Current Affairs in Short: 9 October 2020

Rajeshwar Rao Appointed RBI Deputy Governor

• M Rajeshwar Rao has been appointed as the fourth deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India. The post was vacant since NS Vishwanathan stepped down in March citing health reasons, three months before his term was scheduled to end.
• Rao was till recently serving as RBI’s executive director, a post that he had taken over in 2016. In the position, he was handling financial market operations and internal debt management.
• He had joined the central bank in 1984 and has served across most divisions. 
• He was in charge of the risk monitoring department of RBI and had worked across its regional offices in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Chennai.  
• Other RBI Deputy governors include Michael Patra, BP Kanungo and MK Jain. 

Piyush Goyal given additional charge of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

• Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has been given additional charge of the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. The additional role was given by President Ram Nath Kovind on October 9, 2020. 
• Piyush Goyal is serving the portfolio of Union Minister of Railways and Commerce and Industry in the Union Cabinet. 
• He has taken over the additional responsibility after the death of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who passed away on October 9, 2020 following prolonged illness at the age of 74.

Delhi government passes Tree Transplantation Policy

• Delhi govt has passed a tree transplantation policy, under which 80% of the trees uprooted for any construction or development project will have to be transplanted elsewhere. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal shared the news. 
• The CM announced that the transplantation agency will only get their due payment if 80 percent of the transplanted trees survive. 
• The Delhi government will soon be setting up a panel of national-level transplantation agencies, whose services can be availed for the relocation of trees.  The national capital will also form a dedicated tree transplantation cell.  
• Local committees along with RWA members and residents will monitor the transplanted trees.

China formally joins WHO-led COVAX facility 

• China has formally joined the COVAX facility, a global initiative for the COVID-19 vaccine, by signing an agreement with Gavi Vaccine Alliance on October 8, 2020.The news was shared by the spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying in a statement on October 9.
• The statement, however, does not give details on the level of support Beijing will provide to the initiative. The COVAX facility, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to distribute at least 2 billion doses of COVID vaccines by 2021 end.
• Earlier, WHO had said it had been negotiating with China for its participation in the initiative. Both Russia and the United States have so far chosen not to join.
• Over 150 countries have joined the WHO-led initiative to develop, produce and equitably distribute an effective COVID-19 vaccine. China is the biggest economy so far as to join the COVAX initiative. 

IISc Bengaluru develops non-invasive bandage to treat skin cancer

• The Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru has developed a non-invasive bandage with magnetic nanofibers that can potentially treat skin cancer. 
• The researchers at IISc’s Centre for Biosystems Science and Engineering and Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics have developed a bandage with a unique blend of magnetic nanoparticles fabricated using a method called electrospinning.
• The researchers conducted two experiments using the magnetic bandage and both times, its application killed the cancer cells successfully. The bandage does not seem to harm healthy tissues, as it was found out that the healthy tissue remained intact with no signs of burns, inflammation or thickening.