Home » Current Affairs Date: 08 October 2020

Current Affairs Date: 08 October 2020

National:
  • NITI Aayog, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and Invest India organized a global symposium virtually, “India PV EDGE 2020” on Solar Manufacturing, on 06th October, 2020. The symposium was to catalyze cutting-edge PV manufacturing in India.
    The symposium comprised plenary session and subsequent sessions on “Wafers and Cells”, “Modules and Production Equipment” and “Supply Chain”. It also included a “Investors Conclave” on PV Manufacturing. In the “Investors Roundtable”, issues related to India’s solar manufacturing sector discussed.
  • Ministry of Tourism organised a webinar on “Charkhe pe Charcha” under Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series on 02nd October 2020. The webinar was to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi & it was focused on spinning wheel and Khadi.
  • Goa Postal Division will be releasing a Special Cancellation with slogan “To fight COVID-19 strengthen your immunity” on 05th October, 2020. This aims to create awareness among public regarding boosting immune system against ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed an international webinar on textile traditions organized by ICCR on 03rd October 2020. The webinar was on the theme of “Weaving Relations: Textile Traditions.”
Appointment:
  • Senior IPS officer M A Ganapathy has been appointed as the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), according to a Personnel Ministry order issued on 06th October, 2020. He is a 1986 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre. His tenure will be up to his superannuation on February 29, 2024.
  • The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved appointment of M Rajeshwar Rao as the new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India on 07th October, 2020.
International:
  • On 07th October, 2020, King of Jordan Abdullah II appointed his policy adviser Bishr al-Khasawneh the country’s new prime minister & instructed him to form a government that meets the aspirations of the Jordanian people. Bishr Al-Khasawneh will oversee parliamentary elections on 10 November.
  • The World Economic Forum (WEF) on 07th October, 2020 said, it will hold its Annual Meeting 2021 in Lucerne-Burgenstock, Switzerland, from May 18 to 21. The Annual Meeting 2021 will be held around the theme of “The Great Reset”.
    The meeting will focus on the solutions required to address the world’s most pressing challenges. Global leaders will come together to design a common recovery path after Covid-19 era and rebuild a more cohesive and sustainable society.
Award:
  • The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 on 07th October, 2020 jointly to:
  1. Emmanuelle Charpentier, Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Berlin, Germany
  2. Jennifer A. Doudna, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

They got the prize “for the development of a method for genome editing”.

Business & Technology:
  • IT services company Infosys Ltd will acquire US-based Blue Acorn iCi for up to $125 million (approximately Rs 915 crore). The Blue Acorn iCi is a provider in digital customer experience, commerce and analytics.
  • The search engine giant Google has introduced the Stories feature also known as web stories or AMP Stories to its Google App on 07th October, 2020. The Stories feature under Google app is currently rolling out in the USA, Brazil and India. Also, currently, the Stories feature is limited to Google app, Search and Images. In India, Web Stories will be available in English and Hindi.
Death:
  • Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan passed away in Delhi on 08th October, 2020. He was 74.
  • Mexican scientist Mario Molina died on 07th October, 2020. He was 77. He had received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work on the threat to the ozone layer from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
  • American musician, Rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen died due to cancer on 06 October 2020. He was 65.