Monthly Current Affairs Capsule October 2018

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The 46th edition of Cervantino International Festival, to be held in Mexico, will see India participating as a guest of honour.  The festival, started in 1953 with a focus on theatre, had India participating regularly since 1979. International Day of Older Persons: 1 October  However, it will be India's first time as a guest of The International honour country. Day of Older Persons is observed Interpol chief resigns amid detention in China on October 1 each The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) year. received the resignation of its Chinese president Meng  On Hongwei, who was missing since over a week. December  Senior Vice-President of Interpol's Executive 14, 1990 Committee, Kim Jong Yang of South Korea, will be the United instated as the acting president. Nations General Assembly voted to establish October  The General Assembly Session, to be held in Dubai 1 as the International Day of Older Persons as from November 18 to 21 will elect a new president recorded in Resolution 45/106. for the remaining two years of the president's term.  Theme for the year 2018 is “Celebrating Older  This comes in the wake of an announcement from Human Rights Champions.” China that Meng had been held in the country and was being probed for his alleged involvement in World Habitat Day 2018: 1 October unspecified criminal activities. World Habitat Day is celebrated annually on the first Monday of October. World Post Day 2018  The event focuses on the state of human settlements World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October, the and people’s right to sufficient shelter. anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union  This year theme is “Municipal Solid Waste (UPU) in the Swiss Capital, Bern. It started in 1969. Management”.  The theme for 2018 is: “Imagine you are a letter travelling through time. What message do you wish to IBSAMAR-VI kicks off at Simons Town, South Africa convey to your readers?” The sixth edition of IBSAMAR, a joint Multi – National Maritime Exercise between the Indian, Brazilian and South Nikki Haley resigns as US Ambassador to United Nations African Navies, is being held at Simons Town, South Africa US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley resigned from 01 – 13 Oct 18. directly to President Donald Trump.  The last edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR V) was  Nikki Haley served as US Ambassador to the United conducted off Goa, from 19 – 26 Feb 16. Nations since 2017.  The aim of the exercise is to undertake collective  At United Nations, she has been a vocal critic of training for participating navies, building Russia and a supporter of US sanctions. interoperability and mutual understanding as well as  President Trump has categorically stated that Nikki sharing of best practices. Haley will continue as the US Ambassador to the United Nations till the end of the year. India moves up to 28th rank in govt e-payment adoption India's overall ranking on the government's adoption of e- India ranks 147th in Oxfam world inequality index payments has moved up to 28th in 2018, from 36th in 2011. India has been ranked among the bottom 10 countries in a new  The country holds the top ranking on B2G and G2B worldwide indexon the commitment of different nations to transactions, and comes third on C2G transactions reduce inequalities in their populations. jointly with Argentina.  UK-based charity Oxfam International's  Norway leads the pack in the 73-country ranking, 'Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index' followed by France and Denmark. ranks India 147th among 157 countries.  The index is topped by Denmark, based on its high India to be guest of honour at Mexico's international and progressive taxation, high social spending and cultural fest good protection of workers.

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Japanese Passport Named As The World's Most Powerful enhancing a resilient international financial Passport architecture, financing infrastructure development, Replacing the Singaporean passport, the Japanese passport has progress on compact with Africa as well as been declared the most powerful passport across the world in streamlining of the GPFI process. 2018.  According to 2018 Henley Passport Index, the people International Day For Disaster Reduction: 13 October having Japanese passport can travel without a visa or The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) can get an on-arrival visa across 190 countries. encourages every citizen and government to take part in  The passport of Singapore allows visa-free or on- building more disaster-resilient communities and nations. arrival visa travel to 189 countries.  The United Nations General Assembly designated  India, meanwhile, stands at a far 81st number - which October 13 as the International Day for Natural grants access to 60 destinations. Disaster Reduction.  The theme for the year 2018 is “Reducing the Sushma Swaraj Participates In 17th CHG Meeting Of SCO economic loss of disasters”. In Tajikistan External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be participating India Ranked At 115 in World Bank's Human Capital in the 17th Council of Heads of Government, CHG, meeting of Index Report the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to be held in The government has rejected the findings of the World Bank's Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 11th to 12th of this month. Human Capital Index (HCI), which has placed the country at  This will be the second CHG meeting since India 115th position out of 157 countries on various parameters. became a full member of SCO in June 2017.  Overall, India was ranked 115 among 157 countries.  The leaders will be discussing prospects for further That’s much below its Asian peers, including China development of SCO and will exchange in-depth ranked 46, Indonesia (87), Malaysia (55). views on current international and regional issues.  Singapore was ranked number one in the world followed by Japan, Hong Kong and Finland. Raksha Mantri Addresses on ‘India-France Defence Engagement in a Multipolar World’ in Paris India Ranks 103rd Among 119 Countries In Global Hunger Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Index Sitharaman is on maiden The Global Hunger Index report 2018 released on October 11 official visit to France on the is the thirteenth edition. invitation of French Defence  Welt hunger life and Concern Worldwide has been Minister Ms Florence Parly issuing reports on hunger levels in the world since from October 10 - 13, 2018. 2006.  Smt Sitharaman  The main area of focus for this year’s report has been addressed ‘India- “Forced Migration and Hunger”. France Defence Engagement in a Multipolar World’  Of the 119 countries surveyed, India ranks at a dismal at the Institute of Strategic Research (IRSEM) in 103 with GHI score being 31.1. Paris.  Belarus ranked first in this year’s index.  In her speech, she said that her visit is a reaffirmation of India’s commitment to the strategic partnership International conference on the future of the Indian Ocean with France, especially in the critical areas of defence held in Colombo cooperation. “The Indian Ocean: Defining our Future” Conference was held On October 11, 2018 at Temple Trees, in Colombo, Sri G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Lanka. Meeting held in Bali  It is aimed to explore strongest challenges in The Final G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors the Indian Ocean region. Meeting under the 2018 Argentine Presidency and the final  The inaugural address of the Conference was BRICS Deputies Meeting under the 2018 South African delivered by President Maithripala Chairmanship were held on 11th -12th October 2018 in Bali, Sirisena while Prime Minister Ranil Indonesia on the sidelines of the IMF/Fund Bank Annual Wickremesinghe delivered the keynote address. Meetings.  The deliberations in the G-20 FMCBG meeting World Students' Day: 15 October centered on key risks facing the global economy,

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World Students' Day is observed to mark the birthday of A. P. According to a World Health Organization report, India is the J. Abdul Kalam. It is observed on Kalam's birthday, 15 world’s most depressed country, closely followed by China and October. the US.  In 2015 the United Nations declared 15 October  According to the 2015-16 National Mental Health "World Students' Day". Survey (NMHS), every sixth person in India needs  Dr. Kalam was the 11th president of India. mental health help of some sort.  At least 6.5 per cent of the Indian population suffer Naidu to visit Brussels for 12th ASEM summit from some form of the serious mental disorder. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will be on a three-day visit to Belgium later this week to attend the 12th Asia-Europe Indian SMEs Delegation participates in 8th European Meeting (ASEM) summit. SMEs Congress in Poland  Naidu will lead an Indian delegation to the summit, A delegation of 32 Indian SMEs led by Ms. Alka Arora, Joint scheduled to be held on October 18-19 in Brussels. Secretary, Ministry of MSME,is participating in the 8th  The theme of this year's ASEM summit is 'Global European Congress on SMEs at Kotawice, Poland. Partners for Global Challenges'.  Inaugurating the event, Ms. Alka Arora said India is home to more than 60 million MSMEs, which have World Food Day: 16 October the ability and capability to access international World Food Day is a day of action dedicated to tackling global markets and work as ancillaries to larger international hunger. firms.  The theme of World Food Day 2018 is ‘Our actions  These MSMEs provide livelihood to more than 100 are our future – A zero hunger world by 2030 is million people and create value for the entire global possible’. community.  Speaking on the World Food Day, Minister of  Ms. Arora said, given the impact of MSMEs in India, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Radha Mohan it is imperative to integrate them now into the global Singh said that the Indian Council of Agricultural value chain by establishing possible linkages with Research takes action to remove the suffering from International partners. hunger and ensure food security and a nutritious diet  Small and Medium Enterprises from around 50 for all. countries are participating in the 3-day event, which will continue till 19th of this month. India is 58th most competitive economy in WEF index  The main theme of the event is “Business-Self- India has been ranked as the 58th most competitive economy Government Together for Economy”. on the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index for 2018, which was topped by the US. Vice President addresses plenary and retreat sessions of  India’s rank rose by five places from 2017, the largest 12th ASEM Summit gain among G20 economies, the WEF said. The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said  On the list of 140 economies, the US is followed by that terrorism is a major threat to peace and stability, and called Singapore and Germany at the second and the third for an early conclusion of the Comprehensive Convention on positions respectively. International Terrorism.  India was ranked 58th with a score of 62.0 in the latest  He was addressing the plenary and retreat sessions of Global Competitiveness Report. the 12th ASEM Summit, with the theme "Global Partners for Global Challenges", in Brussels, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: 17 Belgium. October  During his interventions, the Vice President stated The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for the that India valued ASEM as a platform that brings Eradication of Poverty is observed on October 17 each year together leadership of Asia and Europe to exchange since 1993. views and address global challenges.  It promotes people’s awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution worldwide, World Osteoporosis Day: 20 October particularly in developing countries. World Osteoporosis Day is observed annually on 20 October,  This year’s theme is ‘Accelerating global actions for and launches a year-long campaign dedicated to raising global a world without poverty’. awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease. India is world’s most depressed country

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 It is organized by the International Osteoporosis International Animation Day 2018 Foundation (IOF). International Animation Day is celebrated on October 28,  The theme of World Osteoporosis Day 2018 calls for commemorating the day in 1892 when Charles-Emile global action in order to improve bone health and Reynaud’s Theatre Optique made its first public appearance in prevent fractures caused by osteoporosis. Paris.  The day recognises and celebrates the artists, 7th Meeting of Education Ministers of SCO Member States technicians and scientists behind the art of animation held in Astana in all its forms and avatars. 7th meeting of education ministers of member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held in Astana, Angela Merkel to step down as German chancellor in 2021 Kazakhstan. Germany's Angela Merkel has said she will step down as  Dr. Satya Pal Singh, Minister of State for Human chancellor in 2021, following recent election setbacks. Resource Development, participated on behalf of  She also said she would not seek re-election as leader Government of India. of the centre-right CDU party in December.  Minister of Education and Science of Kazakhstan  She has held the post since 2000. Yerlan Sagadiyev chaired the event. PM addresses ‘Make in India’ Seminar in Tokyo, Japan India 9th most valuable nation brand in the world The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the ‘Make India ranked one of the 10 in India: India-Japan partnership in Africa and digital most valuable nation brands in partnership’ seminar, in Tokyo. the world.  The Prime Minister explained how the Union  In Brand Finance's Government is focused on improving ease of doing annual Nation Brands business, and ease of living for the citizens. report, India was  He expressed happiness at the large presence of ranked 8th last year Japanese companies in India. Noting that Japan has but slipped by a spot to the 9th rank. been a partner in many important industrial projects  India's brand value is $2,159 billion in 2018. in India, the Prime Minister explained the strength of  Topping the list and maintaining its lead is US with a India’s economic performance over the last four brand value of $25,899 billion. years.  He said India is today the fastest growing major 3 Indian-Americans Named In Time Magazine's 'Health economy. He mentioned other major transitions in the Care 50' List Indian economy, including the move from informal to Three Indian-Americans have been named in the Time formal economy, digital transactions and GST etc. magazine's 2018 list of the 50 most influential people whose work is transforming healthcare in the US. Malala Yousafzai to be honoured by Harvard University  The three Indian-Americans included in the list are for her work promoting girls' education Divya Nag, Dr Raj Panjabi and Atul Gawande. Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai will be honoured by  The list included physicians, scientists, business and Harvard University for her work promoting girls' education. political leaders, whose work is transforming Harvard's Kennedy School said Yousafzai will be conferred healthcare. with the 2018 Gleitsman Award at a ceremony on 6th December. 22nd National level meeting held between India and  Yousafzai became the youngest person to win the Myanmar Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 when she was recognized The 22nd National Level Meeting between India and Myanmar for her global work supporting schooling for all was held from 25to 26 October, 2018. children.  During the meeting both sides agreed to take action  Now aged 20, Yousafzai is a student at Oxford against insurgent groups operating within their University in England. territories.  The two countries agreed on providing of security Donald Trump suggests he will end birthright citizenship cooperation along with international border and with executive order facilitating movement of people and trade across the President Donald Trump, he is preparing an executive order international border. that would end the right to US citizenship for children born in the US to non-citizens.

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 Under the current laws, anyone born in the US  The nine-member committee will be chaired by irrespective of the nationality of parents automatically Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas. becomes an American citizen.  Trump said, the US is the only country in the world India’s Largest war memorial of India will be built in where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby Jharkhand is essentially a citizen of the US for 85 years with all Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has said their of those benefits. It's ridiculous. And it has to end. government is constructing India's biggest war memorial.  Stories of the slain soldiers' bravery will be written in the war memorial which will have a replica of the Kargil War so that the youth can understand their duties towards the nation.  Jharkhand government has hiked compensation amount to the kin of the soldiers who died while PM inaugurates Mahatma Gandhi Museum at Rajkot serving the country from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has Vice President inaugurates NHRC’s International Human inaugurated the Mahatma Rights Conclave Gandhi Museum in Rajkot. The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said  The Museum has that India has been unequivocal in its commitment to the been set up at the preservation and protection of human rights globally as well as Alfred High School, within the country. which was an important part of the formative years of  He was addressing the gathering after inaugurating Mahatma Gandhi. the National Human Rights Conclave being organized  It will help spread awareness about Gandhian culture, as a part of the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the values and philosophy. National Human Rights Commission.  The Prime Minister also unveiled a plaque to mark the  The Vice President appreciated the good work done inauguration of a public housing project of 624 by NHRC as a diligent watchdog of human rights houses. protection and said that the massive rise in the number  He witnessed the e-Gruh Pravesh of 240 beneficiary of complaints received by the NHRC from 496 in families. 1993 to 79,612 cases in 2018 were a testament to the faith that the people of India placed on the NHRC. Government constitutes Committee to review the Competition Act PM inaugurates first assembly of the International Solar In pursuance of its objective of ensuring that Legislation is in Alliance sync with the needs of strong economic fundamentals, the The Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi inaugurated the first Government has constituted a Competition Law Review Assembly of the International Solar Alliance at Vigyan Committee to review the Competition Act. Bhawan.  The Competition Act was passed in the year 2002 and  The same event also marked the inauguration of the the Competition Commission of India was set up in second IORA Renewable Energy Ministerial pursuance of the same. Meeting, and the 2nd Global RE-Invest (Renewable  The Commission started functioning in right earnest Energy Investors’ Meet and Expo). from 2009 and has contributed immensely towards the  The Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. development of competition and fair play practices in Antonio Guterres, was present on the occasion. the Indian market.  He said the International Solar Alliance could replace  During the past nine years the size of the Indian OPEC as the key global energy supplier in the future. Economy has grown immensely and India is today amongst the top five Economies in the World and Sustainable mountain development summit from Oct 3-5 poised to forge ahead further. Deliberations on ecological, social and economic drivers of  In this context, it is essential that Competition Law is change will mark the Sustainable Mountain Development strengthened, and re-calibrated to promote best Summit VII to be held in Shimla from October 3 to 5. practices which result in the citizens of this country  Integrated Mountain Initiative in New Delhi and achieving their aspirations and value for money. Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology

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and Environment in Shimla have joined hands with Cabinet approves Indore Metro Rail Project Shoolini University of Solan to organise the summit. The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri  More than 150 delegates from across India are Narendra Modi has approved the implementation of Indore expected to participate. Metro Rail Project comprising Ring Line of length 31.55 Km from Bengali Square - Vijay Nagar - Bhawarsala - Airport - PM addresses concluding session of Mahatma Gandhi Patasia - Bengali Square which will connect major public International Sanitation Convention nodes and city cluster areas of Indore. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the  A SPV namely Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Co Ltd. Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention (MPMRCL) has been constituted for implementation (MGISC) in New Delhi. of the Project.  MGISC has been a 4-day international conference that  The financing of Indore Metro Rail Project will be has brought together Sanitation Ministers and other partly from Central Government and State leaders in WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) Government of Madhya Pradesh on equal equity basis from around the world. and partly as loan from Asian Development Bank  The Prime Minister visited a Digital Exhibition, (ADB) and New Development Bank (NDB). accompanied by the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres. India’s first dolphin research centre to come up soon  From the dais, the dignitaries launched in Patna commemorative postage stamps on Mahatma Gandhi, Much-awaited National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC), and a medley CD based on Mahatma Gandhi’s India’s and Asia’s first, would be set up in Patna. favourite hymn – “Vaishnav Jana To.”  The NDRC is likely to be set up next month on the banks of the Ganga river in the Patna University “PAN India Workshop on Prevention of Hazardous premises. Cleaning of Sewers and Septic Tanks  It will play an important role in strengthening Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri conservation efforts and research to save the Thaawarchand Gehlot inaugurated a “PAN India Workshop on endangered mammal. Prevention of Hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks” organized by National Safai Karmcharis Finance & Cabinet approves establishment of National Institute of Development Corporation (NSKLFDC) under Ministry of Mental Health Rehabilitation in Sehore Social Justice and Empowerment in East Delhi Municipal The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Corporation (EDMC), Delhi. Modi has approved,in partial modification of the earlier  Addressing on the occasion, Shri Thaawarchand decision taken on 16.05.2018, the establishment of National Gehlot said that he is pleased to be a part of this Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation(NIMHR) in Sehore momentous occasion of launch of Workshops on District (Bhopal-Sehore highway) instead of Bhopal in Prevention of Hazardous cleaning of sewers and Madhya Pradesh. septic tanks, as a part of yearlong commemoration of  NIMHR will be the first of its kind in the country in 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi from 2nd the area of mental health rehabilitation. October, 2018 to 2nd October, 2019.  It will serve as an institution of excellence for capacity building in human resource and research in the area of Cabinet approves Bhopal Metro Rail Project mental health rehabilitation, and also recommending The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri body suggesting models/protocols for effective Narendra Modi has approved implementation of Bhopal Metro rehabilitation of persons with mental illness. Rail Project comprising two corridors of total length 27.87 Km (i) Karond Circle to AIIMS (14.99 Km) and (ii) Bhadbhada SIDBI launches a National Awareness Campaign Udyam Square to RatnagiriTiraha (12.88 Km) which will connect Abhilasha in 115 Aspirational Districts major public nodes and city cluster areas of Bhopal. On the occasion of Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi  A SPY namely Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Co Ltd. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), had (MPMRCL) has been constituted for implementation launched a National Level Entrepreneurship Awareness of the Project. Campaign, Udyam Abhilasha in 115 Aspirational Districts  The financing of Bhopal Metro Rail Project will be identified by NITI Aayog in 28 States and reaching to around partly from GoI and GoMP on equal equity basis and 15,000 youth. partly as loan from European Investment Bank (EIB).  SIDBI will join to contribute to “the transformation mission” unleashed for these districts. The campaign

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would be running parallelly from 3rd October to  Discussions were held on steps to be taken by the 8thOctober, 2018 across India. Ministries and Departments to ramp up domestic  The campaign would create and strengthen cadre of production through better capacity utilization and more than 800 trainers to provide entrepreneurship capacity creation and expansion in the short and training to the aspiring youths across these districts medium to long term. thus encouraging them to enter the admired segment  Key ministries were asked to examine measures on of entrepreneurs. diversification of export base and increase domestic  SIDBI has partnered with CSC e-Governance production in order to deal with merchandise trade Services India Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle, deficit. (CSC SPV) set up by the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India for implementing the campaign Symposium on ‘Dialogue with Organs for Allied Health through their CSCs. Force Smt Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Health and Family First Regional Conference on 'Women in Detention and Welfare inaugurated a symposium cum exhibition on Access to Justice' in Shimla ‘Dialogue with Organs for Allied Health Force – A step to The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), enhance cognitive skills,’ organized by the Department of Ministry of Home Affairs is organising the First ever Regional Anatomy at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Conference at Shimla on 'Women in Detention and Access to Safdarjung Hospital. Justice' in collaboration with the Prison Department, Himachal  Speaking at the function, Smt Anupriya Patel stated Pradesh on October 4-5, 2018. that it is imperative to maintain a healthy lifestyle and  The Conference will be inaugurated by Shri Acharya avoid habits which in the long run will pose as a health Devvrat, the Governor of Himachal Pradesh. hazard.  The BPR&D organises the conferences on newly  “Only when all the members of our society will be emerged issues. The Parliamentary Committee on aware of a healthy lifestyle and of the necessity of Empowerment of Women on the subject “Women in avoiding unhealthy practices, can we achieve ‘Health Detention and Access to Justice” has made several for All’, she said. recommendations.  There is a need to deliberate upon some of the Digi Yatra central platform will be operational by end of recommendations to devise strategies and programs February, 2019 for bettering conditions of Women Prisoners and The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil upholding their Fundamental Rights. Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu today released the policy on biometric based digital processing of passengers at airports Indian International Science Festival to begin in Lucknow called “Digi Yatra”. A four-day Indian International Science Festival 2018 will start  Addressing the media, he said that the Ministry has in Lucknow on 5 October. taken the initiative to develop standards for digital  President Ramnath Kovind will formally inaugurate processing of passengers at airport to ensure uniform the festival on 6 October. implementation and passenger experience across  Union Science and Technology Minister Dr Harsh Indian airports through a connected ecosystem. Vardhan said about ten thousand scientists and  He said, a technical working committee having experts, including science teachers and students will members from airport operators, airlines and industry participate in the event. has been formed for development of standards.  Theme of this year's festival is “Science for  DigiYatra Central Platform will be operational by end transformation”. of February, 2019.  Bangalore & Hyderabad International Airports will be Commerce Minister chairs inter-ministerial meeting to ready with pilot implementation by end of February, promote economic growth 2019. Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation,  Airport Authority of India (AAI) intends to roll out Suresh Prabhu chaired a meeting in New Delhi on the issue of the programme initially at Kolkata, Varanasi, Pune & stepping up domestic production of goods across key sectors, Vijayawada by April, 2019. to increase domestic availability and promote economic growth and export capacity. GI Tag for Alphonso from Konkan  The meeting was attended by Secretaries of 16 Ministries and Departments of Government of India.

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Alphonso from Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Palghar, Thane and Director gave away the awards in 46 trades to participants from Raigad districts of Maharashtra, is registered as Geographical across the country. Indication (GI).  India Skills 2018 was the second edition of the  A Geographical Indication or a GI is an indication nationwide competition organized by the Ministry of used on products that have a specific geographical Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are Government of India to identify, recognize, promote due to that origin. and reward the best talents in various skills.  Such a name conveys an assurance of quality and  23 states actively participated in organizing the distinctiveness which is essentially attributable to its competitions at the state and regional levels in which origin in that defined geographical locality. over 50 thousand participants took part.  Darjeeling Tea, Mahabaleshwar Strawberry, Blue  450 participants took part in the 3-day national level Pottery of Jaipur, Banarasi Sarees and Tirupati competition organized in New Delhi. Laddus are some of the GIs.  Besides 46 competition trades, there were 10  The king of mangoes, Alphonso, better known as demonstration trades also. Some of winners of the ‘Hapus’ in Maharashtra, is in demand in domestic and competition of various trades will be given more international markets not only for its taste but also for training, before they are sent to represent India at the pleasant fragrance and vibrant colour. 45th World Skills Competition at Kazan, Russia in  It has long been one of the world's most popular fruit 2019. and is exported to various countries including Japan,  A number of Divayangs also participated in the Korea and Europe. New markets such as USA and competition and the winners will take part at the Australia have recently opened up. World level in Abilympics in China.  The first product to get a GI tag in India was the  A large number of Corporates (over 100) supported Darjeeling tea in 2004. There are a total of the Government’s efforts in organizing the India 325productsfrom India that carry this indication. Skills 2018.

India to Host the 14th International GCA Conference on List of MoUs Exchanged between India and Russia during Media and Communication Visit of President of Russia Global Communication Association (GCA), a not-for-profit Protocol for body of media and communication professionals, which holds Consultations between international conferences from time to time around the world, the Ministry of Foreign is organizing its 14th international conference of Affairs and MEA for the communication experts and specialists, in India, on 11-12 period 2019-2023 October 2018, in the historic ‘Pink City’ of Jaipur, Rajasthan,  Memorandum India. of  In the two-day conference deliberations, about one Understanding hundred national and international scholars and between the Ministry of Economic Development of subject speakers will sign up and arrive in Jaipur to the Russian Federation and the National Institution for participate in the two-day deliberations of this Transforming India (NITI Aayog) program.  Memorandum of Understanding between Indian  GCA Jaipur 2018 conference focusing on ‘Digital Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Federal Inbound: Internet Communications and Beyond’, has Space Agency of Russia ‘ROSCOSMOS’ on Joint aroused keen interest amongst many participants from Activities in the field of Human Spaceflight around the globe coming from different academic and Programme industry backgrounds.  Memorandum of Cooperation between the Indian and Russian Railways India Skills 2018, the Country’s biggest skill competition,  Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of concludes Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field India Skills 2018, the Country’s biggest skill competition,  Memorandum of Understanding between the Russian concluded, with the winners being awarded by dignitaries. Ministry of Transport and Indian Railways in the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Development Cooperation in Transport Education Shri Anant kumar Hegde and Shri Subhash Ghai, Chairman of  Memorandum of Understanding between the National Media and Entertainment Skills Council and India Film Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), of India and the Russian Small and Medium Business Corporation

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(RSMB), on Cooperation in the field of Micro, Small Union Minister of Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani and Medium Enterprises Inaugurated the exhibition “Revisiting Gandhi: The Art of  Cooperation Agreement in the Fertilizers Sector Shelly Jyoti” at IGNCA, New Delhi, the 06th of October, 2018. between the Russian Direct Investment Fund"  Speaking at the event,. Smriti Irani appreciated the ("RDIF”); PJSC Phosagro (PhosAgro) and Indian efforts of IGNCA for making such an excellent Potash Limited (IPL) exhibition possible.  The exhibition organised as part of Gandhi Parv, 150 Dharmendra Pradhan launches a Task Force for Closing years birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma the Skills Gap in India Gandhi, realises what Gandhi inspired and put into Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas action, self-transformation, with the ultimate goal of & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched a Task the total transformation of society, is an ongoing and Force for Closing the Skills Gap in India, in collaboration with ever-present process. the World Economic Forum.  The task force will bring together leaders from PM Modi inaugurates Uttarakhand investors summit business, Government, civil society, and the Prime Minister Narendra education and training sectors to accelerate the future- Modi inaugurated the first proofing of education and training systems in the Uttarakhand Investors country. Summit in Dehradun on  Dharmendra Pradhan will co-chair the task force October 7. along with Shri Salil Parekh, Chief Executive Officer  All the leading and Managing Director, Infosys. business firms  The goal of the Task Force is to develop an action plan and industrial to address skills gaps in India and make the Indian houses participated in the two-day event to explore workforce ready for jobs of future. investment opportunities in the hill state in 12 major  Shri Pradhan also released reports on ‘Future of Work sectors, including tourism and hospitality. in India’, an enterprise survey on future of work in  Uttarakhand has already received investment India and ‘Young India and Work’, a survey of youth proposals worth over Rs 70,000 crore during the run- aspirations in India. up to the event.

Successful night trial of Prithvi-II missile Bilateral Maritime Exercise between Japan and India to India's Strategic Forces Command successfully test-fired its Commence at Visakhapatnam indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) Ships Kaga, during night time as part of a user trial by the Army from a test an Izumo Class Helicopter Destroyer and Inazuma – a Guided range in Odisha. Missile Destroyer arrived at Visakhapatnam on 07 October  The surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike 2018. The JMSDF Ships under the command of Rear Admiral range of 350 km, was launched from a mobile Tatsuya Fukada, Commander, Escort Flotilla-4 (CCF-4), launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated would be participating in the third edition of Japan-India Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore. Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) with the ships of Eastern Fleet of  The missile is capable of carrying 500 to 1,000 the Indian Navy (IN) from 07 to 15 October 18. kilogramme of warheads and is thrusted by liquid  JIMEX-18 is aimed to enhance interoperability, propulsion twin engines. improve understanding and imbibe the best practices of each other. India Post honors Narayan Seva Sansthan with new postal  The IN will be represented by three indigenously stamp designed and built warships and a Fleet Tanker. The Indian postal services honoured the Narayan Seva  The ships participating are INS Satpura, multipurpose Sansthan, the Udaipur-based non-profit organisation, by stealth frigate, INS Kadmatt, Anti-Submarine launching their postal stamps. Warfare Corvette, Missile Corvette and INS Shakti,  The stamp of Rs 5 includes the official logo of the the Fleet Tanker. Narayan Seva Sansthan in bright colours along with the picture of NGO’s Polio Hospital which is situated 4 day long India International Science Festival (IISF- in Udaipur. 2018) concludes in Lucknow The four day long mega science expo, India International Exhibition “Revisiting Gandhi: The Art of Shelly Jyoti” Science Festival (IISF) concluded in Lucknow.

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 IISF-2018 witnessed a footfall of more than 10 lakh  The officials also agreed to hold a regional film people and more than 22 thousand registrations, the festival in any town of the State along with starting highest in its four year history making it the largest community radio at all the aspirational districts. festival of its kind in Asia.  IISF which was inaugurated by the President of India Mobile Health app for citizens of India Launched by IAF Shri Ram Nath Kovind , saw a confluence of on Air Force Day Scientists, researchers, students, farmers and people On the occasion of 86th anniversary, the Indian Air Force has from a wide spectrum discussing, debating, and launched an innovative mobile health App named ‘MedWatch’ witnessing how science and technology is shaping in keeping with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digital India, New India. Ayushman Bharat and Mission Indradhanush’.  IISF-2018 with its focal theme “Science for  The app is conceived by the doctors of IAF and Transformation” had more than23 special events in developed in house by Directorate of Information its 4th edition. The fifth edition of the science Technology (DIT) with ZERO financial outlay. festival will be held in eastern India.  ‘MedWatch’ will provide correct, Scientific and authentic health information to airwarriors and all Karnataka Govt launches ‘Unnati’ Scheme citizens of India. The Karnataka Department of Social Welfare has launched Unnati, a scheme to foster entrepreneurs working on rural and J P Nadda inaugurates ‘2nd World Conference on Access social impact technologies from SC/ST background. to Medical Products  As part of the scheme, the department will invest up India is deeply committed nationally and globally to achieving to Rs 20 crore to create end-to-end support all public health goals. Together we are working towards infrastructure for start-ups and entrepreneurs from a providing highest possible standards of health care for our marginalised background. citizens. Universal health coverage is key to the Sustainable  The first stream of Unnati is technology innovation. Development Goals 2030 agenda and to which India is firmly committed.” Minister of State for Commerce attends India–West Africa  This was stated by Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of conclave in Nigeria Health and Family Welfare during his address at the Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs inauguration of ‘2nd World Conference on Access to and Food & Public Distribution, C. R. Chaudhary, is leading Medical Products: Achieving the SDGs 2030’. the Indian delegation to the Confederation of Indian Industry  At the function, Shri J P Nadda released the Position (CII)- EXIM Bank, Regional Conclave on India-West Africa Paper and launched the Information Sharing Platform Project Partnership being held in Abuja, Nigeria on 8th – 9th Gateway for South-East Asia Regulatory Network October 2018. (SEARN) developed by Centre for Development of  President and Vice President of Nigeria along with Advanced Computing, which will promote regulatory Ministers and Delegation of West African countries and health collaboration among the countries of the are participating in the Conclave. South-East Asia Region.  Niger has appreciated India’s support to build Mahatma Gandhi International Convention Centre NITI Aayog to hold Workshop on Best Practices in (MGICC) in Niamey in Niger at the cost of USD 35.5 International Arbitration million on grant basis. The foundation stone of the In an effort to strengthen dispute resolution mechanisms and to project has been laid recently. not only encourage ‘Make in India’ but also to ‘Resolve in  India’s exports to Niger increased by more than 50% India’, a workshop is being organised on 'Best Practices in since 2014-15. International Arbitration’ by NITI Aayog.  The workshop is being organised in collaboration Jharkhand to become partner State in Goa Film Festival with ICC International Court of Arbitration in New Jharkhand would become partner State for the International Delhi on 10 October 2018. Film Festival taking place at Goa between November 20 and  The workshop would cover basic concepts of 28. international arbitration and include best practices on  The consent from the Government came after the drafting, selection of arbitrators, enforcement of meeting of Chief Secretary Sudhir Tripathi and arbitral awards, role of courts in the arbitration life Secretary with Ministry of Information and cycle, among other topics, with information sharing Broadcasting at the Center Amit Khare. sessions to be conducted by world class faculty and

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practitioners from the United Kingdom, Singapore,  The available land with both the CPSEs will be put up Paris and India. for public use/other government use for overall development of society. Goa Maritime Symposium – 2018 Towards INS Rana at South Korea to Participate in IFR fostering INS Rana which is currently on Operational Deployment to friendly the North West Pacific region in the pursuance of India’s Act relations with East Policy, arrived Jeju, Repubic of Korea to participate in the our maritime International Fleet Review (IFR). neighbours,  It is being held at from 08 – 15 Oct 18. the Indian  During the 7-day visit, INS Rana, commanded by Navy, Capt Atul Deswal will have a series of confidence- through the building engagements with Republic of Korea Navy Naval War and other foreign Navies participating in the IFR. College, Goa is hosting the ‘Goa Maritime Symposium – 2018’ on 16th October2018. Vijay Goel inaugurates the Online Assurances Monitoring  The event is a follow-on to the maiden Goa Maritime System Conclave held in 2017. Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics  It is likely to be attended by senior naval officers and & Programme Implementation, Shri Vijay Goel, inaugurated representatives from 16 Indian Ocean littoral the Online Assurances Monitoring System(OAMS), developed countries. by the Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.  This system has made the information regarding President of India Inaugurates 29th Accountants General assurances given on the floor of the Houses of Conference Parliament paper less and available in digital format. The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the  Different Ministers, while giving replies to questions 29th Accountants General Conference in New Delhi. or making statements in Parliament, give assurances  Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the on the floor of the House. 29th Accountants General Conference is the right  The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs culls out such occasion and opportunity to introspect and deliberate assurances from the proceedings of the House, based on what needs to be done to further our mission of on the guidelines for this purpose, and sends the promoting accountability, transparency and good extract of those assurances to the concerned governance. Ministries for their fulfilment.  The theme of this year’s Conference is “Auditing and Accounting in a Digital Era”. This is extremely National Postal Week to be celebrated from October 9 relevant today when the government is making great The Department of Posts will celebrate the National Postal strides in ushering in Digital India. Week between October 9 and 15 to highlight its role and contribution in the lives of people. Cabinet approves closure of National Jute Manufactures  The department also celebrated the World Post Day Corporation Ltd on October 9 to commemorate the establishment of The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in the Narendra Modi has approved the closure of National Jute Swiss capital Berne. Manufactures Corporation Ltd. (NJMC) and its subsidiary Birds Jute & Exports Ltd. (BJEL). Central University of Jammu signs MoU with ISRO to set  The decision will benefit the Government exchequer up Space Applications Center in reducing recurring expenditure incurred in The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed an operating both the sick CPSEs in running their MoU with the Central University of Jammu (CUJ) in Jammu activities. for setting up of the Satish Dhawan Center for Space Science  The proposal will help in closing loss making in the University. companies and ensuring release of valuable assets for  Another MoU was signed between CUJ and the productive use, or for generating financial resources Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIR- for developmental progress. CSIO).  To create awareness about space research and to motivate young minds to take up research related to

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space, astronomy, geology, atmospheric sciences and and blockchain. Apart from being trained in emerging related fields, a two day workshop was also technologies, students will also be coached in critical inaugurated at the CUJ campus. workplace skills.  Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Jitendra Singh that the collaboration between ISRO and CUJ for establishing President inaugurates 13th convention of the Central an ISRO Center at Jammu is a landmark achievement Information Commission for the State. The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, Dilli Series Seapower Seminar 2018 Commences at Indian inaugurated Naval Academy the 13th Convention of The fifth edition of the annual Dilliseminar on ‘Geopolitical the Central Information Impact of Sea Power’ commenced at the Indian Naval Commission in New Academy (INA). Delhi.  The two day seminar is being attended by several  Speaking on the serving senior Naval officers, eminent academicians occasion, the President said that free flow of and distinguished luminaries. information is the essence of democracy. And for the  Vice Admiral RB Pandit, AVSM, Commandant, people of a free and free-spirited country, information INA delivered the opening address. is power.  They have a right to know how they are being 32nd India - Indonesia coordinated patrol (CORPAT) governed, how public money is being spent, how Indian Naval Ship Kulish, a Kora class missile corvette, public and national resources are being deployed, how commanded by Commander Deepak Bali and an Indian public services are being delivered, and how public Dornier (naval maritime time patrol aircraft) from Andaman works and welfare programmes are being carried out. and Nicobar command entered Belawan harbour, Indonesia for the opening ceremony of the 32nd edition of India – Indonesia First India-Israel Innovation Centre opens in Bengaluru coordinated patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT), to be held from The first India-Israel Innovation Centre (IIIC), an 11 – 27 Oct 2018. entrepreneurial technology hub, was launched in Bengaluru.  The delegation is led by Commodore Ashutosh  The IIIC is a significant step towards facilitating Ridhorkar, Naval Component Commander, Andaman penetration of Israeli companies in India and aims to and Nicobar Command. forge local partnerships and joint ventures between  The ships and aircraft from both the countries would companies from the two countries. undertake patrolling on the respective sides of 236  It will provide an ecosystem to support nautical miles long International Maritime Boundary entrepreneurship, partnership with vendors, Line. mentoring and non-formal community development  The patrolling would be conducted in three phases that will assist the growth of the companies in from 14 – 24 Oct 2018 followed by a closing different verticals and covers business, technology, ceremony at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Island, investors and customers. scheduled from 25 – 26 Oct 2018. The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and NITI Aayog's AIM & IBM India design Student Internship Fisheries observes “World Egg Day” Programme The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, NITI Aayog and IBM announced a first-of-its-kind internship Government of India organized “World Egg Day” on October programme for students selected by Atal Innovation Mission 13. (AIM).  The Minister of State of Agriculture & Farmers’  The internship will see 38 students receive a two- Welfare Smt. Krishna Raj was the Chief Guest at the week paid internship, and 14 teachers from Atal event and Minister of State of Agriculture & Farmers’ Tinkering Labs (ATL) across the length and breadth Welfare Shri Parshottam Rupala was the Chairman of the country including from states such as Assam, for the event. Himachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar and others,  Farmers, members of poultry associations, research to come together and ideate, collaborate and innovate. scholars, administrators and around 700 participants  These students will be equipped with the skills for including poultry farmers attended the event. new collar careers in areas like artificial intelligence,  In the technical session, eminent speakers were Internet-of-Things, cybersecurity, cloud computing invited to speak on various topics relating to

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importance of eggs in human nutrition which were The Minister of State for Commerce & Industry and Consumer followed by discussions & deliberations. Affairs, Food and Public Distribution C. R. Chaudhary, attended the 6th RCEP Inter-sessional Ministerial Meeting WEF is setting up a Centre for the Fourth Industrial (IMM) in Singapore on 12-13 October, 2018. Revolution in Maharashtra  The Ministers from 16 RCEP countries met in The New Industrial Policy framed by the Ministry of Singapore to discuss a modern, comprehensive and Commerce in consultation with all Ministries of Government mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement of India, State Governments, Industry and all stakeholders among ASEAN and ASEAN's FTA partners. embodies the Government’s intention to align India with the  The Ministers reviewed developments since the 6th emerging technologies of drones, artificial intelligence and RCEP Ministerial Meeting held on 30-31st August, block chain. This was stated by the Union Minister of 2018 in Singapore, which was attended by Union Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, at Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, the launch of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Suresh Prabhu. India, by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) yesterday in New Delhi. Ajay Tamta inaugurates 46th edition of IHGF-Delhi Fair  The WEF is setting up a Centre for the Fourth Autumn-2018 Industrial Revolution in Maharashtra. Union Minister of State  The other centres are in San Francisco, USA, Japan for Textiles, Ajay and China. Tamta, inaugurated the  Artificial intelligence, block chain and drones are the 46th edition of world’s first three projects of the centre in India. largest IHGF-Delhi  WEF will work in collaboration with the NITI Aayog, Fair at India Expo business leaders, academia and start-ups in these Centre & Mart projects. at Greater Noida.  Speaking on the occasion, he said that this Fair has Ashwini Kumar Choubey inaugurates 11th International played a vital role in increasing exports of handicrafts Dental Students Conference from the country and has acquired a special Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and importance for handicrafts sector. Family Welfare inaugurated the 11th International Dental  Participation by over 3200 exhibitors in this fair and Students and 5thDental Surgeons Conference organized by visit of overseas buyers from over 110 countries Dental Students Welfare Association of India and Dental shows its popularity amongst Indian handicrafts Surgeons Association of India at Lady Hardinge Medical exporters and importers. College.  Dr Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for India International Silk Fair -2018 begins in New Delhi on Environment, Forest and Climate Change was also 16th October present at the inaugural function. Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani, will inaugurate  Speaking at the event,Shri Choubey urged all the the 6th edition of India International Silk Fair (IISF) in New dental students and dental surgeons to create more Delhi on October 16, 2018. Minister of State for Textiles, Ajay awareness about oral hygiene and related diseases in Tamta will also be present on the occasion. the country.  India is the 2nd largest producer of silk in the world.  He also administered the oath to the dental students to  The silk industry is agriculture based and labour work in rural areas for 15 days in a year. intensive and provides gainful employment to around 8 million artisans and weavers in rural areas. Allahabad to be renamed Prayagraj very soon  Over 108 exhibitors of silk and blended silk products Ahead of the Kumbh Mela next year, Uttar Pradesh Chief manufactured in different parts of the country will Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that very soon display their produce during the three-day event, Allahabad district will be renamed Prayagraj. organised by the Indian Silk Export Promotion  Akhada Parishad and others regarding changing the Council (ISEPC) at Pragati Maidan. name of Allahabad district. UP Governor Ram Naik  Over 218 buyers from various countries will has also given his consent to the proposal. participate in the fair.

C. R. Chaudhary Attends 6th RCEP Inter-sessional International Film Festival of Shimla 2018 concludes Ministerial Meeting in Singapore

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The International Film Festival of Shimla 2018 concluded with maintaining a balanced environment and for acquiring "The Fog" by Ali Shoorvarzi and Hoseyn Mahroughi bagging skills that reflect care and protection towards forests, the 'best short film' award. environment and society.  The festival organised by the Ministry of Information  Another objective is to provide a platform to school and Broadcasting in collaboration with Himalayan children to learn practical skills towards judicious use velocity saw the participation of 23 countries of our resources and to mobilize a cadre of youth for including the US, Russia, Japan, Iran, Dubai, raising a peoples’ movement committed to Argentina, Cyprus, Bangladesh, Canada, Israel, conservation of forest and environment. France, Australia, Belarus, Nepal.  A total of 80 international and national films were RK Singh launches award scheme under 'Saubhagya' screened at the festival. Shri RK Singh, Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy announced an award scheme under A “Museum on Prime Ministers of India” to be set up in Saubhagya to felicitate the DISCOMs / Power Department of Delhi the States and their employees for achieving 100 per cent A “Museum on Prime Ministers of India” is to be set up in household electrification in their area of operations. Delhi.  Awards would be provided for achieving 100 per cent  Union Minister for Culture Dr. Mahesh and Minister household electrification at DISCOM/Power for Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Department level of the States. Puri laid the Foundation stone for proposed Museum  Eight States which have already achieved more than at Teen Murti Estate, in New Delhi. 99 per cent household electrification prior to launch  Shri Hardeep Singh Puri said that the proposed of Saubhagya (Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Museum is dedicated to all the Prime Ministers of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab and India and is envisaged to give visitors a holistic Tamil Nadu), are ineligible for participation under the understanding of the continued thread of leadership, award scheme. All the remaining States and their initiatives and sacrifice that have helped shape our Discoms are eligible for the award. nation since independence.” Goa Maritime Symposium – 2018 Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi launched The Goa Maritime Symposium – 2018, the second edition of Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi was launched in the Goa Maritime Symposium (GSM) – a forum towards Delhi by the Union Minister for Earth Sciences and fostering friendly relations with the maritime neighbours - was Environment, Dr. Harsh Vardhan. inaugurated by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba  The System is designed to predict extreme air PVSM, AVSM, ADC, at INS Mandovi at Goa on 16th October pollution events and give alerts to take necessary steps 2018. as per Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) of the  The “Naval War College Journal”, an academic Government of India. compendium with ideas and papers from writers and  The air pollution system has been developed jointly thinkers on maritime strategy and security, was also by the scientists at Indian Institute of Tropical released on the occasion by the CNS. Meteorology (IITM), Pune, India Meteorological  Welcoming the delegates to the seminar, Admiral Department and National Centre for Medium Range Lanba reiterated the importance of cooperative Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF). engagement to promote maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). MoU Between ICFRE & Navoday Vidyalaya Samiti and  The theme of the seminar, this year was “Building Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan Stronger Maritime Partnerships in IOR”. Two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed by Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Much awaited Rani-Jhansi Flyover inaugurated in Delhi Dehradun, with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) and Rani Jhansi Grade separator, the ambitious flyover project in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS). north Delhi was thrown open to public by Union Environment  ICFRE is an autonomous Council under the Ministry Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan. of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.  The six-lane, 1.8-km grade separator will provide  The MoUs have been signed to launch the programme connectivity to St Stephen’s Hospital near the Tiz “PRAKRITI” with the objective to promote Hazari Courts complex with Filmstan Cinema and awareness about forests and environment, to stimulate also it will provide a link with the intersections for interest among the students of NVS and KVS in

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Baraf Khana, DCM Chowk, Azad Market and Subzi  The documents have been developed by NITI Aayog Mandi areas of Delhi. in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, State Governments and representatives from IITs dominate first-ever Indian university rankings the healthcare industry. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) dominate the first-  Member NITI Aayog, Dr.VKPaulalong with partner ever standalone ranking of India's higher education institutions agencies involved in preparation of the two released by a UK-headquartered think tank. documents were present on this occasion.  IIT Bombay tops the 'QS India University Rankings', with IITs Madras (3), Delhi (4), Kharagpur (5), 45 Indian companies participating in Expo Cihac in Mexico Kanpur (6), Roorkee (9) and Guwahati (10) grabbing City seven of the top 10 slots. Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) is leading a  Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore comes contingent of 45 exhibitors, representing various sectors of the in at second, with University of Hyderabad and construction industry like building materials, construction University of Delhi among the others making a top- equipment, interior furnishing, manufacturing and marketing 10 mark at seventh and eighth respectively in the list of ceramic vitrified tiles to Expo Cihacin Mexico City. released by QS Quacquarelli Symonds.  Expo Cihac is the leading event for the construction industry being held in Citibanamex Center, Mexico 6th India International Silk Fair Inaugurated till October 20, 2018. Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani, inaugurated the  This event is expected to bring together the best 6th India International Silk Fair (IISF) at Pragati Maidan in products, technologies and innovations in New Delhi. construction from all over the world.  Among those present on the occasion was  More than 570 exhibitors from the field of Ambassador of Vietnam to India, Pham Sanh Chau. architecture, engineering, interior design, lighting,  108 exhibitors from all over the country including 10 home automation and machinery are participating in from North East and 9 from J&K are participating in the expo. the 3-day fair.  The largest contingent of buyers is from Vietnam First National Summit on Invest in AYUSH followed by Sri Lanka, Australia, Kuwait and Egypt. On the  India is the 2nd largest producer of silk after China occasion of and is emerging as a leading exporter. Ayurveda  The Indian products are in demand in USA, UK, Day Vietnam and Sri Lanka. celebrations, Ministry of MoU signed between Lady Irwin College & MoRD for AYUSH is Roshni organising Ministry of Rural Development and Lady Irwin College, have First signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for National Summit on Invest in AYUSH at Ambedkar establishing ROSHNI – Centre of Women Collectives led International Centre, New Delhi on 4th November, 2018. Social Action.  The summit is to encourage public sector  ROSHNI is technically and financially supported by undertakings (PSUs) under different UNICEF India serving as a technical support unit at Ministries/Departments of the Government and national level. private companies to invest in AYUSH.  NITI Aayog and Department of Industrial and Policy Guidelines for PPP for Non Communicable Diseases in and Promotion are the partner organisations of this launched by NITI Aayog first National summit in AYUSH. NITI Aayog launched the Guidelines and Model Concessionaire Agreement, MCA for Public Private MJ Akbar resigns as Union Minister Partnership, PPP for Non Communicable Diseases. MJ Akbar, Minister of State For External Affairs, has resigned  The documents have been designed to supplement from his post in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment efforts for provision of prevention and treatment made by several women against him. services of non-communicable diseases related to  MJ Akbar said in a statement that he would "seek Cardiac Sciences, Oncology, and Pulmonary Sciences justice in a court of law" in a "personal capacity". at the district hospitals especially in tier 2 & 3 cities.

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 As many as 20 women have accused MJ Akbar of  The Azad Hind Government, founded on 21st sexually harassing them when he worked as a October, 1943 was inspired by Neta ji Subhash journalist. Chandra Bose who was the leader of Azad Hind Government and also the Head of State of this Prime Minister chairs 6th meeting of NDMA Provisional Indian Government-in-exile. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi chaired the sixth  It was a part of the freedom movement, originating in meeting of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) 1940s outside India with a purpose of allying with at New Delhi. Axis powers to free India from British rule.  Prime Minister reviewed the activities of NDMA to effectively manage and respond to disasters affecting Assam celebrates Kati Bihu festival the country. Assam's Bihu festival,  He also reviewed ongoing projects undertaken by known as Kati Bihu or NDMA. Kongali Bihu, is being  Prime Minister emphasized on the need for better celebrated across the state. coordination between the various stakeholders and  On the occasion undertake more joint exercises to bring about of Kati Bihu, effective response to save life and property. women, both in  He stressed upon the need to bring in global expertise urban and rural in the field of disaster management. areas, try to ward off evil and pray for a rich harvest by lighting earthen Armies of India and Japan to hold first ever joint exercise lamps. from November 1  The festival derives its name from the Assamese Armies of India and Japan will hold their first ever joint month of Kati. exercise from November 1 at a jungle warfare school in Mizoram's Vairengte with a focus on strengthening counter- India to Host Fourth Edition of Global Partners’ Forum terror cooperation. 2018 in December  The focus of the two-week-long exercise 'Dharma This year, India will play host to the largest-ever Partners' Guardian" will be to increase interoperability between Forum on 12th and 13th December 2018 in New Delhi. the two forces and enhance coordination in dealing  PMNCH (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & with various security challenges. Child Health) will bring together 1,200 partners from  The Indian contingent will be represented by 6/1 over 100 countries dedicated to the Every Woman Gorkha Rifles while the Japanese contingent will be Every Child (EWEC) movement. represented by 32 Infantry Regiment of the Japanese  The forum will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Health Ground Self Defence Force. and Family Welfare, Government of India and PMNCH. Bihar's Shahi litchi gets GI tag After Katrani rice, Jardalu mango and Magahi paan, Bihars India's first railway station inside tunnel to come up in Shahi litchi has got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag and Himachal Pradesh has become an exclusive brand in the national and international For the first time in India, a railway station will be built inside market. a tunnel at a height of 3,000 metres, on the strategic Bilaspur-  The famous Shahi litchi, which is famous for its Manali-Leh line close to the Sino-India border. sweet, juicy, unique flavour and aroma, is mostly  While many metro stations in Delhi and other cities grown in Muzaffarpur and neighbouring districts are inside tunnels, once completed, the Keylong including East Champaran, Vaishali, Samastipur and station in Himachal Pradesh will be the first on the Begusarai. railway network to be inside a tunnel.  Keylong is the administrative centre of Lahaul and Commemoration of '75th Year of Establishment of Azad Spiti district, 26 km north of Manali and 120 km from Hind Government' the Indo-Tibetan border. The Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, would be hoisting the National flag and unveiling the plaque to celebrate Prime Minister dedicates National Police Memorial to the the 75th anniversary of the formation of Azad Hind Nation Government on 21st October, 2018, at the Red Fort, Delhi.

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The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, dedicated the  The theme this year is “AI for ALL: Leveraging National Police Memorial to the nation, on Police Artificial Intelligence for Inclusive Growth”. Commemoration Day.  Union Ministers, policy makers, experts from  The Prime Minister announced an award in the name different walks of life along with NITI Aayog Vice of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, to honour those Chairman, Members, CEO and Senior officials will be involved in disaster response operations. a part of august gathering on this occasion.  The award would be announced every year, recognizing the bravery and courage displayed in 3rd Himachal Pradesh Science Congress begins in Mandi saving lives of people, in the wake of a disaster. In a bid to give a major boost to India’s longest bridge to be built across Brahmaputra rural innovation India’s longest river bridge will be built across the sector, two-day Brahmaputra, connecting Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in 3rd Himachal Meghalaya, and will cut road travel by 203 km as also travel Pradesh Science time. Congress began  The 19.3 km, four-lane bridge will be built by 2026- at IIT, Mandi. 27, Government officials said.  During  At present, vehicles take an over-200 km-long detour the using the Naranarayan Bridge, which is 60 km event, upstream. scientists and researchers will discuss recent progress  The new bridge will complete the missing link of and future trends in technologies/ products relevant NH127B from Assam to Meghalaya. for rural transformation.  The event was jointly organised by Himachal Pradesh Four Himalayan peaks named after former PM Atal Bihari Council for Science, Technology, and Environment Vajpayee and IIT, Mandi on the theme “Rural Upliftment Four Himalayan peaks near Gangotri glacier have been named through Science and Technology Interventions”. after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.  The peaks are located at 6,557m, 6,566m, 6,160m and President in Maharashtra; inaugurates Vishwashanti 6,100m on the right flank of Gangotri glacier. Ahimsa Sammelan  Located near Sudarshan and Saifi peaks in Raktvan The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the valley, the peaks have been named Atal-1, 2, 3 and 4. Vishwashanti Ahimsa Sammelan at Mangi Tungi, Nasik, Maharashtra. PM addresses India Carpet Expo at Varanasi, via Video  The event is being organised by the Bhagwan Shri Conference Rishabhdev 108 Feet Vishalkai Digambar Jain Murti The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed via video Nirman Committee. conference, the India Carpet Expo at Varanasi.  Speaking on the occasion, the President said that in  Welcoming guests from India and abroad, the Prime the Jain tradition, the principle of ‘Ahimsa Minister noted that this is the first time that the India Paramodharma’ is distinguished for human welfare Carpet Expo is being organized at the Deendayal and compassion - not just for the absence of physical Hastkala Sankul, in Varanasi. violence.  He mentioned Varanasi, Bhadohi and Mirzapur as important centres of the carpet industry. He spoke of “Harit Diwali-Swasth Diwali” campaign launched by efforts being made to encourage handicrafts, small Ministry of Environment and medium industries. Keeping in view the detrimental effects and also the importance of the festival, Ministry has initiated a “Harit– 4th Edition of NITI Lecture Series to be held on 22nd Diwali” campaign. October  This campaign was initiated in 2017-18 wherein large NITI Aayog is organizing the fourth edition of NITI Lecture number of school children especially from eco-clubs Series at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 22.10.2018. participated and took pledge to minimize bursting of  Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will attend the 4th crackers and also discouraged the neighborhood and edition of NITI Lecture series in which the key note their friends from bursting of crackers. address will be delivered by Jensen Huang, President and Co-Founder, NVIDIA Corporation.

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 During this intensive campaign, the children were America, United Kingdom, Kuwait, Italy, France, advised to celebrate Diwali in an environment- Maldives and Sri Lanka. friendly manner.  The conference will conclude on the 24th October, 2018. First India-China High Level Meeting on Bilateral Security Cooperation PM to launch “Main Nahin Hum” Portal and App Union Home Minister Shri The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will interact with IT Rajnath Singh co-chaired and electronic manufacturing professionals across India on the first India-China High October 24, 2018, on the occasion of the launch of the “Main Level Meeting on Bilateral Nahin Hum” Portal and App. Security Cooperation with  The portal, which works on the theme “Self4Society”, Mr. Zhao Kezhi, State will enable IT professionals and organizations to Councilor and Minister of bring together their efforts towards social causes, and Public Security of the service to society, on one platform. People's Republic of China  In doing so, the portal is expected to help catalyse in New Delhi. greater collaboration towards the service of the  During the weaker sections of society, especially by leveraging meeting, the two the benefits of technology. sides discussed issues of mutual interest,  Other issues including bilateral counter-terrorism India – Czech Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation cooperation were also discussed and welcomed held in Prague increased cooperation between India and China in the The eleventh session of India – Czech Republic Joint area of security cooperation. Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC) was held on 22nd – 23rd October 2018 at Prague. Women of India Organic Festival to be held at IGNCA,  The Indian delegation was led by Minister of State for New Delhi Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & The Ministry of Women and Child Development is organizing Public Distribution, C. R. Chaudhary. Miss Marta the 5th edition of the Women of India Organic Festival from Nováková, Minister of Industry & Trade of Czech 26th October to 4th November, 2018 at Indira Gandhi National Republic led the Czech side. Centre for the Arts, Janpath Road, New Delhi.  The deliberations were marked with the mutual desire  This is aimed to boost organic culture and promote to further expand and strengthen relations between the Women Organic Farmers and Entrepreneurs. two countries in the economic field.  Being the country's largest organic festival, it bears witness to the fact that women are the torchbearers of Forty-five Indian companies participate in SIAL Paris the nation's organic movement. exhibition  "The WOI Festival has given a successful platform to Forty-five Indian companies are participating in the SIAL Paris empower women farmers and entrepreneurs in a exhibition – the largest international market place for food festive and fruitful manner for the past 4 years” said service professionals. the Minister of Women & Child Development, Smt.  Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) has Maneka Sanjay Gandhi. inaugurated a special Indian pavilion in the ongoing mega exhibition for the participating companies. 3rd Decadal International year of Reefs-2018  SIAL Paris is the leading exhibition of food service The International Conference on Status and Protection of Coral products with more than 7020 French and Reefs (STAPCOR – 2018) with the theme “Reef for Life” was international exhibitors from 109 countries displaying inaugurated by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and their foodstuffs, ranging from ingredients to Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan on 22nd October at processed products, including fresh produce. Bangaram coral Island of Union Territory of Lakshadweep.  Chairman TPCI, Mohit Singla, said that this  About 150 delegates both International and National, exhibition is an ideal platform for the Indian are participating in this mega event at Bangaram participants to explore the business opportunities for Island from 22nd to 24th October, 2018. trade, acquaint with new consumer trends, food  The delegates and keynote speakers for technical innovations, food services, marketing tie-ups and deliberations have come from United State of joint ventures.

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Establishment of Appellate Tribunal under Prohibition of  The approval entails an estimated fund size of Benami Property Act, 1988 Rs.7,522 crore, comprising Rs.5,266.40 crore to be The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra raised by the Nodal Loaning Entities (NLEs), Rs. Modi has approved the appointment of Adjudicating Authority 1,316.6 crore beneficiaries contribution and and establishment of Appellate Tribunal under Prohibition of Rs.939.48 crore budgetary support from the Benami Property Transactions Act(PBPT), 1988. Government of India.  Appointment of an Adjudicating Authority, along  National Bank for Agriculture and Rural with the three additional Benches and to establish the Development (NABARD), National Cooperatives Appellate Tribunal under the PBPT Act; Development Corporation (NCDC) and all scheduled  To provide the officers and employees to Banks (hereinafter referred as Banks) shall be the Adjudicating Authority, Benches of the Adjudicating nodal Loaning Entities. Authority and Appellate Tribunal by diverting the existing posts at the same level/rank from the Income Vice President Inaugurates International Conference Tax Deptt./Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT); 'AFITA/WCCA2018'  The Adjudicating Authority and Appellate Tribunal The Vice shall sit in the National Capital Territory of Delhi President of India, (NCTD). Shri M. Venkaiah  Benches of Adjudicating Authority may sit in Naidu has said Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, and the necessary that value addition notification in this regard shall be issued after making for agricultural consultation with the Chairperson of the proposed production is one Adjudicating Authority. of the solutions for improving Cabinet approves setting up of Indian Institute of Skills in farmers' income. PPP modes  He was addressing the inaugural session of the The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra International Conference 'AFITA/WCCA2018' on Modi has approved the for setting up of Indian Institute of Research Frontiers in Precision Agriculture, jointly Skills(IISs) at different locations across the country in Public organized by Asia-Pacific Federation for Information Private Partnership (PPP), which will be explored for Technology in Agriculture, International Network for promotion of IIS at select locations based on demand and Information Technology in Agriculture and Indian available infrastructure. Society for Agricultural Information Technology, in  The setting up of IISs shall augment the global Mumbai. competitiveness of key sectors of Indian economy by  The Vice President said that farming community providing high quality skill training, applied research needs to diversify and take up allied activities like education and a direct and meaningful connection fisheries, dairy and poultry as well to supplement on- with industry. farm incomes.  It will provide opportunity to aspiring youth across the country to have access to highly skilled training, President of India inaugurates International Arya and enhance the scope of accountability through its Mahasammelan-2018 linkage with industry and global competitiveness The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the across sectors. International Arya Mahasammelan – 2018 in Delhi.  By leveraging advantages of private sector enterprise  Speaking on the occasion, the President said that in and public capital in terms of Government land, it the 19th century when we were considering our would create new institutes of expertise, knowledge culture and beliefs inferior than the western culture, and competitiveness. Swami Dayanand Saraswati showed us the path of renaissance and self-pride. Creation of Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure  He was an intrepid warrior of social and spiritual Development Fund (FIDF) reform. He took effective measures for educational The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the and social reform especially for women Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for empowerment and eradication of untouchability. His creation of special Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure work is relevant even in the present times both for Development Fund (FIDF). Indian society and the entire world.

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Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates 10th Nuclear Energy  Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Agrawal Conclave said, good strategy, adequate resources and good The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for governance will be crucial to achieve the target. Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and 24th edition of Technology Summit to begin at New Delhi Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that India has vindicated the India will host the 24th edition of Technology Summit with vision of the founding father of country’s Nuclear Energy Italy as the partner country. Programme, Dr Homi J. Bhabha, when he had said that India’s  The two-day summit will be inaugurated on nuclear programme will be used for peaceful purposes. 29th October, 2018 by the Union Minister for  He was delivering the inaugural address at the 10th Science& Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Nuclear Energy Conclave. Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan.  The theme of the conclave is ‘Nuclear Power-  This is the first time that Italy has been selected as Towards a Clean & Base Load Energy’. partner country for this prestigious event.  Dr Singh said that the Cabinet has given its approval  Italian Prime Minister will be leading a 200-strong for construction of 10 units of India’s indigenous delegation for the Summit comprising business Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). leaders, scientists, heads of research and scientific  This significant decision has been taken to fast-track organisations and technocrats. India’s domestic nuclear power programme, and give a push to country’s nuclear industry, he added. PM addresses Krishi Kumbh in Lucknow, via video  Speaking about other initiatives, he said that the conference Government has amended sections of the Atomic The Prime Minister, Energy Act, 1962 through the Atomic Energy Shri Narendra (Amendment) Bill, 2015. Modi, today addressed the 3-Day India Mobile Congress began in Delhi Krishi Kumbh in India Mobile Congress (IMC) is one of the biggest marquee Lucknow, via video Mobile, Internet, and Technology event for South and South- conference. East Asia, with the theme, “New Digital Horizons – Connect.  The Prime Create. Innovate.”, Minister  IMC 2018 began on a grand-scale at Aero City, New expressed confidence that this gathering of farmers Delhi with over 300 companies, 20 countries would pave the way for new technology to be imbibed participating in this prestigious event in the Asia and better opportunities to be created in the Pacific region. agriculture sector.  Shri Manoj Sinha, Minister of State (Independent  The Prime Minister appreciated the State Government Charge) for Communications and Minister of State for of Uttar Pradesh, for its efforts in augmenting Railways inaugurated this 2nd edition of the epoch substantially, the procurement of food grains. marking event.  He asserted that the farmers are the ones, who take the  It was began in 2017 to build a collaboration platform country forward. He reiterated the Union for technologies and services in next generation Government’s commitment to double the income of mobile communications. farmers by 2022.  The inauguration ceremony was attended by over 5000 people from 10 partner countries, and included Digital communications & economy discussed between policy makers, ambassadors, opinion makers, change India and European Commission agents, bureaucrats and investors. The Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge) Government of India, Mr Manoj Sinha and the H.E. Global Agriculture Leadership Summit 2018 opens in New Mr Andrus Ansip, European Commissioner for Digital Single Delhi Market and Vice President of the European Commission have The Global Agriculture Leadership Summit 2018 opened in met in New Delhi to discuss cooperation on Digital New Delhi. The theme of the 2-day summit is, 'Connecting communications, Digital economy and society. Farmers to Market'.  India and European Union (EU) stressed that Digital  Inaugurating the summit, Secretary Agriculture and Communications and Technologies are of vital Co-operation Sanjay Agrawal said, several measures importance for all spheres of society, business and are being taken to double farmers' income by 2022. government.

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 The development and widespread adoption of new districts from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, ICT services and networks have powerful effects on Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. economic and social development, supporting  The review meeting was chaired by Mr. sustainable growth and competitiveness and ParameswaranIyer, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking contributing to addressing global societal challenges. Water and Sanitation.  Both sides noted the importance of supporting global standards and welcomed the close technical Department of Consumer Affairs & NCDRC organizes cooperation between the Indian and European conference Telecom Standardization Development Organizations The Department of - TSDSI (India) and ETSI (European Union). Consumer Affairs, Government of India Vigilance Awareness Week 2018 to be observed from 29th along with National Oct-3rd Nov Consumer Disputes The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) observes the Redressal Commission Vigilance Awareness Week every year during the week in (NCDRC) jointly which the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (31st October) organized a falls. Conferenceat Vigyan  This year, the Vigilance Awareness Week is being Bhawan New Delhi to observed from 29th October to 3rd November, 2018 review the functioning of the State Commissions and District on the theme “Eradicate Corruption-Build a New Fora. India.  The Conference was attended by Presidents of State  This week, through its various outreach activities, it Commissions and Secretaries in charge of Consumer seeks to motivate stakeholders to collectively Affairs of States and UTs. participate in the fight against corruption and also  The Conference was presided over bythe Minister of aims at raising public awareness regarding the State for Consumer Affairs, Food, Public Distribution detrimental consequences of corruption. & Commerce and Industry, Shri C.R. Chaudhary, andPresident, NCDRC, Justice R. K. Agarwal. 3-day India Mobile Congress 2018 concludes  The Conference is being held at a crucial time, when India Mobile Congress(IMC) 2018 – a marquee event which the Government has introduced a new Consumer provided a peep into the exciting future in the rapidly evolving Protection Bill, 2018 in the Lok Sabha repealing the area of digital communications – ended, with participants and Consumer Protection Act of 1986 with substantial organisers promising to be back next year. changes for meeting the emerging challenges faced by  This year’s event, with its’ theme of “New Digital consumers in the new markets. Horizons – Connect. Create. Innovate” established the IMC as a regular platform for global and local Gandhian Thought and Swachhata seminar organized in stakeholders in the sector to collaborate in the cause Wardha of exploring opportunities and leveraging The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) possibilities, with specific focus on South and South- organized a seminar in Wardha district of Maharashtra. East Asia.  The seminar, titled “Gandhian Thoughts and  The mega 3-day event was inaugurated on October 25 Sanitation”, was centered on the Gandhian ideology by Shri Manoj Sinha,Minister of State (Independent on sanitation and the implementation of the same Charge) for Communications. through the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).  The seminar ended with a visit to Sevagram, to First Regional Review Meeting for “Sustainable experience and learn from Gandhiji’s time there. Sanitation” Held In Nagpur The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government Kerala the best State for teenage girls in India: Report of India, in coordination with the Water Supply and Sanitation Kerala tops the TAG index which compares the performance Department, Government of Maharashtra, organized the first in of each State based on the status of their teenage girls, as a part a series of regional review meetings on Sustainable Sanitation. of the survey findings of The Teen Age Girls (TAG) Report,  The regional review was held in Nagpur, attended by conducted by Project Nanhi Kali. State Secretaries in-charge of rural sanitation, Mission  Compiled and published by the Naandi Foundation, Directors, and other State Swachh Bharat Mission with grant support from Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, (SBM) officials, including representatives from 25

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this report is touted as the nation’s first report on what practices and Success Stories” organised by National Crime it means to be a teenage girl in India. Record Bureau (NCRB).  Conducted by an all-women team of 1000 surveyors,  MoS (Home) Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir also the survey covered over 74,000 girls across the released a Compendium of “CCTN--Good practices country and traversed 30 States and 600 districts. and Success Stories”.  Kerala is followed by Mizoram, Sikkim, Manipur and  In his Inaugural address, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir Himachal Pradesh as the top States, while the top said that in a huge democracy like India, having three cities were found to be Mumbai, Kolkata and population of 130 crore, CCTN System and Bengaluru. associated technologies can help us get information quickly and track the criminals. IIT Kharagpur organises Young Innovators Programme To make the younger generation more oriented towards Gadkari to lay the foundation for India’s largest Dry Dock scientific and technological innovations, the Indian Institute of at Cochin Shipyard Technology (IIT) Kharagpur organised a science and The Union technology competition for students of class 8 to 10. Minister for  The competition called the 'Young Innovators Shipping, Road Programme YIP 2018' was attended by many schools Transport & in the country and also from Singapore. Highways,  Kaanger Valley Academy, Raipur, Chattisgarh Water emerged on the top of the Young Innovators Resources, River Programme. Development & Ganga Maharashtra Coast to be Developed as Tourism hotspot: Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari and Kerala Chief Minister Suresh Prabhu Shri Pinarayi Vijayan will lay the foundation for India’s largest Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Dry Dock at Cochin Shipyard in Kerala on 30 October. Suresh Prabhu, has written to Minister of State (Independent  The Dry Dock will give an impetus to “Make in India” Charge) for Tourism, K.J. Alphons, and Chief Minister of initiative under Sagarmala and raise India’s share in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, for developing Maharashtra global shipbuilding to 2 percent. India currently coast as atourist hotspot. occupies 0.66 % share in global shipbuilding market.  He said that the marine leisure sector is the fastest  The commercial ship building industry in India is growing segment of the travel industry and growth worth Rs. 3,200 Croreand focuses primarily on small- ofcruise ship industry, seaside destination resorts, medium sized offshore vessels and cargo/bulk marine parks, scuba diving and aquariums. carriers.  India, with a coast line of 7500 km., has tremendous  At present, Cochin Shipyard has two dry docks, one potential for development in this sector. predominantly used for ship building of size 255m x 43 x 9m and capacity 1,10,000 DWT and the other Conference on Cyber Security – Challenges and one for ship repair of size 270 x 45 x 12m and capacity Innovations 1,25,000 DWT. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in association with Cyber Peace Foundation and Veermata Jijabai CSIR develops Less Polluting Firecrackers named – Technological Institute (VJTI) organised a conference on SWAS, SAFAL and STAR Cyber Security – Challenges and Innovations at DRDO “CSIR scientists have developed Less Polluting Firecrackers Bhawan. which are not only environment friendly but 15-20 % cheaper  It was inaugurated by Member NITI Aayog, Dr. V K than the conventional ones”, said Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Saraswat. Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences,  Addressing the gathering, Dr. Saraswat emphasised to Environment, Forest & Climate Change. convert a challenge into an opportunity through  These crackers have been named as safe water innovation. releaser (SWAS), safe minimal aluminium (SAFAL) and safe thermite cracker (STAR). Conference on “CCTNS--Good practices and success  Highlighting that the Indian Fireworks industry is Stories” over 6000-crore worth of annual turnover and The Union Minister of State for Home , Shri Hansraj Gangaram provides employment opportunities to over 5 lakh Ahir inaugurated the two-day conference on “CCTNS--Good families directly or indirectly, the Minister said that

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this endeavour of CSIR aims at addressing the pollution concerns at the same time protecting the livelihoods of those involved in this trade.

Meeting of Financial Stability and Development Council held RBI slaps Rs 5 crore penalty on Karur Vysya Bank The Financial Stability and Development Council, FSDC, held The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 5 crore a meeting in New Delhi which was presided over by Finance on Karur Vysya Bank for non-compliance of its directives. Minister Arun Jaitley.  According to a RBI statement, the penalty was  RBI Governor Urjit Patel, financial sector regulators imposed for non-compliance with its directions on and top officials of the Finance Ministry attended the "Income Recognition and Asset Classification meeting. (IRAC) norms, reporting of frauds, and on the need  It reviewed the progress in setting up a Computer for discipline at the time of opening of current Emergency Response Team in the financial sector accounts". under a statutory framework. Goa, Portugal ink MoU on water management PM to dedicate Statue of Unity to the Nation A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will dedicate the Portuguese Environment Ministry and the Public Works world’s tallest statue, the “Statue of Unity”, to the Nation, at Department of Goa will help the State manage its water Kevadiya in Gujarat on October 31, 2018. resources better.  The 182 metre statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, will  The MoU proposes technical partnership in the areas be dedicated to the nation on his birth anniversary, at of water supply operation and energy efficiency, Kevadiya in Narmada District of Gujarat. resource valorisation, waste water and sewerage planning, management and technological solutions, IIT Guwahati uses aloe vera to remove oil from water asset management procedure and standards, energy Researchers have for the first time used a naturally occurring management operational workflows, operational data material — aloe vera gel — which inherently has superior oil and information management. repelling (oleophobic) property to separate oil from water  As part of the MoU, the assessment of two of the  Using the membrane, the researchers were able to biggest water treatment and supply plants at Selaulim separate both light (kerosene) and heavy oil from and Opa in Goa would be undertaken. water even under harsh conditions  The team led by Dr. Uttam Manna from the Government in public interest moved NCLT to supersede Department of Chemistry at Indian Institute of Management of IL&FS Technology (IIT) Guwahati used the thick gel The Central Government, based on a report received from the contained in the leaves of aloe vera plant Regional Director, Mumbai, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, concluded that the affairs of IL&FS holding Company and its Prime Minister addresses the India-Italy Technology group companies are being conducted in a manner prejudicial Summit to public interest. The Prime  With a view to preventing further mismanagement Minister, Shri and protecting public interest, the Ministry of Narendra Modi, Corporate Affairs moved the National Company Law addressed the Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, under Section 241(2) India-Italy read with Section 242 of the Companies Act, 2013 Technology with a prayer to supersede the existing Board and Summit at New appoint the new Board of Directors with immediate Delhi.The Prime effect. Minister of  The NCLT suspended the existing board and directed Italy,Mr. Giuseppe Conte, was also present on the occasion. that the suspended members should not represent the  During the address, Prime Minister announced the company in any form with immediate effect. launch of the next phase of the India-Italy Industrial  The NCLT approved the induction of 6 Directors Research and Development Cooperation program.He recommended by the Government, in the first added that the program will enable our industry and instance, consisting of Shri Uday Kotak, MD & CEO research institutes to develop new products. of Kotak Mahindra Bank as Non-Executive Chairman and Shri Vineet Nayyar, IAS (Retd.), Shri G.N.

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Bajpai, former Chairman, SEBI, Shri G.C. Kochhar quits ICICI Bank Chaturvedi, Non-Executive Chairperson, ICICI Bank, ICICI Bank MD and Dr. Malini Shankar, IAS and Shri Nand Kishore, CEO Chanda Kochhar, IA&AS (Retd.) as Directors. who has been in the midst  The new Board shall take up its responsibility with of allegations of immediate effect, after following due procedures. corporate misconduct,  The new Board is tasked with the responsibility of has opted for early preparing a robust and time bound resolution plan. retirement.  The board of ADB and India sign $150 Million Loan to Improve directors of the private sector lender has accepted her Regional Connectivity resignation and appointed Chief Operating Officer The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Sandeep Bakhshi in her place. India signed a $150 Million Loan to finance continued  Kochhar, 56 was to retire on March 31, 2019 when improvements to road connectivity and efficiency of the her five-year term came to an end. International Trade Corridor in West Bengal and North-Eastern Region of India. Apple world's top brand, Facebook slips to 9th spot  Approved in 20'14, the Program aims to expand about Apple displaced Google to become the top brand in the world 500 kilometers of roads in India’s North Bengal and in 2018 while Facebook, mired in data breach controversies, North-Eastern Region that will enable efficient and fell to ninth place in the top 100 brands globally. safe transport within India and regionally with other  According to global brand consultancy Interbrand's SASEC member countries. "Best 100 Global Brands 2018" report, Amazon achieved a 56 per cent growth to become the third top India and ADB Sign $240 Million Loan for 3 West Bengal brand globally. Districts  According to the ranking, Apple's brand value grew Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) 16 per cent (year-on-year) to $214.5 billion. signed $240 million loan for providing safe and sustainable  It went on to become the first company in the US to drinking water to about 1.65 million people in three districts of hit the $1 trillion market cap. the state of West Bengal affected by arsenic, fluoride, and salinity. Fourth bi-monthly monetary policy review  Heavy reliance on groundwater puts most of the rural Reserve Bank has maintained status quo on all key policy rates population in West Bengal at risk from arsenic and in the fourth bi-monthly monetary policy review. fluoride contamination that can lead to health The six member monetary policy committee, MPC headed by problems including cancer and bone diseases. Governor Urjit Patel decided to keep the policy repo rate  The project aims to mitigate these risks through unchanged at 6.5 percent and the reverse repo rate at 6.25 provision of continuous potable water through percent. metered connections to about 390,000 individual  Repo Rate: 6.50% households in three districts – Bankura, North 24  Reverse Repo rate: 6.25% Parganas, and Purba Medinipur.  Marginal Standing Facility Rate: 6.75%  The project is supported by a grant of $3 million from  Bank Rate: 6.75% the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the  Cash reserve Ratio: 4% Government of Japan, and a $2 million grant from  SLR: 19.5% ADB’s Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund. Reliance Health Insurance gets final nod from IRDAI India and the ADB sign $ 150 Million Loan Agreement to Reliance Health Insurance has received the final nod from the support India’s First Global Skills Park Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India (IRDAI) to begin operations. signed a $150 million Loan Agreement in New Delhi to  Reliance Health Insurance, a wholly owned establish a Global Skills Park (GSP) in Madhya Pradesh. subsidiary of Reliance Capital, has received R3  It will be the First Multi-Skills Park in India to approval from IRDAI for its new health insurance enhance the quality of Technical and Vocational business. Education And Training (TVET) System in the State  Reliance Health will commence business by the and create a more skilled workforce. December quarter.

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India and ADB Signs $110 Million Loan to Improve Rural  It had in January forecast FY20 growth at 7.5%. Connectivity in Madhya Pradesh China is forecast to grow 6.6% and 6.2% in 2018 Government of India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) and 2019, respectively. The Indian economy grew signed a $110 million loan to finance the upgrade of 2,800 6.7% in FY18. kilometers all-weather rural roads in the State of Madhya Pradesh under the Prime Minister's Rural Roads Program Flipkart partners Bajaj Allianz to offer insurance for (PMGSY). mobile phones  Tranche 2 loan is part of the $500 million Second Flipkart, a leading e-commerce player, has tied up with Bajaj Rural Connectivity investment Program for India Allianz General Insurance to offer customised insurance to approved by the ADB Board in December 2017. leading mobile brands being sold on the e-commerce major’s  The overall program is aimed at improving rural platform. connectivity, facilitating safer and more efficient  This marks decade-old Flipkart’s foray into access to livelihood and socio-economic insurance after it secured a corporate agent licence opportunities for rural communities through from the insurance regulator, IRDAI. improvements to about 12,000 kilometers rural roads  The insurance will be available from October 10 across the states of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya when Flipkart’s Big Billion Days (TBBD) begins. Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal.  Tranche 1 loan of $250 million is currently under NHB decides to increase the Refinance Limit to Rs.30,000 implementation in the 5 project states, upgrading over crore for the Current Year 6,000 km of rural roads. Keeping in view the current scenario, National Housing Bank (NHB has decided to increase the Refinance limit Atal Innovation Mission & SIRIUS sign MoU to Rs.30,000 crore. To promote innovative cooperation between students of India  Now, eligible Housing Finance Companies & Other and Russia, a Memorandum of Understanding was exchanged entities will have increased availability of funds. between India’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and the  National Housing Bank had set an inital limit to Russian Federation’s SIRIUS Educational Foundation in the sanction Rs. 24,000 crore this year (July 2018-June presence of the Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi 2019) towards refinancing eligible institutions. and the President of Russia H.E. Vladimir Putin, in New Delhi  Till date, Rs.8835 crore has been sanctioned. This on 5th October 2018. refinancing is a credit flow to Housing Finance  The AIM and SIRUS Education Foundation were Companies & other Institutions. represented by Mission Director Shri. R Ramanan and  National Housing Bank (NHB) is the Principal Ms. Elena Shmeleva respectively. Agency to promote Housing Finance Institutions, The MoU hopes to remove cultural and language barriers currently 97 in number, and to provide financial between students of Russia and India, share the best practices support to eligible institutions. in the promotion of educational, scientific, innovative  As a regulator, National Housing Bank regularly achievements, promote innovative cooperation, and search monitors the liquidity position of Housing Finance and develop talented youth of both countries fostering a Companies. knowledge driven innovation ecosystem in both the countries. UNICEF, NASSCOM sign MoU to strengthen child rights UNICEF and NASSCOM RBI clears setting up of 'Kerala Bank' Foundation have signed The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its nod to start that an agreement to Kerala Bank, a venture proposed by the Kerala government. strengthen child rights  It will be Kerala Cooperative Bank, but will be through "meaningful referred to as Kerala Bank. business interventions".  It will have all the facilities of a commercial bank,  With this including ATMs. It will be implemented fast. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the two organisations will work collaboratively on two key IMF retains India FY19 growth outlook at 7.3% areas including national sensitisation on 'child online The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has retained its India protection' and 'encouraging innovations for child growth forecast for the current year but it will remain the rights' in the country. fastest-growing major economy.  As partners, both the companies will co-create  In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF said sensitisation workshops across India. India will grow 7.3% in FY19 and 7.4% in FY20.

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Country’s first ethanol plant to come up in Odisha's  Microsoft will also accelerate the use of AI for the Bargarh district development and adoption of local language Odisha is going to have a Second Generation (2G) Ethanol Bio- computing. Refinery, first in the country to produce ethanol from rice straw, in Bargarh district. CVC analyses 100 top bank frauds  The facility, which is expecting its mechanical Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has reviewed and commissioning in the next two years, is one among 12 analyzed Top 100 Bank Frauds, as on 2017. refineries planned in 11 States in the country.  Sharing the details Dr. T.M. Bhasin, Vigilance  To be set up at Baulsingha village under Bhatli tehsil Commissioner, CVC informed that the Commission by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) at has sub divided the study into 13 sectors. an estimated cost of Rs1000 crore, the bio-refinery  This are comprising of Gems and Jewellery, will produce three crore litre of fuel-grade ethanol Manufacturing, Agro sector, Media, Aviation, annually using rice straw as feedstock. Service Sector, Discounting of cheques and bills, Trading sector, IT Sector, Exports sector, Fixed SBI signs MoU with Nepal's National Banking Institute for deposits and Demand Loan etc. human resource development State Bank of India has signed an MoU with Kathmandu-based India’s first Cryptocurrency ATM opens in Bengaluru National Banking Institute (NBI) for the development of Despite the government and Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) human resources of the NBI. crackdown on cryptocurrency in India, virtual currency  SBI signed the three-year memorandum of exchange Unocoin has installed a currency deposit and understanding (MoU) with NBI to establish a dispensing ATM at Kemp Fort Mall in Bengaluru. mutually beneficial strategic alliance for development  The kiosk, installed by Unocoin, allows its customers of NBI's human resources by imparting education, to deposit and withdraw minimum amount of Rs 1000 training and research. from the platform.  First of its kind in India, this ATM circumvents the PayMate to partner banks, NBFCs to provide credit to RBI regulation against bitcoins transaction. small units PayMate, a business-to-business digital payment solutions TCS displaces Accenture as largest IT firm servicing banks provider, is looking to leverage itself as a credit platform for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd have edged past that of small and medium enterprises (SME) and help improve the Accenture Plc, making the Mumbai-based company the flow of credit. world’s largest information technology (IT) and consulting  The company is working with non-banking financial firm servicing mega banks and insurers. companies and banks to leverage the former’s  Financial services sector is the largest buyer of platform and provide working capital requirements to services and solutions from IT and consulting firms, these enterprises. and in the last decade, Accenture has managed to  Mumbai-based PayMate runs a proprietary B2B retain its sectoral dominance. cloud-based payments platform and helps large enterprises and SMEs transition to digital payments, Bank of India shuts down operations in Jersey and manages vendor and customer payments and State-run Bank of India has closed down its operations at invoicing. Jersey in the Channel Islands with effect from October 18.  Earlier, the bank had also closed down its operations Microsoft and Niti Aayog partner to deploy AI solution in Yangoon, Bostwana and Dubai. The country's premier think tank Niti Aayog and Microsoft  As per the BoI website, it has overseas operations in India have signed a partnership to deploy artificial intelligence Japan, Singapore, the UK, Vietnam, France, Kenya, based solutions across various sectors such as agriculture and the US, Uganda, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Tanzania healthcare. and South Africa.  Microsoft India will support Niti Aayog by combining  The closure of overseas branches is part of the public the cloud, AI, research and its vertical expertise for sector banks’ efforts to wind up the unviable new initiatives and solutions across several core areas operations as per the instructions of the Finance including agriculture and healthcare and the Ministry. environment. Nasscom, Dubai Internet City sign MoU to attract Indian enterprises

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The National Association of Software and Services Companies SBI, Hitachi to set up card acceptance, digital payment (Nasscom) said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding platform (MoU) with Dubai Internet City (DIC) to facilitate expansion State Bank of India (SBI) and Hitachi Payment Services Pvt of Indian businesses in the Middle East. Ltd have signed a definitive agreement to enter into a joint  The agreement, the first of its kind in the Middle East venture for the establishment of a latest card acceptance and and North Africa (MENA) region, is aimed at future ready digital payment platform for India. attracting Indian small and medium-sized enterprises  According to a joint statement, India's largest bank (SMEs) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). will have a majority stake in the proposed joint venture. Six-member panel set up to resolve stressed assets  The joint venture agreement is subject to requisite The overseeing committee regulatory approvals. (OC) that is being set up  Hitachi Payment Services Pvt Ltd is a wholly owned under the inter-creditor subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd, Japan. agreement (ICA) for resolution of stressed Arunachal, British Council sign MoU for cultural assets will have six cooperation members. The Arunachal Pradesh government signed a MoU with The  These members British Council to strengthen educational and cultural include Janki Ballabh (former Chairman, State Bank cooperation. of India), MBN Rao (former Chairman & Managing  As per the MOU, as many as 50 faculty members from Director, Canara Bank ), M Damodaran (former government higher education institutions will be Chairman, SEBI) and HR Khan (former Deputy trained by the British Council every year, starting Governor, RBI). from December.  The OC, which is being formed under the aegis of the  Further, 50 students of higher and technical education Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), will approve institutes will be trained in English language skills resolution plans for stressed assets submitted by lead annually. lenders. New SBI ATM withdrawal limits to come into effect from 38 MoUs signed at Bhubaneswar Steel Conclave October 31 Capital Goods(CG) producers from across the globe inked 38 New ATM cash withdrawal rules for SBI account holders will MoUs with Indian steel companies which will reduce imports come into effect from October 31. for the steel sector worth Rs 39,400 crore.  The country’s largest bank will reduce the daily cash  The MoUs were signed at a Conclave in Bhubaneswar withdrawal limit for Classic and Maestro debit cards which was organized by Ministry of Steel, to Rs 20,000 per day, from Rs 40,000. Government of India, in association with  SBI account holders having higher daily cash Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and MECON. withdrawal requirements can apply for other debit  The National Steel Policy - 2017 envisages creation card variants that have a higher daily withdrawal of 300 million tonnes (MT) of steel capacity in the limit, the bank has said in a communication. country by 2030-31 as against existing 130 MT.

India and UK collaborate on research on Ganga delta region and the Bay of Bengal India and the United Kingdom will collaborate on research on different aspects of the Ganga delta region and the Bay of Bengal. Jayant Mammen Mathew elected president of INS Jayant Mammen Mathew, Executive Editor of Malayala  The Bay of Bengal is also critical to India in terms of Manorama, was elected as the president of the prestigious resources and also has an impact on the Southwest Indian Newspaper Society, an apex body of the country’s print Monsoon, the lifeline of the country. media industry.  Speaking at the event, British High Commissioner to  He was elected to the top post for the year 2018-19 at India Dominic Asquith said the partnership through the organisation’s general body meeting. the UKRI has generated innovative scientific and technological solutions that will “transform both our  He succeeds Akila Urankar of Business Standard. societies and economies”. Afghan Ambassador to India Shaida Abdali resigns

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Afghan Ambassador to India Shaida Abdali has resigned from Justice Ranjan Gogoi takes over as the 46th Chief Justice the post, saying he wants to serve the people of his country who of India are facing challenging situation. Ranjan Gogoi has  Abdali has submitted his resignation letter when been sworn-in as the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was on a day-long 46th Chief Justice of visit to India. India by President Ram Nath Kovind at Gita Gopinath appointed IMF Chief Economist Rashtrapati Bhavan. Prominent Indian-American economist Gita Gopinath was  Prime appointed as chief economist of the International Monetary Minister Fund. Narendra  Gita, 46, will succeed Maurice (Maury) Obstfeld, who Modi, announced in July that he would retire at the end of cabinet ministers and former PM Manmohan Singh 2018. were present for the oath-taking ceremony.  She currently serves as the John Zwaanstra Professor  Justice Gogoi was born on 18 November, 1954, in of International Studies and Economics at Harvard Assam's Dibrugarh district. He is the first person from University. the North-Eastern states to hold the post of Chief Justice of India. Air Marshal Anil Khosla took over as Vice Chief of Air  Ranjan Gogoi's tenure as the CJI will continue till Staff November 17, 2019, a day before he turns 65 years Air Marshal Anil Khosla PVSM AVSM VM took over as the old. Vice Chief of Air Staff on 01 Oct 2018  Born on 09 Apr 1959, Air Marshal an alumni of the YES Bank appoints OP Bhatt, TS Vijayan as external National Defence Academy, was commissioned in experts to scout for new MD & CEO Indian Air Force in Dec 1979. YES Bank has appointed former State Bank of India chief OP  Air officer has over 4000 hours of accident free flying Bhatt and former insurance regulator TS Vijayan as external mainly on different variants of Jaguar, Mig-21 and experts to help find a successor to its Managing Director and Kiran aircraft. CEO Rana Kapoor.  Additionally, internal members to the search panel Mushtaq Ahmad appointed as new chief of Hockey India will include Brahm Dutt, Mukesh Sabharwal and Mushtaq Ahmad was appointed as new chief of Hockey Subhash Chander Kalia. India(HI). The new chief was appointed in 8th Hockey India  YES Bank has also invited proposals from Global congress. Leadership Advisory Firms specialising in the  Mushtaq Ahmad held the post of secretary general in banking and financial sector to work with the search Hockey India prior to be elected as chief. and selection committee.  Ahmad replaced Rajinder Singh as chief of HI from 1st of October. Govt appoints Rakesh Sharma as IDBI chief  Gyanendro Ningombam of Manipur hockey will take The government has appointed senior banker Rakesh Sharma on as Vice Chairman, while Asima Ali of Jammu & as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) Kashmir hockey and Bhola Nath of Jharkhand hockey of IDBI Bank. are appointed as vice presidents.  Sharma was appointed for six months or until further orders and will have the task of ensuring a smooth Kurdish moderate Barham Saleh elected Iraq president transfer of majority ownership from the government Moderate Kurdish candidate Barham Saleh swept to the post of to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). president of Iraq with a resounding victory in a parliamentary  Sharma is a former MD and CEO of Canara Bank and vote. was among the few bankers hired in 2015 from the  Saleh routed his main rival Fuad Hussein with 219 private sector to lead big state-run banks. votes to 22.  Saleh immediately named Adel Abdul Mahdi prime Ramon Laguarta succeeds Pepsico's Indian-origin CEO minister-designate. Indra Nooyi  Mahdi becomes the first elected prime minister in Ramon Laguarta assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer post-Saddam Iraq. of global beverage giant PepsiCo, succeeding India-born Indra Nooyi who had helmed the American company for 12 years.

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 Nooyi stepped down after 24 years with the company, Bank of Baroda MD & CEO Jayakumar gets one-year the last 12 as CEO. extension  She will remain Chairman until early 2019 to ensure The government has granted a year’s extension to Bank of a smooth and seamless transition. Baroda’s Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, PS Jayakumar, with effect from October 12. Srinivasan Swamy becomes new chairman of International  This extension comes in the backdrop of the Advertising Association amalgamation between Bank of Baroda (BoB), Dena Indian advertising veteran Bank and Vijaya Bank to form India’s second largest and RK Swamy Hansa public sector bank being set in motion. Group chairman  Apparently, the government wants continuity at the Srinivasan Swamy took top in BoB, the largest of the three banks that are over as new chairman of getting consolidated. the International Advertising Association India Elected To UN Human Rights Council (IAA). India was elected to the United Nations' top human rights body  Swamy is the first Indian to hold the prestigious seat for a period of three years beginning January 1, 2019, getting at the 80-year old institution, which is considered the 188 votes in the Asia-Pacific category, the highest number of world's most influential network of marketing and votes among all candidates. communication leaders.  The 193-member UN General Assembly held elections for new members to the UN Human Rights Pankaj Sharma Appointed India's Ambassador To UN Council. Conference On Disarmament  The 18 new members were elected by absolute Pankaj Sharma has been appointed as the ambassador and majority through a secret ballot. India's permanent representative to the United Nations  Countries needed a minimum of 97 votes to get Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. elected to the Council.  Mr Sharma is currently the joint secretary (Disarmament and International Security Division) in ICICI Prudential MF’s Nimesh Shah new Amfi chairman the Ministry of External Affairs. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Managing  He will replace Amandeep Gill. Director and Chief Executive Nimesh Shah has been elected as the chairperson of industry body Amfi. Tushar Mehta appointed as the new Solicitor General of  Shah has replaced A Balasubramanian, chief India executive officer of Aditya Birla Sun Life MF, who Senior Advocate Tushar Mehta has been appointed as the new took over as Amfi chairman in 2016. Solicitor General of India.  Kailash Kulkarni, CEO of L&T Mutual Fund,  He is currently serving as the Additional Solicitor continues to be the vice chairperson of the General. Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).  The Solicitor General of India is the second-highest rank for a law officer of the government. IRDAI panel to study feasibility of paying claims in  The post of the second highest ranking law officer of instalments the government had fallen vacant after senior The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India advocate Ranjit Kumar's resignation in December last (IRDAI) has formed a panel to examine the feasibility of year. payment of general and health insurance claims in instalments.  The concept of settlement of claim benefits in Pravin Srivastava appointed as India's third Chief instalments will enable the beneficiaries/claimants Statistician receive payments in a series of pre-determined Eight months after TCA Anant demitted office, the government instalments. has appointed 58-year-old Pravin Srivastava as chief  In order to examine the proposal, the regulator has statistician of India (CSI). constituted a working group with Suresh Mathur, ED  Srivastava’s tenure will be a little less than two years, (Health), IRDAI, as its chairman. till August 31, 2020.  His appointment would take effect from the date of RBI approves Sandeep Bakshi appointment as ICICI Bank assumption of charge by him. MD, CEO

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ICICI Bank has said the RBI has approved Sandeep Bakshi’s  The panel will be headed by BJP MP Kirit Somaiya appointment as Managing Director and CEO of the bank for and has selected a wide range of subjects related to three years. laborers.  After resignation of Chanda Kochhar, the bank’s board had elevated Chief Operating Officer (COO) Govt appoints chief of child rights body Bakshi as the new managing director and CEO for National Commission five years until October 3, 2023. for Protection of Child Rights has got a new Arundhati Bhattacharya joins RIL as independent director chief with the Reliance Industries Ltd appointments (RIL), led by India’s committee of the richest man Mukesh cabinet appointing Ambani, announced Priyank Kanoongo to that former State Bank the post for a period of three years. of India (SBI)  Kanoongo has been member of the commission from chairman Arundhati November 2015 and his tenure as member ends next Bhattacharya has been week. appointed as an  The post of chairperson fell vacant last month after independent director on Stuti Kacker's tenure ended on September 16. the board of the company.  Kanoongo will be the fifth NCPCR chief since the  The move is significant for Bhattacharya, who has commission was formed. been ranked no. 1 on the Fortune India Most Powerful Women in business list for four consecutive years M Nageshwar Rao appointed interim CBI director between 2014-2017. M Nageshwar Rao was appointed as interim Central Bureau of  She is the first woman from outside the Ambani Investigation (CBI) director with immediate effect. family and only the second ever to be appointed to the  Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh board of the company, which was founded by Asthana were sent on leave. Dhirubhai Ambani in 1977.  The development has come at a time when there is an internal war going on within the agency. Maeen Abdulmalik sworn in as Yemen's new PM  Asthana, a 1984 batch Indian Police Service officer of Yemen's newly appointed Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Gujarat cadre, is accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 2 was sworn in to lead the internationally-backed government in crore from a Hyderabad-based the war-torn Arab country. businessman Sathish Babu Sana.  The newly appointed Prime Minister Abdulmalik (L) takes the oath before Yemeni President Abdu-Rabbu GoM set up to strengthen safety laws for women at Mansour Hadi in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 18, workplaces 2018. The government has constituted a group of ministers (GoM) to strengthen the legal and institutional frameworks to prevent World Steel Association elects Sajjan Jindal as treasurer and deal with sexual harassment of women in workplaces. Global body World Steel Association (world steel) said it has  Headed by Union home Minister Rajnath Singh, the elected JSW Steel CMD Sajjan Jindal as its treasurer. fourmember GoM will examine the existing  The association has also appointed Tata Steel MD T provisions for dealing with sexual harassment of V Narendran and ArcelorMittal Chief L N Mittal as women in offices. its members.  The other members of the GoM are road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, defence Minister Parliamentary panel to examine functioning of EPFO Nirmala Sitharaman and women and child A parliamentary panel will examine the functioning of development minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi. retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), its coverage and recovery of arrears. Satish Kumar Gupta appointed CEO of Paytm Payments  The parliamentary standing committee on labour has Bank also decided to review the implementation of labour Paytm Payments Bank has appointed veteran banker Satish laws, social security and welfare scheme for workers. Kumar Gupta as managing director and CEO.

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 Gupta comes in after Renu Satti stepped down as CEO  40 Under 40, which honours Indian entrepreneurs and in July and moved on to head the company’s new professionals below the age of 40, nominated almost retail business. 300 entrepreneurs across India and from that they  Gupta was former deputy general manager at State have scrutinized the 40 best. Bank of India where he worked for over three decades. James Allison and Tasuku Honjo win Nobel Prize in Medicine Iraq PM Adel Abdul Mahdi sworn in American James Allison and Japan's Tasuku Honjo have won Iraq's new Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was sworn in but the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine for a pioneering approach to could not announce the full cabinet after legislators failed to cancer treatment. reach a consensus on key postings.  The Nobel committee said the pair's research -- which  Abdul Mahdi was initially expected to nominate a full harnesses the body's immune system to attack cancer 22-member cabinet, including the defence and interior cells -- amounted to a "landmark in our fight against ministers. cancer."  Under Iraq's constitution, Shia, Sunnis, Kurds and  The approach, known as immune checkpoint theory, other minorities must all be represented in cabinet. had "revolutionized cancer treatment and has fundamentally changed the way we view how cancer Wipro appoints former SBI chairman Arundhati can be managed," the committee said. Bhattacharya as independent director Wipro said it had appointed former State Bank of India NALCO CMD Dr. Chand conferred with the top national chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya as an independent director award ‘NIPM Ratna’ beginning January 1, 2019. Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand,  Bhattacharya’s appointment is for a period of five CMD, NALCO has been years and is subject to shareholder approval. conferred with the prestigious  Recently, she was also appointed to Infosys board. ‘NIPM Ratna Award’ in the 37th NIPM’ Annual National Sanjay Mishra appointed interim ED chief for 3 months Conference NATCON-2018, The government appointed IRS officer Sanjay Kumar Mishra held at Pune. as the Interim Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for  Dr. Chand was given three months as incumbent Karnal Singh will retire on October the award in 28. recognition to his  The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) significant contribution to People Management & also said that it has approved Mishra’s appointment to Strategic Leadership. the post of Principal Special Director of the financial  Dr. Chand dedicated the award to HR professionals in probe agency. the country and the Team NALCO.

Michael D Higgins re-elected as Irish president for second Nobel Prize in Physics is shared by a woman for the first term time in 55 years Michael D Higgins has been re-elected as Irish president after The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to a woman for receiving 56% of the country's election vote. the first time in 55 years, and for only the third time in its  Businessman Peter Casey came second with 23.1%, history. while none of the other four candidates polled more  Donna Strickland, a Canadian physicist, was awarded than 10%. the 2018 prize jointly with Gérard Mourou, from France, for their work on generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses.  They share the award with an American, Arthur Ashkin, who at 96 becomes the oldest Nobel Laureate, for developing "optical tweezers."

Entrepreneur Chiranjiv Patel wins Business World's '40 Under 40' title Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded for pioneering work in Prominent entrepreneur Chiranjiv Patel has bagged the evolutionary science prestigious "BW 40 under 40" award in BW Business World's The 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Frances H. second edition of 40 Under 40 awards held in Gurgaon. Arnold and the other half jointly to George P. Smith and Sir

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Gregory P. Winter for their work harnessing the power of  In 2016, at age 23, she was made a UN goodwill evolution to develop new proteins used in drugs and medical ambassador for the dignity of survivors of human treatments. trafficking.  Arnold, of the California Institute of Technology, was recognized for performing the first-ever "directed Nobel laureates Nadia, Mukwege nominated for Mother evolution" of enzymes. Teresa Award-2018  The other half of the prize went to George P. Smith, Anti-rape campaigners Nadia Murad and Dr Denis Mukwege, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA and Sir who were declared as the Nobel Peace Prize winners for Gregory P. Winter MRC Laboratory of Molecular 2018, have been nominated for this year’s “Mother Teresa Biology, Cambridge, UK “for the phage display of Memorial Award”. peptides and antibodies”.  In the past, Nobel laureates who were among those nominated “Mother Teresa Memorial Award” Swachh Survekshan Grameen Awards 2018 included the office of United Nations High Prime Minister Shri Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Malala Narendra Modi gave Yousafzai, the Dalai Lama and Medecins Sans awards to top Ranked State, Frontieres International. District and State with maximum citizen Nobel Prize in economics awarded to William Nordhaus participation based on the and Paul Romer National Swachh American economists William Nordhaus and Paul Romer Survekshan Grameen 2018 have been awarded the Economics Nobel Prize 2018 for their commissioned by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. work on understanding how economies can grow sustainably.  Top 3 States-1) Haryana, 2) Gujarat 3) Maharashtra  Nordhaus, a professor at Yale University, is best  Top 3 Districts 1) Satara, Maharashtra 2) Rewari, known for his work on climate economics. Haryana 3) Pedapalli, Telangana  Romer, of NYU's Stern School of Business, is a  States with maximum citizen participation 1) Uttar proponent of a theory that examines how the world Pradesh 2) Gujarat 3) Maharashtra can achieve sustainable growth.  Districts with maximum citizens’ participation 1)  It is also known as The Sveriges Riksbank Prize and Nashik, Maharashtra 2) Solapur, Maharashtra 3) was established in 1968. Chittorgarh, Rajasthan ESIC wins ‘ISSA GOOD Practice Award, Asia & the South Sudanese surgeon receives 2018 Nansen Refugee Pacific 2018’ Award The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has won The UN refugee agency UNHCR honoured Dr. Evan Atar the ‘ISSA Good Practice Award’ for Administrative Solution Adaha, a surgeon from South Sudan, with the 2018 Nansen for Coverage Extension at the “Regional Social Security Refugee Award at a ceremony in Geneva. Forum for Asia and the Pacific” held at Kuala Lumpur,  He has been chosen for his 20-year commitment in Malaysia recently. providing medical services to people forced to flee  The award recognizes the measures taken by ESIC for conflict and persecution in Sudan and South Sudan. extension of coverage-SPREE (Scheme for Promoting Registration of Employers and Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad win Nobel Peace Prize Employees), reduced rate of contribution rates for 24 2018 months in newly implemented areas and raising the The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Denis wage limit for coverage under the ESI Act, etc. Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of  The Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. Pacific is a triennial Forum, which is the most  Mukwege, a gynecologist and surgeon, has long important social security event in the Region. worked to treat thousands of women and girls affected by rape and sexual violence in the Democratic Indus Towers Wins Deming Prize for 2018 Republic of Congo. Indus Towers, world's largest telecom tower company (outside  Murad is a Yazidi woman from the northern Iraqi China), won the Deming Prize for 2018. town of Sinjar, who was held as a sex slave by ISIS.  Indus Towers becomes the first Indian company in the service sector and fifth globally to achieve this feat.

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 The Deming Prize was bestowed on Indus Towers for Social Entrepreneur Suheil F. Tandon has won the distinctive performance improvements through the International Olympic Committee's Sport and Active Society application of Total Quality Management (TQM) Commission's Grant Award for his contribution to sports practices. development.  Suheil is the Founder of Pro Sport Development Sikkim's 100% organic farming wins FAO's Future Policy (PSD) and Executive Director of Martha Farrell Gold Award Foundation. Sikkim has won the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's  The award ceremony was held during the Olympism (FAO) Future Policy Gold Award for its achievement in in Action forum at Buenos Aires. becoming the world's first totally organic agriculture state.  Uniquely, the state has totally banned the sale and use Piyush Goyal receives Carnot prize of chemical pesticides. Union Minister for Railways,  Sikkim beat out 51 other nominees from around the Coal and Corporate Affairs world for the award. Piyush Goyal received the prestigious Carnot prize for his Maryse Conde wins alternative Nobel Literature Prize contribution towards Maryse Conde, one of the Caribbean's most renowned authors, sustainable energy solutions. has won an award created to replace this year's Nobel Prize for  The former power Literature. minister will be awarded by the Kleinman Center for  The prestigious literature prize was suspended this Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania year after a scandal at the Swedish Academy. School of Design.  She was nominated alongside Japan's Haruki  The Carnot Prize is the Kleinman Center’s annual Murakami, the UK's Neil Gaiman and Vietnamese- recognition of distinguished contributions to energy born Canadian Kim Thuy. policy through scholarship or practice.  The award in the energy sector is named after French Khayyam named for Hridaynath Award for lifetime physicist Nicolas Sadi Carnot who recognised that the achievement power of the steam engine would “produce a great National Award winning music director Mohammed Zahur revolution“ in human development. Khayyam Hashmi, famous as ‘Khayyam’, has been named for this year’s Hridaynath Award for Lifetime Achievement. Indian-American awarded at White House for combating  Instituted by the Hridayesh Arts, the award carries a human trafficking cash prize of Rs 100,000 and a memento and shall be An Indian-American woman has been honoured with a conferred by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at a Presidential award by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for function in Mumbai on October 26. her extraordinary contribution towards combating human trafficking in Houston. Northern Irish Author Anna Burns Wins 2018's Man  Minal Patel Davis, Special Advisor on Human Booker Prize Trafficking to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Milkman" by writer Anna Burns scooped the 2018 Man received the ‘Presidential Medal for Combating Booker Prize, with the Northern Irish writer winning the Human Trafficking’. literary award for her third full-length novel.  Appointed in July 2015, Ms. Davis has made a local  Set in an unnamed city during the bloody “Troubles” impact on human trafficking in America’s fourth of Northern Ireland, the "Milkman" tells the coming- largest city from a policy-level perspective. of-age story of a young girl's affair with an older man.  As winner, the 56-year-old writer, who was born in Wildlife Photographer Of The Year 2018 Bagged By Belfast, received the award from Prince Charles' wife Marsel van Oosten Camilla. Dutch photographer Marsel van Oosten won the grand title  Established in 1969, the annual literary prize with his photo of critically endangered golden snub-nosed recognises the judges choice of "the best original monkeys in China. novel written in English and published in the UK".  With this photo titled “The Golden Couple,” Dutch photographer Marsel van Oosten has won Wildlife Suheil Tandon wins International Olympic committee Photographer of the Year, awarded by London’s award Natural History Museum.

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Ustad Chand Khan Lifetime Achievement Award for  While awarding the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize, the Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Award Committee recognized Prime Minister Modi's Grammy-winning Hindustani classical music instrumentalist contributions to the growth of the Indian and global Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt will be honoured with the annual economies, crediting 'Modinomics' for reducing Ustad Chand Khan Lifetime Achievement Award. social and economic disparity between the rich and  Best known for his Grammy award winning album "A the poor. Meeting by the River" with Ry Cooder, Bhatt, born in  The Committee lauded PM's initiatives to make the Jaipur, plays the Mohan Veena (slide guitar). government cleaner through anti-corruption measures and demonetization. US-based Dalit Writer Sujatha Gidla Wins Shakti Bhatt  The Committee also credited Prime Minister for his First Book Prize contribution towards regional and global peace A New York subway conductor’s story of growing up in a Dalit through a proactive foreign policy with countries community in India won the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize around the world under the 'Modi Doctrine' and the 2018. 'Act East Policy.'  Fifty-five-year-old Sujatha Gidla’s “Ants among  Prime Minister Modi is the fourteenth recipient of this Elephant: An Untouchable Family and the Making of award. Modern India”, published by HarperCollins India, beat five other titles in the shortlist to claim the Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony for 2014, 2015 & prestigious award. 2016 announced  Instituted in memory of editor Shakti Bhatt, the prize The Tagore Award for honours first-time writers for an outstanding work of Cultural Harmony for the fiction or non-fiction. years 2014, 2015 & 2016 is being conferred on Invest India wins UN Investment Promotion Award the doyen of Manipuri Invest India has received the top UN Investment Promotion dance Sh. Rajkumar Award in recognition of its efforts to boost investments in the Singhajit Singh; renewable energy sector in India. Chhayanaut (a cultural organization of Bangladesh) and on  The award was presented by Armenian President one of India’s greatest sculptors, Sh. Ram Vanji Sutar, Armen Sarkissian to Deepak Bagla, the CEO of Invest respectively. India, in Geneva at the inaugurations of the World  The Jury under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister, Investment Forum organised by the UN Convention Sh Narendra Modi and comprising of the Chief on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Justice of India, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Shri N. Gopalaswami & Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe after M.S. Swaminathan to be awarded World Agriculture Prize detailed discussions on 24th October, 2018 Agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan will receive the first unanimously decided to select Sh. Rajkumar Singhajit World Agriculture Prize instituted by the Indian Council of Singh, Chhayanaut and Sh. Ram Vanji Sutar to be the Food and Agriculture (ICFA) in New Delhi. recipients of the Tagore Award for the years 2014,  The prize will be presented by Vice-President 2015 & 2016 respectively, in recognition of their Venkaiah Naidu at Vigyan Bhawan at a special outstanding contribution to cultural harmony. session.  The annual award was instituted by the Government  The prize has been instituted by the ICFA with an aim of India during the commemoration of 150th Birth to recognise individuals who have served humanity Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. through agriculture.  The first Tagore Award was conferred on Pt. Ravi Shankar, the Indian Sitar Maestro in 2012 and second PM awarded the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize was conferred on Shri Zubin Mehta in 2013. The Seoul Peace Prize Committee has decided to confer the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Corporation Bank bags MSME award in recognition of his dedication to improving international Corporation Bank has bagged the ‘Best MSME Bank - Winner cooperation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the 2018’ award instituted by the Assocham. Human Development of the people of India by fostering  Shivanand Hebbar, DGM, received the award from economic growth in the world's fastest growing large economy Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad K Sangma at the and furthering the development of democracy through anti- ‘6th Assocham SMEs Excellence Award – 2018’ in corruption and social integration efforts. Delhi.

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 It said that the award was conferred based on the The Paraguayan Clara Sosa was crowned as the new Miss bank’s performance in SME (small and medium Grand International in the competition in the city of Yangon in enterprise) segment. Myanmar. Sosa, Miss Paraguay, reached the final together with Miss BEML received Top Challengers’ and Best Mining India, Meenakshi Chaudhary Kumar Equipment Seller Award Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), a Mini Ratna Public Sector Undertaking, under the Ministry of Defence, received the prestigious ‘Top Challengers Award 2018’ for the excellent performance during financial year 2017-18 and Best Seller in Crawler Equipment- Dozers and Rigid Dump Truck segment Central Information Commission brings BCCI under RTI for mining sectors. Act  At a function held at Delhi, CMD of BEML, Shri The Central Information Commission has pronounced the Deepak Kumar Hota has received the award from judgement that the BCCI comes under the jurisdiction of the Construction Economist Mr. Graham D Robinson. RTI Act.  As a result of the ruling, the board is now "answerable Benyamin wins inaugural JCB Prize for Literature to the people of the country". Novelist and short story writer Benyamin has won the  The commission, which is the top appellate body in inaugural JCB prize for Literature in India. RTI matters, come to a conclusion that the  Benyamin won 25 lakh rupees for his book Jasmine characteristics of the BCCI fulfill the required Days, translated from Malayalem by Shahnaz Habib. conditions of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.  Jasmine Days is a story of a young woman in a city where the promise of revolution turns into destruction Manipur clinch Women’s National Football Championship and division. crown Manipur claimed victory in the final of the 24th Senior Young Indian scientist wins World Health Summit Startup Women’s National Football Championships, defeating hosts award in Berlin Odisha in the summit clash by a 2-1 margin in Cuttack. Roopam Sharma, a 23-year old Indian scientist, won the World  The result marked the 19th occasion that the state Health Summit Startup award, 2018 for his invention, from the northeast of India won the trophy. The final Manovue. held at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha.  It is the world’s first intelligent personal assisting system for the visually impaired. Youth Olympic Games 2018 Begins in Argentina  Sharma was awarded at an annual event of the health The 3rd Youth Olympic Games has officially begun at Buenos summit in Berlin recently. Aires, Argentina.  India is represented with a contingent of 68 members, Pakistani lawyer Asma Jahangir wins UN Human Rights including 46 athletes, will compete in 13 sports during Prize posthumously the prestigious event. Pakistan's iconic human  16-year-old Manu Bhaker is leading the Indian team rights activist and lawyer in the opening ceremony as the flag-bearer of the Asma Jahangir was Indian contingent for the games. posthumously awarded the 2018 UN Human Rights U-19 Asia Cup: India beat Sri Lanka by 144 runs to win Prize. 6th title  She was one of the The Indian Under-19 boys registered a comfortable victory four winners of the award which was announced by over Sri Lanka in the final to win the U-19 Asia Cup for the the United Nations. sixth time.  Other recipients are Tanzanian activist Rebeca  India thrashed Sri Lanka by 144 runs in the summit Gyumi, Brazil's first indigenous lawyer Joenia clash in Dhaka thanks to spinner Harsh Tyagi's six- Wapichana and Ireland's human rights organisation wicket haul. Front Line Defenders.  Chasing a mammoth 305 for a victory, Sri Lanka kept losing wickets and crumbled for 160 in 38.4 overs as Paraguayan Clara Sosa wins Miss Grand International Tyagi finished with an impressive figures of 6/38. Contest

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Dakar to host 2022 Youth Olympic Games and was a part of India's historic CB series win in The fourth edition of the Youth Olympic Games will be held Australia the next year. in Dakar, Senegal, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in Buenos Aires, which is hosting the 2018 edition. Denmark Open: Saina loses in final to Tai Tzu Ying  The Dakar 2022 Youth Games will be the first ever Saina Nehwal was defeated by the world no.1 Tai Tzu Ying to Olympic event in Africa. settle for a runner-up finish at the Denmark Open.  The IOC selected the Dakar candidacy by acclamation  In an exciting 52-minute final, Saina lost 13-21 21-13 based on the recommendation of the Evaluation 6-21 to the superior Chinese Taipei rival. Commission.  Tzu Ying claimed the Denmark Open title after a gap of two years. She had last won the tournament in Shanghai Masters: Novak Djokovic beats Borna Coric 2016. Novak Djokovic continued his superb form by beating Croatia's Borna Coric in the final of the Shanghai Masters. 3rd Elite men’s boxing National Championship to be held  The second seed, 31, beat 21-year-old Coric 6-3 6-4 in Pune in 97 minutes to claim his fourth Shanghai title. Army Sports Institute, Pune under the aegis of Services Sports  Coric, the 13th seed, upset Roger Federer in semi- Control Board is conducting the 3rd Elite Men’s Boxing finals to reach his first Masters 1000 final. National Championship with effect from 27 October to 02 November 2018. India finishes with 16th in Youth Olympic Games  The competition will involve participation of nearly India’s campaign at the 360 Boxers in Men’s Category from 36 teams of 2018 Summer Youth various States/Services. Olympic Games in  The venue is Army Sports Institute, Mundwa Road, Buenos Aires ended Ghorpadi Pune. with 13 medals (three  This Championship will be conducted for all ten gold medals, nine Weight Categories. silvers and one  This Championship will be short listing boxers for bronze). National Camps and next year’s Olympic Qualifying  This is India's best medal haul at the Summer Youth Tournaments by Boxing Federation of India. Olympic Games. India had won 8 medals in 2010 and 2 in 2014. Dwayne Bravo Announces Retirement From International  Overall, India finishes the campaign on 16th spot. Cricket Russia and china grabbed the top two spots Windies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo brought the curtains down respectively. on his 14-year international career by announcing his retirement from all formats of the game. Mumbai beat Delhi to win Vijay Hazare Trophy 2018  However, the 35-year-old will continue to play T20 Aditya Tare struck half-century as Mumbai defeated Delhi by franchise cricket around the world. four wickets to win their third Vijay Hazare Trophy title at M  Bravo, who made his debut for the Windies in 2004, Chinnaswamy stadium. played 40 Tests, 164 one-day internationals (ODI)  Mumbai last won the trophy way back in 2006-07 and 66 Twenty20 internationals (T20I). when they defeated Rajasthan.  The Vijay Hazare Trophy was started in 2002–03 as a Sourav Kothari wins World Billiards Championship title limited-overs cricket domestic competition. India’s Sourav Kothari defeated Peter Gilchrist of Singapore to  It is named after the famous Indian cricketer Vijay clinch the 2018 WBL World Billiards Championship title. Hazare.  The former national and Asian Billiards champion was pipped at the post for the coveted World Billiards Praveen Kumar Announces Retirement From All Forms of crown on two occasions in the last two years. Cricket Medium pacer Praveen Kumar has decided to retire from all India & Pakistan declared joint winners of Asian forms of cricket, calling time on his 13-year long career. Champions Trophy  Kumar, 32, played six Tests, 68 ODIs and 10 T20Is In Men’s Hockey, India and Pakistan were declared joint for India, picking up 112 wickets across the formats. winners of the Asian Champions Trophy at Muscat in Oman.  Known primary for his ability to swing the ball both ways, Kumar made his limited-overs debut in 2007

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 The tournament director declared both teams as Congress veteran Narayan Dutt Tiwari, who served in various winners after the summit clash was called off due to positions at the Centre and in states, died on his birthday after heavy rain. prolonged illness.  Defending champions India, thus, ended the  Tiwari had the unique distinction of having served as tournament unbeaten. Before this edition, both India the chief minister of two states, Uttar Pradesh and and Pakistan had won the tournament twice each. Uttarakhand.  He was a three-time chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Grandmaster B Adhiban finishes 3rd in Isle of Man He was also the Uttarakhand chief minister from International Chess tournament beating Michael Adams of 2002-2007. England  From 2007 until 2009, he served as the Governor of Grandmaster B Adhiban finished tied third at the Isle of Man Andhra Pradesh. International tournament after beating highly-regarded Michael Adams of England in the ninth and final round in Isle BJP MP Bhola Singh passes away of Man, United Kingdom. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP)  Poland's Radoslav Wojtaszek emerged the winner of Bhola Singh died in Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital at the event. the of 79.  Vishwanathan Anand ended the final round with  Singh was Lok Sabha MP from Bihar's Begusarai. another draw against Wang Hao which means that the  Singh has also served as the deputy speaker of the Indian ace could inch up to six points. Bihar Assembly.

Former Delhi CM Madan Lal Khurana passes away Former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana passed away after a prolonged illness. He was 82.  A veteran of the BJP, Khurana was the chief minister Union Minister Ananth Kumar passes away at 66. of Delhi from 1993 to 1996 and was appointed the 'Nagaland's Gandhi' Natwar Thakkar dies in Assam governor of Rajasthan in 2004. Eminent Gandhian Natwar Thakkar, popularly known as Nagaland's Gandhi, died in a private hospital after a brief illness. He was 86.  Thakkar, a Padma Stephen Hawking’s final book “Brief Answers to the Big Shri awardee, had Questions” launched founded the Nagaland Stephen Hawking’s final Gandhi Ashram at Chuchuyimlang. work, which tackles  His efforts to spread Gandhian philosophy and peace issues from the existence had earned him the sobriquet 'Nagaland's Gandhi'. of God to the potential for time travel, was

launched by his children, Singer Nitin Bali passes away in Mumbai road accident Singer Nitin Bali died from injuries sustained in a car accident, who helped complete the police said. He was 47. book after the British astrophysics giant’s  Bali, who shot to fame in the 1990s singing remixed death. yesteryear hits, was injured when his car hit a divider on SV Road in suburban Borivali.  Hawking was forever being asked the same things and started work on “Brief Answers to the Big Questions”

last year. Legendary Hindustani classical musician Annapurna Devi passes away Annapurna Devi, doyenne of classical Hindustani music, died at Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai. She was 91.  She was a recipient of the Padma Bhushan award. She was married to sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar. Veteran politician N D Tiwari passes away

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Q:6 RBI has slapped Rs 5 crore penalty on Karur Vysya Bank Current Affairs Quiz for non-compliance of its directives. Where is the headquarters of this bank? Q:1 Where is the headquarters of Interpol? Kerala Germany Tamilnadu France Odisha Canada Goa UK Karnataka Norway Q:7 Recently which state government has inked A Q:2 Whose is the current chairperson of Competition Memorandum of understanding with Portuguese Environment Commission of India? Ministry on water management? Devender Kumar Sikri Kerala Ajay Tyagi Goa Subhash Chandra Khuntia Tamilnadu Sudhir Mittal Odisha G. P. Mittal Gujrat Q:3 The Prime Minister has inaugurated the Mahatma Gandhi Q:8 Recently who has been elected president of Indian Museum in which city? Newspaper Society? Rajkot Lav Saksena Ahmedabad Shailesh Gupta Surat Sharad Saxena Pune Mahendra Mohan Gupta Mumbai Jayant Mammen Mathew Q:4 Competition Commission of India was established in Q:9 Recently Ambassador to India Shaida Abdali has resigned which year? from the post. He is from which country? 2000 Maldives 2001 Sri Lanka 2003 Afghanistan 2005 Nepal 2006 Myanmar Q:5 Which state government is constructing India's biggest Q:10 Recently who has won Business World's '40 Under 40' war memorial? title? Madhya Pradesh Chiranjiv Patel Kerala Mark Zuckerberg Odisha Vijay Shekhar Sharma Jharkhand Sachin Bansal Haryana Binny Bansal

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Q:11 When is ‘International Day of Older Persons’ celebrated? Medicine 1 November Physics 1 October Chemistry 1 December Economics Q:17 Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand is CMD of which company? 11 October Vedanta 15 November Q:12 Who inaugurated NHRC’s International Human Rights Hindustan Zinc Conclave? BALC President IACL Prime Minister NALCO Vice President Q:18 Mushtaq Ahmad appointed as new chief of Human Rights Minister Football India Home Minister Cricket India Q:13 Of what amount did ADB and India sign Loan to Hockey India Improve Regional Connectivity? Badminton India $100 Million Tennis India $120 Million Q:19 What is the full form of NCLT? $150 Million National corporation law tribunal $180 Million National company legal tribunal $200 Million National company law tribunal Q:14 Who has been appointed IMF Chief Economist? Non company law tribunal Krishna Gopinath New company law tribunal Gita Chaitarjee Q:20 Where is headquarters of ADB? Kamal Prjapat Manila Vikram Mehta Jakarta Gita Gopinath Dhaka Q:15 Who has took over as Vice Chief of Air Staff? Kualalumpur Ajit Mehta Beijing Anil Khosla Q:21 World Habitat Day is observed on which of the Vishal Motwani following day? Sukhvir Bhandari First Monday of November Kamlesh Parashar First Sunday of October Q:16 In which field has James Allison and Tasuku Honjo won First Sunday of November Nobel Prize? First Monday of October Literature

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First Tuesday of November Arthur Ashkin Q:22 In which city IBSAMAR-VI is being held? Donna Strickland Mumbai Kazuo Ishiguro Simons Town Richard Henderson Salvador Q:28 Donna Strickland Nobel Prize winner in Physics 2018 is belong to which of the following country? Fortaleza Canada Chennai Q:23 In which of the following country first Assembly of the France International Solar Alliance has been held? Germany Sweden USA Norway Japan India Q:29 Where is the headquarters of BCCI? Japan New Delhi USA Mumbai Q:24 Sustainable Mountain Development Summit VII is being held in which of the following city? Chennai New Delhi Pune Chennai Surat Q:30 Where is the capital of Iraq? Mumbai Mosul Shimla Baghdad Kanpur Q:25 Who is the Secretary General of the United Nations? Tehran Ban Ki-moon Rome Kofi Annan Kuala Lumpur Q:31 Recently Cabinet approved Metro Rail Project for which Antonio Guterres city? Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser Ahmadabad Peter Thomson Indore Q:26 Who is the president of Iraq? Kota Abdul Hamid Bhopal Rumen Radev Kanpur Lenín Moreno Q:32 India’s first dolphin research centre to come up soon in which city? Adama Barrow Kanpur Barham Saleh Q:27 Who has become the oldest Nobel Laureate? Patna Gérard Mourou Mumbai

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Calcutta 49th Q:38 In which field has Frances H. Arnold been awarded with Bhuvneshwar Nobel Prize 2018? Q:33 In which district has Cabinet approved establishment of National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation? Physics Jhabua Economics Indore Chemistry Bhopal Medicine Jabalpur Literature Q:39 Where is Nobel peace prize distributed? Sehore Q:34 Which National Awareness Campaign has been Sweden launched by SIDBI in 115 Inspirational Districts? Oslo Udyam Aasha Hague Udyam Rojgar Ottawa Udyam Abhilasha Vienna Udyam Kiran Q:40 Of what amount has India and the ADB signed Loan Agreement to support India’s First Global Skills Park? Udyam Prerna Q:35 Where was First Regional Conference on 'Women in $ 120 Million Detention and Access to Justice' held? $ 180 Million Dehradoon $ 112 Million Masoori $ 150 Million Shimla $ 160 Million Nainital Q:41 Where did ‘Indian International Science Festival’ begin? Manali Bhopal Q:36 Of which state’s 3 Districts has India and ADB Signed $240 Million Loan? Ranchi Odisha Agra Chhattisgarh Jaipur West Bengal Lucknow Q:42 Who is union minister of commerce & industry? Himachal Pradesh Nitin Gadkari Uttrakhand Q:37 Justice Ranjan Gogoi takes over as the Chief Justice of Suresh Prabhu India : Arun Jaitely th 46 Rajnath Singh th 47 Sushma Swraj 45th Q:43 Digi Yatra central platform will be operational by end of? 48th December, 2018

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February, 2019 Mizoram January, 2019 Nagaland March, 2019 Manipur Q:49 What is capital of Manipur? November, 2018 Q:44 Recently who has been appointed MD and CEO of ICICI Kohima Bank? Shilong Sarvesh Joshi Imphal Jitendra Roy Agartala Sandeep Bakhshi Dispur Nilima Srivastav Q:50 Where did Symposium on ‘Dialogue with Organs for Allied Health Force begin? Payal Srimali Q:45 Which brand is the top brand of 2018 according to global Chennai brand consultancy ‘Interbrand’? Chandigarh Google Raipur Facebook New Delhi Amazon Lucknow Apple Q:51 What is India’s rank in Govt. e-payment adoption in 2018? Walmart Q:46 Which state is number one in ‘Swachh Survekshan 36 Grameen Awards 2018’? 28 Punjab 21 Himachal Pradesh 18 Haryana 25 Manipur Q:52 Which country to be guest of honor at Mexico's international cultural fest? Kerala Q:47 Dr. Evan Atar Adaha who received ‘Nansen Refugee Japan Award 2018’, belongs to which country? Indonesia South korea Canada North korea Brazil North Sudan India South Sudan Q:53 Recently which product has got GI tag? Georgia Alphanso from konkan Q:48 Which state has won Women’s National Football Championship crown? Naga Mircha from nagaland Odisha Kala Zeera from Himachal Tamilnadu Lepcha Handloom from Sikkim

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Wooden Mask from Arunachal Iran Q:54 What is repo rate in Fourth bi-monthly monetary policy review? Afganistan 6 Pakistan 6.3 Iraq 5.5 Turkey Q:60 What is the capital of Iraq? 6.5 Tehran 6.7 Q:55 Where is headquarters of IRDAI? Baghdad Bengaluru Ankara Konchi Jerusalem Chennai Cairo Q:61 Which country will host the 14th International GCA Hyderabad Conference on Media and Communication? Mangalore India Q:56 Who is MD & CEO of Yes bank? Japan Sunil Mishra China Ranjit Mehra USA Rana Kapoor Germany Sumit Mahajan Q:62 India Skills 2018, the Country’s biggest skill competition, was held in which city? Rashmi Kapoor Q:57 Rakesh Sharma has been appointed as chief of which Hyderabad bank? New Delhi HDFC Kolkata Bank of India Mumbai IDBI Chennai ICICI Q:63 Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan has Yes bank launched a Task Force for Closing the Skills Gap in India, in Q:58 Who succeeds Pepsico's Indian-origin CEO Indra collaboration with which of the following? Nooyi? World Economic Forum Ramon Laguarta ADB Richard Johnson NDB Julia Margeta IMF Joseph Watson OPEC Rashel Marks Q:64 Recently with which Institute the Government of India Q:59 Nadia murad who has won nobel peace prize 2018, has signed a $110 million loan to finance the upgrade of 2,800 belongs to which country?

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kilometers all-weather rural roads in the State of Madhya Q:69 The 3rd Youth Olympic Games has officially begun in Pradesh under the Prime Minister's Rural Roads Program? which of the following city, recently? ADB Buenos Aires NDB London IMF New Delhi World Bank Jakarta EBRD Singapore Q:65 S-400 defense system which was recently in the news is Q:70 Which of the following player lead the Indian team in related to which countries? the opening ceremony as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the Youth Olympic Games? India and China Manu Bhaker China and Pakistan Saina Nehwal India and Russia P V Sindhu India and Japan Mirabai Chanu Japan and USA Q:66 Recently who has been appointed as new chairman of Deepika Pallikal International Advertising Association? Q:71 Recently the Indian postal services has honored the Narayan Seva Sansthan, a non-profit organization, by Shabana Azmi launching their postal stamps. Where is this Sansthan located? J S Rajput Udaipur Sangeeta Bahadur Ajmer Srinivasan Swamy Kanpur Deepak Parekh New Delhi Q:67 Who has been appointed as the ambassador and India's permanent representative to the United Nations Conference on Agra Disarmament? Q:72 Uttarakhand investor's summit was inaugurated by which of the following? Pankaj Sharma Arun Jaitley Sandeep Bakhshi Narendra Modi B. Sriram Trivendra Singh Rawat Pankaj Sharan Rajnath Singh Mahesh Kumar Jain Q:68 Where is the headquarters of United Nations Conference Sushma Swaraj on Disarmament? Q:73 JIMEX-18, a bilateral maritime exercise between Japan and India was recently commenced in which city? Geneva Visakhapatnam Vienna Goa Hamburg Mumbai Stockholm Chennai Rotterdam Mangalore

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Q:74 Which of the following Nobel laureates have been Q:79 In which of the following National Parks the vaccination nominated for Mother Teresa Award-2018? of lions was started to protect them from a deadly canine distemper virus (CDV)? Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad Dachigam National Park Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai Kaziranga National Park Barack Obama and Juan Manuel Santos Panna National Park James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo Bandhavgarh National Park George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter Q:75 Recently India has won ACC Under-19 Asia Cricket Gir Forest National Park Cup, 2018 by beating which country? Q:80 Where is the headquarters of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL& FS), which was recently in the news? Sri Lanka New Delhi Pakistan Mumbai Afghanistan Lucknow Bangladesh Ahmedabad Hong Kong Q:76 Recently an eminent personality Natwar Thakkar passed Bangalore away. He was also known as Gandhi of which state? Q:81 What is the theme of India International Science Festival, 2018? Assam Science for Transformation Nagaland Science and Technology Manipur Science and Environment West Bengal Science for Humanity Sikkim Q:77 Which country hosted ACC Under-19 Asia Cricket Cup, Science: Progressive Tool 2018? Q:82 Meng Hongwei who was recently in the news, is Bangladesh President of Maldives India President of FIFA Sri Lanka President of Interpol Pakistan Prime Minister of Japan Afghanistan Prime Minister of China Q:78 Where is the headquarters of Financial Action Task Q:83 India International Science Festival, 2018 was recently Force? concluded in which city? Paris Lucknow London New Delhi Brussels Jaipur Dubai Kanpur Hamburg Amritsar

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Q:84 Which of the following state has launched a scheme Q:89 Which of the following prize is also known as The 'Unnati' to foster entrepreneurs working on rural and social Sveriges Riksbank Prize? impact technologies from SC/ST background? Nobel Prize in Medicine Tamilnadu Nobel Prize in Peace Karnataka Nobel Prize in Physics Kerala Nobel Prize in Economics Maharashtra Nobel Prize in Literature Madhya Pradesh Q:85 Which of the following release the World Economic Q:90 Which of the following has won the ‘ISSA Good Outlook report? Practice Award’ for Administrative Solution for Coverage Extension at the “Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and International Monetary Fund the Pacific”? World Bank LIC Asian Development Bank ESIC Moody's IRDAI S & P EPFO Q:86 Recently Flipkart has partnered with which of the following to offer customized insurance to leading mobile SBI brands being sold on the e-commerce major’s platform? Q:91 On which date World Post Day is celebrated? Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company Limited 07 October PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited 08 October Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited 09 October Max Life Insurance Company Limited 10 October HDFC Life 06 October Q:87 National Housing Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Q:92 Nikki Haley recently resigned from which of the which of the following? following designation? SBI US Ambassador to the United Nations RBI US Ambassador to India PNB US Ambassador to ASEAN BOB US representative to the World Bank OBC US Ambassador to Israel Q:88 Which of the following have been awarded the Nobel Q:93 Regional Conclave on India-West Africa Project Prize in Economics, 2018? Partnership was recently held in which country? William Nordhaus and Paul Romer Nigeria James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo Senegal Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad Libya George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter Sudan Nadia Murad and Paul Romer South Africa

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Q:94 What is the rank of India in Oxfam world inequality Q:99 Which of the following is organizing a Workshop on index, 2018? Best Practices in International Arbitration? 99 Ministry of Finance 106 Ministry of Defense 147 Ministry of Home 126 Ministry of Foreign Affairs 68 NITI Aayog Q:95 Which country has topped in Oxfam world inequality Q:100 Which country will host Youth Olympic Games, 2022? index, 2018? Senegal Denmark Egypt Iceland Qatar Finland Morocco Switzerland Poland Singapore Q:101 Which country's passport has been named as the Q:96 Which of the following state have become partner State World's Most Powerful Passport According to Henley Passport for International Film Festival taking place at Goa? Index, 2018? Jharkhand Singapore Odisha Japan Telangana China Kerala Australia Madhya Pradesh USA Q:97 On the occasion of 86th anniversary, the Indian Air Force Q:102 Which of the following inaugurated 29th Accountants has launched an innovative mobile health App. What is the General Conference? name of this app? President AF Watch Prime minister Med Watch Finance Minister Keep Watch Defense Minister Air Watch Home Minister Sky Watch Q:103 Which of the following warship will participate in the Q:98 Which of the following inaugurated ‘2nd World International Fleet Review being held in Republic of Korea? Conference on Access to Medical Products? INS Rana Narendra Modi INS Satpura Ramnath Kovind INS Trikand Rajnath Singh INS Sahyadri J P Nadda INS Shivalik Venkaiah Naidu Q:104 Which of the following Ministers inaugurated the Online Assurances Monitoring System, recently?

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Vijay Goel Haryana Piyush Goel Odisha Narendra Modi Jharkhand Anant Kumar Kerala Q:110 To how many countries Indians have access to travel Arun Jaitley without a visa to according to Henley Passport Index, 2018? Q:105 Recently NASSCOM Foundation have signed an agreement with which of the following to strengthen child 52 rights through "meaningful business interventions"? 56 UNICEF 60 UNHRC 64 INTERPOL 72 UNSDSN Q:111 Belawan harbour is located in which country? UNESCO Singapore Q:106 Who has been appointed as the new Solicitor General of India, recently? Indonesia Tushar Mehta Japan Ranjit Kumar China Mukul Rohatgi Sri Lanka Q:112 Dushanbe is the capital of which country? Harish Salve Uzbekistan K. K. Venugopal Q:107 What is the rank of Indian passport According to Tajikistan Henley Passport Index, 2018? Turkmenistan 60 Mongolia 56 China 81 Q:113 17th CHG Meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization to be held in which country? 75 Tajikistan 93 Q:108 Where is the headquarters of UNICEF? Kazakhstan Paris Uzbekistan New York Turkmenistan London Turkey Q:114 National Postal Week to be celebrated from which date Berlin to which date? Tokyo 09 October to 15 October Q:109 India's first 2G (Second Generation) Ethanol Bio- refinery has been established in which state? 08 October to 14 October Punjab 10 October to 16 October

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11 October to 17 October Anil Kumar Chaudhary 12 October to 18 October Sunil Mehta Q:115 The headquarters of Universal Postal Union is located Q:120 Which telecom company has won the Deming Prize for in which city? 2018? Paris BSNL London AIRTEL Bern VODAFONE Brussels Indus Towers Zurich Reliance Jio Q:116 With which university the ISRO has signed a Q:121 Recently an eminent personality Annapurna Devi Memorandum of Understanding for setting up of the Satish passed away. She was a Dhawan Center for Space Science? Classical Dancer University of Delhi Classical Musicist Central University of Jammu Politician University of Allahabad Scientist Central University of Rajasthan Writer Central University of Punjab Q:122 Where is the headquarters of International Institute for Q:117 The fifth edition of the annual Dilliseminar on Strategic Studies? ‘Geopolitical Impact of Sea Power’ commenced in which state? London Odisha Paris Kerala New York Andhra Pradesh Rhome Goa Gland Q:123 G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Gujrat Meeting held in which country? Q:118 Which Indian Naval Ship is taking part in 32nd India - Indonesia coordinated patrol (CORPAT)? Mauritius INS Kiltan Malta INS Kulish Indonesia INS Karmuk Sri Lanka INS Kadmatt Japan Q:124 Which of the following inaugurated INS Khanjar the 13th Convention of the Central Information Commission Q:119 Who has been appointed as chief statistician of India recently? (CSI), recently? President R N Ravi Prime Minister Tushar Mehta Finance Minister Pravin Srivastava

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Home Minister Kerala Vice President Haryana Q:125 First India-Israel Innovation Centre was recently launched in which city? Manipur Q:130 Which of the following is India's first totally organic Bengaluru agriculture state? Hyderabad Assam New Delhi Sikkim Lucknow Nagaland Ajmer Manipur Q:126 Which of the following department organized “World Egg Day” recently? Haryana Q:131 International conference on the future of the Indian Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Ocean was recently held in which country? Department of Agriculture and Co-operation Sri Lanka Department of Agricultural Research and Education India Department of Fertilizers Bangladesh Department of Commerce Myanmar

Q:127 World Economic Forum is setting up a Centre for the Singapore Fourth Industrial Revolution in which state? Q:132 C. R. Chaudhary attended 6th 'Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership' Inter-sessional Maharashtra Ministerial Meeting held in Singapore. C. R Chaudhary is a minister in which Ministry? Madhya Pradesh Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Jharkhand Food and Public Distribution Odisha Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Kerala Minister of State in the Ministry of Defense Q:128 Which Indian Bank of India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kathmandu-based National Banking Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Institute for the development of human resources of the NBI? Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance PNB Q:133 'Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership' is related to which of the following? SBI SAARC OBC ASEAN ALLAHABD BANK BRICS BANK OF BARODA Q:129 Which state has won the UN Food and Agriculture WTO Organization's (FAO) Future Policy Gold Award for its achievement in becoming the world's first totally organic BIMSTEC agriculture state? Q:134 Which of the following inaugurated 46th edition of IHGF-Delhi Fair Autumn-2018? Assam Ramnath Kovind Sikkim

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Naraendra Modi Borna Coric Ajay Tamta Roger Federer Smriti Irani Rafael Nadal Arun Jaitley Andy Murray Q:135 India International Silk Fair -2018 is going to be begin Q:140 Which of the following country is the largest producer in which city? of silk in the world? Hyderabad China Bangalore India New Delhi USA Kanpur Australia Ajmer Russia Q:136 Recently Niti Aayog has signed a partnership with Q:141 World Students' Day is observed to commemorate the which to deploy artificial intelligence based solutions across birthday of which of the following? various sectors such as agriculture and healthcare? Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Google Nelson Mandela Facebook Jawaharlal Nehru Microsoft India Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Paytm Abraham Lincoln None of these Q:142 On which date the World Students' Day is celebrated? Q:137 Which of the following has been appointed as new chairman of AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds of India)? 15 October Nimesh Shah 16 October Kailash Kulkarni 14 October A Balasubramanian 11 October N. S. Venkatesh 12 October Q:143 Which country will organize 12th Asia-Europe Balkrishna Kini Meeting (ASEM) summit? Q:138 Which among the following has won alternative Nobel Literature Prize, 2018? Britain Maryse Conde Belgium Haruki Murakami Germany Neil Gaiman Switzerland Kim Thuy Spain Q:144 Which of the following film bagged the best short film Nadia Murad award in International Film Festival of Shimla, 2018? Q:139 Which of the following has won Shanghai Master's title, recently? Behind the Bars Novak Djokovic Blindness Birds of Paradise

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Q:149 The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority The Fog of India (IRDAI) has formed a panel to examine the feasibility Look At Me for a Moment of payment of general and health insurance claims in Q:145 A “Museum on Prime Ministers of India” to be set up instalments under the chairmanship of which of the following? in which city? Suresh Mathur New Delhi Sanjay Gupta Noida Subhash Chandra Guru gram Shekhar Kapur Chennai Pankaj Sharma Lucknow Q:150 Who has been named for Hridaynath Award for Q:146 Recently Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi lifetime achievement, 2018? was launched by the Union Minister for Earth Sciences and Amitabh Bachhan Environment, Dr. Harsh Vardhan. The air pollution system has been developed jointly by which of the following? Dharmendra Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and Indian Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi Institute of Science Javed Akhtar Indian Institute of Science and India Meteorological Department Gulzar Q:151 World Food Day is celebrated on which date? India Meteorological Department and IIT Delhi 11 October Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, India Meteorological Department and National Centre for Medium 12 Otober Range Weather Forecasting 16 October Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, India 15 October Meteorological Department and National Informatics Centre Q:147 Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education 17 October (ICFRE) comes under which Ministry? Q:152 Global Competitiveness Index report is released by which of the following? Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change IMF Ministry of New and Renewable Energy World Bank Ministry of Health and Family Welfare World Economic Forum Ministry of Earth Sciences WTO Ministry of Science and Technology Q:148 Which of the following has launched award scheme UNHRC under 'Saubhagya' to felicitate the DISCOMs / Power Q:153 Which country has topped the Global Competitiveness Department of the States and their employees for achieving 100 Index, 2018? per cent household electrification in their area of operations? China Narendra Modi Japan Ramnath Kovind India R K Singh USA Arun Jaitley Finland C R Chaudhary

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Q:154 What is the rank of India in Global Competitiveness Index, 2018? Greater Noida Q:159 The Central Vigilance Commission's logo consists of a 54 graphic representation of which part of human body encased within the letter “C”? 58 Eye 69 Nose 82 Heart 98 Q:155 Goa Maritime Symposium – 2018 was recently Finger inaugurated by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lamba in Goa. What was the theme of this year's Symposium? Teeth Q:160 Which of the following has been appointed as Building Stronger Maritime Partnerships in IOR Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ICICI bank? Building Stronger Maritime Partnerships in Atlantic Region Sandeep Bakshi Building Stronger Maritime Partnerships in Pacific Ocean Amitabh Choudhry Building Stronger Maritime Partnerships in Bay of Tushar Mehta Bengal Pankaj Jain Building Stronger Maritime Partnerships in Arabian Sea Q:156 Recently much awaited Rani-Jhansi Flyover was A K Pradhan inaugurated in Delhi by which minister? Q:161 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is celebrated on which date? Dr. Harsh Vardhan 17 October R K Singh 18 October Raj Nath Singh 16 October Suresh Prabhu 15 October Ramvilas Paswan Q:157 Which Institute has topped in Quacquarelli Symonds 13 October (QS) rankings for Indian institutions of higher education? Q:162 How many Indian companies participated in Expo Cihac held in Mexico City? IIT Madras 54 IIT Bombay 45 IIT Kanpur 62 Indian Institute of Science 36 IIT Roorkee Q:158 6th India International Silk Fair Inaugurated by Smriti 50 Irani in which city? Q:163 Where is the headquarters of World Health Organization? New Delhi London Faridabad Paris Ahmedabad Geneva Guru gram New York

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Q:169 Which of the following has won the International Berlin Olympic Committee's Sport and Active Society Commission's Q:164 According to World Health Organization report, which Grant Award for contribution to sports development? country is the world’s most depressed country? Suheil Tandon China Mukesh Ambani India Milkha Singh Russia Kapil Dev France Prakash Padukone Syria Q:170 Recently a book “Brief Answers to the Big Questions” Q:165 First National Summit on Invest in AYUSH was held was launched. Who is the author of this book? in which city? Stephen Hawking Jaipur Dennis Bray New Delhi Allen Bard Chennai Peter Higgs Raipur Edward Wilson Kanpur Q:171 Which country will host 4th Youth Olympic Games? Q:166 Recently MJ Akbar has resigned from which designation? Senegal Minister of State for External Affairs Rwanda Minister of State for Finance Turkey Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas China Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs South Korea Q:172 Which country has topped in 3rd Youth Olympic Defense Minister Games held in Argentina? Q:167 Recently in which city India’s first Crypto currency ATM has been opened? China Bengaluru Russia Hyderabad India New Delhi Japan Jaipur Australia Q:173 National Disaster Management Authority comes under Bhopal which Ministry? Q:168 Author Anna Burns was named the winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize for her which book? Ministry of Defense Batman Ministry of Home Affairs Milkman Ministry of Science and Technology Butter man Ministry of Commerce and Industry Waterman Ministry of Corporate Affairs Q:174 Which country is organizing the 8thEuropean Congress Iron man on SMEs?

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Poland 9 Germany 12 Spain 16 UK 8 Q:180 Recently Veteran politician N D Tiwari passed away. Italy He was also the former chief Minister of which two states? Q:175 Which of the following chair National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)? Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat Defense Minister Gujarat and Goa Prime Minister Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh President Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Vice President Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh Q:181 12th ASEM Summit was recently held in which Home Minister country? Q:176 'Dharma Guardian' is a joint military exercise between India and which country? Spain South Korea Italy Japan Germany Thailand Belgium Indonesia UK Q:182 Which of the following was India's representative at Canada 12th ASEM Summit? Q:177 Recently which state's Shahi litchi has got Geographical Indication tag? Narendra Modi Uttar Pradesh Venkaiah Naidu Bihar Arun Jaitley Kerala Suresh Prabhu Telangana Vijay Goel Q:183 What is the capital of Yemen? Karnataka Q:178 Recently Arundhati Bhattacharya has been appointed Sanaa as independent director in which of the following company? Muscat Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Riyadh Aditya Birla Group Dubai Avantha Group Baghdad Tata Group Q:184 Which of the following has been awarded by Presidential Medal for Combating Human Trafficking’ at Adani Group White House? Q:179 What is India's ranking in 3rd Youth Olympic Games held in Argentina? Minal Patel Davis 3 Nikki Haley

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Bobby Jindal Réhahn Q:190 Recently Member of Parliament Bhola Singh passed Nehal Vyas away. He was related to which political party? Reena Khanna BJP Q:185 The 75th anniversary of the formation of Azad Hind Government was recently celebrated on which date? Congress 19 October JDU 20 October AITC 21 October BSP Q:191 World Osteoporosis Day is celebrated on which date? 22 October 20 October 18 October Q:186 Kati Bihu festival is being celebrated in which state? 21 October Assam 19 October Bihar 18 October Kerala 16 October Q:192 Where is the headquarters of World Steel Association? Goa Geneva Nagaland Q:187 Recently Maeen Abdulmalik has sworn in as new London Prime Minister of which country? Brussels Yemen Paris Maldives Sydney Sri Lanka Q:193 Recently World Osteoporosis Day was celebrated. Osteoporosis is a disease which is related to which part of Pakistan body? Oman Lungs Q:188 Recently which Indian Minister has received Carnot prize for his contribution towards sustainable energy solutions? Liver Piyush Goyal Bones Ananth Kumar Skin Arun jaitley Hairs Q:194 7th Meeting of Education Ministers of SCO Member Narendra Modi States was held in which country? Vijay Goel Kazakhstan Q:189 Which of the following has been awarded as Wildlife Photographer of the Year, 2018? Mongolia Lisa Kristine Turkey Jimmy Nelson Italy Marsel van Oosten Spain Steve McCurry

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Q:195 Which country will host Fourth Edition of Global Q:200 Recently which Indian player has announced Partners’ Forum 2018 in December? retirement from all forms of Cricket? China Praveen Kumar India M S Dhoni USA Robin Uthappa Japan Gautam Gambhir Russia Irfan Pathan Q:196 India's first railway station inside tunnel to come up in Q:201 Which of the following dedicated National Police which state? Memorial to the Nation, recently? Himachal Pradesh Narendra Modi Uttarakhand Rajnath Singh Jammu and Kashmir Venkaiah Naidu Assam Nirmala Sitaraman Rajasthan Ram Nath Kovind Q:197 Recently, World Steel Association has elected which Q:202 4th Edition of NITI Lecture Series to be held in which of the as its treasurer? city? Sajjan Jindal Hyderabad T V Narendran Bangalore L N Mittal New Delhi Bobby Jindal Kolkata Sunil Mittal Agra Q:198 A parliamentary panel has been constittuted to examine Q:203 National Commission for Protection of Child Rights the functioning of retirement fund body Employees Provident was founded in which year? Fund Organisation (EPFO), its coverage and recovery of arrears. Who will head this panel? 2001 Kirit Somaiya 2005 Ananth Kumar 2009 Poonam Mahajan 2013 Ram Kadam 2017 Q:204 Badminton player Tai Tzu Ying belongs to which Prakash Surve country? Q:199 Recently Mumbai has won Vijay Hazare Trophy, 2018 by beating which of the following team? China Delhi Japan Rajasthan South Korea Karnataka Mongolia Gujarat Russia Q:205 Deendayal Hastkala Sankul is located in which city? Odisha

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Varanasi Srikanth Kidamb Ajmer Prannoy Kumar Raipur Parupalli Kashyap Q:211 India stands on which rank at most valuable nation Allahabad brands in the world? Dehradun 5 Q:206 India’s longest bridge to be built across which river? 8 Ganga 9 Yamuna 11 Sutlej 10 Brahmaputra Q:212 Which country is the most valuable nation brand in the Kosi world? Q:207 Recently Prime Minister addressed India Carpet Expo China in which city via Video Conference? Singapore Mumbai USA New Delhi Japan Varanasi Germany Kolkata Q:213 Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts is located in Jhansi which city? Q:208 Who has been appointed as chief of National Karnal Commission for Protection of Child Rights? New Delhi Priyank Kanoongo Guru gram S S Deswal Noida R N Ravi Lucknow Shekhar Mande Q:214 Recently in which state the President of India Tushar Mehta inaugurated Vishwa shanti Ahimsa Sammelan? Q:209 Which of the following will be honored with Ustad Gujarat Chand Khan Lifetime Achievement Award? Maharashtra Hariprasad Chaurasia Madhya Pradesh Pundit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Uttar Pradesh Pundit Shiv Kumar Sharma Goa Zakir Hussain Q:215 Recently which Ministry has launched “Harit Diwali- Ilaiyaraaja Swasth Diwali” campaign? Q:210 Recently Tai Tzu Ying bagged the Denmark Open title Ministry of Human Resource Development by beating which Indian player? Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Saina Nehwal Ministry of Health and Family Welfare P. V. Sindhu

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Ministry of Women and Child Development William Nordhaus Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare Gopalkrishna Gandhi Q:216 First India-China High Level Meeting on Bilateral Q:221 Which of the following year has been declared as Security Cooperation was held in which city? International Year of Millets? Dehradun 2016 New Delhi 2017 Gangtok 2018 Kolkata 2019 Lucknow 2020 Q:217 Which of the following city will organize Women of Q:222 Which of the following has launched “Main Nahin India Organic Festival? Hum” Portal and App? New Delhi Narendra Modi Bangalore Rajnath Singh Hyderabad Arun Jaitley Jaipur Suresh Prabhu Chennai Prakash Javadekar Q:218 Recently which Indian Bank has shut down its Q:223 The International Conference on Status and Protection operations at Jersey in the Channel Island? of Coral Reefs (STAPCOR – 2018) was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in SBI which city? PNB Kerala DENA BANK Goa Bank of India Andaman and Nicobar Bank of Baroda Bangaram Island Q:219 Which of the following has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai Internet City (DIC) to Tamilnadu facilitate expansion of Indian businesses in the Middle East? Q:224 United Nations Day is celebrated on which date? NASSCOM 22 October Association for Democratic Reforms 23 October LIC 24 October SBI 25 October SEBI 21 October Q:220 Which of the following has won Shakti Bhatt First Q:225 India – Czech Joint Commission on Economic Book Prize, 2018? Cooperation was held in which city? Sujatha Gidla Prague Minal Patel Davis New Delhi Paul Romer Mumbai

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Bhubaneswar Bangalore Chandigarh Kanpur Q:226 Who is the chairman of Trade Promotion Council of Q:231 India’s first domestic cruise 'Angriya' was flagged off India (TPCI)? from which city, recently? Mohit Singla Mumbai Salil Parekh Goa K Vijay Raghavan Mangalore AJ Paulraj Chennai Bhaskar Ramamurthy Vishakhapatnam Q:227 The National Steel Policy - 2017 envisages creation of Q:232 India's first multi-skills park will be set up in which how much million tons (MT) of steel capacity in the country state? by 2030-31 as against existing 130 MT? Madhya Pradesh 200 Karnataka 300 Telangana 350 Andhra Pradesh 400 Goa 450 Q:233 Where is the headquarters of NABARD? Q:228 Recently who has been appointed as interim CBI director? Mumbai M Nageshwar Rao New Delhi Sajjan Jindal Bangalore Pankaj Sharma Bhopal Dr. G Satheesh Reddy Hyderabad Q:234 Recently the Union Cabinet has approved the Anil Kumar Chaudhary appointment of Adjudicating Authority and establishment of Q:229 Recently which of the following has won United Appellate Tribunal under Prohibition of Benami Property Nations Investment Promotion Award? Transactions Act(PBPT), 1988. The Adjudicating Authority and Appellate Tribunal shall sit in which of the following city? NITI Aayog New Delhi Invest India Kolkata EPFO Jaipur RBI Hyderabad SEBI Q:230 3rd Elite men’s boxing National Championship to be Indore held in which city? Q:235 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for creation of special Fisheries and Aquaculture Pune Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF). Which of the Hyderabad following will be the nodal Loaning Entities? New Delhi RBI SEBI

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NABARD Narendra Modi SBI Xi Jinping SIDBI Vladimir Putin Q:236 Which of the following inaugurated International Conference 'AFITA/WCCA2018'? Angela Merkel Q:241 Which of the following inaugurated International Arya Narendra Modi Mahasammelan-2018? Rajnath Singh President Venkaiah Naidu Vice President Nirmala Sitharaman Home Minister Arun Jaitley Defense Minister Q:237 Recently the Union Government has constituted a group of ministers (GoM) to strengthen the legal and Finance Minister institutional frameworks to prevent and deal with sexual Q:242 Recently International Arya Mahasammelan-2018 was harassment of women in workplaces. Who will head this group held in which city? of ministers? Nagpur Nitin Gadkari Surat Rajnath Singh Bhilwada Maneka Sanjay Gandhi New Delhi Nirmala Sitharaman Kanpur Arun Jaitley Q:243 Which of the following was conferred the first Tagore Q:238 Which of the following has been appointed CEO of Award for Cultural Harmony? Paytm Payments Bank? Pt. Ravi Shankar Renu Satti Zubin Mehta Satish Kumar Gupta Rajkumar Singhajit Singh Sanjay Jindal Ram Vanji Sutar Shikha Sharma None of these Aditya Puri Q:244 Ukai Dam is located on which river? Q:239 Which of the following will be awarded by World Narmada Agriculture Prize instituted by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA)? Tapti M.S. Swaminathan Son Vandana Shiva Tons Robert Fraley Mahanadi Q:245 Which of the following city is the host city for 10th P. Sainath Nuclear Energy Conclave? Devinder Sharma Chennai Q:240 Which of the following has been awarded the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize? New Delhi Donald Trump Lucknow

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Q:251 Bajrang Punia belongs to which state? Bangalore Rajasthan Hyderabad Q:246 Recently India Mobile Congress began in which city? Haryana New Delhi Punjab Noida Madhya Pradesh Gandhi nagar Kerala Q:252 Where is the headquarters of Greenpeace International? Hyderabad Geneva Bangalore Q:247 Recently Adel Abdul Mahdi has sworn in as Prime Amsterdam Minister of which country? New York Iraq London Iran Berlin Mauritius Q:253 Who is Sudarsan Pattnaik? Indonesia Bollywood Actor Maldives Sand Artist Q:248 Which of the following has appointed former SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya as independent director? Politician Wipro Sportsperson Infosys Singer Q:24 Which of the following city is hosting the Global Tech Mahindra Agriculture Leadership Summit, 2018? HCL Technologies New Delhi HTC Bangalore Q:249 Recently which Bank has bagged the ‘Best MSME Bank - Winner 2018’ award instituted by the Assocham? Nagpur SBI Noida PNB Faridabad Q:255 24th edition of Technology Summit to begin in which Corporation Bank city? HDFC Bank Hyderabad Axis Bank New Delhi Q:250 Recently Dwayne Bravo announced retirement from International Cricket. He belongs to which country's team? Agra Australia Dehradun West Indies Amritsar Q:256 Which of the following has been selected as partner England country for the 24th edition of Technology Summit, 2018? South Africa Italy Afghanistan Denmark

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Finland Bangalore Iraq Kanpur Japan Hyderabad Q:257 Recently in which city The Prime Minister addressed Krishi Kumbh via video conference? Gandhinagar Q:262 First Regional Review Meeting for “Sustainable New Delhi Sanitation” Held In which city? Bangalore Nagpur Lucknow Ajmer Kanpur Guru gram Ajmer Noida Q:258 Vigilance Awareness Week 2018 to be observed from 29th Oct-3rd Nov. What is the theme of this year? Agra Q:263 India and which country have decided to collaborate on Eradicate Corruption-Build a New India research on different aspects of the Ganga delta region and the Bay of Bengal? Innovative India UK Green India Clean India Japan New India till 2022 Germany None of these Q:259 Which of the following has been awarded ‘Top France Challengers Award 2018’ for the excellent performance during financial year 2017-18 and Best Seller in Crawler Equipment- Spain Dozers and Rigid Dump Truck segment for mining sectors? Q:264 Recently who has been appointed interim chief of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for 3 months? Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) Sanjay Kumar Mishra BHEL Shekhar Mande SAIL Sunil Shrivastav GAIL Tushar Mehta ONGC Q:260 Recently Novelist and short story writer Benyamin has None of these won the inaugural JCB prize for Literature in India for his Q:265 Which Indian scientist has won World Health Summit which book? Startup award in Berlin? Jasmine Days Pratik Sen Goat Days Nishant Nair Yellow Lights of Death Pankaj Wahi Kuṭiyēt̲t̲aṃ Nilesh Prakash Gurao Kathakaḷ Roopam Sharma Q:261 In which city India Mobile Congress, 2018 was Q:266 Which Indian sportsperson has won World Billiards organized? Championship title, 2018? New Delhi Pankaj Advani

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Sourav Kothari 29 October Geet Sethi 25 October Q:272 Where is the headquarters of UNICEF? Anuja Thakur Paris Chitra Magimairaj Q:267 Recently Madan Lal Khurana passed away. He was the London former chief minister of which state? Geneva Delhi New York Punjab Berlin Rajasthan Q:273 Gandhian Thought and Swachhata seminar was organized in Wardha by which Ministry? Haryana Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation Kerala Q:268 Enforcement Directorate comes under which of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs following? Ministry of Human Resource Development Department of Revenue Ministry of Home Affairs Department of Scientific and Industrial research Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Q:274 Which state has topped the TAG index which compares the performance of each State based on the status of their Department of Commerce and Industry teenage girls, as a part of the survey findings of The Teen Age Department of Bio Technology Girls (TAG) Report? Q:269 Where is the headquarters of International Red Cross? Kerala Geneva Haryana Osaka Rajasthan London Gujarat Berlin Assam Tokyo Q:275 Recently which Institute organized Young Innovators Q:270 Citizenship in mentioned in which part of Indian Programme ? Constitution? IISc Part I IIT Delhi Part II IIT Madras Part III IIT Kharagpur Part IV IIT Kanpur Part V Q:276 Recently which bank has signed Hitachi Payment Q:271 On which date International Animation Day 2018 was Services Pvt Ltd have signed a definitive agreement with celebrated? Hitachi Payment Services Pvt Ltd to enter into a joint venture for the establishment of a latest card acceptance and future 26 October ready digital payment platform for India? 27 October HDFC 28 October SBI

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PNB UK RBI Belgium Q:282 In which city of Japan Prime Minister Narendra Modi ICICI addressed ‘Make in India’ Seminar? Q:277 Recently which state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The British Council to Tokyo strengthen educational and cultural cooperation? Osaka Assam Yokohama Karnataka Nagoya Arunachal Pradesh Fukuoka Haryana Q:283 What is the name of India’s first engine-less train? Punjab T-15 Q:278 Michael D Higgins has been re-elected as president of which country? T-18 Ireland T-11 Mexico T-24 Japan T-36 Q:284 Budapest is the capital of which country? Bulgaria Hungary Venezuela Q:279 Recently Asma Jahangir was posthumously awarded Somalia by UN Human Rights Prize? She belonged to which country? Egypt Pakistan Slovakia Russia Austria Afghanistan Q:285 In which city the Conference on Cyber Security – Challenges and Innovations was held, recently? China New Delhi Bangladesh Q:280 Which of the following river does not fall into the Bay Hyderabad of Bengal? Bangalore Godavari Ajmer Mahanadi Jaipur Hugli Q:286 Which of the following inaugurated the conference on “CCTNS--Good practices and success Stories”, recently? Krishna Narendra Modi Mandvi Q:281 Angela Merkel is a political leader of which country? Arun Jaitley France Dr Harshvarddhan Spain Hansraj Gangaram Ahir Germany Ramvilas Paswan

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Q:287 Nitin Gadkari to lay the foundation for India’s largest Dry Dock at which Shipyard? 10000 20000 Mazagon Dock Limited 30000 25000 Cochin Shipyard Limited 15000 Q:294 Recently which of the following dedicated Statue of Hindustan Shipyard Limited Unity to the Nation, recently? Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Rajnath Singh Narendra Modi Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Ram nath Kovind Arun Jaitley Q:288 Which of the following has developed Less Polluting Firecrackers named – SWAS, SAFAL and STAR? Nirmala Sitaraman Q:295 Which of the following institute has developed a DRDO CSIR technique to remove oil from water using aloe vera? ISRO IIT Delhi IIT Delhi IIT Kanpur IISc IIT Kharagpur IIT Guwahati Q:289 Recently Clara Sosa won Miss Grand International Contest. She belonged to which country? IISc Q:296 Giuseppe Conte is the Prime Minister of which Argentina Germany country? Paraguay Brazil Italy Greece Bolivia Romania Serbia Q:290 Which of the following countries have been declared joint winners of Asian Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy? Montenegro Q:297 Recently which country's President has decided to end India and Pakistan birthright citizenship with an executive order? Pakistan and Malaysia USA Japan Japan and India China Australia Japan and Pakistan Canada Q:298 B Adhiban is related to which sports? India and Bangladesh Q:291 Which of the following University will honor Malala Chess Badminton Yousafzai for her work promoting girls' education? Cricket Hockey Harvard University Football Oxford University Q:299 Which state will Government organize Sangai Festival to boost tourism? University of London Meghalaya Manipur University of Cambridge Madhya Pradesh Mizoram Stanford University Q:292 Meeting of Financial Stability and Development Maharashtra Council washeld in which city, recently? Q:300 Which Indian player has been declared the Best Player of the tournament at the AsianMen's Hockey Champions New Delhi Bangalore Trophy, 2018? Hyderabad Nagpur Akashdeep Singh Manpreet Singh Noida P R Sreejesh Lalit Upadhyay Q:293 Recently SBI has reduced its ATM withdrawal limits to how much from 40,000? Sardar Singh

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