Important Current Affairs 29th October 2021

INTERNATIONAL

Facebook to change corporate name to Meta

•Facebook is now called Meta, in a rebrand that focuses on building the “metaverse,” a shared virtual environment that it bets will be the successor to the mobile internet. The name change, the plan for which was first reported by the Verge, is a significant rebrand for Facebook, but not it’s first. In 2019 it launched a new logo to create a distinction between the company and its social app.

•The metaverse is a term coined in the dystopian novel “Snow Crash” three decades ago and now attracting buzz in Silicon Valley. Zuckerberg said the new name, coming from the Greek word for “beyond,” symbolized there was always more to build. It refers broadly to the idea of a shared virtual realm that can be accessed by people using different devices.

Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue starts

•Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) 2021 is being organized as a three-day online event on 27, 28 and 29 October 2021. IPRD 2021 will focus on the theme ‘Evolution in Maritime Strategy during the 21st Century: Imperatives, Challenges and Way Ahead’. It will focus on eight specific sub-themes.

•The National Maritime Foundation is the Indian Navy’s knowledge partner for IPRD 2021. It is also the Indian Navy’s chief organiser for IPRD 2021.

NATIONAL

PM Modi to attend18th ASEAN-India summit virtually

•Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has attended the 18th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Summit virtually. This was the 9th ASEAN-India Summit attended by PM Modi. The Summit was held under the chairmanship of the Sultan of Brunei.

•The Heads of State/Government of the ASEAN Countries participated in the Summit to review the status of the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership and progress made in key areas of Covid-19 & Health, Trade & Commerce, Connectivity, and Education & Culture. The year 2022 will mark 30 years of ASEAN-India relations partnership, and will be celebrated as ‘ASEAN-India Friendship Year’.

Defence minister Shri Rajnath Singh chairs Ambassadors’ Round Table for DefExpo 2022

•In a major outreach to the friendly foreign countries as also to the defence manufacturing industries of the world, Defence minister, Rajnath Singh has chaired the Ambassadors’ Round Table for Def Expo 2022, in New Delhi. DefExpo 2022 will be Asia’s largest defence exhibition. The Round Table was aimed to brief the Ambassadors of foreign missions about the planning, arrangements and other details of DefExpo 2022, which will be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat between March 10-13, 2022.

•More than 200 delegates, including Ambassadors, Heads of Missions and Defence Attaches attended the Round Table, reflecting the growing global interest in the Indian Defence space. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Raj Kumar and other senior officials of the Ministry of Defence & Government of Gujarat were also present.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

India successfully tests nuclear-capable Agni-V ballistic missile

•Recently, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has carried successful test-firing of surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5.  The test-firing was carried around 7:50 PM from APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha on October 27, 2021. Agni-5 is a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which uses a three-stage solid-fuelled engine.

•The defence ministry of India said the successful test of Agni-5 is in line with India’s stated policy to have credible minimum deterrence that underpins the commitment to ‘No First Use’. The missile has been successfully tested five times and is in the process of induction into the Army. The successful test-firing of surface to surface ballistic missile Agni-5 has also come in the midst of a lingering border stand-off with China in Eastern Ladakh.

APPOINTMENT & RESIGNATION

Anita Anand is only the second woman to become Canada’s defence minister

•Indo-Canadian Anita Anand became just the second woman to be appointed Canada’s minister of national defence as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new cabinet. The ministers were sworn in by governor-general Mary May Simon in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. She is the first woman to serve as defence minister since Kim Campbell in the 1990s.

SMB Neobank FloBiz ropes in Manoj Bajpayee as brand ambassador for myBillBook

•FloBiz, a neobank for Indian Small to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs), announced Padma Shri Awardee actor Manoj Bajpayee as the brand ambassador for its flagship product. He will promote the ‘’Business Ko Le Seriously’’ campaign to mark the importance of digital solutions. He has signed to accelerate myBillBook’s outreach to the SMB sector and promote the adoption of myBillBook– a simple to use GST (Good & Services Tax) billing and accounting software.

K V Kamath appointed as NaBFID chairperson

•The government of India has appointed K V Kamath as chairperson of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID). He is a well-known banker in India and is the first head of the New Development Bank (NDB). NaBFID is a newly set up development financial institution (DFIs) in India. It has been set up for infrastructure financing as per the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Act 2021. The authorized share capital of the NaBFID is Rs one lakh crore. The initial paid-up capital of NaBFID is Rs 20,000 crore.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Psoriasis Day 2021: 29th October

•World Psoriasis Day is observed every year on 29 October by the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) to promote awareness, empowerment, and action for improving the quality of life for people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The theme for 2021 World Psoriasis Day is “Uniting for action”.

•Psoriasis is a kind of skin disorder that reasons skin cells to multiply up to ten times faster. Psoriasis causes the skin to build up into bumpy red patches embraced with white scales.

International Internet Day 2021: 29th October

•International Internet Day is celebrated on October 29 every year across the world to celebrate the usage of the internet for the first time. The day marks the sending of the first electronic message which was transferred from one computer to another in 1969. At that time the Internet was known as ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network).

•Charley Kline, a student programmer at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), transmitted the first-ever electronic message ‘LO’ on October 29, 1969.

•The first International Internet Day was celebrated on October 29, 2005, to celebrate this momentous event in the history of telecommunications and technology.