Daily Current Affairs, 20th October 2018

1) India To Host 4th Edition Of Global Partners' Forum In December 2018

•India will host the fourth edition of Global Partners' Forum in December 2018 in New Delhi. The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) will unite over 100 countries' representatives to discuss issues, strategies and solutions to women's, children's and adolescents' health. 

•It will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and PMNCH. Dr Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile is the chair of PMNCH. 

2) Piyush Goyal To Receive Carnot Prize For Rural Electrification Effort

•Union Minister Piyush Goyal will receive the prestigious Carnot Prize from the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania in recognition of his work for rural electrification while he held the power and renewable energy portfolios. The Carnot Prize is given "for distinguished contributions to energy policy". 

3) Europe, Japan Send Spacecraft On 7-Year Journey To Mercury

•European and Japanese space agencies stated that an Ariane 5 rocket successfully lifted a spacecraft carrying two probes into orbit for a joint mission to Mercury, the closest planet to the sun. The unmanned BepiColombo spacecraft successfully separated and was sent into orbit from French Guiana as planned to begin a seven-year journey to Mercury.

4) Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa To Form New Government In Bhutan

•The Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) will form new government in Bhutan. The party has won 30 seats in 47 member National Assembly, the lower house of the parliament. The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) has got remaining 17 seats. The Election Commission of Bhutan has formally announced the results of the parliamentary elections. 

•According to the commission, 71.46% polling was recorded in the third general election. This is the first time in Bhutan’s decade old parliamentary democracy that a new party has been chosen to form the government. 

5) Indian-Origin Woman Wins Top US Honour For Combatting Sex Slavery

•Minal Patel Davis won the US' Presidential Medal for her work against sex slavery and labor exploitationat a White House ceremony attended by President Donald Trump. Davis is Special Adviser on Human Trafficking to Houston Mayor. 

•A past speaker at the UN World Humanitarian Summit, Davis recently traveled to India and Canada to discuss municipal leadership in human trafficking.  Davis did her MBA from the University of Connecticut and BA from New York University.

6) Sajjan Jindal Elected As Treasurer Of World Steel Association

•JSW Steel CMD Sajjan Jindal was elected as the Treasurer of the World Steel Association (worldsteel). The association has also appointed Tata Steel MD TV Narendran and ArcelorMittal Chief LN Mittal as its members.

•The appointments were made during the worldsteel General Assembly in Toyko, Japan during which the Board of Directors elected new officers for 2018-19 at the. The new officers were elected for a one-year period. 

7) RBI Announces Steps To Increase Credit Flow To NBFCs

•The Reserve Bank of India announced more measures to increase liquidity flows to the non-banking financial companies. The RBI permitted banks to use government securities equal to their incremental outstanding credit to NBFCs, over and above their outstanding credit to them as on October 19, to be used to meet liquidity coverage ratio requirements. 

•The move will help provide liquidity to housing finance companies (HFCs) and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) which have come under pressure following series of default by IL&FS group companies. This will be in addition to the existing FALLCR of 13% of total deposits, and limited to 0.5% of the bank’s total deposits.

8) World Wrestling Championships-2018 Begins At Budapest

•World Wrestling Championship has begun in Budapest, Hungary. Asian Games gold medallist Bajrang Punia will be India’s best bet for a medal as a 30-member team seeks a strong performance in the flagship event.

•Already a bronze winner at the 2013 World Championship, Bajrang has come a long way in last five years, establishing himself as a force to reckon with in the 65-kilogram category.