DAILY GK FOR OCTOBER 2015-11-15 ---- 1 TO 50

SOURCE; BANKERSADDA.COM

DAILY GK FOR OCTOBER 2015-11-15

1. India to Chair G20 in 2018

i. India is going to chair Group of Twenty (G20) nations forum in year 2018 and New Delhi could be the host of the prestigious annual G20 summit. This decision was taken by G20 forum earlier in September 2015 which was chaired by Turkey.

ii. Turkey will hand over the Chair for the next year i.e. 2016 to China and in 2017 Germany is going to chair it.

iii. G20 is the premier forum (It is not an organsation) for global economic and financial cooperation. Being a forum it does not have any permanent secretariat or management and administrative structure.

iv. Every year one nation holds the chair of G20 known as Presidency which rotates annually among its member groups. The presidency establishes a temporary secretariat for the duration till it holds the Chair.

v. The forum brings together 20 nations that represent world’s major advanced and emerging economies, representing around 85 per cent of global GDP.

2. V Shanmuganathan sworn-in as 17th Governor of Manipur

i. V Shanmuganthan has sworn in as the 17th Governor of Manipur after taking oath at ceremony held at Raj Bhawan in Imphal. He succeeded Dr. Syed Ahmed who had died in late in September 2015.

ii. Chief justice of Manipur High Court Justice Laxmi Kant Mahapatra administered the oath of office to him as per the provisions of Article 159 of Constitution of India. Presently V Shanmuganthan is Governor of Meghalaya and was given additional charge of Manipur by President Pranab Mukherjee following death of Dr. Syed Ahmed.

iii. V Shanmuganthan is a prolific writer and had written three books related to culture and social aspects in Tamil. He was member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and had joined it in 1962. Later he had joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) where he had served in many party positions.

iv. Article 153 of Constitution says that there shall be Governor for each state. The 7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956 has facilitated the appointment of the same person as a governor for two or more states.

3. Plestinian flag hoisted at UN headquarters for the first time

i. Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at United Nations headquarters in New York on 30 September 2015. The politically sensitive flag raising ceremony took place at 1:16 pm at the UN's Rose Garden.

ii. The flag hosting raising ceremony was attended by the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas. Earlier on 10 September 2015, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly approved the Resolution on Raising of Flags by Non-Member Observer States.

iii. The resolution said that the flags of non-member observer states like Palestine shall be raised at UN Headquarters and United Nations Offices following the flags of the Member States of the organization.

iv. Palestine was granted the status of a non-member observer State by the UNGA in 2012.

4. International Day of Older Persons observed across the world

i. The International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) was on 1 October 2015 observed across the world with the theme Sustainability and Age Inclusiveness in the Urban Environment. The 2015 IDOP celebration demonstrated that an age inclusive agenda is crucial to promote equity, welfare and prosperity for all.

ii. The 2015 celebration of the 25th anniversary of International Day of Older Persons focused on the impact of the new urban environment on older persons and impact of older persons on the new urban environment.

iii. The migration of people worldwide to cities is happening at a record pace with 6 out of every 10 people in the world expected to reside in urban areas by 2030. It means that the number of people over 60 living in cities may grow to over 900 million by 2050.

iv. On 14 December 1990, the United Nations General Assembly declared 1 October as the International Day of Older Persons, following up on initiatives such as Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, which was adopted by the 1982 World Assembly on Ageing and endorsed later that year by UNGA. 

5. China launched 20th satellite for its BeiDou Navigation System

i. China on 30 September 2015 launched a 20th new generation satellite into orbit that will support its global navigation and positioning network.

ii. The satellite was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the south-western province of Sichuan. A Long March-3B carrier rocket carried the satellite.

iii. The launch of the 20th satellite for the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has put China one step closer to providing an alternative to the U.S. operated Global Positioning System (GPS).

Besides, it was the first time that the satellite featured a hydrogen atomic clock. Also, multiple tests related to the clock will be done.

iv. Global Navigation Satellite Systems

• India: Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)
• United States: Global Positioning System (GPS)
• Russia: GLONASS
• France: Doppler Orbitography and Radio-positioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS)
• Japan: Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS)

6. Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology 2015 announced

i. CSIR on 26 September 2015 announced Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SSB) Prize for Science and Technology 2015 for eleven scientists in recognition of their work. The awardees were announced to mark the CSIR’s 73nd Foundation day.

ii. The SSB Prize consists of a citation, a plaque and a cash prize of 5 lakh rupees. The selected awardees in different fields are

• Biological Sciences: Dr Balasubramanian Gopal of Molecular Biophysics Unit Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
• Dr Rajeev Kumar Varshney of Centre of Excellence in Genomics International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad
• Chemical Sciences: Dr D Srinivasa Reddy Division of Organic Chemistry CSIR National Chemical Laboratory, Pune
• Dr Pradyut Ghosh of Department of Inorganic Chemistry Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science in Jadavapur, Kolkata
• Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences: Dr Jyotiranjan Srichandan Ray of Geosciences Division Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad
• Engineering Sciences: Dr Yogesh Moreshwar Joshi of Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
• Mathematical Sciences: Dr K Sandeep of TIFR Centre for Applicable Mathematics, Bangalore
• Dr Ritabrata Munshi School of Mathematics Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
• Medical Sciences: Dr Vidita Ashok Vaidya of Department of Biological Sciences Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai
• Physical Sciences: Dr Bedangadas Mohanty of School of Physical Sciences National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar
• Dr Mandar Madhukar Deshmukh of Department of Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai

7. Union Government released commemorative postal stamp on Dr BR Ambedkar

i. Union Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on 30 September 2015 released a commemorative postal stamp on Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar.

ii. The government is celebrating 125th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar in the year 2015. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 July 2015 chaired the first meeting of the National Committee on Nationwide Celebration of 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

iii. The objective of year long celebrations is to make the world aware about the life and the work of Dr. Babasaheb Ambekdar as a champion of the underprivileged.

iv. Beside this, the minister also said that it will come out with a coin in his honour. The coin that will be released in honour of the legendary social reformer has received an approval from the Union Finance Ministry.

v. Dr Ambedkar was posthumously given the highest civilian award of India Bharat Ratna in 1990. He died in 1956.

8. Heena Sidhu wins gold medal at Asian Air Gun Championships

i. India’s ace shooter Heena Sidhu has clinched a Gold medal in the 10-metre air pistol event of the Asian Air Gun Championships in New Delhi.

ii. In this event, Heena shot a total of 197.8 points to finish at the top of the podium to win the gold medal. Shweta Singh of India by scoring total of 197 points won Silver medal. While South Korea’s Seon A Kim won the Bronze medal. Yashaswini Singh Deshwal of India was placed  at fourth position.

iii. It should be noted that Heena Sidhu is former world number one (as on April 2014)  and was India’s first pistol shooter to be ranked number one in the world.

iv. In the 2015 Asian Air Gun Championships held in New Delhi, India has emerged on the top with total medal tally of 17 medals, including 6 Gold. While Iran finished second in this continental event.

9) Google Inc has morphed into Alphabet Inc.

i. After US markets closed on 2nd October, Alphabet replaced Google as the publicly traded company that will house Google's search and Web advertising businesses, maps, YouTube and its "moonshot" ventures such as driverless cars.

ii. Google's class A shares and class C shares will automatically convert into the same number of Alphabet class A shares and class C shares and start trading on the Nasdaq from Monday. The ticker symbols will not change.

10) Gold zooms Rs 660, biggest one day gain this year

i. Snapping its five-day falling streak, gold rebounded by Rs 660, its biggest one-day surge this year, to trade at Rs 26,810 per ten grams at the bullion MARKET .
ii. The precious metal, after five sessions of losses, recovered 2.1% to $1,136.60 an ounce in New York as the US payrolls rose less than expected in September and wages stagnated, weakening the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year. Bullion traders said sentiments got a boost after gold rebounded in global markets and revival of buying by jewellers and retailers at domestic markets at current levels. 

11) ICICI brings in card-less mVisa

i. ICICI Bank has become the first institution worldwide to launch m-Visa, a card-less and device-less solution to make the payments.
ii. ICICI Bank has incorporated the m-Visa application in its Pockets app, which allows payments to be made by scanning a static QR code and entering the amount.
iii. "The biggest incentive for merchants to accept mVisa payments is that there is zero investment. The merchant merely has to retain a printed QR code, which can be scanned by the customer using the Pockets app," said Rajiv Sabharwal, executive director, ICICI Bank. 

12) India's foreign reserves plunge by over $2 billion

i. India's foreign exchange (FOREX) reserves declined by $2.04 billion to $349.97 billion in the week ended September 25, official data showed on 2nd October.
ii. The reserves had risen by $631.5 million to $352.02 billion in the previous week ended September 18. The reserves had augmented by $2.35 billion to $351.38 billion in the week ended September 11.

iii. The FCA constitutes the largest component of INDIA'S FOREX reserves. It consists of US dollars, major non-dollar currencies, securities and bonds bought abroad. "

13) Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis win Wuhan Open title

i. Ace Indian tennis star Sania Mirza continued her superb run with Swiss partner Martina Hingis as the duo clinched its seventh title together by winning the Wuhan Open women's doubles trophy on Saturday.
ii. Ti.he top-seeded pair eased past the Romanian team of Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu 6-2, 6-3 in the title clash.

14) Venus Williams wins Wuhan Open

i. Venus Williams won her second title of the season at the Wuhan Open in central China after Garbine Muguruza retired in the second set.
ii. Williams took the first set and was then handed the title by the Spaniard after 53 minutes, three points into the second set. 

15) Jordan Spieth voted PGA Tour Player of the Year

i. American world number one Jordan Spieth was named as the PGA Tour's Player of the Year after a stellar 2014-15 campaign highlighted by two major victories among his five wins.
ii. The 22-year-old landed the coveted honour after clinching the first two majors of the season -the Masters and US Open -before finishing one shot out of a British Open play-off in July and being runner-up at the PGA Championship in August.

16) E-FIR system launched in Odisha

i. Nearly fifteen months after dry run, the Odisha police launched its ambitious 'e-FIR' system under the Centre-sponsored Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project.

ii. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the system, which enables tech-savvy people to send their complaints to police in all districts through online.
iii. All the 531 police stations in the state have been computerized to receive complaints through online.
iv. "By browsing www.citizenportal-op.gov.in, people can avail services like lodging of complaints, request for FIR copy, verification of tenants, applying for procession licence, permission for protest/strike, character certificate request, employee verification, request for lost property and complain about missing persons," ADG and director of state crime records bureau B Radhika said. 

17) INS Sahyadri entered Da Nang port in Vietnam

i. INS Sahyadri entered Da Nang port in Vietnam as part of its operational deployment in the South China Sea.
ii. Around the time Navy Chief Admiral R.K Dhowan began his official tour of Australia, an Indian naval ship entered Vietnam waters on its way to Japan.
iii. In the backdrop of both the developments, hangs the shadow of China’s growing naval assertiveness in the region, and India’s new-found aggression to build partnerships both as a response to China as well as part of its role as a major maritime force of the Indian Ocean. 

18) Dr Anup K Pujari has been given additional charge of CMD of SAIL

i. Dr Anup K Pujari assumed additional charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
ii. At present, he is the Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME). Besides as the CMD of SAIL, he was also given additional charge of the post of Secretary in Ministry of Steel

19) India submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)

i. India on 2 October 2015 submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
ii. These INDCs are for the period between 2015 and 2030.
iii. With the presentation of its INDCs, India set its tone for the Conference of Parties-21 (COP-21) in Paris that is scheduled to meet in December 2015 to adopt an environmental new protocol for post-2020 (post Kyoto Protocol) scenario. So far, 119 parties to the UNFCCC, out of 192 member countries, have formally submitted their INDCs. 

Some of the important points of the INDCs are 

a) To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 level 

b) To achieve about 40 per cent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030, with the help of transfer of technology and low cost international finance, including from Green Climate Fund 

c) To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030 that will translate into increase of about 680 - 817 million tonne of carbon stock 

20) October 2: International Day of Non-Violence 

i. The International Day of Non-Violence was observed on 2 October 2015 across the world. It was celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence.
ii. The International Day of Non-Violence was created by the United Nations by a resolution of the General Assembly on 15 June 2007. 

21) PM Narendra Modi inaugurated county's first solar powered district court

i. Narendra Modi inaugurated county's first solar powered district court in Khunti, Jharkhand.
ii. Making an appeal to stop wastage of electricity, the Prime Minister said that like solar energy, we also need to focus on energy conservation.
iii. He added that India will be successful in achieving the target of 175 Gigawatt of clean energy by 2022.

22) Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help to finance the increased transmission capacity of electricity link between India and Bangladesh. 

i. "ADB is to help finance increased transmission capacity of a cross-border electricity link between India and Bangladesh which will allow Bangladesh to better meet sharply rising power demand and support increased power exchanges across South Asia."  

ii. ADB's loan of $120 million to Bangladesh will double the capacity of the existing interconnection system which links the power grid of western Bangladesh at Bheramara and the grid of eastern India at Bharampur.
iii. The two networks were first interconnected in 2013, under a previous project financed by ADB. New transmission capacity will rise from 500 megawatts (MW) to 1,000 MW.

23. At 17,600 Feet, DRDO sets up world’s highest terrestrial research centre

i. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) established the world’s highest terrestrial centre at 17,600 feet above sea level at Changla near Pengong lake in Ladakh.

ii. The centre will serve as a natural cold storage for preserving rare and endangered medical plants for generations to come. The centre was inaugurated by Director General, DRDO Dr S Christopher.

iii. According to reports, the centre will act as an important utility for research work in frontal areas of food and agriculture and bio-medical sciences for well being of the soldiers deployed in high altitude cold desert.

iv. A large number of Life Sciences activities are proposed to be undertaken at this centre.

24. India and Germany sign 18 MoUs

i. India and Germany on Monday signed a deal to fast-track business approvals, an arrangement to make it easier for German companies to operate in Asia's third largest economy that was announced as Chancellor Angela Merkel visited New Delhi.

i. The fast-track approvals process will ensure that German firms will have a single point of contact in the Indian administration, helping them to navigate a web of red tape that often thwarts business initiative.

iii. The agreement is the first of its kind and comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to attract foreign investment in support of his "Make in India" drive to boost industrial investment and create skilled jobs.

iv. India and Germany also agreed to enhance ties in key areas of defence manufacturing, trade, intelligence and clean energy during wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel here after which 18 MoUs were inked.

25. Three scientists share Nobel Prize for medicine for work on parasitic diseases

i. The Nobel Prize for medicine has been jointly awarded this year to three scientists for their work on parasitic diseases. Half of the award goes to Ireland's William Campbell and Japan's Satoshi Omura, who discovered a new drug to treat infections caused by roundworm parasites.

ii. The other half goes to China's Youyou Tu, who used traditional herbal medicine to find a new kind of antimalarial agent.

iii. Campbell and Omura discovered a new drug, Avermectin, the derivatives of which "have radically lowered the incidence of River Blindness and Lymphatic Filariasis," the Nobel Assembly said. River blindness, or onchocerciasis, can cause vision impairment or blindness, nodules under the skin or debilitating itching, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

iv. Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, is a painful and extremely disfiguring disease, the World Health Organization said.

26. Mahindra Intertrade appoints Sumit Issar as MD

i. Sumit Issar has been appointed as the new Managing Director for Mahindra Intertrade Ltd (MIL) and Mahindra Steel Service Centre Ltd (MSSCL), a joint venture between Mahindra and Metal OneCorporation, Japan.

ii. He takes over from Harsh Kumar who retired on September 30, 2015 and will assume fresh responsibilities at the Mahindra Institute of Quality.

ii. Issar started his career at MIL as a graduate engineer trainee in 1995 and has performed a multitude of roles encompassing sales and operations, product development, sourcing, supply chain management and business development.

iv. Mahindra Intertrade is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd and owns and operates the country’s largest network of independent steel service centres in the automotive, power and home appliances verticals. It operates steel service centres in Pune, Nashik, Vadodara, Bhopal and Chakan in India and Sharjah in West Asia.

27. 26th edition of CORPAT between India and Indonesia began in Andaman Sea

i. 26th edition of the Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) between India and Indonesia began on 3 October 2015 in the Andaman Sea. The expanded version of the 18-day long CORPAT that will conclude on 21 October 2015 will also see the first ever bilateral exercise between the two nations.

ii. The two-day inaugural India-Indonesia Bilateral Maritime Exercise is scheduled from 17 October to 18 October 2015 in the Andaman Sea.

iii. The two navies have been carrying out Coordinated Patrolling (CORPAT) along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) twice a year since 2002 with the aim of keeping this vital part of the Indian Ocean Region safe and secure for commercial shipping and international trade.

iv. The first ever India-Indonesia Bilateral Maritime Exercise that will be hosted along with the 26th edition of the CORPAT will help the bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The Bilateral Maritime Exercise and the CORPAT would see participation by one warship and one Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both sides.

28. Flipkart appointed Sriram Venkataraman as Chief Financial Officer

i. India’s e-commerce giant, Flipkart, on 4 October 2015 appointed Sriram Venkataraman as the new Chief Finance Officer (CFO) for its commerce platform (CP). The homegrown online marketplace also appointed Pramod Jain as Vice President and Head of Taxation.

ii. Venkataraman will watch over all aspects of the finance function for CP. He will also be responsible to drive the CP business to deliver its goals. Jain will play an important role in taking the tax team’s engagement with revenue and government authorities to the next level.

iii. Sriram Venkataraman obtained his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT Madras and completed his post-graduation in Management from the Indian School of Business (ISB).

He holds more than 19 years of experience in Hindustan Unilever. His last role was Head of Sales Finance in Unilever.

iv. By professional qualifications, Pramod Jain is a Chartered Accountant and Lawyer. He has worked as the country tax head for Dell and Xerox. His last role was Vice President of Taxation with Indus Towers Limited, the world’s largest telecom tower company and a joint venture of Airtel, Vodafone and Idea.

29. Ashish Bahuguna given additional charge of Chief Executive Officer of FSSAI

i. Ashish Bahuguna, the Chairman of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), on 4 October 2015 was given an additional charge of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FSSAI.

ii. The decision was taken following the shift of Yudhvir Singh Malik to NITI Aayog as an Additional Secretary in September 2015. A retired IAS officer of 1978-batch of Rajasthan cadre and former Agriculture Secretary, Bahuguna was appointed as Chairman of the food regulator in July 2015.

iii. He will hold the position of CEO until a new appointment is made for the position.

iv. FSSAI was instituted under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 in August 2011. It is an agency of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety. It is headquartered at New Delhi.

30. Renowned Telugu Cinema producer Edida Nageswara Rao passes away

i. Renowned Telugu Cinema Producer Edida Nageswara Rao passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana. He was 81. He had produced numerous landmark movies Telugu Cinema (also known as Tollywood).

ii. He was born on April 24, 1934 in East Godavari district of undivided Andhra Pradesh. He had started his career in film industry as a theatre artiste, dubbing artiste, film actor and later turned into a film producer by launching Poornodaya Movie Creations.

iii. His debut movie as producer was Siri Siri Muvva which was a runaway hit in 1978 and was directed by eminent director K. Vishwanath. In all he has produced 10 movies which turned out to be very popular and were big hits.

31. Shashank Manohar elected unopposed as BCCI president

i. Shashank Manohar has been elected unopposed as President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the second term.

ii. He belongs to Vidarbha Cricket Association and was elected by Special General Meeting (SGM) of BCCI. The meeting was called to elect President due to sudden demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya, who had served President for 7 months after winning election in March 2015.

iii. In this by-election, Shashank Manohar was the only candidate in the fray and was unanimously backed by all the 6 units of East Zone as it was this zone’s turn to elect President this time.

iv. Shashank Manohar by profession is a prominent lawyer. Earlier he had served as the 29th President of the BCCI from 2008 to 2011. As a cricket administrator he is known for his impeccable clean image and track record & integrity in cricketing circles.

32. Neutrino scientists win Nobel Prize for Physics

i. Japan's Takaaki Kajita and Canada's Arthur B. McDonald won the 2015 Nobel Prize for Physics for their discovery that neutrinos have mass, the award-giving body said.

ii. "The discovery has changed our understanding of the innermost workings of matter and can prove crucial to our view of the universe," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement awarding the 8 million Swedish crown ($962,000) prize.

iii. Physics is the second of this year's Nobels. The prizes were first awarded in 1901 to honour achievements in science, literature and peace in accordance with the will of dynamite inventor and business tycoon Alfred Nobel.

33. Union Government launches 2nd phase of Mission Indradhanush

i. Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the second phase of Mission Indradhanush to achieve full immunisation of children below two years. In the second phase, the week-long programme will be implemented in 352 districts of the country.

ii. Mission Indradhanush depicts 7 colours of the rainbow which aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated or are partially vaccinated against 7 vaccine preventable diseases. These 7 diseases are Diphtheria, Whooping cough, Tetanus, Polio, Tuberculosis, Measles and Hepatitis B.

iii. WHO (World Health Organisation), UNICEF, Rotary International and others are donor partners for Mission Indradhanush.

iv. The mission was launched in December 2015 on the occasion of National Good Governance Day. The first phase drive was started in April 2015 in 201 districts covering 45 lakh children and immunising 20 lakh children.

34. Jack Dorsey appointed as permanent CEO of Twitter

i. Micro blogging site Twitter has appointed its co-founder and interim chief executive officer (CEO) Jack Dorsey as permanent CEO for second time. He will succeed Dick Costolo who had resigned in June, 2015 after serving to this top post for five years.

ii. With this new appointment he will cease to be chairman of the board of Twitter but will continue to serve as a member of the board.

iii. Earlier from May 2007 to October 2008, he had served as Twitter’s president and CEO. He was also the Chairman of the board of members of Twitter since October 2008 and has been a member since May 2007.

iv. Currently, Dorsey also serves as CEO of Square, a mobile payments and financial services company co-founded by him in 2009. He also serves on the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company.

v. Twitter also has appointed Adam Bain as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company. Prior to this appointment he was Twitter’s President of global revenue and partnerships division from September 2010.

35. World Habitat Day observed on 5 October 2015

i. United Nations on 5 October 2015 celebrated World Habitat Day. It is observed on first Monday of October every year to generate awareness about the state of human settlements and the future of cities.

ii. Public Spaces for All. The theme aims to recognize good public spaces in order to enhance community cohesion and promote happiness, health and well-being of all citizens. It also seeks fostering investment, economic development and environmental sustainability.

iii. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) through Resolution 40/202 had established World Habitat Day in 1985. It was first celebrated in 1986. The purpose of this day is to reflect on the state of our cities and town along with the basic right adequate shelter for all.

iv. Each year new theme is chosen by the UN which is based on current issues relevant to the Habitat Agenda and to promote sustainable development policies for ensuring adequate shelter for all.

36. Amo doli programme launched by Odisha government in naxal-affected Rayagada district

i. To help patients and pregnant women from inaccessible areas to reach nearest hospital, the state government of Odisha on 4 September 2015 launched a healthcare programme named ‘Amo doli programme’. The programme was launched in naxal-affected Rayagada district of the state and will benefit people of 183 remote villages to reach the hospital.

ii. Under the Amo Doli programme, a stretcher has been designed as a sling to carry patients smoothly and with less effort. Each sling costs around 9000 rupees and the programme is being funded under the Integrated Action Plan which is meant for Maoist-affected districts.

iii. It will help the patients and pregnant women from inaccessible areas to reach their nearest hospital or motorable road. After reaching the nearest motorable point, the villagers can call ambulance by dialing 102 for pregnant women or 108 for emergency services to shift a patient to the nearest hospital.

iv. The slings will be kept either at village welfare committees or with ASHA workers. The programme aims at helping people residing in hilly areas where no approach road to a village exists.

v. This specially-designed sling will replace the traditional method in which people residing in remote and tribal areas of the state used to carry a patient to hospitals by converting a bed into a sling by tying rope on its both ends.

37. Odisha launched Citizen Portal to launch police complaints

i. Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik on 3 October 2015 launched a Citizen Portal, which enables the citizens to lodge their complaints online to the state police through internet.

ii. The facility will allow citizens to access information, request for different police services and complaints. They can also get a copy of FIR.

iii. Citizens can avail the service of portal to get character certificates. They can seek permission for taking out processions, rallies, protests and strikes. They can ask for permission to hold events and performances.

iv. They can use the portal for tenants verification, employees verification. They can also track the status of the complaints registered by them on the portal.

38. China won 2015 FIBA Asian Basketball Championship

i. China on 3 October 2015 won the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Championship by defeating the Philippines by 78-67 in the final. The victory has won the nation a direct qualification for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

ii. The game was organised in front of a 7000 strong capacity crowd in Changsha, Hunan province of China.

iii. In the final game, Yi Jianlian scored maximum runs and earned 15 rebounds. He was also selected as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

iv. Philippines and Iran have secured the second and third place respectively in the tournament. India ended on eighth place in the tournament.

39. INS Astradharani commissioned into Indian Navy

i. The Indian Navy commissioned the first indigenously-designed and built torpedo launch and recovery vessel INS Astradharani at the Naval Base in Visakhapatnam. This 50-metre twin-hulled warship is also the first to be built at a private yard with armament fixtures.

ii. The ship was collaboratively designed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) of DRDO, Shoft Shipyard and IIT Kharagpur. The design of the ship was tested at the facilities at the NSTL. It is an advanced replacement for INS Astravahini which was decommissioned on 17 July 2015.

iii. INS Astradharani will be used to carry out the technical trials of underwater weapons and systems developed by NSTL. The ship has a complement of two officers and 27 sailors and can carry 13 scientists.

iv. The catamaran hull configuration in the ship significantly reduces its power requirement. With a length of 50 m, the vessel can undertake multiple trials during a single sortie and is fully equipped with all modern amenities that warships have.

40. Union Government launches KISAN Project and Hailstorm App for crop damage

i. Union Government has launched KISAN (Crop Insurance using Space Technology and Geoinformatics) Project to benefit farmers. This project will favour use of satellites, drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) and other geospatial technology to collect crop yield data and to assess damage from natural calamities.

ii. Drones will help to take high resolution imagery of crop assessment. It will be collated with satellite imaging and other geospatial technology to get accurate data.

iii. This data will enable crop insurance companies to give proper compensation to affected farmers. The experiment will help develop index-based data for insurance companies.

iv. It will help farmers, government agencies and insurance companies to move away from traditional crop insurance claim calculated on the basis of crop cutting experiments. It will provide timely and accurate data for insurance claims and make payment of claims to farmers without any delay.

v. Union Government also launched Hailstorm App, an Android mobile phone application to assess large-scale damage to crops from hail. Farmers by using this application on their smart phones can immediately send photos of their crop damage due to hailstorm to officials concerned for immediate relief.

41. 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar

i. Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar were on 7 October 2015 jointly awarded with the 2015 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for having mapped how cells repair damaged DNA and safeguard the genetic information at a molecular level.

ii. All the three laureates will share the prize money of 8 million Swedish kronor equally. Tomas Lindahl is from the Francis Crick Institute, UK; Paul Modrich is from Duke University School of Medicine, USA and Aziz Sancar belongs to University of North Carolina School of Medicine, USA.

iii. Their work provided fundamental knowledge of how a living cell functions and how it is used for the development of new cancer treatments.

iv. Aziz Sancar mapped Nucleotide Excision Repair, the mechanism that cells use to repair UV damage to DNA. People born with defects in this repair system will develop skin cancer if they are exposed to sunlight. The cell also utilises nucleotide excision repair to correct defects.

v. Paul Modrich demonstrated how the cell corrects errors that occur when DNA is replicated during cell division. This mechanism, Mismatch Repair, reduces the error frequency during DNA replication by about a thousand fold.

42. India, Germany signed 125 million Euros Loan Agreement to fund two projects under Green Energy Corridor

i. Government of India and Federal Republic of Germany (KFW) on 5 October 2015 signed two loan agreements worth 125 million Euros for financing two projects under the Green Energy Corridor programme. These two projects are in Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

ii. Germany will fund 57 million Euros for projects in Himachal Pradesh and 68 million Euros for Andhra Pradesh.

iii. Green Energy Corridor programme seeks to facilitate the flow of renewable energy into the national grid. In other words, it is aimed at synchronising electricity produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, with conventional power stations in the grid.

iv. In April 2013 during the second Indo-German Government Consultations in Berlin, Germany committed developmental and technical assistance of 1 billion euro for the project. Renewable Energy is one of the key areas of India-German partnership. It was mentioned in the Joint Statement of Hannover in April 2015.

43. IMF released World Economic Outlook October 2015 Update

i. International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 6 October 2015 released World Economic Outlook (WEO) October 2015 Update titled Adjusting to Lower Commodity Prices.

ii. The report projects global growth for 2015 at 3.1 percent, which is 0.3 percentage point lower than in 2014, and 0.2 percentage point below the forecasts in the July 2015 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update.

iii. India’s growth is expected to strengthen from 7.3 percent 2015 and last year to 7.5 percent in 2016. Also, Domestic demand in India is projected to remain strong.

iv. In advanced economies, contagion risks from Greece related events to other euro area economies, while lower than earlier in the year, remain a concern, as do risks from protracted weak demand and low inflation.

44. RBI relaxed norms of FPI investment in Government Securities

i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 6 October 2015 relaxed the norms of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) of government debt and also announced higher investment limits in rupee terms in government securities with a view to bring in an additional 1.2 lakh crore rupees by March 2018.

ii. The RBI fixed the FPI investment limits in rupee terms and raised the limits in phases to reach 5 percent of the outstanding stock by March 2018.

iii. The RBI issued these directions in perusal of the announcement made in the fourth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for the year 2015-16 issued on 29 September 2015, wherein a Medium Term Framework (MTF) for FPI limits in Government securities was announced to provide a more predictable regime.

45. Utkal starts 'Project Saksham' to empower rural women 

i. In its bid to empower rural women, Utkal Alumina International Limited (UAIL), a unit of Aditya Birla Group, has launched a unique project for the welfare of communities living in the vicinity of its project area in Odisha. 

ii. Christened 'Project Saksham', the new initiative involves an advanced training-cum-garment manufacturing unit at Tikiri in Rayagada district to help unemployed rural women engage in a sustainable livelihood and become self-reliant, said Vijay Sapra, Unit Head and President, UAIL. 

iv. Aiming at speedy inclusive development, the project imparts training to 38 women from the underprivileged sections living in villages surrounding the plant. With 30 industrial sewing machines and four specialised machines, these women have already received a six month training on operation and product development, including quality control, to cater to the market demand, a company statement said. 

v. Participants learnt basic machine operations, cutting and stitching of fabric to make petticoats, tops, kurtis, churidars, salwar kameezes, skirts, shirts and trousers. 

vi. Enthused by these achievements in market linkage, the women are now developing their skills in making designer clothes. After adequate finesse in making designer clothes is achieved, market linkage would be facilitated with Boyanika and similar large-scale garment trading units 

46. 2016 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Conference to be held in New Delhi

i. The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Conference 2016 will be held in New Delhi from 8 January to 10 January 2016.

ii. The PBD Conference 2016 will be organised with an objective for developing a new paradigm for engagement with the Diaspora over the next decade.

iii. The 2016 PBD Conference will be an attempt to do an expert study on various issues concerning the Diaspora and areas of mutual benefit to India and to them, while the previous PBDs focused only on meetings with the Diaspora.

iv. The traditional PBD convention will be held every alternative year, with the partner State.  Such a convention would be held in 2017. Beside this, the Union Government also announced that it will organise the 9th Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (RPBD) at Los Angeles California, USA on the 14 November and 15 November 2015.

47. Sergey Karjakin wins 2015 World Cup Chess Championship

i. Sergey Karjakin of Russia has won 2015 World Cup Chess Championship held at Baku, Azerbaijan.

ii. In the final match he defeated Peter Svidler (Russia) by 6-4 score. The title of this championship was decided in the tie-breakers after both competitors had won two classical games each.

iii. He is Ukrainian-born Russian chess grandmaster and chess prodigy.

iv. He holds the record for being world’s youngest Chess Grandmaster at the age young of 12 years and 7 months.

v. Karjakin has won the World Rapid Chess Championship (2012), twice Norway Chess Tournament (2013, 2014) and Corus Chess Tournament (2009).

48. Svetlana Alexievich Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

i. Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarussian journalist and prose writer, won the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time,” the Swedish Academy announced.

ii. Ms. Alexievich, 67, is the 14th woman to win the literature prize. Born to a Belarussian father and a Ukrainian mother, in what is now Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, Ms. Alexievich is best known for giving voice to survivors of the Second World War, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan that lasted from 1979 to 1989, and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986.

iii. Because of her criticism of the regime in Belarus, a former Soviet republic, Ms. Alexievich has periodically lived abroad, in Italy, France, Germany and Sweden, among other places.

iv. The prize of 8 million Swedish kronor (around $960,000) was announced in Stockholm by Sara Danius, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize.

49. Hoesung Lee elected as Chairman of IPCC

i. Hoesung Lee of South Korea has been elected Chairman of Inter-governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC). He was elected in on-going 42nd session IPCC in Dubrovnik, Croatia by 78 votes to 56 in a run-off election with Jean-Pascale van Ypersele from Belgium.

ii. Lee succeeds environmentalist R.K. Pachauri of India who had resigned following the sexual abuse scandal in which he was allegedly involved.

iii. Presently, he professor in the economics of climate change, energy and sustainable development. Previously he had served as one of the Vice-Chairs of the IPCC. He has been associated with IPCC in various capacities including as Co-Chair of Working Group III for Second Assessment Report of 1992.

iv. He is also the founding president of the Korea Energy Economic Institute. He also has served as President of International Association for Energy Economics. He had also had served on various boards including as a member of the ADB President’s advisory board, executive member of the Korean Academy of Environmental Sciences etc.

v. IPCC is the leading international body for the assessment of climate change.

50. SC refuses to allow voluntary use of Aadhaar card for welfare schemes

i. Supreme Court has refused to allow some states and statutory bodies like RBI, SEBI to voluntary use of Aadhaar card for welfare schemes other than PDS and LPG schemes. Ruling in this regard was given by SC bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar and made it clear modification in this matter will be heard by a larger constitution bench of SC.

ii. This order was given by SC on applications of Union Government, RBI, IRDA, SEBI, TRAI, Pension Fund Regulatory Authority and states like Gujarat and Jharkhand.

iii. They have pitched strongly for voluntary use of Aadhaar cards for providing benefits of various schemes, other than PDS and LPG for the aged and the weaker sections. The applications in this case are being transferred to a constitution bench in order to decide on issues like right to privacy.

iv. Earlier in August 2015, SC had ruled that Aadhaar card will remain optional for availing welfare schemes of the government. It had clearly mentioned that authorities will not use Aadhaar card for the purposes other than PDS and LPG distribution system.