Daily Current Affairs, 04th October 2018

1) World Animal Day: 4 October

•World Animal Day is celebrated at various parts of the world on 4th October to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. 

•World Animal Day was originated by Heinrich Zimmermann. He organized the first World Animal Day on 24 March 1925 at the Sports Palace in Berlin, Germany. 

2) First Regional Conference On 'Women In Detention And Access To Justice' In Shimla

•The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), Ministry of Home Affairs is organising the First ever Regional Conference at Shimla on 'Women in Detention and Access to Justice' in collaboration with the Prison Department, Himachal Pradesh on October 4-5, 2018. 

•The Conference will be inaugurated by Shri Acharya Devvrat, the  Governor of Himachal Pradesh. Expected Outcome of the Conference will be to help in ensuring better implementation of Prison Reform and Rehabilitation Program in order to improve the conditions of Women Inmates and their Access to Justice.

3) National Khadi Festival 2018 Held In Mumbai

•The National Khadi Festival 2018 is being organised by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to promote Khadi products. The festival was inaugurated by Union Minister for Micro Small & Medium Enterprises, Giriraj Singh in Mumbai on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti 2018. 

•The main objective of the festival is to promote the products of cottage industry and create awareness regarding the art of states. It is also aimed at providing employment to weavers and workers who are involved in the cottage industry. 

4) NMCG Partnered With TSAF To Launch “Mission Gange”

•National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has partnered with Tata Steel Adventure Foundation (TSAF) to launch a month-long rafting expedition of a team of 40 members which will be led by the first Indian woman to scale Mount Everest Ms. Bachendri Pal. 

•The expedition will start from Haridwar on October 5th 2018 traversing a distance of around 1500 km encompassing 8 major towns. It will conclude in Patna in Bihar.

5) Swachh Survekshan Grameen Awards 2018 Announced

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave awards to top Ranked State, District and State with maximum citizen participation based on the National Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018 commissioned by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. 

•The awards by Prime Minister were given at the concluding session of Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention at Rahtrapati Bhawan Cultural Centre in New Delhi. Haryana was ranked as the best State while Satara District of Maharashtra was ranked as the best district as per the ranking undertaken by Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018. 

•Overall Ranking: 

(A) Top 3 States-
1. Haryana, 
2. Gujarat, 
3. Maharashtra. 

(B) Top 3 Districts- 
1. Satara, Maharashtra, 
2. Rewari, Haryana, 
3. Pedapalli, Telangana.

(C) States with maximum citizen participation- 
1. Uttar Pradesh, 
2. Gujarat, 
3. Maharashtra. 

(D) Districts with maximum citizens’ participation- 
1. Nashik, Maharashtra, 
2. Solapur, Maharashtra, 
3. Chittorgarh, Rajasthan.

6) Russian President Vladimir Putin In India On 2-Day Visit

•Russian President Vladimir Putin reached New Delhi on a two-day visit to India. He will attend the 19th India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit in New Delhi. During the visit, President Putin will hold delegation level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

•The Russian President will also address the India-Russia Business Summit and will interact with a group of talented children. The last annual summit was held on June 1st last year, during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Russia. 

7) India And ADB Sign $ 150 Million Loan Agreement To Support India’s First Global Skills Park

•Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $150 million Loan Agreement in New Delhi to establish a Global Skills Park (GSP) in Madhya Pradesh, the First Multi-Skills Park in India, to enhance the quality of Technical and Vocational Education And Training (TVET) System in the State and create a more skilled workforce.

•This Project will help improve the quality and relevance of the State’s TVET programs and will help impart advanced job-ready skills training of international standards that can meet the employment needs of the State’s emerging sectors.

8) Mukesh Ambani Richest Indian For 11th Consecutive Year: Forbes

•Reliance Industries’ Chairman Mukesh Ambani has emerged as the richest Indian for the 11th consecutive year with a net worth of USD 47.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine. Ambani is also the year’s biggest gainer, adding USD 9.3 billion to his wealth amid the continuing success of his Reliance Jio broadband telco service.

•As per the ‘Forbes India Rich List 2018’, Wipro Chairman Azim Premji has retained the second spot, adding USD 2 billion to his wealth at USD 21 billion; while ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal moved a place ahead to the third slot with a net worth of USD 18.3 billion.

9) RBI Allows State-Owned Oil Companies To Borrow Long Term Working Capital

•The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed state-owned oil companies to borrow long-term working capital from overseas. RBI relaxed the policy on borrowing up to 10 billion US dollar from the overseas by the state-owned fuel retailers. 

•Till now oil marketing companies including Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, were not allowed to raise External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) for working capital needs on a long-term basis. Now, the RBI has allowed them to raise ECB of minimum maturity of 3 or 5 years. 

10) 18-Year-Old Prithvi Shaw Youngest Indian To Score Century On Test Debut

•Prithvi Shaw has become the youngest Indian to score a century on Test debut, achieving the feat aged 18 years and 329 days against Windies in Rajkot, Gujarat. Shaw broke the 59-year-old record set by AA Baig (20 years and 126 days). 

•Shaw is only the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to score a Test ton before turning 19. Prithvi Shaw captained India Under-19 to World Cup victory in February 2018.