TNPSC Current Affairs October 16, 2019

www.tnpsc.academy – TNPSC Current Affairs Oct 16, 2019 (16/10/2019)

Topic: Public Awareness and General Administration

One Nation One FASTag

One Nation One FASTag scheme inaugurated recently. The government has already announced that FASTags will be mandatory for all vehicles at all National Highways from December 1.

Features of the scheme- One Nation One FASTag:

The scheme will be implemented from December 1, 2019, and can be availed upon activation by new cars having Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags on national and state highways throughout the country.

The plan aims to integrate the collection of toll digitally and ensure seamless mobility of vehicles across India.

The payment method is a part of the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) programme. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) collects the payments.

Topic: Latest Reports and Events

The National Blindness & Visual Impairment Survey India 2015-2019:

Released recently, the survey looks at district-wise prevalence of blindness and visual impairment. The prevalence of blindness is highest among those who are at least 80 years old (11.6%).

Cause of blindness:

Untreated cataract is the main cause of blindness, at 66.2%. and also, the foremost cause of severe visual impairment, at 80.7% of all cases.

Corneal opacity, cataract surgical complications and some posterior segment disorders are some of the other causes of blindness.

Topic: Latest Diary of Events

World Food Day

Celebrated on October 16 every year to raise awareness on the issues of poverty and hunger.

Established by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in November 1979.

The theme of World Food Day 2019 is “Our Actions Are Our Future. Healthy Diets for A #ZeroHunger World”.

Topic: Latest Inventions on Science and Technology, Latest Diary of Events

Air India: 1st airline in world to use Taxibot on A-320 aircraft

Air India, the flag carrier airline of India has become the first airline in the world to use a Taxibot on an A-320 aircraft with passengers on board.

Ashwani Lohani, Chairman and MD of Air India flagged off the flight AI665 (Delhi – to Mumbai) and it was carried to runway using Taxibot at Terminal 3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), New Delhi.

Significance: It is the first such usage on any Airbus aircraft worldwide and is a giant step forward towards a cleaner environment. It is expected to bring down the consumption of fuel by 85% and reduce engine wear and tear as the ignition will be turned on only when the aircraft reaches runway. Taxibots will also help in decongesting boarding gates and the apron area by providing efficient pushbacks.

What is Taxibot?

It is a robot-used aircraft tractor for taxiing an aircraft from parking bay to runway and vice-versa. Since taxibot is a pilot controlled semi-robotic towbar-less aircraft tractor which is used as alternate taxiing equipment, therefore it is possible to tow an aircraft from parking bay to runway with its engines switched off.

Taxibots for now will be used for departing flights only and will be significantly used during taxiing of an aircraft.

Topic: World Organizations, Latest Diary of Events

IMF: World Economic Outlook, 2019

The World Economic Outlook is a biennial report that is released in April and October. According the report released recently on October 15, 2019, the global economy is at its slowest pace of growth at 3%. This is a serious climb down from 3.8% in 2017.

Key facts:

The Global growth rate is projected to improve to 3.4% by 2020. The growth of advanced economies is projected to slow down by 1.7%

The emerging and developing economies are projected to experience a growth pick up from 3.9% in 2019 to 4.6% in 2020. The report downgraded India’s growth projections to 6.1% in 2019 and 7% in 2020.

According to the report, China is projected to grow at 6.1% in 2019 and 5.8% in 2020.

The trade volume reached the lowest since 2012. It reduced by 1% since 2012.