Current Affairs 25th Oct 2018

National News

1. Global Agriculture Leadership Summit 2018 Held in New Delhi

i. The Global Agriculture Leadership Summit 2018 opened in New Delhi. The theme of the 2-day summit is, ‘Connecting Farmers to Market’. 

ii. The summit was inaugurated by the Secretary Agriculture and Co-operation, Sanjay Agrawal. In the meeting, several issues to double farmers’ income by 2022 were discussed.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS PO Mains Exam 2018: 

·         Radha Mohan Singh is the present Agriculture Minister of India. 

2. Government Constitutes GoM To Look Into Sexual Harassment At Workplace

i. The Union Government constituted a four-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine and strengthen the existing legal and institutional frameworks for dealing with matters of sexual harassment of women at the workplace. The Group of Ministers will be headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

ii. The other members of the group will include Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi.

3. No Sale of BS-IV Vehicles Across Country From April 1, 2020: SC

i. The Supreme Court ruled that no Bharat Stage-IV vehicle shall be sold across the country with effect from April 1, 2020. The Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emission norm would come into force from April 1, 2020 across the country.
ii. The ruling was made by a three-judge bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur. The bench clarified that only BS-VI compliant vehicle will be sold in India from April 1, 2020.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS PO Mains Exam 2018: 

·         Bharat Stage emission standards were introduced in 2000 in line with recommendations made by RA Mashelkar Committee. 

·         The Bharat stage emission standards were instituted by the Government to regulate the output of air pollutants from motor vehicles. The BS-IV norms were in force across the country since April 2017. 

·         Ranjan Gogoi is the present Chief Justice of India. 

4. India Signs $5 bn-worth Of Pacts To Give Impetus To Iron And Steel Industry

i. Thirty-eight pacts worth $5 billion were signed among 20 technology providers, capital goods manufacturers and steel producers, which will give impetus to the manufacturing of capital goods for the iron and steel industry. Of the 20 companies who exchanged the MoUs, about 12 are foreign players.

ii. The MoUs were signed at a conclave on Capital Goods for Steel Sector, manufacture in India, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) jointly with Mecon and Steel Ministry.

5. UNESCO MGIEP and Government of AP to Organize TECH 2018

i. UNESCO MGIEP(Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education) in association with Government of Andhra Pradesh announces TECH 2018, an international conference which aims to showcase the role of games and digital learning in enabling a shift from "transmissive pedagogies" to "transformative pedagogies" to create peaceful and sustainable societies.

ii. The three-day event will be held from 15-17 November 2018 at Novotel, Vizag City, Andhra Pradesh, India. UNESCO MGIEP is the first UNESCO the first category 1 institute in the Asia-Pacific region focused on mainstreaming socio-emotional learning in education systems.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS PO Mains Exam 2018: 

·         CM of Andhra Pradesh: Nara Chandrababu Naidu,  Governor: E. S. L. Narasimhan.

6. HRD Minister Launches Web Portal of SPARC in New Delhi 

i. The Minister of Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar launched the web portal (www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in.) of the Scheme “Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC)” in New Delhi. 

ii. SPARC scheme aims at improving the research ecosystem of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian Institutions and the best institutions in the world. 

7. Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates 10th Nuclear Energy Conclave in New Delhi

i. The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurates 10th Nuclear Energy Conclave in New Delhi on the theme: ‘Nuclear Power- Towards a Clean & Base Load Energy’.
ii. Dr Singh stated that the Cabinet has given its approval for construction of 10 units of India’s indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). 

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS PO Mains Exam 2018: 

·         Dr Jitendra Singh also holds the office of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions as the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge).

8. President of India Inaugurates International Arya Mahasammelan-2018 

i. The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the International Arya Mahasammelan – 2018 in Delhi.
ii. Mahasammelan discussed on the issues such as prevention of superstition, modernization, women empowerment, tribal welfare, and management of natural calamities. 

International News

9. China successfully Tests 'World's Largest' Cargo Drone

i. A Chinese company has tested the 'world's largest' cargo drone Feihong-98 (FH-98) which can carry a payload of 1.5 tonnes (1,500kg). 

ii. The FH-98 has a maximum takeoff weight of 5.25 tonnes (5,250 kg) and maximum range of 1,200 km. Further, it is capable of reaching a flying altitude of 4.5 km and a cruising speed of 180 kmph.

Awards

10. Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony for 2014, 2015 & 2016 Announced 

The Tagore Award

i. The Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony for the years 2014, 2015 & 2016 is being conferred on the doyen of Manipuri dance Sh. Rajkumar Singhajit Singh (For 2014); Chhayanaut (a cultural organization of Bangladesh, for 2015) and on one of India’s greatest sculptors, Sh. Ram Vanji Sutar (for 2016).
ii. The chairman of the Jury was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the jury comprised of the Chief Justice of India, Justice Ranjan Gogoi. 

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS PO Mains Exam 2018: 

·         Chhayanaut was established in 1961. 

·         The annual award was instituted by the Government of India during the commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

·         The first Tagore Award was conferred on Pt. Ravi Shankar, the Indian Sitar Maestro in 2012. 

Appointments

11. Paytm Payments Bank Appoints Satish K Gupta As MD & CEO

i. Paytm Payments Bank has appointed veteran banker  Satish Kumar Gupta as its new Managing Director and CEO. The post was lying vacant after Renu Satti stepped down in July 2018. Satti now heads the company's new retail business.

ii. The veteran banker had earlier served as the Deputy General Manager at State Bank of India where he worked for over three decades.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For IBPS PO Mains Exam 2018: 

·         Paytm Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

·         Paytm Payments Bank started in May 2017. 

Banking News

12. PNB Metlife Launches AI-Powered Customer Service App 'Khushi'

i. Life insurer PNB Metlife has unveiled an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered customer service app ‘Khushi’.
ii. The app is designed to be a one-stop shop providing insurance-related information, anytime, anywhere, such as policy features, premium due details besides providing fund value and portfolio details. 

Sports News

13. Dwayne Bravo Retires From International Cricket 

i. All-rounder Dwayne Bravo announced his retirement from international cricket.
ii. The 35-year-old, who last represented the Windies in September 2016, played a grand total of 270 internationals and played a starring role in each of their two World T20 triumphs in 2012 and 2016.