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Important Current Affairs 15th October 2020

National

Union Cabinet approves World Bank-aided STARS project

• The Union Cabinet has approved implementation of the World Bank-aided STARS project. The project seeks to support the states in implementing, developing, evaluating and improving interventions with direct linkages to improve quality of education.  STARS stands for Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States.

• The total project cost is estimated to be around Rs. 5,718 crore, out of which the financial support from World Bank will amount to  USD 500 million (approximately Rs. 3700 crore). This was informed by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar during a press briefing after the Cabinet meeting.

• The project will cover six states- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Kerala. This is expected to mark an important milestone and mark the beginning of the New Education Policy.

World Economic Forum shifts annual meeting 2021 from Davos to Lucerne

• The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced that the Annual Meeting 2021 will be held in Lucerne-Burgenstock, Switzerland, as against the traditional venue of ski resort town Davos.

• The meeting has been re-scheduled to be held from May 18 to 21, 2021 instead of the usual January-end each year.

• The Annual Meeting 2021 in Lucerne-Burgenstock will be held around the theme of ‘The Great Reset’.

International

Pakistan listed on ‘Enhanced Follow-up List’ by FATF

• Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Asia Pacific group has kept Pakistan in its ‘Enhanced Follow Up’ list.

• The organisation had downgraded Pakistan status from “regular follow-up” to “enhanced follow up”.

• According to the FATF’s report, Pakistan complied with only two of the 40 recommendations of Financial Action Task Force.

Banking and Economy

IMF projects India’s GDP to contract 10.3% in 2020

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected the Indian economy to contract by 10.3 percent in 2020-21, from its earlier prediction of -4.5 percent due to rise in C-19 cases.

• IMF estimates the GDP of India to grow at 8.8 percent in 2021-22, as compared to 6 percent predicted earlier, regaining the position of the fastest growing emerging economy.

Banks’ aggregate exposure limit for small businesses raised to Rs 7.5 crore by RBI

• The credit card named Axis ACE Credit Card to entities with turnover up to Rs 50 crore to Rs 7.5 crore by Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

• RBI has also decided to extend the existing enhanced Held to Maturity (HTM) limit of 22 percent for SLR securities acquired between September 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, up to March 31, 2022.

Summits and Mou’s

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister signs 14 MoUs to generate employment

• Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Edappadi K. Palaniswami signed 14 Agreements worth Rs. 10, 055 crore with potential to generate employment in the State.

• The Tamil Nadu State Government is also ranked first among Indian states in attracting investments during the first six months of this year.

Awards

Central bank of the year award 2020 awarded to “Bank of Ghana”

• Bank of Ghana has won the Central bank of the year award 2020.

• Apart from this, Mark Carney (Governor of the Bank of England) has won the Governor of the year at the Central bank of the year award 2020.

Appointments and Resignations

Bharate launches new brand campaign with 11 cricketers as brand ambassadors

• BharatPe has announced the launch of its high impact TV campaign starring ‘Team BharatPe’ with 11 Cricket stars.

• The TVC series has been directed by ace Bollywood director, Puneet Malhotra, and communicates the message ‘Hum Hai Team BharatPe – Jo Desh Ke Har Dukandaar Ke Saath Hai Khade’.

• This is the first time that a new age FinTech company has rolled out a TV campaign with 11 top cricket stars as its brand ambassadors. Team BharatPe includes Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Shubhman Gill.

Days

World Students’ Day

• World Students’ Day is observed every year on October 15 to mark the birth anniversary of former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

• In 2010 the United Nations declared 15 October “World Students’ Day”, due to Kalam’s love for students and who himself was a dedicated teacher and identified himself foremost in that role before anything else.

• 2020 marks 89th birth anniversary of the former president and ‘Missile Man’ Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

Books and Authors

Autobiography of former Union Minister Balasaheb Vikhe Patil

• Prime Minister released the autobiography of former Union Minister Dr Balasaheb Vikhe Patil through video conferencing on 13 October 2020.

• The autobiography of Dr. Patil has been titled ‘Deh Vechwa Karani,’ means ‘dedicating one’s life for a noble cause.’

• Dr Patil was a prominent leader from Maharashtra who served as seven time Member of Lok Sabha.

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