Daily Current Affairs: 09 October 2014

Daily Current Affairs: 09 October 2014

1) 2014 Nobel Prize for literature announced: The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2014 is awarded to the French author Patrick Modiano “for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation”. 

2) World Postal Day 2014 celebrated: 'World Postal Day 2014' was celebrated across the globe on October 9. The day marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in Bern (Switzerland). The Posts in many countries use the event to introduce or promote new postal products and services. India has declared the whole week starting today as the National Postal Week till October 15.   

3) Aamir Khan appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for South Asia: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, who is in Nepal to promote child nutrition, has been appointed as UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador for South Asian region. The Regional Director of UNICEF South Asia, Karin Hulshof, announced the 49-year-old actor as the Goodwill Ambassador during a programme in the Capital.

4) Bandhan Bank appointed FIS Intl to develop core banking tool: The upcoming Bandhan Bank has appointed FIS International, one of the largest banking and payments technology solutions provider globally, to develop its core banking software solutions. According to a release issued by FIS, the global major will help Bandhan by providing and managing a fully integrated banking and payments platform through a totally outsourced delivery model. This will include the core banking, channel solutions, treasury, trade finance, and an entire suite of payments services that includes debit card management and interback connectivity. Bandhan, the country’s largest micro-finance institution, was granted an “in-principle” banking licence by the Reserve Bank of India earlier this year.

5) Veteran journalist M.V. Kamath died: Veteran journalist M.V. Kamath passed away in Manipal, Karnataka, on Thursday after a brief illness. He was 93. Mr. Kamath was known for his integrity as a journalist and his courage to call a spade a spade. But mainly, he did not allow his political views to colour his reportage of many epoch-making events across the globe. He worked as the Washington correspondent for The Times of India during 1969-78 and as Editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India from 1978 to 1981. He also served as foreign correspondent in Bonn and Paris.

6) ISRO's PSLV-C26 to be launched on Oct 16: The launch of ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C26, is now scheduled for October 16 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. The launch window of the mission opens at 01:32 hours Indian Standard Time (IST) and lasts till 01:47 hours IST. The lift-off is scheduled at the opening of the launch window at 01:32 hours IST. PSLV-C26 will carry the 1,425 kg Indian Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1C. IRNSS-1C, the third satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, has already been integrated with PSLV-C26 and the final phase of checks is progressing.