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Monthly Current AffairsTitle Capsule & Quiz

OctoberTitle 2020

China will send out the world’s first mining robot into space by November this year.

 A private Beijing company, Origin Space, will send out the world’s first mining robot, termed as an ‘asteroid mining robot’ into International Day of Older Persons: 01 October space by November 2020.  The robot will, however, not do any actual mining.  The mission will be a preliminary assessment of the asteroid mining robot’s capabilities of identifying and extracting valuable resources, aimed at the eventual mining of asteroids.  The 30-gram spacecraft, NEO-1, is likely to be launched as a secondary payload on a Chinese Long March rocket, which will enter at an orbit around the earth at 500-kilometre altitude.  The actual progress that can be made by the International Day of Older Persons is observed NEO-1 mission is subject to speculations, as globally on 1st October every year. it has never been attempted before.

 The year 2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of Donald Trump, US First Lady test COVID-19 the United Nations and the 30th Anniversary positive of the International Day of Older Persons.  The day is an opportunity to highlight the important contributions that older people make to society and raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges of ageing in today’s world.  2020 theme: Pandemics: Do They Change How We Address Age and Ageing?

China to send world's first asteroid mining robot into space in November

United States President Donald Trump announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wished for quick recovery and good health of United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.  Donald John Trump is the 45th and current president of the United States.  Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality.

US issues fresh sanctions against Syria on 24 March 1925 at the Sport Palace in Berlin, Germany.

India, Bangladesh hold second edition of naval exercise in Northern Bay of Bengal

The United States announced over a dozen sanctions against Syrian individuals and entities to further The second edition of the bilateral naval exercise pressure the Syrian government. ‘Bongosagar’ between India and Bangladesh was held in Northern Bay of Bengal.  The sanctions designated the head of the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate, the  Ships from both navies participated in governor of the Central Bank of Syria, and a surface warfare drills, seamanship evolutions business network that allegedly "generate and helicopter operations. revenue for the regime and its supporters,".  Indian Navy ships Kiltan, Khukri &  The State Department on the same day Bangladesh Navy ships Abu Bakr, Prottoy, blacklisted other three Syrian persons for helo and MPA undertook manoeuvres, their roles in the Syria conflict. surface drills, helo operations and  According to the statement, all property and seamanship evolutions. interests of the property of the designated  Bongosagar will be followed by the third entities and the individuals in the United edition of India Bangladesh Coordinated States have been blocked, and US persons are Patrol (CORPAT) on 4-5 October. generally prohibited from engaging in any  The first edition of the Exercise Bongosagar, transactions with them. was held in 2019.  Capital: Damascus  President: Bashar al-Assad World Teachers’ Day: 05 October  Currency: Syrian pound World Teachers’ Day is celebrated every year on World Animal Day: 04 October October 5 globally.

World Animal Day is observed every year on  It aims to focus on appreciating, assessing October 4 since 1929. and improving the educators of the world and to provide an opportunity to consider issues  The day aims to raise the status of animals in related to teachers and teaching. order to improve welfare standards around  International Teachers Day is celebrated by the globe. the United Nations Educational, Scientific  It was originated by Heinrich Zimmermann and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in and he organized the first World Animal Day partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), International Labour

Organisation (ILO) and Education of deceased NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla, International. arrived at the International Space Station.  The theme for World Teachers’ Day 2020 is “Teachers: Leading in Crisis, Reimagining  Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born the Future”. woman to enter space, has had the spacecraft named after her for her key contributions to World Habitat Day 2020: 5 October human spaceflight.  The SS Kalpana Chawla, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus, was launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.  On the NG-14 mission, the SS Kalpana Chawla will deliver approximately 3,630 kilograms of cargo to the station.

World Cotton Day: 07 October

The United Nations designated the first Monday of October as World Habitat Day.

 In 2020, the World Habitat Day is being celebrated on 5th October.  The day is commemorated every year worldwide to throw light on the condition of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter.  2020 theme: “Housing For All — A Better The WHO-recognised World Cotton Day (WCD) is Urban Future” as a proper place to live has observed on 7th October since 2019 to celebrate the become important more than ever. international cotton industry and its contribution to communities and the global economy. Cargo spacecraft SS Kalpana Chawla arrives at ISS  The day was inaugurated by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva on October 7, 2019.  WCD Day was initiated by the Group of Cotton-4 countries namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali to reflect the importance of cotton as a global commodity.

QUAD Foreign Ministers of India, USA, Japan, Australia meet in Tokyo

A commercial cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS), carrying the name

Russia says it has successfully tested a new hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile in TSIRKON (Zircon) Hypersonic Cruise missile.

 The Tsirkon test comes amid tensions over arms control between Russia and the United States.  The strike was carried out from the Admiral Gorshkov vessel which was located in the White Sea in northern Russia.  The missile hit its target at a distance of 450 kilometres (280 miles) in four and a half minutes after reaching hypersonic speeds of Quad Countries’ Foreign Minister meet held in more than Mach 8. Tokyo, Japan. World Post Day: 9 October  All four Quad countries the United States, Japan, India and Australia to hold bilateral discussions over “Free and Open Indo- Pacific” (FOIP) initiative amid the coronavirus pandemic.  This is the second Quad FM meeting. The first was held in 2019.  The Quad FM meeting was represented by External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne, and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. World Post Day is observed on 9th October every  They discussed the post-COVID-19 year. international order and the need for a coordinated response to the various  The main aim of World Post Day is to create challenges emerging from the pandemic. awareness of the role of the postal sector in people’s and businesses’ everyday lives and Russia successfully tests new hypersonic its contribution to the social and economic TSIRKON missile development of countries.  09 October marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern.

Oil prices rise as Hurricane Delta approaches US Gulf of Mexico

death of his brother Emir Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmed.  Kuwait Capital: Kuwait City.  Currency: Kuwaiti dinar.

World Mental Health Day: 10 October

Oil prices rose as oil workers evacuated rigs in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Delta.

 Energy operators in the Gulf of Mexico have shut 80% of oil output in preparation for Hurricane Delta.  The storm, packing winds of up to 115 miles per hour (185 kph), ranked as a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane October 10 is the second Saturday of 2020 and is Wind Scale and forecasters expect it to celebrated as the World Mental Health Day. strengthen before making landfall.  The objective of this day is to spread Kuwait's cabinet hands in resignation, emir asks awareness about mental health issues and PM to prepare for election taking efforts in supporting those.  It also emphasizes what more needs to be done to make sure that talking about mental health does not remain a taboo in society.  This day is organised by the World Federation for Mental Health.  It is also supported by WHO, the International Association for Suicide Prevention, and United for Global Mental Health.

China formally joins WHO led COVAX initiative on COVID-19 vaccine

The Kuwaiti government, headed by Prime Minister Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah, reportedly submitted its resignation to Emir Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah.

 Kuwait's new emir has asked the Gulf state's cabinet to carry on its duties and prepare for parliamentary elections.  Sheikh Nawaf, 83, took the helm of the U.S.- allied OPEC member state following the

China has formally joined COVAX, the global International Day of the Girl Child: 11 October initiative for COVID-19 vaccine by signing an agreement with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

 The statement did not give details on the level of support Beijing will provide to the initiative.  The COVAX facility, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to deliver at least 2 billion doses of vaccines by the end of 2021.  The WHO had said it had been negotiating with China for its participation in the initiative, with Russia and the United States so far choosing not to join. International Day of the Girl Child (also known as  More than 150 countries have joined the Day of Girls and the International Day of Girls) is WHO led initiative to develop, produce, and observed annually on October 11 since 2012. fairly distribute an effective COVID-19 vaccine.  This international observance day was declared by the United Nations to raise World famous Jog falls in Karnataka to get face awareness of issues facing girls lift internationally surrounding education, nutrition, child marriage, legal and medical rights.  2020 theme: “My voice, our equal future”.

World Migratory Bird Day: 10 October

The world famous Jog falls in Karnataka will get a face lift at a cost of Rs. 120 crore.

 Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa was given details of the project during a Tourism department review meeting in Bengaluru.  During the review meeting, the overall development of other important tourist The World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated twice a destinations in the state such as year, that is, on the second Saturdays of May and Kemmanagundi hill station, Nandi hills, the October. world heritage site of Badami caves, Srirangapattana and Mysuru haat were also  The Day will celebrate the biannual discussed. migration on 10 October.  Jog Falls is a waterfall on the Sharavati river  The aim of the day is to raise awareness of located in the Western Ghats inUttara migratory birds and the importance of Kannada District. international cooperation to conserve them.

 Earlier in May, the day was celebrated on awareness about the importance of reining in May 9, 2020. the risks that they face.  2020 theme: Birds Connect Our World  Theme of 2020 International Day for Disaster Reduction is ‘Disaster risk governance’. World Arthritis Day: 12 October Bangladesh cabinet approves capital punishment for rape

World Arthritis Day is observed globally on 12th October every year.

 The day is celebrated to raise awareness Bangladesh Cabinet approved a draft law to include about arthritis, an inflammatory condition death penalty as the highest punishment for rape. which causes pain and stiffness in joints which can worsen with age.  The decision to amend the Prevention of  There are more than 100 different types of arthritis, with different causes and treatment Women and Children Repression Act-2000 methods. The most common types are was announced after the Cabinet meeting osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis Chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. (RA).  The ordinance will be issued after getting approval of the President as Parliament is not  This day was started by Arthritis and Rheumatism International (ARI) in 1996 in in session. order to spread awareness about arthritis and  Currently, the highest punishment for rape is encourage policymakers to help reduce the life imprisonment. burden of arthritis. FATF's Asia Pacific Group keeps Pakistan on International Day for Disaster Reduction: 13 ‘enhanced follow-up list’ for slow progress October against terror financing

The United Nations International Day for Disaster In a major setback to Pakistan, the Financial Action Reduction is observed annually on 13 October since Task Force's (FATF's) Asia Pacific Group (APG) on 1989. Money Laundering has reprimanded the South-Asian country for its slow progress on the technical recommendations of the FATF to fight terror  The day is celebrated to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster financing. reduction and also celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing  Earlier, Pakistan had requested for its ratings their exposure to disasters and raising pertaining to targeted financial sanctions on

terrorism and terrorist financing to be households and communities, improving revised. rural livelihoods and overall well-being.  The APG stated that the insufficient progress  The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers made by the country fails to justify a re- Welfare observes the day in India as the rating. Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas since 2016.  The Financial Action Task Force is an  2020 theme: “Building rural women’s intergovernmental organisation founded in resilience in the wake of COVID-19,”. 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. World Students’ Day: 15 October  Headquarters: Paris, France  President: Marcus Pleyer

World Standards Day: 14 October

World Students’ Day is observed every year on 15 October to mark the birth anniversary of former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

World Standards Day or International Standards Day  This year marks the 89th birth anniversary of is observed globally on 14 October every year. the former president and ‘Missile Man’ Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.  The day aims to raise awareness about the  In 2010 the United Nations declared 15 importance of standardisation to the global October “World Students’ Day”, due to economy among the consumers, regulators Kalam’s love for students and who himself and industry. was a dedicated teacher and identified  14 October was specifically chosen to mark himself foremost in that role before anything the date, in 1946, when delegates from 25 else. countries first gathered in London and decided to create an international World Food Day: 16 October organization focused on facilitating standardization.  The 2020 theme is “Protecting the planet with standards”.

International Day of Rural Women: 15 October

The International Day of Rural Women is observed globally on 15 October every year.

 The day recognizes the role of women and girls in ensuring the sustainability of rural

World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945.

 The day is celebrated widely by many other organizations concerned with food security, including the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

 The theme for this year's World Food Day 2020 is "Grow, Nourish, Sustain Together". After launching the very first vaccine for the treatment of coronavirus back in August, Russia has Global Handwashing Day: 15 October registered another covid-19 vaccine 'EpiVacCorona'.

 Russia became the first country to give regulatory approval to a Covid-19 vaccine in August when Sputnik V was officially registered ahead of large-scale clinical trials, drawing criticism from some quarters in the scientific community.  The second Russian vaccine to get regulatory approval has been developed by the Vector State Research Centre of Virology and Biotechnology.  Putin said that a third Russian vaccine against Global Handwashing Day is observed on October 15 Covid-19, developed by the Chumakov each year to raise awareness and highlight the Centre, would also be registered in the near importance of handwashing as an effective means of future. disease prevention. International Poverty Eradication Day: 17  This year it marks a critical reminder for the October world that this simple, cost-effective practice can save lives.  Handwashing has always been one of the most effective ways of keeping diseases at bay and is also one of the key cornerstones of COVID-19 prevention.

Russia approves second coronavirus vaccine after Sputnik V

October 17 is marked as the International Poverty Eradication Day.

 The main aim of this day is to raise awareness about the people who are struggling and living in poverty. It is necessary to remove poverty mainly in developing countries.  According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, one of the keys to ending child poverty is addressing poverty in the household, from which it often stems. Access to quality social services must be a priority.  2020 Theme: Acting together to achieve social and environmental justice for all India will deliver a Kilo Class submarine INS Kyrgyzstan President resigns after protests over Sindhuvir to Myanmar Navy as part of defence disputed election cooperation.

 This will be the first submarine of the Myanmar Navy.  Myanmar is one of India's strategic neighbours and shares a 1,640-kilometer- long border with a number of northeastern states including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.  In the last few years, both sides have been ramping up maritime security cooperation.  Kilo class refers to diesel-electric attack

submarines that were designed and built in Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov has the erstwhile Soviet Union. resigned after days of protests over a disputed parliamentary election, saying he wants to prevent New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern secures second clashes and bloodshed. term with historic victory

 Jeenbekov said, he does not want to go down in the history of Kyrgyzstan as a president who allowed bloodshed and shooting on its people.  He also called on newly-appointed Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov and other opposition politicians to take their supporters away from the capital so that peace could return to Bishkek.  Kyrgyzstan has been in crisis since parliamentary elections on 4 October.  Capital: Bishkek New Zealand voted to award Prime Minister Jacinda  Currency: Kyrgyzstani som Ardern a second term in office.

India to deliver Kilo Class submarine INS  Prime Minister Ardern's liberal Labour Party Sindhuvir to Myanmar Navy won a historic mandate by securing 49 per

cent of the vote in comparison to the 27 per for providing affordable and easy access to cent bagged by its primary challenger. justice for all.  This is the first time since New Zealand  He mentioned Pro Bono Legal Services to implemented a proportional voting system 24 provide free legal aid to marginalized years ago that a single party (Labour) won an sections of the society. outright majority of seats in Parliament.  As part of activities of the Justice Ministers’  During the 2020 elections, New Zealanders Forum, the Minister urged SCO Member also voted on two key issues- whether to States to promote exchange of ideas, best legalise marijuana and euthanasia. practices and experiences in identified areas through the platform. BepiColombo spacecraft swings past Venus on long road to Mercury World Osteoporosis Day: 20 October

The World Osteoporosis Day (WOD) is observed annually on October 20.

 The day aims to raise global awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease. The BepiColombo SpaceCraft has crossed Venus in  Osteoporosis is a condition when the bone its journey towards Mercury. turns fragile and is thus susceptible to fracture.  The spacecraft was launched jointly by Japan  It is quite common in women aged above 35. Aerospace Exploration Agency and European Space Agency to explore planet World Statistics Day: 20 October Mercury.  This spacecraft mission has been launched to explore and study the mercury.  It was launched on the Ariane 5 rocket and will arrive in Mercury in 2025.

India hosts virtual Summit of Ministers of Justice of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

India hosted the virtual Summit of Ministers of Justice of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, SCO.

 Addressing the Ministers of Justice from The World Statistics Day is observed globally on 20 SCO Member States, Law and Justice October. Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad highlighted the initiatives taken by the Indian Government

 The celebration of World Statistics Day 2020  The Annual Naval Exercise Malabar-2020 is is a global collaborative endeavour, expected to be held in the Bay of Bengal and organized under the guidance of the United the Arabian Sea later this year. Nations Statistical Commission.  This year, the exercise has been planned on a  At its 41st Session in February 2010, the ‘non-contact-at sea’ format. United Nations Statistical Commission  The Malabar series of Naval exercises started proposed celebrating 20 October 2010 as in 1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy-US Navy World Statistics Day (Decision 41/109). exercise and Japan joined the Naval exercise  2020 theme “Connecting the world with data in 2015. we can trust.” International Chefs Day: 20 October Asia Power Index 2020

International Chefs Day is observed globally on 20 India has been ranked at 4th position, with a score of October every year. 39.7 out of 100, in the Asia Power Index 2020, released by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute.  The day aims to celebrate and honour the noble profession and educate people around  The Asia Power Index 2020 ranks 26 the world about eating healthy. countries and territories to assess the relative  This was formed by Dr Bill Gallagher, a power of states in Asia. renowned chef and the former president of  The United States has retained its position as the World Association of Chefs Societies the most powerful country influencing the (World Chefs), in 2004. Asia-Pacific with a score of 81.6.  It is also the day for experienced chefs to pass  It is followed by China (76.1) and Japan (41) on their knowledge and culinary skills to the at second and third spot respectively. next generation with a sense of pride and commitment. Australia to join Malabar Naval exercise with  2020 theme ‘Healthy Food for the Future’. India, US and Japan UAE delegation reaches Israel for first time in Australia will join the Malabar naval exercise history involving India, US and Japan. In an historic first visit by a Gulf Arab nation, a  The exercise showcases the deep trust United Arab Emirates delegation reached Israel. between four major Indo-Pacific democracies and their shared will to work  It was accompanied by top US officials to together on common security interests. cement the normalisation of ties between the two nations.

 As part of the US-brokered deal, four World Snow Leopard Day is observed globally on agreements were signed relating to 23rd October. investment, scientific cooperation, civil aviation and visa exemptions, during the  The main purpose of this day is to show the visit. importance of snow leopard conservation and raise awareness about this incredible animal. International Stuttering Awareness Day: 22  The day also emphasizes the importance of October taking measures to stop poaching, as well as consolidating efforts in terms of an environmental organization in the countries of the snow leopard range.  The day was initiated by the countries that encompass the snow leopard’s range.  They include Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, India, China, Bhutan, and Afganistan.

Mole Day: 23 October International Stuttering Awareness Day is observed globally on 22nd October every year.

 The day is intended to raise public awareness of the millions of people who have a speech disorder of stuttering or stammering.  Stuttering is a speech disorder that involves frequent and significant problems with normal fluency and flow of speech. People who stutter know what they want to say, but have difficulty saying it.  2020 theme “Journey of Words – Resilience and Bouncing Back”.

World Snow Leopard Day: 23 October The Mole Day is celebrated every year on 23 October from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m.

 It commemorates chemistry’s measuring unit called “Avogadro’s Number” (6.02 x 10²³)  For a given molecule, one mole is a mass (in grams) whose number is equal to the molar mass of the molecule.

United Nations Day: 24 October

to strengthen international cooperation to solve them.  The day aims to direct people’s attention toward developmental problems and the need to strengthen international cooperation to solve them.

US approves sale of weapons systems worth around 1.8 billion dollar to Taiwan

October 24 has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948.

 The United Nations officially came into being after the signatory documents which includes the five permanent members of the Security Council.  The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945.  The year 2020 marks the 75th year of the UN's existence. The US State Department has approved the sale of  The theme for 2020 is 'The Future We Want, weapons systems worth around 1.8 billion dollar to the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Taiwan. Commitment to Multilateralism’.  The deal comprised three weapons systems, World Development Information Day: 24 including rocket launchers, sensors and October artillery.  Taiwan welcomed the decision and said the weapons will help improve its defensive capabilities to deal with the enemy threat and new situation.  China said that the arms deal will likely have a major impact on its relationship with the US.

Brazil's President Bolsonaro rejects purchase of coronavirus vaccine from China

The United Nations celebrates World Development Information Day every year on October 24.

 The UN General Assembly in 1972 established the World Development Information Day to direct people’s attention toward developmental problems and the need

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has decided to cancel the purchase of Coronavac, a COVID-19 vaccine in phase-3 clinical trials by Chinese firm Sinovac.

 Both Brazil's President and Health Minister have been infected by a novel coronavirus.  Brazil has been among the world’s hardest- hit nations by the pandemic, with more than 5 million infections and more than 150,000 COVID-19 deaths. The global terror financing watchdog, Financial  Earlier, Bangladesh had rejected co- Action Task Force (FATF) has announced that financing of the phase 3 trial of the Sinovac Pakistan will continue to remain on its grey list till made Corona vaccine. February 2021.

World Polio Day: 24 October  This decision has been taken since Pakistan has not been able to fulfil six out of the 27 mandates to check terror funding.  FATF has strongly urged Pakistan to swiftly complete its full action plan by February 2021.  The FATF Headquarters: Paris, France

Saad al-Hariri renamed Lebanon Prime Minister

The World Polio Day is celebrated annually on October 24.

 The day is observed to raise awareness for polio vaccination and eradication of polio.  It provides an opportunity to highlight global efforts toward a polio-free world and honour the tireless contributions of those on the frontlines in the fight to eradicate polio from Lebanon's President Michel Aoun designated Sunni every corner of the globe. Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri as prime minister.  As of August 2020, Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two nations which remain with  Hariri won the backing of a majority of the continued transmission of wild parliamentarians in consultations with Aoun. poliovirus.  Sunni leader Hariri's last coalition  2020 theme “A win against polio is a win for government was toppled almost exactly a global health.” year ago as protests gripped the country.  Hariri was backed by his own Future Pakistan to remain in grey list of FATF till lawmakers, the Shi'ite Amal party, Druze February 2021 politician Walid Jumblatt's party and other small blocks.

Andorra Joins IMF as its 190th Member will be allowed to enter offices without the mask.  It decided that all offices must install notice boards saying ‘no mask, no service’ in order to control the spread of COVID 19 virus in the country.  People at all public and private offices, social institutions, haat-bazaars, shopping malls, other establishments, educational institutions, mosques or other places of worship throughout the country must use masks in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Andorra has joined the International Monetary Fund Sudan to join UAE, Bahrain in recognising Israel (IMF), to become its 190th member.

 IMF’s Membership allows the Andorran government to benefit from IMF policy advice, especially as the country tackles the crisis caused by COVID-19 and can now receive an annual review or “health check” of its economy by the IMF, tap technical assistance, and access IMF lending if needed.  Andorra is a microstate situated between France and Spain. However, it is the largest microstate in Europe. President Donald Trump announced that Sudan will Bangladesh govt. orders ‘no mask, no service’ start to normalise ties with Israel, making it the third policy Arab state to do so as part of US-brokered deals in the run-up to Election Day.

 The announcement came after the North African nation agreed to put $335 million in an escrow account to be used to compensate American victims of terror attacks.  Trump said at least five other countries want to come into the deal, which is collectively called the Abraham Accords.

Chinese foreign ministry not to recognize Hong Kong BNO passports as valid travel documents The Bangladesh government has decided that no service will be provided to people who don’t wear masks.

 The cabinet meeting Chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina decided that no one

 The day was chosen by UNESCO to raise awareness of the significance and preservation risks of recorded sound and audiovisual documents.  2020 theme : “Your Window to the World”.

Japan to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050

Chinese foreign ministry said that it will consider not recognizing Hong Kong British national overseas (BNO) passports as valid travel documents, a day after the British government's announcement of new visa rules for British National Overseas citizens in HK.

 Britain will start to process BNO visa applications for residents in the Hong Kong Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) that the country will achieve zero carbon emissions from January 31, 2021. by 2050.  Britain had announced plans to extend the immigration rights of BNO passport holders  Mr. Suga announced this in his policy speech on 1st July, the day after China imposed at first parliamentary session since he took stringent national security law on Hong office last month. Kong.  He emphasized the need to shift away from  As per new visa rule, BNO Visa holders will fossil fuels to counter climate change as an have the right to work and study in the UK opportunity rather than a burden. for a period of five years.  As per Japan’s current energy plan, 56 per  They can apply for citizenship after the sixth cent of its energy reqirements come from year. fossil fuels.

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage: 27 October BRICS Parliamentary Forum to be held in virtual format

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is observed The BRICS Parliamentary Forum started in virtual globally on 27 October every year. format from 27 October 2020.

 It will be chaired by Chairman of Russian  The day celebrates the art of animation and Parliament, Vyachaslav Volodin. also recognises the artists, scientists and  Speakers and members of five BRICS technicians behind animation. Parliaments - Brazil, Russian, India, China  The day was created in 2002 by the and South Africa will participate in the International Animated Film Association Forum. (ASIFA), an International Animated Film  An Indian Parliamentary Delegation led by Association, a member of UNESCO. Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla and consisting of Member of Lok Sabha Kanimozhi Luis Arce declared as Bolivia’s President Karunanidhi will attend the Forum.

NATO plans to set up new space center in Germany

Bolivia’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced that Luis Arce Catacora, the candidate for the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party, has The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) won the October 18 presidential elections with 55.1 alliance, plans to build a headquarters for space percent of the votes. operations at its airbase in Ramstein in Germany, to counter a rising Russian and Chinese threat.  The MAS also obtained absolute majorities in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies,  The new centre is to be a central point of although it did not achieve the two-thirds contact to support NATO missions with majority required to carry out constitutional communication and satellite images. reforms.  It will also be a place to exchange  This is the first time since 1989 that the information on potential threats to satellites. country has published the official results of a  Some 2,000 satellites orbit the Earth, more presidential election in such a short period of than half of which are operated by NATO members, allowing everything from mobile time. phone services to weather forecasts.  NATO Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.

International Animation Day: 28 October

International Animation Day is observed globally on 28 October every year. India exceeds 140 per day per million tests advised by WHO by more than five times: Health Ministry

and Airframe Section along with many other ‘Made in India’ sub-systems.  The BrahMos Land-Attack Cruise Missile was cruising at a top speed of Mach 2.8. It is one more major step in enhancing the indigenous content.  The missile weighs around 2.5 tonnes and has a strike range of approximately 300 km.  It is the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world.  It is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks cruise India has exceeded the 140 per day per million tests missile and other similar sea-skimming as advised by the World Health Organization by Russian cruise missile technology. more than five times.  The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the  Very high levels of testing lead to early Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of identification, prompt isolation and effective Russia. treatment of COVID19 cases.  This has resulted in sustained low Fatality India establishes Air Bubble arrangement with Rate. With higher testing, eventually there is Kenya & Bhutan a fall in the positivity rate.  In July 2020, the WHO has advised that a country needs 140 tests per day per million population.

India successfully test-fires BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

India has established Air Bubble arrangement with Kenya and Bhutan.

 Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, in order to further boost bilateral India successfully test-fired BrahMos supersonic international air connectivity, Air Bubble cruise missile with several indigenous features. arrangements are now in place with the two countries.  The test firing of the missile was carried out  Now Indian carriers will be able to operate to by the Defence Research and Development these countries. Organisation, DRDO from Balasore in  Carriers of these countries will also be able to Odisha. fly to India.  BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic  Air Bubble is the term coined during cruise missile features indigenous Booster COVID-19 times. It refers to transport and

people connectivity between specific regions Notification issued for 1st phase of assembly in the world. elections in Bihar  Especially between those regions where COVID-19 has been contained to similar levels.  Kenya Capital: Nairobi  Currency: Kenyan shilling

South Eastern Railway launches “Operation My Saheli” for safety of lady passengers

In Bihar, notification for the First Phase of State Assembly Elections was issued.

 With this, the election the process of nomination of candidates has started.  During the First Phase of Assembly elections, polling would be held on 28th of October in 71 Assembly constituencies spread over 16 districts. The South Eastern Railways (SER) has launched the  Last date of nomination is 8th of this month project, “Operation my Saheli” to enhance the and scrutiny of nomination papers would take security of women passengers in the train throughout place on 9th of October. the entire journey from the originating point to their  In view of COVID-19 pandemic, the Election destinations. Commission has for the first time given the option of online filing of nomination papers  Since 18th September 2020, The pilot version to the candidates. of the project “Operation my Saheli” has  Bihar Assembly Elections would be held in been introduced in 3 trains: Howrah- three phases for 243 constituencies. Yesvantpur Duronto Special, Howrah-  The polling for the second and third phase Ahmedabad Special and Howrah-Mumbai would be held on 3rd and 7th of November. Special.  Counting of votes would take place on 10th  “Operation my Saheli” is executed under the of November. Framework of “Nirbhaya Fund” and no  Over 7.29 crore electorate are eligible for the additional expenditure is provided by the polls of the Assembly elections in Bihar. Head of Railways.  Under this a team of Women Sub Inspectors briefed the women passengers on the safety Maharashtra Circle of India Post to release precautions and provided emergency contact picture postcards on Sawantwadi Toys numbers.  The team will collect the information such as seat number and contact information of the women passengers and will remain in contact throughout the journey.

Sikkim is the first 100 per cent organic state in the country. All of its farmland is certified organic. Maharashtra Circle of India Post will release picture postcards on Sawantwadi Toys to mark the 151 years  The transition has benefitted more than of postcards in India. 66,000 farming families that practice organic and agroecological farming on more than  The postcard, inspired by Prime Minister 76,000 hectares of land. Narendra Modi's call to make the country a  The process of converting Sikkim into a 100 global toy hub, will be released by HC percent organic state was fast-tracked in 2010 Agrawal, Chief Postmaster General, with the launch of the Sikkim Organic Maharashtra Circle of India Post through Mission. video conferencing.  In the year 2015, the entire agricultural area  Prime Minister Modi on August 30, during in the state was converted to certified organic his monthly "Mann ki Baat" programme, and finally in 2016 the state was formally talked about making "toys for the world" and declared a 100 percent organic state. highlighted the ability of India to become a  The policy implemented a phase out of "toy hub". chemical fertilizers and pesticides and  Sawantwadi toys refers to hand made works achieved a total ban on sale and use of of art made of wood in Sawantwadi a town in chemical pesticides in the state. Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.  Sawantwadi is considered to be India's Indian Coast Guard Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS largest market for wooden models of fruits 'Kanaklata Barua' commissioned in Kolkata and wooden toys.  These toys are made from the wood of the Indian Coral tree (Erythrina variegata).

100 percent organic farming benefits over 66,000 farming families in Sikkim

Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) ICGS 'Kanaklata Barua' of the Indian Coast Guard was commissioned at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd in Kolkata.

 ICGS Kanaklata Barua is one of the five Nation pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his FPVs built by GRSE, the Defence Public 151st birth anniversary Sector Undertaking, for the Indian Coast Guard and it was delivered on June 9.  The FPVs are medium-range surface vessels with a length of 50 metres, width of 7.5 metres and displacement of around 308 tonnes.  The vessels are designed for a maximum speed of 34 knots with an endurance of more than 1,500 nautical miles.  The entire design of the FPVs has been

developed in- house by GRSE as per requirements specified by the Indian Coast A grateful nation is paying homage to Father of the Guard. Nation, Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth anniversary. Ideal weight for Indian men and women increased to 65-55kg  A series of activities are being organized across the country and also around the globe.  Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar.  In the year 1888, Mahatma Gandhi left for London to study law.  He returned to India in 1915, after spending 21 years of his life in South Africa.  In 1915, Gandhiji returned to India permanently and joined the Indian National Congress with Gopal Krishna Gokhale as his mentor.  Gandhi's first major achievement was in 1918 The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), which is when he led the Champaran and Kheda located in Hyderabad, has revised the ideal weight agitations of Bihar and Gujarat. for both men and women in the country by adding 5-  Gandhi used Satyagraha and hunger strike for 5 kg. the first time during an industrial dispute between the owners and workers of a cotton  As per the new guidelines, the average mill in Ahmedabad. weight of Indian men is 65kg, whereas, for  In 1924 at the Belgaum session of INC women, the average weight has now been Gandhi was elected as the President of INC. increased to 55 kg. In 1928 in the Calcutta session, Gandhi  The leading nutrition research body also warned the British government to free India made changes in the height of both men and within a year. On January 26th, 1930 INC women. celebrated Indian Independence, as per the  The research body also increased the height proposal of 1929 Lahore session of INC. for men to 5 feet 8 inches from 5 feet 6 inches  On 12 March 1930, Gandhi launched the a decade ago. Civil disobedience Movement by marching  Similarly, the height of Indian women has to Dandi from Ahmedabad. now been increased to 5 feet 3 inches from 5 feet in 2010.

 He launched the Quit India Movement in  He led the country during the Indo-Pakistan 1942 in which Gandhi gave the slogan of ‘Do War of 1965. His slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai or Die. Kisan" ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer") became very popular during the war. Prez, VP, PM pay tributes to Lal Bahadur Shastri  The war formally ended with the Tashkent on his 116th birth anniversary Agreement on 10 January 1966; he died the following day, still in Tashkent.

DRDO successfully test fires Laser Guided Anti Tank Guided Missile

President, Vice President and Prime Minister paid tributes to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 116th birth anniversary on 02 October.

 Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904 – 1966) was the 2nd Prime Minister of India and a senior The indigenously developed Laser Guided Anti Tank leader of the Indian National Congress Guided Missile, ATGM was successfully test fired political party. defeating a target located at longer range.  It was during his tenure as the Prime Minister that the posts of Sadar-e-Riyasat and Wazir  The test was conducted from MBT Arjun at in J&K were abolished and replaced with the KK ranges, Armoured Corps Centre and positions of Governor and the Chief Minister. School Ahmednagar in continuation of a  In 1965, a plutonium reprocessing plant was successful trial done on 22nd of last month. started in India. He gave the go-ahead for the  The ATGM employs a tandem HEAT production of nuclear explosives, which led warhead to defeat Explosive Reactive to the launch of the Nuclear Explosive Armour protected armoured vehicles in Design Group and the Study of Nuclear ranges from 1.5 to 5 kilometres. Explosions for Peaceful Purpose (SNEPP).  It has been developed with multiple-platform  The 1964 Shastri-Bandarnaike Agreement launch capability and is currently undergoing played an important role in improving India's technical evaluation trials from 120 mm strained relations with Sri Lanka due to issues rifled gun of MBT Arjun. related to the Tamil community in that  This Laser Guided Missile has been country. developed by Armament Research and  He promoted the White Revolution – a Development Establishment, Pune in national campaign to increase the production association with High Energy Materials and supply of milk – by supporting the Amul Research Laboratory, Pune and Instruments milk co-operative of Anand, Gujarat and Research and Development Establishment, creating the National Dairy Development Dehradun. Board. PM Modi to inaugurate world’s longest highway tunnel ‘Atal Tunnel’, Rohtang on Oct 3

 World Postcard Day is observed every year on 01 October every year.  Ten other postal circles across the country have also released similar postcards on the same theme.  The objective is to promote the artisans making traditional toys in Odisha and other parts of the country.

Tamil Nadu & Arunachal Pradesh integrated under One Nation One Ration Card Scheme Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Atal Tunnel, Rohtang on 3rd of October.

 It is the longest highway tunnel in the world.  The 9.02-kilometre long tunnel connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year.  Earlier, the valley was cut off for about six months each year owing to heavy snowfall.  The tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of three thousand Two more States, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal metres from the Mean Sea Level. Pradesh have been integrated with the existing  It reduces the road distance by 46 kilometres national portability cluster of 26 States and UTs between Manali and Leh and the time by under One Nation One Ration Card. about four to five hours.

 With this, a total of 28 States and UTs are On World Postcard Day, Odisha launched picture now seamlessly connected with each other postcard named "Jau Kandhei" released on under the One Nation One Ration Card plan. theme 'Traditional Toys of India'  The necessary preparatory activities to integrate these States with the national cluster, upgradation of ePoS software, integration with central IM-PDS and Annavitran portals, availability of ration cards or beneficiaries data in Central Repository, requisite testing of national portability transactions, etc. have already been completed in these two States.  The beneficiaries of these states can lift their entitled foodgrains under NFSA from any ePoS enabled Fair Price Shop of their choice anywhere in the country, by using their On the occasion of World Postcard Day, the Chief existing/same ration card with Aadhaar Postmaster General, Odisha Circle, has released a authentication on ePoS device. picture postcard named "Jau Kandhei" on the theme of 'Traditional Toys of India'. Mumbai ranks 2nd after Delhi in crimes against women, reveals NCRB data

 The state government arm Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board has signed the MoU with ‘Danish Water Forum’ through an online interactive platform.  This will help in technology exchange, training, capacity building, knowledge exchange, cooperation in water supply, wastewater treatment- reuse and water management between the two organizations.  MoU has been signed for a five-year period in order to set up Indo-Danish Water According to the latest data released by the National Technology Alliance in Gujarat and Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Mumbai recorded contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable 6,519 cases, after national capital Delhi at 12,902 Development Goal -6. cases during the year 2019. India expresses concern over Armenia,  However, there has been a drop of 1.5 per Azerbaijan clashes cent in crimes in Maharashtra.  In 2019, the state recorded 3.41 lakh cases, down from 3.46 lakh in the previous year.  The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data has revealed that overall the crime cases against women in Mumbai in last two years have been 6,058 and 5,453 respectively.  Mumbai also has the highest number of sexual harassment incidents on public transport and recorded the highest number of cases for use of children in pornography.  The financial capital also ranked third on the list of rape cases after Delhi and Jaipur. For almost four decades, Armenia and Azerbaijan Gujarat govt signs MoU with Denmark in water have been battling over a piece of land situated in the sector mountainous region of south Caucasus.

 The dispute over Nagorno Karabakh that began in 1988 has over the years caused massive human rights violations, a severe refugee crisis and impacted the economies of both the Transcaucasian republics.  The issue flared up once again this week, resulting in more deaths and destruction.  Reportedly, close to a hundred lives have been lost between civilians and Armenian combatants. Azerbaijan is yet to release data on its military losses. Gujarat Government has signed a Memorandum of  India has expressed its concern over reports Understanding -MoU with Denmark in the water of resumption of hostilities in the Nagarno- sector. Karabakh region of the Armenia-Azerbaijan

border which took place in the early hours of  When Swachh Bharat Mission- urban was September 27. launched in 2014, it was with the vision of achieving Clean India by 2nd October 2019, Arjun Munda launches largest market of tribal the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of products ‘Tribes India E-Marketplace’ the Nation.  From a position of zero ODF states and cities in 2014, more than 97 per cent of Indian cities have now become ODF.

ISRO to launch its Venus mission in 2025

Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda virtually launched India’s largest handicraft and organic products marketplace- Tribes India E-Marketplace on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

 This path breaking initiative of TRIFED will showcase the produce and handicrafts of ISRO is scheduled to launch its Venus mission in tribal enterprises from across the country. It 2025 and France will participate in it. will help them market their products directly.  On this occasion, Mr Arjun Munda also  The VIRAL (Venus Infrared Atmospheric flagged off several other TRIFED initiatives Gases Linker) instrument co-developed with that are aimed to support tribal brethren. the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos  These include the inauguration of Tribes and the LATMOS atmospheres, India’s 123rd and 124th outlets in Rishikesh environments and space observations and Kolkata, inclusion of new tribal product laboratory attached to the French national ranges from the states of Jharkhand and scientific research centre CNRS has been Chhattisgarh and partnership of TRIFED and selected by the ISRO after a request for Tribes India with Amazon in their Seller Flex proposals. program.  ISRO chairman K Sivan and CNES president Jean-Yves Le Gall held talks and reviewed Over 97 per cent of cities across country become the areas driving cooperation between France Open Defecation Free and India in space.  After the Mars Orbiter Mission Government said that more than 97 per cent of the (Mangalyaan) and Moon missions cities across the country have become Open Chandrayaan-1 and 2, ISRO has set its eyes Defecation Free, ODF. on Venus for carrying out its interplanetary mission.  The spirit of Jan Andolan and Jan Bhagidari  France and India share a robust collaboration is exemplified by the Swachh Survekshan in the arena of space. 2020 in which over 12 crores of citizens have  It is one of the three nations with whom India participated in the survey. collaborates in the strategic sectors of

nuclear, space and defence -- the other two  The total number of tests conducted in state being the US and Russia. stood at 1,00,98,896 as per official data released by the State Medical Education ‘Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal’- MOHUA to Department. celebrate six years of Swachh Bharat Mission-  Of these, nearly 42 per cent of tests were done Urban on Gandhi Jayanti through the RT-PCR method.  UP’s share in the total tests conducted in the country now stands at 13.6 per cent.  State’s daily average of testing over the past few days has been 1.5 lakh tests.

Chemicals minister launches home delivery of fertilisers for Andhra farmers

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is celebrating the sixth anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) by organizing a webinar titled ‘Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal’ on 2nd October 2020.

 The day, which also marks the 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, focus on celebrating the achievements of the past six Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda years under the Mission along with Gowda launched the home delivery facility of experience sharing by States and cities and fertilisers for farmers in Andhra Pradesh. partner organizations.  Since its launch in 2014, SBM-U has made  Gowda launched POS 3.1 software, SMS significant progress in the area of both Gateway and home delivery facility of sanitation and solid waste management. fertilisers for farmers in Andhra Pradesh.  Under the POS 3.1 version, keeping in view UP becomes first state in country to undertake of prevailing pandemic condition, contactless over one crore tests to screen Coronavirus one-time password (OTP)-based authentication option has been introduced. Uttar Pradesh has achieved another landmark in  Farmers will be able to purchase fertiliser testing of COVID samples by becoming the first state without touching fingerprint sensors. in the country to undertake over one crore tests to  SMS Gateway will periodically send SMS to screen Coronavirus. farmer about availability of fertiliser at retail outlets from where he last purchased the  Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed it a fertiliser. great achievement and said that the  Under an initiative of home delivery of government has conducted 1.5 lakh tests per fertilisers in Andhra Pradesh, the state day for the past 45 days. government has launched 10,641 Rythu Bharosa Kendralu (RBKs) in all gram

panchayats to provide farmers with quality Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi dedicated to the inputs and allied services. nation the World’s longest Highway tunnel – Atal Tunnel at its south portal in Manali. Google India launches campaign to drive demand for small businesses  The 9.02 Km long tunnel connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year.  Earlier the valley was cut off for about 6 months each year owing to heavy snowfall.  The Tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3000 Mtrs (10,000 Feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).  The tunnel reduces the road distance by 46 Kms between Manali and Leh and the time by about 4 to 5 hours.  Atal Tunnel or the Rohtang tunnel has been Google India announced the launch of its nationwide built in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas. campaign “Make Small Strong” in order to help support small businesses and drive demand through Centre to waive compound interest on loans up to customer support. Rs 2 cr for six-months due to coronavirus pandemic  ‘‘Make Small Strong’ campaign is meant to “rally support from the citizens for small businesses.  The citizens can help small businesses by buying locally, leaving reviews and ratings and by promoting their favourite retailers on social media.  This would help to generate demand for these businesses.

PM Modi inaugurates world’s longest highway tunnel ‘Atal Tunnel Rohtang’ In a relief to individual borrowers and medium and small industries, the Centre has agreed in the Supreme Court to waive compound interest (interest on interest) charged on loans of up to two crore rupees for a six-month moratorium period announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 The government will seek due authorization from Parliament for making appropriate grants in this regard and the endeavour shall be over and above the support of 3.7 lakh crore rupees to MSMEs.  70,000 crore rupees for home loans already extended through the Garib Kalyan and

Atmanirbhar packages announced by the government earlier.  The government has decided that the relief on waiver of compound interest during the six- month moratorium period shall be limited to the most vulnerable category of borrowers.

India signs USD 90 million defence deal with US to buy spares for C-130J Super Hercules aircraft

In a bid to promote sustainable and healthy lifestyle in rural areas, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on announced a special refinance facility to support the government''s Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.

 An amount of Rs 800 crore has been earmarked for this purpose for the financial The US has approved India's request to buy USD 90 year 2020-21, NABARD. million worth of equipment, spare parts and  NABARD will provide concessional logistical support for its fleet of C-130J Super refinance to all eligible financial institutions, Hercules cargo aircraft. including commercial banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks, with a  The proposed sale will support the foreign repayment period of up to 36 months. policy and national security of the US by helping to strengthen the US-India strategic PM Modi pays tributes to freedom fighter relationship and improve the security of a Shyamji Krishna Varma on his birth anniversary major defence partner.  The items ordered by India are aircraft consumables spares and repair/return parts; ground support and equipment; Cartridge Actuated Devices/Propellant Actuated Devices (CAD/PAD) fire extinguisher cartridges; flare cartridges; BBU-35/B cartridge impulse squibs.  The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft.

NABARD launches refinance scheme for WASH programme Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid rich tributes to revolutionary freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Varma on his birth anniversary.

 The freedom fighter devoted his life towards  The Ministry of Electronics and Information India's freedom and inspired many Technology and NITI Aayog are organizing nationalists. the Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial  Shyamji Krishna Varma was born in 1857 Intelligence till 9th of October. and had set up a revolutionary centre in 'India  The summit will discuss cross-sector subjects House' at London. like ‘Leveraging AI for Pandemic  He propagated the cause of India's Preparedness’, the Impetus that Innovation independence through his writings in a Places on Digitisation’, Inclusive AI and publication journal called 'The Indian Partnerships for Successful Innovation. Sociologist'.  The summit will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and chart a course for using India successfully test-fires new version of AI for social transformation, inclusion and nuclear-capable Shaurya Missile empowerment in areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility, among other sectors.

'Corona Intensive Community Survey Campaign' underway in Chhattisgarh

In a major success amid the ongoing border crisis with China, India successfully test-fired a new version of nuclear-capable Shaurya missile off the coast of Odisha, which can strike targets at around 800 kms. In Chhattisgarh, "Corona Intensive Community  The missile would be lighter and easier to Survey Campaign" is going on. operate in comparison with the existing missile.  Under this campaign, a door-to-door survey  In the last phase while moving close to its is being conducted to identify patients with target, the missile moves at hypersonic symptoms of corona infection in rural and speeds. urban areas of the state by October 12.  The objective of this campaign is to identify PM Modi inaugurates artificial intelligence Corona patients as soon as possible by 'RAISE 2020' Summit conducting intensive community surveys in urban and rural areas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the  Through this campaign, the state government Summit RAISE 2020 - ‘Responsible AI for Social is trying to break the chain of corona Empowerment 2020. infection by isolating corona patients.

J&K LG Manoj Sinha dedicates Ashthal Bridge  It has been launched to lend convenience to to public in Kulgam the pensioners to dispose off their pension related claims.  With the help of the portal, the retired government employees will submit the pension related papers online and will also get the opportunity to check the status of his pension.  The portal has been launched in line with the “Bhabhisya” portal of Government of India.

Sofia Vergara tops Forbes’ highest-paid actress of 2020

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha during his visit to Panchayat Halqa Ashthal, Kulgam in connection with Back to Village-3 programme, dedicated Ashthal Bridge to the public.

 The Ashthal Bridge connects village Ashthal with adjoining areas while benefiting about 10,000 souls residing in 13 habitations.  The Lt Governor also laid the foundation stone for a Solid Waste Management plant. It is going to benefit 239 households.  To maintain the high sanitation standards, at According to Forbes’ latest list, Sofia Vergara is the least two dustbins in every panchayat are to highest-paid female actor in the world. be installed for solid and liquid waste management.  She made $43 million in a one-year period, which is the equivalent of Rs 315 crore. Assam CM launches ‘Kritagyata’ for online  According to Forbes, most of Vergara’s pension submission and tracking earnings came from Modern Family and America’s Got Talent, which she padded up with endorsement deals.  Last year’s number one, Scarlett Johansson, had made $56 million.  Dwayne Johnson topped the male list, with $87.5 million. Akshay Kumar was the only Indian actor on either list.

12th BRICS Summit to be held virtually on November 17

The Chief Minister of Assam has launched a portal “Kritagyata”, an online pension submission and tracking system.

 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made the announcement after the 42nd GST Council meet.  The Centre will also disburse Rs. 25 thousand crore towards Integrated GST for 2017-18 to those states that received less amount due to the anomalies.  Also, the revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey informed that starting from 1st January next year, taxpayers with less than Rs. 5 crore annual turnover will not be required to file monthly GSTR-1 and GSTR- The 12th BRICS Summit will be held on 17th 3B returns. November 2020 via video conference. India successfully tests Supersonic Missile  The theme of the Meeting of the Leaders of Assisted Release of Torpedo BRICS countries which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is “BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth”.  The Summit this year is being held under the Chairmanship of Russia and aims at a multifaceted cooperation between the member countries.  The five member countries have continued close strategic partnership on all the three major pillars of peace and security, economy and finance, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo, Centre to urgently release Rs. 20,000 crore as SMART was successfully flight tested from Wheeler compensation to States for revenue losses Island off the coast of Odisha.

 All the mission objectives including missile flight upto the range and altitude, separation of the nose cone, release of Torpedo and deployment of Velocity Reduction Mechanism (VRM) have been met perfectly.  SMART is a missile assisted release of lightweight Anti-Submarine Torpedo System for Anti-Submarine Warfare or ASW operations far beyond Torpedo range.  A number of DRDO laboratories including DRDL, RCI Hyderabad, ADRDE Agra, The Centre will urgently disburse nearly 20 thousand NSTL Visakhapatnam have developed the crore rupees among the states from the amount technologies required for SMART. collected as compensation cess this year.

India, Myanmar agree to operationalise Sittwe Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a port in first quarter of 2021 mega anti-air pollution campaign, saying polluted air can be life threatening in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Under the campaign "Yudh Pradushan ke Virudh", separate plans have been prepared for each of the 13 pollution hotspots in the city.  An anti-dust campaign is being initiated by the Delhi government to settle the dust.  As part of the campaign, a technology developed by Pusa Agriculture Institute would be used to curb the menace of stubble India and Myanmar have agreed to work towards the burning. operationalisation of the Sittwe port in the Rakhine  The government will launch a photo-based state in the first quarter of 2021. app ‘Green Delhi’ for complaints related to pollution. This App will be launched for  The announcement came after the conclusion citizens before the end of this month. of the two day long visit of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General M M Naravane and Puducherry airport becomes AAI’s first 100% Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to solar-powered airport Myanmar on 4-5 October.  Both sides agreed to further strengthen their partnership in connectivity projects, capacity building, power and energy.  India announced a grant of USD 2 million for the construction of the border haat bridge at Byanyu/Sarsichauk in Chin State that will provide increased economic connectivity between Mizoram and Myanmar.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal launches ‘Yudh Pradushan ke Virudh’ campaign against air pollution ahead of winter

The Puducherry airport has become the first airport of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which is entirely solar-powered.

 The 500KWp ground-mounted solar power plant was commissioned on 2nd October 2020.  The approx cost of the plant is Rs 2.8 crore. With becoming absolutely power-neutral, the Puducherry airport will be able to meet its entire power requirement through the solar power plant.

MoHUA enters into MoU with Swiggy to take  The signing of this MoU is a historic step as street food vendors online under PM SVANIDHI availability of NCERT textbooks in Indian scheme Sign Language will ensure that Hearing Impaired children can also now access educational resources in Indian Sign Language.  It will be a useful and much needed resource for Hearing Impaired students, teachers, teacher educators and parents.  The Minister said that this MoU is a step towards achieving the common goal of fulfilling needs of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and New Education Policy, 2020.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has Gujarat govt announces Digital Seva Setu entered into an MoU with Swiggy, one of the leading Programme for rural areas food delivery platforms, to onboard street food vendors on its e-commerce platform.

 The MoU aims at giving the street food vendors online access to thousands of consumers and help them grow their businesses.  The arrangement has been facilitated under the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNibhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.

 The Ministry and Swiggy will run a pilot programme by on-boarding 250 vendors Gujarat Government has announced Digital Seva across five cities namely - Ahmedabad, Setu Programme for the rural areas. Chennai, Delhi, Indore, and Varanasi.  The street vendors will be helped with PAN  Under this programme, the citizens will be and FSSAI registration, training on able to get benefit from various public technology, menu digitization and pricing welfare services at the Panchayat level. along with hygiene and packaging best  The Digital Seva Setu has been initiated practices. under the Bharat Net Project- an initiative to connect the Village Panchayats through fibre ISLRTC, NCERT sign MoU to convert network. educational materials into Indian Sign Language  The villages of Gujarat will be connected with a 100 MBPS optical fibre network under A historic Memorandum of Understanding was the Digital Seva Setu programme. signed between Indian Sign Language Research and  The Phase-1 of Digital Seva Setu will start Training Center and NCERT to make education from 8th October, which will cover 2,000 materials accessible for Deaf children in their Village Panchayats. preferred format of communication, Indian Sign  Citizens in rural areas will be able to get the Language. benefits of this programme by paying a nominal fee of Rs 20.

Indian Air Force Day: 08 October  The Kasturi Cotton brand will represent Whiteness, Brightness, Softness, Purity, Luster, Uniqueness and Indianness.  India is the second largest cotton producer and the largest consumer of cotton in the world.  It produces about six million tonnes of cotton every year which is about 23 per cent of the world cotton.

Maharashtra becomes first state to cap prices of masks

Indian Air Force Day is celebrated every year by the Indian Air Force on 8th of October.

 This year Indian Air Force celebrated its 88th anniversary.  Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October 1932 by the British Empire as the Royal Indian Air Force.  The name was changed to Indian Air Force in 1950.

Smriti Irani launches first ever Brand & Logo for Indian Cotton on 2nd World Cotton Day In Maharashtra, the committee appointed to control the price of masks and sanitizers, has submitted a report to the State Government.

 After the approval of the government, it will be mandatory to sell masks at the revised rate.  The committee appointed to control the price of masks and sanitizers in Maharashtra, had studied all aspects of mask manufacturing companies.  The prices have been fixed after studying all the factors like raw material, production cost, profit of producers and distributors. Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani launched the first  After the government approval, the N-95 ever Brand and Logo for Indian Cotton on Second mask will be available for around 19 to 50 World Cotton Day through video conferencing. rupees depending on the type, whereas double and triple layer masks will be  Now India’s premium cotton would be available for just three to four rupees. known as ‘Kasturi Cotton’ in the world  With this, Maharashtra has become the first cotton trade. state to cap the prices of masks. The prices of sanitizers are also being capped as well.

Union Cabinet approves signing of Memorandum of cooperation in field of cyber-security between India & Japan

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will be commissioning India’s largest HPC-AI supercomputer ‘PARAM Siddhi – AI’.

 This initiative will place India among the top countries in global AI supercomputing research and innovation. The cabinet gave its approval for signing a  The initiative was headed by Abhishek Das, Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of Scientist and Program Director (HPC-AI cyber-security between India and Japan. Infrastructure Development) at C-DAC, who conceived the idea and designed the  The MoC will enhance cooperation in areas architecture for the largest HPC-AI of mutual interest, which includes capacity infrastructure in India. building in the area of cyberspace, protection  This high-performance computing-Artificial of critical infrastructure, cooperation in Intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer is a emerging technologies, sharing information machine with 210 AI Petaflops (6.5 Petaflops on cyber security threats and malicious cyber Peak DP). activities.  The Cabinet also approved the ratification of Government launches API integration between seven chemicals listed under Stockholm PM SVANidhi Portal and SBI eMudra Portal Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).  The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and environment from POPs, which are identified chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate in living organisms, adversely affect human health and have the property of long-range environmental transport.

C-DAC to commission India’s fastest Supercomputer ‘PARAM Siddhi – AI’ The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs will integrate the application programming interface (API) between SVANidhi portal and various banks to expedite loan sanctioning and disbursement process under Modi government’s PM SVANidhi scheme for nano entrepreneurs.

 To begin with, the ministry launched the API integration between the PM SVANidhi portal and SBI’s eMudra portal.  This integration will facilitate seamless flow of data between the PM SVANidhi Portal and SBI’s eMudra Portal in a secure environment.  It will expedite the loan sanctioning and disbursement process, to benefit the street vendors seeking a working capital loan under the Scheme.  Ministry would perform similar integration with other banks as well for which a consultative meeting will be held shortly. The Reserve Bank of India in its bi-monthly Monetary Policy statement issued has maintained a Yogi Adityanath inaugurates UP's largest oxygen status quo keeping the key interest rates unchanged. production plant in Ghaziabad  The reverse repo rate remains unchanged at 3.35 per cent, the repo rate at 4%.  The marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate have been kept unchanged at 4.25%.  The Monetary Policy Committee has also decided to maintain its accommodative stance as long as necessary at least through the current financial year and next year as Indian economy is entering into a decisive phase in its fight against coronavirus. In the trying times of Covid-19 pandemic during  In major announcements, RBI Governor which the demand for oxygen shot up to Shaktikanta Das proposed that the RTGS unprecedented levels, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister system for real time fund transfer to become Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the state’s largest 24X7 from December 2020. oxygen production plant in Modinagar, Ghaziabad. FM launches Indian Bank’s business mentoring  Medical oxygen is extremely important in the programme for MSMEs treatment of critically ill Covid-19 patients.  The newly constructed Modinagar plant can produce 150 tonnes of liquid oxygen per day.  The plant was set up as part of an MoU (memorandum of understanding) signed between the Uttar Pradesh government and the company during the UP Investors’ Summit - 2018 in February 2018.  The plant also can store 1,000 metric tonnes of oxygen. It will supply oxygen to 200 government and private hospitals in the state.

RBI keeps key interest rates unchanged

Public sector lender Indian Bank has come out with  Following damage to the bascule section, ‘MSME Prerana’, an online Business Mentoring service on the bridge had been stopped for a Programme for MSMEs. period in 2018 - 19.  In the meantime, work on a new bridge at  The bank says it is the first-of-its-kind Pampan had been inaugurated by Prime Mi initiative by a bank in the country for the sister Shri Narendra Modi in 2018. (MSME) sector.  The Pampan bridge is a major tourist  The initiative was formally launched by attraction in the area because a whole train is Union Minister of Finance & Corporate accommodated on the bridge in the middle of Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman. sea at one point of time during the crossing.  MSME Prerana is for empowering entrepreneurs through skill development and Thaawarchand Gehlot Virtually Inaugurates capacity building workshops in the local International Conference on “Mental Health: language. Looking Beyond COVID 19”  Spread over 12 sessions, MSME Prerana programme aims to enable MSME entrepreneurs to acquire expertise in handling finance and managerial skills, capacity to handle crises in business, understand the dynamics of credit rating and risk management.

Railway service suspended on Pampan bridge

Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot inaugurated the virtual “International conference on Mental Health: Looking Beyond COVID 19” through video conferencing.

 Prof. Craig Jeffrey, Director, Australia-India Railway service across the historic Pampan bridge, Institute co-chaired the conference. connecting Pampan Island with Rameswaram on  Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot drew the attention mainland Tamil Nadu has been suspended till further of rising trend of mental health concerns notice. across the globe.  He also apprised about the recent initiatives  The Madurai railway division has informed of the Govt of India such as setting up of that rail traffic on the two kilometre long National Institute of Mental Health bridge has been suspended for conducting Rehabilitation at Sehore, Madhya Pradesh & maintenance work. KIRAN mental health rehabilitation helpline  The bridge, with a unique bascule section that for addressing mental health issues. can be drawn up to allow passage of ships,  The Conference was organized by has been in service since 1915. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), M/o Social Justice & Empowerment in association with

University of Melbourne, Australia as a part  With this new offering, users will be able to of joint initiative under the Memorandum of check seat and quota availability across all Understanding signed between the train classes on the Amazon app. Government of Australia and Government of  They can pre-load money into their Amazon India for cooperation in the disability sector Pay Balance wallet to make this experience in November, 2018. even smoother and pay in a single click.  Amazon.in is offering the customers a variety Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' of self-serve options such as live checking of virtually inaugurates Gyan Circle Ventures PNR status (for tickets booked on Amazon only), downloads and cancellations of tickets booked on Amazon.  Users paying with Amazon Pay Balance also get an instant refund in case of cancellations or booking failures.

National Postal Week: 9-15 October

Union Minister for Education Ramesh Pokhriyal inaugurated the Gyan Circle Ventures.

 It is a MeitY funded Technology Business Incubator (TBI) developed by the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.  It functions as a Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) incubation center. The Department of Posts is celebrating National Postal Week from 9-15 October 2020, to mark the  These, ‘Gyan Circle ventures’ have the potential to infuse entrepreneurship in young occasion of the World Postal Day. minds.   It would also encourage them to become World Post Day is observed every year on successful innovators. October 9.  Every year, the National Postal week is Amazon India ties up with IRCTC to start online organised to generate awareness of the role train ticket bookings and activities of the postal services among the public and media on a national scale. Amazon India has partnered with ‘Indian Railway  The online campaign will be organised to Catering and Tourism Corporation’ (IRCTC), to create awareness about new offerings and provide its customers with the facility to book availability of citizen-centric services in Post reserved train tickets on Amazon. Offices. National Postal Day : 10 October

 The exercise conducted along the coastal areas of Kerala, Karnataka and Lakshadweep assumes significance in the backdrop of prevailing security situation in the country.  20 ships of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard as well as 50 patrol crafts manned by various security agencies,took part in the exercise.  Sagar Kavach is a half-yearly exercise with an objective to check the Coastal Security mechanism and validate Standard Operating Procedures.

Goa becomes India’s first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ State by providing tap water connection to every rural In India, the National Postal Day is celebrated household annually on 10 October, as an extension of World Post Day, which is celebrated on 9 October.

 The Day aims to commemorate the role played by the Indian postal department for the past 150 years, which was founded in 1854 by Lord Dalhousie.  The postal services in India have given the best performance despite the diversity in culture, tradition and difficult geographical terrains.

Two-day coastal security exercise Sagar Kavach concludes As per the data provided by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Goa has become the first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ State in the country by providing tap water connection to every rural household.

 The state provided tap water connection to 2 lakh 30 thousand rural households in all the 191 Gram Panchayats of the state.  North Goa with 1,65,000 rural households and South Goa with 98,000 rural households are fully saturated with assured piped water supply through tap connections.

Uttarakhand CM launches 'Mukhya Mantri Saur Swarojgar Yojana' A two-day Coastal Security Exercise- 'Sagar Kavach'- to assess the preparedness of all agencies towards dealing with an asymmetric threat emanating from the sea, concluded.

 The state shall spend around Rs 650 crore towards the scheme.  Under this scheme, the government school students from classes 1 to 10 across the state will set the school kits or Vidya Kanuka, which will contain three pairs of uniform, one pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, a belt, one set of textbooks and notebooks and one school bag.

Mukesh Ambani Tops the Forbes India Rich List Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat for 13th Consecutive Year launched the Mukhya Mantri Saur Swarojgar Yojana for self-employment by solar energy farming at the Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali auditorium in Dehradun.

 The aim of the scheme is to promote the production of green energy and to provide self-employment opportunities to the youth of the State and returning migrants.  Each beneficiary of this scheme will be allocated solar plants of 25 kilowatts and 10,000 people will get self-employment under this scheme. The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman  All the benefits available under the scheme Mukesh Ambani, has topped the Forbes India Rich will also be acceptable to the developers of list for 2020. this scheme.  He has retained his position as the wealthiest Andhra Pradesh CM launches ‘Jagananna Vidya Indian for the 13th consecutive year on Kanuka’ scheme to distribute school kits Forbes India list.  The tycoon added $37.3 billion to his net worth, to bring his total fortune to $88.7 billion, a rise of 73% over previous year.  The second spot has been retained by Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani, with a net worth of $25.2 billion.  Tech tycoon Shiv Nadar acquired the third spot with a net worth of $20.4 billion.

Centre permits export of Bangalore Rose Onions & Krishnapuram Onions Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched a new scheme named the Union Government has permitted export of ‘Jagananna Vidya Kanuka’ scheme to distribute Bangalore Rose Onions and Krishnapuram Onions school kits among the poor children of the state. of up to ten thousand metric tonnes each.

 It has been allowed for the period upto 31st of March next year.  The decision is aimed at empowering farmers and increasing their income.  Bangalore rose onion, locally called gulabi eerulli, is a variety of onion grown in and around Bangalore in Karnataka.  Rose onions are not cultivated in any other place in India.  They are also known to contain higher levels of protein, phosphorus, iron and carotene.  It got the Geographical Indication tag in Fleet Award Function(FAF), 2020 was organised to 2015. mark the successful culmination of the Operational Cycle of the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy at PM Modi releases Rs 100 commemorative coin in Visakhapatnam. honour of Vijaya Raje Scindia  During the event, the Fleet Operations Officer presented the Annual Report of activities and achievements of the Fleet for 01 Apr 19 to 31 Mar 20.  The event was also a worthy acknowledgement of the ships which under the Operation ‘Samudra Setu’ successfully rescued Indian Diaspora from various nations at an unprecedented scale, view COVID-19 pandemic.  Sixteen trophies were awarded in recognition

of excellence in various operational verticals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a  The most coveted trophies of Best Ship were commemorative 100 rupee coin in the honour of awarded to INS Sahyadri amongst Capital Vijaya Raje Scindia. ships and INS Kora amongst Corvettes and similar classes of ships.  One of the founder members of BJP, Vijaya Raje Scindia is also popularly known as the Rajnath Singh inaugurates 44 bridges built by Rajmata of Gwalior. BRO, lays foundation stone of Nechiphu tunnel in  Vijaya Raje Scindia was married to the last Arunachal Pradesh ruling Maharaja of Gwalior, Jivajirao Scindia.  In later life, she became a politician of considerable influence and was elected repeatedly to both houses of the Indian parliament.  She was also an active member, for many decades, of the Jana Sangh and co-founder of Bharatiya Janata Party.

Indian Navy Ships Sahyadri and Kora adjudged as Best Ships in FAF 2020

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 44 Padubidri in Karnataka, Kappad in Kerala, bridges built by Border Road Organisation (BRO), Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh, Golden and laid the foundation stone of Nechiphu tunnel in Beach in Odisha and Radhanagar beach in Arunachal Pradesh. Andaman and Nicobar Islands.  In order to qualify for the Blue Flag, a series  The 44 bridges which are located in seven of stringent environmental, educational, states and union territories will usher in a new safety and accessibility criteria is met and era of connectivity and development maintained. especially in the far flung areas of the  A world-renowned award trusted by millions country. around the globe, the Blue Flag programme  These bridges will prove immensely is operated under the auspices of the beneficial in terms of military and civil Foundation for Environmental Education, transport in the western, northern and north- FEE and is headquartered in Copenhagen, eastern areas of the country. Denmark.  The defence minister also symbolically laid the foundation stone of the Nechiphu tunnel Kerala becomes first state to have completely in Arunachal Pradesh at the virtual event. digital, hi-tech classrooms in all public schools  The nearly 290-km-long road will be crucial for the movement of troops and heavy weaponry into the frontier bases of the Ladakh region and will provide a crucial link to the Kargil region.

All eight beaches recommended by Govt gets coveted International Blueflag Certification

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has declared the state public education sector completely digital as Kerala has become the first state in the country to have high-tech classrooms in all its public schools.

 Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) has implemented the project which comes under the general Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that education department. all eight beaches recommended by the Government  Over 3.74 lakh digital equipments were have got the coveted International Blueflag distributed in 16,027 schools for the smart Certification. classroom project.  Apart from KIIFB fund, the asset  It is an outstanding feat, as no Blueflag nation development funds of public representatives has ever been awarded for 8 beaches in a and local government funds were also single attempt. utilized for the project.  The beaches which got International Blueflag Certification are Shivrajpur beach in Dwarka Gujarat, Ghoghla beach in Diu, Kasarkod and

FM Nirmala Sitharaman announces fiscally  Mr Rao was executive director of the Reserve prudent proposals to tune of Rs 73,000 cr to boost Bank before being elevated to the post of demand deputy governor.  Mr Rao will look after the departments of communication, enforcement legalities among others.  Deputy Governor MD Patra will continue to look after the monetary policy department.  Deputy Governor MK Jain will look after the central security cell, corporate strategy and budget department, consumer education and protection department, department of supervision, and human resource management department, among others.  Deputy Governor BP Kanungo will oversee coordination, currency management, external Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced investments and operations, department of major schemes to boost demands in the country by government and banks accounts, IT, payment nearly 73 thousand crore rupees. and settlement systems, foreign exchange department, internal debt management  Ms. Sitharaman informed that the new department, Right of Information (RIA) proposals aim at giving a thrust of around 36 Division, and secretary's department. thousand crore rupees to the consumer demands by the Leave Travel Concession National Philately Day: 13 October LTC Voucher and Festival advance scheme.  Additionally, 37 thousand crore rupees will be infused in the capital expenditure by the Centre and the State Governments.

Reserve Bank of India reallocates portfolios of deputy governors

The National Philately Day was celebrated on 13 October throughout the country.

 The Philately is the study of postage stamps and postal history.  The day also marks the collection, appreciation and research activities on Reserve Bank of India has reallocated portfolios of stamps and other philatelic products. deputy governors, with the department of regulation  My Stamp is the brand name for personalized entrusted to the newly-appointed M Rajeshwar Rao. sheets of Postage Stamps of India Post.  Postage stamp is a small adhesive piece of paper of specified value issued by a national

post Office to be affixed to a letter or parcel  The Prime Minister will also dedicate 17 to indicate the amount of postage paid. recently developed biofortified varieties of eight crops to the nation. E-Sanjeevani rapidly gaining popularity amongst  These varieties, along with other food patients & doctors ingredients, will transform the normal Indian thali into nutri-thali.  FAO Headquarters: Rome, Italy  Head: Qu Dongyu  Founded: 16 October 1945

Govt agrees to extend subsidy of 50 % on transportation of notified fruits & vegetables through Kisan Rail trains

Health Ministry’s telemedicine initiative - E- Sanjeevani is rapidly gaining popularity amongst patients and doctors.

 It has recorded five lakh teleconsultations in a short span of time and the last one lakh consultations were completed in a record time of 17 days. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has  As a digital modality of health care services agreed to extend a subsidy of 50 per cent on delivery, e-Sanjeevani is gradually shaping transportation of notified fruits and vegetables into a parallel stream for the Indian through Kisan Rail trains, under 'Operation Greens - healthcare delivery system with the number TOP to Total.' of teleconsultations per day on the platform touching 8,000 mark in the last few days.  The Ministry will initially provide ten crore  At present, 26 states are using e-Sanjeevani’s rupees to operate the scheme, which will be two variants of telemedicine namely - doctor deposited with South Central Railway. to doctor (e-SanjeevaniAB-HWC) and  Operation Green is being implemented as patient to doctor (e-SanjeevaniOPD). part of Atmanirbhar Abhiyan under the ageis of Union Ministry of Food Processing. PM Modi to release commemorative Rs 75 coin to  The first Kisan Rail train service on the mark 75th Anniversary of FAO Indian Railways network was launched on 7 August 2020. The train runs between Devlali Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release a in Maharashtra and Danapur in the state of commemorative coin of 75 rupees denomination to Bihar. mark the 75th Anniversary of Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO on 16 October 2020. MP Police begins initiative to connect Banchhara, Kanjar communities with mainstream society  The journey of FAO in making the vulnerable classes and masses stronger, economically and nutritionally, has been unparalleled.

 This was decided during the virtual meeting of the third assembly of the International Solar Alliance attended by 34 ISA members.  Four new Vice-Presidents were also chosen to represent the four regions of ISA.  Headquarters: Gurugram  Founded: 30 November 2015

Exim Bank extends $400 mn soft loan to Maldives for connectivity project

In Madhya Pradesh, the police have started an initiative to connect Banchhara and Kanjar community with the mainstream of the society.

 These communities are known for their criminal activities.  This is the first of its kind of attempt in Madhya Pradesh.  The youth of these communities are getting free training and employment in private companies.  Efforts are also being made to provide them opportunities in police recruitment. India has extended a USD 400 million (about Rs  These efforts have started showing positive 2,932 crore) soft loan to Maldives through the Exim results and so far around 100 youth of Bank to finance a connectivity project in the nation Banchhda and Kanjar community have got of islands. jobs in various companies in the first phase.  With the signing of the above agreement, India gets re-elected as President of International Exim Bank has till date extended three LoCs Solar Alliance worth a cumulative USD 1.2 billion to Maldives, on behalf of India.  Exim Bank said the soft loans to Maldives have funded connectivity, water, sewerage projects, Addu Development Project, an international cricket stadium, Gulhifalhu port, Hanimaadhoo airport and road construction work.

India contributes 1 million dollars to UNRWA for Palestine Refugees

India has been re-elected as the President of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and France as the Co- President for a term of two years.

 It will also examine the possibility of drawing up an annual calendar for auction of airwaves that will give telcos a clear road map of the quantum as well as the frequency of spectrum on offer for commercial use.  Besides Gauba, the panel comprises the secretaries of home, defence, railways, telecom, I&B and department of space.

PM Modi pays tribute to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on his birth anniversary

India has contributed one million dollars to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

 This aid will support the Agency's programmes and services, including education, health care, relief and social services.  India's support for the Palestinian cause is an integral part of the nation's foreign policy.  The United Nations Relief and Works Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Dr. Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near APJ Abdul Kalam on the occasion of his Birth East is a UN agency that supports the relief Anniversary. and human development of Palestinian refugees.  A.P.J Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October  Headquarters location: Amman, Jordan. 1931 at Dhanushkodi, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. Government sets up a panel of secretaries to  In 2002, he was elected as 11th President of streamline telecom spectrum allocation India and before becoming president he was working with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as an aerospace engineer.  Kalam, who died in 2015, also earned the sobriquet ‘Missile Man of India’ for his role in the development of India’s missile programmes.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches ‘Drink from Tap Mission Sujal’

The government has constituted a panel of secretaries under cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba to streamline the spectrum allocation process.

 NSP is a three million tonne per annum Integrated Steel Plant being set up by NMDC at Nagarnar in Bastar District of Chhattisgarh in an area of 1980 acres at revised estimated cost of Rs. 23,140 crore.  As on date NMDC has invested Rs. 17,186 crore in the project.

Union Health Minister launches 2nd phase of “Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojna” The Odisha Government launched ‘Sujal - Drink from Tap Mission’.

 The aim of the mission is to provide quality drinking water, fit for direct consumption from the pipe, to over 15 lakh people in 15 towns.  Rs 1300 crore will be spent by the Government to provide the drink directly from tap quality water to all households in urban areas.  The initiative was started at Salia Sahi in Bhubaneswar and Masani Chandi in Puri. Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan virtually launched the second phase of CCEA approves demerger of Nagarnar Steel “Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojna” for the Plant from NMDC Limited underprivileged Thalassemic patients.

 Beneficiaries of the scheme had expressed their gratitude for this valuable support in midst of the gloom in their lives.  Thalassaemia is a blood disorder in which your body has less hemoglobin than normal.  This disorder is passed down through families.  Patients with thalassaemia suffer from anemia due to low levels of hemoglobin.

Union Cabinet approves World Bank supported STARS project The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its in-principle approval to the demerger of Nagarnar Steel Plant (NSP) from National Minerals Development Corporation (NMDC) Limited.

 It has also approved the strategic disinvestment of the demerged company (NSP) by selling the entire Government of India stake in it to a strategic buyer.

In Gujarat, the world's tallest statue - the Statue of Unity will be reopened for visitors from 17th October.

 The site will be reopened for the tourists from the first day of the nine-night Navratri festival.  The world famous tourist site will be reopened for the first time after it was shut down due to Coronavirus pandemic.  It is the world's tallest statue with a height of 182 metres (597 feet).  It is located on the Narmada River, facing the The Union Cabinet has approved World Bank Sardar Sarovar Dam. supported Strengthening Teaching-Learning and  It was designed by Indian sculptor Ram V. Results for States -STARS project. Sutar, and was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2018.  The Project seeks to support States in developing, implementing, evaluating and Nitin Gadkari to initiate simultaneous blasting improving interventions with direct linkages for Zojila Tunnel in J&K, Ladakh to improved education outcomes.  The total project cost is Rs. 5,718 crore with the financial support of the World Bank amounting to 500 million US dollar.  STARS project would be implemented as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the Department of School Education and Literacy.  It will cover six States namely Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha.

Statue of Unity to be reopened for visitors from Oct 17 Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari initiated simultaneous blasting for Zojila Tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

 The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar valley and Leh on NH-1.  It involves construction of a 14.15-kilometre long tunnel at an altitude of about three thousand metres under Zojila pass on NH-1 connecting Srinagar and Leh through Dras and Kargil.  At a height of 3000 meters in the Peerpanjal mountain range, construction of Zojila tunnel is a historic necessity to provide an all

weather road connectivity between Ladakh and the rest of the world.  Minister Nitin Gadkari also sets a target for the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and the contractor to complete the construction before 2024.

Anti-pollution measures under GRAP to come into force in Delhi-NCR region

India has been designated the Vice-Chair of Good Laboratory Practice, GLP Working Group of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), recognising the contribution of the Indian GLP programme.

 Good Laboratory Practice is a quality system, which has been evolved by OECD to ensure that safety data generated on various chemicals like industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic products and Anti-pollution measures under the Graded Response medical devices can be relied upon by Action Plan (GRAP) came into force in the Delhi- regulatory authorities. NCR region.  The Department of Science and Technology had established the National GLP  Delhi Government has banned use of Compliance Monitoring Authority electricity generators, except those needed (NGCMA) with the approval of the Union for essential or emergency services, in the Cabinet on April, 2002. national capital.  The OECD is an intergovernmental  GRAP includes the measures which will be economic organisation with 37 member taken by different government agencies to countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate prevent worsening of Air Quality of Delhi- economic progress and world trade. NCR and prevent PM10 and PM2.5 levels to  Headquarters: Paris, France go beyond the ‘moderate’ national Air Quality Index (AQI) category. Govt bans imports of air conditioners with  The plan requires action and coordination refrigerants among 13 different agencies in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan (NCR areas).

India designated Vice-Chair of OECD Working Group on GLP

 It operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs and is a task-oriented force that has two complementary elements in the form of:  Special Action Group (SAG) comprising of the Army personnel- is the main offensive or the strike wing of the NSG, and  Special Ranger Groups (SRG) comprising personnel drawn from the Central Armed Police Forces/State Police Forces. They generally handle VIP securities.  Director General of NSG: Surjeet Singh Deswal

Delhi CM launches campaign ‘Red light on, The government banned the import of air Gaadi off’ to tackle air pollution conditioners in its latest bid to boost domestic production by checking the entry of “non-essential” goods into the country.

 They join the list of products such as tyres, TVs sets and agarbattis where import restrictions have been imposed.  ACs have been identified as potential items for focus on domestic manufacturing as components are imported in large quantities.

PM greets National Security Guard on its raising day Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a campaign Red light on, Gaadi off to tackle air pollution in the national capital.

 Kejriwal said that there are one crore vehicles registered in the city. He urged people to switch off their vehicles, while waiting on a traffic signal.  On average a car spends about 15 to 20 minutes at a red light every day and consumes about 200 ml of oil.  If a person starts switching off his vehicle at a red light, he can save seven thousand rupees in a year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted National Security Guard (NSG) personnel and their families J&K Govt inks MoU with Flipkart to provide on the Raising Day of NSG. platform for local artisans, craftsmen, weavers to reach customers worldwide  The NSG is a counter-terrorism unit that formally came into existence in 1986 by an act of Parliament- ‘National Security Guard Act, 1986’.

Gujarat government has announced the setting up of the world’s biggest Zinc Smelter project in Dosawada in Tapi district.

 The proposed 300 KTPA production capacity project would provide big employment opportunities to the local youths in this tribal area.  The project with the investment of Rs.10 thousand crore will also have a State-of-the- art Research and Development Centre.

 The project will satisfy the domestic as well The JK Government signed an historic as global needs through exports. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with online store Flipkart to provide a platform for local artisans, J&K LG announces ‘My Town My Pride’ craftsmen, weavers to reach customers across the programme globe.

 The partnership with the e-commerce marketplace like Flipkart will enable the local artisans, craftsmen and weavers to reach global markets and also provide an appropriate opportunity for the momentous growth and development of the respective sectors.  This e-marketing channel shall involve and benefit artisans and weavers both in organized and unorganized sector and for the first six months, Flipkart will not charge any fee from the artisans and weavers. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha has announced that the government is coming Gujarat govt announces setting up of world’s up with a movement called ”My Town My Pride”. biggest Zinc Smelter project in Dosawada in Tapi district  It aims to provide governance at the doorstep in urban areas on the pattern of the ‘Back2Village (B2V)’ programme.  The program has three main objectives — public outreach in towns, strengthening grassroots democracy and service delivery at doorsteps.  The programme will also ensure on-the-spot grievance redressal, instant delivery of services to the masses, and on the ground speedy execution of people-centric projects.

UP Government launches Mission Shakti for security of women in the state

indigenously-built stealth destroyer INS Chennai, hitting a target in the Arabian Sea.

 The missile hit the target successfully with pin-point accuracy after performing high- level and extremely complex manoeuvres.  BRAHMOS as a prime strike weapon will ensure the warship’s invincibility by engaging naval surface targets at long ranges, thus making the destroyer another lethal platform of Indian Navy.  The highly versatile BRAHMOS has been jointly designed, developed and produced by The Uttar Pradesh government launched ‘Mission India and Russia. Shakti’ programme for the security of women in the state. First-ever SCO Startup Forum to be launched on 27th October  Mission Shakti has been started with the hopes of guaranteeing respect and safety to every woman of UP.  The chief minister also stated that over 1,500 police stations all over the state would now have a separate room for women’s complaints.  In these dedicated rooms, the complainants would be attended by a female constable and the complaints would be acted upon with urgency.

Supersonic Cruise Missile, BrahMos successfully The first-ever SCO Startup Forum will be launched test fired from Indian Navy’s indigenously-built on 27th October 2020 ahead of the SCO trade stealth destroyer INS Chennai ministers meeting on 28th October.

 The forum will lay the foundation for multilateral cooperation and engagement among the SCO Member States to develop and hone their startup ecosystems, collectively.  India is currently the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world with over 35,000 startups, close to 25% of which are core technology startups operating in areas of AI, Robotics, Cloud Computing, IoT, Digital Health, Financial & Education Technology.  The ‘Startup India’ has launched 10 bilateral bridges since its inception and has helped BRAHMOS, the supersonic cruise missile was many technology-based startups to expand successfully test fired from Indian Navy’s their businesses to global markets.

 The SCO currently comprises eight Member faceted maritime operations between both States (China, India, Kazakhstan, navies. Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and  SLINEX series of exercise exemplifies the Uzbekistan) deep engagement between India and Sri Lanka which has strengthened mutual FM Nirmala Sitharaman participates in 102nd cooperation in the maritime domain. meeting of World Bank Development Committee Plenary Bangladesh invites PM Modi to join celebrations of 50 years of country’s independence

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participated in Bangladesh has invited Prime Minister Narendra 102nd meeting of the World Bank Development Modi to join the celebrations of the 50 years of the Committee Plenary through video conference. country’s independence on March 26 next year.

 In her intervention at this session, Mrs.  A virtual meeting between the Prime Sitharaman said that COVID -19 Pandemic Ministers of India and Bangladesh is also continues to impact the developing and likely to take place later this year. developed countries till date and the hard  Earlier, Prime Minister Modi was scheduled fought gains in reducing the level of poverty, to visit Bangladesh to join in the birth achieved over a number of years, are at risk centenary celebrations of Bangabandhu of being lost. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. But the visit was  She also mentioned that the Government has cancelled due to the Corona pandemic. committed 2.03 Billion dollar for strengthening health infrastructure in the India, Chile hold first joint commission meeting wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Indian and Sri Lankan navies to begin their annual exercise SLINEX

The 8th annual joint exercise between Indian and Sri Lankan navies - SLINEX-20 - will begin at Trincomalee coast.

 The 3-day exercise will continue till 21st of October.  SLINEX-20 aims to enhance interoperability, improve mutual understanding and exchange India and Chile held their first joint commission best practices and procedures for multi- meeting and agreed to add new momentum to their

relations in a wide range of fields including trade and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar commerce, agriculture, health and social security, launches AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme defence and space.

 The meeting held virtually was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chilean counterpart Andres Allamand Zavala.  India welcomed Chile's decision to designate India as a priority country in its foreign policy. Chile will also be opening its Consulate General in Mumbai.  Capital: Santiago  Currency: Chilean peso

Govt extends concessional rate on cargo Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar movement between India, Chabahar Port in Iran launched the AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme.

 The scheme is a unique way to assist cooperatives play an important role in creation of healthcare infrastructure in the country.  AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme has been formulated by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).  NCDC would extend term loans to prospective cooperatives to the tune of 10 thousand crore in the coming years.

 NCDC’s Ayushman Sahakar scheme aims at Government has extended the current concessional bringing transformation in the health services rate of 40 per cent discount on cargo movement primarily in the rural areas. between India and Chabahar Port in Iran for a period  The scheme also provides working capital of one year. and margin money to meet operational requirements of the health facilities. It  The discount will apply for the coastal provides interest subvention of one percent to movement of cargo and vessel related women majority cooperatives. charges, being handled at Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Deendayal Port to Shahid Beheshti Nitin Gadkari lays foundation stone for country’s Port, Chabahar. first-ever multi-modal logistic park in Assam  The levy of concessional vessel related charges is to be applied proportionately, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways subject to vessel loading at least five Nitin Gadkari virtually laid the foundation stone for thousand tonnes cargo to Shahid Beheshti the first-ever multi-modal logistic park of the country Port. in Assam.  The aim of the extension of the discount period is to promote the trade through Shahid  The 694 crore rupees park at Bongaigaon Beheshti Port. It will also give a boost to district will provide direct connectivity to air, coastal movement of cargo.

road, rail and waterways to the people of Assam.  It will be developed under the Bharatmala Pariyojana of the Centre.  The fund for the multimodal logistics park would be spent in 3 components - road and railway connectivity as well as building and infrastructure work.

GOI, ADB inks 177 million dollar loan pact to upgrade 450 kms of state highways & major In order to address societal challenges through digital district roads in Maharashtra innovation, NITI Aayog announced the establishment of a Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Centre, CIC with Amazon Web Services, AWS.

 It is the first of its kind in India.  This CIC is part of the AWS CIC Global Programme which provides an opportunity for government agencies, non-profits and educational institutions, to come together on pressing challenges, apply design thinking, test new ideas, and access the technology expertise of AWS. Asian Development Bank, ADB and Government of India signed a 177-million dollar loan to upgrade 450 Police Commemoration Day: 21 October kilometres of state highways and major district roads in Maharashtra.

 The project will improve connectivity between rural areas and urban centres in the state enabling rural communities to better access markets, employment opportunities and services.  The project will also strengthen road safety measures by developing a road safety audit framework that will protect vulnerable groups such as the elderly, women and children, following the international best practice. The Police Commemoration Day is observed on 21st October every year to honor the loyalty and supreme NITI Aayog to establish Frontier Technologies sacrifice of police personnel for the nation. Cloud Innovation Centre with AWS  It was on this day in 1959 when CRPF led a saga of valour and sacrifice in the inaccessible, inhospitable terrain of Hot Springs in Ladakh.

 A patrol party of twenty personnel of CRPF and Intelligence Bureau had gone to search for a missing reconnaissance party when it was ambushed by the Chinese Army.  In spite of the sudden attack and disadvantageous tactical position, they fought valiantly against the Chinese army personnel who were in large numbers and heavily armed.  In this battle, ten CRPF men were martyred in defense of the country.

Maharashtra becomes first state in country to cap People celebrated Kati Bihu festival in Assam’s prices of masks Bongaigaon area.

 The Kati Bihu is also closely related to agriculture.  Kati Bihu is celebrated on the first day of 'Kati' month in the Assamese calendar.  On the occasion of Kati Bihu, women, both in urban and rural areas, try to ward off evil and pray for a rich harvest by lighting earthen lamps.  This is a much sombre festival when compared to the other two Bihu festivals of the state - the Rongali and Bohagi Bihu. Maharashtra has become the first state in the country  The festival is held at this time of the year to cap the prices of masks. since the granaries of the farmers usually remain empty and therefore it is known as  N95 masks will now be available at Rs 19 to Kongali (poor) Bihu. Rs 49, while two-layer and three-layer masks will be available for Rs 3 to 4. Dharmendra Pradhan launches trial run of  This maximum selling price limit will be Delhi's buses on Hydrogen-Blended CNG applicable to all mask manufacturing companies / distributors / retailers in the state.  All mask manufacturers / distributors / retailers in the state will be required to display the quality of the mask and its fixed maximum selling price.

People celebrate Kati Bihu festival in Assam

Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated Indian Oil's compact reformer plant and launched the much-

awaited trial run of Delhi's buses on Hydrogen- 14 States report reduction in prevalence of blended CNG (HCNG). parasitic intestinal worm infection 'Soil- Transmitted Helminthiases'  It was launched at the Rajghat Bus Depot-I of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).  H-CNG blends can be produced directly from CNG, bypassing the energy-intensive electrolysis process and high-pressure blending costs.  It provides a higher yield H-CNG mixture by up to 4% to 5% compared to CNG's input quantity.  The cost of H-CNG production by the above process is about 22% cheaper than The Health Ministry has said that 14 States have conventional physical blending. reported reduction in prevalence of parasitic intestinal worm infection also known as Soil- Uttar Pradesh Governor launches Safe City Transmitted Helminthiases (STH). Project, a women's safety campaign, in Lucknow  While 9 States have shown substantial reduction in worm prevalence in the STH follow up prevalence survey.  These States are Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.  Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases is a significant public health concern mostly in low resource settings.  These are known to have detrimental effects on children’s physical growth and well being and can cause anemia and under-nutrition. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel  Since its launch in 2015, the National inaugurated the 'Safe City Project'. Deworming Day (10 February), a flagship program of the Ministry of Health is run as a  It is a 180-day-long campaign under which biannual single day programme implemented the police and other departments will work through the platforms of schools and towards the safety of women. anganwadis.  The Governor flagged off 100 pink scooties and 10 four-wheeler police vehicles as part of India participates in 18th meeting of Prosecutors the campaign. General of SCO via video conference  Lucknow is among eight cities in the country selected for the 'Safe City Project'. India participated in the 18th meeting of Prosecutors  The central government has approved the General of SCO via video conference. project for Lucknow at a total cost of Rs 194 crore with an aim to strengthen security of  Representing India, Solicitor General Tushar women in public places. Mehta said India has zero tolerance to  The projects will be financed under Nirbhaya corruption and black money. Fund at a cost of INR 2919.55 Crores.  He also highlighted the government's flagship Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna,

saying it has expanded India’s financial  Kavaratti is indigenously designed by the architecture. Indian Navy's in-house organization,  India will host the next meeting of Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built Prosecutors General in 2021. by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers  The eight member bloc will meet for this (GRSE), Kolkata. year’s SCO Council of Heads of Govt on 30th  The ship will be commissioned into the Navy Nov which will be hosted by India. as a combat-ready platform as the ship has completed sea trials of all the systems fitted IIT Kharagpur's 'COVIRAP' gets ICMR onboard. certification  Kavaratti takes her name from erstwhile INS Kavaratti which was an Arnala class missile corvette.

India to host third India-US 22 Ministerial Dialogue on Oct 27

‘COVIRAP,’ the diagnostic technology developed by researchers at Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, has been successfully validated for its efficacy in COVID-19 detection by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). India will be hosting the Third India-US 22 Ministerial Dialogue on 27th of October in New  This COVID-19 Diagnostic Test has been Delhi. designed to be fairly easy to conduct and affordable as well and can produce results within one hour.  United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark T.  This new testing method implements a highly reliable and accurate molecular diagnostic Esper will be visiting India to participate in procedure that can be conducted in an ultra- the dialogue. low-cost portable device unit developed by  From the Indian side, Defence Minister the IIT, Kharagpur research team. Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will lead the delegation.  The first 22 Ministerial Dialogue was held in Indigenously built ASW stealth corvette INS New Delhi in September 2018 and followed Kavaratti commissioned into Navy by the second in Washington DC in 2019.  The agenda for the third dialogue will cover The last of four indigenously built Anti-Submarine all bilateral, regional and global issues of Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes INS Kavaratti mutual interest. under Project 28 (Kamorta class) was commissioned into the Indian Navy by Chief of the Army Staff, General Manoj Naravane, at Naval Dockyard in RPF launches 'Meri Saheli' initiative in Visakhapatnam. Amaravathi Express between Vijayawada-Hubli

 Azad Hind Fauz veterans, 99-year old Naik Lalti Ram and 101- year old Sepoy Parmanand Yadav and family Members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were also present on the occasion.  Azad Hind was an Indian provisional government established in Japanese occupied Singapore during World War II.  On 21st October 1943, Subhash Chandra Bose announced the formation of the Provisional Government of Azad Hind (Free India) in Singapore, with himself as the Head of State, Prime Minister and Minister of War.  He gave the famous battle cry ‘Chalo Dilli’. As per the directives of Railway Board, the staff of He promised independence to Indians saying, Railway Protection Force in Vijayawada Division ‘tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe Azadi launched 'Meri Saheli' initiative in Train No.07225 dunga’ (You give me blood, I will give you Amaravathi Express between Vijayawada-Hubli. freedom).

 The main motto of this 'Meri Saheli' initiative Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches ‘Mo is to provide a safe and secure environment Bidyut’ portal to lady passengers travelling in trains throughout their journey.  To carry out this novel initiative, an all- women team headed by one RPF lady Sub- Inspector and few Constables has been constituted at Vijayawada Railway Station to assist the women passengers on train.  The women team inspected the entire coaches of Amaravathi Express and briefed the women passengers on precautions to be taken during the journey and 182 Emergency helpline in case of any emergency, along with COVID-19 protocol and guidelines. Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik has launched  This initiative was launched by RPF to the electricity consumer service portal ”Mo Bidyut”. continuously monitor the safety of lady passengers from the originating station to the  The bilingual online electricity integrated destination. consumer service portal has been developed by the Energy Department and dedicated to Prahlad Singh Patel takes part in 77th the public under 5T (Teamwork, Anniversary of formation of Azad Hind Transparency, Technology, Time leading to Government at Red Fort Transformation) initiative of the state government. Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel  Through this people will now be able to avail took part in the commemoration event of 77th efficient, time-bound, and transparent online Anniversary of the Formation of Azad Hind service delivery. Government at Red Fort in Delhi.  The Mo Bidyut supports the people to obtain new electricity connections, enables online

 bill payment and the grievances related to India successfully carried out the final trial of the electricity services can be addressed through third generation, anti-tank guided missile ‘NAG’, this portal. from the Pokhran field firing ranges in Rajasthan.

Haryana tops Anemia Mukt Bharat Index in  The Nag anti-tank guided missile has been country developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in day and night conditions.  The successful final user trial of the missile makes the Nag anti-tank missile ready for induction in the Indian Army.  It will be manufactured by defence PSU Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP), of DRDO.

Culture & Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel launches Life in Miniature project Haryana State has the best Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Index among 29 states in the country.

 The Anemia Mukt Bharat, an initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and UNICEF, has been launched to reduce the prevalence of Anemia all over India.  In a recently released scorecard of the Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Index by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Haryana was ranked at the top slot with an AMB Index of 46.7. The Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism DRDO successfully conducts final trial of Nag Shri Prahlad Singh Patel launched ‘Life in anti-tank guided missile in Pokhran range Miniature’ project.

 The project is a collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and the Google Arts and Culture.  Under the ‘Life in Miniature’ project, various miniature paintings from the National Museum can be viewed online on Google Arts and Culture by people around the world.  It would include miniature art like the Ramayana, Royal Saga, Pahari style paintings in never before seen ways and in extraordinary detail.

Asan Conservation Reserve gets first Ramsar site  Village/ward volunteers will visit the tag from Uttarakhand families and enrol the names of the primary householders.  The scheme will benefit 1.41 crore BPL families of the state.  The claim amount will be directly credited into the beneficiary bank account within 15 days of making the claim.

Tamil Nadu Government Launches Smart Black Board Scheme in 80,000 Govt schools

The Asan Conservation Reserve in Uttarakhand has become the first Ramsar site in the state, giving it the status of ‘Wetland of International Importance’.

 The Reserve is located near Dehradun district in Garhwal region.  Apart from this, Kabartal Wetland from Bihar is the another new site to be recognised by Ramsar.  With this, the total number of Ramsar sites in The state government of Tamil Nadu has launched India has increased to 39, which is the highest the Smart Black Board scheme in 80,000 in South Asia. government schools of the state. Andhra Pradesh CM launches ‘YSR BIMA’  The initiative aims to ensure better teaching insurance scheme for BPL families environment as well as lead towards Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.  Under this Smart Black Board scheme, audio visual teaching material would be possible, that can even be fed into the computer screens in classes using widely available pen drives.

ECI constitutes 2-member committee to examine issues concerning expenditure limits

The Election Commission of India has set up a 2- member committee to examine the issue of revising The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan the expenditure limit for candidates for Lok Sabha Mohan Reddy launched ‘YSR Bima’, a scheme to and assembly polls. provide financial assistance through insurance cover to beneficiary in case of death or accident of their  The committee will comprise of Shri Harish families members. Kumar, Ex. IRS and DG (Investigation), Shri Umesh Sinha, Secretary General and DG  All families with white ration cards are (Expenditure). eligible for YSR Bima scheme.

 The need to set up this committee was felt in India's indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate, view of the increase in number of electors and COVAXIN, developed by Bharat Biotech in rise in Cost Inflation Index. collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical  It will submit its report within 120 days of its Research (ICMR) has received the nod for Phase-3 constitution. clinical trials in the country.

V Prez Venkaiah Naidu pays tributes to  The Subject Expert Committee which Ashfaqulla Khan on his birth anniversary functions under the drug regulator Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has given approval for the last phase of clinical trials with certain conditions.  In the Third Phase of trials, which is proposed to begin in the first week of next month, the potential vaccine candidate will be tested on over 28 thousand people aged 18 years and above.  These tests will be conducted across 10 states and 19 sites including Delhi, Mumbai, Patna and Lucknow among others. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu paid tribute to the  Besides, Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN, revolutionary freedom fighter Ashfaqulla Khan on another indigenously developed vaccine his birth anniversary. candidate by Zydus Cadila Limited is also in Phase -2 of human clinical trials.  The young freedom fighter is most widely known for the Kakori train robbery in 1925 AYUSH Minister inaugurates Regional Raw and subsequent arrest with fellow Hindustan Drug Repository at AIIA Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) leader Ram Prasad Bismil.  Ten other revolutionaries, along with Bismil and Khan, had conducted an armed robbery in the Kakori Express that was going from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow.  Bismil and Khan were sentenced to death by hanging, along with Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh.

Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin gets nod for phase 3 clinical trials AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated the Regional Raw Drug Repository at All India Institute of Ayurveda in New Delhi through a virtual function.

 This RRDR is the second in the series of repositories proposed by the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB).  There is an increased demand for the natural healing and herbal products across the globe which has been further pushed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

 In order to document the diversity in the overrunning outposts of Hari Singh’s state genetics and chemistry of medicinal plants, forces in Muzaffarabad, Domel and other eight RRDR and one NRDR have been places on the road to Srinagar. proposed by the Ministry of AYUSH.  The Kashmir forces were too small in number. Plus, the Muslim soldiers, who were Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district bags top in equal numbers with the Dogras in the position for implementation of PMGSY force, joined hands with the raiders.  Pakistan maintained it had nothing to do with this invasion, but Indian military histories say the invasion was planned two months ahead by the Pakistan Army, and codenamed Operation Gulmarg.

UP cops to converse in regional dialects also on 112 helpline number

Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district has bagged top position among 30 districts of the country in successful implementation of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

 Himachal Pradesh has also secured second position at the national level for construction of roads under PMGSY.

 Union Ministry of Rural Development has declared the list of top performing 30 districts In a novel initiative of Uttar Pradesh government, in the country for implementing the PMGSY police personnel will also converse in regional programme. dialects on 112 police Help Line to the convenience  Six more districts of Himachal Pradesh have of the rural population of the state. also secured position among top 30 best performing districts, which include Chamba,  As part of this scheme, it has been decided to Shimla, Kangra, Una, Sirmour, Hamirpur and include Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Braj, Bundeli and Solan. other local dialects in the system.  PMGSY is a programme funded by the Union  The communication officers serving at the government to connect habitations having emergency services have been specially population of more than 250 in the state. trained for this purpose and they can speak in many dialects including pahari and Bhojpuri. October 22: Black day for Jammu and Kashmir India gets Chairmanship of ILO Governing body In Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj after a gap of 35 years Sinha said that October 22 will always remain a black day.

 On October 22, thousands of tribal invaders from Pakistan crossed into Kashmir

system in India and examine the availability, demand and supply of qualified urban planners in the country.  NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and secretaries of three ministries—Housing and Urban Affairs, Higher Education and Panchayati Raj—are among the members of the committee.

PM Modi launches 3 key projects, including ‘Kisan Suryoday Yojana’, in Gujarat

After a gap of 35 years, India assumed the Chairmanship of Governing Body of International Labour Organisation (ILO).

 Labour Secretary Apurva Chandra has been elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Body of the ILO for the period October 2020- June 2021.  The Governing Body (GB) is the apex executive body of the ILO, which decides policies, programmes, agenda, budget, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three key elects the Director-General. projects in Gujarat through video conferencing.  At present, the ILO has 187 members. Chandra will be presiding over the upcoming  Modi launched the Kisan Suryodaya Yojana Governing Body's meeting, to be held in for providing 16 hours of power supply to November 2020. farmers.  He also inaugurated the Paediatric Heart NITI Aayog panel for reforms in urban planning Hospital attached with U.N Mehta Institute of education Cardiology and Research Centre and a Mobile Application for tele-cardiology at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad.  The Prime Minister also inaugurated the ropeway at Girnar on the occasion.

World Bank sanctions Rs 3 crore for Goa to develop India’s first sand dune parks

India’s first sand dune parks and interpretation centre A panel constituted by the NITI Aayog will look into is set to be developed in Goa. introducing reforms in the urban planning education system.  The Goa state biodiversity board has proposed the project, which will be  The 14-member advisory committee, headed implemented with financial assistance from by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar, the World Bank. will review the urban planning education

 The World Bank has sanctioned around Rs.3  Following the pact, BoB will be one of the crore under the programme. preferred financiers for the entire range of  Park would also have Bridges made of nature vehicles sold by TKM. friendly material to reduce trampling on sand  The new service facilitates customers to avail dune vegetation. customised solutions such as high on-road  Besides this, nurseries of sand dune funding of 90 per cent, long repayment vegetation will also be set up, which will period of 84 months, no prepayment or enable its replantation on beach stretches foreclosure charges. where vegetation has gone extinct.  This relationship will augment the MSME segment with dealer finance program and Mastercard partners with Atlantis to expand retail segment with auto loan finance and also Digital First Program in India provides an opportunity to cross-sell other bank products to these dealers.

India Posts releases 75th Anniversary of UN Commemorative Stamp

Mastercard has entered into a partnership with Atlantis to expand the Digital First Program in India.

 The partnership aims to provide the users of Mastercard, a technology solution that Department of Posts (DOP), Ministry of enables them to enjoy a best-in-class digital Communications released a commemorative postage banking experience. stamp on the 75th anniversary of the United Nations  After the launch in India, the partnership will Organisations. expand to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.  The partnership allows the users of the  External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Mastercard to have immediate account access Anurag Srivastava stated India attaches the and convenient payments. highest priority to the expansion of the UN Security Council so that it reflects Bank of Baroda ties up with Toyota Kirloskar contemporary realities of the world. Motor  He stated reformed multilateralism will be a key pillar of the overall approach in the State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) announced a tie upcoming innings of India as a non- up with Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) to enable permanent member. finance options for the automaker's customers and  It may be noted that the Department of Posts dealers. has previously released similar commemorative postage stamps on the UN’s 9th, 40th, and 50th Anniversaries in 1954, 1985, and 1995 respectively.

4-day Commanders’ Conference of Indian Army schemes - the PM Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme to begin in New Delhi (SVANidhi Scheme).

 State has ranked first in all the categories - Applications, Sanctions and Disbursements of the loans under the scheme.  As many as 6,22,167 applications were received under the scheme in the state which is highest in the country, out of which sanctions were given to 3,46,150 applicants while the loans were disbursed to 2,26,728 beneficiaries.  Seven cities of the state also find place in the list of top 10 cities of the country.  Varanasi, Lucknow and Aligarh are the top three cities in the list even as other cities of A 4-day Commanders’ Conference of Indian Army the state include Allahabad, Gorakhpur, will begin in New Delhi. Ghaziabad and Kanpur.

 Army Chief Gen MM Naravane will chair the Indian Navy operationalises first batch of 3 apex level biannual event that formulates women pilots on Dornier Aircraft at Kochi important policy decisions through a collegiate system of deliberation.  It will be attended by all Army Commanders, Principal Staff Officers of the Army headquarters and other senior officers.  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh and IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria are expected to address the conference.

UP govt secures first rank in disbursing loans under PM Swanidhi Scheme Indian Navy has operationalized the first batch of three Women Pilots on Dornier Aircraft by the Southern Naval Command (SNC) at Kochi.

 Country's first batch of women pilots are ready to soar high on Dornier Aircraft.  The three women pilots were part of the six pilots of the 27th Dornier Operational Flying Training Course DOFT.  They graduated as Fully operational Maritime Reconnaissance MR Pilots at a passing out ceremony held at INS Garuda in Kochi. Uttar Pradesh government has secured the first rank  The three women pilots of the first batch are in central government's one of the most ambitious Lieutenant Divya Sharma, Lieutenant

Shubhangi Swaroop, and Lieutenant make its geographic information system Shivangi. (GIS)-enabled.  With the launch of the portal the property President Ram Nath Kovind pays homage to certificate details and outline map of the former President K.R. Narayanan on his birth property can be easily accessed online. anniversary  The portal will also help a purchaser to learn about the details of the property whether any lawsuit is pending in respect of the property.

ICICI Bank shuts down operations in Sri Lanka

President Ram Nath Kovind paid homage to former President K.R. Narayanan on his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan. ICICI Bank has shut down his operations in Sri  He served as the 10th President of India Lanka after getting approval from the Sri Lankan (1997–2002) and 9th Vice President of India monetary authority. (1992–1997).  He was the first person from the Dalit community to hold either post.  The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, having considered the request made by ICICI Bank, has granted approval to Union Minister launches ‘e-Dharti Geo portal’ close down the business operation of the bank in Sri Lanka and cancel the licence issued to it.

IIT Kharagpur, TCS jointly develop new Industry 4.0 solution

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri has launched the ‘e-Dharti Geo Portal’.

 The portal has been launched to integrate legacy drawings such as maps and lease plans in the management information system and IIT Kharagpur and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have jointly developed a novel Industry 4.0

technology for remotely controlled factory Northern Command celebrates 74th Infantry Day operations and real-time quality correction during on 27 October 2020 industrial production in a bid to deliver quality output at low costs.

 Through this innovation, IIT Kharagpur aims to stimulate innovation in advanced manufacturing to boost the capital goods sector.  The innovation was undertaken at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur’s centre of excellence in Advanced Manufacturing Technology set with support from the Department of Heavy Industry, Government of India along with an industry consortium. 74th Infantry Day was celebrated by Northern  The technology has been developed by Prof Command on 27 October with traditional wreath Surjya K Pal, professor in-charge at the laying ceremony at the Dhruva Shahid Smarak in Centre of Excellence in Advanced Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir Manufacturing Technology in association with TCS.  The Infantry Day is celebrated to commemorate the operations launched by the Samsung Tops Forbes’ list of World’s Best Indian Army on 27 October 1947 to thwart Employer 2020 the Pakistani aggression on the State of Jammu and Kashmir.  On this solemn day, the supreme sacrifices made by the Indian Army in defending the honour and integrity of the nation were remembered by all.

Feni bridge connecting India and Bangladesh to be completed by December

South Korea based electronics conglomerate, Samsung Electronics has topped the list of ‘World’s Best Employer 2020′ published by Forbes’.

 Amazon, IBM, Microsoft and LG are among the top 5 in the list respectively.

 The global list features 750 multinational and large corporations headquartered in 45 The 1.8 kilometre long Feni bridge connecting countries. Sabrum in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh will be  From India, HCL Technologies is the top completed by December this year. industry in the list.  It is placed at the 30th position globally.

 This was announced by the Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Minister Nitin Gadkari while laying the foundation stone of nine National Highway projects in Tripura through video conferencing.  The Feni bridge being built at the cost of Rs. 129 crore will ease the transportation of goods from Chattogram and Kolkata ports.  An integrated check post is also proposed to be built near Sabrum.  The RCC bridge over Feni will improve connectivity to the international border with Department of Posts and United States Postal Bangladesh. Service, USPS have entered into an agreement for electronic exchange of customs data related to postal India, US hold 3rd bilateral two plus two shipments exchanged between the two countries. Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi  The agreement will make it possible to transmit and receive electronic data of international postal items prior to their physical arrival at the destination and would enable customs clearance of postal items in advance in line with the evolving global postal framework.  This will also improve the performance of postal services in terms of reliability, visibility and security.  USA is the top export destination for India which is also reflected in exchange of goods India and US held the 3rd bilateral two plus two through postal channel. Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi and signed the landmark defence pact BECA. Centre sets up high-level committee to commemorate Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur’s 400th  The signing of BECA is significant as it birth anniversary allows India to use global geospatial maps of the United States for accuracy of stand-off weapons like cruise and ballistic missiles.  From the Indian side, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar led the delegation.  US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark Esper led the US delegation.  India and the US signed five agreements in total.

India Post, US Postal Service sign agreement for The Centre set up a high-level committee headed by electronic exchange of customs data Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate the 400th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur.

 The mandate of the 70-member committee includes approval of policies, plans, programmes and supervision and guiding the commemoration, besides deciding broad dates for detailed programmes of celebration.  Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.  He founded the city of Anandpur Sahib in Punjab in 1665.  On 24 November 1675, the Guru was publicly beheaded on the orders of Aurangzeb for refusing to accept the authority of Mughal Emperor, at Chandni Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda Chowk in Delhi. launched two Centers of Excellence for Tribal Welfare. V Prez Venkaiah Naidu launches virtual festival of ‘Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of  These centers were launched in collaboration Music and Dance’ between the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Art of Living through video conference.  One Center will be engaged in the field of training tribal farmers in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra on sustainable natural farming while the second one will be working towards strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions in 5 districts covering 30 Gram Panchayats and 150 villages of Jharkhand.

India hosts 19th Meeting of SCO Ministers of Foreign Economy & Foreign Trade

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu launched the virtual festival of ‘Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of Music and Dance’ organized by Natya Tarangini in partnership with the United Nations.

 He appreciated Natya Tarangini for organising the ‘Parampara Series’ continuously since past 23 years, and adopting innovative efforts to make it happen for the 24th year, even in difficult times like this. India hosted the 19th Meeting of the Shanghai  It may be noted that this festival has been Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Ministers of organized to coincide with the World Day for Foreign Economy and Foreign Trade. Audio-visual Heritage.  In the meeting four documents were adopted. Arjun Munda launches two Centers of Excellence  They include a statement on the response to for Tribal Welfare Covid-19 which reinforces the need for

greater cooperation for access to medicines  15th Finance Commission is mandated to and facilitation of trade and statement on the submit its final report for 2021-26 by 30th Multilateral Trading System of Ministers of October, 2020. SCO Countries who are WTO Members.  The Chairmen of the previous Finance  This statement highlights the importance of Commissions appreciated the tough the rule-based multilateral negotiations. challenge faced by the 15th Finance Commission, given the background of the India extends $1 bn credit line to Central Asian Covid-19 pandemic, the resultant loss of countries for priority projects economic activity and its impact on fiscal parameters of the general government.

Air quality in Delhi continues to remain in ‘very poor category’

India extended a $1-billion line of credit to Central Asian countries for priority projects in connectivity, energy, IT and health care.

 This move being perceived as part of New The air quality in Delhi continues to remain in a very Delhi’s efforts to boost its role as a poor category. transparent development partner.  The line of credit was welcomed by ministers  According to the Central Pollution Control of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Board, Delhi's air quality index was recorded Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan during the at 397 at 10 AM. second meeting of the India-Central Asia  An Air Quality Index between 201 and 300 is Dialogue held via video conference under the considered poor, 301 to 400 very poor and chairmanship of external affairs minister S 401 to 500 severe. Jaishankar.  According to the System of Air Quality and  Acting Afghan foreign minister Haneef Weather Forecasting and Research, SAFAR, Atmar joined the meeting as a special invitee. the air quality is likely to marginally improve and stay in the very poor for. Chairman of 15th Finance Commission N.K. Singh holds virtual meeting with Chairman of UP govt starts digital library to help students in previous Finance Commissions higher education

Chairman of 15th Finance Commission, N.K. Singh In the ongoing fight against Covid, Uttar Pradesh and its Members held a virtual meeting with the government has started a digital library to help the Chairmen of previous Finance Commissions, Dr C. students in higher education to get the education Rangarajan, the Chairman 12th Finance Commission content in digital format. and Dr. Vijay Kelkar who was the Chairman 13th Finance Commission.

 This library will help poor students who are unable to purchase costly books Now they can freely download everything available in the library related to their course.  The library has more than 35000 e content related to 134 subjects in Hindi and English. It can be accessed by any student free of cost.  A team of around 1700 educationists and technical experts of 23 universities worked together for the content of Digital Library.

Young Advocates Welfare Fund launched in Tamil Nadu Railways has launched Meri Saheli initiative for focused action on security of women passengers across all zones.

 The objective of this mission is to provide safety and security to lady passengers travelling by trains for their entire journey from starting station to destination station.  Meri Saheli initiative was started as a pilot project in South Eastern Railway in September this year and after getting encouraging response from lady passengers, it was extended to all zones and Konkan In Tamil Nadu, the Young Advocates Welfare Fund Railway with effect from 17th of this month. has been launched.  The RPF team collects only the seat numbers of the ladies and conveys them to stoppages  It provides a monthly financial assistance of en-route. three thousand rupees each for two years to the lawyers who just come out of law PM Modi Inaugurates 4th edition of India Energy colleges. Forum  Normally a fresher from law colleges takes three to four years to begin practice as an advocate in the court as the registration in the Bar Council, and the mandatory practicing under a senior advocate takes time.  Unable to sustain themselves during the initial period, many from poor and rural backgrounds shifted their profession.  The Young Advocates Welfare Scheme is aimed at helping such fresh candidates to withstand the initial challenges.

Railways launches ‘Meri Saheli’ initiative for security of women passengers PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 4th India Energy Forum by CERAWeek organised by HIS Markit.

 The theme of this edition is “India’s Energy Future in a World of Change”.  India is the third-largest and the fastest- growing aviation market in terms of domestic aviation and Indian carriers are projected to increase their fleet size from 600 to 1200 by 2024.

Indian Army develops messaging application ‘Secure Application for Internet’ Tamil Nadu Government has passed an order to provide 7.5 percent reservation for Government school students in undergraduate medical courses.

 The state Assembly passed a bill unanimously on September 15th for the purpose.  However, it is yet to become a law as it awaits the state Governor’s nod.  It will be made applicable for the state quota seats in the government and private medical colleges.

PM to inaugurates Arogya Van & Arogya Kutir Indian Army has developed a simple messaging at Kevadia in Gujarat application named the Secure Application for Internet (SAI).

 The application supports end to end secure voice, text and video calling services for Android platforms over the internet.  The model is similar to commercially available messaging applications like Whatsapp, Telegram, SAMVAD and GIMS and utilises end to end encryption messaging protocol.  SAI will be utilised pan Army to facilitate secure messaging within the service. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit Tamil Nadu passes order for 7.5 % reservation to to Gujarat. govt school students in UG medical courses  He will pay tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the 'Statue of Unity' near Kevadiya in Narmada district on the occasion of 145th birth anniversary of this great leader.  He inaugurated the Arogya Van and Arogya Kutir at Kevadia.

 He also inaugurated Ekta Mall Children property registrations will start from Nutrition Park. Mr. Modi will then November 2. inaugurate Jungle Safari and Geodesic Dome  The property details which are not uploaded Aviary and lay the foundation stone for on the portal will be treated as illegal and will various projects before reaching the Statue of not be allowed for further registrations or Unity. mutation.  He will also launch the country's first  The one-in-all, Dharani portal has been seaplane service between Kevadia and designed to reduce loopholes in the Ahmedabad Riverfront. registration process.

Kolkata International Film Festival rescheduled Odisha launches ‘Sumangal’ & Student to January 2021 Scholarship web portals

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik has launched internationally acclaimed Kolkata International Film two web portals named ‘Odisha State Scholarship Festival (KIFF) has been rescheduled to January Portal’ and ‘Sumangal Portal’. 2021 by West Bengal Government.  The portal is to help eligible students of the  KIFF was supposed to be held from state to avail scholarship benefits in a November 5, 2020 but the dignitaries and seamless and transparent manner, while the global film fraternity suggested the state latter one is to help people avail inter-caste government postpone it to January. marriage incentives.  Founded in 1995, it is the second oldest  According to a government release, 21 international film festival in India. scholarships would be offered by eight state  The festival is organized by the West Bengal departments and more than 11 lakh Film Centre under the West Bengal beneficiary students from Scheduled Castes, Government. Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and educationally backward classes would Telangana CM launches ‘Dharani’ Portal for benefit from the scholarship portal. land & property registrations  Through the State Scholarship Portal, scholarships will be credited directly to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao students’ bank accounts as the portal is linked launched ‘Dharani’ Portal for land and property to the state treasury. registrations. National Unity Day: 31 October  The slot bookings in the website for the land registrations begins and all the land and

the war, he could not go back to complete his research at Cambridge.  In 1948, Nehru appointed Bhabha as the Director of Nuclear Programme and gave him a task to develop the nuclear weapons.  He envisioned India’s three-stage nuclear power programme and emphasized the use of India’s huge thorium reserve rather than its inadequate uranium reserves for power generation.  He won the Adams Prize (1942) and Padma National Unity Day is celebrated in India on 31 Bhushan (1954). He was nominated for the October. Nobel Prize for Physics in 1951 and 1953- 1956.  It was introduced by the Government of India in 2014. Union Cabinet approves Memorandum of  The day is celebrated to mark the birth Cooperation in the field of ICTs between India anniversary of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. and Japan  In 2018, the Government Of India accomplished the task of building the tallest statue across the world.

Birth anniversary of Homi Jehangir Bhabha: 30 October

The Union Cabinet has approved the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan on cooperation in the field of Information and Communication Technologies.

 It aimed for cooperation in many fields like 5G network, Submarine cable, standard certification of communication equipment,

utilization of latest Wireless Technologies The birthday of the famous nuclear physicist, Homi and ICTs, ICTs capacity building, Artificial Jehangir Bhabha, popularly known as the father of Intelligence (AI), etc. Indian Nuclear Programme is observed every year on  It will help India strengthen ICTs 30 October. infrastructure in the country and help boost connectivity of mainland India to remote  Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha was an Indian areas. nuclear physicist and founding director of the  India and Japan have also signed the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of  In 1939, when World War II broke out, cybersecurity. Bhabha was in India for a vacation. Due to

Cabinet approves Mechanism for procurement of  GIFT - Gujarat International Finance Tec- ethanol by Public Sector Oil Marketing City is India’s first international financial Companies services centre. It is located in Gandhinagar of Gujarat.  India and the U.K. also signed off on a new infrastructure finance and policy partnership to support India execute its National Infrastructure Pipeline that envisages investments worth $1.4 trillion.

Dr Harsh Vardhan launches DST initiative SERB – POWER for women scientists

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA approved Mechanism for procurement of ethanol by Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies under Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme.

 Earlier, there used to be one rate for ethanol but now there will be different prices.  He said the new Price fixed for Ethanol produced from sugar will be Rs 62.65 per Dr Harsh Vardha launched a Scheme titled “SERB- litre, ethanol manufactured from B heavy POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in molasses will be Rs 57.61 per litre and Exploratory Research)”, designed exclusively for ethanol manufactured from C heavy molasses women scientists, in a function on an e-platform. will be Rs 45.69 per litre.  Government has been implementing Ethanol  The scheme targets women researchers of Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme wherein age 35 to 55 years. OMCs sell petrol blended with ethanol up to  SERB – POWER Scheme will have two 10 per cent. components namely (i) SERB-POWER Fellowship (ii) SERB- POWER Research U.K. to partner for developing GIFT City Grants.  It will provide 25 to 75 Fellowship per year. The selected candidates under the scheme will receive a Fellowship of 15000 rupees per month.  This is in addition to the regular income. Also, they will receive 10 lakh rupees per annum as a research grant and 90000 Rupees as overhead in their career.

Hyderabad Airport Begins E-Boarding for International Fliers

The United Kingdom (UK) has entered into a strategic partnership to develop India’s GIFT City.

 It has been developed from a wide range of agricultural resources like citrus fruits and peels especially orange peels, berries, parsley, pulses, tea, sea buckthorn and onions.  The technology has been patented and does not use any organic solvents, which normally increases prices.  Commercially available techniques use

various costly organic solvents like Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is the first one in Chloroform, Acetone, Acetonitrile. India to start paperless e-boarding.

 This is the first step towards e-boarding facility for international flights.  The airport already provides this facility for end-to-end paperless e-boarding to their domestic passengers. Flipkart, Bajaj Allianz launch cyber insurance to cover online financial frauds  This service will give a safer option for international passengers.  IndiGo is the first airline to avail of the indigenously developed digital solution, ie, international e-boarding facility. Its Sharjah- bound passengers e-boarded themselves from Hyderabad.

IIT-Guwahati team develops tech to produce agri-based anti-ageing compounds

E-commerce marketplace, Flipkart and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance have launched a cyber insurance cover for online financial frauds.

 The product, ‘Digital Suraksha Group Insurance’, will help customers who want to cover themselves against financial losses caused as a result of cyber attacks, cyber frauds, or other such malicious activities across various online platforms.  Customers can opt for a one-year cover at premiums as low as Rs 183 for a cover of ₹50,000. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology  It will compensate for direct financial loss (IIT), Guwahati, have developed a low-cost (up to the sum insured) due to unauthorised membrane technology to produce psychoactive digital financial transactions as a result of drugs and anti-aging compounds. identity theft arising out of cyber-attacks, phishing/spoofing, and SIM-jacking.

Indian Bank launches Green-Tech Initiative, ‘IB- (BSE) to empower the SME segment through eNote’ awareness and knowledge-sharing programmes.

 Under this MoU, both BSE and Yes Bank will conduct knowledge events for SMEs, export promotion of SME scale companies, in addition to providing banking and financial solutions.  This MoU shall further entail services pertaining to the development and imparting industry-specific and related knowledge- based information.  The Bank will also offer customised services and products to the listed SME members of Indian Bank, a premier Public Sector Bank, launched the platform and advisory solutions to EXIM an green initiative, ‘IB-eNote’ that enables a totally potential listed SMEs. paperless working environment. Axis Bank, Vistara launch co-branded forex card  The IB e-Note is a tool that enables processing and tracking of notes put up by various offices digitally.  This green initiative is expected to improve Turnaround Time considerably, besides saving on cost of paper, printing and other administrative expenses.  For this Bank has customised SharePoint, which is one of the features of Microsoft Office.  Microsoft is a leading technology company that has pioneered many industry-firsts.  The Bank also launched ‘Ind Guru’, an e- learning platform for its employees. Vistara and Axis Bank launched a co-branded forex Yes Bank tie-up with BSE to empower small card that can load up to 16 currencies. business companies  The card has locked-in exchange rates and the card holder will accrue 3 award points on Club Vistara for every $5 or an equivalent value spent.  The forex card can load up to 16 currencies and has various emergency assistance services like loss of passport assistance through TripAssist and insurance cover of up to ₹ 3 lakh.  Vistara is the first Indian airline to offer a co- branded forex card.

Yes Bank has signed a Memorandum of World Bank expects India’s GDP to contract by Understanding (MoU) with Bombay Stock Exchange 9.6% in FY-21

The multi-national food and beverage major PepsiCo is setting up a greenfield potato chips production unit in Uttar Pradesh with an investment of Rs. 814 crore.

 The unit is being set up in Kosi, Mathura on 35 acres of land provided by UP State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA).  The unit, which is expected to commence commercial production by middle of the next year, will facilitate direct and indirect employment to about 1,500 patrons. The World Bank expects India’s economy to contract  Farmers of central UP which is considered 9.6% FY21, steeper than 3.2% shrinkage projected the potato belt of state have been demanding earlier. for such food processing units for decades.

 South Asia as a region is set to plunge into its Axis Bank collaborates with Google Pay, Visa to worst ever recession with a sharper than launch a new ACE Credit card expected contraction of 7.7%, the World Bank said in its half-yearly South Asia Focus.  India’s growth is projected to rebound to 5.4% in FY22, mostly reflecting base effects, assuming Covid19 -related restrictions are completely lifted by 2022.  As per the bank, weak activity, domestically and abroad, is also likely to depress both Indian imports and exports.  India’s economy shrank an unprecedented 23.9% in the first quarter.

PepsiCo to set up greenfield potato chips production unit in UP with investment of Rs. 814 Axis Bank announced the launch of its ACE Credit crore Card in India in collaboration with Google Pay and Visa.

 The card meant to help with digital payments.  From application to issuance, with the entire user journey for the credit card application will be done digitally.  For essential use cases, including mobile recharges and bill payments made via Google Pay, users can earn a cashback.of 5 per cent.  There is also an unlimited 2 per cent cashback on other transactions.

RBI to conduct first OMO for state bonds worth

Rs 10,000 cr on Oct 22

India’s agricultural exports have recovered from a pandemic-induced decline.

 Exports of major farm products stood at 53,000 crore rupees in the five-month period between April and August 2020-21, a rise of 14.8 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.  During the April to August period, farmers gained from higher exports of rice, wheat and sugar.  Exports of basmati rice, a big-ticket export item among cereals, during April-August Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct first Open rose 8.2 percent from the year-ago period, Market Operations (OMOs) to buy State while the value of non-basmati rice exports Developments Loans (SDLs) aggregating Rs 10,000 grew 91.3 percent. crore through auction on October 22, 2020 to improve liquidity and pricing for these bonds. IIT Madras startup launches ‘mooPay’ for Dairy Farmers in Rajasthan  The size may be enhanced in the subsequent auctions, depending on market response  On October 9, RBI had announced intent in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies OMOs to purchase state government bonds.  The central bank said it will buy bonds maturing between January 2029 and March 2031.  It is offering to purchase bonds issued by 15 states including Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Stellapps, the IIT-Madras incubated dairy-tech India's agricultural exports rise by 14.8 % during startup, has launched a first-of-its-kind, fully- first five months of current fiscal automated direct payment platform, ‘mooPay’, for dairy farmers in Rajasthan.

 mooPay is a payment gateway for dairies and dairy farmers where the dairy officials can transfer milk payments digitally to member farmers from the dairies’ existing bank account to farmers’ savings bank account.  This will remove the risks and costs of transferring money in cash to hundreds of thousands of farmers in hundreds of villages.

SBI raises USD 1 billion untied loan with JBIC, other lenders

 Currently, there are two interoperable QR codes — UPI QR and Bharat QR.  QR codes (quick response codes) are two- dimensional machine-readable barcodes, which are increasingly used to facilitate mobile payments at the point-of-sale.  QR codes (quick response codes) can store a large amount of information. PSOs that use proprietary QR codes shall shift to one or more interoperable QR codes.

DMRC & SBI card launch multi-purpose smart The State Bank of India signed a loan agreement card amounting to up to one billion US Dollars with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

 The loan is intended to promote the smooth flow of funds for the whole range of business operations of Japanese automobile manufacturers in India.  As part of the agreement, 600 million US Dollars will be financed by JBIC while the remaining amount will be financed by other participating banks.

 The facility will be co-financed by SMBC, MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank, Shizuoka Bank The SBI Card in association with the Delhi Metro and Bank of Yokahama. Rail Corporation launched a contactless multi- purpose card that can function as a credit card and as RBI bars payment system operators from a metro smart card. launching any new QR codes  The credit card Delhi Metro SBI Card is designed for regular commuters on Delhi Metro.  It will enable its users to use it as a smart card with an auto-top up facility whenever the balance is below Rs 100.  The credit card facility will automatically recharge a top-up value of Rs 200 from the user’s linked card/bank account.  The card offers an enhanced daily commute experience to millions of metro commuters together with a rewarding experience on their

daily purchases. The Reserve Bank of India has barred Payment System Operators (PSOs) from launching any new proprietary QR code for payment transactions.

SBI appoints Charanjit Attra as CFO The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of M A Ganapathy to the post of Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), for a tenure up to his superannuation on February 29, 2024 or until further orders.

 He is a 1986 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.  The post of BCAS chief fell vacant after Rakesh Asthana was appointed as the Director General of Border Security Force in August.

Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma, Shashanka The country’s largest public sector lender State Bank Bhide appointed as new members of MPC of India (SBI) announced the appointment of Charanjit Singh Attra as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

 The position of CFO has been vacant since former Deputy MD & CFO Prashant Kumar moved to Yes Bank as part of the RBI’s rescue plan led by SBI.  Kumar was replaced in interim capacity by C Venkat Nageshwar.

 Attra has been nominated on various committees of the Institute of Chartered The government has named three eminent Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Reserve economists Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma and Bank of India (RBI) and he also was a special Shashanka Bhide as the new members of the invitee on the National Advisory Committee Monetary Policy Committee. on Accounting Standards set up in the Ministry of Company Affairs.  While Ms. Goyal is a professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research; M A Ganapathy appointed as Director General, Jayanth Varma teaches at the Indian Institute BCAS of Management, Ahmedabad. Mr. Bhide is senior advisor at the National Council for Applied Economic Research.  The other three ex-officio members of the MPC are Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das, Deputy Governor (in- charge of monetary policy) Michael Patra and executive director Janak Raj.  The six-member MPC has the mandate to maintain annual inflation at 4 percent, with an upper tolerance of 6 percent and a lower

tolerance of 2 percent.

Govt appoints Dinesh Kumar Khara as SBI March 2020 before the completion of his chairman for three years term in June, citing health reasons.

Govt appoints J Venkatramu as MD, CEO of India Post Payments Bank

The government has appointed Dinesh Kumar Khara as chairman of State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, for three years. A Cabinet panel appointed J Venkatramu as  Khara, one of the bank's four managing managing director (MD) and chief executive officer directors, replaces Rajnish Kumar, who is (CEO) of India Post Payments Bank for three years. stepping down after being at the helm for three years.  Venkatramu has over 22 years of work  A state-run banks appointment panel in experience across banking services such as August recommended Khara as the next payments, mobile banking, retail banking chairman of SBI. products and has also managed digital  Prior to his elevation, Khara was managing financial services projects. director of associates and subsidiaries at SBI.  He is currently chief digital officer at Equitas Small Finance Bank. GoI appoints M Rajeshwar Rao as the RBI  Venkatramu will take over the post of Suresh Deputy Governor Sethi who had served as founder MD and CEO of the payments banks till March, much before his tenure ended.  India Post Payments Bank is a state-owned entity, under the department of posts, with 100% government equity and is governed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Jordan’s King Abdullah II appointed Bishr al- Khasawneh as PM

The Centre has appointed M Rajeshwar Rao as the Jordan's King Abdullah II designated his chief policy new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India. adviser Bishr al-Khasawneh to form a new government amid criticism of the previous  Prior to this, M Rajeshwar Rao was an government's handling of the virus pandemic. executive director at RBI.  He succeeds NS Vishwanathan as the central  Al-Khasawneh will oversee parliamentary bank’s fourth deputy governor. NS elections Nov 10. Vishwanathan who resigned from the post in

 The king had dissolved Parliament a week  He was elected to Lok Sabha eight times and earlier at the end of its four-year term. also held the record of winning with high  Under the constitution, that left al Razzaz' margins from his constituency Hajipur. government a week to resign.  Goyal is currently serving as the Minister of  Jordan Capital: Amman Railways and Minister of Commerce and  Currency: Jordanian dinar Industry in the NDA-led government.  Ram Vilas Paswan passed away at the age of Nilesh Shah re-elected as AMFI chairman 74 at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

CWG medallist Shuttler Chetan Anand named brand ambassador of India’s first-ever Badminton Brand ‘Transform’

Mutual fund industry body Association of Mutual

Funds in India (AMFI) said Nilesh Shah, managing director of Kotak Asset Management Company Commonwealth Games medallist in Badminton, (AMC), has been re-elected as its chairman. Chetan Anand has been roped in as the brand ambassador for India's first-ever homegrown  Besides, he would continue as the ex-officio professional badminton brand “Transform”. chairman of Amfi Financial Literacy Committee, being the chairman of the  Transform Badminton is India’s 1st industry body. professional badminton brand at par with the  Besides, Saurabh Nanavati, who is the chief best racquets available in the market that are executive officer of Invesco Asset currently imported from abroad for playing in Management (India) Pvt Ltd, has been re- India. elected as the vice-chairman of Amfi.  Transform racquets have been made out of the military grade graphite. iyush Goyal gets additional charge of Ministry of Consumer Affairs Chaitanya Venkateswaran becomes British High Commissioner for a day Union Minister Piyush Goyal was assigned the additional charge of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Chaitanya Venkateswaran from New Delhi had the Food and Public Distribution. unique opportunity to spend a day as the UK's senior- most diplomat in India under the mission's initiative  He was given the additional charge following aimed at empowering and highlighting the the death of Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) challenges faced by women across the world. founder and union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

 The British High Commission has been organising the 'High Commissioner for a Day' competition annually since 2017, inviting young Indian women aged 18 to 23 years to take over as their most senior diplomat.  Chaitanya is the fourth young woman to take over as the British High Commissioner in an annual competition run by the UK mission in celebration of International Day of the Girl Child on October 11.  Chaitanya, an active volunteer, has worked to Indian Banks' Association (IBA) said Union Bank of aid visually-impaired students, acid attack India's MD and CEO Rajkiran Rai G has been elected survivors and marginalised LGBT groups. as the association's chairman for the term 2020-21.

Supreme Court appoints Former Justice M B  State Bank of India's Chairman Dinesh Lokur as one-man panel to prevent stubble Kumar Khara has been elected as the deputy burning chairman of the association.  IBA is an association of banks and other entities in the banking ecosystem in India catering to its members.

Vishal V Sharma appointed India’s next permanent representative to UNESCO

The Supreme Court has appointed Justice (retd) Madan B Lokur, a former judge of the apex court, as a one-man monitoring committee to prevent stubble burning in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

 These states are known as the main source of pollution in Delhi-national capital region Vishal V Sharma has been appointed as the next (NCR). permanent representative of India to the United  The new committee will monitor the stubble Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural burning and take preventive steps. Organization (UNESCO).  The panel shall submit its report on stubble burning within 15 days to the apex court.  Sharma has succeeded Jawed Ashraf.  Sharma is expected to take up the assignment Union Bank of India CEO Rajkiran Rai is new shortly. chairman of IBA  UNESCO headquarters: Paris, France.  Founded: 16 November 1945  Head: Audrey Azoulay

IWF appoint Michael Irani as interim president  Rohan is slated to remain in the post till June 30, 2021.  Rohan, a lawyer by profession, had filed his papers on the last day of nominations.  Notably, late Arun Jaitley had also served as the president of DDCA between 1999 and 2013.  The DDCA was a headless body for nearly a year after Rajat Sharma resigned from the post citing corruption and unprofessionalism in the association.

Sushil Kumar Singhal accredited as next High Commissioner of India to Solomon Islands

The International Weightlifting Federation announced the appointment of Michael Irani as its interim president.

 Irani is chair of the IWF Medical Committee and a former chair of the IWF Anti-Doping Commission.  He has extensive experience of the fight against doping and in safeguarding athlete welfare.  Prior to this, Michael Irani was serving as the

chairman of the IWF Medical Committee. Sushil Kumar Singhal, a 2000-batch Indian Foreign Rohan Jaitley elected unopposed president of Service officer, has been concurrently accredited as Delhi and District Cricket Association the next High Commissioner of India to the Solomon Islands.

 Mr Singhal will be residing in Port Moresby.  He is presently serving as the High Commissioner of India to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea.  Solomon Islands Capital: Honiara  Currency: Solomon Islands dollar

Parle agro ropes in Priyanka Chopra Jonas as brand ambassador

Parle Agro has roped in Priyanka Chopra Jonas as the national brand ambassador to maximise reach and Rohan Jaitley, the 31-year-old son of former finance awareness of its fruits plus fizz portfolio ‘B-Fizz’. minister late Arun Jaitley, has been elected unopposed as the new president of Delhi and District  The campaign will be aggressively promoted Cricket Association (DDCA). across IPL on Hotstar and YouTube.

 B-Fizz is a unique and refreshing apple juice-  Sashidhar Jagdishan has taken over the based malt flavoured carbonated drink that is charge. set to revolutionize the taste experience of  Jagdishan has been part of the bank since consumers across age groups. 1996, and played a critical role in supporting the growth trajectory of the bank. Indian-origin Wavel Ramkalawan elected  With an overall experience of over 30 years, President of Seychelles Jagdishan has extensive knowledge and experience in the fields of banking, finance and economics.

Assam CM presents Anundoram Borooah Award 2020 to 16944 students who scored above 75% in 10th exams Indian-origin Wavel Ramkalawan has been elected as the President of Seychelles.

 Seychelles has elected an opposition candidate as president for the first time since 1977.  He has defeated the incumbent Danny Faure.  Ramakalwan is a priest of Indian Origin whose grandfather came from Gopalganj, Bihar.

Aditya Puri retires, Sashidhar Jagdishan takes Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal over as HDFC Bank MD-CEO presented the Anundoram Borooah Award 2020 to students who secured 75 percent or above in matriculation examination in Guwahati.

 As part of the award, an amount of 20 thousand rupees each was directly transferred to bank accounts of 16 thousand 944 students for purchasing laptops.  A total of Rs 34 crore has been released by the government for the purpose.  This year, 16,944 students secured 75% & above in HSLC exams.  Aimed to encourage the meritorious students, Aditya Puri, who was HDFC Bank managing the award honours the first Assamese & fifth director and CEO for 26 years, retired from India’s Indian ICS, Anundoram Borooah. largest private bank.

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gives away Swachh Bharat Awards 2020; Gujarat bags first position under Swachh Sundar Samudayak Shouchalaya category

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics.

 One half of the award has been given to Roger Penrose for black hole discovery; and the other half jointly to Reinhard Genzel and The Swachh Bharat Awards-2020 were given to Andrea Ghez. States, Districts, Blocks and Village Panchayats by  UK’s Roger Penrose has been awarded “for Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh the discovery that black hole formation is a Shekhawat. robust prediction of the general theory of relativity”  The awards were given particularly under  America’s Reinhard Genzel and Andrea drinking water and cleanliness categories. Ghez have jointly won “for the discovery of  The Union Government had earlier launched a supermassive compact object at the centre three missions under Swachh Sundar of our galaxy. Samudayik Shouchalaya, Samudayik Shouchalaya Abhiyan and Gandagi Mukth Emmanuelle Charpentier & Jennifer A. Doudna Bharat. win Nobel Prize in Chemistry 202  Under the Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shouchalaya category Gujarat bagged the first position at state level whereas Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu got the Award for cleanliness at District Level.  Under the Samudayik Shouchalaya Abhiyan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh were awarded as the best performing states whereas Prayagraj and Bareilly got it for being the best performing districts.  Under the Gandagi Mukth Bharat Mission, Haryana and Telangana were awarded the top slot.

Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez wins 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna “for the development of a method for genome editing”.

 Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A.  She is seen as one of the most prominent poet Doudna have discovered one of gene and essayists in American contemporary technology’s sharpest tools: the literature. CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors.  She has received several prestigious awards,  Using these, researchers can change the DNA among them the Pulitzer Prize (1993) and the of animals, plants and microorganisms with National Book Award (2014). extremely high precision.  This technology has had a revolutionary Poet Nityananda Nayak to receive Sarala impact on the life sciences, is contributing to Puraskar new cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true.  Charpentier published her discovery in 2011. The same year, she initiated a collaboration with Jennifer Doudna, an experienced biochemist with vast knowledge of RNA.  Together, they succeeded in recreating the bacteria’s genetic scissors in a test tube and simplifying the scissors’ molecular components so they were easier to use.

American poet Louise Glück wins 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature Odia poet Nityanand Nayak will be conferred the prestigious Sarala Puraskar for his poetry work ‘Setebelaku Nathiba’, published in 2017.

 The poet will be felicitated with a cash award of `5 lakh and a citation.  Sarala Puraskar is recognised as the foremost literary award of Odisha.  Two other eminent personalities from the State - Ranjit Kumar Nag and Shyamsundar Pattanaik - will be felicitated for their contribution to fields of music and art respectively.  While Nag will be awarded the Ila Panda Sangeet Samman, Pattanaik would be felicitated with Ila Panda Chitrakala Samman. The 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature has been  The awards comprise a cash award of awarded to American poet Louise Glück. `1,50,000 and a citation.

 A professor at Yale University, Glück made Nobel Prize in Economics goes to Paul R Milgrom her debut in 1968 with her collection titled and Robert B Wilson for improvements to auction 'Firstborn'. theory  She won the prize for "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal."

 Solar Awards were awarded for the three categories  Visvesvaraya award – to recognise the countries with maximum floating solar capacity in each of the four regions of ISA.  Kalpana Chawla awards – to recognise outstanding contribution of scientists and engineers working in the field of solar energy.  Diwakar award – to recognizes organisations & institutions that have been working for the benefit of differently-abled people and have maximised the use of solar energy in the host country. The 2020 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has  The winners of these 3 categories are been awarded jointly to Paul R. Milgrom and Robert  Visvesvaraya award – Japan for the Asia B. Wilson “for improvements to auction theory and Pacific region and the Netherlands for inventions of new auction formats” Europe and Others region.  Kalpana Chawla awards – Dr.Bhim Singh  The award is officially known as the Sveriges from IIT Delhi (India) and Dr. Aaesha Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Alnuaimi from Dubai Electricity and Water Memory of Alfred Nobel 2020. Authority (United Arab Emirates.  The laureates in economic sciences are  Diwakar award – Arpan Institute (Haryana) selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of and Arushi Society. Sciences in Stockholm.  The Nobel prize, which consists of a gold PM Hasina confers highest civilian award of medal, a diploma and a cheque for 10 million Bangladesh to 8 individuals, 1 institution Swedish kronor ($1.1 million, 950,000 euros), will be shared equally between the Laureates.

ISA Solar Awards conferred for the first time

The highest national award of Bangladesh ‘Swadhinata Puraskar 2020’ was conferred on eight distinguished persons and an educational institute.

 The recipients included Jute and Textiles For the first time since the inception of the Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi , Azizur framework agreement of ISA, Solar awards were Rahman (posthumous), Commander Abdur conferred on countries of the region as well as Rauf (posthumous) and Mohammad Anwar institutions working for solar.

Pasha (posthumous) for their contribution in the liberation war of Bangladesh.  In the field of medical sciences the award was conferred on Professor Dr Md Obaidul Kabir Chowdhury and Prof Dr AKMA Muktadir.  Kalipada Das and actress Ferdousi Mazumdar were honoured in the field of culture.  The renowned boarding school for girls in

Tangail, Bharateswari Homes, was given away the independence award for institutions Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju launched the Sports doing commendable work in the field of Authority of India’s (SAI) new logo at Delhi’s Major education. Dhyan Chand Stadium.  The award carries a gold medal, certificate and Taka 5 lakh.  The event was attended by Sports Secretary Ravi Mital, Indian Olympic Association ‘Gully Boy’ wins best original score at 14th Asian President Narinder Batra and Director Film Awards General SAI Sandip Pradhan, at the stadium.  SAI has been the pivot of the sports ecosystem in the country since its establishment in 1982 and has been instrumental in identifying and developing grassroot talents across the country.  The new logo signifies SAI's journey of metamorphosis from identifying and nurturing grassroot level sporting talent to creating sporting excellence in the country.

Visnu Shivaraj Pandian wins gold in 10 meter air rifle event of International Online Shooting The 14th Asian Film Awards (“AFA14”) were announced on 28 October 2020 virtually by the Asian Film Awards Academy (“AFAA”).

 Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt starrer Gully Boy bagged the award for the Best Original Score at the event.  The award went to Karsh Kale and The Salvage Audio Collective.

India's Visnu Shivaraj Pandian won the 10m air rifle event at the fifth edition of the International Online Shooting Championship.

 The 16-year-old Visnu shot 251.4 to win the Kiren Rijiju launches new logo of Sports title by a clear margin of two points. Authority of India

 The second place was won by world no. 27  This is Hamilton’s 7th win of the season and Etienne Germond of France while Olympic 91st career race victory, which was till now quota winner Martin Strempfl of Austria took achieved only by Michael Schumacher. the third place.  Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands)  Shooters from 15 countries are participating came second followed by Daniel Ricciardo in the two-day competition. (Renault, Australia) at third position.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju flags in CRPF Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win his Divyang Yodha Cycle rally 13th French Open Men's Singles title

Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic to win his 13th Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju French Open and equal Roger Federer's all-time flagged in CRPF Divyang Yodha Cycle rally that record of 20 Grand Slam titles. began its journey from Sabarmati Ashram, Gujarat and culminated at Rajpath.  For world number one Djokovic, the defeat ended his hopes of an 18th Slam and of  The cycle rally covered about one thousand becoming the first man since Rod Laver in kilometre to reach Delhi in the last 16 days. 1969 to win all four majors twice.  The rally team consisted of six women of  World number two Nadal claimed his 100th CRPF Mahila Battalions. match win at Roland Garros against just two  The internal security warriors of the CRPF defeats since his 2005 debut. are actively serving the country across  In Women's doubles, Timea Babos and several conflict zones and the brave hearts Kristina Mladenovic retained their French have made supreme sacrifice in the service of Open title. the nation.  With this, Babos and Mladenovic, who were  CRPF Formed: 27 July 1939 withdrawn from the US Open due to COVID-  Director General, CRPF: A P Maheshwari, 19 protocols, have now won four Grand Slam IPS doubles title together.

Lewis Hamilton wins 2020 Eifel Grand Prix Polish teenager Iga Swiatek becomes the new French Open Champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix, held at the Nürburgring in In Tennis, Polish teenager Iga Swiatek has become Nürburg, Germany. the new French Open Champion.

 She beat the American Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin in the Women Singles final by 6-4, 6-1.  The 19-year-old Swiatek will earn $1,900,000 for the incredible achievement and moves to 17th position in the world ranking.  Earlier, Sofia Kenin left the court due to injury and could not play her natural game after returning on the court.

Five players from Indian Judo Team to participate in Grand Slam 2020 competition National Shooting Camp for core Olympic shooters will be taking place at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, New Delhi for a period of two months starting 15th of October.

 In order to maintain a secure bio-bubble whereby the athletes can train safely and to prevent a Coronavirus outbreak, the responsibility of maintaining the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be shared by the Sports Authority of India and the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).  The NRAI will make boarding and lodging Five players from the Indian Judo Team will be arrangements at a hotel nearby the venue, for participating in the Grand Slam 2020 competition, an which SAI will provide support as per International Judo Federation event happening in existing norms. Budapest, Hungary from 23rd to 26th this month.  From the hotel to the entry to the shooting range, it will be the responsibility of the  The five judokas, consisting of two women NRAI to maintain the SOP in order to keep a and three men players, will leave for the secure bio-bubble. competition on 19th.  The women’s team includes 25-year-old Mohun Bagan receive I-League trophy, 7 months Sushila Devi 48 kg from Manipur and 22- after clinching title year-old Tulika Mann 78 kg of Delhi.  The men’s team comprises former Olympian and 28-year-old Avtar Singh 100 kg, 22-year- old TOPS developmental group athlete Jasleen Singh Saini 66 kg from Punjab and 24-year-old Vijay Yadav 60 kg.

National Shooting Camp for core Olympic shooters to take place at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range for two months starting Oct 15

More than seven months after Mohun Bagan clinched the 2019-20 I-League title, they were handed over the trophy.

 Bagan won it when they clinched a 1-0 win over Aizawl on March 10 this year.  The I-League, is one of the two coexisting premier football leagues in India along with Indian Super League.

Nozomi Okuhara clinches Women's Singles title at Denmark Open World number one Indian Elavenil Valarivan won a gold medal and Shahu Tushar Mane bagged a silver in the Sheikh Russel International Air Rifle Championship.

 The championship was organised by Bangladesh Shooting Sport Federation (BSSF).  In the 60-shot competition in which shooters from six nations participated, including hosts Bangladesh and India, Elavenil shot a modest 627.5 to come out on top. In Badminton, former World Champion Nozomi  Shiori Hirata won the silver with 622.6, while Okuhara clinched the Denmark Open title beating Indonesian Vidya Toyyiba took the bronze three-time world champion Carolina Marin in with 621.1. women's singles. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju Attends Y20  The Japanese star took 56 minutes to get the Summit Virtually better of the Olympic gold medallist Spaniard in two games 21-19, 21-17. With reign  PV Sindhu of India opting to sit out the event, two of her biggest rivals made it through to the final.  In the men's singles final, world number seven Anders Antonsen of Denmark defeated his compatriot Rasmus Gemke by 18-21, 21- 19, 21-12.

Elavenil wins gold, Shahu Mane silver in Sheikh Russel International Air Rifle Championship

Union Minister of Youth and Sports Kiren Rijiju attended the Youth-20 (Y20) Summit being held virtually in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

 The Y20 Youth Summit is a youth-led event Senior BJD leader Pradeep Maharathy passes bringing young leaders from across G20 away at 65 countries to discuss and debate the G20 Leaders' agenda.  The Summit concludes with the drafting of the Y20 communique.  Indian side emphasized on galvanizing the youth to take on the challenges set forth by the worldwide COVID 19 Pandemic.  The theme of the Summit was “Government – Youth dialogue on post-COVID-19 opportunities”.

Lewis Hamilton wins Portuguese Grand Prix 2020 Pradeep Maharathy, a Biju Janata Dal legislator from Pipili, died after he tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

 He suffered from comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension.  He became the first sitting MLA in the state to have succumbed to the disease.  The seven-time MLA and former minister had been on ventilator support since.  At least 47 MLAs of the 147-member Odisha assembly, including deputy Speaker

Rajanikanta Singh and several ministers, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won have tested positive for Covid-19. the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix, held on 25 October 2020. Social activist Pushpa Bhave passes away at 81 in Mumbai  This was the 12th round of the 2020 Formula One World Championship.  This is Hamilton’s 8th win of the season and 92nd career race victory.  With this win he has surpassed the record of 91 wins set by German great Michael Schumacher.  Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes- Finland) came second followed by Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) at third spot.

Veteran social activist Pushpa Bhave passed away in Mumbai following a prolonged illness. She was 81.

 She has been associated with the Rashtra  Justice Dave was appointed as a Gujarat High Seva Dal and democratic movements since Court Judge in 2004 and was made her student days. permanent in 2006.  She was also an academician and an  He was appointed as an Acting Chief Justice intellectual, who fought for the rights of of the Gujarat High Court on November 14, common citizens. 2018 and served until the present Chief  She had taken part in the Samyukta Justice Vikram Nath took over the helm in Maharashtra movement and the Goa September 2019. liberation movement.  During the Emergency, she had offered her Legendary rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen dies at home as shelter to underground political 65 workers.

Actress Mishti Mukherjee passes away

Eddie Van Halen, considered one of rock music’s greatest guitar players, died of cancer.

 Van Halen is among the top 20 best-selling artists of all time and his band was inducted Actress Mishti Mukherjee has passed away due to into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. renal failure.  In 1972, with brother Alex on drums, Eddie Van Halen formed the band that would  Mishti made her Bollywood debut as a lead become Van Halen. actress in Subhash Ghai's 2014 release,  Michael Jackson's Thriller, whose iconic "Kaanchi: The Unbreakable". Beat It featured a guitar solo from Eddie Van  She had featured in a special appearance Halen. dance number in the 2013 release "Main  Rolling Stone magazine put Eddie Van Halen Krishna Hoon" before that. at No 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.  In a short career span, Mishti was also seen in films such as "Great Grand Masti" (2016), Former CBI director Ashwani Kumar passed "Begum Jaan" (2017) and Manikarnika: The away Queen Of Jhansi" (2019), besides Bengali and Telugu projects, and music videos. Former Governor of Manipur and Nagaland and ex- Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Justice AS Dave, former Judge and acting CJ of Ashwani Kumar was found dead at his residence in the Gujarat HC passes away Shimla. Former Acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High  Kumar was in service in both the central Court Justice Anantkumar Surendraray Dave passed government and the Himachal Pradesh state away at the age of 62 government for more than 37 years.

 Kumar, who joined the Indian Police Service First woman chief justice of Kerala KK Usha in 1973, took over the reins of the office of passes away the Director-General of Police (DGP) of the Himachal Pradesh in August 2006.  After two years, Kumar was appointed to the sensitive post of CBI Director.  He was sworn-in as the Governor of Nagaland on March 21, 2013 and as Governor of Manipur on July 29, 2013.

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan passes away

Former Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, Justice KK Usha, passed away.

 She became the first woman to join the High Court Judiciary from the Bar and became a Chief Justice.  She was India’s representative at the United Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan passed away in Nations’ Joint Seminar on ‘Convention on New Delhi. He was 74. the elimination of all forms of discrimination as regards women’, organised by the  The Lok Janshakti Party founder and International Federation of Women Lawyers Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and and the International Federation of Women Public Distribution had recently undergone a of Legal Careers. heart operation at a private hospital.  She was a member and the President of the  He was elected to Lok Sabha eight times and University Women’s Association. also held the record of winning his  She was involved in ‘Sree Narayana Sevika constituency, Hajipur, with the highest Samajam’, an orphanage and home for margin for several years. destitute women.  He started his political career as a member of Samyukta Socialist Party and was elected to Nagaland Environment Minister C M Chang the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1969. passes away  Later, Paswan joined Lok Dal upon its formation in 1974 and became its general Nagaland Minister for Environment, Forest and secretary. Climate Change and Justice and Law C.M. Chang  He opposed the emergency and was arrested passed away. during the period.  He entered the Lok Sabha in 1977, as a Janata  State Health officials confirmed that Chang Party member from Hajipur constituency, died of COVID-19. was chosen again 1980, 1989, 1996 and  He was the sitting MLA of NDPP from 51- 1998, 1999, 2004, and 2014. Noksen Assembly Constituency.

Kaumudi Munshi, The Nightingale Of Gujarat  Moore also earned a silver medal in Helsinki passes away on the United States’ 1,600-meter relay team.  After the Olympics, he set a world record of 51.6 in the 440 hurdles at the British Empire Games in London.

Eminent Kuchipudi dancer Shobha Naidu passes away

Legendary singer Kaumudi Munshi, known as the ‘Nightingale of Gujarat’, passed away.

 Her contribution to make ‘Sugam Sangeet’ popular to the masses will be remembered by generations of music lovers.  She tested positive for Covid-19 and was Well-known Kuchipudi classical dancer and Guru, hospitalized Shobha Naidu passed away.  Some of her songs in Gujarati that are popular even today are ‘Sachi re maari satre bhavani  A disciple of eminent Guru Vempati Chinna maa’, and ‘koi aghe aghe thi venu vai che’. Satyam, Shobha Naidu performed with her guru's troupe across the world and brought Charlie Moore, 1952 Olympic 400 hurdles laurels to the country. champion pass away  In recognition of her services, the Government of India presented her Padma Shri Award in 2001.  Thousands of her disciples are now practising and performing Kuchipudi classical dance forms world over.

India's first Oscar winner Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya passes away

Charlie Moore, the 400-meter hurdles champion at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, has died.

 Moore died from pancreatic cancer, according to World Athletics.  Moore won the 400 hurdles in the rain in 1952 in 50.8 seconds to tie the Olympic record he set in the quarterfinals.

India's first Oscar winner Costume designer Bhanu Odakkuzhal Award, Vallathol Award and the Athaiya died. Vayalar Award.

 Kolhapur-born Athaiya, who was active till Well-known cricket journalist and commentator just five years ago, began her career as a Kishore Bhimani passes away costume designer in Hindi cinema with Guru Dutt's 1956 superhit "C.I.D.". She went on to work in over 100 films.  She jointly won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design with John Mollo, for Richard Attenborough's “Gandhi”. The lavish biopic of Mahatma Gandhi swept the Oscars with eight awards.  In 2012, Athaiya returned her Oscar to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for safe keeping.

Renowned Malayalam poet Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri passes away Veteran sports journalist and Cricket commentator, Kishore Bhimani, has passed away. He was 80.

 Bhimani was a leading cricket commentator in the Eighties and Nineties and is best remembered for being on air during the tied Test of 1986 between India and Australia in Chepauk, Chennai.  He had received a lifetime achievement award for his decades long contribution in the fields of media and commentary in 2013.

First woman IAF Officer Vijayalakshmi Ramanan (retd) passes away Renowned Malayalam poet and Jnanpith laureate Mahakavi Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri passed away.

 Recently, he was conferred with the Jnanpith award, the highest literary award in the country.  Popularly known as Akkitham, his ''Irupatham Noottandinte Ithihasam'' (Epic of the 20th Century) is considered as one of the first truly modernist poems in Malayalam literature.  Among the numerous awards which came his way are Padma Shri, Ezhuthachan Award, Wing Commander (Retd) Dr Vijayalakshmi Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Ramanan, the first woman officer to be Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry, commissioned in the Indian Air Force, has passed away due to old age ailments. She was 96.

 Dr Ramanan was commissioned in the Army Medical Corps on August 22, 1955 and was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander in August 1972. She served as an obstetrician and gynaecologist at various Air Force Hospitals.  She was honoured with the Vishist Seva Medal five years later. She had retired in February, 1979.

Veteran Assam Economist Dr Jayanta Madhab passes away

Lee Kun-hee, the chairman of South Korea’s largest conglomerate, Samsung Group, has passed away.

 Lee helped to transform Samsung from a small trading business to become the world’s largest producer of smartphones and memory chips.  The firm’s overall turnover today is equivalent to a fifth of South Korea’s GDP.  Lee was also the richest person in South Korea, according to Forbes, with a net worth of nearly $21bn (£16bn).

Veteran Gujarati Singer Mahesh Kanodia passes

away The renowned Assamese economist, Dr. Jayanta Madhab, has passed away due to heart ailments and diabetes. He was 91.

 Dr Madhab served as the economic advisor from 2003-2009, to the Government of Assam during the tenure of former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.  He was also the founder and first Chairman of North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi).  He had served as a director at the Asian Veteran Gujarati film musician, singer and former Development Bank (ADB). Lok Sabha MP from Patan constituency Mahesh Kanodia has passed away following prolonged Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-Hee passes away At illness. 78  He was a member of the 10th, 11th, 12th and 14th Lok Sabha from Patan constituency of North Gujarat.

 His contribution in Gujarati Cinema was Former chief minister of Gujarat Keshubhai Patel spread over more than four decades. passed away at the age of 92.  He was known for singing in 32 different voices including female voices.  He had tested positive for coronavirus last  He was awarded for Best Music for the month and was admitted at a hospital in Gujarati films Jigar ane Ami, Tanariri, Jog Ahmedabad. Sanjog and Laju Lakhan.  Patel served as the chief minister of Gujarat in 1995 and from 1998 to 2001, after which Gujarati film superstar & actor-turned-politician he was replaced by Narendra Modi. Naresh Kanodia passes away  He quit the BJP and launched his own political party - Gujarat Parivartan Party - in 2012.  He was a member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly six times.

Minister for DoNER Dr Jitendra Singh releases Coffee Table Book on Discovering Heritage of Gujarati film superstar and actor-turned-politician Assam Naresh Kanodia passed away. He was 77.

He was suffering from COVID infection along with other comorbidities.

 Kanodia represented Karjan Assembly seat from 2002 to 2007. He worked in more than 100 Gujarati films.  He along with his brother Mahesh Kumar- who passed away just two days ago, used to run the highly successful orchestra Mahesh- Naresh & Party. Minister for Development of North Eastern Region, Former Gujarat CM Keshubhai Patel passes DoNER, Dr Jitendra Singh released a Coffee Table away at 92 Book on Discovering the Heritage of Assam, with foreword by Amitabh Bachchan and published by Penguin.

 The voluminous coffee table book with pictures and photographs presents an absorbing compilation of heritage, faith, beliefs and traditions of different ethnic tribes and subtribes living in the largest State of the North Eastern Region.

 The book has been written by IRS officer “Baahubali” series author Anand Neelakantan has Padampani Bora who has over the years written his debut book in the children’s space which established himself as an accomplished tells some of the most hilarious stories about child author, specializing in the subjects reflecting asuras and their antics. diverse nuances of the North Eastern Region of India.  Puffin has published “The Very, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales for Kids”, which Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia launches a has full-colour illustrations accompanying book “Bapu-The unforgettable” the narrative.  The stories are interspersed with funny songs and poems making the book a read-aloud as well as a bedtime companion.

PM Modi releases autobiography of Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil

On the occasion of the 151st Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia has launched the coffee-table book titled “Babu – The Unforgettable” over the virtual event.

 This virtual event was organised by the Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases the Archives & Department of Art, Culture and autobiography of Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil and Language, Government of Delhi. rename Pravara Rural Education Society as ‘Loknete  The department also organised a webinar on Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Pravara Rural Education “Footprints of Gandhi Ji in Delhi”. Society’.

Anand Neelakantan pens debut kids’ book “The  Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil served as Member Very, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales for of Lok Sabha for multiple terms. Kids”  His autobiography is titled ‘Deh Vechwa Karani’ which means ‘dedicating one’s life for a noble cause’.  Pravara Rural Education Society was established in 1964 at Loni in Ahmednagar district, with the aim to provide world class education to the rural masses and empower the girl child.  The Society is currently serving with the core mission of educational, social, economical, cultural, physical and psychological development of students.

Shashi Tharoor announces book titled ‘The Battle  Singh is currently serving as the Chairman of of Belonging’ the 15th Finance Commission.  The book portrays the life of NK Singh who played an active role in the development of the Indian economy.  The book portrays NK Singhs’s stents from 1964 when he joined the Indian Administrative Service(IAS), serving in higher positions of the Indian Government before entering politics as a member of Rajya Sabha.

Book titled “Night of the Restless Spirits: Stories from 1984” authored by Sarbpreet Singh

Renowned Author and Politician, Shashi Tharoor is set to release his new book titled “The Battle of Belonging” is set to be released in November 2020.

 The book is published by Aleph Book Company.  Shashi Tharoor described this book as his “magnum opus” on the Theory, evolution and practice of Nationalism across the globe and especially in India.  The book appears to be an extension of his book “Why I Am a Hindu”.

NK Singh launches his autobiography ‘Portraits Of Power’ A book titled “Night of the Restless Spirits: Stories from 1984″ authored by Sarbpreet Singh.

 The author Sarbpreet Singh’s recounts the Sikh massacre of 1984 in this book.  The book is a fictionalised version of real happenings comprising just eight chapters.  It shows the events of 1984 through the prism of many lives & impact on Sikhs.

UP Governor releases 'science toon' book on COVID-19 pandemic

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel released the world's first scientoon book” – “Bye Bye Veteran Economist and bureaucrat N K (Nand Corona”. Kishore) Singh has released his autobiography titled “Portraits of Power: Half a Century of Being at  The book has been written by ‘scientoonist’ Ringside”. Dr Pradeep Srivastava, former Senior

Principal Scientist at CSIR-Central Drug Japan Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow.  The book contains information regarding the Russia novel coronavirus, its symptoms and ways to prevent it. The book highlights the methods Israel of dealing with the virus in day to day life. Q. Recently, India has established an Air Bubble October English Quiz 2020 arrangement with Kenya & Bhutan. What is the capital of Kenya? Q. International Day of Older Persons is observed every year on ______. Dodoma

29 September Nairobi

30 September Addis Ababa

01 October Abuja

02 October None of these

03 October Q. Which of the following zone of Indian railways recently launched “Operation My Saheli” for safety Q. The WHO has advised that a country needs of lady passengers? ______tests per day per million population. South Eastern Railway 50 Eastern Railway 70 East Central Railway 140 East Coast Railway 200 Northern Railway 320 Q. In Bihar, notification for the First Phase of State Q. India successfully test-fired BrahMos supersonic Assembly Elections was issued. State Assembly cruise missile with several indigenous features. Elections in Bihar will be carried out in ______BrahMos missile has been developed by India in phases. collaboration with ______. 2 France 3 US

4 HDFC Bank

5 Canara Bank

6 Indian Bank

Q. Recently, a circle of India Post will release None of the above picture postcards on Sawantwadi Toys. Sawantwadi Q. Who among the following recently launched the Toys are associated with which of the following new logo of Sports Authority of India’s (SAI)? states? Amit Shah Bihar Prahlad Singh Patel Odisha Kiren Rijiju Assam Ravi Shankar Prasad Maharashtra Ramesh Pokhriyal Gujarat Q. Which of the following country will send out the Q. Which of the following state’s Chief Minister world’s first mining robot into space by November recently presented the ‘Anundoram Borooah Award this year? 2020’ to students who scored above 75% in 10th exams? US

Bihar Japan

Assam France

Karnataka China

Andhra Pradesh India

Nagaland Q. Indian Coast Guard Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS 'Kanaklata Barua' has been commissioned in Q. Which of the following bank has launched a ______. green initiative ‘IB-eNote’ that enables a totally paperless working environment? Mumbai

Axis Bank Kochi Puri

Kolkata and replaced with the positions of Governor and the Chief Minister. Chennai C. He gave the slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan". Q. The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has revised the ideal weight of men to______. A only

62kg B only

65kg A and B

66kg B and C

68kg A, B and C

70kg Q. Recently, DRDO has tested the indigenously developed Laser Guided ATGM. T in ATGM stands Q. Nation pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his for 151st birth anniversary. Mahatma Gandhi returned to India in______, after spending 21 years of his life Time in South Africa. Tank

1912 Truck

1915 Transport

1904 None of these

1917 Q. What is the length of the world's longest highway 1910 tunnel ‘Atal Tunnel’?

Q. Nation paid tributes to former Prime Minister Lal 7.32km

Bahadur Shastri on his 116th birth anniversary on 02 7.82km October. Which of the following statement is true 8.22km about Lal Bahadur Shastri? 9.02km A. Lal Bahadur Shastri was the 3rd Prime Minister of India. 9.82km

B. During his tenure as the Prime Minister, the posts Q. World Postcard Day is observed every year on of Sadar-e-Riyasat and Wazir in J&K were abolished ______.

30 September Q. Which of the following state government has

01 October recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding - MoU with Denmark in the water sector? 02 October Bihar 03 October Punjab 04 October Rajasthan Q. Recently, Tamil Nadu & Arunachal Pradesh has Gujarat been integrated under One Nation One Ration Card Scheme. After the integration of these two states the Kerala number of states/UT under ONOR has been Q. Which of the following bank has signed a increased to ______. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 24 Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to empower the

25 SME segment through awareness and knowledge- sharing programmes? 28 HDFC Bank 30 ICICI Bank 31 Yes Bank Q. Which of the following city has been ranked Indian Bank number one in crime against women according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)? None of these

Pune Q. United States President Donald Trump

Kolkata announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Trump Delhi has been serving as the ______president of the Mumbai US?

Jaipur 41st

42nd

43rd

44th Prakash Javadekar

45th None of these

Q. Recently, The United States announced over a Q. According to the recent government dozen sanctions against Syrian individuals and announcement, Till date, about ______of the entities to further pressure the Syrian government. cities across the country have become Open What is the capital of Syria? Defecation Free, ODF.

Mogadishu 75%

Khartoum 81%

Damascus 85%

Addis Ababa 93%

Tripoli 97%

Q. ______and Azerbaijan have been battling Q. ISRO is scheduled to launch its Venus mission in over a piece of land situated in the mountainous the year ______. region of south Caucasus. 2022 Libya 2023 Turkey 2024 Lebanon 2025 Armenia 2026 Egypt Q. What is the name given of the webinar organised Q. Who among the following has recently launched by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs the largest market of tribal products ‘Tribes India E- (MoHUA) to celebrate six years of Swachh Bharat Marketplace’? Mission-Urban on Gandhi Jayanti?

Amit Shah Swachh Bharat, Swachh Man

Ravi Shankar Prasad Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal

Arjun Munda Swachh Bharat, Swasth Bharat

Lakshay 100 Pritashat TCS

None of these Facebook

Q. Which of the following has became the first state Q. Who among the following has been appointed as in the country to undertake over one crore tests to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the State Bank screen Coronavirus? of India (SBI)?

Maharashtra Shyam Srinivasan

Karnataka Pallav Mohapatra

Uttar Pradesh Charanjit Singh Attra

Rajasthan Atul Kumar Goel

Gujarat None of these

Q. Recently, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Q. Which of the following state has won the first Sadananda Gowda launched POS 3.1 software, SMS position in Swachh Sundar Samudayak Shouchalaya Gateway and home delivery facility of fertilisers for category in Swachh Bharat Awards 2020? farmers in ______. Andhra Pradesh Maharashtra Bihar Andhra Pradesh Gujarat Madhya Pradesh Telangana Bihar Assam Punjab Q. World Animal Day is observed every year on Q. Which of the following has recently announced ______. the launch of its nationwide campaign “Make Small 01 October Strong” in order to help support small businesses? 02 October Amazon India 03 October Paytm 04 October Google India 05 October

Q. ‘Bongosagar’ is a naval exercise between France

Bangladesh and ______. Russia

Myanmar Israel

India US

China Japan

Indonesia Q. Which of the following organisation has decided None of these to launch a refinance scheme for Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene (WASH) programme? Q. What is the length of World’s longest Highway tunnel ‘Atal Tunnel’? ISRO

8.35 km DRDO

8.82 km NABARD

9.02 km NITI Aayog

9.56 km None of these

10.60 km Q. Visnu Shivaraj Pandian is associated with which of the following sorts? Q. Government has decided to waive compound interest on loans up to ______for six-months Shooting due to the coronavirus pandemic. Golf

Rs 1 crore Football

Rs 1.5 crore Badminton

Rs 2 crore Tennis

Rs 5 crore Q. Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju Rs 10 crore flagged in CRPF Divyang Yodha Cycle rally from Sabarmati Ashram, Gujarat to Rajpath. Who among Q. India will signs USD 90 million defence deal the following is the current Director General of with which of the following country to buy spares for CRPF? C-130J Super Hercules aircraft?

A P Maheshwari 04 October

Surjeet Singh Deswal 05 October

Arvind Kumar Q. PM Modi pays tributes to Shyamji Krishna

G. Satheesh Reddy Varma on his birth anniversary. He was a /an ______. None of these Politician Q. Recently, Pradeep Maharathy passed away. He Scientist was a/an ______. Freedom Fighter Cricketer Mountaineer Painter None of these Politician

Journalist Q. Recently, India successfully test-fired a new version of nuclear-capable Shaurya Missile. It can None of these strike targets at around______. Recently, Pushpa Bhave passed away. She was Q. 200 kms a/an ______. 500 kms Journalist 800 kms Cartoonist 1,200 kms Social activist 1,500 kms Politician Q. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the None of these ‘RAISE 2020’ summit. ‘RAISE 2020’ is associated Q. World Teachers’ Day is observed every year on with?

______. New Education Policy

01 October GST Returns

02 October Artificial Intelligence

03 October Defence Products

None of these Q. Who among the following is named as the highest-paid female actor in the world? Q. Which of the following state/UT is organisting 'Corona Intensive Community Survey Campaign'? Julie Bowen

Bihar Scarlett Johansson

New Delhi Sofia Vergara

Maharashtra Elizabeth Olsen

Chhattisgarh Jennifer Lawrence

Gujarat Q. Recently, Mishti Mukherjee passed away. She was a/an ______. Q. Recently, Ashthal Bridge has been inaugurated in which of the following state/UT? Novelist

Jammu and Kashmir Social activist

Himachal Pradesh Actress

Arunachal Pradesh Journalist

Assam Poet

Nagaland Q. Recently, Minister for Development of North Eastern Region, DoNER, released a Coffee Table Q. Which of the following state/UT has recently Book on Discovering the Heritage of Assam, with launched ‘Kritagyata’ for online pension foreword by Amitabh Bachchan. Who among the submission and tracking? following is the current minister of DoNER? Bihar Shripad Naik Assam Harsh Vardhan Telangana Jitendra Singh Kerala Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi None of these None of these

Q. World Habitat Day 2020 was observed on Q. On the conclusion of the 42nd GST Council meet, ______. the Centre has decided to disburse nearly______among the states from the 2 October amount collected as compensation cess this year. 3 October 5 thousand crore rupees 4 October 10 thousand crore rupees 5 October 15 thousand crore rupees 6 October 20 thousand crore rupees Q. On the NG-14 mission, A commercial cargo 30 thousand crore rupees spacecraft reached the International Space Station (ISS) carrying approximately 3,630 kilograms of Q. Recently, India successfully tested the ‘SMART’ cargo to the station. The aircraft has been named after Torpedo release from Wheeler Island off the coast of the astronaut ______. Odisha. S in SMART stands for ______.

Rakesh Sharma Sided

Sunita Williams Supersonic

Kalpana Chawla Secondary

Laurel Clark Screen

None of these Satellite

Q. The 12th BRICS Summit will be held on 17th Q. India has recently agreed to operationalisation of November 2020 via video conference under the the Sittwe port based in ______. chairmanship of ______. Bangladesh Brazil Sri Lanka India Myanmar China Indonesia Russia Vietnam South Africa

Q. Which of the following state/UT has launched the Q. Recently, Anantkumar Surendraray Dave passed ‘Yudh Pradushan ke Virudh’ campaign against air away. Dave served as the Chief Justice of the pollution ahead of winter? ______High Court.

Haryana Assam

Uttar Pradesh Bihar

New Delhi Uttar Pradesh

Punjab Gujarat

Bihar None of these

Q. Which of the following airport has become the Q. World Cotton Day is observed every year on first airport of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) ______. which is entirely solar-powered? 05 October Puducherry airport 06 October Hyderabad airport 07 October Pune airport 08 October Guwahati airport 09 October None of these Q. In October 2020, the foreign ministers of the Q. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has QUAD-India, USA, Japan, Australia meet in entered into an MoU with______to onboard ______. street food vendors on its e-commerce platform. New Delhi Zomato Tokyo Uber Eats New York Swiggy Sydney Ola Melbourne Phone Pe Q. In October 2020, NCERT has partnered with ______, to make education materials accessible

for Deaf children in their preferred format of Q. In October 2020, Who among the following has communication, Indian Sign Language. been named as the new members of the Monetary

Indian Sign Language Research And Training Policy Committee? Centre Ashima Goyal

Zabaan School for Languages Jayanth R Varma

Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya National Institute For Shashanka Bhide Persons with Physical Disabilities A and B Association of Sign Language Interpreters A, B and C None of these Q. Who among the following has been named as the Q. Which of the following state government has chairman of State Bank of India (SBI)? announced a Digital Seva Setu Programme for the S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao rural areas? Prashant Kumar Bihar Dinesh Kumar Khara Uttar Pradesh Sanjiv Chadha Assam None of these Gujarat Q. Who among the following has won the 2020 Karnataka Nobel Prize in Physics? Q. Who among the following has been appointed as Roger Penrose the Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)? Reinhard Genzel

M A Ganapathy Andrea Ghez

V S K Kaumudi A and B

Surjeet Singh Deswal A, B and C

S N Shrivastava Q. Recently, Eddie Van Halen passed away. He was

None of these a/an ______.

Actor C. Indian Air Force was officially established on 8 October 1932 as the Royal Indian Air Force. Footballer D. The name was changed to Indian Air Force in Guitarist 1961. Writer A and B None of these A and C Q. Who among the following recently released the A, B and C book “Bapu-The unforgettable”? A, B and D Ravi Shankar Prasad A, B, C and D Smriti Irani Q. India’s premium cotton would be known as Manish Sisodia ______in the world cotton trade. Prakash Javadekar Shakti Cotton Amit Shah Tejas Cotton Q. Which of the following country has recently test Kasturi Cotton fired new hypersonic ‘TSIRKON’ missile? Reshmi Cotton Russia Tej Cotton China Q. Which of the following has become the first state USA to cap the prices of face masks? France Uttar Pradesh North Korea Uttarakhand Q. Which of the following statements is/are true? Assam A. Indian Air Force Day is celebrated every year on Maharashtra 8th of October. Telangana B. This year Indian Air Force celebrated its 88th anniversary.

Q. In October 2020, the Union Cabinet approves None of these signing of Memorandum of cooperation in field of Q. Who among the following has been appointed as cyber-security between India & ______. the new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia India?

New Zealand MA Ganapathy

Japan Tarun Bajaj

Russia Ashima Goyal

France Dinesh Kumar Khara

Q. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing M Rajeshwar Rao (C-DAC) will commission India’s fastest Q. The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Supercomputer named as ______. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for PARAM Siddhi - AI ______.

Pratyush- AI for the phage display of peptides and antibodies

Supernova X400 for the directed evolution of enzymes

Supernova Padma-AI for the design and synthesis of molecular machines

None of these for the development of a method for genome editing Q. The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs launched the integration of API (application None of these programming interface) of various banks with Q. Recently, Ashwani Kumar passed away. He SVANidhi portal. To begin with, the ministry started served as the ______. with ______. Director of Central Bureau of Investigation State Bank of India Chairman of planning commission HDFC Bank Deputy governor of RBI ICICI Bank Finance secretary Punjab National Bank None of these

Q. World Post Day is observed every year on Q. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ______. inaugurated the state’s largest oxygen production plant in ______. 7 October Jhansi 8 October Ghaziabad 9 October Azamgarh 10 October Gorakhpur 11 October Varanasi Q. Which of the following part of the world has been affected by hurricane Delta? Q. The Reserve Bank of India in its bi-monthly Monetary Policy statement kept the key interest rates Korean peninsula unchanged. The current repo rate stands at Gulf of Mexico ______.

South China Sea 3.55%

Indonesia 4.50%

Madagascar 3.35%

Q. The Prime Minister of Kuwait Sabah Al Khalid 3.15% Al Sabah recently submitted his resignation to Emir 4.15% Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah. What is the currency of Kuwait? Q. Which of the following banks has recently launched an online Business Mentoring Programme Dirham ‘MSME Prerana’, for MSMEs? Riyal HDFC Bank Dinar State Bank of India Pound Indian Bank Peseta Axis Bank

None of the above

Q. Which of the following bank has launched a co- Q. Who among the following has won the Nobel branded forex card with Vistara airlines that can load Prize for Literature 2020? up to 16 currencies? Emmanuelle Charpentier IndusInd Bank Jennifer Doudna Axis Bank Louise Glück Kotak Mahindra Bank Reinhard Genzel Yes Bank Andrea Ghez None of the above Q. World Mental Health Day is observed every year on Q. For the FY21, The World Bank expects India’s ______. economy to contract ______. 08 October

7.2% 09 October

7.7% 10 October

8.4% 11 October

9.6% 12 October

10.4% Q. China has formally joined COVAX, the global initiative for COVID-19 vaccine. COVAX facility is led Q. Who among the following bank has been by ______. appointed as the managing director (MD) and Chief World Bank Executive Officer (CEO) of India Post Payments Bank? World Health Organisation

Anubrata Biswas International Committee of the Red Cross

J Venkatramu World Trade Organization

Sandeep Tandon None of these

Kunal Shah Q. The world famous Jog falls in Karnataka will get a face lift at a cost of Rs. 120 crore. Jog falls is on ______None of the above river.

Indravati

Sabari Harsh Vardhan

Sharavati Nitin Gadkari

Malaprabha Ramesh Pokhriyal

None of these Prakash Javadekar

Q. Railway service across the historic Pamban bridge has None of these been suspended till further notice. Pamban bridge is in Q. In October 2020, Which of the following has ______. partnered with ‘Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Andhra Pradesh Corporation’ (IRCTC), to book reserved train tickets on its platform. Kerala My Jio Maharashtra Amazon Tamil Nadu Flipkart Karnataka Google Pay Q. Recently, Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot inaugurated None of these the virtual “International conference on Mental Health: Q. Jordan's King Abdullah II designated his chief policy Looking Beyond COVID 19” through video adviser Bishr al-Khasawneh as Prime Minister. What is conferencing. The conference was organised in the capital of Jordan? partnership with ______. Amman France Beirut Japan Damascus Australia Tripoli UAE None of these US Q. Who among the following has been reappointed as the Q. Who among the following has recently inaugurated chairman of Association of Mutual Funds in India the Gyan Circle Ventures developed by the Indian (AMFI)? Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. Akash Pandey

Nilesh Shah

Rajdeep Kumar Q. National Postal Day is observed every year on

Amitabh Rastogi ______.

None of these 09 October

Q. Who among the following will be conferred the 10 October prestigious Sarala Puraskar by the Odisha government? 11 October Radhanath Ray 12 October Nityanand Nayak 13 October Reba Ray Q. Recently the Coastal Security Exercise- 'Sagar Kunjan Nambiar Kavach'- was conducted on the coasts of None of these ______.

Q. International Day of the Girl Child is observed Kerala every year on ______. Karnataka 09 October Lakshadweep 10 October Gujarat 11 October A, B and C 12 October Q. Which of the following state government has 13 October launched the ‘Mukhya Mantri Saur Swarojgar Yojana’ for self-employment by solar energy Q. World Migratory Bird Day is observed every farming? year on ______. Assam 09 October Jharkhand 10 October Odisha 11 October Uttarakhand 12 October Madhya Pradesh 13 October

Q. Which of the following state government has Q. Chetan Anand is associated with which of the launched the ‘Jagananna Vidya Kanuka’ scheme to following sports? distribute school kits? Football Karnataka Tennis Rajasthan Table tennis Gujarat Badminton Andhra Pradesh Chess Telangana Q. Recently KK Usha passed away. She served as Q. Who among the following gets additional charge the first woman chief justice of ______high of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs after the death court? of Ram Vilas Paswan? Kerala High Court Ravi Shankar Prasad Assam High Court Nitin Gadkari Karnataka High Court Piyush Goyal Bombay High Court Smriti Irani Madras None of these Q. World Arthritis Day is observed every year on Q. The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman ______.

Mukesh Ambani has topped the Forbes India Rich 10 October list for ______consecutive year. 11 October 5th 12 October 7th 13 October 8th 14 October 10th Q. The Union Government has permitted export of Rose 13th Onions and Krishnapuram Onions of up to ten thousand metric tonnes each. Rose Onions are grown in and around ______.

Indore Sikkim

Aurangabad Meghalaya

Gandhinagar Q. Recently eight beaches recommended by the

Bangalore Government have got the coveted International Blueflag Certification. The Blue Flag programme is operated under Guwahati the auspices of the Foundation for Environmental Q. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a Education, FEE and is headquartered in ______. commemorative 100 rupee coin in the honour of Vijaya France Raje Scindia. Vijaya Raje Scindia is popularly known as New Zealand the Rajmata of ______. Denmark Udaipur Switzerland Hyderabad UK Gwalior

Jaipur Q. On the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child day, Who among the following got an opportunity to None of these serve as the British High Commissioner for a day?

Q. Which of the following ship has been awarded Best Licypriya Kangujam Ship trophy at the Fleet Award Function(FAF), 2020? Chaitanya Venkateswaran INS Sahyadri Nafisa Ali INS Kora Ridhima Pandey INS Rajput Aditya Mukarji A and B Q. Who among the following recently won the Eifel A, B and C Grand Prix 2020?

Q. Recently the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid the Max Verstappen foundation stone of Nechiphu tunnel in ______. Daniel Ricciardo Arunachal Pradesh Lewis Hamilton Himachal Pradesh Sebastian Vettel Leh None of these

won French Open Men's Singles title? Bhutan

Alexander Zverev Sri Lanka

Rafael Nadal Bangladesh Novak Djokovic Q. Recently, the Asia Pacific Group of FATF kept Roger Federer Pakistan on ‘enhanced follow-up list’ for slow

Andy Murray progress against terror financing. FATF is headquartered in ______. Q. Who among the following won French Open Women's Singles title? Geneva

Sofia Kenin Paris

Naomi Osaka Rome

Iga Swiatek Berlin

Ashleigh Barty London

None of these Q. Which of the following has become the first state Q. International Day for Disaster Reduction is in the country to have high-tech classrooms in all its observed every year on ______. public schools?

11 October Rajasthan

12 October Uttar Pradesh

13 October Kerala

14 October Bihar

15 October Assam

Q. In October 2020, Which of the following Q. In October 2020, the Finance Minister Nirmala neighbouring country’s cabinet has approved capital Sitharaman has announced a fiscally prudent punishment for rape? proposals to tune of ______to boost demand.

Nepal Rs 45,000

Myanmar Rs 55,000

Rs 61,000 Which of the following country is the host for the Grand Slam 2020 competition? Rs 73,000 Russia Rs 92,000 Hungary Q. Recently, the Reserve Bank of India has reallocated portfolios of deputy governors. Who New Zealand among the following is not the current deputy Canada governor of RBI? UAE M Rajeshwar Rao. Q. Recently, C.M. Chang passed away. He was MD Patra serving as the Minister for Environment, Forest and MK Jain Climate Change and Justice and Law of ______.

Ajay Bhushan Pandey Sikkim

BP Kanungo Telangana

Q. The 2020 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has Kerala been awarded jointly to Paul R. Milgrom and Robert Himachal Pradesh B. Wilson for ______. Nagaland for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of Recently PM Modi released the autobiography of market design Q. ______titled as ‘Deh Vechwa Karani’? for their empirical analysis of asset prices Ashish Rajpal for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil for their contributions to behavioural economics Sanjit Roy for their experimental approach to alleviating global Dr. Achyuta Samanta poverty None of these

Q. Five players from Indian Judo Team will Q. World Standards Day is observed every year on participate in the Grand Slam 2020 competition. ______.

12 October

13 October Food and Agriculture Organization

14 October International Committee of the Red Cross

15 October None of these

16 October Q. Recently, the government has agreed to extend the subsidy of ______on transportation of notified Q. National Philately Day is observed every year on fruits & vegetables through Kisan Rail trains. ______. 10% 12 October 20% 13 October 25% 14 October 50% 15 October 75% 16 October Q. Which of the following state police have started Q. What is the name given to the Health Ministry’s an initiative to connect Banchhara and Kanjar telemedicine initiative? community with the mainstream of the society? E-Paramarsh Uttar Pradesh E-Upchaar Odisha E-Aushadhi Madhya Pradesh E-Sanjeevani Jharkhand E-Upay Maharashtra Q. On 16 October 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Q. Recently, PepsiCo is setting up a greenfield potato Modi will release a commemorative coin of 75 chips production unit in which of the following rupees denomination to mark the 75th Anniversary districts of Uttar Pradesh? of______. Moradabad World Wide Fund for Nature Mathura United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Jhansi

Lalitpur Gujarat

Jaunpur Nagaland

Q. Which of the following bank has announced the Q. International Day of Rural Women is observed launch of its ACE Credit Card in India in every year on ______. collaboration with Google Pay and Visa. 13 October HDFC Bank 14 October Yes Bank 15 October Axis Bank 16 October IndusInd Bank 17 October None of the above Q. World Students’ Day is observed every year on Q. The National Shooting Camp for core Olympic ______. shooters to take place at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range. Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range is in 13 October ______. 14 October

Hyderabad 15 October

Indore 16 October

New Delhi 17 October

Bhopal Q. Which of the following country has been elected

Gandhinagar as President of the International Solar Alliance?

Q. Recently, legendary singer Kaumudi Munshi France passed away. She was also known as Nightingale of India ______. UK Maharashtra Mexico Telangana Australia Assam

Q. In October 2020, Exim Bank extended a $400 Pradeep Kumar Sinha million soft loan to which of the following islands None of these nation to finance a connectivity project? Q. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Dr. Madagascar APJ Abdul Kalam on the occasion of his Birth Trinidad and Tobago Anniversary. Kalam served as the ______president of India. Cuba 9th Maldives 10th Malta 11th Q. India has contributed one million dollars to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency 12th

(UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. 13th United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Which of the following state government has Palestine Refugees in the Near East is headquartered Q. in ______. recently launched ‘Sujal - Drink from Tap Mission’?

Amman Bihar

Lebanon Assam

Cairo Odisha

Ankara Jharkhand

None of these West Bengal

Q. Recently, The government has constituted a Q. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has panel of secretaries under the chairmanship of given its in-principle approval to the demerger of ______to streamline the spectrum allocation Nagarnar Steel Plant (NSP) from National Minerals process. Development Corporation (NMDC) Limited. NSP is being setup in ______. Rajiv Gauba Ahmednagar Pramod Kumar Mishra Belgaum Ajay Kumar Bhalla

Bastar None of these

Rajkot Q. Global Handwashing Day is observed every year

Asansol on ______.

14 October Q. Recently, 1952 Olympic champion Charlie Moore passed away. He was associated with which 15 October of the following sports? 16 October Pole vault 17 October Hurdles 18 October Javelin throw Q. Which of the following country has recently Shot put registered COVID-19 vaccine 'EpiVacCorona'?

Fencing China

Q. Well-known classical dancer and Guru, Shobha USA Naidu passed away. She was associated with which Russia of the following dance forms? UK Odissi France Kathak Q. Recently, the Union Health Minister launched the Bharatanatyam 2nd phase of “Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojna”. Kuchipudi Thalassemia is a disorder associated with

Mohiniyattam ______.

Liver Q. What is the theme of World Food Day 2020? Eyes Family Farming Blood Social Protection and Agriculture Brain Our Actions Are Our Future Skin Grow, Nourish, Sustain Together

Q. The Union Cabinet has approved Strengthening None of these Teaching-Learning and Results for States -STARS Q. Recently, Anti-pollution measures under the project. STARS project is supported by ______. Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) came into New Development Bank force in ______.

Asian Development Bank Agra

World Bank Delhi NCR

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Mumbai

None of these Indore

Q. The world's tallest statue ‘Statue of Unity’ will Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad be reopened for visitors from 17th October. Statue of Q. Recently Bhanu Athaiya passed away. She was Unity has been designed by ______. India’s first ______. Dhruva Mistry Female High Court Judge Anish Kapoor Woman to cross English channel Sankho Chaudhuri Oscar award winner Ram V Sutar Person to receive Jnanpith award None of the above None of these Q. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Q. Recently, Jnanpith recipient Akkitham Achuthan Gadkari initiated simultaneous blasting for Zojila Namboothiri passed away. He was associated with Tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The which of the following language? tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar valley and Leh on______. Kannad

NH-1 Gujarati

NH-14 Malayalam

NH-8 Telugu

NH-19 None of the above

Q. International Poverty Eradication Day is Group of the Organisation for Economic Co- observed every year on ______. operation and Development (OECD). OECD is headquartered in ______. 15 October London 16 October Bern 17 October Berlin 18 October Paris 19 October Rome Q. Recently, Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov has resigned after days of protests over a Q. In October 2020, The government banned the disputed parliamentary election. What is the capital import of ______in its latest bid to boost of Kyrgyzstan? domestic production.

Tashkent LED bulbs

Dushanbe Air conditioners

Bishkek Engine oil

Ashgabat Copper based electric wires

None of these None of these

Q. India will deliver a Kilo Class submarine INS Q. Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted National Sindhuvir to ______. Security Guard (NSG) personnel and their families on the Raising Day of NSG. Who among the Bangladesh following is the current Director General of NSG? Myanmar Surjeet Singh Deswal Indonesia Rakesh Asthana Maldives V S K Kaumudi None of these Rajesh Ranjan Q. Recently, India has been designated the Vice- None of these Chair of Good Laboratory Practice, GLP Working

Q. Which of the following city has recently Q. Recently, Kishore Bhimani passed away. He was launched the campaign ‘Red light on, Gaadi off’ to a/an ______. tackle air pollution? Sports Journalist Hyderabad Sitar player Mumbai Kathak dancer New Delhi Novelist Bhopal Climate activist Patna Q. Recently, Jacinda Ardern has secured the second Q. Recently, the JK Government has signed an MoU term as the Prime Minister of ______. with ______to provide a platform for local Australia artisans, craftsmen, weavers to reach customers across the globe. New Zealand

Amazon Canada

Paytm Austria

Flipkart Spain

Snapdeal Q. Which of the following state/UT has recently announced the ‘My Town My Pride’ programme? None of these Bihar Q. Which of the following state has announced the setting up of the world’s biggest Zinc Smelter Uttar Pradesh project? New Delhi

Uttar Pradesh Maharashtra

Gujarat Jammu and Kashmir

Assam Q. Who among the following has been designated as Bihar a one-man monitoring committee to prevent stubble burning in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Haryana Pradesh?

Dipak Misra Shyam Srinivasan

Jagdish Singh Khehar Sandeep Bakhshi

M B Lokur None of these

Uday Lalit Q. Recently, Vishal V Sharma has been appointed

None of these as the next permanent representative of India to ______. Q. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct first Food and Agriculture Organization Open Market Operations (OMOs) to buy State Developments Loans (SDLs) aggregating International Bank for Reconstruction and ______through auction. Development

Rs 5,000 crore United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Rs 08,000 crore World Bank Group Rs 10,000 crore None of these Rs 15,000 crore

None of these Q. Recently, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has appointed Michael Irani as its Which of the following state/UT has launched Q. interim president. IWF is headquartered in Mission Shakti for security of women in the state? ______.

Bihar Geneva

Maharashtra Bern

Gujarat Rome

Uttar Pradesh Paris

Assam New York

Q. Who among the following has been appointed as Q. Who among the following has been elected the chairman of Indian Banks' Association (IBA)? unopposed president of Delhi and District Cricket

Rajkiran Rai Association?

Rakesh Sharma Rohan Jaitley

Pankaj Singh Kyrgyzstan

Jay Shah Russia

Sunil Gavaskar Q. The highly versatile BRAHMOS missile has

None of the above been jointly designed, developed and produced by India and ______. Q. Who among the following is the author of the France book ‘The Battle of Belonging’? Israel Ramachandra Guha USA Shashi Tharoor Russia Ghulam Nabi Azad None of these Sharad Pawar

None of these Q. The first-ever SCO Startup Forum will be launched on 27th October 2020 ahead of the SCO ‘BepiColombo’ mission has been launched to Q. trade ministers meeting on 28th October. Which of explore and study which of the following planet? the following country is not a member of SCO?

Venus Kazakhstan

Mars Turkmenistan

Jupiter Kyrgyzstan

Mercury Tajikistan

None of these Uzbekistan

Q. Recently, Which of the following country hosted Q. Who among the following participates in the the virtual Summit of Ministers of Justice of 102nd meeting of the World Bank Development Shanghai Cooperation Organisation? Committee Plenary?

China Piyush Goyal

India Nirmala Sitharaman

Kazakhstan Rajnath Singh

Nitin Gadkari Q. Recently, the Government has extended the

None of the above concession rate on cargo movement between India, Chabahar Port in ______. Q. ‘SLINEX-20’ is a military exercise between Saudi Arabia India and ______. Yemen South Africa Iran Singapore Oman Sri Lanka None of these Saudi Arabia

Seychelles Q. Which of the following football club recently received the I-League trophy, 7 months after Which of the following country invited PM Modi Q. clinching the title. to join celebrations of 50 years of the country's Mohun Bagan independence? Gokulam Kerala Sri lanka Indian Arrows Indonesia Sudeva Bangladesh TARU Vietnam

None of the above Q. Who among the following recently clinched the Women's Singles title at Denmark Open? Q. Recently, India and Chile held their first joint Nozomi Okuhara commission meeting. What is the capital of Chile? Akane Yamaguchi Lima Chen Yufei Bogota Carolina Marin Santiago Aya Ohori Buenos Aires

None of these Q. World Osteoporosis Day is observed every year on ______.

17 October India

18 October Indonesia

19 October Q. Which of the following country has joined the

20 October Malabar Naval exercise with India, US and Japan?

21 October Australia

France Q. World Statistics Day is observed every year on ______. UAE

17 October Sauddi Arabia

18 October None of these

19 October Q. Who among the following has recently launched

20 October the AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme?

21 October Nitin Gadkari

Narendra Singh Q. India has been ranked on ______spot on Asia Power Index 2020? Thawar Chand Gehlot

2nd Ravi Shankar Prasad

3rd None of these

4th Q. Nitin Gadkari lays the foundation stone for the

5th country's first-ever multi-modal logistic park in ______. None of these Rajasthan Q. Which of the following countries has topped the Bihar Asia Power Index 2020? Assam Japan Gujarat China Telangana USA

Q. NITI Aayog will establish India’s first Frontier A, B, C and D Technologies Cloud Innovation Centre in Q. International Chefs Day is observed every year partnership with ______. on ______. Google 18 October Amazon Web Services 19 October Microsoft Azure 20 October IBM 21 October None of these 22 October Q. Which of the following institute’s startup Q. In October 2020, In an historic development, the launches ‘mooPay’ for Dairy Farmers in Rajasthan? first delegation from which of the following country IIT Mumbai reached Israel?

IIT Madras Saudi Arabia

IIT New Delhi Iran

IIT Kharagpur United Arab Emirates

Q. ISA Solar Awards has been conferred for the first Syria time under which of the following categories? Armenia

Kalpana Chawla awards Q. Police Commemoration Day is observed every Visvesvaraya award year on ______.

Diwakar award 18 October

C. V. Raman award 19 October

B only 20 October

A and B 21 October

B and C 22 October

A, B and C

Q. Which of the following state has become the first Agra state in the country to cap prices of masks? Prayagraj

Bihar Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh Meerut

Gujarat None of these

Maharashtra Q. According to Health Ministry, How many states Assam have reported reduction in prevalence of parasitic intestinal worm infection also known as Soil- Q. Recently, which of the following satte celebrated Transmitted Helminthiases (STH)/ Kati Bihu festival? 4 Assam 6 Nagaland 11 Manipur 14 Tripura 19 Arunachal Pradesh Q. Elavenil Valarivan is associated with which of Q. Recently, Dharmendra Pradhan launched the trial the following sports? run of buses on Hydrogen-Blended CNG buses in ______. Football

New Delhi Hockey

Chennai Badminton

Mumbai Shooting

Gandhinagar Table tennis

None of these Q. Recently, Union Minister of Youth and Sports Kiren Rijiju attended the Youth-20 (Y20) Summit Q. Recently, Uttar Pradesh Governor launches a being held virtually in ______. women's safety campaign ‘Safe City Project’ in ______. Saudi Arabia

China IIT Delhi

US IIT Madras

France IIT Mumbai

Germany IIT Kharagpur

Q. International Stuttering Awareness Day is IIT Ropar observed every year on ______. Q. In October 2020, The last of four indigenously 19 October ASW stealth corvettes ______was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Naval 20 October Dockyard in Visakhapatnam. 21 October INS Kavaratti 22 October INS Kamorta 23 October INS Kadmatt Q. India participates in the 18th meeting of the INS Tejas Prosecutors General of SCO via video conference. Who among the following is the current Solicitor None of these General of India? Q. Which of the following Indian city will host the Mukul Rohatgi third India-US 22 Ministerial Dialogue on 27th of October? Tushar Mehta Washington DC Ashok Bhushan Chennai K. K. Venugopal New York Arun Mishra New Delhi Q. Recently, the ‘COVIRAP’ diagnostic technology developed has been successfully validated for its Srinagar efficacy in COVID-19 detection by the Indian Q. Recently, The RPF has started ______Council of Medical Research (ICMR). COVIRAP initiative is to provide a safe and secure environment has been developed by ______.

to lady passengers travelling in trains throughout Honiara their journey. Port Vila Suraksha Apia Mission Shakti Suva Meri Saheli None of these Disha Q. “Portraits of Power: Half a Century of Being at None of these Ringside” is the autobiography of ______.

Q. Which of the following state has launched the Arvind Panagariya ‘Mo Bidyut’ portal? Shikha Sharma Bihar NK Singh Jharkhand Raghuram Rajan Odisha Arvind Subramanian Telangana Q. World Snow Leopard Day is observed every year Andhra Pradesh on ______.

Q. Which of the following state has topped the 21 October Anemia Mukt Bharat Index in the country? 22 October Gujarat 23 October Assam 24 October Haryana 25 October Uttar Pradesh Q. Recently, DRDO successfully conducted the Rajasthan final trial of the NAG missile in Pokhran range. NAG is a/an ______. Q. Sushil Kumar Singha has been concurrently accredited as the next High Commissioner of India Anti-Tank Missile guided missile to the Solomon Islands. What is the capital of Anti-ship ballistic missile Solomon Islands?

Multi-platform hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile West Bengal

Anti aircraft missile Q. Which of the following state/UT has launched the

None of these Smart Black Board scheme in 80,000 government schools of the state? Q. The Union Minister of State for Culture and Bihar Tourism Shri Prahlad Singh Patel launched the ‘Life in Miniature’ project in partnership with ______. Kerala

Facebook Telangana

Amazon.in Tamil Nadu

Google Assam

Yahoo Q. Who among the following will lead the panel

Apple formed by Election Commission of India to examine the issue of revising the expenditure limit for Q. Recently, Asan Conservation Reserve gets first candidates for Lok Sabha and assembly polls? Ramsar site tag from ______. Harish Kumar Bihar Umesh Sinha Uttar Pradesh Rajeev Kumar Karnataka A and B Uttarakhand A, B and C Himachal Pradesh Q. Who among the following has been named as the Which of the following state has launched the Q. national brand ambassador of Parle Agro to ‘YSR BIMA’ insurance scheme for BPL families? maximise reach and awareness of its fruits plus fizz Odisha portfolio ‘B-Fizz’?

Jharkhand Virat Kohli

Assam Suresh Raina

Andhra Pradesh Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Salman Khan Q. United Nations Day is observed every year on

Ayushman Khurana ______.

22 October Q. Recently, Vijayalakshmi Ramanan passed away. She was the first ______. 23 October

First woman to cross English Channel 24 October

Female Chief Justice of Bombay High court 25 October

Woman officer in the Indian Air Force 26 October

Female F1 driver of India Q. World Development Information Day is

Female director of AIIMS New Delhi observed every year on ______.

22 October Q. Recently, Jayanta Madhab passed away. He was a/an ______. 23 October

Journalist 24 October

Economist 25 October

Actor 26 October

Singer Q. Recently, Which of the following country has

Politician approved the sale of weapons systems worth around 1.8 billion dollar to Taiwan? Q. Mole Day is observed every year on 23 October. France What is the value of Avogadro’s Number? US 6.02 x 1017 Israel 6.02 x 10-17 Russia 6.02 x 1023 None of these 6.02 x 10-23

None of these Q. After Bangladesh, Which of the following country has rejected the purchase of the coronavirus vaccine from China?

Brazil Q. AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik

Japan inaugurated the Regional Raw Drug Repository at All India Institute of Ayurveda. AAI is in ______. Afghanistan Kolkata UAE New Delhi None of these Chennai Q. Recently, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu paid Agra tribute to the revolutionary freedom fighter Ashfaqulla Khan who is most widely known for the None of these Kakori train robbery. Kakori train robbery took Q. Which of the following district bags the top place in the year ______. position for implementation of Pradhan Mantri Gram 1919 Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)?

1922 Indore

1925 Mandi

1927 Mathura

1930 Almora

Q. ‘COVAXIN’ has received the nod for Phase-3 Chamoli clinical trials in the country. ‘COVAXIN’ has been Q. Which of the following is state/UT observed developed by ______in collaboration with the black day on October 22? Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Andaman and Nicobar Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Uttar Pradesh Cipla Ltd. Gujarat Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd. Jammu and Kashmir Bharat Biotech Assam None of these Q. Which of the following state police personnel will also converse in regional dialects on 112 police

Help Line to the convenience of the rural population Egypt of the state. Jordan Bihar Lebanon Karnataka Turkey Uttar Pradesh None of these West Bengal Q. Which of the following country has joined the Uttarakhand International Monetary Fund (IMF) to become its 190th member? Q. World Polio Day is observed every year on ______. Andorra

22 October San Marino

23 October Monaco

24 October Malta

25 October None of the above

26 October Q. Recently, Which of the following country has assumed the Chairmanship of the Governing Body of Q. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has International Labour Organisation (ILO)? announced that Pakistan will continue to remain on its grey list till February 2021. FATF is China headquartered in ______. India Rome Bangladesh Paris Russia Geneva Nepal Vienna Q. Who among the following will lead the NITI None of these Aayog panel formed to look into introducing reforms in the urban planning education system? Q. Recently, Saad al-Hariri has been renamed as Prime Minister of ______. Jayati Ghosh

Amitabh Kant Visa

Rajiv Kumar ICICI Bank

Ashok Lavasa None of these

Arvind Subramanian Q. Which of the following bank has announced a tie up with Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) to enable Q. PM Modi will launch the Kisan Suryodaya finance options for the automaker's customers and Yojana for providing 16 hours of power supply to dealers? farmers in ______. Axis Bank Bihar Bank of Baroda Rajasthan HDFC Bank Gujarat Yes Bank Punjab None of these None of these Q. Which of the following country has recently Q. Recently, the World Bank has sanctioned Rs 3 ordered a ‘no mask, no service’ policy? crore to develop India’s first sand dune parks in ______. Bangladesh

Andhra Pradesh Sri Lanka

Goa Nepal

Odisha Myanmar

Rajasthan None of these

Gujarat Q. Which of the following country has joined UAE, Bahrain in recognising Israel? Q. Who among the following has entered into a partnership with Atlantis to expand the Digital First Saudi Arabia Program in India? Oman Rupay Card Sudan Mastercard Libya

None of these Q. Which of the following country has secured the first rank in disbursing loans under PM Swanidhi Q. Which of the following country’s foreign Scheme? ministries does not recognize Hong Kong BNO passports as valid travel documents? Bihar

China Uttar Pradesh

Japan Rajasthan

USA Gujarat

Austria None of these

None of these Q. Who among the following is a part of the first batch of Women Pilots on Dornier Aircraft? Q. Which of the following country has released a commemorative postage stamp on the 75th Divya Sharma anniversary of the United Nations Organisations? Shubhangi Swaroop India Shivangi Bhutan A and B China A, B and C Sri Lanka Q. Who among the following has won the None of these Portuguese Grand Prix 2020?

Q. Which of the following country is the host for the Lewis Hamilton 4-day Commanders’ Conference of Indian Army? Valtteri Bottas Kolkata Max Verstappen New Delhi Charles Leclerc Chennai None of these Srinagar Q. Recently, Lee Kun-Hee passed away. He was the None of these chairman of which of the following company?

Samsung 2055

Intel Q. Who among the following is leading the Indian delegation at the BRICS Parliamentary Forum 2020? Huawei Om Birla Sony Sumitra Mahajan None of these M. Venkaiah Naidu Q. Recently, Mahesh Kanodia passed away. He was Meira Kumar a/ an ______. None of these Climate activist Q. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Journalist alliance plans to build a headquarters for space operations Singer in ______.

Footballer US

None of these France

Germany Q. World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is observed every year on ______. Russia

25 October Canada

26 October Q. President Ram Nath Kovind pays homage to former

27 October President K.R. Narayanan on his birth anniversary.K.R. Narayanan served as the ______president of India. 28 October 07th 29 October 08th Q. Japan will achieve zero carbon emissions by 09th ______. 10th 2030 11th 2035

2040

2050

Q. Who among the following launched the ‘e-Dharti Geo Cambodia portal’ to integrate maps and lease plans and make its Laos geographic information system (GIS)-enabled. None of these Hardeep Singh Puri Q. Recently, Naresh Kanodia passed away. He was a/an Rajnath Singh ______. Amit Shah Journalist J. P. Nadda Footballer None of these Actor

Q. Which of the following bank has shut down its Cricket commentator operations in Sri Lanka? Novelist Yes Bank Q. International Animation Day is observed every ICICI Bank year on ______. Axis Bank 25 October HDFC bank 26 October None of these 27 October Q. Which of the following company has topped the 28 October Forbes’ list of World’s Best Employer 2020? 29 October Amazon

Google Q. Luis Arce has been declared as the president of which of the following nations after the 18th October IBM elections? Microsoft Peru Samsung Mexico Q. Recently, Indian-origin Wavel Ramkalawan has been elected as the President of ______. Bolivia

Maldives Ecuador

Seychelles None of these

Q. The Northern Command of Indian army A and D celebrated the Infantry Day on ______. B and D

25 October Q. India Post has recently signed an agreement for 26 October electronic exchange of customs data with which of the following country’s postal department? 27 October Japan 28 October US 29 October Australia Q. The 1.8 kilometre long Feni bridge will be completed by December this year. Feni bridge will Israel connect India to ______. France

Bhutan Q. The Centre set up a high-level committee headed Nepal by ______to commemorate the 400th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur. Bangladesh Amit Shah Myanmar Amitabh Kant Sri Lanka Narendra Modi Q. Who among the following is leading the Indian delegation at the 3rd bilateral 2+2 Ministerial Prahlad Singh Patel

Dialogue between India and US? Smriti Irani

Rajnath Singh Q. Who among the following inaugurated the virtual Narendra Modi festival of ‘Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of Music and Dance’ organized by Natya Tarangini S. Jaishankar in partnership with the United Nations? Amit Shah M. Venkaiah Naidu A and B Ram Nath Kovind A and C Amit Shah B and C

Narendra Modi Uzbekistan

Nitin Gadkari Q. Recently, India extends ______credit line to Central Asian countries for priority projects Q. Recently, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs launched two Centers of Excellence for Tribal $ 1 billion Welfare. Who among the following is the current $ 1.5 billion Tribal Affairs minister of India? $ 2 billion Hemant Soren $ 2.5 billion Dharmendra Pradhan $ 5 billion Narendra Singh Tomar Q. Who among the following is the chairman of the Arjun Munda 15th Finance Commission? Giriraj Singh Ashok Lahiri Q. Recently, Aditya Puri resigned from the post of Arvind Subramanian Managing Director of which of the following bank? Ajay Narayan Jha Axis Bank N.K. Singh Yes Bank None of these HDFC Bank Q. Air Quality Index between 201 and 300 is ICICI Bank considered as ______. None of the above Poor Q. Which of the following country hosts the 19th Moderate Meeting of SCO Ministers of Foreign Economy & Foreign Trade? Good

Russia Hazardous

India None of the above

China

Kazakhstan

Q. Which of the following state government has Indian Bank recently started a digital library to help students in Q. The Reserve Bank of India has barred Payment higher education? System Operators (PSOs) from launching any new Maharashtra proprietary QR code for payment transactions. Q in QR code stands for ______. Gujarat Quality Haryana Quick Uttar Pradesh Quantitative Madhya Pradesh Quasi Q. Which of the following state has launched a Young Advocates Welfare Fund to provide a Quard monthly financial assistance of 3000 rupees each for Q. Recently, Keshubhai Patel passed away. He two years to the lawyers who just come out of law served as the chief minister of ______. colleges? Bihar Gujarat Uttar Pradesh Tamil Nadu Telangana Haryana Gujarat Karnataka Punjab Uttar Pradesh Q. Who among the following is the author of the Q. Which of the following bank has signed a loan book “Night of the Restless Spirits: Stories from agreement amounting to up to one billion US Dollars 1984”? with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation? Khushwant Singh State Bank of India Shobha De Yes Bank Sarbpreet Singh HDFC Bank Amitav Ghosh Punjab National Bank Surjit Patar

Q. ‘Swadhinata Puraskar’ is the highest national Defence Research and Development Organisation award of ______. India Army

Nepal Indian Air Force

Pakistan Indian Space Research Organisation

Myanmar State Bank of India

Bangladesh Q. Which of the following state has passed an order Sri Lanka for 7.5 % reservation to govt school students in UG medical courses? Q. Indian Railways has launched ______initiative for security of women passengers. Maharashtra

Sakhi Tamil Nadu

Meri Saheli Karnataka

Meri Suraksha Madhya Pradesh

Nirbhay Kerala

None of these Q. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Arogya Van & Arogya Kutir in ______. Q. Who among the following recently inaugurated the 4th India Energy Forum by CERAWeek Rajasthan organised by HIS Markit? Bihar

Amit Shah Gujarat

Nitin Gadkari Madhya Pradesh

Piyush Goyal None of the above

Narendra Modi Q. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Raj Kumar Singh Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) has been rescheduled to ______. Q. Which of the following organization has developed a simple messaging application named the December 2020

‘Secure Application for Internet’ (SAI)? January 2021

February 2021 Rupay Card

March 2021 Phonepe

April 2021 Q. National Unity Day is observed every year on ______. Q. Recently, which of the following state has launched ‘Dharani’ Portal for land and property 27 October registration? 28 October Bihar 29 October Odisha 30 October Telangana 31 October Karnataka Q. Who among the following is known as the Assam father of Indian Nuclear Programme?

Q. ‘Sumangal’ & Student Scholarship web portals Homi Jehangir Bhabha has been launched by ______state government. Verghese Kurien Jharkhand Vikram Sarabhai Odisha Satyendra Nath Bose West Bengal A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Assam Q. The Union Cabinet has approved the None of the above Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and ______on cooperation in the field of Q. Which of the following has launched a Information and Communication Technologies. contactless multi-purpose card that can function as a credit card and as a metro smart card in association Australia with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation? US Axis Bank France SBI Card Israel HDFC Bank Japan

Q. Government has been implementing the Ethanol Q. Which of the following has become the first one Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme to sell petrol in India to start paperless e-boarding? blended with ethanol up to ______. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport 5% Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport 10% Indira Gandhi International Airport 12% Kolkata International Airport 15% None of these 25% Q. Which of the following institutes have developed a low-cost membrane technology to Q. Which of the following countries has entered produce psychoactive drugs and anti-aging into a strategic partnership to develop India’s GIFT compounds? City? IIT Delhi IIT Mumbai France IIT Guwahati UK IIT Madras Japan None of the above

US Q. Who among the following has released the world's first scientoon book” “Bye Bye Corona”? None of these Narendra Modi

Q. Who among the following launched “SERB- Rajnatha Singh POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in Anandiben Patel Exploratory Research)”, designed exclusively for Smriti Irani women scientists? Harsh Vardhan Q. Who among the following indian film has won Prakash Javadekar the best original score at 14th Asian Film Awards? Smriti Irani Gully Boy Kesari Harsh Vardhan Super 30 Nitin Gadkari Panipat None of these Article 15