Current Affairs - 20 October 2020
1. World Statistics Day observed on 20 October
-
The World Statistics Day is observed globally on 20 October. The celebration of World Statistics Day 2020 is a global collaborative endeavour, organized under the guidance of the United Nations Statistical Commission.
-
At its 41st Session in February 2010, the United Nations Statistical Commission proposed celebrating 20 October 2010 as World Statistics Day (Decision 41/109).
-
2020 theme “Connecting the world with data we can trust.”
2. India has been ranked at 4th position, with a score of 39.7 in the Asia Power Index 2020
-
India stands as the fourth most powerful country in Asia but falls just short of the major power threshold in 2020, a study showed.
-
According to the Sydney-based Lowy Institute's Asia Power Index for 2020, although India is the fourth most powerful nation in the Asia-Pacific following the US, China and Japan, it stops short of attaining the "major power" status in the said year (2020).
3. India invites British government to explore business opportunities in North East
-
The Development of North East Region minister, Dr.Jitendra Singh invited the UK government and the private sector to explore various forms of business opportunities present in India’s North-East Region.
-
Dr. Jitendra Singh during a virtual meeting with the officials of the British High Commission stated that both India and UK are two vibrant democracies that enjoy mutually rewarding business relationships. He added that both countries can work together in exploiting and exploring new opportunities in the North East region.
Foot Notes:
About UK:
Prime Minister: Boris Johnson
Capital: London
Currency: Pound sterling
About UK:
Prime Minister: Boris Johnson
Capital: London
Currency: Pound sterling
4. India successfully test-fires SANT Missile off Odisha coast
-
Indian successfully test-fired the Stand-off-Anti-tank (SANT) missile off the Odisha coast on October 19, 2020.
-
The recently tested missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). Reportedly, the missile will have both Lock-on after launch and Lock-on before launch capability.
Foot Notes:
About DRDO:
Founded: 1958
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairman: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy
About DRDO:
Founded: 1958
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairman: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy
Chief of Air Staff: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria
5. Australia will participate in Malabar naval exercise with India, US and Japan
-
Australia will participate in the Malabar naval exercise next month involving India, the US and Japan that will bring the four key defence partners and democracies in the region together, demonstrating their collective resolve to support an open and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
-
This year, the exercise has been planned on a ‘non-contact-at sea’ format.
-
The Malabar series of Naval exercises started in 1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy-US Navy exercise and Japan joined the Naval exercise in 2015.
Foot Notes:
About Australia:
Prime Minister: Scott Morrison
Capital: Canberra
Currency: Australian dollar
About Australia:
Prime Minister: Scott Morrison
Capital: Canberra
Currency: Australian dollar
About Japan:
Prime Minister: Yoshihide Suga
Capital: Tokyo
Currency: Japanese yen
Prime Minister: Yoshihide Suga
Capital: Tokyo
Currency: Japanese yen
6. India's agricultural exports rise by 14.8 % during first five months of current fiscal
-
India’s agricultural exports have recovered from a pandemic-induced decline. Exports of major farm products stood at 53,000 crore rupees in the five-month period between April and August 2020-21, a rise of 14.8 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.
-
During the April to August period, farmers gained from higher exports of rice, wheat and sugar. Exports of basmati rice, a big-ticket export item among cereals, during April-August rose 8.2 percent from the year-ago period, while the value of non-basmati rice exports grew 91.3 percent.
Foot Notes:
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare: Shri Narendra Singh Tomar
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare: Shri Narendra Singh Tomar
7. IIT Madras startup Stellapps launches ‘mooPay’ for dairy farmers in Rajasthan
-
Stellapps, the digital technology solutions provider has recently announced the launch of a fully-automated direct payment platform ‘mooPay’ for dairy farmers in Rajasthan.
-
Moreover, mooPay is the first-of-its-kind platform developed for dairies and dairy farmers.
-
This IIT-Madras incubated dairy-tech startup and World Economic Forum’s technology pioneer, Stellapps, launched mooPay in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan in the presence of Bilwara Dairy Union (Saras Dairy) Chairman, Ramlal Jat, LK Jain, Advisor to the Union, and Asha Sharma, MD of the Dairy.
Foot Notes:
About Rajasthan:
Governor: Kalraj Mishra
Capital: Jaipur
Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot
About Rajasthan:
Governor: Kalraj Mishra
Capital: Jaipur
Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot
8. NITI Aayog to establish Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Centre with AWS
-
In order to address societal challenges through digital innovation, NITI Aayog announced the establishment of a Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Centre, CIC with Amazon Web Services, AWS. It is the first of its kind in India.
-
This CIC is part of the AWS CIC Global Programme which provides an opportunity for government agencies, non-profits and educational institutions, to come together on pressing challenges, apply design thinking, test new ideas, and access the technology expertise of AWS.
Foot Notes:
About NITI Aayog:
CEO: Amitabh Kant
Formed: 1 January 2015
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairperson: Narendra Modi
About NITI Aayog:
CEO: Amitabh Kant
Formed: 1 January 2015
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairperson: Narendra Modi
9. Nitin Gadkari lays foundation of country’s 1st multimodal logistics park in Assam
-
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari virtually laid the foundation stone for the first-ever multi-modal logistic park of the country in Assam. The 694 crore rupees park at Bongaigaon district will provide direct connectivity to air, road, rail and waterways to the people of Assam.
-
It will be developed under the Bharatmala Pariyojana of the Centre.
-
The fund for the multimodal logistics park would be spent in 3 components - road and railway connectivity as well as building and infrastructure work.
Foot Notes:
About Assam:
Capital: Dispur
Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
Governor: Professor Jagdish Mukhi
About Assam:
Capital: Dispur
Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
Governor: Professor Jagdish Mukhi
10. Aishwarya Sridhar becomes first Indian woman to win Wildlife Photographer of the Year award
-
Making India proud, Aishwarya Sridhar became the first Indian to win the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. The announcement was made at the Natural History Museum in London.
-
It is the 56th year of the prestigious award.
-
Aishwarya Sridhar's photo won among 50,000 entries from over 80 countries across the world. Only 100 images were shortlisted and she won the award for her photograph in the Behaviour Invertebrates category.
-
She is the first and youngest girl to win this prestigious award from India in the Adult category. The award winners were announced at the Natural History Museum in London.
3 likes |
1 comment