Top Weekly Current Affairs – 2020 October 12 to 18

Current affairs is one of the inevitable and compulsive topic in almost every competitive examinations. It is inevitable for an aspirant to get updated on daily current affairs happening around the world. Daily newspaper reading and follow-ups are necessary for mastering these current affairs section. In this article, we have provided the top weekly current affairs from October 12 to 18, 2020 which will help all aspirants to improve scores in their competitive examination like PSC, SSC, RRB and Banking.

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Top Current Affairs for all Competitive Exams 2020 October 12 to 18

Here are the list of top current affairs of the week October 12 to 18, 2020 which will be helpful for all competitive examinations like PSC, SSC, RRB, Banking etc.

Wayanad district has started a project to prepare a complete resource-disaster mapping

• On the occasion of the International Disaster Mitigation Day, a popular disaster relief project was launched in the district on the initiative of the district administration.
• This is the first time in Kerala that a district has started a project to prepare a complete resource-disaster mapping.
• This include government institutions, houses, roads, private institutions, water sources, forests, mountains and disaster prone areas will be marked with open street mapping called Mappathon Kerala and it will be completed by November 1.
• In the first phase, government offices and public service centers will be mapped and in the second phase, houses will be mapped.
• The aim is to further strengthen disaster mitigation efforts with the help of technology.

Bhanu Athaiya, first Indian to win Oscar, passes away at 91

• Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, the first Indian to win the Oscar award, has passed away due to prolonged illness. She was 91.
• Bhanu Athaiya won the Best Costume Design Oscar for her work in the 1982 film Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough.
• Athaiya had also designed costumes for over 100 Bollywood movies.

Prime Minister Modi to release commemorative coin to mark 75th Anniversary of FAO

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release a commemorative coin of Rs 75 denomination on the occasion of 75th Anniversary of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on 16 October 2020.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also dedicate to the Nation 17 recently developed biofortified varieties of 8 crops.
• India’s proposals for declaring 2016 as the International Year of Pulses and 2023 as the International Year of Millets have also been endorsed by the FAO.

‘Mahakavi’ Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri passed away

• On October 15, 2020 ‘Mahakavi'(great poet) Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri, renowned Malayalam Poet passed away at the age of 94 at a private hospital in Thrissur, Kerala.
• He is the last Malayalam poet to be called as ‘Mahakavi. He introduced “meaningful modernism’ in Malayalam poetry several decades ago.
• He is a recipient of Jnanpith Award(2019), India’s highest literary honour and Padma Shri(2017) He was born on March 18, 1926 in Kumaranallur in Palakkad District, Kerala.

Kerala govt sets up welfare board for farmers

• In a first in the country, the Kerala government has decided to form a Welfare Fund Board for the uplift of farmers in the state.
• The state cabinet decided to set up the board to be known as ‘Kerala Karshaka Kshemanidhi Board’.
• For the farmers to become a member of the Board, they need to pay Rs 100 as registration fee and a monthly fee of Rs 100.
• The government will provide an equivalent share of upto Rs 250 to the members of the Welfare Fund.
• The Board members are entitled to personal pension, family pension, sickness benefit, disability benefit, medical assistance, marriage and maternity allowance, education assistance and posthumous benefits.

50th Kerala State Film Awards: Lijo Jose Pellissery, Suraj Venjaramoodu among winners

• 50th Kerala State Film Awards for the year 2019-2020 were announced by Minister of Cultural Affairs A K Balan.
• Best Actor – Suraj Vejaramood (Vikrithi, Android Kunjappan).
• Best Actress – Kani Kusruthi (Biriyani).
• Best Film – Vasanthi.
• Second Best Film – Kenchira.
• Best Director – Lijo Jose Pellisery (Jallikattu).
• Best Character Actor – Fahadh Faasil (Kumbalangi Nights).

Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek wins French Open 2020

• In tennis, Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 6-0,6-2,7-5 to win the men’s 2020 French Open on 11 October 2020.
• This is his 13th French Open men’s singles title and 20th Grand Slam title.
• In Women’s single, the 19-year-old Iga Swiatek of Poland, claimed a historic win, by becoming the youngest women to win the title in the history of the championship in 28 years.
• She defeated 21-year Sofia Kenin, of the United States, 6-4, 6-1, and became the first Polish tennis player to win the singles’ Grand Slam.

Winners of French Open Tennis 2020

Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 2020 announced

• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2020 to Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson “for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats”.
• This year’s Laureates, Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, have studied how auctions work.
• They have also used their insights to design new auction formats for goods and services that are difficult to sell in a traditional way, such as radio frequencies.
• In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize.

Kerala becomes First State in India to go Digital in Public Education

• The state of Kerala has become the First State in India to make the public education sector completely digital.
• Kerala has become the first State to have high-tech classrooms in all its public schools.
• Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will declare the State first in the public education sector to become completely digital.
• The high-tech classroom project is being implemented by Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) with financial assistance from Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).

Kerala’s first Integrated Family Health Centre starts operations at Pangappara

• The state’s first integrated family health centre has started its operations at Pangappara in Thiruvananthapuram.
• Minister for Health, KK Shailaja inaugurated the centre through video conferencing.
• The new centre is the first to have a 24-hour inpatient system and the services of the super speciality departments other than the regular OP.
• This is the first time in Kerala that an Integrated Family Health Center has been established. Inpatient treatment is usually not available at the family health centers.

Ezhacherry Ramachandran bags Vayalar Award

• Noted Malayalam poet Ezhacherry Ramachandran has bagged the Vayalar Award this year.
• His creation ‘Oru Virginian Veyilkalam’ won him the honour.
• The award consists of a memento designed in bronze by Kanayi Kunhiraman, certificate and a purse of Rs 1 lakh.
• ‘Oru Virginian Veyilkalam’ is a collection of 41 poems.
• Ardrasamudram, Bhandurangeepuram, Neeli and Kayyur are some of his noted works. Other works include Uyarum Njan Nadake and Kattuchikkiya Thelimanalil.
• The award was announced at a press conference by Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Trust President Perumbadavam Sreedharan.

Goa becomes India’s first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ State

• As per the data provided by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Goa has become the first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ State in the country by providing tap water connection to every rural household.
• The state provided tap water connection to 2 lakh 30 thousand rural households in all the 191 Gram Panchayats of the state.
• North Goa with 1,65,000 rural households and South Goa with 98,000 rural households are fully saturated with assured piped water supply through tap connections.

Bishr al-Khasawneh appointed as Prime Minister of Jordan

• King of Jordan, Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein has appointed Bishr al-Khasawneh, policy advisor to the king, as new Prime Minister of the country.
• His appointment comes after King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Omar al Razzaz.
• Bishr al-Khasawneh,served as the advisor to the king for Communication and Coordination at The Royal Hashemite Court (April 2019- August 2020).
• He also served as the Minister for Legal Affairs.

Argentina becomes 1st nation to approve genetically modified wheat

• Argentina becomes 1st nation to approve genetically modified wheat
• Argentina has approved HB4 drought-resistant GMO wheat, making it the first country in the world to approve a strain of GMO wheat.
• The drought-resistant HB4 wheat variety was developed by Argentine biotechnology company Bioceres, working with the National University and Conicet.
• Bioceres’ HB4 wheat is resistant to drought and tolerates the herbicide glufosinate sodium, a combination the company says can help boost yields on dry years.

NASA to Launch Nano Satellite, ‘India Sat’ Developed by 3 Tamil Nadu Students

• NASA to Launch Nano Satellite, ‘India Sat’ Developed by 3 Tamil Nadu Students into Sub-orbit.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NA SA) has chosen ‘India Sat’, an indigenous experimental satellite developed by 3 students from Tamil Nadu namely, M. Adnaan of Thanthonrimaiai, M. Kesavan of Nagampalli and V Arun of Thennilai for launch in suborbital space in June, next on NASA’s sounding rocket 7.
• This sateilite model has outnumbered many other satellites designed as part of the global competition conducted by the Cubes in Space, a programme of Idoodledu Ine in association with NASA.

Govt appoints M Rajeshwar Rao as new deputy governor of RBI

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet appointed M Rajeshwar Rao as the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Currently, BP Kanungo, MK Jain and Micheal Patra are the deputy governors.
• Rao will take charge as the fourth deputy governor. The post became vacant after N S Vishwanathan demitted office in March citing health reasons just before his tenure was to end.
• Prior to this, he was the chief general manager of the financial markets operations department.

CM Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated operations of International Institute of Advanced Virology

• Chief Minister (CM) of Kerala , Pinarayi Vijayan , inaugurated the operations of the first phase of the International Institute of Advanced Virology at the Life Science Park at Thonakkal on October 15, 2020.
• The CM while inaugurating the operations said that the robust public health care system in Kerala has helped to prevent Nipah and contain the COVID-19 pandemic to an extent.
• He further stated that, the the inaugurated institute would become an institution of world-class standards in health research.
• Kerala had decided to set up a virology research centre in 2017 after following the suggestions of world-renowned scientists Prof M V Pillai and Dr Saragndharan.

India to deliver submarine INS Sindhuvir to Myanmar Navy

• India will hand over INS Sindhuvir, a Kilo class submarine to the Myanmar Navy, the Ministry of External Affairs announced.
• INS Sindhuvir will be the first submarine of the Southeast Asian country and the move is in line with the overall Indian vision that aspires to guarantee security for all maritime partners.
• It belongs to a class of diesel-electric attack submarines built by the Soviet Union during the Cold War years.

Punjab approves 33% quota for women for direct recruitment in state civil services

• In a significant decision, the Punjab government Wednesday approved 33 per cent reservation for women under direct recruitment in Punjab Civil Services.
• State cabinet approved the Punjab Civil Services (Reservation of Posts for Women) Rules, 2020.
• This reservation for women for direct recruitment to posts in government jobs as well as in boards and corporations in Group A, B, C and D posts.
• Chief Minister of Punjab: Amarinder Singh.

Vishal V Sharma appointed India’s next permanent representative to UNESCO

• Vishal V. Sharma has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the Permanent Delegation of India to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with the rank of Ambassador.
• He will replace Jawed Ashraf. Sharma is expected to take up the assignment shortly.
• UNESCO headquarters: Paris, France.
• UNESCO Head: Audrey Azoulay.
• UNESCO Founded: 16 November 1945.

A book titled ‘The Battle of Belonging’ authored by Shashi Tharoor

• Renowned Author and Politician, Shashi Tharoor is set to release his new book titled “The Battle of Belonging” is set to be released in November 2020.
• The book is published by Aleph Book Company.
• Shashi Tharoor described this book as his “magnum opus” on the Theory, evolution and practice of Nationalism across the globe and especially in India.
• The book appears to be an extension of his book “Why I Am a Hindu”.

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