Daily Current Affairs, 03rd October 2018

1) Nobel Prize 2018: Nobel Prize In Chemistry Goes To Frances H. Arnold, George P. Smith And Gregory P. Winter

•The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018 with one half to Frances H. Arnold (USA)"for the directed evolution of enzymes" and the other half jointly to George P. Smith (USA) and Sir Gregory P. Winter (UK) "for the phage display of peptides and antibodies".

2) PM Inaugurates 1st Assembly Of International Solar Alliance

•The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, inaugurated the first Assembly of the International Solar Alliance in New Delhi. The same event also marked the inauguration of the second IORA Renewable Energy Ministerial Meeting, and the 2nd Global RE-Invest (Renewable Energy Investors’ Meet and Expo). 

•The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, was present on the occasion. As per the PM, India is also working on biomass, biofuel and bio-energy. 

3) PM Modi And French President Received UNEP Champions Of The Earth Award

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured with United Nations' highest environmental award- UNEP Champions of the Earth, along with French President Emmanuel Macron in New Delhi. The award was presented by UN SecrSecretary-Generalonio Guterres. 

•The award was announced on the sidelines of 73rd UN General Assembly in New York. Prime Minister Modi has been selected in the leadership category for his pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and for his unprecedented pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2022.    

4) Haryana’s MDU Declared Cleanest Government University By HRD Ministry

•Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar announced the “Swachh Campus rankings” under various categories. The rankings were decided on the basis of a survey under the ‘Swachhta Hi Sewa’ campaign. “Swachh Campus rankings” under various categories are listed below:

•Cleanest 'Government Universities':
1. Maharashi Dayanand University, Haryana.
2. Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, Punjab.
3. Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), New Delhi.

•Cleanest Residential Campuses of 'Private Universities':
1. Symbiosis International University, Pune.
2. OP Jindal Global University in Sonipat.
3. KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research in Belagavi.

•Cleanest Technical Institutions':
1. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Coimbatore.
2. IIT Guwahati.
3. Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University in Bhubhaneshwar.

5) Odisha Government Launches Own Food Security Scheme

•Odisha government launched the State’s own food security scheme to cover the poor people. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the scheme via video conferencing at the State Secretariat in Bhubaneswar. 

•As per the provisions of the scheme, 25 lakh poor people left out from the benefits of the National Food Security Act, will get rice of 5 kg per month for one rupee. The government will spend Rs 442 crore per year for implementation of the scheme. 

6) Justice Ranjan Gogoi Sworn-In As 46th Chief Justice Of India

•Justice Ranjan Gogoi has sworn-in as new Chief Justice of India. President Ram Nath Kovind administered him the oath of office at a function in Rashtrapati Bhawan. He is succeeding Justice Dipak Misra who retired as Chief Justice of India recently.  Justice Gogoi is the 46th Chief Justice of India. He will have a tenure of a little over 13 months and will retire on November 17, 2019. 

•Justice Gogoi was enrolled as an advocate in 1978. He practised in the Gauhati high court on constitutional, taxation and company matters. He was appointed as a permanent judge of the Gauhati high court on February 28, 2001.

7) Barham Salih Elected As The New President Of Iraq

•Iraq's Parliament has elected a veteran Kurdish Politician Barham Salih as the country's new President. He has named Shiite Adel Abdul Mahdi as Prime Minister of the country. The move will pave the way to form a new government, nearly five months after national elections.  

•Patriotic Union of Kurdistan leader Salih won 220 votes out of the 273 lawmakers. He was among 20 candidates for the post, including one from the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party.

8) SIDBI Launched National Level Entrepreneurship Awareness Campaign 'Udyam Abhilasha'

•On the occasion of Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), had launched a National Level Entrepreneurship Awareness Campaign, Udyam Abhilasha in 115 Aspirational Districts identified by NITI Aayog in 28 States and reaching to around 15,000 youth. 

•SIDBI will join to contribute to “the transformation mission” unleashed for these districts. The campaign would create and strengthen cadre of more than 800 trainers to provide entrepreneurship training to the aspiring youths across these districts thus encouraging them to enter the admired segment of entrepreneurs.

9) SBI Reduces ATM Withdrawal Limit

•State Bank of India has slashed the daily withdrawal limit on its classic debit card from Rs 40,000 to Rs 20,000.There is no change in the daily withdrawal limits on other cards. The new limit will be effective from October 31st2018. 

•The bank has been receiving many complaints regarding cloning and the decision is taken to reduce the withdrawal limit on these cards to check fraudulent transactions.

10) Manu Bhaker Named India’s Flag-Bearer At Youth Olympic Games

•Teenage shooting star Manu Bhaker was named as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the 3rd Youth Olympic Games to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from October 6-18. Goa Olympic Association Secretary Gurudutta D Bhakta will be the Chef-de-Mission of the contingent.

•Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra announced that the 16-year-old Bhaker will lead the Indian team in the opening ceremony. A contingent of 68 members, including 46 athletes, will compete in 13 sports during the prestigious event.