18th & 19th October 2020 Daily GK Update: Read Daily GK, Current Affairs for Bank Exam

Here is the daily GK update of 18th & 19th October 2020 covering the following news headlines: CRPF, IIT Delhi, DRDO, JATC, DDCA, BrahMos missile, SCO.

Daily GK updates are incorporated with the important news that made the current affairs headlines for banking or other competitive exams. Daily GK Update is the complete bag of the important news that held all day long. One should have complete knowledge about the banking terms, current affairs news, etc. So, here is the GK update of 18th & 19th October 2020 to help you prepare the Current affairs part. After reading this section, you can successfully attempt Current Affairs Quiz.

National News

1. CRPF collaborates with IIT Delhi, DRDO, JATC to augment R&D capabilities

• The country’s largest para-military force, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has collaborated with IIT Delhi, Defence Research and Development Organisation, and Joint Advanced Technology Centre (JATC) to augment its Research and Development capabilities.
• The CRPF officers/SOs(Subordinate Officers) who are trained by the IIT Delhi will also be associated with joint research projects undertaken by DRDO and IIT Delhi in the field of defence/security tech solutions.
• CRPF has over 3 lakh personnel, of which more than 500 officers/SOs holds a degree in Engineering.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• Central Reserve Police Force Director-General: AP Maheshwari.
• Central Reserve Police Force Headquarters: New Delhi, India.

International News

2. Jacinda Ardern wins 2nd term as New Zealand’s PM

• The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, won a landslide victory in the country’s general election, to be elected as the PM for the second consecutive three-year term.
• In the battle against Covid, Ardern was alone among her western peers in pursuing an explicit elimination strategy and imposed one of the strictest nationwide lockdowns in the world.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

• New Zealand Capital: Wellington.
• New Zealand New Zealand dollar.

Appointments

3. Rajkiran Rai becomes new chairman of IBA

• The Managing Director and CEO of Union Bank of India, Rajkiran Rai G has been elected as the Chairman of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) for the term 2020-21.
• He succeeds Rajnish Kumar as the IBA Chairman after Kumar recently retired as SBI Chief.
• Apart from this, Dinesh Kumar Khara, the Chairman of State Bank of India has been elected as the deputy chairman of the association.
• IBA is an association of banks and other entities in the banking ecosystem in India catering to its members

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Defence

6. India successfully test-fires BrahMos missile from INS Chennai

• India successfully test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, from the Indian Navy’s indigenously-built stealth destroyer INS Chennai with the weapon hitting a pre-designated target in the Arabian Sea.
• The missile hit the target in the Arabian Sea successfully with pinpoint accuracy after performing high-level and extremely complex manoeuvres.
• The highly versatile BrahMos has been jointly designed, developed and produced by India and Russia under the joint venture, BrahMos Aerospace.
• The supersonic cruise missile can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, and land platforms.
• The missile has a top speed of Mach 2.8, nearly three times the speed of sound.
• The extended-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile that can hit targets 400 km away. The range has been increased from the existing 290 km.

7. 8th India-Sri Lanka Maritime Exercise SLINEX-20 begins

• The 8th edition of the annual Indian Navy (IN) – Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX-20 starts at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka from 19 to 21 October 2020.
• The Indian Navy will be represented by the indigenously built ASW corvettes Kamorta and Kiltan. The Sri Lanka Navy will be represented by SLN Ships Sayura (Offshore Patrol Vessel) and Gajabahu (Training Ship).
• The SLINEX-20 will enhance interoperability, improve mutual understanding and exchange best practices and procedures for multi-faceted maritime operations between both navies.
• The exercise is being conducted in a non-contact ‘at-sea-only’ format in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic.
• SLINEX series of exercise emphasises the deep engagement between India and Sri Lanka which has strengthened mutual cooperation in the maritime domain.

8. India conducts successful night trial of nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile

• India has successfully conducted the night trial of its nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore, off Odisha coast.
• The user flight trial was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command of the armed force under the watch of DRDO scientists as part of a training exercise.

• The state-of-the-art missile is India’s first indigenous surface-to-surface strategic missile, developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
• The 9-metre tall liquid-propelled Prithvi-2 has a range of 350 km and can carry a 1-tonne warhead.
• It uses Advanced Inertial Guidance System (AIGS) with manoeuvring trajectory to reach the target with a few metre accuracy.
• It has been designed to deliver advanced warheads deep into enemy territory. The missile dives at the target at an 80-degree angle.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams: 

• DRDO Chairman: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy.
• DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi.

9. Aishwarya Sridhar wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award

• A 23-year-old, Mumbai based girl, Aishwarya Sridhar became the first Indian woman to win the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. It is the 56th year of the prestigious award.
• Her image titled ‘Lights of passion’, won among 50,000 entries from over 80 countries across the world.
• Only 100 images were shortlisted and she won the award for her photograph in the Behaviour Invertebrates category.
• She is the first and youngest girl to win this prestigious award from India in the Adult category. The award winners were announced at the Natural History Museum in London.

Summits and Conferences

10. India hosts 7th meeting of Ministers of Justice of SCO

• The 7th meeting of Ministers of (Law and) Justice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Member States was virtually hosted by Indian Minister of Law & Justice, Communication and Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad.
• The Indian side urged the SCO Member States to promote the exchange of ideas, best practices and experiences in identified areas through the platform.
• He also mentioned initiating Pro Bono Legal Services to provide free legal aid to marginalized sections of the society.
• The virtual meeting was attended by justice ministers from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, according to a statement by the Ministry Of Law and Justice.
• The Seventh Session of the Justice Ministers of SCO member states deliberated on areas of cooperation; emphasized the high relevance of mutual exchange of legal information on counteraction to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and acknowledged the need for cooperation in ADR mechanism area, among others.

11. India ranked 94 in Global Hunger Index 2020

• India ranked 94 among 107 nations in the Global Hunger Index 2020. With a score of 27.2, India has been placed in the “serious” category in the GHI scale. Although there is an improvement in a score as compared to 38.9 in 2000, 37.5 in 2006, and 29.3 in 2012 but still it represent a serious level of hunger.
• Last year, India’s rank was 102 out of 117 countries. According to the report, 14 per cent of India’s population is undernourished.
• It also showed the country recorded a 37.4 per cent stunting rate among children under five and a wasting rate of 17.3 per cent. The under-five mortality rate stood at 3.7 per cent.
• The neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan too are in the ‘serious’ category but ranked higher than India in this year’s hunger index.
• While Bangladesh ranked 75, Myanmar and Pakistan are in the 78th and 88th position. Nepal in 73rd and Sri Lanka in 64th position are in ‘moderate’ hunger category, the report showed.

Sports

12. Pakistan’s fast Bowler Umar Gul announces retirement

• Pakistani pace bowler, Umar Gul has announced that he will retire from all forms of cricket.
• The 36-year-old Gul, who played his last match for Pakistan an ODI in 2016, featured for Balochistan team in the National T20 Cup.
• The Peshawar-born Gul made his international debut in an ODI in 2003. He played his first Test that year itself. His last Test was against South Africa in 2013. From 47 Test matches, Gul took 163 wickets at an average of 34.06.
• He also claimed 179 wickets from 130 ODIs, besides 85 wickets from 60 T20Is.

Obituaries

13. Veteran Bengali Vocal Artiste Pradip Ghosh passes away

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