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Current Affairs Today – October 5 2016

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CAT OctoberINDIAN AFFAIRS

Union Government Approvals – October 5 2016
i. The Cabinet approved amendments to the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014 in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The bill makes antiretroviral treatment a legal right of HIV/AIDS patients
ii. The Union Cabinet gave its approval for the signing of Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) between India and African-Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO) for capacity building programmes in the rural development sector.
iii. The Union Cabinet  gave its approval for the signing of MoU between India and European Union in the field of water resources.
iv. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its nod to the acquisition of 11 per cent stake in Russia’s Vankor oil fields by ONGC Videsh Ltd(OVL) from Rosneft Oil Company for $930 million, which will take its overall stake in the project to 26 per cent.

Aadhaar card must for LPG subsidy after November 2016
i. The government has made Aadhaar mandatory for availing cooking gas (LPG) subsidies but has given two months grace period for citizens to get the unique identification number.
ii. In this regard, the Union Petroleum Ministry has asked Oil marketing companies (OMCs) to facilitate enrollments of Aadhaar of the consumers to avail the subsidy.
iii. Currently, the government gives 12 LPG cylinders at subsidised rates per household in a year. The subsidy on every LPG cylinder was transferred directly into bank accounts of individuals who then buy the cooking fuel at market rates.
iv. For those not yet having Aadhaar, it gave time till November 30, 2016 to make application for enrollment for the unique identification number..
v. As LPG subsidy is an expenditure incurred from Consolidated Fund of India, the ministry said it is notifying use of Aadhaar card as mandatory requirement for availing of the benefit.

High Level Technical Team Constituted for Cauvery Basin
i. The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has constituted a high-level technical team, headed by Central Water Commission (CWC) Chairman GS Jha, to visit the Cauvery basin area and assess the ground.
ii. The team would meet at Bengaluru for a preparatory meeting and subsequent visit to the Cauvery basin area for assessing the ground realities and submit a report to the Supreme Court on the 17th this month
iii. The ministry has also requested the Chief Secretaries of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry to confirm their participation or send names of their representatives.
iv. The other member of the team are Shri S Masood Husain, Member (WP&P), CWC, Shri RK Gupta, Chief Engineer, Krishna and Godavari Basin Organization, CWC, Hyderabad, Chief Secretary or his representative from the States of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and One Chief Engineer each from the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and UT of Puducherry 

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis declares Nagpur first digital district of India
i. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis declared Nagpur as the first digital district of India in Mumbai. All 776 gram panchayats in Nagpur district have been digitally transformed.
ii. 29,000 gram panchayats across Maharashtra would be digitally transformed by December 2018.
iii. He also announced a campaign against illicit liquor.
iv. The state has added 169 new online services under the Right to Information Act, taking the total number of services to 369.
Maharashtra :
♦ Nagpur is the second capital of Maharashtra
♦ The Krishna is second largest river in peninsular India. It originates in Maharashtra and passesthrough Karnataka.
♦ Nagpur Orange is known as the “Orange City” for being a major trade centre of oranges cultivated in the region.

Election Commission of India collaborates with Facebook to register young voters
i. Social networking site Facebook is collaborating with the Election Commission of India in five states going to polls next year to run a voter registration drive aimed at encouraging youth to participate in the democratic exercise.
ii. The five states are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand for the first time in the country to run a voter registration drive.EC with Facebook
iii. With over 155 million people in India on Facebook, the ‘Register to vote’ button is designed to encourage citizens across these five states to exercise their vote in the upcoming elections.
iv. From October 6 to 9, Facebook users in those states who are 18 years and above will receive a reminder in their News Feed to register to vote.
v. By clicking on the‘Register Now’ button, people will be directed to the National Voters’ Services Portal which will guide them through the registration process.

Velrampet lake of Puducherry declared Open Defecation Free
i. Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi in the presence of Chief Minister V Narayansamy declared Velrampet lake and surrounding area as open defecation free.
ii. According to an official statement, the lake was, tar roads laid in the area and fenced  by the PWD(irrigation wing) earlier and was declared open defecation free under the Swatch Bharath programme
iii. It is the initiative of Puducherry government to ensure that the whole Union Territory becomes open defecation free by October 2, 2017.
iv. The Union Territory government has spent Rs. 75 lakh to spruce up the vast stretch of the lake

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Fourth meeting of Indo-Czech joint working group at Brno
i. A high level delegation of Indian officials and industry leaders led by Secretary in the Department of Heavy Industry, Mr Girish Shankar with Czech Republic officials attended the 4th meeting of Indo-Czech joint working group at Brno, Czech Republic
ii. Objective : To encourage foreign investors, particularly in the areas of high technology, including Capital goods & Engineering, under the government’s flagship,’ Make in India ‘programme.
iii. This meeting to coincide with MSV Brno Fair between October 3-6, 2016 wherein a review of the progress in bilateral ties was taken up and a roadmap for future cooperation was finalised.
iv. This is evident from the trade figures. Of the total Indian exports to Czech Republic of USD 523 million, the engineering accounted for USD 413 million.
v. The Indian delegation also participating in parallel activities like B2B meetings for the Indian delegation, industry visits, technology scouting etc during their 4 days visit to Czech.
Czech Republic :
♦ Capital: Prague
♦ Currency: Czech koruna
♦ India’s Ambassador to Czech Republic Mr Krishan Kumar

In a first, Indian addressed Organisation of Islamic Countries’ global youth meet
Haji Syed Salman Chishty of Dargah Ajmer Sharifi. Haji Syed Salman Chishty of Dargah Ajmer Sharif is addressed at the ICYF-DC’s Third Islamic Conference of Youth and Sports Ministers opening in Istanbul on October 4, 2016.It is the first time, indian addressed at the conference of the Organisation of Islamic Countries’ Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC).
ii. Theme : ‘Empowering Youth for Peace, Solidarity and Development
iii. The global conference to be attended by representatives from 52 countries.
iv. The recommendations of the conference included in “The OIC 2025 Action Plan”, encompassing the adoption of the OIC Youth Strategy.

BANKING & FINANCE

World Bank – India’s GDP Growth Would Be 7.6% This Year, 7.7% In 2017
i. Describing South Asia as a global growth hotspot, the World Bank announced   India’s GDP growth would remain strong at 7.6 percent in 2016 and 7.7 percent in 2017.
ii.India’s economic growth is expected to be at 7.6% in 2016-17, followed by a modest acceleration to 7.7% in 2017-18 was released by  World Bank  in its India Development Update- Financing Double Digit Growth report, which is published twice a year.
iii. It further reported that  the current year was expected to see some convergence in rural and urban economies, supported by stimulating policies, such as passage of GST and civil service pay revisions.
iv. On India, the report released that the economic growth remained robust, which, as in the past, is expected to support continued poverty reduction. Optimism on the growth front needs to be balanced with caution when translating to broad-based poverty reduction.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2016 has been awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa
i. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2016 has been awarded to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa for developing molecular machines.
ii. Jean-Pierre Sauvage(born October 21, 1944) is a French coordination chemist working at Strasbourg University.
iii. Sir James Fraser Stoddart is a Scottish chemist currently (as of 22 March 2014) at the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University in the United States.
iv. Bernard Lucas “Ben” Feringa is asynthetic organic chemist, specializing in molecular nanotechnology and homogenous catalysis.

Space scientist U.R. Rao into its Hall of Fame of IAF
i. The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) inducted renowned space scientist U.R. Rao into its Hall of Fame for his contribution to development of India’s space technology.
ii. Rao has been inducted into the 2016 IAF Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions to the development of space technology in India and for his efforts towards sharing the greater benefits of space technology with developing countries and the world at large.
iii. Udupi Ramachandra Rao, popularly known as U. R. Rao is a space scientist and former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation. Presently he is the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Physical Research Laboratory at Ahmedabad and chancellor ofIndian Institute for Space Science and Technology (IIST) at Thiruvananthapuram.

Nayanjot Lahiri won 2016 John F Richards Prize
i. Nayanjot Lahiri of Ashoka University has been selected as the winner of the 2016 John F. Richards Prize for her book Ashoka in Ancient India.
ii. The prestigious prize would be presented upon her at the American Historical Association (AHA’s) 131st Annual Meeting to be held in Denver, Colorado in January 2017.Nayanjot Lahiri
iii. 
Professor Lahiri’s biography was edited and typeset at Permanent Black, India’s leading academic publisher, and would be available in paperback later this month.
iv. 
Nayanjot Lahiri is an eminent historian and archaeologist of ancient India. she is teaching at the newly created Ashoka University.  She has several research papers and publications to her credit.
v.
The John F. Richards Prize is awarded annually by the American Historical Association (AHA). The award has been named after John F. Richards (November 1938 to August 2007) who was eminent historian of South Asia and in particular of the Mughal Empire.

President of India presented Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Fellowships and Akademi Awards for 2015
i. The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the “SangeetNatakAkademi Fellowships (AkademiRatna) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (AkademiPuraskars) for the Year-2015” at a function in Rashtrapati Bhawan. Dr.Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture & Tourism and many dignitaries were present at the award presentation function.
ii. In the field of Music, eleven eminent artists, namely Krishna Bisht and Mashkoor Ali Khan for Hindustani Vocal Music, Kartik Kumar for Hindustani Instrumental Music–Sitar, Brij Narayan for Hindustani Instrumental Music–Sarod, R N Thyagarajan and R N Tharanathan (joint award) for Carnatic Vocal Music, SugunaVaradhachari for Carnatic Vocal Music, LalgudiG J R Krishnan for Carnatic Instrumental Music–Violin, MambalamM K S Siva for Carnatic Instrumental Music-Nagaswaram, Bhupinder Singh, HridyanathMangeshkar and PrafullaKar for Other Major Traditions of Music–SugamSangeet, have been selected for the Akademi Awards 2015.
iii. In the field of Dance, nine eminent artists namely, Ranganayaki Jayaraman for Bharatanatyam, K Kunhiraman Nair for Kathakali, G Padmaja Reddy for Kuchipudi, AlokaKanungo for Odissi, SharodiSaikia for Sattriya Dance, Mandakini Trivedi for Mohiniattam, Sadashiva Pradhan for Chhau Dance, W Lokendrajit Singh for Contemporary/Experimental Dance and Rajkumar Bharathi for Music for Dance.
iv.In the field of Theatre, nine eminent artists  namely Nand Kishore Acharya and Shafaat Khan for Playwriting, Parvez Akhtar and MushtaqKak for Direction, Manoj N Joshi and Himani Shivpuri for Acting, Pradeep Mulye for Allied Theatre Arts–Scenic Design, SarojiniNangiar for Other Major Traditions of Theatre–Kutiyattam and Rani Balbir Kaur for Overall Contribution in Theatre.
v.In the field of Traditional/Folk/Tribal Music/Dance/Theatre and Puppetry, ten artistes Awards 2015, they are Khuman Lal Sao (Folk Music of Chhattisgarh), Ramchandra Singh (Folk Theatre of Bihar), Khem Raj (Folk Music of Jammu and Kashmir), S R D Prasad (Martial Art of Kerala), Chhaya and Maya Khutegaonkar (joint award for Folk Dance of Maharashtra-Lavani), Gangmei AlunaKabuini (Traditional Dance and Music of Manipur), Paramjit Singh Sidhu (Folk Music of Punjab), Sayeed SabriJaipuri (Qawwali, Rajasthan), K K Ramachandra Pulavar and T N Sankaranathan for Puppetry.
vi. Shanta Gokhale and Chaman Ahuja have been selected for the Akademi Award 2015 in the field of Overall Contribution/Scholarship to Performing Arts. 

Malayalam Novelist Kumaran Selected For Vayalar Award
i. Eminent Malayalam novelist and short story writer U K Kumaran is selected for Vayalar Awardprestigious Vayalar award 2016 for his novel ‘Thakshankunnu Swarooopam’.
ii. The award will be presented at a function here on October 27 on the lyricist’s death anniversary.
Vayalar Award :
♦ The award carries a cash prize of Rs one lakh, a silver plate and citation, is given annually to the best literary work in Malayalam, and is instituted by the Vayalar Rama Varma Memorial Trust.

ENVIRONMENT

58 endangered red-crowned cranes hatched in China
i. Nearly Sixty red-crowned cranes were hatched this year in China’s Zhalong National Nature Reserve in Heilongjiang Province, the world’s largest captive breeding centre for endangered birds.
ii. The endangered red-crowned crane is found in northeast of China, Japan and North Korea. There are no more than 1,000 red-crowned cranes living in the wild in China and about 2,000 worldwide
iii. This year, four red-crowned cranes released, according to Gao Zhongyan, a reserve official, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
iv. Fifty eight endangered red-crowned cranes were hatched in the Zhalong reserve that covers 2,100 square kilometers of area and was set up in 1979 in China’s largest reed wetland.
v. At the reserve, each baby crane’s basic information was  recorded, and they wear coloured rings on their legs so they are easily identified.

New Colourful Tree Frog Species Discovered In Australia
i. Australian Scientists have discovered a new species of green treefrog named Litoria bella, or the Cape York Graceful with distinctive orange hands and feet and iridescent purple inner thighs.
ii. Now the number of known frog species in Australia to 239 said by Keith McDonald, from Queensland Museum.New Colourful Tree Frog Species Discovered In Australia
iii. The species was thought to occur all the way from north-eastern New South Wales to northern Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.
Australia:
♦ Capital: Canberra
♦ Currency: Australian dollar
♦ Prime minister: Malcolm Turnbull

SPORTS

Pakistan debarred from Kabaddi World Cup 2016
i. The 12-nation Kabaddi World Cup started  this week, with a row over a decision to bar arch-rivals Pakistan from competing threatening to overshadow the tag-wrestling sport’s showcase event Feeling the heat of being isolated following the Uri attacks and supporting terror groups announced by International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) chief Deoraj Chaturvedi.
ii. It could be guessed that Dev was obviously referring to the deadly terror attack on Indian army in Uri, J&K in which 19 soldiers were killed.
iii. The United States, Canada, UK, Australia, Iran, Poland, Bangladesh, Korea, Japan and Kenya, apart from hosts India, are set to take part in the competition for the top honours.
iv. The International Kabaddi Federation is the international governing body of Kabaddi. Its membership comprises 31 national associations. The federation was formed in 2004. The founder president is being Janardan Singh Gehlot from India

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

EC launches mobile app for UP assembly polls
i. Election Commission has launched a mobile application for more transparency and effective monitoring of the ongoing revision of voters’ list before the 2017 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
ii. This app will provide details regarding addition and deletion of names from the electoral roll.
iii. ECI would come up with an online grievance redressal information system soon.

OBITUARY

Noted artist Yusuf Arakkal passed away
i.  Renowned painter, sculptor and veteran of the contemporary art, Yusuf Arakkal passed away at his residence morning in Bengaluru
ii. Wife Sara Arakkal and son Shibu Arakkal took care of him. The senior figurative artist was unwell for the past few months.Yusuf Arakkal
iii.The artist recently released a book called Faces of Creativity, which is a comprehensive collection of portraits of fellow artists.
iv.He  was a Malayali painter based in Bengaluru. He took a diploma in painting from Karnataka ChitrakalaParishat (KCP), Bangalore.
v. Later, he specialized in graphic print making from National Academy community studios, Garhi, Delhi.Recently, he received the prestigious Lorenzo De Medici Gold Medal, at Florence Internazionale Biennale, in Florence, Italy for his work Bacon’s Man with the Child and Priest.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” – A Novel of Author Arundhati Roy
i. After a long gap of 20 years of her Booker win, Arundhati Roy has announced her next novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness which was prepared tor elease inJune 2017.
ii. Arundhati’s publisher announced the news on twitter that actually vanished every reader’s Monday blues.The Man Booker Prize-winner expressed that the she was glad to report that the mad souls (even the wicked ones) in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness had found a way into the world, and that I had found my publishers.
iii. It was been almost twenty years and Arundhati has invested a lot of time in many other things including a number of social causes, in India and abroad.
iv. Over these years, Arundhati wrote several non-fiction essays, interviews and has set the high standards in the field of ‘real’ Journalism. Arundhati is known to create a fantasy world with her words and all of us had witnessed her magic previously.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Teachers Day – October 5
Teachers Dayi. World Teachers Day was created by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1994 to celebrate the educators of the world.
ii. The 2016 World Teachers’ Day theme –‘Valuing Teachers, Improving their Status’
iii. World Teachers’ Day 2016 at UNESCO HQ will also include the ceremony of the Hamdan Prize awards and a seminar with the Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART) experts.