Daily news will speed up the preparation for the Civil Services Examination and it also plays a crucial role to grasp the current affairs topic comprehensively. Here we have covered most of the topics related to various categories including National, International, Sports, Science and Technology, and so on.
1. Golden Jubilee Building
– Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually inaugurated the newly constructed Golden Jubilee Building of NIT Rourkela (Odisha).
– The Golden Jubilee Building was planned to commemorate the completion of fifty years of existence of the Institute.
– The Minister said that NIT Rourkela is a premier institution of our country and has been producing best brains for the country. The building is a symbol of its prestige.
– He also said that institutions like NIT Rourkela will play very important role in the implementation of the NEP.
– Shri Pokhriyal informed that this building has been constructed at an approximate cost of Rs. 95 crores and is entirely funded by the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.
– He further stated that it is now the tallest building of Rourkela, Odisha. The building spans across 7000 sqm and is located centrally, at an impartial distance from every department. Structurally, the building consists of a block with seven floors and a tower block of 14 floors.
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2. Framework for ‘Regulatory Sandbox’ to tap into innovative FinTech solutions
– The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), with an objective to develop a world-class FinTech hub at the IFSC located at GIFT City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
– It endeavours to encourage the promotion of financial technologies (‘FinTech’) initiatives in financial products and financial services across the spectrum of banking, insurance, securities and fund management.
– IFSCA has introduced a framework for “Regulatory Sandbox”.
– Under this Sandbox framework, entities operating in the capital market, banking, insurance and financial services space shall be granted certain facilities and flexibilities to experiment with innovative FinTech solutions in a live environment with a limited set of real customers for a limited time frame.
– These features shall be fortified with necessary safeguards for investor protection and risk mitigation. The Regulatory Sandbox shall operate within the IFSC located at GIFT City.
– All entities (regulated as well as unregulated) operating in the capital market, banking, insurance and pension sectors as well as individuals and startups from India and FATF compliant jurisdictions, shall be eligible for participation in the Regulatory Sandbox.
– IFSCA shall assess the applications and extend suitable regulatory relaxations to commence limited purpose testing in the Sandbox.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 17 October, 2020
3. 8th Convocation of IIT Indore
– Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually attends 8th Convocation of IIT Indore.
– The Minister also inaugurated the five buildings of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Computer and Information Technology Center, Central Workshop, Abhinandan Bhavan and Takshshila Lecture Hall Complex.
– The Chairman, Board of Governors, Professor Deepak B. Phatak presided over the ceremony and Chairman, Senate Prof. Neelesh Kumar Jain awarded the degrees.
– The Minister informed that IIT Indore is doing good work in the field of research with 2740 research papers and 35 books and 175 chapters written by its teachers. It has the highest citation index per faculty on second and third-generation IIT institutions.
– The institute has filed 61 patents and one of its patents has also been approved.
– The Minister expressed his happiness that the institute for securing 10th position in the NIRF rankings of the year 2020, 55th rank in Asian University Rankings -2020 and 64th rank in Young University Rankings by Times Higher Education.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 16 October, 2020
4. Country’s first multi-modal logistic park
– Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari will virtually lay the foundation stone for the first-ever multi-modal logistic park in Assam.
– The Rs 693.97 crore park will provide direct connectivity to air, road, rail and waterways to the people. It will be developed under the ambitious BharatmalaPariyojana of the Government of India.
5. Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center
– NITI Aayog announced the establishment of a Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center (CIC) with Amazon Web Services (AWS)- the first of its kind in India.
– First Amazon Web Services Cloud Innovation Center in India. It will Spur Innovation in Agriculture, Healthcare, Education, Infrastructure & Governance.
– This CIC is part of the AWS CIC Global Program, 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.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 15 October, 2020
6. Israel and Bahrain Diplomatic Ties
– A joint communique has been signed by the Bahrain and Israel to establish diplomatic, peaceful and friendly relations, as well as a number of memorandums of understanding in areas of mutual benefit.
– There is a history of open politics and civil society movements in Bahrain, although rights have been curtailed in the past decade.
– The decision to normalise ties comes from the belief in the values of tolerance in a region whose people have suffered from wars and conflicts.
– The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain became only the third and fourth Arab states to agree to normalise ties with Israel which is followed by Israel’s 1979 peace deal with Egypt and a 1994 pact with Jordan.
– As per the deal, Israel would suspend its plans to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank.
– Between Israel and Jordan, the West Bank is sandwiched.
– Ramallah is one of its major cities and also the de facto administrative capital of Palestine.
– In the Six-day Arab-Israeli war, 1967, Israel took control of it and has established settlements there in over the years.
– In 2020, this is the second deal after the Israel-UAE Peace Deal brokered by the USA.
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