Daily Current Affairs- 9 October 2024

Daily Current Affairs- 9th October 2024

INTERNATIONAL

India to open Invest India Office in UAE to boost investment ties

• In a significant move to strengthen economic ties between India and the UAE, the Indian government has announced the opening of an Invest India office in Dubai. This decision was revealed during the 12^th Meeting of the India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments (HLJTFI), co-chaired by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, and Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). 

India and UAE to interlink payment systems for smooth cross-border transactions

• Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced that India and the UAE are working on interlinking India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with the UAE’s AANI system to enable seamless cross-border transactions between the two countries. This move is set to benefit the over 3 million Indians residing in the UAE. 

NATIONAL

WHO declares that India as Trachoma Free

• World Health Organisation has declared that the Government of India has eliminated Trachoma as a public health problem becoming the third country in the South-East Asia Region to achieve this milestone. 

PM Modi laid foundation stones of projects worth Rs 7,600 crore in Maharashtra

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of various development projects in Maharashtra worth over Rs 7600 crore on Wednesday through video conference, as per a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office. 

Pankaj Chaudhary inaugurates GST Bhawan at Nangal Raya, Janakpuri, Delhi

• Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary inaugurated the state-of-the-art Goods and Services Tax (GST) office building in Nangal Raya, Delhi. Representing a significant milestone in the government’s commitment to improve tax administration and enhance public service, this new facility will serve as the official complex for various CGST Delhi formations. 

SPORTS

Cueist Pankaj Advani wins Singapore Open Title

• In Billiards, Indian cueist Pankaj Advani won the Songhe Singapore Open title with a 5-1 victory over local favourite Jaden Ong. Advani took the first two frames before Ong won the third, but a key snooker by Advani in the fourth helped him regain control. 

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Post Day

• World Post Day is an international day that occurs each year on October 9, the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union, which started in 1874 in Switzerland. The UPU was the start of the global communications revolution, introducing the ability to write letter to others all over the world. 

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton Awarded Nobel Prize 2024 in Physics

• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 to John J. Hopfield from Princeton University, USA, and Geoffrey E. Hinton from the University of Toronto, Canada. They are being honored for their foundational discoveries and inventions that have advanced the field of machine learning, particularly through the development of artificial neural networks. 

BANKING AND ECONOMY

IFC Partners with Axis Bank for India’s First Blue Loan of $500 Million

• The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution, is partnering with Axis Bank, one of the largest private sector banks in India, to provide a $500 million loan to help develop a blue finance market and scale up financing of green projects in India. 

ICICI Bank, PhonePe partner to provide credit line on UPI for customers

• ICICI Bank and PhonePe has entered into a partnership to offer a credit line on UPI to customers of the Bengaluru-based fintech major, Pre-approved customers, PhonePe users can avail of a short-term credit line from ICICI Bank up to Rs 2 lakh with a repayment period of 45 days.