CURRENT AFFAIRS 1st & 2nd OCTOBER 2018

NATIONAL

Assam Government has become the first Indian state to offer a Wage Compensation Scheme for pregnant women working in the tea gardens of the state. The scheme will be launched by Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal in Guwahati.
In pursuance of its objective of ensuring that Legislation is in sync with the needs of strong economic fundamentals, the Government has constituted a Competition Law Review Committee to review the Competition Act.
The Government constituted a seven-member ministerial panel headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi to examine modalities for revenue mobilisation in case of natural calamities and disasters
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) launched a Flood Forecasting and Early Warning System (FFEWS) for Kolkata City. It is also India’s first comprehensive city-level FFEWS. It will reduce economic loss and impacts on livelihood and improve flood awareness and safety at the community level.
According to Association of Mutual Funds of India’s (AMFI) statistics, Maharashtra tops the chart for state with the maximum penetration and Assets Under Management (AUM). Also, as per August, average assets under management (AUM) of mutual funds rose to an all-time high of Rs 25.2 lakh crore across the country.
The MoU between the Portuguese Environment Ministry and Goa Public Works Department (PWD) was signed. It will help Goa manage its water resources better.
The three day Kalahandi Dialogue, a global conclave on development has been launched by Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik. Using the platform the Chief Minister launched several projects for the district of Kalahandi.
Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched an innovative initiative titled SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation).

INTERNATIONAL

Canada agreed to sign a trade deal with the United States and Mexico, revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after almost a year of negotiations. The new deal has been named the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Ministry of AYUSH has set up an AYUSH Information Cell at the premises of the Indian Embassy in Romania to disseminate authentic information about AYUSH system of medicine and encourage Ayurveda practice in Romania.

BANKING & ECONOMY

The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 5 crore on Karur Vysya Bank for non-compliance of its directives
As per the RBI, India’s external debt declined 2.8% to USD 514.4 billion at June-end over the previous quarter on account of a decrease in commercial borrowings, short-term debt and non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits. At end-June 2018, the external debt was placed at USD 514.4 billion, recording a decrease of USD 14.9 billion over its level at end-March 2018.
Economic Affairs Secretary SC Garg has announced a reduction in gross borrowing estimate for the current fiscal by 70,000 crore rupees and maintained that the government will contain fiscal deficit target at 3.3%.

AWARDS

The Nobel Medicine or Physiology Prize has been awarded to James P Allison and Tasaku Honjo “for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.”. This is for the first time that no Literature Prize will be given in 70 years because of a #MeToo scandal

SPORTS

Yuvraj Wadhwani has won the 25th Asian junior individual squash championship title. He defeated Anas Ali Shah of Pakistan in the final in Chennai. Yuvraj has become the second Indian to win the Under-13 title after Veer Chotrani, who had won the title in 2014 in Iran

OBITUARIES

Legendary Chicago blues guitarist Otis Rush, whose passionate, a jazz-influenced sound influenced generations of musicians, has died.
Renowned harmonium player Pandit Tulsidas Borkar passed away in Mumbai. He was 84. He was being treated for chest infection