Current Affairs of The Day 12th October
National News
- Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited emerged as India’s wealthiest for the 13th straight year as his net worth swelled to $88.7 billion.
- Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has Inaugurated first Pirul Power project for generating electricity using Pirul (dry pine needles) at Chakon Dhanari village in Dunda block of Uttarkashi district.
- The Government has Set Up a Panel to Vet Chinese Foreign Investment Proposals. This panel will be headed by Union Home Secretary.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated 44 bridges made by Border Road Organisation (BRO) across seven States/Union Territories, via video-conferencing.
The foundation Stone for Nechiphu Tunnel on the road to Tawang has also be laid during this event. - Border Road Organisation built India’s longest (360 metres) Steel Bridge on Manali-Leh Highway, over the Bhaga River.
- Prime minister Narendra Modi will release a commemorative coin of Rs. 100 in honour of Vijaya Raje Scindia. Indian Political Personality Vijaya Raje Scindia is known as the Rajmata of Gwalior.
- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has launched the first of its kind “tree transportation policy” to preserve trees for clean Delhi. Apart from that, the state government also gave its approval for the installation of the world’s second Smog Tower at Connaught place.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launched the physical distribution of property cards under the Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas- SVAMITVA scheme on October 11, 2020.
- International Business Machines (IBM) has collaborated with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) among girl students to inspire them.
- The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and KPIT Technologies successfully ran trials of India’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell (HFC) prototype car running on an indigenously developed fuel cell stack.
- Goa Government has tied up with India Posts to enrol 11000 farmers in the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme.
- India’s all eight beaches recommend by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change have been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag certification in a single attempt.
- Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi bowed to Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan and Nanaji Deshmukh, on their Jayanti.
- A total of 322 projects in a length of 12,413 km have been awarded and 2921 km has been constructed under Bharatmala Pariyojana till August 2020.
Bharatmala Pariyojana is an umbrella program for the highways sector envisaged by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. - The Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Pune to establish supercomputing facilities.
- A fine of Rs 50 lakh has been imposed on the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) for not following dust pollution control norms at its construction site near Vikas Sadan, INA.
- Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that Chandigarh was among the worst performers in COVID-19 grant utilisation.
International News
- The Navy is scheduled to hold another Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with USS Ronald Reagan on October 12.
- 18-year-old girl Chaitanya Venkateswaran won the ‘High Commissioner for the Day’ contest organised by the mission in the run-up to the International Day of the Girl Child and she became the British high commissioner to India for a day.
- India has ranked 155th in the Health Spending Index 2020 released by Oxfam.
- According to a study published in the medical journal Lancet, India is likely to become the third-largest economy in the world by 2050.
- The Israeli government unanimously approved the country’s recently signed normalisation agreement with the United Arab Emirates.
- The New Zealand government signed a deal to buy 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer Inc and Germany’s BioNTech.
National and International Appointments
Youtuber Bhuvan Bam has been appointed by Myntra as its first digital Ambassador.
Awards and Honor
- Malayalam poet Ezhacheri Ramachandran has won Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Literary Award 2020 (44th edition) for his collection of poems Oru Virginian Veyilkaalam.
- Indian Navy Ships Sahyadri and Kora adjudged as Best Ships in Fleet Award Function (FAF), 2020.
- Nobel Prize 2020 in Economic Sciences has been awarded to Paul R Milgrom and Robert B Wilson for improving auction theory and inventing new auction formats, benefiting sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world.
- The Vera List Center for Art and Politics has named Avni Sethi as the recipient of the Jane Lombard Prize for Art and Social Justice for 2020-22 for her project Conflictorium, a museum of conflict in Mirzapur, Ahmedabad.
Books and Authors
GBS Sindhu, a former Special Secretary of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s external intelligence agency authored a book named “The Khalistan Conspiracy: A Former R&AW Officer Untravels the Path to 1984, published by HarperCollins.
Obituaries and Retirement
- Former Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court K K Usha has passed away recently.
- Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Karnataka Bank Ltd. Anantha Krishna has died recently.
- Noted Music Composer Rajan passed away.
- Former Indian footballer Carlton Chapman passed away.
Banking News (Domestic and International Banks)
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended borrowing limit for banks under the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) by March 31, 2021. (MSF rate – 4.25%)
The maximum loan amount which can be borrowed by banks under MSF is 3% of NDTL (Net Demand and Time Liability). - A team from the EXIM Bank of India signed a Line of Credit Agreement for USD 400 million with the Maldives Ministry of Finance to fund the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP).
Sports
- Iga Swiatek from Poland has won Women Singles Title of 2020 French Open by defeating American Sofia Kenin.
- Rafael Nadal from Spain has won the Men Singles Title 2020 French Open by defeating Serbia’s Novac Djokovic.
- Marcedes team player Lewis Hamilton from Britain has won the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix Title held at Germany.
- Nihal Sarin from India has won the Chess.com’s 2020 Junior Speed Online Chess Championship by
defeating Russia’s Alexey Sarana. - The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced upcoming Women’s T20 Challenge will be played from 4th November to 9th November in the UAE.
Important Days
- 9th October is celebrated as the Indian Foreign Service day.
- National Postal Day is celebrated on 10th October.
- International Day of the Girl Child is observed on 11th October.
Theme 2020- My Voice, Our Equal Future. - World Day Against the Death Penalty is observed globally on 10th October.
- World Arthritis Day is observed globally on 12th October.
- International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction will be observed on 13 October 2020.