Top 10 Weekly Current Affairs: 22 October to 27 October 2018

List of major International Awards conferred upon Prime Minister Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was recently awarded with the Seoul Peace Prize 2018 for his contribution to international cooperation and fostering global economic growth. He was credited for his contribution towards regional and global peace.

Like this, PM Modi has been honoured with various awards and accolades since the time of taking the hold of premiership of the country in 2014. These are UN Champions of the Earth Award 2018, 'Grand Collar of the State of Palestine' in 2018, Amir Abdulla Khan Award of Afghanistan in 2016 and King Abdullaziz Sash Award of Saudi Arabia in 2016.

Alok Verma, Rakesh Asthana removed from their CBI posts; M Nageshwar Rao appointed

In a dramatic midnight action, the Union Government on October 23, 2018 removed CBI Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana from their posts.

While divesting Director Verma of his charge, the government and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) cited that Verma had not been cooperating with the CVC’s inquiry into allegations made by Asthana against him through a letter on August 24 to the Cabinet Secretary. Verma was appointed as CBI Director in 2016 for two years and his tenure ends in December 2018.

The decision was announced by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC). The decision came after the ongoing tussle between CBI Chief Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana escalated over bribery allegations, hurled at each other.

Government constitutes GoM to look into sexual harassment at workplace

The Union Government on October 24, 2018 constituted a four-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine and strengthen the existing legal and institutional frameworks for dealing with matters of sexual harassment of women at the workplace. According to official notification, the Group of Ministers will be headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The GoM has been constituted in view of the felt need for broader consultation on the issue, from the point of view of developing appropriate recommendations and laying down a comprehensive plan of action and for ensuring its time-bound implementation.

Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016: Why Assam is on boil?

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 has been gaining momentum amid protests against the Bill by Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) and 44 other organizations in Assam.

These organisations called for the 12-hour shutdown in Assam to protest against the Centre's proposal to pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the Winter Session of Parliament.

Moreover, Assam Government has refused to take part in the proposed rally of organisations from West Bengal in support of the Bill. Earlier on October 11, 2018, BJP President of West Bengal, Dilip Ghosh announced BJP Rath Yatras to be held in December 2018 to garner support for the Assam NRC and for the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill.

PM Narendra Modi awarded with prestigious Seoul Peace Prize 2018 for 'Modinomics'

The Seoul Peace Prize Committee on October 24, 2018 conferred the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his contribution to world peace through his economic vision, ‘Modinomics’. With this, PM Modi became the 14th recipient of this coveted award.

The committee assessed over a hundred candidates proposed by over 1300 nominators from around the world and decided to bestow the Prize on PM Modi, calling him 'the perfect candidate for the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize’. The nominating group consists of 300 Korean nationals and 800 internationals.

Invest India wins UN Investment Promotion Award for promoting renewable energy investment

The ‘Invest India’ initiative of the Union Government on October 22, 2018 won the top United Nations Investment Promotion Award in recognition of its efforts to boost investments in the renewable energy sector in India.

The award was presented by Armenian President Armen Sarkissian to Deepak Bagla, the CEO of Invest India, in Geneva, Switzerland at the inauguration of the World Investment Forum organised by the UN Convention on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Virat Kohli becomes fastest batsman to reach 10,000 ODI runs

Virat Kohli on October 24, 2018 became the fastest batsman to score 10,000 runs in one-day internationals, reaching the milestone in just 205 innings. With the feat, he surpassed the record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who had achieved the feat in 259 innings.

Virat Kohli became the fifth Indian batsman and 13th overall to reach 10000 ODI runs.The other Indians in the elite 10K club include Tendulkar (18426), Sourav Ganguly (11221), Rahul Dravid (10768) and MS Dhoni (10123).

Tendulkar was the first in history to breach the 10,000 mark in ODIs. He got there in 2001 against Australia in Indore.

Green fund approves $1 billion to assist poor countries to tackle climate change

Green Climate Fund, the UN-backed fund has approved more than $1 billion for 19 new projects to help developing countries tackle climate change. The decision was taken during a four-day meeting in Manama, Bahrain that ended late on October 20, 2018.

The green fund, considered a key vehicle for climate-related development programs, was originally meant to receive over $10 billion from rich countries by 2018. However, US President Donald Trump's decision to withhold $2 billion of the $3 billion pledged by his predecessor, Barack Obama, has contributed to a shortfall in its projected assets.

US to pull out of Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty with Russia

US President Donald Trump confirmed on October 20, 2018 that the United States will pull out of the three-decade-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which it had signed with Russia during the Cold War.

Explaining the decision, Trump alleged that Russia has "violated" the agreement. He said that they have been violating it for many years. He said that the US would not let Russia violate a nuclear agreement and go out and develop the weapons while the US is not allowed to. “We'll have to develop those weapons,” he added.

ILC submits 2nd Report on Cross Border Insolvency; recommends adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law

The Insolvency Law Committee (ILC) on October 22, 2018 submitted its 2nd Report on Cross Border Insolvency to Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs. The ILC was constituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to recommend amendments to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India, 2016,  

The ILC recommended the adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law of Cross Border Insolvency, 1997 as it provides for a comprehensive framework to deal with cross border insolvency issues. The Committee also recommended a few steps to ensure that there is no inconsistency between the domestic insolvency framework and the proposed Cross Border Insolvency Framework.

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