Daily GK Updates - 12th October, 2018

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  President Kovind inaugurates 13th Annual Convention of CIC : President Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the 13^th annual convention of the Central Information Commission (CIC) in New Delhi.The Convention will deliberate on three specific subjects-Data privacy and Right to Information , Amendment in the RTI Act and , Implementation of the RTI Act.

2. Three-day Silver Jubilee celebrations of NHRC begin today : The three days Silver Jubilee celebrations of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has begun to mark the occasion.Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the new version of the NHRC website and addressed the Silver Jubilee Foundation Day of the commission in New Delhi.Mr. Modi also issues a Postage Stamp and Special Cover on the occasion.The Commission will organize a ‘Human Rights Mela’ and ‘Human Rights Street Theatre Festival’ tomorrow.

3.  Sushma Swaraj participates in 17th CHG meeting of SCO in Tajikistan : The union External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj participated in the 17th Council of Heads of Government (CHG) meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.This was the second CHG meeting since India became a full member of SCO in June 2017.The SCO CHG meeting is a forum that enables India to engage with SCO member countries and Observer states of Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.  Malaysian Government abolishes Capital punishment : The Malaysian government decided to scrap capital punishment following strong domestic opposition to the practice.Currently, Capital punishment in Malaysia is mandatory for murder, kidnapping, possession of firearms and drug trafficking, among other crimes.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS/ECONOMY:

1. Govt hikes import duty on certain communication items up to 20% : According to The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) release, The Union government has hiked import duty on certain communication items, including base stations, to up to 20 per cent.This is the second round of import duty hike announced by the government in a little over a fortnight.The import duty has also been hiked on certain inputs used in the communication industry like Printer Circuit Board Assembly.

2.  Central University of Jammu signs MoU with ISRO to set up space applications centre :The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed an MoU with the Central University of Jammu (CUJ) for setting up of the Satish Dhawan Center for Space Science in the University in Jammu.Another MoU was signed between CUJ and the Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIR-CSIO). The objective of the centre to create awareness about space research and motivate young minds to take up researches related to space, astronomy, geology, tmospheric sciences and related fields.

3. Indus Towers wins Deming Prize for 2018 : The world's largest telecom tower company (outside China) ‘Indus Towers’ has won the Deming Prize for 2018.Indus Towers is the first Indian company in the service sector and the fifth in the world to achieve this.The Deming Prize was bestowed on Indus Towers for distinctive performance improvements through the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) practices.

BANKING/FINANCE:

1. World Bank’s Human Capital Index: Singapore Tops, India Ranks 115^th  : As part of the World Development Report 2019, The World Bank released the Human Capital Index (HCI) at the World Bank-IMF annual meetings in Bali, Indonesia.Singapore topped the poll, highly rated for its universal health care system, education exams results and life expectancy figures.It is followed by South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Finland.The broader theme of the World Development Report (WDR) 2018 is “The Changing Nature of Work”.

SPORTS:

1. Archer Harvinder Singh clinches seventh gold for India in 2018 Asian Para-Games : Archer Harvinder Singh clinched seventh gold for India in the men's individual recurve category in the Asian Para-Games in Jakarta. Harvinder defeated Zhao Lixue (China) 6-0 in the W2/ST category final. Monu Ghangas claimed the silver in the men's discus throw F11 category, while Mohammed Yasser fetched a bronze in the men's shot put F46 category.