Daily Current Affairs, 14th October 2019

1) World Standards Day: 14 October

•World Standards Day (or International Standards Day) is celebrated internationally each year on 14 October. The aim of World Standards Day is to raise awareness among regulators, industry and consumers as to the importance of standardization to the global economy.

•2019 theme: Video standards create a global stage

2) 10th National Cultural Festival begins in Madhya Pradesh

•10th edition of the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav-National Cultural Festival is being organized by the Union Ministry of Culture from 14th to 21st of October under the ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ campaign in Madhya Pradesh. The National Cultural festival will display diverse forms of folk, art and culture of 22 states. The concept of National Cultural Festival was conceived in the year 2015.

3) PM Modi launches commemorative stamp to honour Marshal of IAF Arjan Singh

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative stamp in honour of Marshal of the Indian Air Force late Arjan Singh. He served as the Chief of Air Staff from August 1964 to July 1969. Government of India designated him as the Marshal of the Air Force in January 2002. He remains the only officer of the IAF to be given a Five-Star rank.

•Arjan Singh is an icon of Indian military history and the best remembered for providing excellent leadership to a young IAF during the 1965 war. Even after retirement, he continued to serve in various positions including India’s Ambassador to several countries.

4) 2nd edition of Indo-Japan joint military exercise “Dharma Guardian 2019” to be held in Mizoram

•The 2nd joint military exercise ‘Dharma Guardian-2019’ to promote military cooperation between India and Japan will be held in Mizoram from 19 Oct to 02 Nov 2019. Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) comprising 25 soldiers each will participate in the exercise with an aim to share experience gained during various Counter-Terrorism Operations in respective Countries.

•The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence co-operation between the Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) which in turn will further foster the bilateral relations between the two nations.

5) 10th edition of Indo-US joint military exercise ‘Vajra Prahar 2019‘ begins in Seattle, US

•The 10th edition of the joint military exercise ‘Vajra Prahar 2019’ between India and the US will be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Seattle, US. ‘Vajra Prahar’ is a Special Forces joint training exercise conducted alternately in India and the US. Last year, the exercise had taken place in Jaipur.

•These exercises will enable the sharing of best practices and experience in areas such as joint mission planning capabilities and operational tactics. Bilateral military exercises and defence exchanges are an important aspect of deepening bilateral defence cooperation between India and the US.

6) Bill Gates book on climate change to be released in 2020

•The founder of Microsoft Corporation and American philanthropist Bill Gates’ new book titled “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” will be released on June 2020. It will be published by UK-based Allen Lane publishers. The book is about climate change and the possible solutions to prevent an environmental crisis.

7) Mastercard India elevates Vikas Varma to COO

•Mastercard India, payment technology major, elevated Vikas Varma as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the firm. He will lead initiatives related to new partnerships and the development of digital payments solutions in the country. Recently, Mastercard announced an investment of USD 1 billion (around Rs 7,100 crore) over the next five years in India.

8) K Satish Reddy appointed Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance president

•K Satish Reddy, Chairman of Dr Reddy’s has been appointed as President of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) for 2019-2021. Rajesh Jain, Managing Director of Panacea Biotec Limited, will continue as the Vice President.

•K Satish Reddy, the past president of IPA (2013-2015), played a major role in shaping policies concerning the pharmaceutical sector and the economy.

9) The Nobel Prize in Economics 2019

•The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Economics 2019. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019 was awarded jointly to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”

•Indian-born Abhijit Banerjee is an American citizen while Esther Duflo is French-American. Michael Kremer is also from the US. Abhijit Banerjee, 58, was born in India and has a PhD from Harvard University. He is a Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.

10) Chandi Prasad Bhatt to get Indira Gandhi award for national integration

•The 31st Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for the years 2017 and 2018 will be awarded to the pioneer of the Chipko Movement Chandi Prasad Bhatt for his services in promoting and preserving the national integration. He is a Ramon Magsaysay award recipient for the year 1982. He was also awarded Padma Shri in 1986, the Padma Bhushan in 2005 and the Gandhi Peace prize in 2013.

•The award consists of a citation and cash of Rs 10 lakh to be given to the awardee by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on October 31, the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.