Daily Current Affairs, 02nd October 2018

1) Nobel Prize 2018: Nobel Prize In Physics Goes To Arthur Ashkin, Gerard Mourou And Donna Strickland

•The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to Award the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics to Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland "for groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics". 

2) India & Uzbekistan Sign 17 Agreements & MoUs

•Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. The two sides took stock of the bilateral relationship across several sectors during the delegation-level talks.

•17 agreements and MoUs were signed in the field of law, tourism, military education, agriculture, science and technology, commerce and industry, pharmaceutical, national security and illicit trafficking besides others. Uzbek President supported India's bid for permanent membership of UN Security Council. 

3) United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres Arrives India On 4-Day Visit

•United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has arrived in New Delhi on a four-day visit to India. He will participate in the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention at the Rashtrapati Bhawan Cultural Centre, in New Delhi. 

•The event, which began, will conclude on 2nd October marking the launch of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations as well as the 4th anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission. The UN Chief will also attend the joint inaugural ceremony of the First Assembly of International Solar Alliance, 2nd RE-INVEST Conference and Energy Ministers Meet of Indian Ocean Rim Association of States member countries.

4) Multi-National Maritime Exercise 'IBSAMAR-VI' Starts In South Africa

•The sixth edition of IBSAMAR, a joint Multi-National Maritime Exercise between the Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies, is being held at Simons Town, South Africa.

•The last edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR V) was conducted off Goa, from 19 – 26 Feb 16. The aim of the exercise is to undertake collective training for participating navies, building interoperability and mutual understanding as well as sharing of best practices. 

5) India-Born Professor Gita Gopinath Named IMF Chief Economist

•India-born Harvard University professor Gita Gopinath has been appointed as the Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by IMF's Managing Director Christine Lagarde. 

•Ms. Gopinath will succeed Maurice (Maury) Obstfeld. Ms. Gopinath currently serves as the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics at Harvard University. The 46-year-old is also Economic Adviser to Kerala CM. 

6) Rangachari Sridharan Appointed Chairperson Of NFRA

•The Centre has appointed former IAS officer Rangachari Sridharan as chairperson of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), an entity which will function as an independent regulator for the auditing profession. 

•Sridharan is a retired 1983 batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre. The appointments committee of the cabinet also approved the appointment of retired Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer of the 1980 batch, Prasenjit Mukherjee as a full-time member in NFRA. 

7) BCCI Brought Under RTI Act By Central Information Commission

•The Central Information Commission (CIC) brought the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) under the RTI (Right to Information) Act. 

•The commission, which is the top appellate body in RTI matters, went through the laws and orders of the Supreme Court, the Law Commission of India report, submissions of the Central Public Information Officer in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to come to a conclusion that the characteristics of the BCCI fulfil the required conditions of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.