1st Oct to 31st Oct AWARDS & HONOURS
Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh, a strident critic of religious extremism who was shot dead this year, was awarded a prestigious global award - Reach All Women in WAR (RAW in WAR) Anna Politkovskaya Award- given in the memory of a slain Russian reporter and political activist. Lankesh, 55, shared the with Gulalai Ismail, 31, a Pakistani peace activist who has faced death threats for speaking out against the Taliban.
Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna won the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for 2015 -16 for his services in promoting and preserving national integration in the country.
Birendra Sasmal, CEO of Subah, bagged the International Business Person of the Year at the Asian Achievers Awards in London, for turning the company into a thriving IT, telecoms and manufacturing success story with operations across West Africa.
Eminent critic, biographer and orator M K Sanu was chosen for the Mathrubhumi Literary Award for 2016 in recognition of his rich contribution to the Malayalam literature.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2017 was awarded to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of bio molecules in solution.
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Richard H. Thaler for his contributions to behavioural economics.
British writer Kazuo Ishiguro won the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature. The novelist was praised by the Swedish Academy as a writer "who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world". His most famous novels ‘The Remains of the Day’ and ‘Never Let Me Go’ were adapted into highly acclaimed films. He has written eight books, which have been translated into over 40 languages.
The 2017 Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded to ‘International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons’ (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organisations from over 100 countries around the globe, headquartered at Geneva in Switzerland. The Norwegian Nobel Committee honoured the group “for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.”
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics was jointly awarded to three US scientists – Rainer Weiss, Kip S. Thorne and Barry C. Barish – for the detection of gravitational waves.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2017 was jointly awarded to Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young for their discoveries on how plants, animals and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that it is synchronised with the Earth’s revolutions.
Rajesh Nath, the managing director of VDMA India, was conferred the ‘Cross of the Order of Merit’, the highest civilian honour awarded to individuals for their services to Germany.
T D Ramakrishnan was chosen for the 2017 Vayalar Ramavarma Literary Prize for his novel “Sugandhi Enna Andal Devanayaki”.
BUSINESS & CORPORATE
The Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF), which markets the Amul brand of milk/milk products, was recognized as India’s best Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Company in the food sector by the International Advertising Association (IAA).
HDFC Life Insurance Company launched Neo — a servicing bot for Twitter that uses artificial intelligence for customer service.
The Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), became the first Oil Marketing Company (OMC) from India that has started marketing lubricants in Myanmar.
Global payments network Visa signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government to help transform Vishakhapatnam into India's first 'less cash' city. This initiative is designed to provide the foundation for the city to emerge as India's 'Fintech Valley'.
BILLS / ACTS / COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES
The Union Cabinet approved the signing of "Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC)" between India and Japan on the "Technical Intern Training Program (TITP)". The Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) is an ambitious program to send Indian technical interns to Japan for on the job training for a period of three to five years. It is expected that the MoC will pave the way for bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the area of skill development.
The Union Cabinet approved the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan on establishing a liquid, flexible and global LNG Market. The MoC will promote bilateral relationship between India and Japan in the energy sector. It will contribute to the diversification of gas supplies for India.
The Union Cabinet gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Morocco on cooperation in the field of water resources. The MoU intends to enhance cooperation in the field of water resources development and management within the framework of their expertise and their respective legislations.
The Himachal Pradesh Government implemented the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS) in the state with an aim to provide access to curative geriatric health care services by way of additional insurance cover.
The Uttarakhand Government and a charitable funding agency, Swan Cultural Center and Foundation, launched 'Solar Briefcase' in Kedarnath Dham. The initiative was taken to provide electricity to far flung areas in the hill state.
President Ram Nath Kovind launched the Rs 100 crore Mata Amritanandamayi Math Project “Jeevamritham” in Kollam district of Kerala to provide the filtration system for cleaning drinking water to 5000 villages across India.
The Uttar Pradesh government approved the 'Mukhyamantri Samoohik Vivaah Yojana', a mass marriage scheme, wherein Rs 35,000 will be spent on each couple, besides gifting them mobile phones and household items.
The Karnataka government launched ‘Mathru Poorna’ scheme to meet the nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating women in rural areas.
The Bihar government launched a state-wide campaign against child marriage and dowry on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.
ECONOMY & FINANCE
India was ranked 100th out of 119 countries in the 2017 Global Hunger Index (GHI) report, released by Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
The World Bank (WB), in its biannual economic update “South Asia Economic Focus (Fall 2017)”, reduced India’s GDP growth forecast to 7.0% for 2017-18 from 7.2% estimated earlier.
While projecting a more optimistic picture of the global economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed India’s growth forecast by 0.5 percentage points to 6.7 per cent in 2017.
The Union Cabinet gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Financial Services Commission (FSC), Gibraltar for mutual co-operation and technical assistance. The MoU is likely to promote further development of economic links and cooperation between the two regulators and aims at creating conditions for an effective development of securities markets in the two countries.
The Union Cabinet gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) with Capital Markets Authority (CMA), Kuwait for mutual co-operation and technical assistance. The MoU is likely to promote further development of economic links and cooperation between the two regulators, and aims at creating conditions for an effective development of securities markets in the two countries.
India was ranked 8th out of 100 countries on a list of most valuable nation brands, according to Brand Finance’s Nation Brands 2017 report. The list is topped by US, followed by China, Germany, Japan and United Kingdom.
Bangladesh signed $4.5 billion third line of credit (LoC) agreement with India for its infrastructure and social sector development.
Government of India and European Investment Bank (EIB) signed the Finance Contract for lending of € 300 million for Bangalore Metro Rail Project Phase II Line R6.
On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.0 per cent. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains at 5.75 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.25 per cent. The decision of the MPC is consistent with a neutral stance of monetary policy in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth.
PEOPLE IN NEWS
The Supreme Court of India appointed senior advocate and former additional solicitor general Amrender Sharan as amicus curiae on a petition seeking reprobe into the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Film actor and Padma Shri/ Padma Bhushan awardee Anupam Kher was appointed as the new chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
French candidate Audrey Azoulay, a 45-year-old former French minister of culture, was elected to become the next director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) after elections in Paris .
President Ram Nath Kovind appointed new Governors for five states, including Tamil Nadu, which got its first full- time Governor, Banwarilal Purohit (Congress-turned BJP leader) in a year amid the continuing political crisis. BJP leader Satya Pal Malik will hold charge in Bihar, where Kovind was Governor before he became President, former Delhi BJP MLA Jagdish Mukhi is Governor in Assam, Bihar BJP leader Ganga Prasad in Meghalaya and Brigadier (retd) B.D. Mishra, a war veteran, in Arunachal Pradesh. Former Navy chief Admiral (retd) D.K. Joshi was named as the new Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar islands.
The first meeting of the newly-constituted Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (EAC-PM) was held at the NITI Aayog. It was chaired by Dr. Bibey Debroy.
The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, presented the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management for the year 2017 to Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak . Dr. Pathak is the founder of Sulabh International and has developed and implemented, on a pan India scale, a low cost and appropriate toilet technology popularly known as the Sulabh Shauchalaya system.
President Ram Nath Kovind appointed a Commission to examine the sub-categorisation of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Justice (Retd.) G. Rohini will be the chairperson of the Commission.
Gautam Bambawale, an Indian foreign service officer of the 1984 batch, was appointed as the India’s new ambassador to China.
H. M. Marathe, a renowned writer and journalist, passed away at 77.
Director Kundan Shah, best-known for making iconic satire’ Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron’, died at 69.
Nisha Biswal, a former US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, will head the US India Business Council (USIBC). The USIBC, an advocacy group that promotes business and commercial ties between the US and India, has presence in both the countries.
The Union Law Ministry finalized the appointment of a Second National Judicial Pay Commission to recommend salary hikes for the 21,000 lower court judges in India. The proposed commission will be headed by former Supreme Court judge PV Reddi.
Purushottam Lal Kaushik , the former Minister for Information and Broadcasting, passed away at 87. He was elected to the Lok Sabha twice in 1977 and 1989.
The Union government set up a high-level committee for proper management of water resources in the North- Eastern region, to be headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar.
Rajni Kant Mishra, a U.P. Cadre IPS officer, took charge as the new Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
Rajnish Kumar, the Managing Director of SBI, was appointed as the new chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI) for a period of three years. He will succeed Arundhati Bhattacharya.
A study group was set up by the Indian Government to examine the problems being faced by the people residing near the International Border and and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of regular ceasefire violations by Pakistan. Special secretary in the home ministry Rina Mitra will head the team.
A parliamentary committee has decided to examine the whole gamut of Sino-Indian relations, including the border situation. The Standing Committee on External Affairs, which will examine the relations between the two Asian powers, is headed by Shashi Tharoor, Congress member of the Lok Sabha.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan became the first Indian to hold deputy director general post for Programmes at the World Health Organisation (WHO). Currently, she is the Director General (DG) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Ukhnaa Khurelsukh was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Mongolia.
SPORTS
Anupama Ramachandran from India clinched the World Open Under-16 Snooker Championship title at St. Petersburg in Russia.
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup football tournament will be hosted by United Arab Emirates (UAE). The winner of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup will earn the right to participate in the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Long-serving Indian boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu was honoured with the National Awards for senior citizens by President Ramnath Kovind. Sandhu was India’s longest-serving men’s national coach, occupying the position for two decades before he was handed charge of the women campers earlier this year.
The mixed pair of Jemson Ningthoujam and Ankita Bhakat clinched gold at the 2017 World Archery Youth Championship in Argentina.
Pooja Kadian became the first Indian to win a Gold medal at Wushu World Championships by defeating Evgeniya Stepanova in the 75kg women’s Sanda category.
Commonwealth Games bronze medalist RMV Gurusaidutt clinched the men's singles title at the Bulgarian International Future Series tournament.
Rafael Nadal of Spain beat Nick Kyrgios of Australia in the China Open final to win his sixth ATP title of the year.
Indian shuttler Samiya Imad Farooqui clinched gold at the Under-15 women’s singles competition in Myanmar.
Indian Cricketer Yuvraj Singh became the first Indian Brand Ambassador of Laureus. The left-hander joins a host of cricket legends in the Laureus Family, including Indian Academy members Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Kapil Dev.
MISCELLANEOUS
World
The world’s first negative emissions plant (the plant captures more carbon dioxide than it produces) that
turns carbon dioxide (CO 2) into stone begun operations in Hellisheidi, Iceland.
The International Day of Rural Women was observed on October 15 with the theme “Challenges and opportunities in climate-resilient agriculture for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls”.
The International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) was observed on October 13 with the theme “Home Safe Home: Reducing Exposure, Reducing Displacement”.
The World Mental Health Day (WMHD) was observed on 10 October with the theme “Mental health in the workplace’.
The International Day of the Girl Child was celebrated on October 11 with the theme “ EmPOWER Girls: Before, during and after crises”.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Ministry of Culture, Government of India, in collaboration with National Geographic Society hosted an international conference on “Dialogue of Civilizations – IV” from 8th – 15th October, 2017 at Delhi, Gandhinagar and Dholavira. This conference was fourth in this series of ‘dialogues’ initiated by National Geographic Society in 2013 with an objective to encourage scholarly and public discourse about the five ancient, literate civilizations of the world, i.e. Egypt, Mesopotamia, South Asia, China and Mesoamerica and how the study of the past can share our present and future towards the right direction. The first conference of this series was inaugurated in Guatemala in 2013 followed by Turkey in 2014 and China in 2015. The present conference was the fourth in this series, with the final dialogue planned in Egypt.
The World Space Week (WSW) - an international celebration of science and technology -was held from October 4-10 with the theme “Exploring New Worlds In Space”.
The World Animal Day was observed on October 4.
The World Teachers’ Day (WTD) was observed on October 5 with the theme “Teaching in Freedom, Empowering Teachers”.
The 2017 World Habitat Day (WHD) was observed on October 2 with theme “Housing Policies: Affordable Homes”.
The International Day of Older Persons was observed on October 1, 2017 with the theme “Stepping into the Future: Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of Older Persons in Society”.
India
National Centre for Combustion Research and Development (NCCRD),the world's largest combustion research centre which will impart a major boost to the Indian scientific community, was inaugurated at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras .
The Indian Air Force (IAF) launched an innovative mobile health App ‘MedWatch’ to provide authentic health information to all IAF personnel.
The 5th India-Sri Lanka joint training exercise “Mitra Shakti 2017” started at Pune, Maharshtra.
The third edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF-2017) started in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on October 13, 2017.
The Union Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval to the renaming of Kandla Port as Deendayal Port.
IIT-Kharagpur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Samsung India for the setting up of a digital academy on the institute’s campus.
M Venkaiah Naidu, the Vice President of India, inaugurated the 3rd International Conference on Yoga in New Delhi with theme “Yoga for Wellness”.
Rajasthan became India’s first state to incorporate skill development programme in higher education.
In an attempt to boost cultural ties, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya under the 'Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat' programme.
President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the 5th edition of India Water Week on October 10 with theme “Water and Energy for Inclusive Growth” in New Delhi.
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India in collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Seher organized the first ever ASEAN-India Music Festival from October 6th-8th 2017 at Purana Quila in New Delhi. The Festival was organised to celebrate the 25th year anniversary of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations.
Tribal dominant Dungarpur district of Udaipur division was declared completely Open Defecation Free, thus becoming the first Open Defecation Free (ODF) tribe district of the Rajasthan state.
For the first time, Nepal and India will undertake a joint tiger census in their national parks, forests and protected areas adjoining the two countries using a globally-recognised method.
A new Global Environment Facility (GEF) supported effort to protect the iconic snow leopard and its natural mountain environment was launched at the start of the Global Wildlife Program (GWP) annual conference in New Delhi, India. The project, Securing Livelihoods, Conservation, Sustainable Use and Restoration of High Range Himalayan Ecosystems project (SECURE Himalaya), was launched by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change of the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It is part of the GWP, a seven-year program funded by the GEF and led by the World Bank, that was developed as a response to the growing crisis of illegal trafficking in wildlife.
The Global Wildlife Programme (GWP) conference was held in New Delhi. India hosting the programme jointly with World Bank (WB) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to address illegal wildlife trade across 19 Asian and African countries.
AWARDS & HONOURS
Noted Indian-American attorney Ajay Raju was honoured with the 3rd American Bazaar Philanthropy award in recognition of his philanthropic activities in the US.
A globally-acclaimed South African Indian-origin researcher couple was honoured with a prestigious award for their exceptional contributions in the field of HIV/AIDS. Professors Salim Abdool Karim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim received the award from the Institute for Human Virology (IHV) in Baltimore in the US.
Chile was named the best country to visit in 2018 by Lonely Planet in its ‘Best in Travel 2018’ list and is followed by South Korea, Portugal, Djibouti and New Zealand.
Prof Hans Joachim Schellnhuber from Germany won the 2017 Blue Planet Prize for establishing a new field of science ‘Earth System Analysis’.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was honoured with the prestigious Golden Peacock Award in the 17th London Global Convention held in London. The Chief Minister was awarded in the category of "Global Leadership in Public Service and Economic Transformation”.
Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar was honoured with the Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award.
Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore was honoured with the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) in New Delhi for her contribution in the field of cinema.
US author George Saunders won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for his novel “Lincoln in the Bardo” and became only the 2nd American writer to win £50,000 Britain’s prestigious English-language literary award.
Prabha Varma, the well-known poet, lyricist and journalist, was chosen for the 2017 Padma Prabha Puraskaram for his contribution to Malayalam literature.
BUSINESS & CORPORATE
State Bank of India (SBI) signed an agreement with Escorts Limited to finance farmers for purchase of Escorts Tractors. The aim of the tie-up with Escorts Limited is to promote, market and make accessible, organized finance facility at competitive interest rates to farmers, who wish to purchase POWERTRAC and FARMTRAC Tractors manufactured by Escorts Ltd.
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) appointed Jayant Rikhye as the new Chief Executive Officer for India operations. India has been the second largest workforce for HSBC globally. The country has also been supporting the HSBC group's "ten point strategic agenda" outlined in 2015, becoming one of the top contributors to group profits.
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) appointed Suresh Sethi, former MD of Vodafone M-Pesa Ltd. as its Managing Director and chief executive officer, replacing AP Singh who had held the post in the interim since January 2017. IPPB was incorporated as a Public Limited Company under the Department of Posts with 100% equity from the government. IPPB plans to leverage the unparalleled reach of the India Post network to achieve a pan-India roll out of 650 branches by early next year.
E-commerce major Myntra launched its CSR initiative in association with the Union Textile Ministry, to work directly with weavers and elevate their economic stature.
BILLS / ACTS / COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Giriraj Singh launched MSME Delayed Payment Portal – MSME Samadhaan (http://msefc.msme.gov.in), empowering micro and small entrepreneurs across the country to directly register their cases relating to delayed payments by Central Ministries/Departments/CPSEs/State Governments.
The Karnataka Government announced signing of a MoU with Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited with an intention to empower small holder farmers with technology-oriented solutions that will help them increase income. The solutions would use “ground-breaking”, cloud based technologies, machine learning and advanced analytics.
A parliamentary standing committee on defence was constituted to examine the operational preparedness of the armed forces and review the accidents involving strategic defence assets. The committee will be headed by BJP MP B C Khanduri.
Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India hosted the first meeting of BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine in New Delhi. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an International Organisation involving a group of countries in the South Asia and South East Asia namely, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. India being a major stake holder in the field of Traditional Medicine plays an important role in influencing the policies and strategies related to the Traditional Medicine in the BIMSTEC Forum.
Ministries of Power and Textiles joined hands under a new initiative SAATHI (Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help small Industries). Under this initiative, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a public sector entity under the administrative control of Ministry of Power, would procure energy efficient powerlooms, motors and rapier kits in bulk and provide them to the small and medium powerloom units at no upfront cost.
The President of India Ram Nath Kovind constituted a Commission under Article 340 of the Constitution to examine Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the central list. The four-member Commission headed by Justice G. Rohini will submit its report to the President within 12 weeks.
To bring momentum in skilling through collaborative efforts, the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated India's first Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) for Skilling in Smart Cities, in collaboration with New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the ambitious 'Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojna’. He elaborated that an average will be drawn from the market prices of three different states and then the difference between 'Model Price' of crops and its 'MSP' will be deposited in the bank accounts of farmers. To get benefits of the scheme, the farmers are required to sell their crops in the mandi and obtain a receipt for the same. He added that the government will provide subsidy and loan ranging from Rs 10 lakhs to two crores to the farmers willing to invest in industries.
The Search-cum-Selection Committee headed by Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash was formed to select the candidate for the post of editor-in-chief of Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV).
ECONOMY & FINANCE
The Government of India (GoI) and the World Bank (WB) signed a $200 million Loan Agreement for the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project.
In a significant move to revive PSU banks weighed down by bad loans, the government set up a ministerial panel, led by finance minister Arun Jaitley, to consider and oversee mergers among the country’s 21 state-run banks. The consolidation of struggling state-run banks, which have a market share of about 70% and account for over 80% of bad loans in the Indian banking system, is aimed at building scale and bolstering their risk-taking ability.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India (GoI) signed a $65.5 million loan agreement in New Delhi to continue interventions to check coastal erosion on the Western Coast in Karnataka.
The global conference on consumer protection was held in New Delhi with theme “Empowering Consumers in New Markets”. The 2-day conference deliberated upon steps taken by Asian countries to implement the United Nations guidelines on consumer protection as well as challenges faced by consumers of financial services and e-commerce. Twenty two countries from East, South and South-East Asia participated in the conference.
The Reserve Bank of India formed a 10-member task force on Public Credit Registry (PCR) for India to improve market efficiency. The task force will be headed by M Deosthalee, former chairman of L&T Finance Holdings.
The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India signed a memorandum of understanding with Punjab National Bank to provide easy access to finance for SMEs and merchant exporters of the council. Punjab National Bank will provide finance with assurance that loans up to Rs 10 crore would be provided within six to seven weeks at competitive rates.
Madhya Pradesh emerged as the top state in terms of digital initiatives undertaken, with a maximum score of 100.1 on performance index, followed by Maharashtra at 99.9 and Andhra Pradesh at 99.8, as per a report by Coeus Age Consulting. The assessment is based on 109 key performance indicators related to policy, infrastructure and mission mode projects.
According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s revised guidelines on interest subvention scheme, banks will provide funds to women Self Help Groups (SHGs) in rural areas at 7% under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) in the current fiscal FY18.
The Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) launched India’s first commodity options in gold, giving stakeholders a new set of financial instruments to hedge their price risks.
The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India signed an investment agreement worth $1 billion with a wholly owned unit of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). As part of the partnership agreement, ADIA will become the first institutional investor in NIIF’s Master Fund and a shareholder in NIIF’s investment management company.
PEOPLE IN NEWS
Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P assumed charge as the Vice Chief of Naval Staff from Vice Admiral Karambir Singh. Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P is an alumni of the National Defence Academy. The Flag Officer was commissioned in the Indian Navy in Jul 81 and is a specialist in Missiles & Gunnery.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dr Digamber Singh passed away at 66. Singh was the vice-chairman of the Twenty Point Programme implementation committee. Singh, considered an influential Jat leader from eastern Rajasthan, was health and industry minister during Vasundhara Raje’s previous tenure as CM from 2003 to 2008.
Former IB Chief Dineshwar Sharma, a 1976 batch Kerala cadre IPS officer, was appointed as the Government of India (GoI) special representative to hold sustained dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) with all stakeholders.
Freedom fighter and lawyer Gaur Kishore Ganguli died at 96. He joined the Quit India movement in 1942 when he was 19 years old. He began practising in Dhanbad district court after the reorganization of states in 1956 and was a member of the bar association.
Producer Gautam Adhikari, who was the chairman and whole time director of the SAB group, passed away at 67. The SAB group started as a small venture between Gautam and his brother Markand Adhikari in 1985 and went on to become the first publicly-listed television production company in India when it was mentioned on the BSE in 1995. The group is behind one of the most successful TV channels in the country -- SAB TV, which is home to long-running comedies, most popularly known for "Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah".
Eminent classical singer Girija Devi died at 88. Considered the queen of Thumri and fondly called Appa ji, Girija Devi received the Padma Shri in 1972, the Padma Bhushan in 1989 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2016.
Irruppam Veedu Sasidaran, the legendary filmmaker, passed away at Chennai at 69. In his more than three- decade career, Sasidaran directed over 150 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
Jacinda Ardern, the leader of the Labour Party, was officially sworn in as the prime minister of New Zealand on October 26, 2017.
Lekh Tandon, the renowned Indian filmmaker and actor, passed away at 88. He also helmed television serial Dil Dariya in 1988 through which he introduced Shah Rukh Khan.
N.J.Gangte (IFS office batch of 1994) was appointed as the new High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Zambia.
Punathil Kunjabdulla, a renowned writer and Malayalam novelist, passed away in at 77.
Rakesh Asthana, a 1984-batch IPS officer of Gujarat-cadre, was appointed the special director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Prof. Satish Chandra, a veteran historian of medieval India and noted educational administrator, passed away.
Sunny Verghese, co-founder and Group CEO of Singapore-based Olam International, was appointed as the new chairman of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
SPORTS
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid’s Portugal striker, was named the 2017 Best FIFA Men’s Player award for a second straight year.
England won their first-ever FIFA Under-17 World Cup by defeating European Champions Spain in the final in Kolkata.
Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar clinched the 2017 Macao Open golf tournament title to bag his 8th Asian Tour title.
Heena Sidhu clinched the 10-metre air pistol gold medal at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships in Brisbane, Australia.
India’s hockey team won the 10th edition of Men’s Hockey Asia Cup tournament – 2017 by defeating Malaysia in the in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Jackson Singh Thounaojam from Manipur created history by scoring India’s first-ever goal in a FIFA U-17 World Cup during India’s match against Colombia.
Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth won the men’s singles title of the French Open Superseries badminton tournament 2017 by defeating Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in the final in Paris, France on October 29.
Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth won the 2017 Denmark Open Superseries Badminton trophy.
Mohun Bagan won the 37th All India Governor’s Gold Cup football tournament-2017.
Pakistan will host the next Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Emerging Nations Cup in April 2018.
Patna Pirates won the 5th edition of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) by defeating Gujarat Fortunegiants in the final in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Roger Federer, a Swiss professional tennis player, won the 2017 Swiss Indoors men’s singles tennis tournament at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland.
Selena Selvakumar won triple gold medal at the Egypt Junior and Cadet Open Table Tennis Championship 2017.
Shamsher Khan, India’s first swimmer who had participated in the 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, passed away at 86.
MISCELLANEOUS
World
The 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) of Wild Animals (CMS COP13) will be hosted by India in 2020.
The World Cities Day was celebrated on October 31. The Day is expected to greatly promote the international community’s interest in global urbanization, push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world.
The world's first hybrid electric tram powered by hydrogen fuel cells was launched in China, which marks a huge step in the application of green energy in public transport.
Burundi became the first country to pull out from the International Criminal Court after a one-year withdrawal process came to an end. The country notified former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of its intent to leave the court in October 27, 2016, as one of three countries — along with South Africa and The Gambia — to make such moves last year. Both South Africa and The Gambia later took back their withdrawals.
The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (WDAH) was observed on October 27 with the theme “Discover, remember and share”.
The 14th South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Law (SAARCLAW) Conference started in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The World Polio Day (WPD) was observed by the World Health Organization (WHO) on October 24.
The United Nations Day was observed on October 24 to mark the 72nd anniversary of the UN Charter’s entry into force.
The 2nd edition of World Congress on Marxism will be held at Peking University in Beijing, China, from May 5-6, 2018.
The World Development Information Day (WDID) was observe on October 24 to draw the attention of the world to development problems and the need to strengthen international cooperation to solve them.
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) was observed on October 17.
The World Spine Day (WSD) was observed on October 16 with the theme “Your Back In Action”.
The World Food Day (WFD) was observed on October 16 with the theme “Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development”.
India
India topped the list of seven countries accounting for 64% of the 10.4 million new tuberculosis (TB) cases worldwide in 2016, according to a new report by the World Health Organisation. India was followed by Indonesia, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria and South Africa.
The National Unity Day (NUD), also known as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (RED),was celebrated across India on October 31 to commemorate birth anniversary of the Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel, one of the founding leaders of Republic of India.
The International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification was held in New Delhi on October 27, 2017.
The Infantry Day was celebrated in India on October 27 to commemorate the first Infantry action post independence.
India’s passport was ranked 75th out of 94 countries, according to the ‘Global Passport Power Rank 2017’ by global financial advisory firm Arton Capital. The list is topped by Singapore, followed by Germany, Sweden and South Korea.
To monitor security at the country's airports and vital installations like nuclear and space organisations, the Central Industrial Security Force, for the first time, will track social media trends and use data analytics for which the central force has created a 'media lab' and a Pattern Research for Institutional Social Media (PRISM) unit at its base in Chennai.
The Meghalaya Election Department entered Limca Book of Records for the formation of the biggest human logo comprising young voters in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the Rs 615 crore 'roll- on-roll-off' (ro-ro) ferry service between Ghogha in Saurashtra and Dahej in south Gujarat. This is the first of its kind project not only in India but also in South-East Asia.
The National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) Tiruchi signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Andhra Pradesh government to develop technologies relating to banana production.
Giving the Indo-Russian defence cooperation a major boost, Exercise INDRA-2017, the first ever Tri Services Joint Exercise between Indian and Russian Armed Forces was conducted in the Eastern Military District of Russia from 19 to 29 Oct 2017. Exercise INDRA in its previous nine avatars was conducted as a single service exercise alternately between the two countries. The year 2017 marked a major milestone as this Exercise was upgraded to involve all the three Services of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy & Air Force), which further accentuates the importance of Joint Services in the present world environment.
The National Police Commemoration Day (NPCD) was observed in India on October 21 to mark the memory of brave policemen who sacrificed their lives while discharging their duties.
The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) launched an online campaign #IamThatWoman to end gender bias in women against women.
India’s first-ever All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.