Current Affairs 4th and 5th October 2015

Current Affairs 4th and 5th October 2015

Updated : 05-Oct-2015

Current Affairs 5th October 2015 - Important Points
Current Affairs 5th October 2015 - Details
GAIL to take 10% stake in TAPI natural gas pipeline project
Among the important National Current Affairs, On 4th October 2015, the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is expected to take 10 % stake in Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India or TAPI natural gas pipeline project.

The purpose of the project is to transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.
Features of TAPI
- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) carried out a feasibility study of the proposed project and extended its support to it. The EU and the USA also provide international support for the TAPI pipeline project.
- It will be developed with an estimated cost of 10 billion US dollars and will be operation by 2018.
- Turkmenistan will lead the consortium to build the project and the remaining members will invest according to the techno-commercial viability, shareholders agreement and investment agreement.
- It will transport natural gas from Turkmenistan to India via Afghanistan and Pakistan.
- The 1,735-kilometer pipeline will run from the Dauletabad gas field in Turkmenistan to the Indian town of Fazilka, in the Punjab near the Pakistan-India border.
- It will carry 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Turkmen gas annually; While, Pakistan and India would each purchase 42 % of that volume (13.8 bcm), Afghanistan would purchase 16 % that would amount to 5.11 bcm.
- The four countries signed the TAPI gas pipeline deal in September 2010 and the implementation phase will begin in December 2015.
What, Why and How of new International Poverty Line $1.90?
Among the important International Current Affairs, in October 2015, the World Bank raised the international poverty line to 1.90 US dollars per day from the existing 1.25 US dollars.
Against this practice, World Bank explained few relevant questions related to the international poverty line and its revision.
Why did the World Bank decide to update the International Poverty Line, and why now?
As differences in the cost of living across the world evolve, the global poverty line has to be periodically updated to reflect these changes. Since 2008, the last update, 1.25 US dollars had been used as the global line. As of October 2015, the new global line will be updated to 1.90 US dollars per day.

What is the new poverty line, and based on this new measure, how many people are living in extreme poverty in the world?
The new global poverty line is set at 1.90 US dollars per day using 2011 prices. Just over 900 million people globally lived under this line in 2012 (based on the latest available data) and it is projected that just over 700 million are living in extreme poverty in 2015.
Why raise the poverty line? What was wrong with the 1.25 US dollar a day line that we are all used to?
As differences in the cost of living across the world evolve, the global poverty line has to be periodically updated to reflect these changes. The new global poverty line uses updated price data to paint a more accurate picture of the costs of basic food, clothing, and shelter needs around the world. In other words, the real value of 1.90 US dollars in today’s prices is the same as 1.25 US dollars in 2005.
How revision in global poverty line takes place?
In 1990, a group of independent researchers and the World Bank proposed to measure the world’s poor using the standards of the poorest countries in the World. They examined national poverty lines from some of the poorest countries in the world, and converted the lines to a common currency by using purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates.
The PPP exchange rates are constructed to ensure that the same quantity of goods and services are priced equivalently across countries. Once converted into a common currency, they found that in six of these very poor countries the value of the national poverty line was about 1 US dollar per day per person, and this formed the basis for the first dollar-a-day international poverty line.
After a new round and larger volume of internationally comparable prices were collected in 2005, the international poverty line was revised based on 15 national poverty lines from some of the poorest countries in the World. The average of these 15 lines was 1.25 US dollars per person per day (again in PPP terms), and this became the revised international poverty line since 2008.

Similarly in 2015, poverty lines of those same 15 poorest countries from 2005 (holding steady the yardstick against which we measure) were used to determine the new global poverty line of 1.90 US dollars on the 2011 PPP basis.
What is Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) and how is it determined?
PPP allows us put each country’s income and consumption data in globally-comparable terms. The PPP is computed on the basis of price data from across the world, and the responsibility for determining a particular year’s PPP rests with the International Comparison Program (ICP), an independent statistical program with a Global Office housed within the World Bank’s Development Data Group.
What is the significance of revision in the international poverty line?
The global poverty line is used primarily to track global extreme poverty, and to measure progress on global goals set by the World Bank, the United Nations, and other development partners. A country’s national poverty line is far more appropriate for underpinning policy dialogue or targeting programs to reach the poorest. For example, in a middle-income country, where the national poverty line is at 4 US dollars a day, the global poverty threshold may be less relevant than in a poorer country where the national line is at 1.65 US dollars or similar.
When will the global poverty line be updated again?
The revision in the international poverty line once the Commission on Global Poverty provides its recommendations in April 2016.
Who has won Asia’s premier Mountain Biking Race - Portugal’s Pinto
Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 4th October 2015, Luis Leao Pinto of Portugal won Asia’s premier mountain biking race and got the crown of ‘King of the Himalaya’ for the second time.
Andi Seewald of Germany and Pau Zamora of Spain were the other two top riders in the Solo Men’s category. A total 68 riders took part in the race and 54 completed it.
Apart from this, Catherine Williamson from (UK) appeared as the overall winner in the Open Women’s Solo category. She was followed by Ilda Periera of Portugal and Laxmi Magar from Nepal.
Reimund Dietzen, the veteran pro-rider is the winner in the Master’s solo category.
Who is elected as the president of BCCI - Shashank Manohar
Among the important appointments, On 4th October 2015, Shashank Manohar was elected President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during a special general meeting called by the BCCI following the demise of Jagmohan Dalmiya.
He is also referred to as Mr. Clean and is also known for his spotless track record and integrity in cricketing circles.
Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone opened to public for - 1st time in 12 years
On 4th October 2015, Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone open to the public for the first time in 12 years.
In a statement, al-Abadi said that the move was part of a reform drive that was promised to people. Although, he added, some restrictions would remain, with a number of streets requiring a special pass.
In 2003, after the US-led invasion the 10 square kilometers area, home to government buildings and foreign embassies, was closed.
This opening of the Green Zone may end complain of several Iraqis who said that the zone has become symbol of disconnect between the country's top officials and ordinary citizens.
Green Zone area of Baghdad
The present day, Green Zone area of Baghdad that lies on the west bank of the Tigris River in the Karkh district of central Baghdad, was known as the International Zone of Baghdad and was a seat of government power under former president Saddam Hussein. The area became Green Zone after the 2003 US-led invasion and was declared as a no-go area for public.
Despite being protected by high concrete walls with barbed wire and a number of checkpoints, the complex has been targeted number of times by militant groups.
Global poverty projections for 2015 has been released by - World Bank
On 4th October 2015, World Bank released global poverty projections for the year 2015. As per the projections, the number of people living in extreme poverty around the world is likely to fall to under 10 % of the global population in 2015.
Hence, the world is all set to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 1- ending poverty in all its forms by 2030.
The projections were based on the updated poverty line of 1.90 US dollars per day on the 2011 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) exchange rates basis. The earlier poverty line was 1.25 US dollars per day at 2005 PPP exchange rates.
Takeaways from the poverty projections
- Poverty is declining in all regions but it is becoming deeper and more entrenched in countries that are either conflict ridden or overly dependent on commodity exports.
- While some African countries have seen significant successes in reducing poverty, the region as a whole lags the rest of the world in the pace of lessening poverty.
- Sub-Saharan poverty fell from an estimated 56 % in 1990 to a projected 35 % in 2015
- For the last several decades, three regions, East Asia and Pacific, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, have accounted for some 95 % of global poverty.
- In 1990, East Asia accounted for half of the global poor, whereas some 15 % lived in in Sub-Saharan Africa; by 2015 Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for half of the global poor, with some 12 % living in East Asia.
- Sustained reduction in poverty, began in 1990, is moving the world closer to the historic goal of ending poverty by 2030
- Global poverty will have fallen from 902 million people or 12.8 % of the global population in 2012 to 702 million people or 9.6 % of the global population in 2015.
- Reductions in poverty were due to strong growth rates in developing countries in recent years, investments in people’s education, health, and social safety nets that helped keep people from falling back into poverty.
- Present challenges in eradicating extreme poverty are- slower global growth, volatile financial markets, conflicts, high youth unemployment, and the growing impact of climate change.
- Poverty in East Asia and the Pacific would fall to 4.1 % of its population in 2015, down from 7.2 % in 2012.
- Latin America and the Caribbean would see fall to 5.6 % in 2015 from 6.2 in 2012.
- In South Asia, the poverty would fall to 13.5 % in 2015, compared to 18.8 % in 2012.
The projections for 2015 are in tune with two goals set by the World Bank for itself in April 2013-to end extreme poverty by 2030, and to boost shared prosperity by raising the incomes of the bottom 40 % of populations.
Who is appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of Flipkart - Sriram Venkataraman
Among the important appointments, On 4th October 2015, India’s e-commerce giant, Flipkart, appointed Sriram Venkataraman as the new Chief Finance Officer (CFO) for its commerce platform (CP). Also, Pramod Jain has been appointed as Vice President and Head of Taxation.
Venkataraman will watch over all aspects of the finance function for CP. He will also be responsible to drive the CP business to deliver its goals.
Jain will play an important role in taking the tax team’s engagement with revenue and government authorities to the next level.
Where did the 26th edition of CORPAT between India and Indonesia begun - Andaman Sea
Among the important International Current Affairs, On 3rd October 2015, 26th edition of the Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) between India and Indonesia began in the Andaman Sea. It will be the first ever bilateral exercise between the two nations. The expanded version of the 18-day long CORPAT that will conclude on 21st October 2015.
Participants in the 26th edition of CORPAT are
- India - INS Saryu, an indigenously built NOPV based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, along with a Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft
- Indonesia - Indonesian Navy
About Coordinated Patrolling (CORPAT)
The two navies have been carrying out Coordinated Patrolling (CORPAT) along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) twice a year since 2002 with the aim of keeping this vital part of the Indian Ocean Region safe and secure for commercial shipping and international trade.
The CORPAT has nourished understanding and interoperability between the navies, instituting measures to prosecute vessels engaged in unlawful activities and conducting Search and Rescue as well as pollution control.
Who has won women's doubles title of Wuhan Tennis Open - Sania Mirza & Martina Hingis
Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 3rd October 2015, Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won the women's doubles title of Wuhan Tennis Open by defeating Romanian team of Irina-Camelia Begu and Monica Niculescu.
With this win, the Indo-Swiss pair won their seventh WTA doubles titles together in the year 2015. The other six WTA titles are Wimbledon, Indian Wells, Guangzhou, Charleston, the US Open, and Miami.
They have won their last three tournaments and their last 13 matches without dropping a single set.
Who has won Portuguese general election - Ruling Social Democratic Party-led coalition
On 4th October 2015, Ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD)-led coalition won general election to the Portuguese parliament-Assembly of Republic.
The PSD and the CDS – People's Party coalition secured 37 % votes out of which the share of the PSD is just over 32 %.
Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho is set to hold the post for next four years after this win.
At present, Portugal is suffering from unemployment at the rate of 12 % of the workforce and 125 % debt to GDP - the second highest rate in the European Union next only to Greece.
Who has won Skoch Award for Effective Solid Waste Management - Trichy Corporation
Among the important National Current Affairs, In third week of September 2015, The Tiruchirapalli City Municipal Corporation was awarded with Skoch Smart Governance Award for Achieving Operational Excellence in Waste Transportation using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based solutions.
The award was given by Skoch, a Gurgaon-based group that deals with social issues.
For the effective solid waste management, the city corporation used radio frequency identification system (RFID).
The RFID tag was devised to supervise garbage collection from various sources to Ariyamangalam dumping yard, which receives nearly 400 metric tons of garbage daily. The corporation in association with a private firm introduced the RFID attached dumpsters in 17 wards of the city corporation in the first phase.
A private firm monitored the dumpster with the help of software, Chitragupta. They watched over workers and their cleaning activity. Once the dumpsters were cleaned, the corporation officials received a message in their cell phones.
The system has also simplified the process of segregation of waste into degradable and bio-degradable waste. Conservancy workers were trained on collection and segregation, which was put into practice in Srirangam zone a few months ago.
Do You Know :
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the wireless use of electromagnetic fields to transfer data to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. The tags carry electronically stored information.
Who has been given additional charge of Chief Executive Officer of FSSAI - Ashish Bahuguna
Among the important National Current Affairs, On 4th October 2015, Ashish Bahuguna, the Chairman of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), was given an additional charge of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FSSAI.
In July 2015, Bahuguna was appointed as Chairman of the food regulator. He is a retired IAS officer of 1978-batch of Rajasthan cadre and former Agriculture Secretary.
About Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
In August 2011, FSSAI was instituted under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It is an agency of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety. It is headquartered at New Delhi.
DRDO inaugurated world’s highest Research Centre in - Ladakh
Among the important National Current Affairs, On 3rd October 2015, The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) inaugurated an Extreme Altitude Research Centre at Chang La, Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir at 17600 feet above mean sea level. It is the world’s highest terrestrial research and development centre.
It is situated 75 km off Leh town towards Pangong Lake.
Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), Leh, a constituent establishment of DRDO has established the centre. The centre will serve as a natural cold storage for preserving rare and endangered medicinal plants for generations.
The centre will be highly useful for Research & Development work in anterior areas of food and agriculture and bio-medical sciences for safety of the soldiers deployed in high-altitude cold desert.
Apart from this, many life sciences activities are also planned to be undertaken at the centre including human physiological work, long term conservation of plant genetic resources, designing, testing, validation and demonstration of mobile greenhouses, soil-less micro-farming technologies for fresh food in far-flung landlocked posts.
Do You Know :
Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) was established in 1962 and was formerly known as Field Research Laboratory, is one of the laboratories of DRDO. The lab is the brainchild of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru.
It is situated in Leh at an altitude of 3500 meter above mean sea level. The lab specialises in cold arid agro-animal technology in the world.
2015 FIBA Asian Basketball Championship was won by - China
Among the important Sports Current Affairs, On 3rd October 2015, China won the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Championship by defeating the Philippines.
The victory has won the nation a direct qualification for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In the final game, Yi Jianlian scored maximum runs and earned 15 rebounds and was also selected as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Philippines and Iran have secured the second and third place respectively in the tournament. India ended on eighth place in the tournament.
Citizen Portal to launch police complaints has been launched by - Odisha
On 3rd October 2015, Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik launched a Citizen Portal, which enables the citizens to lodge their complaints online to the state police through internet.
The facility will allow citizens to access information, request for different police services and complaints. They can also get a copy of FIR.
Features of Citizen Portal
- They can ask for permission to hold events and performances.
- They can use the portal for tenants verification, employees verification.
- Citizens can avail the service of portal to get character certificates.
- They can seek permission for taking out processions, rallies, protests and strikes.
- They can also track the status of the complaints registered by them on the portal.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine-2015
Among the important International Current Affairs, On 5th October 2015, The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine announced the recipients of the 2015 award.
The 2015 prize was divided, one half jointly to William C Campbell (Ireland) and Satoshi Omura (Japan) for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites and the other half to Youyou Tu (China) for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria.
Contributions of Awardees
Satoshi Omura is a Japanese biochemist. He is associated with the Kitasato University of Japan.
Youyou Tu is a Chinese medical scientist, pharmaceutical chemist, and educator best known for discovering artemisinin (also known as Qinghaosu) and dihydroartemisinin, used to treat malaria. At present, she is working at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
William C Campbell is an Irish biochemist, Biologist and Parasitologist. Currently, he is a research fellow emeritus at Drew University, Madison in New Jersey, the USA.

Current Affairs 3rd October 2015

Current Affairs 6th October 2015

ptna@...."BANKING QUEEN" 9 years ago

the best ever compiled work of all leading news papers. thnxs aton ppl

mastguru 9 years ago replied

welcome Sanju !