1st October 2015 Current Affair Updates |Daily GK Download

1. With $31 billion of foreign capital inflows, India has surpassed China and the US to take the pole position in attracting largest FDI in the first half of 2015. The Finance Ministry forwarded a report published in Financial Times, London, that said "India grabs investment league pole position." In 2014 India ranked fifth in terms of capital investment, after China, the US, the UK and Mexico. According to the report India has attracted $31 billion of FDI in H1 2015, ahead of $28 billion of China and $27 billion of US.

2. Naval warship INS Kochi, the largest-ever warship built in India, was commissioned by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai. It is of 7,500-tonne. The strike range of INS Kochi is 300 km and hit 50 targets simultaneously.

3. China launched a new-generation satellite into orbit that will support its global navigation and positioning network. The satellite was boosted by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. It is the 20th satellite of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and puts China one step closer to providing an alternative to the US-operated GPS. For the first time, the satellite featured a hydrogen atomic clock.

4. Maharashtra State Government announced popular Violinist and music composer Prabhakar Jog as the winner of Lata Mangeshkar Award for Lifetime Achievement (2015) for his contribution in the field of Music. In his sixty-years journey Prabhakar has made outstanding contribution in Hindi and Marathi music industry. 

5. Former Indian ambassador to Nepal Jayant Prasad was appointed as the Director General of Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), the prestigious New Delhi-based think tank on strategic affairs.

6. Following its sixteenth annual general meeting in New Delhi, the board of directors of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) re-elected Uday Shankar of Star India as President for a second term. Uday Shankar succeeded Man Jit Singh.

7. Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, launched the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification & Maintenance) Policy, 2015 in New Delhi. According to the provisions of the Green Highways Policy 2015, about Rs. 1000 crore per year will be available for plantation purpose on Highways by keeping aside 1% of the expenses for the construction of highways.

8. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that Beijing will establish an assistance fund with an initial pledge of $2 billion to help developing countries implement a sweeping global sustainable development agenda over the next 15 years. China will continue to increase investment in the least developed countries, aiming to increase its total to $12 billion by 2030.

9. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a major initiative to help developing countries reduce poverty. The "Six 100s" initiative, declared at a South-South cooperation roundtable Xi hosted, covers poverty reduction, agriculture, trade, environment, health and education. China will make available to developing countries in the next five years 100 poverty reduction programs, 100 agricultural cooperation projects, 100 trade promotion programs, 100 environment protection and climate change programs, 100 hospitals and clinics, as well as 100 schools and vocational training centers. 

10. FC Goa has appointed former footballer and seasoned administrator Sukhvinder Singh as its CEO. Sukhvinder has previously worked with the All India Football Federation.

11. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding and Ant Financial Services Group will make a strategic investment in Paytm. Paytm is presently India’s largest mobile payment and commerce platform. 

12. Anil Khanna, President of All India Tennis Association has been elected as Vice President of International Tennis Federation (ITF). Khanna, joins Katrina Adams of the United States and Rene Stambach of Switzerland as Vice Presidents.

13. Indian shooter Gurpreet Singh and Jitu Rai clinched a silver and bronze, respectively, in the men's 10m metre Air Pistol event at the Asian Air Gun Championship. Sepehr Safari Boroujeni of Iran claimed the gold medal.