Home » Current Affairs Date: 12 October 2020

Current Affairs Date: 12 October 2020

National:
  • Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister for Science & Technology, Health & Family Welfare and Earth Sciences, inaugurated the “DBT-BIRAC Clean Tech Demo Park” at Barapullah drain site, near Sundial Park, Sarai Kale Khan, New Delhi, on 08th October 2020.
    The DBT-BIRAC Clean Tech Demo Park will be used to demonstrate innovative Waste-to-Value technologies with support from Department of Biotechnology and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council.
  • Union Minister of Textiles and Women & Child Development, Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, launched the 1st ever Brand & Logo for Indian Cotton on 2nd World Cotton Day on 7th October, 2020.
    Now, India’s premium Cotton would be known as “Kasturi Cotton” in the world cotton Trade. The Kasturi Cotton brand will represent Whiteness, Brightness, Softness, Purity, Luster, Uniqueness and Indianness.
    The Union Minister stated that Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) developed a mobile app “Cott-Ally” for providing latest news regarding weather condition, Crop situation and best farm practices.
Kasturi Cotton India Logo
Source: AIR: Kasturi Cotton India Logo
International:
  • The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved for signing a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of cyber security between India and Japan. The MoC will enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
The MoC include some area of mutual interest:

» Inter-alia, capacity building in the area of cyberspace
» Protection of critical infrastructure
» Cooperation in emerging technologies
» Sharing information on cyber security threats/incidents and malicious cyber activities, as well as best practices to counter them
» Developing joint mechanisms for practical cooperation to mitigate cyber threats to the security of Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, etc

  • Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot inaugurated the virtual “International conference on Mental Health: Looking Beyond COVID 19” on 08 October 2020. Prof. Craig Jeffrey, Director, Australia-India Institute co-chaired the conference.
    The Conference was organized by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in association with University of Melbourne, Australia as a part of joint initiative under the MoU signed between the Government of Australia and Government of India for cooperation in the disability sector in November, 2018.
    The conference had five technical sessions wherein experts from India and Australia discussed issues such as:

» Stress management for frontline non-health workers
» Multicultural mental health
» Maintaining mental health: working from home
» Suicide and associated media reporting in India
» Mental Health and Human Rights in India and Australia
» Tools to building Mental Health Resilience in people with disability, approach embodied in new education policy for child development and education, etc.

Important Days:
  • The UN General Assembly declares 04 to 10 October as “World Space Week”, which is celebrated every year on international level. This is an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition.
    For the year 2020 theme was “Satellites Improve Life.” In 2021, World Space Week theme will be “Women in Space.”

Director General of IMD, Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra has said that the India Meteorological Department will soon launch a dynamic, impact-based cyclone warning system. It aims to minimise economic losses and damage of property due to the cyclones that hit Indian coasts every year. He was speaking on the topic of “Chasing the Cyclones”, organised as part of World Space Week celebrations by the Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS)’s Delhi chapter on October 06, 2020.

Sports:
  • Lewis Hamilton wins Eifel Grand Prix 2020 Formula One race, at the Nurburgring, on 11th October, 2020. Lewis Hamilton equals Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 wins in Formula One with victory in the Eifel Grand Prix.
Death:
  • Kannada music director Rajan passed away due to cardiac arrest in Bengaluru on 11 Oct 2020. He was 85. Rajan-Nagendra musical duo was popular in the industry.
  • Former India football captain Carlton Chapman died on 12 Oct 2020 due to heart attack in Bengaluru. He was 49.
  • Bihar Minister for Backward and Extremely Backward Classes Welfare Vinod Singh passed away in Delhi on 12 Oct 2020. He was 50.