Current Affairs - 18 October 2020

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1. BrahMos missile test-fired from destroyer INS Chennai in Arabian Sea

On October 18, 2020, the Defence Research Development Organization test fired the BRAHMOS missile from INS Chennai successfully. The missile was test fired from an indigenously built stealth destroyer INS Chennai. The missile hit a target in Arabian Sea
BRAHMOS is a supersonic missile. It was jointly developed by India and Russia. The major classification of the missiles is Cruise Missiles and Ballistic Missiles.
The Ballistic Missiles are those missiles that have a ballistic trajectory. The currently operational ballistic missiles in the Indian Defence Systems are Prithvi I, Agni I, Prithvi II, Agni II and Dhanush.

Foot Notes:

About DRDO:

Founded: 1958

Headquarters: New Delhi

Chairman: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy

2. India Successfully conducts night trial of nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile

India successfully conducted a night trial of the indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range in Odisha.
The state-of-the-art surface-to-surface missile blasted off around 7.30 pm from launch complex 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore and the trial was successful.
The last trial of Prithvi-2, carried out after sunset on September 23 from the same base, was also successful. The trial of the missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was carried out from a mobile launcher.

Foot Notes:

About Odisha:

Capital: Bhubaneswar

Governor: Ganeshi Lal

Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik

3. Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates Food and Agri Week 2020

Union Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, the Food Processing Industries Minister inaugurated the India-International Food & Agri Week virtually. The focus of the Food and Agro Tech will be on the use and benefit of the technology in the field of food and agriculture sector. India - International Food & Agri Week is being organized from 16th to October 22 2020.
CII in association with the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, Ministry of Fisheries & Animal Husbandry and Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, is organizing its first-ever Virtual CII Agro & Food Tech: India - International Food & Agri on CII HIVE – virtual platform with an intent to create a platform for the benefit of the stakeholders involved in the agriculture & allied sectors.

Foot Notes:

About CII(Confederation of Indian Industry):

President: Uday Kotak

Headquarters location: New Delhi

Founded: 1895

4. CM Yogi launches 'Mission Shakti' campaign in UP for safety of women

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath asserted that culprits of crimes against women will be punished swiftly as there will be a separate room now for women complainants in 1,535 police stations across the state.
Adityanath made these remarks while launching "Mission Shakti" programme for women security in Uttar Pradesh. Young girls demonstrated self-defence techniques during the event.
"To pay homage to the victim of a very unfortunate incident, I decided to kick-off the Mission Shakti campaign from Balrampur and I am extremely delighted to launch this programme. Mission Shakti aims at guaranteeing security and respect for every woman in the state," he said.

Foot Notes:

About Uttar Pradesh:

Governor: Anandiben Patel

Capital: Lucknow

Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath

5. India, Chile hold first joint commission meeting

India and Chile held their first joint commission meeting and agreed to add new momentum to their relations in a wide range of fields including trade and commerce, agriculture, health and social security, defence and space.
The meeting held virtually was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chilean counterpart Andres Allamand Zavala.
Both sides noted that the Joint Commission was a significant development in India - Chile relations, being the first institutionalized dialogue between the two countries at the level of Foreign Ministers.

Foot Notes:

About Chile:

Capital: Santiago

President: Sebastián Piñera

Currency: Chilean peso

6. New Zealand's Ardern wins 2nd term in election landslide

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won a second term in office in an election landslide of historic proportions.
With most votes counted, Ardern's liberal Labour Party was winning 49% of the vote compared to 27% for its main challenger, the conservative National Party.
In a victory speech in front of hundreds of cheering supporters in Auckland, Ardern said her party had gotten more support from New Zealanders that at any time in at least 50 years.

Foot Notes:

About New Zealand:

Prime Minister: Jacinda Ardern

Capital: Wellington

7. Nine States, Union Territories selected for upgradation to KISCE

Nine States and Union Territories have been selected for upgradation to Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE). The States and UTs include Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
The Sports Ministry said, the centres have been selected based on their past performances, quality of infrastructure, management and sports culture in the State.
Earlier this year, the Ministry had identified a total of 14 centres to be upgraded to Khelo India State Centre of Excellence. The overall number now stands at 24 KISCEs from 23 States and UTs. The assistance to these centres will be provided in the form of bridging the gaps in sports equipment, high performance managers, coaches, sports scientists and technical support.

Foot Notes:

Sports Minister: Kiren Rijiju

8. All India Bar Association demands action against Andhra CM for letter against Justice Ramana

The All India Bar Association (AIBA) urged the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy for making "scandalous" allegations against Justice NV Ramana, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court and judges of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
AIBA chairperson Dr Adish C Aggarwala, while condemning the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister for his October 6 letter to the CJI SA Bobde, said the "scurrilous and scandalous" remarks against Justice Ramana, the next in line to become the Chief Justice of India, and judges of Andhra Pradesh High Court have "shaken the independence of the judiciary".

9. India ranks 94th among 107 countries in Global Hunger Index

India ranked 94 among 107 nations in the Global Hunger Index 2020 and is in the ''serious'' hunger category with experts blaming poor implementation processes, lack of effective monitoring, siloed approach in tackling malnutrition and poor performance by large states behind the low ranking.
Last year, India''s rank was 102 out of 117 countries.
The neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan too are in the ''serious'' category but ranked higher than India in this year's hunger index. While Bangladesh ranked 75, Myanmar and Pakistan are in the 78th and 88th position.
Nepal in 73rd and Sri Lanka in 64th position are in ''moderate'' hunger category, the report showed.

10. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurates and lays foundation stones for 16 NH projects in Andhra Pradesh

Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 16 National Highways projects with a total length of 1411 kms worth Rs 15,592 crore in Andhra Pradesh.
The event was presided by the Chief Minister Shri Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy. Union MoSs Gen (Retd) Dr V K Singh and Shri G Kishan Reddy, Ministers from the State, Members of Parliaments, MLAs and senior officers from the Centre and the State. Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari said that the length of National Highways in Andhra Pradesh before May 2014 was 4193 Km, which has now increased to 6860 Km.