30 Oct-14 : Current Affairs

Current Affairs 30th October 2014 - Important Points

• Steve Waugh and Sachin Tendulkar inducted into Don Bradman Hall of Fame

• Union Culture Minister, Shri Shripad Naik inaugurated festival of India in Japan

• World's Children prize bagged by Malala Yousafzai

• Zambian President Michael Sata passed away at 77

• Global Gender Gap Report 2014 released by World Economic Forum

Current Affairs 30th October 2014 - Details

Steve Waugh and Sachin Tendulkar inducted into Don Bradman Hall of Fame

Among the Important Sports Current Affairs, On 29th October 2014 Noted Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar and former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh were inducted into Bradman Hall of Fame. Both were inducted as the 2014 Bradman Honourees at a gala dinner held at the historic Sydney Cricket Ground.

Union Culture Minister, Shri Shripad Naik inaugurated festival of India in Japan

On 27th October 2014, The Festival of India in Japan was inaugurated by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture and Tourism, Mr. Shripad Naik and Tourism Minister of Japan Mr. Akihiro Ohta in Tokyo.

Covering 20 cities, the 2014 Festival of India in Japan represents one of the largest events India has conducted in Japan. Mr. Naik said that the Festival of India in Japan is being conducted in two phases - the October phase-I comprises of a series of dance productions being presented in Japan, till date, the Kalakshetra Foundation, the Manipur Dance Academy and the Kuttiyattam Kendra have presented performances in Japan. The February 2015, phase-II will comprise of the Buddhist Art exhibition which will be presented in the Tokyo National Museum. 

World's Children prize bagged by Malala Yousafzai

Among the important recognition current affairs, On 29th October 2014, Malala Yousafzai bagged World's Children Prize for 2014. 

She was awarded with cash prize of 50000 US dollar. 

Zambian President Michael Sata passed away at 77

On 28th October 2014, President of Zambia Michael Sata passed away. He was 77 years old. He was fourth President of Zambia, before him three Presidents were Frederick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa and Rupiah Banda. Michael Sata became President of Zambia in 2011 for five years, but after his death Vice President Guy Scott has been appointed as acting president until an election is held for new President.

Global Gender Gap Report 2014 released by World Economic Forum

 On 28th October 2014, World Economic Forum (WEF) released Global Gender Gap Report 2014 which provides Gender Gap scores for 142 countries. 

India was given 114th rank with a score of 0.646. India was ranked 101 out of 136 countries in the report released in 2013.

Top 10 ranked countries with most gender-equal societies in the world are Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Ireland, Philippines and Belgium (10).

• FDI rules relaxed in construction.
  • The newly launched project smart cities by PM Modi will get an advantage and will push for affordable housing.
  • The proposal seeks to reduce the minimum built-up area from 50,000 sq. metres to 20,000 sq. metres. The minimum capital requirement for such projects has also been brought down to $5 million from $10 million.
  • It will ensure faster completion of projects as it will bring funds to the debt burdened sector.
  National

  
  
 
• BrahMos mini is being planned for air force and navy.
  • Its a lighter version of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos called as BrahMos-M.
  • It will weigh around 1.5 tonnes.
  • It can be also launched from submarines torpedo tubes.
  National

  
  
 
• GSAT-6 scheduled to be launched in march.
  • Its an advanced communication satellite.
  • Its S-band satellite with five special transponders for multimedia services.
  • The 2000 kg satellite will be launched on a GSLV launcher from sriharikota.
  • Currently, a third of the satellite capacity comes from transponders leased on foreign satellites.
  Science & Tech.

  
  
 
• Seven new species of frogs found in western ghats and sri lanka.
  • They are Hylarana sreeni, Hylarana magna, Hylarana doni, Hylarana urbis, Hylarana serendipi, Hylarana indica, Hylarana Caesar.
  • The team of researchers were from india and sri lanka.
  World News

  
  
 
• WTO gives conditional nod to treat MDR TB with a new drug.
  • New drug, Delamanid, remains limited, as it has only been through Phase IIb trial [the phase specifically designed to study efficacy — how well the drug works at the prescribed dosage] and studies for safety and efficacy, the WHO has issued interim policy guidance that lists five conditions that must be in place if the new drug is used to for treatment of MDR-TB.
  • According to the WHO 4,80,000 people developed MDR-TB in the world in 2013 and more than half of these cases occurred in India, China and the Russian federation.
  • The biggest increases were in India, South Africa and Ukraine.
  • The WHO has advocated “special caution” for the use of Delamanid in people aged 65 and over, in adults living with HIV, patients with diabetes, hepatic or severe renal impairment, or those who use alcohol or substances.
  National

  
  
 
• NASA rocket explodes at launch.
  • The cargo was carrying 5055 pounds of supplies, science equipments and experiments to the international space station.
  Science and Technology

  
  
 
• India will be signing oil and gas MoU with Mozambique.
  • It will facilitate oil and gas cooperation between India and Mozambique for five years.
  • Offshore gas discoveries in two adjacent offshore blocks in 2010 have seen Mozambique emerge as a significant hydrocarbon rich nation.
  International Relations
 
• Malala yousafzai awarded the Worlds childrens prize.
  • Millions of children has voted to award her this years Worlds childrens prize.
  World News

  
  
 
• A study by Nasscom depicts India as the third largest start up ecosystem in the world.
  • India is the fastest growing and third largest start-up ecosystem in the world after the U.S. and the U.K
  • The study also says India is poised to see a rapid growth in the number of product start-up operational by 2020.
  • At present, there are around 3,100 start-ups in India, and is expected to grow to 11,500 by the end of 2020, says the study.
  • It also says that the rapid growth in start-up will create an employment for around 250,000 people by 2020 as against the current 75,000.
  Science and Technology