Mridula Sinha.
Portugal Capital: Lisbon, Currency: Euro.

8. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Inaugurates 3-Day Kalahandi Dialogue

i. The three day Kalahandi Dialogue, a global conclave on development has been launched by Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik. Using the platform the Chief Minister launched several projects for the district of Kalahandi.

ii. Sujeet Kumar was the Chairperson of Kalahandi Dialogue. The dialogue aimed to involve youth in development activities. New PG programmes launched at OUAT and three centres of excellence were launched.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Odisha Governor: Ganeshi Lal.
Simlipal NP is a national park and a tiger reserve in the Mayurbhanj district, of Odisha.

9. Petroleum Minister launches SATAT Initiative

i. Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched an innovative initiative titled SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation).
ii. This initiative would benefit both vehicle-users as well as farmers and entrepreneurs. It has been launched with PSU Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to set up Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and make available CBG in the market for use in automotive fuels.

International News

10. US And Canada Sign Trade Deal Replacing NAFTA

i. Canada agreed to sign a trade deal with the United States and Mexico, revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after almost a year of negotiations. The new deal has been named the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

ii. Under the agreement, Canada has agreed to export a quota of 2.6 million vehicles to the United States in the wake of 25% global autos tariffs imposed by the US on national security grounds.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Canada Capital: Ottawa, Currency: Canadian dollar, PM: Justin Trudeau.

11. AYUSH Information Cell Set Up At Indian Embassy in Romania

i. Ministry of AYUSH has set up an AYUSH Information Cell at the premises of the Indian Embassy in Romania to disseminate authentic information about AYUSH system of medicine and encourage Ayurveda practice in Romania.

ii. The AYUSH Information Cell, Romania will help to organise lectures, consultation, conduct seminars, training courses and facilitate associations of AYUSH stakeholders for networking conducting meetings, develop awareness of AYUSH system among public in Romania.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for RRB Clerk Mains Exam 2018-

Romania Capital: Bucharest, Currency: Romanian leu.

Important Days

12. International Translation Day: 30 September

i. 30 September celebrates the feast of St. Jerome, the Bible translator who is considered the patron saint of translators. The theme for International Translation Day 2018 is “Translation: promoting cultural heritage in changing times”.

ii. St. Jerome was a priest from North-eastern Italy, who is known mostly for his endeavour of translating most of the Bible into Latin from the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. He also translated parts of the Hebrew Gospel into Greek.

13. World Habitat Day 2018: 1 October

i. The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day. The theme for World Habitat Day 1 October 2018 is Municipal Solid Waste Management.
ii. World Habitat Day was established in 1985 by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 40/202 and was first celebrated in 1986.

14. International Day of Older Persons: 1 October

i. The International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1 each year to recognize the contributions of older persons and to examine issues that affect their lives.
ii. The theme for the 2018 celebration is “Celebrating Older Human Rights champions”.

Banking/Economy News

15. RBI Slaps Rs 5 Crore Penalty On Karur Vysya Bank

i. The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 5 crore on Karur Vysya Bank for non-compliance of its directives.
ii. According to RBI statement, the penalty was imposed for non-compliance with its directions on "Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms, reporting of frauds, and on the need for discipline at the time of opening of current accounts".

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Karur Vysya Bank Headquarters: Karur, Tamil Nadu, MD & CEO: PR Seshadri.

16. India's External Debt Declines 2.8% At June-End: RBI

i. As per the RBI, India's external debt declined 2.8% to USD 514.4 billion at June-end over the previous quarter on account of a decrease in commercial borrowings, short-term debt and non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits. At end-June 2018, the external debt was placed at USD 514.4 billion, recording a decrease of USD 14.9 billion over its level at end-March 2018.

ii. The decrease in the magnitude of external debt was primarily due to valuation gains resulting from the appreciation of the US dollar against the Indian rupee and major currencies. The external debt to GDP ratio stood at 20.4% at end-June 2018, a shade lower than its level of 20.5% at end-March 2018.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Urjit Patel- 24th Governor of RBI, Headquarters- Mumbai, Established on- 1st April 1935, in Kolkata.

17. Government Cuts Gross Borrowing Estimate For Current Fiscal By Rs 70,000 crore

i. Economic Affairs Secretary SC Garg has announced a reduction in gross borrowing estimate for the current fiscal by 70,000 crore rupees and maintained that the government will contain fiscal deficit target at 3.3%.

ii. Mr Garg gave the details about the borrowing programmes for the second half of the fiscal and announced that the government would be borrowing around 2 lakh 50,000 crore rupees as compared to 2 lakh 88,000 crores during April-September of 2018-19.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for RRB Clerk Mains Exam 2018-

Arun Jaitley is the present Finance Minister of India.

Awards

18. Nobel Prize 2018: Nobel Medicine Prize Goes To James P Allison and Tasaku Honjo

i. The Nobel Medicine or Physiology Prize has been awarded to James P Allison and Tasaku Honjo “for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.”. This is for the first time that no Literature Prize will be given in 70 years because of a #MeToo scandal.

ii. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for RRB Clerk Mains Exam 2018-

Michael W. Young, Michael Rosbash, Jeffrey C. Hall were the winners of Nobel Medicine Prize 2017.

Obituaries

19. Veteran Harmonium Player Pandit Tulsidas Borkar Passed Away

i. Renowned harmonium player Pandit Tulsidas Borkar passed away in Mumbai. He was 84. He was being treated for chest infection.

ii. Born in Goa, Borkar made a name for himself as an accomplished harmonium player and was conferred with the Padma Shri award in 2016. He was also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

20. Legendary Chicago blues guitarist Otis Rush dies at 84

i. Legendary Chicago blues guitarist Otis Rush, whose passionate, a jazz-influenced sound influenced generations of musicians, has died. He was 84.

ii. Otis Rush won a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Recording in 1999 for "Any Place I'm Going." Rush was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1984.

Sports News

21. Yuvraj Wadhwani lifts Asian Junior Squash title

i. Yuvraj Wadhwani has won the 25th Asian junior individual squash championship title. He defeated Anas Ali Shah of Pakistan in the final in Chennai. Yuvraj has become the second Indian to win the Under-13 title after Veer Chotrani, who had won the title in 2014 in Iran. I

ii. India came out of the championship with a gold, a silver and four bronze medals. The bronze medals came in the other age categories through Kavya Bansal, Tiana Parasrampuria, Sanya Vats and Tushar Shahani.