CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR UPSC, TNPSC, KPSC, APPSC, TPSC MHPSC, UPPSC, HPSC, RPSC, GPSC, CPSC,

1. CURRENT AFFAIRS
7 OCTOBER 2018
DR.A .PRABAHARAN
DEAN,
N E H R U M E M O R I A L C O L L E G E , P U T H A N A M P A T T I
N E H R U M E M O R I A L C O L L E G E O F E D U C A T I O N ,
A B I N I M A N G A L A M

2. #METOO MOVEMENT IN INDIA: NCW ASKS SEXUAL ABUSE
SURVIVORS TO LODGE FORMAL COMPLAINTS
•Almost a year after the
#MeToo movement took
flight in the Hollywood with
the Harvey Weinstein
expose, the movement has
now arrived in the
Bollywood, Indian film
industry; and is spreading
through India.

3. CABINET APPROVES MERGER OF NCVT, NSDA TO FORM NATIONAL
COUNCIL FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING
• This merger of existing
regulatory institutions in the
skills space will lead to
improvement in quality and
market relevance of skill
development programs,
lending credibility to
vocational education and
training.

4. •The Union Cabinet has
approved the payment of
Productivity Linked Bonus
(PLB) equivalent to 78 days’
wages for the financial year
2017-18 for all eligible non-
gazetted Railway
employees. Its financial
implication has been
estimated to be Rs 2044.31
crore.

5. The waterway will stretch from
Manjhighat at Ganga-Gaghra
river confluence to Faizabad
or Ayodhya along Gaghra
River for a length of 354 km.
This stretch was declared as
National Waterway (NW)-40
during the year 2016, as part
of Government’s renewed
push to develop inland
waterways sector in the
country.

6. NITIN GADKARI TO LAY THE FOUNDATION
STONE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF GHAGRA
RIVER AS NATIONAL WATERWAY
• The waterway will stretch from
Manjhighat at Ganga-Gaghra river
confluence to Faizabad or Ayodhya
along Gaghra River for a length of
354 km. This stretch was declared as
National Waterway (NW)-40 during
the year 2016, as part of
Government’s renewed push to
develop inland waterways sector in
the country.

7. GOVERNMENT’S CROP INSURANCE SCHEME TO
COVER CROP LOSS IN WILD ANIMAL ATTACKS
• The Union Government has
decided to cover damages
done to crops in case of wild
animal attacks under the
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima
Yojna in select districts on an
experimental basis. The
scheme did not previously
cover the damages.

8. ECI ANNOUNCES ELECTION SCHEDULE FOR LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLIES OF CHHATTISGARH, MP, RAJASTHAN,
MIZORAM & TELANGANA
• The Model Code of Conduct came
into effect immediately from October
6, 2018 onwards in these five
assemblies. All the provisions of the
Model Code will be applicable to all
candidates, political parties and the
State Government of Chhattisgarh,
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Mizoram and Telangana.

9. INDIAN RAILWAYS SIGN TWO AGREEMENTS WITH RUSSIA
• The Union Ministry of Railways has
signed a MoU with Russia’s Ministry
of Transport for the development of
cooperation in transport education.
The main objective of the
agreement is to provide
organisational and methodological
support to the higher educational
institutions implementing joint
projects in the field of transport
education in the two countries.

10. INDIA, ADB SIGN USD 110 MILLION LOAN AGREEMENT TO
IMPROVE RURAL CONNECTIVITY IN MADHYA PRADESH
The tranche 2 of the project will
provide continued assistance to
the PMGSY by upgrading rural
roads in Madhya Pradesh that
will support the Government's
long term goal to achieve
inclusive economic growth in
rural India.

11. UNION CABINET APPROVES CREATION OF SMART
RAILWAY STATIONS
• The Union Cabinet has
approved the redevelopment
of railway stations through
simplified procedures. The
development paves the way
for large-scale modernisation
and will ensure world-class
rail infrastructure.

12. • Nikki Haley resigns as US Ambassador to United Nations
• Indian-American Nikki Haley on October 9, 2018 resigned
as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.
President Donald Trump made the formal announcement
of her resignation and applauded her work. He cited that
Haley wanted to take a break.
Haley, former South Carolina governor, gave no reasons for
her exit, however, dismissed speculations that she was
planning to run for Presidential bid in 2020. Rather, she said
she would be campaigning for Trump's re-election in two
years from now.
Her resignation just ahead of the crucial mid-term elections
in November 2018 came as a shock and surprise to the
American foreign policy and national security experts who
believe it is a big loss to the Trump Administration.

13. 19TH INDIA-RUSSIA ANNUAL BILATERAL SUMMIT: INDIA
SIGNS DEAL WITH RUSSIA TO BUY S-400 TRIUMF
MISSILES
• India and Russia on October 5, 2018
signed a USD 5.43 billion deal for
India to procure the S-400 Triumf
missile system from Russia.
The deal was signed following the
19th India-Russia Annual Bilateral
Summit between Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and Russian
President Vladimir Putin and other
delegates. Russian President Vladimir
Putin is on a two-day visit to India.

14. 21 IORA COUNTRIES ADOPT DELHI DECLARATION ON
RENEWABLE ENERGY
• Post the second IORA Renewable Energy
Ministerial Meeting, 21 countries of the
Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) on
September 4, 2018 adopted the Delhi
Declaration on Renewable Energy in the
Indian Ocean Region.
The Ministerial Meeting was held during
the 2nd Global Re-Invest India-ISA
Partnership Renewable Energy Investor’s
Meet and Expo in Greater Noida.

15. INDIAN AIR FORCE LAUNCHES ITS FIRST MOBILE HEALTH
APP ‘MEDWATCH’
• The Indian Air Force launched an innovative
mobile health application called ‘MedWatch’
on October 8, 2018, on the occasion of its
86th anniversary. It was launched by Air Chief
Marshal BS Dhanoa, Chief of the Air Staff.
The app has been conceived by the doctors
of IAF and developed in-house by the
Directorate of Information Technology (DIT)
with zero financial outlay.

16. INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST FIRES SHORT-
RANGE PRAHAAR MISSILE
• India on September 20, 2018 successfully
test-fired the indigenously developed
surface-to-surface, short-range tactical
ballistic missile 'Prahaar' from the Odisha
coast.
• The missile has been developed by the
Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO). It was test-launched
from launch pad-3 of the Integrated Test
Range (ITR) at Chandipur, near Balasore. It is
capable of filling the gap between the multi-
barrel rocket system 'Pinaka' and medium-
range ballistic missile 'Prithvi'.

17. JAPANESE BILLIONAIRE YUSAKU MAEZAWA TO BE FIRST
PRIVATE PASSENGER ON SPACEX’S LUNAR BFR MISSION
• US private space firm SpaceX on September 17, 2018 signed
the world’s first private passenger to fly around the Moon
aboard its Big Falcon Rocket (BFR) launch vehicle.
Japanese billionaire and founder of online fashion giant
Zozo, Yusaku Maezawa will be the first Moon tourist on
SpaceX’s Lunar BFR Mission. Maezawa wants to take six to
eight artists from around the world on the nearly week-long
trip to the Moon.
However, the company declined to reveal the amount
Maezawa paid for the mission, but confirmed that he is
paying a very significant amount of money.

18. COCA-COLA, PEPSICO, AND NESTLE FOUND TO BE WORST
PLASTIC POLLUTERS: BREAK FREE FROM PLASTIC
MOVEMENT
• The ‘Break Free From Plastic Movement’ on
October 9, 2018 revealed that Coca-Cola,
PepsiCo, and Nestle are among the
companies that contribute most to ocean
pollution with single-use plastics.
As per the study, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Nestle
were the most frequent companies in
contributing to ocean pollution, identified in
239 cleanups and brand audits spanning 42
countries and six continents.

19. GLOBAL TEMPERATURE COULD EXCEED
1.5°C IN JUST 12 YEARS: UN REPORT
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approved a Special Report on
Global Warming of 1.5°C on October 6, 2018 at Incheon, South Korea. In the new
assessment, IPCC issued its the most extensive warning on the risks of rising global
temperatures and said that limiting global warming to 1.5°C would require rapid, far-
reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.
The special report titled ‘Global Warming of 1.5°C’ traces the impact of global warming of
1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in
the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change,
sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty. The report says that going past
1.5°C is dicing with the planet's liveability and the temperature could be exceeded in just 12
years, by 2030.
The IPCC released their report after three years of research and a week of intense debate
between scientists and government officials. The report will be a key scientific input into the
Katowice Climate Change Conference in Poland in December 2018, when governments
review the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change.

20. NATIONAL SPORTS AWARDS 2018
ANNOUNCED; MIRABAI CHANU, VIRAT
KOHLI TO GET RAJIV GANDHI KHEL RATNA
• Former Indian pacer RP Singh announces
from cricket
• Alastair Cook to retire from International cricket
final Test against India