Current Affairs: 5 October 2016

The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to three British-born scientists for discoveries about strange forms of matter.
David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz will share the 8m kronor (£727,000) prize.
Their work could result in improved materials for electronics and is already informing one approach to super-fast computing.

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Indian-origin South African teen Kiara Nirghin (16-year) has won a $50,000 scholarship, the grand prize at the annual Google Science Fair held in United States.
She has won this prestigious scholarship for her work using orange peel to develop a cheaper “super-absorbent material” that helps soil retain water.
She is Grade 11 student at private school St Martin’s.

Elephant researcher and Film-maker Prajna Chowta (46-years) has been appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (Knight in the National Order of Merit) by the French government.
The National Order of Merit is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic.
The official ceremony is expected to be held later this year in Bengaluru(Karnataka).
Prajna Chowta is the founder of Aane Mane Foundation ,researching and conserving wild Asian elephants.

Jharkhand has become India’s first state to implement Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in Kerosene.
The DBT scheme is being implemented in four identified districts of the State (Chatra, Hazaribagh, Khunti and Jamtara) from 1st October.
Under the Scheme, PDS kerosene is being sold at non-subsidized price and the subsidy is being transferred to consumers directly into their bank accounts.

Jawhar Sircar has resigned as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prasar Bharati Corporation.
Sircar resignation has come four months ahead of the end of his tenure which was about to end in February 2017.
He was appointed as Prasar Bharati CEO in 2012.

Eminent playback singer K J Yesudas ( 76-year) has been Chosen as the brand ambassador of its ambitious ‘Haritha Keralam‘ project by the Kerala’ government
Haritha Keralam (Green Kerala) project is a massive initiative envisaged for a garbage-free and clean state.

The Election Commission (EC) has launched a new mobile application for more transparency and effective monitoring of electoral rolls in the ongoing revision of voters’ list in Uttar Pradesh.
“The mobile app for ERMS (Electoral Rolls Management System) will provide details regarding addition and deletion of names from the voters’ list .
The status of the applications filed by voters for either deleting or adding of name will also be available booth-wise on the app.
The app has been developed by the UP state unit of the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Kersti Kaljulaid (46-years) has been elected as the President of Estonia by the parliament.
Kaljulaid (a European Union accountant) will be the first female president of Estonia.
She will succeed the current president Toomas Hendrik Ilves who is stepping down next week after two five-year terms in the ceremonial post.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel has announced his first and country’s 4th Bi-monthly Policy Statement for the year 2016-17.
The Reserve Bank of India has cut Repo rate by 25 bps to 6.25 percent.
Reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 5.75 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.75 per cent.
All six members of the monetary policy committee voted in favour of cutting Repo rate.

The State Bank of India (SBI) has became the first domestic bank of India to open a branch in the capital city of Yangon, Myanmar.
Ghanshyam Srivastava will be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the SBI Yangon branch.
Earlier, Myanmarese central bank has allowed SBI to open a branch with the primary objective of extending wholesale banking services to foreign corporate.
The SBI Yangon branch is the 54th foreign branch of the State Bank of India.