Daily Current Affairs, 08th October 2019

1) Air Force Day: 8th october

•Air Force Day is celebrated every year by the Indian Air Force on 8th of October. This year Indian Air Force celebrated its 87th anniversary. The IAF was founded on October 8, 1932.

•On the occasion of 87th anniversary of Indian Air Force, a scintillating air display by various aircraft was organized as the hallmark of the Air Force Day Parade-cum-Investiture Ceremony. The display commenced with flag bearing skydivers of the famous AKASH GANGA Team dropping out of an AN-32 aircraft in their colourful canopies. Indian Air Force officers who participated in the Balakot airstrike, flew three Mirage 2000 aircraft and two Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft in Avenger formation during the event.

2) India receives 1st Rafale fighter jet built for Indian Air Force

•India has got the 1st Rafale fighter jet “RB-001” built for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in France. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh received the 1st Rafale combat jet aircraft at Production Unit of Dassault Aviation in France. However, the first batch of jets will arrive in India only in May 2020. Defence Minister also held the Annual Defence dialogue with his French counterpart Florence Parly.

•The RB in the aircraft designation stands for IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria who as then Deputy Chief of IAF led the Indian negotiation team and had a major role in the contract negotiations.

3) The Nobel Prize in Physics 2019

•The Nobel Assembly has announced the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics. The prize will be awarded to James Peebles, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz.

•James Peebles was honoured for his contributions to the understanding of the evolution of the Universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos. Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz were awarded the prize for finding 51 Pegasi b, a gas giant orbiting a star 50 light-years away. It was the first exoplanet to be discovered orbiting a star like our own.

•The prize committees are currently working carefully and independently to select the recipients of the 2019 Nobel Prize and the laureates for other fields: Chemistry, Literature, Peace Prize and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The recipient for above prizes will be announced as per the schedule between 9th to 14th October, 2019.

4) World Habitat Day: 7 October

•The United Nations designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day. The Day is observed to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns. The focus of this year’s World Habitat Day is promoting the contribution of innovative frontier technologies to sustainable waste management to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 11: inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities.

•Theme for 2019: Frontier Technologies as an innovative tool to transform waste to wealth.

•This year’s Global Observance of World Habitat Day will be held in Mexico City.