Daily GK Update: 18th October 2023

National & International Appointments

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das received the Award for being ranked ‘A+’ in the Global Finance Central Banker Report Cards 2023.
The award recognizes those central bank governors whose strategies outperformed their peers through originality, creativity, and tenacity.
Two other central bankers- Thomas J. Jordan of Switzerland and Nguyen Thi Hong of Vietnam earned an ‘A+’ grade in the Global Finance Central Banker Report Cards 2023.

Schemes

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that the beneficiaries under the Ujjwala scheme will get a cooking gas cylinder free of cost as a "Diwali gift".
The decision is expected to benefit 1.75 crore families in the state.
The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is a flagship initiative of the central government aimed at providing financial assistance for LPG connections to families falling below the poverty line (BPL).

Sports

Ashutosh Sharma, recently made headlines by shattering the long-standing record set by Yuvraj Singh for the fastest fifty by an Indian player in T20 cricket.
He achieved this feat during a match against Arunachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, reaching his fifty in just 11 balls.
Yuvraj had held the record for the last 16 years, having struck a fifty off 12 balls against England in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.

National & International Appointments

Businessman Daniel Noboa became the youngest president in Ecuador's history.
With more than 97% of votes counted, Mr Noboa, a centrist, had a lead of four percentage points over his left-wing rival, Luisa González.
The election campaign was overshadowed by unprecedented levels of violence, which saw one of the candidates, Fernando Villavicencio.
Ecuador has all the elements needed to be a global example of progress.

National & International Appointments

Christopher Luxon has been elected as the 42nd Prime Minister of New Zealand
He completed a rapid political ascent four years after leaving one of the country's top executive roles
He spent 7 years as chief executive of Air New Zealand, and was hailed a likely future leader upon entering politics in 2019
National hoped he could repeat the "glory days" under John Key, a former Merrill Lynch broker who won three elections for the party and served as PM from 2008 to 2016

National & International Appointments

Puma has roped in Team India’s fast bowler Mohammed Shami as its brand ambassador.
The sports brand has a star-studded roster of brand ambassadors which includes Virat Kohli, champion sprinter Usain Bolt.
Under this partnership, the Indian pacer will endorse Puma’s footwear, apparel and accessories through multiple activities and campaigns throughout the year.
The brand has also launched a new bowling spikes with a mid-sole meant for runners, to support fast bowlers

Important Dates

In 2023 Ayurveda Day will be celebrated internationally in about 100 countries across the globe.
It is scheduled on Dhanvantari Jayanti, 11 November 2023.
The day will be celebrated on the theme of Ayurveda for One Health. Objective: To promote and disseminate Ayurveda at the international level and establish it in the global scenario for the welfare of mankind, animals, plants, and the environment.

State Affairs

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology S Krishnan (IAS) inaugurated Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Lab in NIELIT Gorakhpur.
This is the First-of-its-kind lab in Uttar Pradesh under FutureSkill PRIME Project, which has been established to bridge the gap between Industry and Academia.
The state-of-art RPA lab has been built under the Future Skill PRIME Project funded by MeitY with an objective to upskill/reskill manpower in emerging technology of RPA.

National Affairs

India and Sri Lanka launched a ferry service across the Palk Strait under a new roadmap for greater connectivity,
Nearly four decades later the link between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai in Jaffna was disrupted by the civil war in the island nation.
The ferry service is expected to boost travel and trade with Kankesanthurai, the Sri Lankan port located closest to ports on India’s west coast.

State Affairs

Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan launched a web portal ‘Apna Chandrayaan’ having activity-based support material such as quiz , puzzles, etc for school students on Mission Chandrayaan-3
Aim: To make it more accessible, facilitating self-learning among students. He also released 10 special modules on Chandrayaan-3, offering a comprehensive overview of its various facets - including scientific, technological, and social aspects.