Current Affairs 10th Oct 2018

National News

 
1. Important Cabinet Approvals: 10th October 2018

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the following set of approvals. The important Cabinet Approvals are given as follows-

ii. The Cabinet has approved- 

1. MoU between India and Lebanon for cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors.

2. MoU between India and Romania in the field of tourism.
Find The Complete Approvals Here

2. Mobile Health App ‘MedWatch’ Launched by Indian Air Force 

i. On the occasion of 86th anniversary, the Indian Air Force has launched an innovative mobile health App named ‘MedWatch’. 

ii. The app is conceived by the doctors of IAF and developed in-house by Directorate of Information Technology (DIT) with ZERO financial outlay. ‘MedWatch’ is the first mobile health app in the three Armed Services and was launched by Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa.

3. Nitin Gadkari Laid Foundation Stone For Rs1,224 crore Highway projects in UP 

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

i. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for Rs 1,224 crore highway projects in Uttar Pradesh. Besides, the highway projects, Gadkari also laid the foundation stone for the development of National Waterway 40 (river Ghaghra). 

ii. This project undertakes development work of 354 km stretch of Ghagra river under the Sagarmala Programme of Ministry of Shipping. The projects include widening and improvement of Ramjanaki Marg (NH-227A) from Ayodhya Cantt to Rampur (55 km) at a cost of Rs 315 crore, and 35 km from Rampur to Sikriganj at a cost of Rs 250 crore. 

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

·         UP CM: Yogi Adityanath, Governor: Ram Naik. 

4. J P Nadda Inaugurates 2nd World Conference On Access To Medical Products 

i. Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, J P Nadda inaugurated ‘2nd World Conference on Access to Medical Products: Achieving the SDGs 2030’ in New Delhi.
ii. At the function, Shri J P Nadda released the Position Paper and launched the Information Sharing Platform Gateway for South-East Asia Regulatory Network (SEARN) developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, which will promote regulatory and health collaboration among the countries of the South-East Asia Region.

5. Government Reconstitutes Top Court-Powered Pollution Control Panel

i. The Centre has reconstituted Supreme Court-empowered Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority or the EPCA, which is tasked with taking various measures to tackle air pollution in the National Capital Region. Former secretary Bhure Lal continues to be the chairman, while the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) DG Sunita Narain is one of the members. 

ii. The other members of the 20-member re-constituted authority include Ajay Mathur, who is the Director General of The Energy Research Institute (TERI), Arunabha Ghosh, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Energy Environment and Water, Navroz K. Dubash, the Senior Fellow for the Centre for Policy Research. 

6. UNICEF, NASSCOM Sign MoU To Strengthen Child Rights 

i. UNICEF and NASSCOM Foundation have signed an agreement to strengthen child rights through "meaningful business interventions.
ii. With this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the two organisations will work collaboratively on two key areas including national sensitisation on child online protection and encouraging innovations for child rights' in the country. 

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

·         UNICEF stands for United Nations Children's Fund. 

·         UNICEF Headquarters in New York, USA. 

·         National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) was established in 1988.

·         NASSCOM Chairman: Rishad Premji.

7. BPCL To Set Up Country's 1st Biofuel Plant In Odisha 

i. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will complete commissioning of its second generation (2G) ethanol bio-refinery at Baulsingha village in Bargarh district of Odisha by 2020. 

ii. The proposed plant will see an investment of Rs 1000 crore, the foundation stone of which was laid. This is the first biofuel plant in the country where ethanol will be produced from rice straw. 

Static/Current Takeaways Important for IBPS PO/Clerk Mains 2018- 

·         Naveen Patnaik is the current Chief Minister of Odisha. 

·         Ganeshi Lal is the present Governor of Odisha. 

·         Dharmendra Pradhan is the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

8. Jharkhand To Become Partner State At Goa International Film Festival 

i. The Goa International Film Festival that will be held in November 2018 will have Jharkhand as a partner state. The decision was taken in meeting between Secretary of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Mr. Amit Khare and Chief Secretary of Jharkhand, Sudhir Tripathy at Ranchi.
ii. This will allow Jharkhand to showcase its culture and favourable filmmaking incentives announced by the state government. 

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

·         Jharkhand Capital: Ranchi, Chief Minister: Raghubar Das, Governor: Draupadi Murmu. 

International News

9. Clear Sky 2018: Ukraine Launches Air Exercises With NATO Countries 

i. Ukraine began a series of large-scale air force exercises with the United States and other NATO countries. The "Clear Sky 2018" war games are being held in western Ukraine. 

ii. Some 700 troops are taking part, half of them from NATO member countries including the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania. The aim is to enhance regional capabilities to secure air sovereignty and promote peace and security through cooperation. 

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

·         Ukraine Capital: Kiev, Currency: Ukrainian hryvnia

10. Japanese Passport Named World's Most Powerful, India 81st 

i. Japan's passport has been named the most powerful in the world, overtaking Singapore, according to the Henley Passport Index 2018.
ii. The Indian passport has secured the 81st rank with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 60 destinations. 

iii. Top 3 on Henley Passport Index Power Ranking 2018: 

1. Japan

2. Singapore

3. Germany, France, South Korea.

Important Days

11. World Mental Health Day: 10 October

i. World Mental Health Day is celebrated on 10 October every year. 

ii. The theme for 2018 WMH day is 'Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World'. World Mental Health Day was observed for the first time on 10 October 1992. 

Resignations

12. Nikki Haley Resigns as US Ambassador to United Nations

i. Indian-American Nikki Haley has resigned as the US Ambassador to the United Nations. US President Donald Trump has accepted her resignation. She would be leaving his administration at the end of the year. 

ii. Haley was appointed to the UN post in November 2016. Before she was named by Trump to her UN post, Haley was governor of South Carolina, the first woman to hold the post. She was re-elected in 2014.

Sports News

13. India Beat Sri Lanka To Win U-19 Asia Cup Title 

i. Indian under-19 cricket team has defeated Sri Lanka by 144 runs in the summit clash of the 2018 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The victory gave India their sixth title in the continental tournament. 

ii. Indian batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal was named the Player of the Series. The 2018 Under-19 Asia Cup was the 7th edition of ACC Under-19 Cup. The cricket tournament was held in Bangladesh. Afghanistan were the defending champions. 

14. Youth Olympic Games 2018: Manu Bhaker, 1st Indian woman To Win Gold at YOG

i. Sixteen-year-old shooter Manu Bhaker has become the first-ever Indian woman to win gold at Youth Olympics. 

ii. Bhaker achieved the feat after winning the women's 10m Air Pistol event with a score of 236.5 at 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina's Buenos Aires. 

Static/Current Takeaways Important for IBPS PO Mains Exam 2018- 

·         Argentina Capital: Buenos Aires, Currency: Argentine peso. 

·         Official Mascot of Youth Olympic Games 2018 is Pandi.