Daily Current Affairs Of 12 October 2019

Current Affairs of Today 

1) Ethiopia PM Abiy Ahmed wins Nobel Peace Prize

Hailed as a visionary and reformer, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to resolve the long­running conflict with neighboring Eritrea.

Mr. Abiy was honored “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea,”

2) Mobile App, “m-Hariyali” Launched for ‘Environment Protection in Government Colonies’ Website

• Shri Hardeep S Puri, Minister of State(I/c)  for Housing & Urban Affairs launching the mobile app, “mHariyali,”
•  The app is aimed to encourage Public engagement in planting trees and other such Green drives.
• People can now upload information/photos of any plantation done by them, which is linked to the app and will be displayed on the website www.epgc.gov.in.
• The App provides for automatic geotagging of plants. 
• This app will also enable nodal officers to periodically monitor the plantation. 
• The App is user-friendly and works on any android mobile phone.

Earlier this month, as  part of activities, to promote ease of living, the Directorate of Estates, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs carried out the following activities in 103 selected government colonies (76 in Delhi and 29 in other States) through public/stakeholders participation:

1. Cleaning and greening of open space through the plantation
2. Rain Water Harvesting – Awareness and construction
3. Sensitization on Source Segregation of Household waste and Orientation and Capacity building on Home composting

A mass plantation drive “Haryali Mahotsav” was launched in San Martin Park, Chanakyapuri on 28.7.2019 by Secretary HUA in which approx 500 plants were planted and about 150 people, including students, participated. To date, 21,756 plants, including fruit plants have planted in these 103 colonies and more than 3800 people have participated.

3) SARAS Aajeevika Mela

The Ministry of Rural Development is organizing SARAS Aajeevika Mela at India Gate Lawns from 10th October to 23rd October 2019. Union Minister for Rural Development Shri Narendra Singh Tomar will formally inaugurate the Mela at India Gate lawns at 5 PM on 12.10.2019.

About SARAS Aajeevika Mela

SARAS Aajeevika Mela is an initiative by the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India, with an objective to bring the rural women Self Help Groups (SHGs) formed with support of DAY-NRLM, under one platform to showcase their skills, sell their products and help them build linkages with bulk buyers. Through participation in SARAS Aajeevika Mela, these rural SHG women get vital national level exposure to understand the demand and taste of urban customers. The Mela is organized by the marketing arm of the Ministry, Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART).

4) CM Arvind Kejriwal launches ‘Clean Air Cities Declaration’ in C40 Summit

• Mr. Kejriwal launched the ‘Clean Air Cities Declaration’ along with the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen, Mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau and Mayor of Portland Ted Wheeler. 
• Delhi is one of the 94 cities attending the summit to have committed to clean its air in a time-bound manner.
• Mr. Kejriwal also announced that the Delhi government will constitute a Special Task Force that will monitor Delhi’s progress towards meeting the goals in the declaration. 
• Mr. Kejriwal will chair the Clean Air Task Force that will consist of Ministers and officials from various departments.
• The Chief Minister also took the opportunity to state that the government will undertake a “large scale expansion” in public transport by doubling the city’s bus fleet, inducting at least 1,000 fully electric buses and encouraging the adoption of e­vehicles

5) India and Comoros sign MoUs on Defence Cooperation, health, culture and arts

Seeking to expand bilateral relations in various fields, India and Comoros signed 6 MoUs including one on defense cooperation. Other MoUs sought to cement cooperation in the fields of health and medicine, arts and culture and tele-education (e-Vidya Bharati) and telemedicine (e-Arogya Bharati). MoUs on exemption of Visa for Diplomatic and Official Passport holders for short visits and protocol on foreign office consultation were also signed.

The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu and the President of the Union of Comoros, Mr. Azali Assoumani witnessed the signing of these MoUs.

6) GeM signs MOU with Union Bank of India

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Union Bank of India (UBI) in New Delhi on October 10, 2019. Through this partnership, UBI will be able to offer an array of services including transfer of funds through GeM Pool Accounts (GPA), advising of Performance Bank Guarantees (e-PBG) and Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) to the registered users on the GeM portal. The MoU will facilitate a cashless, paperless and transparent payment system on the portal and will create an efficient procurement system for government entities

About GeM

The GeM is an initiative of the Government of India offering a one-stop platform facilitating online procurement of common use goods and services required by various government departments, organizations, Public Sector Units. GeM provides tools for Direct Purchase, bidding and reverse auction in a transparent manner for government departments.

7) SUMAN Scheme

• Centre launches Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) initiative aimed at assuring free health care for every woman and newborn and zero tolerance for denial of services. under which pregnant women, mothers up to 6 months after delivery, and all sick newborns will be able to avail of free healthcare benefits.
• According to the government, India’s maternal mortality rate has declined from 254 per 1,00,000 live births in 2004-06 to 130 in 2014-16. Between 2001 and 2016, the infant mortality rate came down from 66 per 1,000 live births to 34
• The scheme will largely help in bringing down maternal and infant mortality rates in the country. Under the scheme, the beneficiaries visiting public health facilities are entitled to several free services. These include at least four antenatal check-ups that also includes one checkup during the 1st trimester, at least one checkup under Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, Iron Folic Acid supplementation, Tetanus Diptheria injection and other components of comprehensive ANC package and six home-based newborn care visits

8) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping Informal summit

• The second “informal summit” between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping began at Mamallapuram, a town famously associated with Pallava rulers.
• The first summit took place in Wuhan in the wake of the Doklam crisis. The present meeting is being held following China’s strong reaction to the Indian government’s decision on Article 370 and the bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir
• They agreed to work together to ensure that “radicalization and terrorism” did not affect the fabric of the “multi-cultural, multi-­ethnic and multi-­religious societies” of their countries.

Monuments Visited

• Arjuna’s Penance, Panch (Five) Rathas and the Shore Temple
• Varaha Cave, located behind Arjuna’s Penance
• Krishna’s Butter Ball (which is a natural rock formation, perched precariously on the hillock slope)

9) Tripura government has launched ANGIKAAR campaign

Tripura State government has launched the ANGIKAAR campaign. Under the campaign, the State aims to construct 2200 flats at Agartala and an International Shopping Mall to encourage international business in the state.

10)  National Hindi Science writer's conference

In Uttar Pradesh, the first 2-day long National Hindi Science writers conference will start in Lucknow to release science writing from the clutches of English and to promote the use of Hindi and other vernacular languages.