Daily Current Affairs- 19th October 2016

Dear Readers, we are presenting Daily Current Affairs for All Exams- 19th October 2016.

Daily Current Affairs- 18th October 2016

Dear Readers, we are presenting Daily Current Affairs for All Exams- 18th October 2016.

1. PM Modi inaugurates 3 hydropower projects in Himachal Pradesh

1. Prime Minster Narendra Modi on 18 October 2016 inaugurated three hydropower projects of 1752 MW capacities in Himachal Pradesh. Inauguration of new hydropower projects will change economic horizon of Himachal Pradesh. 

2. The three hydropower projects are

• 540 Megawatt generation capacity third phase of Parbati hydro power project of NHPC in Kullu district

• 412 Megawatt Rampur project of Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd in Shimla

• 800 Megawatt Kol Dam power project in Bilaspur district

3. Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Power Minister Piyush Goyal were present on the occasion.

4. This was Modi’s maiden visit to the hill state after becoming Prime Minister.

2. Ashok Leyland unveils India's first indigenous electric bus

1. Ashok Leyland Ltd unveiled its Circuit Series electric bus. They are India’s first such indigenously made vehicle.

2. The buses are designed and engineered in India. They are specifically developed for Indian road conditions.

3. The zero-emission vehicle will be offered on multiple platforms and enjoys a subsidy under the government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme. It can travel 150 km on a single charge.

3. Saina Nehwal appointed member of IOC's Athletes' Commission

1. Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal was appointed as a member of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Athletes' Commission. Saina received a letter to the effect from the IOC President Thomas Bach on 17 October 2016.

2. The letter read it is great pleasure to appoint you in consultation with the Chair, as Member of the Athletes’ Commission. This member can be termed as a rare honour for the Indian sportsperson.

3. The Athletes' Commission is chaired by Angela Ruggiero and it comprises nine vice presidents and 10 other members. Saina's appointment to the prestigious panel has come just when she is set to resume practice after recovering from a knee injury.

4. India completes nuclear triad with INS Arihant

1. India completed its nuclear triad by inducting country's first indigenously-constructed nuclear submarine INS Arihant into service.

2. INS Arihant was formally commissioned by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba in August 2016.

3. INS Arihant is the lead ship of India's Arihant class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The 6000 tonne vessel was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre in the port city of Visakhapatnam.

5. Irom Sharmila floats new political party

1. The party, People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance ( PRJA), will contest the Assembly polls in Manipur in 2017.

2. Making the announcement at the Imphal Press Club, Ms Sharmila said she would contest from two constituencies - Thoubal and Khurai. While Khurai is her home constituency, Thoubal is constituency of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

3. She will be the co-convenor of the party, which includes a number of activists and entrepreneurs. Academician Erendro Leichombam is the convenor of the party.

6. Prime Minister Modi launches national SC/ST hub

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the National SC/ST Hub here to provide support to entrepreneurs from the community.

2. With an initial outlay of Rs 490 crore, the hub will work towards strengthening market access/linkage, monitoring, capacity building, leveraging financial support schemes and sharing industry—best practices.

3. It will also enable central public sector enterprises to fulfill the procurement target set by the government.

4. The Public Procurement Policy 2012 stipulates that 4 per cent of procurement done by ministries, departments and CPSEs will have to be from enterprises owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs.

5. The MSME sector, including the service segment, is a key driver of India’s economic growth as it contributes nearly 38 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs close to 11 Crore people.

6. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech had announced setting up of the National SC/ST Hub under the MSME Ministry.

7. Amandeep Singh Gill appointed as India’s Ambassador to UN Conference on Disarmament

1. Senior IFS officer Amandeep Singh Gill was appointed as the India’s Ambassador to the UN Conference on Disarmament, Geneva. 

2. He is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of 1992 batch. He had represented India on the UN Secretary General’s Panel on Missiles from 2007 to 2008.

3. Besides, he was also member of the Indian delegation to the Conference on Disarmament during the negotiations on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

8. Eminent writer C Radhakrishnan wins Mathrubhumi Literary Award 2016

1. Eminent writer C Radhakrishnan was selected for the prestigious Mathrubhumi Literary Award for the year 2016. He was selected by a panel chaired by novelist M Mukundan in recognition of his contribution to the field of literature.

Daily Current Affairs- 17th October 2016

Dear Readers, we are presenting Daily Current Affairs for All Exams- 17th October 2016.

Daily Current Affairs- 16th October 2016

Dear Readers, we are presenting Daily Current Affairs for All Exams- 16th October 2016.

1. Saraswati River existed: KS Valdiya committee
1. The K.S. Valdiya committee in its report submitted to the Union Water Resources Ministry has concluded that Saraswati River so far considered mythical, existed.
2. The committee comprising of geologists, archaeologists and hydrologists say that they have found evidence of the course of the river Saraswati.
3. Earlier, River Saraswati was considered as a mythological river and has been mentioned in the ancient Hindu scriptures like the Rig Veda, Ramayana, Mahabharata and others giving credence that it existed during those times.

Daily Current Affairs for All Exams- 15th October 2016

Dear Readers, we are presenting Daily Current Affairs for All Exams- 15th October 2016.

1. India decided to eliminate potent greenhouse gas HFC-23 by 2030

1. India announced its decision to eliminate the . HCF-23 gas. The decision was made in line to its commitment to combat the threat emanating from climate-damaging HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons).

2. The announcement was made by Minister of State Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Anil Dave at Kigali, Rwanda, at a meeting of parties to the Montreal Protocol, where final negotiations are taking place to substantially reduce the use of HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) by 2030.

3. HFC–23 gas, a potent greenhouse gas, with Global Warming Potential of 14800, is produced during the manufacture of a common refrigerant gas, HCFC-22. If vented out in environment, is a threat to the environment. HCFC stands for hydrochloroflurocarbon.

Daily Current Affairs- 14th October 2016

Dear Readers, we are presenting Daily Current Affairs for All Exams- 14th October 2016.

1. Maldives quits Commonwealth

1. The Maldives on Thursday pulled out of the Commonwealth calling as “unjust” the grouping’s decision to penalise the island nation over the circumstances that led to then President Mohamed Nasheed’s ouster in 2012 and the lack of subsequent progress in resolving the political unrest.

2. The Maldives Foreign Ministry termed “difficult” but “inevitable” the decision to leave the Commonwealth, a grouping of 53 nations that were mostly territories of the former British Empire.

3. Last month, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), had warned Maldives of suspension from the bloc expressing its “deep disappointment” over the country’s lack of progress in resolving the political crisis.