Dear Readers, We cover some important news in Current Affairs Today Section, which are not covered in Daily Detailed News, More Current Affairs coverage will help you to Score Good Marks in Competitive Exam.
INDIAN AFFAIRS
Nation celebrates Sardar Patel Jayanti as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, PM flags off ‘Run for Unity’ at Rajpath
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in paying tributes to the first Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 140th birth anniversary, which is also celebrated as ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ (National Unity Day).
Modi offered floral tributes at the Sardar Patel statue on Parliament Street in New Delhi. The Prime Minister also flagged off ‘Run for Unity’at Rajpath, on the occasion.
Radio Mirchi launches India’s first airport radio in Delhi
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) in association with Radio Mirchi today launched the India’s first airport radio, Mirchi T3.
J&K govt identifies 27 new heritage sites
Minister for Culture Priya Sethi announced 27 new heritage sites of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh region have been identified for preservation and listing under J&K Heritage Conservation and Preservation Act 2010.
- Jammu region has a great historical importance as it used to be a hub of economic activities during Dogra rule.
Key points :
- J & K CM: Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
- J & K Governor : Narinder Nath Vohra
- J & K Capital :Jammu (winter)/Srinagar (summer)
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
- BRICS nations ink Moscow Declaration for supporting Multilateral Science Projects
Mandela tops World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Annual Survey 2015
China abandons its decades old One Child Policy
World largest population country China announced the end of its hugely controversial one-child policy after more than 35 years announced by President Xi Jinping at the end of party’s four day plenary session headed by in Beijing.
New policy state that all couples would be allowed two children.
Reason behind for this change :
This change comes as China faces low fertility rates and an aging trend in its population.
Key points :
- One-child policy was formally instituted in 1980
- China Capital : Beijing
- China Currency : Renminbi(Yuvan)
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
Activist Bindeshwar Pathak to get top US humanitarian award
Social activist and founder of ‘Sulabh International’ Bindeshwar Pathak was selected for a top US humanitarian award for his contribution to sanitation and enhancing the quality of life for millions of manual scavengers.
- The New York Global Leaders Dialogue Humanitarian Award will be presented to Pathak on April 12, 2016 in New York.
- Sulabh, which engages nearly 50,000 people, has constructed nearly 1.3 million household toilets and 54 million government toilets based on an innovative design.
- Apart from construction of toilets, the organisation is leading a movement to discourage manual cleaning of human waste.
Indian hospitals bag British Medical Journal awards
Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) were selected as the best hospitals by the British Medical Journal(BMJ) for having the best medicine experts in South Asia.
Other hospitals chosen for the BMJ award 2015 :
- Kochi’s Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences.
- Pune based Chest Research Foundation and and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research ( PGIMER) of Chandigarh.
- Over 900 hospitals from South Asian countries were nominated for the award.
- BMJ Awards.CEO : Tim Brooks
APPOINTMENTS
Former Benetton’s MD Sanjeev Mohanty is Jabong CEO
Fashion focused e-tailer Jabong has appointed former Benetton India MD Sanjeev Mohanty as its chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), effective from December 2015.
For the first time, Indian e-commerce would witness a chief executive from a traditional retailer heading an online venture in India.
About Sanjeev Mohanty :
- Under Mohanty lead the United Colors of Benetton India was listed as one of the Top 50 firms to work for in the retail sector consecutively for three years from 2012 to 2014.
- He was the youngest business head ever when he took over as head of India business in November 2004.
- He managed three Italian fashion retail labels Benetton, Sisley and Undercolors in India, during his tenure as Managing Director of Benetton India Pvt Ltd.
CEO of Jabong’s parent company Global Fashion Group (GFG) : Romain Voog
ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS
HCL Technologies acquired CRM services firm PowerObjects for 299 crore rupees
Global IT services company HCL Technologies on 29 October 2015 acquired PowerObjects, a leading North American provider of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, for approximately 299 crore rupees.
- The acquisition will bolster HCL’s global applications business, which offers transformational programs and complex application management for a multitude of clients’ technology landscapes.
- The total consideration for the transaction includes contingent payments which are subject to certain financial targets.
About PowerObjects
- Founded in 1993, PowerObjects is a professional services firm which is 100 percent focused on providing service, support, education and add-ons for Microsoft Dynamics Customer Resource Management (CRM).
- The company won 2015 Cloud Customer Relationship Management Partner of the Year, and has also been a winner of 2012 Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner of the Year award.
IBM to acquire the Weather Co including its Weather.com website
The IBM announced on Wednesday that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire most of the assets of the Weather Co, including its Weather.com website, a large number of weather data collection points, consumer and business applications and a staff of more than 900 people.
IBM would not say how much it was paying for the business, but an earlier report in The Wall Street Journal put the deal at over $2 billion. The Weather Channel, a cable television outlet, was not part of the deal, but it would licence weather forecast data from IBM.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Facebook, BSNL to set up 100 Wi-Fi hotspots
Facebook has partnered state owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to create 100 Wi-Fi hotspots in rural India to drive digital penetration in the country.
Facebook is investing Rs 5 crore per annum for buying bandwidth from BSNL in this joint initiative that also includes IT infrastructure services providers such as Quad Zen and Trimax for equipment and fibre deployment.
SPORTS
Amit Kumar won silver in men’s club throw F51 event of IPC Athletics World Championships
Indian para-athlete Amit Kumar Saroha bagged a silver in mens club throw F51 event in the IPC Athletics World Championships on Oct 29, 2015 and Qualified for Rio Paralympic Games.
Venue : Suhaim Bin Hamam stadium, Doha, Qatar
- Amit clinched silver with an effort of 25.44m, behind Serbias Zeljko Dimitrijevic who won gold in a championship record of 26.29m.
- With Amits medal, the 15-member Indian team ended the campaign with two silver. Devendra Jhajharia had won a silver in mens javelin throw F46 event.
2015 IPC Athletics World Championships
2015 IPC Athletics World Championships was one of the last major competitions ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. it was held in Doha, Qatar from 21 October to 31 October 2015.
Sajan Kumar sets new national record in 1500m freestyle
India’s star swimmer Sajan Kumar set a new national record in men’s 1500m freestyle competition, clocking a time of 15:41:01 at the 69th senior national aquatic championship in Rajkot.
- The championship will be organised jointly by the Swimming Federation of India (SFI) and Gujarat State Aquatic Association (GSAA), which will be hosted jointly by the Rajkot District Swimming Association (RDSA) and Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC).
- National records were broken for the third day in a row. On the opening day, Mana Patel had set a new national record in 100m backstroke while, yesterday, Karnataka’s Malvika set a national record in 1500m freestyle.
Yuki pockets second title of season, set to re-enter top-100
Pune ATP Challenger Yuki Bhambri win to clinch his second title of the season with a 6-2 7-6(4) defeated second seed Evgeny Donskoy in the final of the USD 50,000 KPIT-MSLTA Challenger.
- He ranked 105, as he lost only two points on his serve to quickly wrap up the first set.
- He has been very consistent in the last three months as he won title in Shanghai, ended runner-up in Taiwan and reached semifinals in Tashkent and Vancouver.
- It was fifth career-title for Yuki at Challenger level and first time he has won two Challengers in a single season. He won one each in 2014, 2013 and 2012.
Swiss pilot Kuffer wins AAI Paragliding World Cup
Swiss pilot Michael Kuffer finished second in the final Task and emerged as the overall champion of AAI Paragliding World Cup.
The women’s overall crown was claimed by Japan’s Yuki Sato.
About Michael Kuffer :
- It was Kuffer’s first World Cup win and the young pilot from the German-speaking area in Switzerland was overjoyed with his success.
- His best finish in a World Cup prior to this win was a third place finish in his home country Switzerland, earlier this year.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Cities Day
World Cities Day is observed every year on Oct 31.It is expected to greatly promote the international community’s interest in global urbanisation, push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and challenges in urbanisation and contribute to urban sustainable development.
Organization : UN
Theme : “To promotes togetherness and harmony, making our cities and neighbourhoods inclusive and livable” .
World Savings Day
World Savings Day is celebrated on October 31st every year. The World Savings Day was established on October 31, 1924, during the 1st International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks) in Milano, Italy.
Objective :
- It is meant for the promotion of savings all over the World.
- To attain a higher standard of life
- To secure the economy
