Daily Current Affairs, 08th October 2018

1) Air Force Day: 8 October

•The Indian Air Force is celebrating its 86th Anniversary on 08 Oct 2018. To mark the occasion and in keeping up with the tradition, IAF has planned a grand Parade cum Investiture Ceremony at Air Force Station Hindan (Ghaziabad). The air display will commence with flag bearing skydivers of famous Akash Ganga Team, who will jump from an An-32 aircraft. 

•Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, Chief of the Air Staff will review the parade. The parade will be followed by a breathtaking display by the Air Warrior Drill Team, wherein the team will showcase their weapon handling skills and carry out diverse manoeuvers with their rifles. 

2) President Ram Nath Kovind In Tajikistan On 3-Day Visit

•President Ram Nath Kovind has reached Tajikistan on a three-day visit to Central Asian Country. He arrived in Dushanbe and was received by Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan Zokirzoda Mahmad Toir. 

•He is scheduled to hold talks with the top leadership of Tajikistan to strengthen ties between the two nations. As per Ministry of External Affairs, Mr Kovind will meet his Tajik counterpart Emamoli Rahmon, Speaker of Parliament Shukurjon Zuhurov, and Speaker of the Lower House (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of Parliament. 

3) Odisha Government Launches 'Nirman Kusuma' Scheme

•Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched 'Nirman Kusuma' programme for providing financial assistance to the children of the construction workers for their technical education in the state. 

•The children of construction workers would get financial assistance for their education in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics. While an ITI student will be entitled to get financial assistance of Rs. 23,600, a diploma student to get Rs. 26,300 per annum. A total of 1,878 students will get benefit from the programme. 

4) Indian Railways Signed Agreements With Government Of Russian Federation

•A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Ministry of Railways of the Republic of India and the Joint Stock Company ‘Russian Railways’ on the sidelines of India-Russia Summit. The MoC intends to carry forward the activities taken up under the MoU signed between the two countries on 24th December 2015.

•A MoU was signed between Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Transport of Russian Federation for development of cooperation in transport education. The MoU aims at providing organizational and methodological support to higher educational institutions implementing joint projects in the field of transport education of both countries. 

5) Karnataka Unveils 'Unnati Scheme' To Help Entrepreneurs From SC/ST Communities

•The Karnataka Government has unveiled 'Unnati Scheme' to help entrepreneurs from SC/ST Communities. Karnataka Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge announced that the state government, under the Unnati scheme, will invest up to Rs 20 crore to create end-to-end support infrastructure for startups and entrepreneurs from a marginalised background.

•The government, under the scheme, will identify the problems dogging society and solve them by identifying companies, working on products and solutions for related problems. 

6) Maritime Exercise Between Japan And India 'JIMEX 18' Begins In Visakhapatnam

•Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) Ships Kaga, an Izumo Class Helicopter Destroyer and Inazuma – a Guided Missile Destroyer arrived at Visakhapatnam to participate in Maritime Exercise Between Japan and India 'JIMEX 18'.

•The JMSDF Ships would be participating in the third edition of Japan-India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) with the ships of Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy. JIMEX-18 is aimed to enhance interoperability, improve understanding and imbibe the best practices of each other. 

7) Nobel Prize 2018: Nobel Prize In Economic Sciences Goes To William D. Nordhaus And Paul M. Romer

•The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2018 to William D. Nordhaus “for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis” and Paul M. Romer “for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis.” 

8) CII And UN Environment Sign MoU

•The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)  signed an MoU with the UN Environment for coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development.  The agreement aims to cover all major areas of interest common to both CII and UN Environment. 

•It aims to provide a framework of cooperation and facilitate cooperation in areas including environment, climate change, renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation and management, water sanitation, smart cities and urban infrastructure. 

9) Electronic Trading Platforms Directions, 2018 Released By RBI

•The Reserve Bank of India issued guidelines for operating Electronic Trading Platforms (ETPs) to transact in eligible instruments. Trading on electronic platforms is being encouraged across the world as it enhances pricing transparency, processing efficiency and risk control. 

•As per the norms issued by the central bank ETPs will mean any electronic system, other than a recognised stock exchange, on which transactions in eligible instruments. ETP Operator’ shall mean an entity authorised by the Reserve Bank to operate an ETP under these Directions. 

10) ESIC Wins ‘ISSA GOOD Practice Award, Asia & The Pacific 2018’

•The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has won the ‘ISSA Good Practice Award’ for Administrative Solution for Coverage Extension at the “Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the Pacific” held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

•The award recognizes the measures taken by ESIC for extension of coverage-SPREE (Scheme for Promoting Registration of Employers and Employees), reduced rate of contribution rates for 24 months in newly implemented areas and raising the wage limit for coverage under the ESI Act, etc.