DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 12 OCT 2018


DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 12 OCT 2018
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
                                       SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN

1.      GOVERNMENT CUTS EXCISE DUTY ON JET FUEL TO 11 % FROM CURRENT 14 %
i. The government reduced excise duty on jet fuel to 11 % from current 14 % inorder to help the aviation industry that has been affected badly by high fuel prices.
ii. The Revenue Department of the Finance Ministry has notified that the excise duty on aviation turbine fuel  change will come to effect from 12th October 2018.

2.      FIRST INDIA-ISRAEL INNOVATION CENTRE OPENS IN BENGALURU
i. India’s first India-Israel Innovation Centre  an entrepreneurial technology hub, was launched in Bengaluru.
ii. It  will help Israeli companies enter India. It will enable local partnerships and joint ventures between companies from India and Israel.
iii. It will create an ecosystem to support entrepreneurship, partnership with vendors, mentoring and non-formal community development and covers business, technology, investors and customers.

3.      DELHI, MOSCOW SIGN TWIN-CITY AGREEMENT
i. Delhi government signed a twin-city agreement with the government of Moscow for cooperation in various fields like environment, culture and education, for the next 3 years.
ii. The two governments have mutually agreed to extend  help in environmental protection and air pollution control, cultural and tourism, healthcare, education, sports, transport management and e-governance.


4.      PRESIDENT RAM NATH KOVIND’S 3-DAY VISIT TO TAJIKISTAN
i. President Ram Nath Kovind was welcomed at a reception named “Friends of India in Tajikistan” in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
ii. The President of India announced allocation of a grant of USD 20 Million to Tajikistan for implementation of development projects of Tajikistan.
iii. President Ram Nath Kovind delivered lecture on the theme of ‘Countering Radicalisation: Challenges in Modern Societies’ at the University of Tajikistan in Dushanbe.

5.      JAPAN NOW HOLDS THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL PASSPORT
i. Japan surpassed Singapore to have the most powerful passport.
ii. Japan passport holders now enjoy visa-free access to 190 destinations, compared with Singapore’s 189.
iii. Iraq and Afghanistan are at the bottom (No. 106) with just 30 destinations.
 India is at 81st place with 60 country accesses.

6.      RBI INJECTED RS 12,000 CRORE INTO SYSTEM ON OCT 11 TO MANAGE LIQUIDITY
i. Reserve Bank announced injection of liquidity worth Rs 12,000 crore into the system through purchase of government bonds  under Open Market Operations.
ii. The government will purchase bonds with maturity ranging between 2020 to 2030.
iii. OMOs are the tools which can be used to either inject or drain liquidity from the system.
iv. If there is excess liquidity, the RBI resorts to sale of securities and sucks out the rupee liquidity.
v. when the liquidity conditions are tight, it buys securities from the market, thereby releasing money into the market.

7.      TUSHAR MEHTA APPOINTED AS THE NEW SOLICITOR GENERAL OF INDIA
i. Additional Solicitor General  Tushar Mehta was appointed as the Solicitor General of India by the central government.
ii. Solicitor General is a legal officer who represents a state or central government in legal proceedings.

8.      WORLD OBESITY DAY – OCTOBER 11
 i. World Obesity Day was observed throughout the world on  11th  October
ii. This day aims to create awareness about the increasing obesity issues and the diseases related to it.
iii. It also aims to support practical solutions for people to achieve a healthy weight and measures to sustain it.
iv. The theme of World Obesity Day focuses on weight stigma.