Top Current Affairs 24 October 2020

This post contains the latest current affairs for 24 October 2020 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. You can also attempt our Current Affairs Quiz after reading our daily current affairs.

National

Culture & Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel launches Life in Miniature project

• The Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Shri Prahlad Singh Patel launched ‘Life in Miniature’ project via video conferencing on 22 October 2020.
• The project is a collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and the Google Arts and Culture.
• Under the ‘Life in Miniature’ project, various miniature paintings from the National Museum can be viewed online on Google Arts and Culture by people around the world.
• It would include miniature art like the Ramayana, Royal Saga, Pahari style paintings in never before seen ways and in extraordinary detail.
• The project can be accessed at g.co/LifeInMiniature.
• It will make use of technologies like machine learning, augmented reality and digitization with high-definition robotic cameras, to showcase these special works of art in a magical new way.

Asan Conservation Reserve gets first Ramsar site tag from Uttarakhand

• • The Asan Conservation Reserve in Uttarakhand has become the first Ramsar site in the state, giving it the status of ‘Wetland of International Importance’.
  • The Reserve is located near Dehradun district in Garhwal region of the Himalayan state on the banks of Yamuna river.
  • Apart from this, Kabartal Wetland from Bihar is the another new site to be recognised by Ramsar.

• With this, the total number of Ramsar sites in India has increased to 39, which is the highest in South Asia.

Andhra Pradesh CM launches ‘YSR BIMA’ insurance scheme for BPL families

• The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched ‘YSR Bima’, a scheme to provide financial assistance through insurance cover to beneficiary in case of death or accident of their families members.
• All families with white ration cards are eligible for YSR Bima scheme. Village/ward volunteers will visit the families and enrol the names of the primary householders.
• The scheme will benefit 1.41 crore BPL families of the state.

• Category wise insurance amount coverage under the scheme:
  • • Accidental death and total permanent disability for people aged between 18-50 years – Rs 5 lakh
    • Accidental death and total permanent disability for people aged between 51-70 years – Rs 3 lakh
    • Natural death cases (18-50 years) – Rs 2 lakh
    • Partial permanent disability in an accident case (18-70 years) – Rs 1.5 lakh
• The claim amount will be directly credited into the beneficiary bank account within 15 days of making the claim.
• Apart from this, immediate assistance of Rs 10,000 will be provided to the families through village and ward secretariats.
• An amount of Rs 510 crore would be paid by the state government annually as insurance premium for this scheme.
• This will also make Andhra Pradesh as the first state in the country to single-handedly fund the insurance scheme.

Tamil Nadu Government Launches Smart Black Board Scheme in 80,000 Govt schools

• The state government of Tamil Nadu has launched the Smart Black Board scheme in 80,000 government schools of the state.
• The initiative aims to ensure better teaching environment as well as lead towards Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• Under this Smart Black Board scheme, audio visual teaching material would be possible, that can even be fed into the computer screens in classes using widely available pen drives.

INS Kavaratti, last in series of 4 indigenously-built stealth corvettes, commissioned into Indian Navy

• The Chief of Army Staff, General MM Naravane commissioned the ‘INS Kavaratti’, the last of four indigenously-built anti-submarine warfare  (ASW) stealth corvettes, into the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam on 22 October 2020.
• The ship has been designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design (DND), and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
• The anti-submarine warfare  (ASW) stealth corvettes has been undertaken under ‘Project 28’, also called Kamorta-class corvettes of the Navy.
• INS Kavaratti has a state-of-the-art weapons and sensor suite capable of “detecting and prosecuting” submarines and good endurance for long-range deployments.

DRDO successfully conducts final trial of Nag anti-tank guided missile in Pokhran range

• India successfully carried out the final trial of the third generation, anti-tank guided missile ‘NAG’ on 22 October 2020, from the Pokhran field firing ranges in Rajasthan.
• The Nag anti-tank guided missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in day and night conditions.
• The successful final user trial of the missile makes the Nag anti-tank missile ready for induction in the Indian Army.
• Following the final trial, the missile will now enter into the production phase.
• It will be manufactured by defence PSU Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP), of DRDO.

Committee

ECI constitutes 2-member committee (Harish Kumar, Umesh Sinha) to examine issues concerning expenditure limits

• The Election Commission of India has set up a 2-member committee to examine the issue of revising the expenditure limit for candidates for Lok Sabha and assembly polls.
• The committee will comprise of Shri Harish Kumar, Ex. IRS and DG (Investigation), Shri Umesh Sinha, Secretary General and DG (Expenditure).
• The need to set up this committee was felt in view of the increase in number of electors and rise in Cost Inflation Index. It will submit its report within 120 days of its constitution.

• The committee will be responsible to:

1. 1. To assess the change in number of electors across the States/Union Territories and its bearing on expenditure.
   2. To assess the change in Cost Inflation Index and its bearing on the pattern of expenditure incurred by the candidates in recent elections.
   3. To seek views/inputs of the political parties and other stakeholders.
   4. To examine other factors which may have bearings on expenditure.
   5. To examine any other related issue.

SEBI Sets Up Advisory Committee under Madhabi Puri Buch to Recommend Policy on Market Data Access

• Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has constituted a Market Data Advisory Committee (MDAC), under its initiative to make shareable data on the Indian securities market, available for researchers, policy makers, general public alike and to enhance the quality of such data.
• The standing committee would be headed by Madhabi Puri Buch, the whole time member (WTM) of SEBI.
• It would be responsible to:
  • • recommend appropriate policy for access to securities market data,
    • identify segment wise data perimeters, data needs and gaps,
    • recommend data privacy and data access regulations applicable to market data.

• The chief executives (CEOs) of stock exchanges and depositories, representatives of various stakeholders and senior officials of SEBI would be other members of the MDAC.

International

Nokia selected by NASA to build first ever cellular network on the Moon

• Finland based telecom company Nokia has been selected by NASA as its partner to build the first cellular network on the moon.
• NASA plans to leverage these innovations for its Artemis program, the US government-funded crewed spaceflight program for landing “the first woman and the next man” on the Moon, specifically at the lunar south pole region by 2024.
• The Nokia Bell Labs’ will undertake this project to build and deploy the first wireless end-to-end broadband/LTE  communications system on the lunar surface in late 2022.
• Nokia will partner with US-based Intuitive Machines for this mission.
• This project of deploying the first LTE/4G communications system in space will help pave the way towards sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.

Obituary

First woman IAF Officer Vijayalakshmi Ramanan (retd) passes away at 96

• Wing Commander (Retd) Dr Vijayalakshmi Ramanan, the first woman officer to be commissioned in the Indian Air Force, has passed away due to old age ailments. She was 96.
• Dr Ramanan was commissioned in the Army Medical Corps on August 22, 1955 and was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander in August 1972. She served as an obstetrician and gynaecologist at various Air Force Hospitals.
• She was honoured with the Vishist Seva Medal five years later. She had retired in February, 1979.

Veteran Assam Economist Dr Jayanta Madhab passes away at 91

• The renowned Assamese economist, Dr. Jayanta Madhab, has passed away due to heart ailments and diabetes. He was 91.
• Dr Madhab served as the economic advisor from 2003-2009, to the Government of Assam during the tenure of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
• He was also the founder and first Chairman of North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi)
• He had served as a director at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).