Current Affairs: 20 October, 2016

International conference on voter education begins in Delhi

• Three-day International Conference on voter education has been inaugurated by Chief Election
• Commissioner of India Dr. Nasim Zaidi.
• 27 countries and 5 international organizations are participating in the event.
• The Conference is being organized with an aim to share best practices, policies and initiatives of voter education by the election management bodies.
• The Conference will see the launch of the ambitious project of “VoICE.NET” a Global
• Knowledge Network on voter education.

Indo-Bangla bilateral meeting for rail project held in Tripura

• Indo-Bangla bilateral meeting for Agartala-Akhaura rail project has been held in Agartala (Tripura).
• The project is expected to be completed within two and half years.
• The total length of 15.06 km, a stretch of 5.05 km would come under the Indian Territory in Tripura while the rest 10.01 km would be on the Bangladesh soil.
• The total cost of the project would be 972.52 crores, out of which 580 crores will be spent by India and 392.52 crores will be spent by Bangladesh.

LS Speaker accepts PDP MP Tariq Hameed Karra’s resignation

• The resignation of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Srinagar (J&K) M.P Tariq Hameed Karra from the Lok Sabha (LS) has been accepted by the LS Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. 
• Earlier, Tariq (founding member of the PDP) had announced his decision to quit his Lok Sabha seat.

Bihar govt. cancels affiliation of 68 intermediate colleges

• The Bihar government has cancelled affiliation of 68 intermediate colleges for not fulfilling its criterion.
• Affiliation of 19 other colleges has been also suspended.
• According to the chairman Anand kishore ,the affiliation of altogether 173 colleges has been suspended till now.

Nirmala Sitharaman unveils logo for IPR cell in New Delhi

• Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has unveiled the logo of Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) at a function in New Delhi.
• It has been designed keeping in mind the slogan of the National IPR Policy – Creative India, Innovative India.
• The CIPAM has been set up as a professional body in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion to take forward the implementation of the National IPR Policy.

INS Tahiyu commissioned into Indian Navy

• The INS Tahiyu (315-tonne) is the sixth Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) Car Nicobar Class vessel was commissioned and allotted to the Eastern Fleet of the Navy at Vishakhapatnam.
• INS Tahiyu is the 20th vessel in this class to be built by Kolkata-based shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE).
• The ship is fitted with three water jet propulsion systems powered by marine diesel engines generating 2720 KW of power.
• The ship will be commanded by Commander Ajay Kashov and will have four officers and 41 crew members.

S P Yadav elected new President of Urology Society of India

• Noted urologist Dr. Satya Prakash Yadav has been elected as the new President of the North Zone of Urology Society of India (NZUSI).
• Yadav’s tenure would begin from October 2017 for a period of one year.

South African struggle icon Mewa Ramgobin passes away

• South African struggle icon Mewa Ramgobin (83-year) has passed away at Cape Town.
• Ramgobin was married to Ela Gandhi, a human rights activist and Mahatma Gandhi’s granddaughter.
• He was among the first supporters of the Release Mandela campaign.
• Ramgobin’s commitment to the Gandhian cause saw him establish a Gandhi museum and library, organizing the Annual Gandhi Lecture and educate people from different race groups on Gandhian philosophies