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Current Affairs - 24 October 2020

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1. United Nations Day observed on 24 October
  • October 24 has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948. The United Nations officially came into being after the signatory documents which includes the five permanent members of the Security Council.
  • The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945. The year 2020 marks the 75th year of the UN's existence.
  • The theme for 2020 is 'The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism’.
Foot Notes:
About United Nations:
Headquarters: New York, United States
Founded: 24 October 1945
Secretary General: António Guterres
 
2. ECI constitutes committee to examine issues concerning expenditure limit
  • Election Commission has constituted a committee comprising Sh. Harish Kumar, Ex. IRS and DG Sh. Umesh Sinha, Secretary General and DG (Expenditure) to examine the issues concerning expenditure limit for a candidate in view of increase in number of electorsand rise in Cost Inflation Index and other factors. 
  • The need to set up this committee was felt in view of the increase in the number of electors and the rise in the Cost Inflation Index. It will submit its report within 120 days of its constitution.
Foot Notes:
About Election Commission of India:
Chief Election Commissioner of India: Sunil Arora.
Election Commission of India Headquarters: New Delhi
 
3. Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh bags top position for implementation of PMGSY
  • Himachal Pradesh has secured second position at the national level for construction of roads under PMGSY. Union Ministry of Rural Development has declared the list of top performing 30 districts in the country for implementing the PMGSY programme.
  • Mandi district has received top position for constructing roads under PMGSY of maximum length in 2020-21. Six more districts of Himachal Pradesh have also secured position among top 30 best performing districts, which include Chamba, Shimla, Kangra, Una, Sirmour, Hamirpur and Solan.
  • The state has also improved its performance under PMGSY programme by constructing 1104 Kilometres roads this year from April till date. PMGSY is a programme funded by the Union government to connect habitations having population of more than 250 in the state.
Foot Notes:
About Himachal Pradesh:
Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya
Chief Minister: Jai Ram Thakur
Capitals: Shimla(Summer) Dharamshala(Winter)
 
4. October 22 will always remain a black day, says J&K LG Manoj Sinha
  • In Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha said that October 22 will always remain a black day.On October 22, thousands of tribal invaders from Pakistan crossed into Kashmir overrunning outposts of Hari Singh’s state forces in Muzaffarabad, Domel and other places on the road to Srinagar.
  • The Kashmir forces were too small in number. Plus, the Muslim soldiers, who were in equal numbers with the Dogras in the force, joined hands with the raiders.
  • Pakistan maintained it had nothing to do with this invasion, but Indian military histories say the invasion was planned two months ahead by the Pakistan Army, and codenamed Operation Gulmarg.
Foot Notes:
About J&K:
Capitals: Jammu (Winter), Srinagar (Summer)

5. Indian diplomat Dr Neena Malhotra appointed as next Ambassador to Republic of San Marino
  • Indian diplomat Dr Neena Malhotra has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of San Marino.
  • According to an official statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Dr Malhotra, 1992-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, will have the residence in Rome. Presently, she is serving as the Ambassador of India to the Republic of Italy.
Foot Notes:
About Republic of San Marino:
Capital: San Marino.
Currency: Euro
 
6. Mars is losing its atmosphere to outer space at a faster rate than Earth
  • Mars is losing its atmosphere to the outer space at a faster rate than Earth, a new study based on the observations made by ISRO’s MOM and NASA’s MAVEN missions has suggested. The loss rate, however, is altered by the changes in the upper atmospheric temperature. 
  • All terrestrial planets in the solar system — Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars — constantly lose their atmosphere to outer space and the loss rate is determined by the size of the planet. As Mars is smaller than Earth, it is losing its atmosphere to the outer space at a faster rate.
  • Findings based on the Mars Orbital Mission and NASA’s MAVEN have further suggested that the global dust storms that envelop the red planet may be speeding up the planet's atmosphere loss rate, according to a statement released on ISRO’s website.
Foot Notes:
About ISRO:
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Founder: Vikram Sarabhai
Founded: 15 August 1969
Director: Kailasavadivoo Sivan

7. War Memorial To Honour 1962 War Hero Subedar Joginder Singh Inaugurated At Arunachal Pradesh's Bum La
  • An war memorial has been built at Arunachal Pradesh's Bum La in the honour of Subedar Joginder Singh of the 1st Battalion of the Sikh Regiment who had been conferred with the highest gallantry honour of 'Param Vir Chakra' for his role in the eastern theatre during the 1962 India-China war.
  • The war memorial was inaugurated on Friday (23 October), coinciding with the date in 1962 when the Battle of Tongpen La (Bum La) had taken place. Singh had made the supreme sacrifice at the same location.
  • The memorial was inaugurated by Singh's daughter Kulwant Kaur in the presence of Arunachal Chief Minister (CM) Pema Khandu.
Foot Notes:
About Arunachal Pradesh:
Capital: Itanagar (Executive Branch)
Tree: Hollong
Chief Minister: Pema Khandu

8. UP cops to converse in regional dialects also on 112 helpline number
  • In a novel initiative of Uttar Pradesh government, police personnel will also converse in regional dialects on 112 police Help Line to the convenience of the rural population of the state.
  • As part of this scheme, it has been decided to include Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Braj, Bundeli and other local dialects in the system.
  • The communication officers serving at the emergency services have been specially trained for this purpose and they can speak in many dialects including pahari and Bhojpuri.
Foot Notes:
About UP:
Governor: Anandiben Patel
Capital: Lucknow
Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
 
9. Bharat biotech’s Covaxin gets DCGI nod for phase 3 clinical trial
  • The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given approval to ‘Covaxin’ for phase 3 clinical trials with certain conditions. The indigenous Covid-19 vaccine has been developed by the Hyderabad-based firm Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
  • The Subject Expert Committee which functions under the drug regulator Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has given approval for the last phase of clinical trials with certain conditions. In the Third Phase of trials, which is proposed to begin in the first week of next month, the potential vaccine candidate will be tested on over 28 thousand people aged 18 years and above.
  • These tests will be conducted across 10 states and 19 sites including Delhi, Mumbai, Patna and Lucknow among others. Besides, Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN, another indigenously developed vaccine candidate by Zydus Cadila Limited is also in Phase -2 of human clinical trials.
Foot Notes:
About Bharat Biotech:
Founder: Dr. Krishna M. Ella
Founded: 1996
Executive director: Dr. V Krishna Mohan
Headquarters location: Hyderabad
 
10. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu pays tributes to Ashfaqulla Khan on his birth anniversary
  • Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu paid tribute to the revolutionary freedom fighter Ashfaqulla Khan on his birth anniversary. The young freedom fighter is most widely known for the Kakori train robbery in 1925 and subsequent arrest with fellow Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) leader Ram Prasad Bismil.
  • Ten other revolutionaries, along with Bismil and Khan, had conducted an armed robbery in the Kakori Express that was going from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow. Bismil and Khan were sentenced to death by hanging, along with Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh.
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