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Monthly Current Affairs Capsule & Quiz
October 2020
International Day of Older Persons: 01 October
International Day of Older Persons is observed
globally on 1st October every year.
The year 2020 marks the 75th Anniversary of
the United Nations and the 30th Anniversary
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
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
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
NEO-1 mission is subject to speculations, as
it has never been attempted before.
Donald Trump, US First Lady test COVID-19
positive
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
The United States announced over a dozen sanctions
against Syrian individuals and entities to further
pressure the Syrian government.
The sanctions designated the head of the
Syrian General Intelligence Directorate, the
governor of the Central Bank of Syria, and a
business network that allegedly "generate
revenue for the regime and its supporters,".
The State Department on the same day
blacklisted other three Syrian persons for
their roles in the Syria conflict.
According to the statement, all property and
interests of the property of the designated
entities and the individuals in the United
States have been blocked, and US persons are
generally prohibited from engaging in any
transactions with them.
Capital: Damascus
President: Bashar al-Assad
Currency: Syrian pound
World Animal Day: 04 October
World Animal Day is observed every year on
October 4 since 1929.
The day aims to raise the status of animals in
order to improve welfare standards around
the globe.
It was originated by Heinrich Zimmermann
and he organized the first World Animal Day
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 second edition of the bilateral naval exercise
‘Bongosagar’ between India and Bangladesh was
held in Northern Bay of Bengal.
Ships from both navies participated in
surface warfare drills, seamanship evolutions
and helicopter operations.
Indian Navy ships Kiltan, Khukri &
Bangladesh Navy ships Abu Bakr, Prottoy,
helo and MPA undertook manoeuvres,
surface drills, helo operations and
seamanship evolutions.
Bongosagar will be followed by the third
edition of India Bangladesh Coordinated
Patrol (CORPAT) on 4-5 October.
The first edition of the Exercise Bongosagar,
was held in 2019.
World Teachers’ Day: 05 October
World Teachers’ Day is celebrated every year on
October 5 globally.
It aims to focus on appreciating, assessing
and improving the educators of the world and
to provide an opportunity to consider issues
related to teachers and teaching.
International Teachers Day is celebrated by
the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in
partnership with United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF), International Labour
Organisation (ILO) and Education
International.
The theme for World Teachers’ Day 2020 is
“Teachers: Leading in Crisis, Reimagining
the Future”.
World Habitat Day 2020: 5 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
Urban Future” as a proper place to live has
become important more than ever.
Cargo spacecraft SS Kalpana Chawla arrives at
ISS
A commercial cargo spacecraft bound for the
International Space Station (ISS), carrying the name
of deceased NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla,
arrived at the International Space Station.
Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born
woman to enter space, has had the spacecraft
named after her for her key contributions to
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 WHO-recognised World Cotton Day (WCD) is
observed on 7th October since 2019 to celebrate the
international cotton industry and its contribution to
communities and the global economy.
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
Quad Countries’ Foreign Minister meet held in
Tokyo, Japan.
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.
They discussed the post-COVID-19
international order and the need for a
coordinated response to the various
challenges emerging from the pandemic.
Russia successfully tests new hypersonic
TSIRKON missile
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
more than Mach 8.
World Post Day: 9 October
World Post Day is observed on 9th October every
year.
The main aim of World Post Day is to create
awareness of the role of the postal sector in
people’s and businesses’ everyday lives and
its contribution to the social and economic
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
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
Wind Scale and forecasters expect it to
strengthen before making landfall.
Kuwait's cabinet hands in resignation, emir asks
PM to prepare for election
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
death of his brother Emir Sheikh Sabah al-
Ahmed.
Kuwait Capital: Kuwait City.
Currency: Kuwaiti dinar.
World Mental Health Day: 10 October
October 10 is the second Saturday of 2020 and is
celebrated as the World Mental Health Day.
The objective of this day is to spread
awareness about mental health issues and
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
China has formally joined COVAX, the global
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.
More than 150 countries have joined the
WHO led initiative to develop, produce, and
fairly distribute an effective COVID-19
vaccine.
World famous Jog falls in Karnataka to get face
lift
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
destinations in the state such as
Kemmanagundi hill station, Nandi hills, the
world heritage site of Badami caves,
Srirangapattana and Mysuru haat were also
discussed.
Jog Falls is a waterfall on the Sharavati river
located in the Western Ghats inUttara
Kannada District.
International Day of the Girl Child: 11 October
International Day of the Girl Child (also known as
Day of Girls and the International Day of Girls) is
observed annually on October 11 since 2012.
This international observance day was
declared by the United Nations to raise
awareness of issues facing girls
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 Migratory Bird Day is celebrated twice a
year, that is, on the second Saturdays of May and
October.
The Day will celebrate the biannual
migration on 10 October.
The aim of the day is to raise awareness of
migratory birds and the importance of
international cooperation to conserve them.
Earlier in May, the day was celebrated on
May 9, 2020.
2020 theme: Birds Connect Our World
World Arthritis Day: 12 October
World Arthritis Day is observed globally on 12th
October every year.
The day is celebrated to raise awareness
about arthritis, an inflammatory condition
which causes pain and stiffness in joints
which can worsen with age.
There are more than 100 different types of
arthritis, with different causes and treatment
methods. The most common types are
osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis
(RA).
This day was started by Arthritis and
Rheumatism International (ARI) in 1996 in
order to spread awareness about arthritis and
encourage policymakers to help reduce the
burden of arthritis.
International Day for Disaster Reduction: 13
October
The United Nations International Day for Disaster
Reduction is observed annually on 13 October since
1989.
The day is celebrated to promote a global
culture of risk-awareness and disaster
reduction and also celebrates how people and
communities around the world are reducing
their exposure to disasters and raising
awareness about the importance of reining in
the risks that they face.
Theme of 2020 International Day for Disaster
Reduction is ‘Disaster risk governance’.
Bangladesh cabinet approves capital punishment
for rape
Bangladesh Cabinet approved a draft law to include
death penalty as the highest punishment for rape.
The decision to amend the Prevention of
Women and Children Repression Act-2000
was announced after the Cabinet meeting
Chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The ordinance will be issued after getting
approval of the President as Parliament is not
in session.
Currently, the highest punishment for rape is
life imprisonment.
FATF's Asia Pacific Group keeps Pakistan on
‘enhanced follow-up list’ for slow progress
against terror financing
In a major setback to Pakistan, the Financial Action
Task Force's (FATF's) Asia Pacific Group (APG) on
Money Laundering has reprimanded the South-Asian
country for its slow progress on the technical
recommendations of the FATF to fight terror
financing.
Earlier, Pakistan had requested for its ratings
pertaining to targeted financial sanctions on
terrorism and terrorist financing to be
revised.
The APG stated that the insufficient progress
made by the country fails to justify a re-
rating.
The Financial Action Task Force is an
intergovernmental organisation founded in
1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop
policies to combat money laundering.
Headquarters: Paris, France
President: Marcus Pleyer
World Standards Day: 14 October
World Standards Day or International Standards Day
is observed globally on 14 October every year.
The day aims to raise awareness about the
importance of standardisation to the global
economy among the consumers, regulators
and industry.
14 October was specifically chosen to mark
the date, in 1946, when delegates from 25
countries first gathered in London and
decided to create an international
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
households and communities, improving
rural livelihoods and overall well-being.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare observes the day in India as the
Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas since 2016.
2020 theme: “Building rural women’s
resilience in the wake of COVID-19,”.
World Students’ Day: 15 October
World Students’ Day is observed every year on 15
October to mark the birth anniversary of former
President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
This year marks the 89th birth anniversary of
the former president and ‘Missile Man’ Dr
APJ Abdul Kalam.
In 2010 the United Nations declared 15
October “World Students’ Day”, due to
Kalam’s love for students and who himself
was a dedicated teacher and identified
himself foremost in that role before anything
else.
World Food Day: 16 October
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".
Global Handwashing Day: 15 October
Global Handwashing Day is observed on October 15
each year to raise awareness and highlight the
importance of handwashing as an effective means of
disease prevention.
This year it marks a critical reminder for the
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
After launching the very first vaccine for the
treatment of coronavirus back in August, Russia has
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
Covid-19, developed by the Chumakov
Centre, would also be registered in the near
future.
International Poverty Eradication Day: 17
October
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
Kyrgyzstan President resigns after protests over
disputed election
Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov has
resigned after days of protests over a disputed
parliamentary election, saying he wants to prevent
clashes and bloodshed.
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
Currency: Kyrgyzstani som
India to deliver Kilo Class submarine INS
Sindhuvir to Myanmar Navy
India will deliver a Kilo Class submarine INS
Sindhuvir to Myanmar Navy as part of defence
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
the erstwhile Soviet Union.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern secures second
term with historic victory
New Zealand voted to award Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern a second term in office.
Prime Minister Ardern's liberal Labour Party
won a historic mandate by securing 49 per
cent of the vote in comparison to the 27 per
cent bagged by its primary challenger.
This is the first time since New Zealand
implemented a proportional voting system 24
years ago that a single party (Labour) won an
outright majority of seats in Parliament.
During the 2020 elections, New Zealanders
also voted on two key issues- whether to
legalise marijuana and euthanasia.
BepiColombo spacecraft swings past Venus on
long road to Mercury
The BepiColombo SpaceCraft has crossed Venus in
its journey towards Mercury.
The spacecraft was launched jointly by Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency and
European Space Agency to explore planet
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
SCO Member States, Law and Justice
Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad highlighted the
initiatives taken by the Indian Government
for providing affordable and easy access to
justice for all.
He mentioned Pro Bono Legal Services to
provide free legal aid to marginalized
sections of the society.
As part of activities of the Justice Ministers’
Forum, the Minister urged SCO Member
States to promote exchange of ideas, best
practices and experiences in identified areas
through the platform.
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.
Osteoporosis is a condition when the bone
turns fragile and is thus susceptible to
fracture.
It is quite common in women aged above 35.
World Statistics Day: 20 October
The World Statistics Day is observed globally on 20
October.
The celebration of World Statistics Day 2020
is a global collaborative endeavour,
organized under the guidance of the United
Nations Statistical Commission.
At its 41st Session in February 2010, the
United Nations Statistical Commission
proposed celebrating 20 October 2010 as
World Statistics Day (Decision 41/109).
2020 theme “Connecting the world with data
we can trust.”
Asia Power Index 2020
India has been ranked at 4th position, with a score of
39.7 out of 100, in the Asia Power Index 2020,
released by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute.
The Asia Power Index 2020 ranks 26
countries and territories to assess the relative
power of states in Asia.
The United States has retained its position as
the most powerful country influencing the
Asia-Pacific with a score of 81.6.
It is followed by China (76.1) and Japan (41)
at second and third spot respectively.
Australia to join Malabar Naval exercise with
India, US and Japan
Australia will join the Malabar naval exercise
involving India, US and Japan.
The exercise showcases the deep trust
between four major Indo-Pacific
democracies and their shared will to work
together on common security interests.
The Annual Naval Exercise Malabar-2020 is
expected to be held in the Bay of Bengal and
the Arabian Sea later this year.
This year, the exercise has been planned on a
‘non-contact-at sea’ format.
The Malabar series of Naval exercises started
in 1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy-US Navy
exercise and Japan joined the Naval exercise
in 2015.
International Chefs Day: 20 October
International Chefs Day is observed globally on 20
October every year.
The day aims to celebrate and honour the
noble profession and educate people around
the world about eating healthy.
This was formed by Dr Bill Gallagher, a
renowned chef and the former president of
the World Association of Chefs Societies
(World Chefs), in 2004.
It is also the day for experienced chefs to pass
on their knowledge and culinary skills to the
next generation with a sense of pride and
commitment.
2020 theme ‘Healthy Food for the Future’.
UAE delegation reaches Israel for first time in
history
In an historic first visit by a Gulf Arab nation, a
United Arab Emirates delegation reached Israel.
It was accompanied by top US officials to
cement the normalisation of ties between the
two nations.
As part of the US-brokered deal, four
agreements were signed relating to
investment, scientific cooperation, civil
aviation and visa exemptions, during the
visit.
International Stuttering Awareness Day: 22
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
World Snow Leopard Day is observed globally on
23rd October.
The main purpose of this day is to show the
importance of snow leopard conservation and
raise awareness about this incredible animal.
The day also emphasizes the importance of
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
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
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 theme for 2020 is 'The Future We Want,
the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective
Commitment to Multilateralism’.
World Development Information Day: 24
October
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
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
The US State Department has approved the sale of
weapons systems worth around 1.8 billion dollar to
Taiwan.
The deal comprised three weapons systems,
including rocket launchers, sensors and
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
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.
Earlier, Bangladesh had rejected co-
financing of the phase 3 trial of the Sinovac
made Corona vaccine.
World Polio Day: 24 October
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
every corner of the globe.
As of August 2020, Afghanistan and Pakistan
are the only two nations which remain with
the continued transmission of wild
poliovirus.
2020 theme “A win against polio is a win for
global health.”
Pakistan to remain in grey list of FATF till
February 2021
The global terror financing watchdog, Financial
Action Task Force (FATF) has announced that
Pakistan will continue to remain on its grey list till
February 2021.
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
Lebanon's President Michel Aoun designated Sunni
Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri as prime minister.
Hariri won the backing of a majority of
parliamentarians in consultations with Aoun.
Sunni leader Hariri's last coalition
government was toppled almost exactly a
year ago as protests gripped the country.
Hariri was backed by his own Future
lawmakers, the Shi'ite Amal party, Druze
politician Walid Jumblatt's party and other
small blocks.
Andorra Joins IMF as its 190th Member
Andorra has joined the International Monetary Fund
(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.
Bangladesh govt. orders ‘no mask, no service’
policy
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
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.
Sudan to join UAE, Bahrain in recognising Israel
President Donald Trump announced that Sudan will
start to normalise ties with Israel, making it the third
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
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
Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)
from January 31, 2021.
Britain had announced plans to extend the
immigration rights of BNO passport holders
on 1st July, the day after China imposed
stringent national security law on Hong
Kong.
As per new visa rule, BNO Visa holders will
have the right to work and study in the UK
for a period of five years.
They can apply for citizenship after the sixth
year.
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage: 27 October
The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is observed
globally on 27 October every year.
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
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said
that the country will achieve zero carbon emissions
by 2050.
Mr. Suga announced this in his policy speech
at first parliamentary session since he took
office last month.
He emphasized the need to shift away from
fossil fuels to counter climate change as an
opportunity rather than a burden.
As per Japan’s current energy plan, 56 per
cent of its energy reqirements come from
fossil fuels.
BRICS Parliamentary Forum to be held in virtual
format
The BRICS Parliamentary Forum started in virtual
format from 27 October 2020.
It will be chaired by Chairman of Russian
Parliament, Vyachaslav Volodin.
Speakers and members of five BRICS
Parliaments - Brazil, Russian, India, China
and South Africa will participate in the
Forum.
An Indian Parliamentary Delegation led by
Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla and consisting
of Member of Lok Sabha Kanimozhi
Karunanidhi will attend the Forum.
NATO plans to set up new space center in
Germany
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
alliance, plans to build a headquarters for space
operations at its airbase in Ramstein in Germany, to
counter a rising Russian and Chinese threat.
The new centre is to be a central point of
contact to support NATO missions with
communication and satellite images.
It will also be a place to exchange
information on potential threats to satellites.
Some 2,000 satellites orbit the Earth, more
than half of which are operated by NATO
members, allowing everything from mobile
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.
The day celebrates the art of animation and
also recognises the artists, scientists and
technicians behind animation.
The day was created in 2002 by the
International Animated Film Association
(ASIFA), an International Animated Film
Association, a member of UNESCO.
Luis Arce declared as Bolivia’s President
Bolivia’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE)
announced that Luis Arce Catacora, the candidate for
the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party, has
won the October 18 presidential elections with 55.1
percent of the votes.
The MAS also obtained absolute majorities
in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies,
although it did not achieve the two-thirds
majority required to carry out constitutional
reforms.
This is the first time since 1989 that the
country has published the official results of a
presidential election in such a short period of
time.
India exceeds 140 per day per million tests
advised by WHO by more than five times: Health
Ministry
India has exceeded the 140 per day per million tests
as advised by the World Health Organization by
more than five times.
Very high levels of testing lead to early
identification, prompt isolation and effective
treatment of COVID19 cases.
This has resulted in sustained low Fatality
Rate. With higher testing, eventually there is
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 successfully test-fired BrahMos supersonic
cruise missile with several indigenous features.
The test firing of the missile was carried out
by the Defence Research and Development
Organisation, DRDO from Balasore in
Odisha.
BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic
cruise missile features indigenous Booster
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
missile and other similar sea-skimming
Russian cruise missile technology.
The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed
from the names of two rivers, the
Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of
Russia.
India establishes Air Bubble arrangement with
Kenya & Bhutan
India has established Air Bubble arrangement with
Kenya and Bhutan.
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri
said, in order to further boost bilateral
international air connectivity, Air Bubble
arrangements are now in place with the two
countries.
Now Indian carriers will be able to operate to
these countries.
Carriers of these countries will also be able to
fly to India.
Air Bubble is the term coined during
COVID-19 times. It refers to transport and
people connectivity between specific regions
in the world.
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
The South Eastern Railways (SER) has launched the
project, “Operation my Saheli” to enhance the
security of women passengers in the train throughout
the entire journey from the originating point to their
destinations.
Since 18th September 2020, The pilot version
of the project “Operation my Saheli” has
been introduced in 3 trains: Howrah-
Yesvantpur Duronto Special, Howrah-
Ahmedabad Special and Howrah-Mumbai
Special.
“Operation my Saheli” is executed under the
Framework of “Nirbhaya Fund” and no
additional expenditure is provided by the
Head of Railways.
Under this a team of Women Sub Inspectors
briefed the women passengers on the safety
precautions and provided emergency contact
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.
Notification issued for 1st phase of assembly
elections in Bihar
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.
Last date of nomination is 8th of this month
and scrutiny of nomination papers would take
place on 9th of October.
In view of COVID-19 pandemic, the Election
Commission has for the first time given the
option of online filing of nomination papers
to the candidates.
Bihar Assembly Elections would be held in
three phases for 243 constituencies.
The polling for the second and third phase
would be held on 3rd and 7th of November.
Counting of votes would take place on 10th
of November.
Over 7.29 crore electorate are eligible for the
polls of the Assembly elections in Bihar.
Maharashtra Circle of India Post to release
picture postcards on Sawantwadi Toys
Maharashtra Circle of India Post will release picture
postcards on Sawantwadi Toys to mark the 151 years
of postcards in India.
The postcard, inspired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi's call to make the country a
global toy hub, will be released by HC
Agrawal, Chief Postmaster General,
Maharashtra Circle of India Post through
video conferencing.
Prime Minister Modi on August 30, during
his monthly "Mann ki Baat" programme,
talked about making "toys for the world" and
highlighted the ability of India to become a
"toy hub".
Sawantwadi toys refers to hand made works
of art made of wood in Sawantwadi a town in
Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.
Sawantwadi is considered to be India's
largest market for wooden models of fruits
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
Sikkim is the first 100 per cent organic state in the
country. All of its farmland is certified organic.
The transition has benefitted more than
66,000 farming families that practice organic
and agroecological farming on more than
76,000 hectares of land.
The process of converting Sikkim into a 100
percent organic state was fast-tracked in 2010
with the launch of the Sikkim Organic
Mission.
In the year 2015, the entire agricultural area
in the state was converted to certified organic
and finally in 2016 the state was formally
declared a 100 percent organic state.
The policy implemented a phase out of
chemical fertilizers and pesticides and
achieved a total ban on sale and use of
chemical pesticides in the state.
Indian Coast Guard Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS
'Kanaklata Barua' commissioned in Kolkata
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
FPVs built by GRSE, the Defence Public
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
Guard.
Ideal weight for Indian men and women increased
to 65-55kg
The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), which is
located in Hyderabad, has revised the ideal weight
for both men and women in the country by adding 5-
5 kg.
As per the new guidelines, the average
weight of Indian men is 65kg, whereas, for
women, the average weight has now been
increased to 55 kg.
The leading nutrition research body also
made changes in the height of both men and
women.
The research body also increased the height
for men to 5 feet 8 inches from 5 feet 6 inches
a decade ago.
Similarly, the height of Indian women has
now been increased to 5 feet 3 inches from 5
feet in 2010.
Nation pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his
151st birth anniversary
A grateful nation is paying homage to Father of the
Nation, Mahatma Gandhi on his 151st birth
anniversary.
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
when he led the Champaran and Kheda
agitations of Bihar and Gujarat.
Gandhi used Satyagraha and hunger strike for
the first time during an industrial dispute
between the owners and workers of a cotton
mill in Ahmedabad.
In 1924 at the Belgaum session of INC
Gandhi was elected as the President of INC.
In 1928 in the Calcutta session, Gandhi
warned the British government to free India
within a year. On January 26th, 1930 INC
celebrated Indian Independence, as per the
proposal of 1929 Lahore session of INC.
On 12 March 1930, Gandhi launched the
Civil disobedience Movement by marching
to Dandi from Ahmedabad.
He launched the Quit India Movement in
1942 in which Gandhi gave the slogan of ‘Do
or Die.
Prez, VP, PM pay tributes to Lal Bahadur Shastri
on his 116th birth anniversary
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
leader of the Indian National Congress
political party.
It was during his tenure as the Prime Minister
that the posts of Sadar-e-Riyasat and Wazir
in J&K were abolished and replaced with the
positions of Governor and the Chief Minister.
In 1965, a plutonium reprocessing plant was
started in India. He gave the go-ahead for the
production of nuclear explosives, which led
to the launch of the Nuclear Explosive
Design Group and the Study of Nuclear
Explosions for Peaceful Purpose (SNEPP).
The 1964 Shastri-Bandarnaike Agreement
played an important role in improving India's
strained relations with Sri Lanka due to issues
related to the Tamil community in that
country.
He promoted the White Revolution – a
national campaign to increase the production
and supply of milk – by supporting the Amul
milk co-operative of Anand, Gujarat and
creating the National Dairy Development
Board.
He led the country during the Indo-Pakistan
War of 1965. His slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai
Kisan" ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer")
became very popular during the war.
The war formally ended with the Tashkent
Agreement on 10 January 1966; he died the
following day, still in Tashkent.
DRDO successfully test fires Laser Guided Anti
Tank Guided Missile
The indigenously developed Laser Guided Anti Tank
Guided Missile, ATGM was successfully test fired
defeating a target located at longer range.
The test was conducted from MBT Arjun at
KK ranges, Armoured Corps Centre and
School Ahmednagar in continuation of a
successful trial done on 22nd of last month.
The ATGM employs a tandem HEAT
warhead to defeat Explosive Reactive
Armour protected armoured vehicles in
ranges from 1.5 to 5 kilometres.
It has been developed with multiple-platform
launch capability and is currently undergoing
technical evaluation trials from 120 mm
rifled gun of MBT Arjun.
This Laser Guided Missile has been
developed by Armament Research and
Development Establishment, Pune in
association with High Energy Materials
Research Laboratory, Pune and Instruments
Research and Development Establishment,
Dehradun.
PM Modi to inaugurate world’s longest highway
tunnel ‘Atal Tunnel’, Rohtang on Oct 3
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
metres from the Mean Sea Level.
It reduces the road distance by 46 kilometres
between Manali and Leh and the time by
about four to five hours.
On World Postcard Day, Odisha launched picture
postcard named "Jau Kandhei" released on
theme 'Traditional Toys of India'
On the occasion of World Postcard Day, the Chief
Postmaster General, Odisha Circle, has released a
picture postcard named "Jau Kandhei" on the theme
of 'Traditional Toys of India'.
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
Two more States, Tamil Nadu and Arunachal
Pradesh have been integrated with the existing
national portability cluster of 26 States and UTs
under One Nation One Ration Card.
With this, a total of 28 States and UTs are
now seamlessly connected with each other
under the One Nation One Ration Card plan.
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
existing/same ration card with Aadhaar
authentication on ePoS device.
Mumbai ranks 2nd after Delhi in crimes against
women, reveals NCRB data
According to the latest data released by the National
Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Mumbai recorded
6,519 cases, after national capital Delhi at 12,902
cases during the year 2019.
However, there has been a drop of 1.5 per
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.
Gujarat govt signs MoU with Denmark in water
sector
Gujarat Government has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding -MoU with Denmark in the water
sector.
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
Technology Alliance in Gujarat and
contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable
Development Goal -6.
India expresses concern over Armenia,
Azerbaijan clashes
For almost four decades, Armenia and Azerbaijan
have been battling over a piece of land situated in the
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.
India has expressed its concern over reports
of resumption of hostilities in the Nagarno-
Karabakh region of the Armenia-Azerbaijan
border which took place in the early hours of
September 27.
Arjun Munda launches largest market of tribal
products ‘Tribes India E-Marketplace’
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
tribal enterprises from across the country. It
will help them market their products directly.
On this occasion, Mr Arjun Munda also
flagged off several other TRIFED initiatives
that are aimed to support tribal brethren.
These include the inauguration of Tribes
India’s 123rd and 124th outlets in Rishikesh
and Kolkata, inclusion of new tribal product
ranges from the states of Jharkhand and
Chhattisgarh and partnership of TRIFED and
Tribes India with Amazon in their Seller Flex
program.
Over 97 per cent of cities across country become
Open Defecation Free
Government said that more than 97 per cent of the
cities across the country have become Open
Defecation Free, ODF.
The spirit of Jan Andolan and Jan Bhagidari
is exemplified by the Swachh Survekshan
2020 in which over 12 crores of citizens have
participated in the survey.
When Swachh Bharat Mission- urban was
launched in 2014, it was with the vision of
achieving Clean India by 2nd October 2019,
the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of
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
ISRO is scheduled to launch its Venus mission in
2025 and France will participate in it.
The VIRAL (Venus Infrared Atmospheric
Gases Linker) instrument co-developed with
the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos
and the LATMOS atmospheres,
environments and space observations
laboratory attached to the French national
scientific research centre CNRS has been
selected by the ISRO after a request for
proposals.
ISRO chairman K Sivan and CNES president
Jean-Yves Le Gall held talks and reviewed
the areas driving cooperation between France
and India in space.
After the Mars Orbiter Mission
(Mangalyaan) and Moon missions
Chandrayaan-1 and 2, ISRO has set its eyes
on Venus for carrying out its interplanetary
mission.
France and India share a robust collaboration
in the arena of space.
It is one of the three nations with whom India
collaborates in the strategic sectors of
nuclear, space and defence -- the other two
being the US and Russia.
‘Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal’- MOHUA to
celebrate six years of Swachh Bharat Mission-
Urban on Gandhi Jayanti
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
years under the Mission along with
experience sharing by States and cities and
partner organizations.
Since its launch in 2014, SBM-U has made
significant progress in the area of both
sanitation and solid waste management.
UP becomes first state in country to undertake
over one crore tests to screen Coronavirus
Uttar Pradesh has achieved another landmark in
testing of COVID samples by becoming the first state
in the country to undertake over one crore tests to
screen Coronavirus.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath termed it a
great achievement and said that the
government has conducted 1.5 lakh tests per
day for the past 45 days.
The total number of tests conducted in state
stood at 1,00,98,896 as per official data
released by the State Medical Education
Department.
Of these, nearly 42 per cent of tests were done
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
Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda
Gowda launched the home delivery facility of
fertilisers for farmers in Andhra Pradesh.
Gowda launched POS 3.1 software, SMS
Gateway and home delivery facility of
fertilisers for farmers in Andhra Pradesh.
Under the POS 3.1 version, keeping in view
of prevailing pandemic condition, contactless
one-time password (OTP)-based
authentication option has been introduced.
Farmers will be able to purchase fertiliser
without touching fingerprint sensors.
SMS Gateway will periodically send SMS to
farmer about availability of fertiliser at retail
outlets from where he last purchased the
fertiliser.
Under an initiative of home delivery of
fertilisers in Andhra Pradesh, the state
government has launched 10,641 Rythu
Bharosa Kendralu (RBKs) in all gram
panchayats to provide farmers with quality
inputs and allied services.
Google India launches campaign to drive demand
for small businesses
Google India announced the launch of its nationwide
campaign “Make Small Strong” in order to help
support small businesses and drive demand through
customer support.
‘‘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’
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi dedicated to the
nation the World’s longest Highway tunnel – Atal
Tunnel at its south portal in Manali.
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
built in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas.
Centre to waive compound interest on loans up to
Rs 2 cr for six-months due to coronavirus
pandemic
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
The US has approved India's request to buy USD 90
million worth of equipment, spare parts and
logistical support for its fleet of C-130J Super
Hercules cargo aircraft.
The proposed sale will support the foreign
policy and national security of the US by
helping to strengthen the US-India strategic
relationship and improve the security of a
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
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
year 2020-21, NABARD.
NABARD will provide concessional
refinance to all eligible financial institutions,
including commercial banks, regional rural
banks and cooperative banks, with a
repayment period of up to 36 months.
PM Modi pays tributes to freedom fighter
Shyamji Krishna Varma on his birth anniversary
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
India's freedom and inspired many
nationalists.
Shyamji Krishna Varma was born in 1857
and had set up a revolutionary centre in 'India
House' at London.
He propagated the cause of India's
independence through his writings in a
publication journal called 'The Indian
Sociologist'.
India successfully test-fires new version of
nuclear-capable Shaurya Missile
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.
The missile would be lighter and easier to
operate in comparison with the existing
missile.
In the last phase while moving close to its
target, the missile moves at hypersonic
speeds.
PM Modi inaugurates artificial intelligence
'RAISE 2020' Summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the
Summit RAISE 2020 - ‘Responsible AI for Social
Empowerment 2020.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology and NITI Aayog are organizing
the Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial
Intelligence till 9th of October.
The summit will discuss cross-sector subjects
like ‘Leveraging AI for Pandemic
Preparedness’, the Impetus that Innovation
Places on Digitisation’, Inclusive AI and
Partnerships for Successful Innovation.
The summit will be a global meeting of minds
to exchange ideas and chart a course for using
AI for social transformation, inclusion and
empowerment in areas like Healthcare,
Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility,
among other sectors.
'Corona Intensive Community Survey Campaign'
underway in Chhattisgarh
In Chhattisgarh, "Corona Intensive Community
Survey Campaign" is going on.
Under this campaign, a door-to-door survey
is being conducted to identify patients with
symptoms of corona infection in rural and
urban areas of the state by October 12.
The objective of this campaign is to identify
Corona patients as soon as possible by
conducting intensive community surveys in
urban and rural areas.
Through this campaign, the state government
is trying to break the chain of corona
infection by isolating corona patients.
J&K LG Manoj Sinha dedicates Ashthal Bridge
to public in Kulgam
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
least two dustbins in every panchayat are to
be installed for solid and liquid waste
management.
Assam CM launches ‘Kritagyata’ for online
pension submission and tracking
The Chief Minister of Assam has launched a portal
“Kritagyata”, an online pension submission and
tracking system.
It has been launched to lend convenience to
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
According to Forbes’ latest list, Sofia Vergara is the
highest-paid female actor in the world.
She made $43 million in a one-year period,
which is the equivalent of Rs 315 crore.
According to Forbes, most of Vergara’s
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 12th BRICS Summit will be held on 17th
November 2020 via video conference.
The theme of the Meeting of the Leaders of
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.
Centre to urgently release Rs. 20,000 crore as
compensation to States for revenue losses
The Centre will urgently disburse nearly 20 thousand
crore rupees among the states from the amount
collected as compensation cess this year.
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-
3B returns.
India successfully tests Supersonic Missile
Assisted Release of Torpedo
Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo,
SMART was successfully flight tested from Wheeler
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,
NSTL Visakhapatnam have developed the
technologies required for SMART.
India, Myanmar agree to operationalise Sittwe
port in first quarter of 2021
India and Myanmar have agreed to work towards the
operationalisation of the Sittwe port in the Rakhine
state in the first quarter of 2021.
The announcement came after the conclusion
of the two day long visit of Chief of Army
Staff (COAS) General M M Naravane and
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to
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
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a
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
burning.
The government will launch a photo-based
app ‘Green Delhi’ for complaints related to
pollution. This App will be launched for
citizens before the end of this month.
Puducherry airport becomes AAI’s first 100%
solar-powered airport
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
street food vendors online under PM SVANIDHI
scheme
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has
entered into an MoU with Swiggy, one of the leading
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
across five cities namely - Ahmedabad,
Chennai, Delhi, Indore, and Varanasi.
The street vendors will be helped with PAN
and FSSAI registration, training on
technology, menu digitization and pricing
along with hygiene and packaging best
practices.
ISLRTC, NCERT sign MoU to convert
educational materials into Indian Sign Language
A historic Memorandum of Understanding was
signed between Indian Sign Language Research and
Training Center and NCERT to make education
materials accessible for Deaf children in their
preferred format of communication, Indian Sign
Language.
The signing of this MoU is a historic step as
availability of NCERT textbooks in Indian
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.
Gujarat govt announces Digital Seva Setu
Programme for rural areas
Gujarat Government has announced Digital Seva
Setu Programme for the rural areas.
Under this programme, the citizens will be
able to get benefit from various public
welfare services at the Panchayat level.
The Digital Seva Setu has been initiated
under the Bharat Net Project- an initiative to
connect the Village Panchayats through fibre
network.
The villages of Gujarat will be connected
with a 100 MBPS optical fibre network under
the Digital Seva Setu programme.
The Phase-1 of Digital Seva Setu will start
from 8th October, which will cover 2,000
Village Panchayats.
Citizens in rural areas will be able to get the
benefits of this programme by paying a
nominal fee of Rs 20.
Indian Air Force Day: 08 October
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
Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani launched the first
ever Brand and Logo for Indian Cotton on Second
World Cotton Day through video conferencing.
Now India’s premium cotton would be
known as ‘Kasturi Cotton’ in the world
cotton trade.
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
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.
After the government approval, the N-95
mask will be available for around 19 to 50
rupees depending on the type, whereas
double and triple layer masks will be
available for just three to four rupees.
With this, Maharashtra has become the first
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 cabinet gave its approval for signing a
Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of
cyber-security between India and Japan.
The MoC will enhance cooperation in areas
of mutual interest, which includes capacity
building in the area of cyberspace, protection
of critical infrastructure, cooperation in
emerging technologies, sharing information
on cyber security threats and malicious cyber
activities.
The Cabinet also approved the ratification of
seven chemicals listed under Stockholm
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 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 initiative was headed by Abhishek Das,
Scientist and Program Director (HPC-AI
Infrastructure Development) at C-DAC, who
conceived the idea and designed the
architecture for the largest HPC-AI
infrastructure in India.
This high-performance computing-Artificial
Intelligence (HPC-AI) supercomputer is a
machine with 210 AI Petaflops (6.5 Petaflops
Peak DP).
Government launches API integration between
PM SVANidhi Portal and SBI eMudra Portal
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.
Yogi Adityanath inaugurates UP's largest oxygen
production plant in Ghaziabad
In the trying times of Covid-19 pandemic during
which the demand for oxygen shot up to
unprecedented levels, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the state’s largest
oxygen production plant in Modinagar, Ghaziabad.
Medical oxygen is extremely important in the
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
The Reserve Bank of India in its bi-monthly
Monetary Policy statement issued has maintained a
status quo keeping the key interest rates unchanged.
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 major announcements, RBI Governor
Shaktikanta Das proposed that the RTGS
system for real time fund transfer to become
24X7 from December 2020.
FM launches Indian Bank’s business mentoring
programme for MSMEs
Public sector lender Indian Bank has come out with
‘MSME Prerana’, an online Business Mentoring
Programme for MSMEs.
The bank says it is the first-of-its-kind
initiative by a bank in the country for the
(MSME) sector.
The initiative was formally launched by
Union Minister of Finance & Corporate
Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman.
MSME Prerana is for empowering
entrepreneurs through skill development and
capacity building workshops in the local
language.
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
Railway service across the historic Pampan bridge,
connecting Pampan Island with Rameswaram on
mainland Tamil Nadu has been suspended till further
notice.
The Madurai railway division has informed
that rail traffic on the two kilometre long
bridge has been suspended for conducting
maintenance work.
The bridge, with a unique bascule section that
can be drawn up to allow passage of ships,
has been in service since 1915.
Following damage to the bascule section,
service on the bridge had been stopped for a
period in 2018 - 19.
In the meantime, work on a new bridge at
Pampan had been inaugurated by Prime Mi
sister Shri Narendra Modi in 2018.
The Pampan bridge is a major tourist
attraction in the area because a whole train is
accommodated on the bridge in the middle of
sea at one point of time during the crossing.
Thaawarchand Gehlot Virtually Inaugurates
International Conference on “Mental Health:
Looking Beyond COVID 19”
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
Institute co-chaired the conference.
Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot drew the attention
of rising trend of mental health concerns
across the globe.
He also apprised about the recent initiatives
of the Govt of India such as setting up of
National Institute of Mental Health
Rehabilitation at Sehore, Madhya Pradesh &
KIRAN mental health rehabilitation helpline
for addressing mental health issues.
The Conference was organized by
Department of Empowerment of Persons
with Disabilities (DEPwD), M/o Social
Justice & Empowerment in association with
University of Melbourne, Australia as a part
of joint initiative under the Memorandum of
Understanding signed between the
Government of Australia and Government of
India for cooperation in the disability sector
in November, 2018.
Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'
virtually inaugurates Gyan Circle Ventures
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.
These, ‘Gyan Circle ventures’ have the
potential to infuse entrepreneurship in young
minds.
It would also encourage them to become
successful innovators.
Amazon India ties up with IRCTC to start online
train ticket bookings
Amazon India has partnered with ‘Indian Railway
Catering and Tourism Corporation’ (IRCTC), to
provide its customers with the facility to book
reserved train tickets on Amazon.
With this new offering, users will be able to
check seat and quota availability across all
train classes on the Amazon app.
They can pre-load money into their Amazon
Pay Balance wallet to make this experience
even smoother and pay in a single click.
Amazon.in is offering the customers a variety
of self-serve options such as live checking of
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
The Department of Posts is celebrating National
Postal Week from 9-15 October 2020, to mark the
occasion of the World Postal Day.
World Post Day is observed every year on
October 9.
Every year, the National Postal week is
organised to generate awareness of the role
and activities of the postal services among the
public and media on a national scale.
The online campaign will be organised to
create awareness about new offerings and
availability of citizen-centric services in Post
Offices.
National Postal Day : 10 October
In India, the National Postal Day is celebrated
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
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 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
household
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'
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat
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.
All the benefits available under the scheme
will also be acceptable to the developers of
this scheme.
Andhra Pradesh CM launches ‘Jagananna Vidya
Kanuka’ scheme to distribute school kits
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan
Reddy has launched a new scheme named the
‘Jagananna Vidya Kanuka’ scheme to distribute
school kits among the poor children of the state.
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
for 13th Consecutive Year
The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman
Mukesh Ambani, has topped the Forbes India Rich
list for 2020.
He has retained his position as the wealthiest
Indian for the 13th consecutive year on
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
Union Government has permitted export of
Bangalore Rose Onions and Krishnapuram Onions
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
2015.
PM Modi releases Rs 100 commemorative coin in
honour of Vijaya Raje Scindia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a
commemorative 100 rupee coin in the honour of
Vijaya Raje Scindia.
One of the founder members of BJP, Vijaya
Raje Scindia is also popularly known as the
Rajmata of Gwalior.
Vijaya Raje Scindia was married to the last
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
Fleet Award Function(FAF), 2020 was organised to
mark the successful culmination of the Operational
Cycle of the Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy at
Visakhapatnam.
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.
The most coveted trophies of Best Ship were
awarded to INS Sahyadri amongst Capital
ships and INS Kora amongst Corvettes and
similar classes of ships.
Rajnath Singh inaugurates 44 bridges built by
BRO, lays foundation stone of Nechiphu tunnel in
Arunachal Pradesh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 44
bridges built by Border Road Organisation (BRO),
and laid the foundation stone of Nechiphu tunnel in
Arunachal Pradesh.
The 44 bridges which are located in seven
states and union territories will usher in a new
era of connectivity and development
especially in the far flung areas of the
country.
These bridges will prove immensely
beneficial in terms of military and civil
transport in the western, northern and north-
eastern areas of the country.
The defence minister also symbolically laid
the foundation stone of the Nechiphu tunnel
in Arunachal Pradesh at the virtual event.
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
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that
all eight beaches recommended by the Government
have got the coveted International Blueflag
Certification.
It is an outstanding feat, as no Blueflag nation
has ever been awarded for 8 beaches in a
single attempt.
The beaches which got International Blueflag
Certification are Shivrajpur beach in Dwarka
Gujarat, Ghoghla beach in Diu, Kasarkod and
Padubidri in Karnataka, Kappad in Kerala,
Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh, Golden
Beach in Odisha and Radhanagar beach in
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In order to qualify for the Blue Flag, a series
of stringent environmental, educational,
safety and accessibility criteria is met and
maintained.
A world-renowned award trusted by millions
around the globe, the Blue Flag programme
is operated under the auspices of the
Foundation for Environmental Education,
FEE and is headquartered in Copenhagen,
Denmark.
Kerala becomes first state to have completely
digital, hi-tech classrooms in all public schools
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
education department.
Over 3.74 lakh digital equipments were
distributed in 16,027 schools for the smart
classroom project.
Apart from KIIFB fund, the asset
development funds of public representatives
and local government funds were also
utilized for the project.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman announces fiscally
prudent proposals to tune of Rs 73,000 cr to boost
demand
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced
major schemes to boost demands in the country by
nearly 73 thousand crore rupees.
Ms. Sitharaman informed that the new
proposals aim at giving a thrust of around 36
thousand crore rupees to the consumer
demands by the Leave Travel Concession
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
Reserve Bank of India has reallocated portfolios of
deputy governors, with the department of regulation
entrusted to the newly-appointed M Rajeshwar Rao.
Mr Rao was executive director of the Reserve
Bank before being elevated to the post of
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
investments and operations, department of
government and banks accounts, IT, payment
and settlement systems, foreign exchange
department, internal debt management
department, Right of Information (RIA)
Division, and secretary's department.
National Philately Day: 13 October
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
stamps and other philatelic products.
My Stamp is the brand name for personalized
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
to indicate the amount of postage paid.
E-Sanjeevani rapidly gaining popularity amongst
patients & doctors
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.
As a digital modality of health care services
delivery, e-Sanjeevani is gradually shaping
into a parallel stream for the Indian
healthcare delivery system with the number
of teleconsultations per day on the platform
touching 8,000 mark in the last few days.
At present, 26 states are using e-Sanjeevani’s
two variants of telemedicine namely - doctor
to doctor (e-SanjeevaniAB-HWC) and
patient to doctor (e-SanjeevaniOPD).
PM Modi to release commemorative Rs 75 coin to
mark 75th Anniversary of FAO
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release a
commemorative coin of 75 rupees denomination to
mark the 75th Anniversary of Food and Agriculture
Organization, FAO on 16 October 2020.
The journey of FAO in making the vulnerable
classes and masses stronger, economically
and nutritionally, has been unparalleled.
The Prime Minister will also dedicate 17
recently developed biofortified varieties of
eight crops to the nation.
These varieties, along with other food
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
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has
agreed to extend a subsidy of 50 per cent on
transportation of notified fruits and vegetables
through Kisan Rail trains, under 'Operation Greens -
TOP to Total.'
The Ministry will initially provide ten crore
rupees to operate the scheme, which will be
deposited with South Central Railway.
Operation Green is being implemented as
part of Atmanirbhar Abhiyan under the ageis
of Union Ministry of Food Processing.
The first Kisan Rail train service on the
Indian Railways network was launched on 7
August 2020. The train runs between Devlali
in Maharashtra and Danapur in the state of
Bihar.
MP Police begins initiative to connect Banchhara,
Kanjar communities with mainstream society
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.
These efforts have started showing positive
results and so far around 100 youth of
Banchhda and Kanjar community have got
jobs in various companies in the first phase.
India gets re-elected as President of International
Solar Alliance
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.
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
India has extended a USD 400 million (about Rs
2,932 crore) soft loan to Maldives through the Exim
Bank to finance a connectivity project in the nation
of islands.
With the signing of the above agreement,
Exim Bank has till date extended three LoCs
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 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
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
East is a UN agency that supports the relief
and human development of Palestinian
refugees.
Headquarters location: Amman, Jordan.
Government sets up a panel of secretaries to
streamline telecom spectrum allocation
The government has constituted a panel of
secretaries under cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba to
streamline the spectrum allocation process.
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
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Dr.
APJ Abdul Kalam on the occasion of his Birth
Anniversary.
A.P.J Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October
1931 at Dhanushkodi, Rameswaram, Tamil
Nadu.
In 2002, he was elected as 11th President of
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 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.
CCEA approves demerger of Nagarnar Steel
Plant from NMDC Limited
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.
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”
Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh
Vardhan virtually launched the second phase of
“Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojna” for the
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 Union Cabinet has approved World Bank
supported Strengthening Teaching-Learning and
Results for States -STARS project.
The Project seeks to support States in
developing, implementing, evaluating and
improving interventions with direct linkages
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
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
Sardar Sarovar Dam.
It was designed by Indian sculptor Ram V.
Sutar, and was inaugurated by Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2018.
Nitin Gadkari to initiate simultaneous blasting
for Zojila Tunnel in J&K, Ladakh
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
Anti-pollution measures under the Graded Response
Action Plan (GRAP) came into force in the Delhi-
NCR region.
Delhi Government has banned use of
electricity generators, except those needed
for essential or emergency services, in the
national capital.
GRAP includes the measures which will be
taken by different government agencies to
prevent worsening of Air Quality of Delhi-
NCR and prevent PM10 and PM2.5 levels to
go beyond the ‘moderate’ national Air
Quality Index (AQI) category.
The plan requires action and coordination
among 13 different agencies in Delhi, Uttar
Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan (NCR
areas).
India designated Vice-Chair of OECD Working
Group on GLP
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
medical devices can be relied upon by
regulatory authorities.
The Department of Science and Technology
had established the National GLP
Compliance Monitoring Authority
(NGCMA) with the approval of the Union
Cabinet on April, 2002.
The OECD is an intergovernmental
economic organisation with 37 member
countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate
economic progress and world trade.
Headquarters: Paris, France
Govt bans imports of air conditioners with
refrigerants
The government banned the import of air
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
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted National
Security Guard (NSG) personnel and their families
on the Raising Day of NSG.
The NSG is a counter-terrorism unit that
formally came into existence in 1986 by an
act of Parliament- ‘National Security Guard
Act, 1986’.
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,
Gaadi off’ to tackle air pollution
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.
J&K Govt inks MoU with Flipkart to provide
platform for local artisans, craftsmen, weavers to
reach customers worldwide
The JK Government signed an historic
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with online
store Flipkart to provide a platform for local artisans,
craftsmen, weavers to reach customers across the
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.
Gujarat govt announces setting up of world’s
biggest Zinc Smelter project in Dosawada in Tapi
district
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
as global needs through exports.
J&K LG announces ‘My Town My Pride’
programme
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj
Sinha has announced that the government is coming
up with a movement called ”My Town My Pride”.
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
The Uttar Pradesh government launched ‘Mission
Shakti’ programme for the security of women in the
state.
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
test fired from Indian Navy’s indigenously-built
stealth destroyer INS Chennai
BRAHMOS, the supersonic cruise missile was
successfully test fired from Indian Navy’s
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
India and Russia.
First-ever SCO Startup Forum to be launched on
27th October
The first-ever SCO Startup Forum will be launched
on 27th October 2020 ahead of the SCO trade
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
many technology-based startups to expand
their businesses to global markets.
The SCO currently comprises eight Member
States (China, India, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan)
FM Nirmala Sitharaman participates in 102nd
meeting of World Bank Development Committee
Plenary
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participated in
102nd meeting of the World Bank Development
Committee Plenary through video conference.
In her intervention at this session, Mrs.
Sitharaman said that COVID -19 Pandemic
continues to impact the developing and
developed countries till date and the hard
fought gains in reducing the level of poverty,
achieved over a number of years, are at risk
of being lost.
She also mentioned that the Government has
committed 2.03 Billion dollar for
strengthening health infrastructure in the
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
best practices and procedures for multi-
faceted maritime operations between both
navies.
SLINEX series of exercise exemplifies the
deep engagement between India and Sri
Lanka which has strengthened mutual
cooperation in the maritime domain.
Bangladesh invites PM Modi to join celebrations
of 50 years of country’s independence
Bangladesh has invited Prime Minister Narendra
Modi to join the celebrations of the 50 years of the
country’s independence on March 26 next year.
A virtual meeting between the Prime
Ministers of India and Bangladesh is also
likely to take place later this year.
Earlier, Prime Minister Modi was scheduled
to visit Bangladesh to join in the birth
centenary celebrations of Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. But the visit was
cancelled due to the Corona pandemic.
India, Chile hold first joint commission meeting
India and Chile held their first joint commission
meeting and agreed to add new momentum to their
relations in a wide range of fields including trade and
commerce, agriculture, health and social security,
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
movement between India, Chabahar Port in Iran
Government has extended the current concessional
rate of 40 per cent discount on cargo movement
between India and Chabahar Port in Iran for a period
of one year.
The discount will apply for the coastal
movement of cargo and vessel related
charges, being handled at Jawaharlal Nehru
Port and Deendayal Port to Shahid Beheshti
Port, Chabahar.
The levy of concessional vessel related
charges is to be applied proportionately,
subject to vessel loading at least five
thousand tonnes cargo to Shahid Beheshti
Port.
The aim of the extension of the discount
period is to promote the trade through Shahid
Beheshti Port. It will also give a boost to
coastal movement of cargo.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar
launches AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar
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
bringing transformation in the health services
primarily in the rural areas.
The scheme also provides working capital
and margin money to meet operational
requirements of the health facilities. It
provides interest subvention of one percent to
women majority cooperatives.
Nitin Gadkari lays foundation stone for country’s
first-ever multi-modal logistic park in Assam
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways
Nitin Gadkari virtually laid the foundation stone for
the first-ever multi-modal logistic park of the country
in Assam.
The 694 crore rupees park at Bongaigaon
district will provide direct connectivity to air,
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
district roads in Maharashtra
Asian Development Bank, ADB and Government of
India signed a 177-million dollar loan to upgrade 450
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.
NITI Aayog to establish Frontier Technologies
Cloud Innovation Centre with AWS
In order to address societal challenges through digital
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.
Police Commemoration Day: 21 October
The Police Commemoration Day is observed on 21st
October every year to honor the loyalty and supreme
sacrifice of police personnel for the nation.
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
prices of masks
Maharashtra has become the first state in the country
to cap the prices of masks.
N95 masks will now be available at Rs 19 to
Rs 49, while two-layer and three-layer masks
will be available for Rs 3 to 4.
This maximum selling price limit will be
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
People celebrated Kati Bihu festival in Assam’s
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.
The festival is held at this time of the year
since the granaries of the farmers usually
remain empty and therefore it is known as
Kongali (poor) Bihu.
Dharmendra Pradhan launches trial run of
Delhi's buses on Hydrogen-Blended CNG
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-
blended CNG (HCNG).
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
conventional physical blending.
Uttar Pradesh Governor launches Safe City
Project, a women's safety campaign, in Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel
inaugurated the 'Safe City Project'.
It is a 180-day-long campaign under which
the police and other departments will work
towards the safety of women.
The Governor flagged off 100 pink scooties
and 10 four-wheeler police vehicles as part of
the campaign.
Lucknow is among eight cities in the country
selected for the 'Safe City Project'.
The central government has approved the
project for Lucknow at a total cost of Rs 194
crore with an aim to strengthen security of
women in public places.
The projects will be financed under Nirbhaya
Fund at a cost of INR 2919.55 Crores.
14 States report reduction in prevalence of
parasitic intestinal worm infection 'Soil-
Transmitted Helminthiases'
The Health Ministry has said that 14 States have
reported reduction in prevalence of parasitic
intestinal worm infection also known as Soil-
Transmitted Helminthiases (STH).
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.
Since its launch in 2015, the National
Deworming Day (10 February), a flagship
program of the Ministry of Health is run as a
biannual single day programme implemented
through the platforms of schools and
anganwadis.
India participates in 18th meeting of Prosecutors
General of SCO via video conference
India participated in the 18th meeting of Prosecutors
General of SCO via video conference.
Representing India, Solicitor General Tushar
Mehta said India has zero tolerance to
corruption and black money.
He also highlighted the government's
flagship Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna,
saying it has expanded India’s financial
architecture.
India will host the next meeting of
Prosecutors General in 2021.
The eight member bloc will meet for this
year’s SCO Council of Heads of Govt on 30th
Nov which will be hosted by India.
IIT Kharagpur's 'COVIRAP' gets ICMR
certification
‘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).
This COVID-19 Diagnostic Test has been
designed to be fairly easy to conduct and
affordable as well and can produce results
within one hour.
This new testing method implements a highly
reliable and accurate molecular diagnostic
procedure that can be conducted in an ultra-
low-cost portable device unit developed by
the IIT, Kharagpur research team.
Indigenously built ASW stealth corvette INS
Kavaratti commissioned into Navy
The last of four indigenously built Anti-Submarine
Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes INS Kavaratti
under Project 28 (Kamorta class) was commissioned
into the Indian Navy by Chief of the Army Staff,
General Manoj Naravane, at Naval Dockyard in
Visakhapatnam.
Kavaratti is indigenously designed by the
Indian Navy's in-house organization,
Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built
by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers
(GRSE), Kolkata.
The ship will be commissioned into the Navy
as a combat-ready platform as the ship has
completed sea trials of all the systems fitted
onboard.
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
India will be hosting the Third India-US 22
Ministerial Dialogue on 27th of October in New
Delhi.
United States Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark T.
Esper will be visiting India to participate in
the dialogue.
From the Indian side, Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister
Dr. S. Jaishankar will lead the delegation.
The first 22 Ministerial Dialogue was held in
New Delhi in September 2018 and followed
by the second in Washington DC in 2019.
The agenda for the third dialogue will cover
all bilateral, regional and global issues of
mutual interest.
RPF launches 'Meri Saheli' initiative in
Amaravathi Express between Vijayawada-Hubli
As per the directives of Railway Board, the staff of
Railway Protection Force in Vijayawada Division
launched 'Meri Saheli' initiative in Train No.07225
Amaravathi Express between Vijayawada-Hubli.
The main motto of this 'Meri Saheli' initiative
is to provide a safe and secure environment
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.
This initiative was launched by RPF to
continuously monitor the safety of lady
passengers from the originating station to the
destination.
Prahlad Singh Patel takes part in 77th
Anniversary of formation of Azad Hind
Government at Red Fort
Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel
took part in the commemoration event of 77th
Anniversary of the Formation of Azad Hind
Government at Red Fort in Delhi.
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’.
He promised independence to Indians saying,
‘tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe Azadi
dunga’ (You give me blood, I will give you
freedom).
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches ‘Mo
Bidyut’ portal
Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik has launched
the electricity consumer service portal ”Mo Bidyut”.
The bilingual online electricity integrated
consumer service portal has been developed
by the Energy Department and dedicated to
the public under 5T (Teamwork,
Transparency, Technology, Time leading to
Transformation) initiative of the state
government.
Through this people will now be able to avail
efficient, time-bound, and transparent online
service delivery.
The Mo Bidyut supports the people to obtain
new electricity connections, enables online
bill payment and the grievances related to
electricity services can be addressed through
this portal.
Haryana tops Anemia Mukt Bharat Index in
country
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.
DRDO successfully conducts final trial of Nag
anti-tank guided missile in Pokhran range
India successfully carried out the final trial of the
third generation, anti-tank guided missile ‘NAG’,
from the Pokhran field firing ranges in Rajasthan.
The Nag anti-tank guided missile has been
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
The Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism
Shri Prahlad Singh Patel launched ‘Life in
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
tag from Uttarakhand
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
India has increased to 39, which is the highest
in South Asia.
Andhra Pradesh CM launches ‘YSR BIMA’
insurance scheme for BPL families
The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan
Mohan Reddy launched ‘YSR Bima’, a scheme to
provide financial assistance through insurance cover
to beneficiary in case of death or accident of their
families members.
All families with white ration cards are
eligible for YSR Bima scheme.
Village/ward volunteers will visit the
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 state government of Tamil Nadu has launched
the Smart Black Board scheme in 80,000
government schools of the state.
The initiative aims to ensure better teaching
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 expenditure limit for candidates for Lok Sabha
and assembly polls.
The committee will comprise of Shri Harish
Kumar, Ex. IRS and DG (Investigation), Shri
Umesh Sinha, Secretary General and DG
(Expenditure).
The need to set up this committee was felt in
view of the increase in number of electors and
rise in Cost Inflation Index.
It will submit its report within 120 days of its
constitution.
V Prez Venkaiah Naidu pays tributes to
Ashfaqulla Khan on his birth anniversary
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu paid tribute to the
revolutionary freedom fighter Ashfaqulla Khan on
his birth anniversary.
The young freedom fighter is most widely
known for the Kakori train robbery in 1925
and subsequent arrest with fellow Hindustan
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
India's indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate,
COVAXIN, developed by Bharat Biotech in
collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) has received the nod for Phase-3
clinical trials in the country.
The Subject Expert Committee which
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.
Besides, Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN,
another indigenously developed vaccine
candidate by Zydus Cadila Limited is also in
Phase -2 of human clinical trials.
AYUSH Minister inaugurates Regional Raw
Drug Repository at AIIA
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
genetics and chemistry of medicinal plants,
eight RRDR and one NRDR have been
proposed by the Ministry of AYUSH.
Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district bags top
position for implementation of PMGSY
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 the country for implementing the PMGSY
programme.
Six more districts of Himachal Pradesh have
also secured position among top 30 best
performing districts, which include Chamba,
Shimla, Kangra, Una, Sirmour, Hamirpur and
Solan.
PMGSY is a programme funded by the Union
government to connect habitations having
population of more than 250 in the state.
October 22: Black day for Jammu and Kashmir
In Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj
Sinha said that October 22 will always remain a
black day.
On October 22, thousands of tribal invaders
from Pakistan crossed into Kashmir
overrunning outposts of Hari Singh’s state
forces in Muzaffarabad, Domel and other
places on the road to Srinagar.
The Kashmir forces were too small in
number. Plus, the Muslim soldiers, who were
in equal numbers with the Dogras in the
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
In a novel initiative of Uttar Pradesh government,
police personnel will also converse in regional
dialects on 112 police Help Line to the convenience
of the rural population of the state.
As part of this scheme, it has been decided to
include Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Braj, Bundeli and
other local dialects in the system.
The communication officers serving at the
emergency services have been specially
trained for this purpose and they can speak in
many dialects including pahari and Bhojpuri.
India gets Chairmanship of ILO Governing body
after a gap of 35 years
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
elects the Director-General.
At present, the ILO has 187 members.
Chandra will be presiding over the upcoming
Governing Body's meeting, to be held in
November 2020.
NITI Aayog panel for reforms in urban planning
education
A panel constituted by the NITI Aayog will look into
introducing reforms in the urban planning education
system.
The 14-member advisory committee, headed
by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar,
will review the urban planning education
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
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three key
projects in Gujarat through video conferencing.
Modi launched the Kisan Suryodaya Yojana
for providing 16 hours of power supply to
farmers.
He also inaugurated the Paediatric Heart
Hospital attached with U.N Mehta Institute of
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
is set to be developed in Goa.
The Goa state biodiversity board has
proposed the project, which will be
implemented with financial assistance from
the World Bank.
The World Bank has sanctioned around Rs.3
crore under the programme.
Park would also have Bridges made of nature
friendly material to reduce trampling on sand
dune vegetation.
Besides this, nurseries of sand dune
vegetation will also be set up, which will
enable its replantation on beach stretches
where vegetation has gone extinct.
Mastercard partners with Atlantis to expand
Digital First Program in India
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
enables them to enjoy a best-in-class digital
banking experience.
After the launch in India, the partnership will
expand to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
The partnership allows the users of the
Mastercard to have immediate account access
and convenient payments.
Bank of Baroda ties up with Toyota Kirloskar
Motor
State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) announced a tie
up with Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) to enable
finance options for the automaker's customers and
dealers.
Following the pact, BoB will be one of the
preferred financiers for the entire range of
vehicles sold by TKM.
The new service facilitates customers to avail
customised solutions such as high on-road
funding of 90 per cent, long repayment
period of 84 months, no prepayment or
foreclosure charges.
This relationship will augment the MSME
segment with dealer finance program and
retail segment with auto loan finance and also
provides an opportunity to cross-sell other
bank products to these dealers.
India Posts releases 75th Anniversary of UN
Commemorative Stamp
Department of Posts (DOP), Ministry of
Communications released a commemorative postage
stamp on the 75th anniversary of the United Nations
Organisations.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson,
Anurag Srivastava stated India attaches the
highest priority to the expansion of the UN
Security Council so that it reflects
contemporary realities of the world.
He stated reformed multilateralism will be a
key pillar of the overall approach in the
upcoming innings of India as a non-
permanent member.
It may be noted that the Department of Posts
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
to begin in New Delhi
A 4-day Commanders’ Conference of Indian Army
will begin in New Delhi.
Army Chief Gen MM Naravane will chair the
apex level biannual event that formulates
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
Uttar Pradesh government has secured the first rank
in central government's one of the most ambitious
schemes - the PM Atmanirbhar Nidhi Scheme
(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
the state include Allahabad, Gorakhpur,
Ghaziabad and Kanpur.
Indian Navy operationalises first batch of 3
women pilots on Dornier Aircraft at Kochi
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.
The three women pilots of the first batch are
Lieutenant Divya Sharma, Lieutenant
Shubhangi Swaroop, and Lieutenant
Shivangi.
President Ram Nath Kovind pays homage to
former President K.R. Narayanan on his birth
anniversary
President Ram Nath Kovind paid homage to former
President K.R. Narayanan on his birth anniversary at
Rashtrapati Bhavan.
He served as the 10th President of India
(1997–2002) and 9th Vice President of India
(1992–1997).
He was the first person from the Dalit
community to hold either post.
Union Minister launches ‘e-Dharti Geo portal’
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
make its geographic information system
(GIS)-enabled.
With the launch of the portal the property
certificate details and outline map of the
property can be easily accessed online.
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
ICICI Bank has shut down his operations in Sri
Lanka after getting approval from the Sri Lankan
monetary authority.
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of
Sri Lanka, having considered the request
made by ICICI Bank, has granted approval to
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
IIT Kharagpur and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
have jointly developed a novel Industry 4.0
technology for remotely controlled factory
operations and real-time quality correction during
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.
The technology has been developed by Prof
Surjya K Pal, professor in-charge at the
Centre of Excellence in Advanced
Manufacturing Technology in association
with TCS.
Samsung Tops Forbes’ list of World’s Best
Employer 2020
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
countries.
From India, HCL Technologies is the top
industry in the list.
It is placed at the 30th position globally.
Northern Command celebrates 74th Infantry Day
on 27 October 2020
74th Infantry Day was celebrated by Northern
Command on 27 October with traditional wreath
laying ceremony at the Dhruva Shahid Smarak in
Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir
The Infantry Day is celebrated to
commemorate the operations launched by the
Indian Army on 27 October 1947 to thwart
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
The 1.8 kilometre long Feni bridge connecting
Sabrum in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh will be
completed by December this year.
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
Bangladesh.
India, US hold 3rd bilateral two plus two
Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi
India and US held the 3rd bilateral two plus two
Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi and signed the
landmark defence pact BECA.
The signing of BECA is significant as it
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
electronic exchange of customs data
Department of Posts and United States Postal
Service, USPS have entered into an agreement for
electronic exchange of customs data related to postal
shipments exchanged between the two countries.
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
through postal channel.
Centre sets up high-level committee to
commemorate Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur’s 400th
birth anniversary
The Centre set up a high-level committee headed by
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
Chowk in Delhi.
V Prez Venkaiah Naidu launches virtual festival
of ‘Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of
Music and Dance’
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.
It may be noted that this festival has been
organized to coincide with the World Day for
Audio-visual Heritage.
Arjun Munda launches two Centers of Excellence
for Tribal Welfare
Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda
launched two Centers of Excellence for Tribal
Welfare.
These centers were launched in collaboration
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
India hosted the 19th Meeting of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Ministers of
Foreign Economy and Foreign Trade.
In the meeting four documents were adopted.
They include a statement on the response to
Covid-19 which reinforces the need for
greater cooperation for access to medicines
and facilitation of trade and statement on the
Multilateral Trading System of Ministers of
SCO Countries who are WTO Members.
This statement highlights the importance of
the rule-based multilateral negotiations.
India extends $1 bn credit line to Central Asian
countries for priority projects
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
Delhi’s efforts to boost its role as a
transparent development partner.
The line of credit was welcomed by ministers
of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan during the
second meeting of the India-Central Asia
Dialogue held via video conference under the
chairmanship of external affairs minister S
Jaishankar.
Acting Afghan foreign minister Haneef
Atmar joined the meeting as a special invitee.
Chairman of 15th Finance Commission N.K.
Singh holds virtual meeting with Chairman of
previous Finance Commissions
Chairman of 15th Finance Commission, N.K. Singh
and its Members held a virtual meeting with the
Chairmen of previous Finance Commissions, Dr C.
Rangarajan, the Chairman 12th Finance Commission
and Dr. Vijay Kelkar who was the Chairman 13th
Finance Commission.
15th Finance Commission is mandated to
submit its final report for 2021-26 by 30th
October, 2020.
The Chairmen of the previous Finance
Commissions appreciated the tough
challenge faced by the 15th Finance
Commission, given the background of the
Covid-19 pandemic, the resultant loss of
economic activity and its impact on fiscal
parameters of the general government.
Air quality in Delhi continues to remain in ‘very
poor category’
The air quality in Delhi continues to remain in a very
poor category.
According to the Central Pollution Control
Board, Delhi's air quality index was recorded
at 397 at 10 AM.
An Air Quality Index between 201 and 300 is
considered poor, 301 to 400 very poor and
401 to 500 severe.
According to the System of Air Quality and
Weather Forecasting and Research, SAFAR,
the air quality is likely to marginally improve
and stay in the very poor for.
UP govt starts digital library to help students in
higher education
In the ongoing fight against Covid, Uttar Pradesh
government has started a digital library to help the
students in higher education to get the education
content in digital format.
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
In Tamil Nadu, the Young Advocates Welfare Fund
has been launched.
It provides a monthly financial assistance of
three thousand rupees each for two years to
the lawyers who just come out of law
colleges.
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
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
Railway with effect from 17th of this month.
The RPF team collects only the seat numbers
of the ladies and conveys them to stoppages
en-route.
PM Modi Inaugurates 4th edition of India Energy
Forum
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’
Indian Army has developed a simple messaging
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.
Tamil Nadu passes order for 7.5 % reservation to
govt school students in UG medical courses
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
at Kevadia in Gujarat
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit
to Gujarat.
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
Nutrition Park. Mr. Modi will then
inaugurate Jungle Safari and Geodesic Dome
Aviary and lay the foundation stone for
various projects before reaching the Statue of
Unity.
He will also launch the country's first
seaplane service between Kevadia and
Ahmedabad Riverfront.
Kolkata International Film Festival rescheduled
to January 2021
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the
internationally acclaimed Kolkata International Film
Festival (KIFF) has been rescheduled to January
2021 by West Bengal Government.
KIFF was supposed to be held from
November 5, 2020 but the dignitaries and
global film fraternity suggested the state
government postpone it to January.
Founded in 1995, it is the second oldest
international film festival in India.
The festival is organized by the West Bengal
Film Centre under the West Bengal
Government.
Telangana CM launches ‘Dharani’ Portal for
land & property registrations
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao
launched ‘Dharani’ Portal for land and property
registrations.
The slot bookings in the website for the land
registrations begins and all the land and
property registrations will start from
November 2.
The property details which are not uploaded
on the portal will be treated as illegal and will
not be allowed for further registrations or
mutation.
The one-in-all, Dharani portal has been
designed to reduce loopholes in the
registration process.
Odisha launches ‘Sumangal’ & Student
Scholarship web portals
Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik has launched
two web portals named ‘Odisha State Scholarship
Portal’ and ‘Sumangal Portal’.
The portal is to help eligible students of the
state to avail scholarship benefits in a
seamless and transparent manner, while the
latter one is to help people avail inter-caste
marriage incentives.
According to a government release, 21
scholarships would be offered by eight state
departments and more than 11 lakh
beneficiary students from Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes,
and educationally backward classes would
benefit from the scholarship portal.
Through the State Scholarship Portal,
scholarships will be credited directly to
students’ bank accounts as the portal is linked
to the state treasury.
National Unity Day: 31 October
National Unity Day is celebrated in India on 31
October.
It was introduced by the Government of India
in 2014.
The day is celebrated to mark the birth
anniversary of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.
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 birthday of the famous nuclear physicist, Homi
Jehangir Bhabha, popularly known as the father of
Indian Nuclear Programme is observed every year on
30 October.
Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha was an Indian
nuclear physicist and founding director of the
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
In 1939, when World War II broke out,
Bhabha was in India for a vacation. Due to
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
Bhushan (1954). He was nominated for the
Nobel Prize for Physics in 1951 and 1953-
1956.
Union Cabinet approves Memorandum of
Cooperation in the field of ICTs between India
and Japan
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
and ICTs, ICTs capacity building, Artificial
Intelligence (AI), etc.
It will help India strengthen ICTs
infrastructure in the country and help boost
connectivity of mainland India to remote
areas.
India and Japan have also signed the
Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of
cybersecurity.
Cabinet approves Mechanism for procurement of
ethanol by Public Sector Oil Marketing
Companies
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
litre, ethanol manufactured from B heavy
molasses will be Rs 57.61 per litre and
ethanol manufactured from C heavy molasses
will be Rs 45.69 per litre.
Government has been implementing Ethanol
Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme wherein
OMCs sell petrol blended with ethanol up to
10 per cent.
U.K. to partner for developing GIFT City
The United Kingdom (UK) has entered into a
strategic partnership to develop India’s GIFT City.
GIFT - Gujarat International Finance Tec-
City is India’s first international financial
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
Dr Harsh Vardha launched a Scheme titled “SERB-
POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in
Exploratory Research)”, designed exclusively for
women scientists, in a function on an e-platform.
The scheme targets women researchers of
age 35 to 55 years.
SERB – POWER Scheme will have two
components namely (i) SERB-POWER
Fellowship (ii) SERB- POWER Research
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
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is the first one in
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.
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
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT), Guwahati, have developed a low-cost
membrane technology to produce psychoactive
drugs and anti-aging compounds.
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
Chloroform, Acetone, Acetonitrile.
Flipkart, Bajaj Allianz launch cyber insurance to
cover online financial frauds
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.
It will compensate for direct financial loss
(up to the sum insured) due to unauthorised
digital financial transactions as a result of
identity theft arising out of cyber-attacks,
phishing/spoofing, and SIM-jacking.
Indian Bank launches Green-Tech Initiative, ‘IB-
eNote’
Indian Bank, a premier Public Sector Bank, launched
an green initiative, ‘IB-eNote’ that enables a totally
paperless working environment.
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.
Yes Bank tie-up with BSE to empower small
business companies
Yes Bank has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE) to empower the SME segment through
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
the platform and advisory solutions to EXIM
potential listed SMEs.
Axis Bank, Vistara launch co-branded forex card
Vistara and Axis Bank launched a co-branded forex
card that can load up to 16 currencies.
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.
World Bank expects India’s GDP to contract by
9.6% in FY-21
The World Bank expects India’s economy to contract
9.6% FY21, steeper than 3.2% shrinkage projected
earlier.
South Asia as a region is set to plunge into its
worst ever recession with a sharper than
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
crore
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.
Farmers of central UP which is considered
the potato belt of state have been demanding
for such food processing units for decades.
Axis Bank collaborates with Google Pay, Visa to
launch a new ACE Credit card
Axis Bank announced the launch of its ACE Credit
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
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct first Open
Market Operations (OMOs) to buy State
Developments Loans (SDLs) aggregating Rs 10,000
crore through auction on October 22, 2020 to
improve liquidity and pricing for these bonds.
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.
India's agricultural exports rise by 14.8 % during
first five months of current fiscal
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
rose 8.2 percent from the year-ago period,
while the value of non-basmati rice exports
grew 91.3 percent.
IIT Madras startup launches ‘mooPay’ for Dairy
Farmers in Rajasthan
Stellapps, the IIT-Madras incubated dairy-tech
startup, has launched a first-of-its-kind, fully-
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
The State Bank of India signed a loan agreement
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
and Bank of Yokahama.
RBI bars payment system operators from
launching any new QR codes
The Reserve Bank of India has barred Payment
System Operators (PSOs) from launching any new
proprietary QR code for payment transactions.
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
card
The SBI Card in association with the Delhi Metro
Rail Corporation launched a contactless multi-
purpose card that can function as a credit card and as
a metro smart card.
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.
SBI appoints Charanjit Attra as CFO
The country’s largest public sector lender State Bank
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
Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) and he also was a special
invitee on the National Advisory Committee
on Accounting Standards set up in the
Ministry of Company Affairs.
M A Ganapathy appointed as Director General,
BCAS
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
Bhide appointed as new members of MPC
The government has named three eminent
economists Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma and
Shashanka Bhide as the new members of the
Monetary Policy Committee.
While Ms. Goyal is a professor at the Indira
Gandhi Institute of Development Research;
Jayanth Varma teaches at the Indian Institute
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
chairman for three years
The government has appointed Dinesh Kumar Khara
as chairman of State Bank of India (SBI), the
country's largest lender, for three years.
Khara, one of the bank's four managing
directors, replaces Rajnish Kumar, who is
stepping down after being at the helm for
three years.
A state-run banks appointment panel in
August recommended Khara as the next
chairman of SBI.
Prior to his elevation, Khara was managing
director of associates and subsidiaries at SBI.
GoI appoints M Rajeshwar Rao as the RBI
Deputy Governor
The Centre has appointed M Rajeshwar Rao as the
new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
Prior to this, M Rajeshwar Rao was an
executive director at RBI.
He succeeds NS Vishwanathan as the central
bank’s fourth deputy governor. NS
Vishwanathan who resigned from the post in
March 2020 before the completion of his
term in June, citing health reasons.
Govt appoints J Venkatramu as MD, CEO of
India Post Payments Bank
A Cabinet panel appointed J Venkatramu as
managing director (MD) and chief executive officer
(CEO) of India Post Payments Bank for three years.
Venkatramu has over 22 years of work
experience across banking services such as
payments, mobile banking, retail banking
products and has also managed digital
financial services projects.
He is currently chief digital officer at Equitas
Small Finance Bank.
Venkatramu will take over the post of Suresh
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
Jordan's King Abdullah II designated his chief policy
adviser Bishr al-Khasawneh to form a new
government amid criticism of the previous
government's handling of the virus pandemic.
Al-Khasawneh will oversee parliamentary
elections Nov 10.
The king had dissolved Parliament a week
earlier at the end of its four-year term.
Under the constitution, that left al Razzaz'
government a week to resign.
Jordan Capital: Amman
Currency: Jordanian dinar
Nilesh Shah re-elected as AMFI chairman
Mutual fund industry body Association of Mutual
Funds in India (AMFI) said Nilesh Shah, managing
director of Kotak Asset Management Company
(AMC), has been re-elected as its chairman.
Besides, he would continue as the ex-officio
chairman of Amfi Financial Literacy
Committee, being the chairman of the
industry body.
Besides, Saurabh Nanavati, who is the chief
executive officer of Invesco Asset
Management (India) Pvt Ltd, has been re-
elected as the vice-chairman of Amfi.
iyush Goyal gets additional charge of Ministry of
Consumer Affairs
Union Minister Piyush Goyal was assigned the
additional charge of Ministry of Consumer Affairs,
Food and Public Distribution.
He was given the additional charge following
the death of Lok Janashakti Party (LJP)
founder and union minister Ram Vilas
Paswan.
He was elected to Lok Sabha eight times and
also held the record of winning with high
margins from his constituency Hajipur.
Goyal is currently serving as the Minister of
Railways and Minister of Commerce and
Industry in the NDA-led government.
Ram Vilas Paswan passed away at the age of
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’
Commonwealth Games medallist in Badminton,
Chetan Anand has been roped in as the brand
ambassador for India's first-ever homegrown
professional badminton brand “Transform”.
Transform Badminton is India’s 1st
professional badminton brand at par with the
best racquets available in the market that are
currently imported from abroad for playing in
India.
Transform racquets have been made out of
the military grade graphite.
Chaitanya Venkateswaran becomes British High
Commissioner for a day
Chaitanya Venkateswaran from New Delhi had the
unique opportunity to spend a day as the UK's senior-
most diplomat in India under the mission's initiative
aimed at empowering and highlighting the
challenges faced by women across the world.
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
aid visually-impaired students, acid attack
survivors and marginalised LGBT groups.
Supreme Court appoints Former Justice M B
Lokur as one-man panel to prevent stubble
burning
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
(NCR).
The new committee will monitor the stubble
burning and take preventive steps.
The panel shall submit its report on stubble
burning within 15 days to the apex court.
Union Bank of India CEO Rajkiran Rai is new
chairman of IBA
Indian Banks' Association (IBA) said Union Bank of
India's MD and CEO Rajkiran Rai G has been elected
as the association's chairman for the term 2020-21.
State Bank of India's Chairman Dinesh
Kumar Khara has been elected as the deputy
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
Vishal V Sharma has been appointed as the next
permanent representative of India to the United
Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO).
Sharma has succeeded Jawed Ashraf.
Sharma is expected to take up the assignment
shortly.
UNESCO headquarters: Paris, France.
Founded: 16 November 1945
Head: Audrey Azoulay
IWF appoint Michael Irani as interim president
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.
Rohan Jaitley elected unopposed president of
Delhi and District Cricket Association
Rohan Jaitley, the 31-year-old son of former finance
minister late Arun Jaitley, has been elected
unopposed as the new president of Delhi and District
Cricket Association (DDCA).
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
Sushil Kumar Singhal, a 2000-batch Indian Foreign
Service officer, has been concurrently accredited as
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
awareness of its fruits plus fizz portfolio ‘B-Fizz’.
The campaign will be aggressively promoted
across IPL on Hotstar and YouTube.
B-Fizz is a unique and refreshing apple juice-
based malt flavoured carbonated drink that is
set to revolutionize the taste experience of
consumers across age groups.
Indian-origin Wavel Ramkalawan elected
President of Seychelles
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
over as HDFC Bank MD-CEO
Aditya Puri, who was HDFC Bank managing
director and CEO for 26 years, retired from India’s
largest private bank.
Sashidhar Jagdishan has taken over the
charge.
Jagdishan has been part of the bank since
1996, and played a critical role in supporting
the growth trajectory of the bank.
With an overall experience of over 30 years,
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
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal
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,
the award honours the first Assamese & fifth
Indian ICS, Anundoram Borooah.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gives away Swachh
Bharat Awards 2020; Gujarat bags first position
under Swachh Sundar Samudayak Shouchalaya
category
The Swachh Bharat Awards-2020 were given to
States, Districts, Blocks and Village Panchayats by
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh
Shekhawat.
The awards were given particularly under
drinking water and cleanliness categories.
The Union Government had earlier launched
three missions under Swachh Sundar
Samudayik Shouchalaya, Samudayik
Shouchalaya Abhiyan and Gandagi Mukth
Bharat.
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 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
Andrea Ghez.
UK’s Roger Penrose has been awarded “for
the discovery that black hole formation is a
robust prediction of the general theory of
relativity”
America’s Reinhard Genzel and Andrea
Ghez have jointly won “for the discovery of
a supermassive compact object at the centre
of our galaxy.
Emmanuelle Charpentier & Jennifer A. Doudna
win Nobel Prize in Chemistry 202
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.
Doudna have discovered one of gene
technology’s sharpest tools: the
CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors.
Using these, researchers can change the DNA
of animals, plants and microorganisms with
extremely high precision.
This technology has had a revolutionary
impact on the life sciences, is contributing to
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
The 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature has been
awarded to American poet Louise Glück.
A professor at Yale University, Glück made
her debut in 1968 with her collection titled
'Firstborn'.
She won the prize for "for her unmistakable
poetic voice that with austere beauty makes
individual existence universal."
She is seen as one of the most prominent poet
and essayists in American contemporary
literature.
She has received several prestigious awards,
among them the Pulitzer Prize (1993) and the
National Book Award (2014).
Poet Nityananda Nayak to receive Sarala
Puraskar
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 awards comprise a cash award of
`1,50,000 and a citation.
Nobel Prize in Economics goes to Paul R Milgrom
and Robert B Wilson for improvements to auction
theory
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has
been awarded jointly to Paul R. Milgrom and Robert
B. Wilson “for improvements to auction theory and
inventions of new auction formats”
The award is officially known as the Sveriges
Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in
Memory of Alfred Nobel 2020.
The laureates in economic sciences are
selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of
Sciences in Stockholm.
The Nobel prize, which consists of a gold
medal, a diploma and a cheque for 10 million
Swedish kronor ($1.1 million, 950,000
euros), will be shared equally between the
Laureates.
ISA Solar Awards conferred for the first time
For the first time since the inception of the
framework agreement of ISA, Solar awards were
conferred on countries of the region as well as
institutions working for solar.
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 winners of these 3 categories are
Visvesvaraya award – Japan for the Asia
Pacific region and the Netherlands for
Europe and Others region.
Kalpana Chawla awards – Dr.Bhim Singh
from IIT Delhi (India) and Dr. Aaesha
Alnuaimi from Dubai Electricity and Water
Authority (United Arab Emirates.
Diwakar award – Arpan Institute (Haryana)
and Arushi Society.
PM Hasina confers highest civilian award of
Bangladesh to 8 individuals, 1 institution
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
Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi , Azizur
Rahman (posthumous), Commander Abdur
Rauf (posthumous) and Mohammad Anwar
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
doing commendable work in the field of
education.
The award carries a gold medal, certificate
and Taka 5 lakh.
‘Gully Boy’ wins best original score at 14th Asian
Film Awards
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.
Kiren Rijiju launches new logo of Sports
Authority of India
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju launched the Sports
Authority of India’s (SAI) new logo at Delhi’s Major
Dhyan Chand Stadium.
The event was attended by Sports Secretary
Ravi Mital, Indian Olympic Association
President Narinder Batra and Director
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
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
title by a clear margin of two points.
The second place was won by world no. 27
Etienne Germond of France while Olympic
quota winner Martin Strempfl of Austria took
the third place.
Shooters from 15 countries are participating
in the two-day competition.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju flags in CRPF
Divyang Yodha Cycle rally
Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju
flagged in CRPF Divyang Yodha Cycle rally that
began its journey from Sabarmati Ashram, Gujarat
and culminated at Rajpath.
The cycle rally covered about one thousand
kilometre to reach Delhi in the last 16 days.
The rally team consisted of six women of
CRPF Mahila Battalions.
The internal security warriors of the CRPF
are actively serving the country across
several conflict zones and the brave hearts
have made supreme sacrifice in the service of
the nation.
CRPF Formed: 27 July 1939
Director General, CRPF: A P Maheshwari,
IPS
Lewis Hamilton wins 2020 Eifel Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won
the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix, held at the Nürburgring in
Nürburg, Germany.
This is Hamilton’s 7th win of the season and
91st career race victory, which was till now
achieved only by Michael Schumacher.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands)
came second followed by Daniel Ricciardo
(Renault, Australia) at third position.
Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win his
13th French Open Men's Singles title
Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic to win his 13th
French Open and equal Roger Federer's all-time
record of 20 Grand Slam titles.
For world number one Djokovic, the defeat
ended his hopes of an 18th Slam and of
becoming the first man since Rod Laver in
1969 to win all four majors twice.
World number two Nadal claimed his 100th
match win at Roland Garros against just two
defeats since his 2005 debut.
In Women's doubles, Timea Babos and
Kristina Mladenovic retained their French
Open title.
With this, Babos and Mladenovic, who were
withdrawn from the US Open due to COVID-
19 protocols, have now won four Grand Slam
doubles title together.
Polish teenager Iga Swiatek becomes the new
French Open Champion
In Tennis, Polish teenager Iga Swiatek has become
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
Five players from the Indian Judo Team will be
participating in the Grand Slam 2020 competition, an
International Judo Federation event happening in
Budapest, Hungary from 23rd to 26th this month.
The five judokas, consisting of two women
and three men players, will leave for the
competition on 19th.
The women’s team includes 25-year-old
Sushila Devi 48 kg from Manipur and 22-
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
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
arrangements at a hotel nearby the venue, for
which SAI will provide support as per
existing norms.
From the hotel to the entry to the shooting
range, it will be the responsibility of the
NRAI to maintain the SOP in order to keep a
secure bio-bubble.
Mohun Bagan receive I-League trophy, 7 months
after clinching title
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
In Badminton, former World Champion Nozomi
Okuhara clinched the Denmark Open title beating
three-time world champion Carolina Marin in
women's singles.
The Japanese star took 56 minutes to get the
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
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.
Shiori Hirata won the silver with 622.6, while
Indonesian Vidya Toyyiba took the bronze
with 621.1.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju Attends Y20
Summit Virtually
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
bringing young leaders from across G20
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
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won
the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix, held on 25 October
2020.
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.
Senior BJD leader Pradeep Maharathy passes
away at 65
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,
have tested positive for Covid-19.
Social activist Pushpa Bhave passes away at 81 in
Mumbai
Veteran social activist Pushpa Bhave passed away in
Mumbai following a prolonged illness. She was 81.
She has been associated with the Rashtra
Seva Dal and democratic movements since
her student days.
She was also an academician and an
intellectual, who fought for the rights of
common citizens.
She had taken part in the Samyukta
Maharashtra movement and the Goa
liberation movement.
During the Emergency, she had offered her
home as shelter to underground political
workers.
Actress Mishti Mukherjee passes away
Actress Mishti Mukherjee has passed away due to
renal failure.
Mishti made her Bollywood debut as a lead
actress in Subhash Ghai's 2014 release,
"Kaanchi: The Unbreakable".
She had featured in a special appearance
dance number in the 2013 release "Main
Krishna Hoon" before that.
In a short career span, Mishti was also seen
in films such as "Great Grand Masti" (2016),
"Begum Jaan" (2017) and Manikarnika: The
Queen Of Jhansi" (2019), besides Bengali
and Telugu projects, and music videos.
Justice AS Dave, former Judge and acting CJ of
the Gujarat HC passes away
Former Acting Chief Justice of the Gujarat High
Court Justice Anantkumar Surendraray Dave passed
away at the age of 62
Justice Dave was appointed as a Gujarat High
Court Judge in 2004 and was made
permanent in 2006.
He was appointed as an Acting Chief Justice
of the Gujarat High Court on November 14,
2018 and served until the present Chief
Justice Vikram Nath took over the helm in
September 2019.
Legendary rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen dies at
65
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
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
In 1972, with brother Alex on drums, Eddie
Van Halen formed the band that would
become Van Halen.
Michael Jackson's Thriller, whose iconic
Beat It featured a guitar solo from Eddie Van
Halen.
Rolling Stone magazine put Eddie Van Halen
at No 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.
Former CBI director Ashwani Kumar passed
away
Former Governor of Manipur and Nagaland and ex-
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director
Ashwani Kumar was found dead at his residence in
Shimla.
Kumar was in service in both the central
government and the Himachal Pradesh state
government for more than 37 years.
Kumar, who joined the Indian Police Service
in 1973, took over the reins of the office of
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
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan passed away in
New Delhi. He was 74.
The Lok Janshakti Party founder and
Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and
Public Distribution had recently undergone a
heart operation at a private hospital.
He was elected to Lok Sabha eight times and
also held the record of winning his
constituency, Hajipur, with the highest
margin for several years.
He started his political career as a member of
Samyukta Socialist Party and was elected to
the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1969.
Later, Paswan joined Lok Dal upon its
formation in 1974 and became its general
secretary.
He opposed the emergency and was arrested
during the period.
He entered the Lok Sabha in 1977, as a Janata
Party member from Hajipur constituency,
was chosen again 1980, 1989, 1996 and
1998, 1999, 2004, and 2014.
First woman chief justice of Kerala KK Usha
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
Nations’ Joint Seminar on ‘Convention on
the elimination of all forms of discrimination
as regards women’, organised by the
International Federation of Women Lawyers
and the International Federation of Women
of Legal Careers.
She was a member and the President of the
University Women’s Association.
She was involved in ‘Sree Narayana Sevika
Samajam’, an orphanage and home for
destitute women.
Nagaland Environment Minister C M Chang
passes away
Nagaland Minister for Environment, Forest and
Climate Change and Justice and Law C.M. Chang
passed away.
State Health officials confirmed that Chang
died of COVID-19.
He was the sitting MLA of NDPP from 51-
Noksen Assembly Constituency.
Kaumudi Munshi, The Nightingale Of Gujarat
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
hospitalized
Some of her songs in Gujarati that are popular
even today are ‘Sachi re maari satre bhavani
maa’, and ‘koi aghe aghe thi venu vai che’.
Charlie Moore, 1952 Olympic 400 hurdles
champion pass 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.
Moore also earned a silver medal in Helsinki
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
Well-known Kuchipudi classical dancer and Guru,
Shobha Naidu passed away.
A disciple of eminent Guru Vempati Chinna
Satyam, Shobha Naidu performed with her
guru's troupe across the world and brought
laurels to the country.
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
India's first Oscar winner Costume designer Bhanu
Athaiya died.
Kolhapur-born Athaiya, who was active till
just five years ago, began her career as a
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
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,
Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala
Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry,
Odakkuzhal Award, Vallathol Award and the
Vayalar Award.
Well-known cricket journalist and commentator
Kishore Bhimani 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
Wing Commander (Retd) Dr Vijayalakshmi
Ramanan, the first woman officer to be
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
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
Development Bank (ADB).
Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-Hee passes away At
78
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
Veteran Gujarati film musician, singer and former
Lok Sabha MP from Patan constituency Mahesh
Kanodia has passed away following prolonged
illness.
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
spread over more than four decades.
He was known for singing in 32 different
voices including female voices.
He was awarded for Best Music for the
Gujarati films Jigar ane Ami, Tanariri, Jog
Sanjog and Laju Lakhan.
Gujarati film superstar & actor-turned-politician
Naresh Kanodia passes away
Gujarati film superstar and actor-turned-politician
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.
Former Gujarat CM Keshubhai Patel passes
away at 92
Former chief minister of Gujarat Keshubhai Patel
passed away at the age of 92.
He had tested positive for coronavirus last
month and was admitted at a hospital in
Ahmedabad.
Patel served as the chief minister of Gujarat
in 1995 and from 1998 to 2001, after which
he was replaced by Narendra Modi.
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
Assam
Minister for Development of North Eastern Region,
DoNER, Dr Jitendra Singh released a Coffee Table
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
Padampani Bora who has over the years
established himself as an accomplished
author, specializing in the subjects reflecting
diverse nuances of the North Eastern Region
of India.
Delhi’s Deputy CM Manish Sisodia launches a
book “Bapu-The unforgettable”
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
Archives & Department of Art, Culture and
Language, Government of Delhi.
The department also organised a webinar on
“Footprints of Gandhi Ji in Delhi”.
Anand Neelakantan pens debut kids’ book “The
Very, Extremely, Most Naughty Asura Tales for
Kids”
“Baahubali” series author Anand Neelakantan has
written his debut book in the children’s space which
tells some of the most hilarious stories about child
asuras and their antics.
Puffin has published “The Very, Extremely,
Most Naughty Asura Tales for Kids”, which
has full-colour illustrations accompanying
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
Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases the
autobiography of Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil and
rename Pravara Rural Education Society as ‘Loknete
Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil Pravara Rural Education
Society’.
Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil served as Member
of Lok Sabha for multiple terms.
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
of Belonging’
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’
Veteran Economist and bureaucrat N K (Nand
Kishore) Singh has released his autobiography titled
“Portraits of Power: Half a Century of Being at
Ringside”.
Singh is currently serving as the Chairman of
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
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
Corona”.
The book has been written by ‘scientoonist’
Dr Pradeep Srivastava, former Senior
Principal Scientist at CSIR-Central Drug
Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow.
The book contains information regarding the
novel coronavirus, its symptoms and ways to
prevent it. The book highlights the methods
of dealing with the virus in day to day life.
October English Quiz 2020
Q. International Day of Older Persons is observed
every year on _________.
29 September
30 September
01 October
02 October
03 October
Q. The WHO has advised that a country needs
_________ tests per day per million population.
50
70
140
200
320
Q. India successfully test-fired BrahMos supersonic
cruise missile with several indigenous features.
BrahMos missile has been developed by India in
collaboration with _________.
France
US
Japan
Russia
Israel
Q. Recently, India has established an Air Bubble
arrangement with Kenya & Bhutan. What is the
capital of Kenya?
Dodoma
Nairobi
Addis Ababa
Abuja
None of these
Q. Which of the following zone of Indian railways
recently launched “Operation My Saheli” for safety
of lady passengers?
South Eastern Railway
Eastern Railway
East Central Railway
East Coast Railway
Northern Railway
Q. In Bihar, notification for the First Phase of State
Assembly Elections was issued. State Assembly
Elections in Bihar will be carried out in _________
phases.
2
3
4
5
6
Q. Recently, a circle of India Post will release
picture postcards on Sawantwadi Toys. Sawantwadi
Toys are associated with which of the following
states?
Bihar
Odisha
Assam
Maharashtra
Gujarat
Q. Which of the following state’s Chief Minister
recently presented the ‘Anundoram Borooah Award
2020’ to students who scored above 75% in 10th
exams?
Bihar
Assam
Karnataka
Andhra Pradesh
Nagaland
Q. Which of the following bank has launched a
green initiative ‘IB-eNote’ that enables a totally
paperless working environment?
Axis Bank
HDFC Bank
Canara Bank
Indian Bank
None of the above
Q. Who among the following recently launched the
new logo of Sports Authority of India’s (SAI)?
Amit Shah
Prahlad Singh Patel
Kiren Rijiju
Ravi Shankar Prasad
Ramesh Pokhriyal
Q. Which of the following country will send out the
world’s first mining robot into space by November
this year?
US
Japan
France
China
India
Q. Indian Coast Guard Fast Patrol Vessel ICGS
'Kanaklata Barua' has been commissioned in
__________.
Mumbai
Kochi
Puri
Kolkata
Chennai
Q. The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has
revised the ideal weight of men to_________.
62kg
65kg
66kg
68kg
70kg
Q. Nation pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his
151st birth anniversary. Mahatma Gandhi returned to
India in_________, after spending 21 years of his life
in South Africa.
1912
1915
1904
1917
1910
Q. Nation paid tributes to former Prime Minister Lal
Bahadur Shastri on his 116th birth anniversary on 02
October. Which of the following statement is true
about Lal Bahadur Shastri?
A. Lal Bahadur Shastri was the 3rd Prime Minister
of India.
B. During his tenure as the Prime Minister, the posts
of Sadar-e-Riyasat and Wazir in J&K were abolished
and replaced with the positions of Governor and the
Chief Minister.
C. He gave the slogan of "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan".
A only
B only
A and B
B and C
A, B and C
Q. Recently, DRDO has tested the indigenously
developed Laser Guided ATGM. T in ATGM stands
for
Time
Tank
Truck
Transport
None of these
Q. What is the length of the world's longest highway
tunnel ‘Atal Tunnel’?
7.32km
7.82km
8.22km
9.02km
9.82km
Q. World Postcard Day is observed every year on
_________.
30 September
01 October
02 October
03 October
04 October
Q. Recently, Tamil Nadu & Arunachal Pradesh has
been integrated under One Nation One Ration Card
Scheme. After the integration of these two states the
number of states/UT under ONOR has been
increased to _________.
24
25
28
30
31
Q. Which of the following city has been ranked
number one in crime against women according to the
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)?
Pune
Kolkata
Delhi
Mumbai
Jaipur
Q. Which of the following state government has
recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding -
MoU with Denmark in the water sector?
Bihar
Punjab
Rajasthan
Gujarat
Kerala
Q. Which of the following bank has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to empower the
SME segment through awareness and knowledge-
sharing programmes?
HDFC Bank
ICICI Bank
Yes Bank
Indian Bank
None of these
Q. United States President Donald Trump
announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump
had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Trump
has been serving as the ________ president of the
US?
41st
42nd
43rd
44th
45th
Q. Recently, The United States announced over a
dozen sanctions against Syrian individuals and
entities to further pressure the Syrian government.
What is the capital of Syria?
Mogadishu
Khartoum
Damascus
Addis Ababa
Tripoli
Q. __________ and Azerbaijan have been battling
over a piece of land situated in the mountainous
region of south Caucasus.
Libya
Turkey
Lebanon
Armenia
Egypt
Q. Who among the following has recently launched
the largest market of tribal products ‘Tribes India E-
Marketplace’?
Amit Shah
Ravi Shankar Prasad
Arjun Munda
Prakash Javadekar
None of these
Q. According to the recent government
announcement, Till date, about _________ of the
cities across the country have become Open
Defecation Free, ODF.
75%
81%
85%
93%
97%
Q. ISRO is scheduled to launch its Venus mission in
the year _________.
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Q. What is the name given of the webinar organised
by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
(MoHUA) to celebrate six years of Swachh Bharat
Mission-Urban on Gandhi Jayanti?
Swachh Bharat, Swachh Man
Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal
Swachh Bharat, Swasth Bharat
Lakshay 100 Pritashat
None of these
Q. Which of the following has became the first state
in the country to undertake over one crore tests to
screen Coronavirus?
Maharashtra
Karnataka
Uttar Pradesh
Rajasthan
Gujarat
Q. Recently, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V
Sadananda Gowda launched POS 3.1 software, SMS
Gateway and home delivery facility of fertilisers for
farmers in __________.
Maharashtra
Andhra Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Bihar
Punjab
Q. Which of the following has recently announced
the launch of its nationwide campaign “Make Small
Strong” in order to help support small businesses?
Amazon India
Paytm
Google India
TCS
Q. Who among the following has been appointed as
the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the State Bank
of India (SBI)?
Shyam Srinivasan
Pallav Mohapatra
Charanjit Singh Attra
Atul Kumar Goel
None of these
Q. Which of the following state has won the first
position in Swachh Sundar Samudayak Shouchalaya
category in Swachh Bharat Awards 2020?
Andhra Pradesh
Bihar
Gujarat
Telangana
Assam
Q. World Animal Day is observed every year on
_______.
01 October
02 October
03 October
04 October
05 October
Q. ‘Bongosagar’ is a naval exercise between
Bangladesh and _________.
Myanmar
India
China
Indonesia
None of these
Q. What is the length of World’s longest Highway
tunnel ‘Atal Tunnel’?
8.35 km
8.82 km
9.02 km
9.56 km
10.60 km
Q. Government has decided to waive compound
interest on loans up to ___________ for six-months
due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Rs 1 crore
Rs 1.5 crore
Rs 2 crore
Rs 5 crore
Rs 10 crore
Q. India will signs USD 90 million defence deal
with which of the following country to buy spares for
C-130J Super Hercules aircraft?
France
Russia
Israel
US
Japan
Q. Which of the following organisation has decided
to launch a refinance scheme for Water, Sanitisation
and Hygiene (WASH) programme?
ISRO
DRDO
NABARD
NITI Aayog
None of these
Q. Visnu Shivaraj Pandian is associated with which
of the following sorts?
Shooting
Golf
Football
Badminton
Tennis
Q. Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju
flagged in CRPF Divyang Yodha Cycle rally from
Sabarmati Ashram, Gujarat to Rajpath. Who among
the following is the current Director General of
CRPF?
A P Maheshwari
Surjeet Singh Deswal
Arvind Kumar
G. Satheesh Reddy
None of these
Q. Recently, Pradeep Maharathy passed away. He
was a/an ________.
Cricketer
Painter
Politician
Journalist
None of these
Q. Recently, Pushpa Bhave passed away. She was
a/an _________.
Journalist
Cartoonist
Social activist
Politician
None of these
Q. World Teachers’ Day is observed every year on
_________.
01 October
02 October
03 October
04 October
05 October
Q. PM Modi pays tributes to Shyamji Krishna
Varma on his birth anniversary. He was a /an
________.
Politician
Scientist
Freedom Fighter
Mountaineer
None of these
Q. Recently, India successfully test-fired a new
version of nuclear-capable Shaurya Missile. It can
strike targets at around________.
200 kms
500 kms
800 kms
1,200 kms
1,500 kms
Q. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the
‘RAISE 2020’ summit. ‘RAISE 2020’ is associated
with?
New Education Policy
GST Returns
Artificial Intelligence
Defence Products
None of these
Q. Which of the following state/UT is organisting
'Corona Intensive Community Survey Campaign'?
Bihar
New Delhi
Maharashtra
Chhattisgarh
Gujarat
Q. Recently, Ashthal Bridge has been inaugurated
in which of the following state/UT?
Jammu and Kashmir
Himachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Nagaland
Q. Which of the following state/UT has recently
launched ‘Kritagyata’ for online pension
submission and tracking?
Bihar
Assam
Telangana
Kerala
None of these
Q. Who among the following is named as the
highest-paid female actor in the world?
Julie Bowen
Scarlett Johansson
Sofia Vergara
Elizabeth Olsen
Jennifer Lawrence
Q. Recently, Mishti Mukherjee passed away. She
was a/an ________.
Novelist
Social activist
Actress
Journalist
Poet
Q. Recently, Minister for Development of North
Eastern Region, DoNER, released a Coffee Table
Book on Discovering the Heritage of Assam, with
foreword by Amitabh Bachchan. Who among the
following is the current minister of DoNER?
Shripad Naik
Harsh Vardhan
Jitendra Singh
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
None of these
Q. World Habitat Day 2020 was observed on
___________.
2 October
3 October
4 October
5 October
6 October
Q. On the NG-14 mission, A commercial cargo
spacecraft reached the International Space Station
(ISS) carrying approximately 3,630 kilograms of
cargo to the station. The aircraft has been named after
the astronaut ________.
Rakesh Sharma
Sunita Williams
Kalpana Chawla
Laurel Clark
None of these
Q. The 12th BRICS Summit will be held on 17th
November 2020 via video conference under the
chairmanship of ________.
Brazil
India
China
Russia
South Africa
Q. On the conclusion of the 42nd GST Council meet,
the Centre has decided to disburse
nearly___________ among the states from the
amount collected as compensation cess this year.
5 thousand crore rupees
10 thousand crore rupees
15 thousand crore rupees
20 thousand crore rupees
30 thousand crore rupees
Q. Recently, India successfully tested the ‘SMART’
Torpedo release from Wheeler Island off the coast of
Odisha. S in SMART stands for _________.
Sided
Supersonic
Secondary
Screen
Satellite
Q. India has recently agreed to operationalisation of
the Sittwe port based in _________.
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Myanmar
Indonesia
Vietnam
Q. Which of the following state/UT has launched the
‘Yudh Pradushan ke Virudh’ campaign against air
pollution ahead of winter?
Haryana
Uttar Pradesh
New Delhi
Punjab
Bihar
Q. Which of the following airport has become the
first airport of the Airports Authority of India (AAI)
which is entirely solar-powered?
Puducherry airport
Hyderabad airport
Pune airport
Guwahati airport
None of these
Q. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has
entered into an MoU with___________ to onboard
street food vendors on its e-commerce platform.
Zomato
Uber Eats
Swiggy
Ola
Phone Pe
Q. Recently, Anantkumar Surendraray Dave passed
away. Dave served as the Chief Justice of the
________ High Court.
Assam
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
Gujarat
None of these
Q. World Cotton Day is observed every year on
_________.
05 October
06 October
07 October
08 October
09 October
Q. In October 2020, the foreign ministers of the
QUAD-India, USA, Japan, Australia meet in
_________.
New Delhi
Tokyo
New York
Sydney
Melbourne
Q. In October 2020, NCERT has partnered with
_________, to make education materials accessible
for Deaf children in their preferred format of
communication, Indian Sign Language.
Indian Sign Language Research And Training
Centre
Zabaan School for Languages
Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya National Institute For
Persons with Physical Disabilities
Association of Sign Language Interpreters
None of these
Q. Which of the following state government has
announced a Digital Seva Setu Programme for the
rural areas?
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
Assam
Gujarat
Karnataka
Q. Who among the following has been appointed as
the Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation
Security (BCAS)?
M A Ganapathy
V S K Kaumudi
Surjeet Singh Deswal
S N Shrivastava
None of these
Q. In October 2020, Who among the following has
been named as the new members of the Monetary
Policy Committee?
Ashima Goyal
Jayanth R Varma
Shashanka Bhide
A and B
A, B and C
Q. Who among the following has been named as the
chairman of State Bank of India (SBI)?
S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao
Prashant Kumar
Dinesh Kumar Khara
Sanjiv Chadha
None of these
Q. Who among the following has won the 2020
Nobel Prize in Physics?
Roger Penrose
Reinhard Genzel
Andrea Ghez
A and B
A, B and C
Q. Recently, Eddie Van Halen passed away. He was
a/an _________.
Actor
Footballer
Guitarist
Writer
None of these
Q. Who among the following recently released the
book “Bapu-The unforgettable”?
Ravi Shankar Prasad
Smriti Irani
Manish Sisodia
Prakash Javadekar
Amit Shah
Q. Which of the following country has recently test
fired new hypersonic ‘TSIRKON’ missile?
Russia
China
USA
France
North Korea
Q. Which of the following statements is/are true?
A. Indian Air Force Day is celebrated every year on
8th of October.
B. This year Indian Air Force celebrated its 88th
anniversary.
C. Indian Air Force was officially established on 8
October 1932 as the Royal Indian Air Force.
D. The name was changed to Indian Air Force in
1961.
A and B
A and C
A, B and C
A, B and D
A, B, C and D
Q. India’s premium cotton would be known as
__________ in the world cotton trade.
Shakti Cotton
Tejas Cotton
Kasturi Cotton
Reshmi Cotton
Tej Cotton
Q. Which of the following has become the first state
to cap the prices of face masks?
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
Assam
Maharashtra
Telangana
Q. In October 2020, the Union Cabinet approves
signing of Memorandum of cooperation in field of
cyber-security between India & _________.
Australia
New Zealand
Japan
Russia
France
Q. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
(C-DAC) will commission India’s fastest
Supercomputer named as ___________.
PARAM Siddhi - AI
Pratyush- AI
Supernova X400
Supernova Padma-AI
None of these
Q. The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
launched the integration of API (application
programming interface) of various banks with
SVANidhi portal. To begin with, the ministry started
with _________ .
State Bank of India
HDFC Bank
ICICI Bank
Punjab National Bank
None of these
Q. Who among the following has been appointed as
the new deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of
India?
MA Ganapathy
Tarun Bajaj
Ashima Goyal
Dinesh Kumar Khara
M Rajeshwar Rao
Q. The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to
Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for
__________.
for the phage display of peptides and antibodies
for the directed evolution of enzymes
for the design and synthesis of molecular machines
for the development of a method for genome
editing
None of these
Q. Recently, Ashwani Kumar passed away. He
served as the __________.
Director of Central Bureau of Investigation
Chairman of planning commission
Deputy governor of RBI
Finance secretary
None of these
Q. World Post Day is observed every year on
_________.
7 October
8 October
9 October
10 October
11 October
Q. Which of the following part of the world has been
affected by hurricane Delta?
Korean peninsula
Gulf of Mexico
South China Sea
Indonesia
Madagascar
Q. The Prime Minister of Kuwait Sabah Al Khalid
Al Sabah recently submitted his resignation to Emir
Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah. What is the
currency of Kuwait?
Dirham
Riyal
Dinar
Pound
Peseta
Q. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
inaugurated the state’s largest oxygen production
plant in _________.
Jhansi
Ghaziabad
Azamgarh
Gorakhpur
Varanasi
Q. The Reserve Bank of India in its bi-monthly
Monetary Policy statement kept the key interest rates
unchanged. The current repo rate stands at
________.
3.55%
4.50%
3.35%
3.15%
4.15%
Q. Which of the following banks has recently
launched an online Business Mentoring Programme
‘MSME Prerana’, for MSMEs?
HDFC Bank
State Bank of India
Indian Bank
Axis Bank
None of the above
Q. Which of the following bank has launched a co-
branded forex card with Vistara airlines that can load
up to 16 currencies?
IndusInd Bank
Axis Bank
Kotak Mahindra Bank
Yes Bank
None of the above
Q. For the FY21, The World Bank expects India’s
economy to contract _________.
7.2%
7.7%
8.4%
9.6%
10.4%
Q. Who among the following bank has been
appointed as the managing director (MD) and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of India Post Payments
Bank?
Anubrata Biswas
J Venkatramu
Sandeep Tandon
Kunal Shah
None of the above
Q. Who among the following has won the Nobel
Prize for Literature 2020?
Emmanuelle Charpentier
Jennifer Doudna
Louise Glück
Reinhard Genzel
Andrea Ghez
Q. World Mental Health Day is observed every year on
________.
08 October
09 October
10 October
11 October
12 October
Q. China has formally joined COVAX, the global
initiative for COVID-19 vaccine. COVAX facility is led
by ________.
World Bank
World Health Organisation
International Committee of the Red Cross
World Trade Organization
None of these
Q. The world famous Jog falls in Karnataka will get a
face lift at a cost of Rs. 120 crore. Jog falls is on _______
river.
Indravati
Sabari
Sharavati
Malaprabha
None of these
Q. Railway service across the historic Pamban bridge has
been suspended till further notice. Pamban bridge is in
________.
Andhra Pradesh
Kerala
Maharashtra
Tamil Nadu
Karnataka
Q. Recently, Union Minister of Social Justice &
Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot inaugurated
the virtual “International conference on Mental Health:
Looking Beyond COVID 19” through video
conferencing. The conference was organised in
partnership with ________.
France
Japan
Australia
UAE
US
Q. Who among the following has recently inaugurated
the Gyan Circle Ventures developed by the Indian
Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Chittoor,
Andhra Pradesh.
Harsh Vardhan
Nitin Gadkari
Ramesh Pokhriyal
Prakash Javadekar
None of these
Q. In October 2020, Which of the following has
partnered with ‘Indian Railway Catering and Tourism
Corporation’ (IRCTC), to book reserved train tickets on
its platform.
My Jio
Amazon
Flipkart
Google Pay
None of these
Q. Jordan's King Abdullah II designated his chief policy
adviser Bishr al-Khasawneh as Prime Minister. What is
the capital of Jordan?
Amman
Beirut
Damascus
Tripoli
None of these
Q. Who among the following has been reappointed as the
chairman of Association of Mutual Funds in India
(AMFI)?
Akash Pandey
Nilesh Shah
Rajdeep Kumar
Amitabh Rastogi
None of these
Q. Who among the following will be conferred the
prestigious Sarala Puraskar by the Odisha government?
Radhanath Ray
Nityanand Nayak
Reba Ray
Kunjan Nambiar
None of these
Q. International Day of the Girl Child is observed
every year on __________.
09 October
10 October
11 October
12 October
13 October
Q. World Migratory Bird Day is observed every
year on _______.
09 October
10 October
11 October
12 October
13 October
Q. National Postal Day is observed every year on
________.
09 October
10 October
11 October
12 October
13 October
Q. Recently the Coastal Security Exercise- 'Sagar
Kavach'- was conducted on the coasts of
__________.
Kerala
Karnataka
Lakshadweep
Gujarat
A, B and C
Q. Which of the following state government has
launched the ‘Mukhya Mantri Saur Swarojgar
Yojana’ for self-employment by solar energy
farming?
Assam
Jharkhand
Odisha
Uttarakhand
Madhya Pradesh
Q. Which of the following state government has
launched the ‘Jagananna Vidya Kanuka’ scheme to
distribute school kits?
Karnataka
Rajasthan
Gujarat
Andhra Pradesh
Telangana
Q. Who among the following gets additional charge
of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs after the death
of Ram Vilas Paswan?
Ravi Shankar Prasad
Nitin Gadkari
Piyush Goyal
Smriti Irani
None of these
Q. The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman
Mukesh Ambani has topped the Forbes India Rich
list for ________ consecutive year.
5th
7th
8th
10th
13th
Q. Chetan Anand is associated with which of the
following sports?
Football
Tennis
Table tennis
Badminton
Chess
Q. Recently KK Usha passed away. She served as
the first woman chief justice of _________ high
court?
Kerala High Court
Assam High Court
Karnataka High Court
Bombay High Court
Madras
Q. World Arthritis Day is observed every year on
_________.
10 October
11 October
12 October
13 October
14 October
Q. The Union Government has permitted export of Rose
Onions and Krishnapuram Onions of up to ten thousand
metric tonnes each. Rose Onions are grown in and around
________.
Indore
Aurangabad
Gandhinagar
Bangalore
Guwahati
Q. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a
commemorative 100 rupee coin in the honour of Vijaya
Raje Scindia. Vijaya Raje Scindia is popularly known as
the Rajmata of ________.
Udaipur
Hyderabad
Gwalior
Jaipur
None of these
Q. Which of the following ship has been awarded Best
Ship trophy at the Fleet Award Function(FAF), 2020?
INS Sahyadri
INS Kora
INS Rajput
A and B
A, B and C
Q. Recently the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid the
foundation stone of Nechiphu tunnel in ________.
Arunachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Leh
Sikkim
Meghalaya
Q. Recently eight beaches recommended by the
Government have got the coveted International Blueflag
Certification. The Blue Flag programme is operated under
the auspices of the Foundation for Environmental
Education, FEE and is headquartered in _________.
France
New Zealand
Denmark
Switzerland
UK
Q. On the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child
day, Who among the following got an opportunity to
serve as the British High Commissioner for a day?
Licypriya Kangujam
Chaitanya Venkateswaran
Nafisa Ali
Ridhima Pandey
Aditya Mukarji
Q. Who among the following recently won the Eifel
Grand Prix 2020?
Max Verstappen
Daniel Ricciardo
Lewis Hamilton
Sebastian Vettel
None of these
won French Open Men's Singles title?
Alexander Zverev
Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer
Andy Murray
Q. Who among the following won French Open
Women's Singles title?
Sofia Kenin
Naomi Osaka
Iga Swiatek
Ashleigh Barty
None of these
Q. International Day for Disaster Reduction is
observed every year on ________.
11 October
12 October
13 October
14 October
15 October
Q. In October 2020, Which of the following
neighbouring country’s cabinet has approved capital
punishment for rape?
Nepal
Myanmar
Bhutan
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Q. Recently, the Asia Pacific Group of FATF kept
Pakistan on ‘enhanced follow-up list’ for slow
progress against terror financing. FATF is
headquartered in _________.
Geneva
Paris
Rome
Berlin
London
Q. Which of the following has become the first state
in the country to have high-tech classrooms in all its
public schools?
Rajasthan
Uttar Pradesh
Kerala
Bihar
Assam
Q. In October 2020, the Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman has announced a fiscally prudent
proposals to tune of _________ to boost demand.
Rs 45,000
Rs 55,000
Rs 61,000
Rs 73,000
Rs 92,000
Q. Recently, the Reserve Bank of India has
reallocated portfolios of deputy governors. Who
among the following is not the current deputy
governor of RBI?
M Rajeshwar Rao.
MD Patra
MK Jain
Ajay Bhushan Pandey
BP Kanungo
Q. The 2020 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has
been awarded jointly to Paul R. Milgrom and Robert
B. Wilson for _________.
for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of
market design
for their empirical analysis of asset prices
for improvements to auction theory and
inventions of new auction formats
for their contributions to behavioural economics
for their experimental approach to alleviating global
poverty
Q. Five players from Indian Judo Team will
participate in the Grand Slam 2020 competition.
Which of the following country is the host for the
Grand Slam 2020 competition?
Russia
Hungary
New Zealand
Canada
UAE
Q. Recently, C.M. Chang passed away. He was
serving as the Minister for Environment, Forest and
Climate Change and Justice and Law of _________.
Sikkim
Telangana
Kerala
Himachal Pradesh
Nagaland
Q. Recently PM Modi released the autobiography of
_________ titled as ‘Deh Vechwa Karani’?
Ashish Rajpal
Dr. Balasaheb Vikhe Patil
Sanjit Roy
Dr. Achyuta Samanta
None of these
Q. World Standards Day is observed every year on
__________.
12 October
13 October
14 October
15 October
16 October
Q. National Philately Day is observed every year on
__________.
12 October
13 October
14 October
15 October
16 October
Q. What is the name given to the Health Ministry’s
telemedicine initiative?
E-Paramarsh
E-Upchaar
E-Aushadhi
E-Sanjeevani
E-Upay
Q. On 16 October 2020, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi will release a commemorative coin of 75
rupees denomination to mark the 75th Anniversary
of_________.
World Wide Fund for Nature
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization
International Committee of the Red Cross
None of these
Q. Recently, the government has agreed to extend the
subsidy of _________ on transportation of notified
fruits & vegetables through Kisan Rail trains.
10%
20%
25%
50%
75%
Q. Which of the following state police have started
an initiative to connect Banchhara and Kanjar
community with the mainstream of the society?
Uttar Pradesh
Odisha
Madhya Pradesh
Jharkhand
Maharashtra
Q. Recently, PepsiCo is setting up a greenfield potato
chips production unit in which of the following
districts of Uttar Pradesh?
Moradabad
Mathura
Jhansi
Lalitpur
Jaunpur
Q. Which of the following bank has announced the
launch of its ACE Credit Card in India in
collaboration with Google Pay and Visa.
HDFC Bank
Yes Bank
Axis Bank
IndusInd Bank
None of the above
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
________.
Hyderabad
Indore
New Delhi
Bhopal
Gandhinagar
Q. Recently, legendary singer Kaumudi Munshi
passed away. She was also known as Nightingale of
_________.
Maharashtra
Telangana
Assam
Gujarat
Nagaland
Q. International Day of Rural Women is observed
every year on ________.
13 October
14 October
15 October
16 October
17 October
Q. World Students’ Day is observed every year on
________.
13 October
14 October
15 October
16 October
17 October
Q. Which of the following country has been elected
as President of the International Solar Alliance?
France
India
UK
Mexico
Australia
Q. In October 2020, Exim Bank extended a $400
million soft loan to which of the following islands
nation to finance a connectivity project?
Madagascar
Trinidad and Tobago
Cuba
Maldives
Malta
Q. India has contributed one million dollars to the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency
(UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East is headquartered
in ________.
Amman
Lebanon
Cairo
Ankara
None of these
Q. Recently, The government has constituted a
panel of secretaries under the chairmanship of
____________ to streamline the spectrum allocation
process.
Rajiv Gauba
Pramod Kumar Mishra
Ajay Kumar Bhalla
Pradeep Kumar Sinha
None of these
Q. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Dr.
APJ Abdul Kalam on the occasion of his Birth
Anniversary. Kalam served as the ________
president of India.
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
Q. Which of the following state government has
recently launched ‘Sujal - Drink from Tap Mission’?
Bihar
Assam
Odisha
Jharkhand
West Bengal
Q. 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. NSP is
being setup in _________.
Ahmednagar
Belgaum
Bastar
Rajkot
Asansol
Q. Recently, 1952 Olympic champion Charlie
Moore passed away. He was associated with which
of the following sports?
Pole vault
Hurdles
Javelin throw
Shot put
Fencing
Q. Well-known classical dancer and Guru, Shobha
Naidu passed away. She was associated with which
of the following dance forms?
Odissi
Kathak
Bharatanatyam
Kuchipudi
Mohiniyattam
Q. What is the theme of World Food Day 2020?
Family Farming
Social Protection and Agriculture
Our Actions Are Our Future
Grow, Nourish, Sustain Together
None of these
Q. Global Handwashing Day is observed every year
on _________.
14 October
15 October
16 October
17 October
18 October
Q. Which of the following country has recently
registered COVID-19 vaccine 'EpiVacCorona'?
China
USA
Russia
UK
France
Q. Recently, the Union Health Minister launched the
2nd phase of “Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojna”.
Thalassemia is a disorder associated with
_________.
Liver
Eyes
Blood
Brain
Skin
Q. The Union Cabinet has approved Strengthening
Teaching-Learning and Results for States -STARS
project. STARS project is supported by ________.
New Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
World Bank
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
None of these
Q. The world's tallest statue ‘Statue of Unity’ will
be reopened for visitors from 17th October. Statue of
Unity has been designed by ________.
Dhruva Mistry
Anish Kapoor
Sankho Chaudhuri
Ram V Sutar
None of the above
Q. 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
NH-14
NH-8
NH-19
None of these
Q. Recently, Anti-pollution measures under the
Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) came into
force in ________.
Agra
Delhi NCR
Mumbai
Indore
Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad
Q. Recently Bhanu Athaiya passed away. She was
India’s first _________.
Female High Court Judge
Woman to cross English channel
Oscar award winner
Person to receive Jnanpith award
None of these
Q. Recently, Jnanpith recipient Akkitham Achuthan
Namboothiri passed away. He was associated with
which of the following language?
Kannad
Gujarati
Malayalam
Telugu
None of the above
Q. International Poverty Eradication Day is
observed every year on _________.
15 October
16 October
17 October
18 October
19 October
Q. Recently, Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay
Jeenbekov has resigned after days of protests over a
disputed parliamentary election. What is the capital
of Kyrgyzstan?
Tashkent
Dushanbe
Bishkek
Ashgabat
None of these
Q. India will deliver a Kilo Class submarine INS
Sindhuvir to _______.
Bangladesh
Myanmar
Indonesia
Maldives
None of these
Q. Recently, India has been designated the Vice-
Chair of Good Laboratory Practice, GLP Working
Group of the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD). OECD is
headquartered in _________.
London
Bern
Berlin
Paris
Rome
Q. In October 2020, The government banned the
import of _________ in its latest bid to boost
domestic production.
LED bulbs
Air conditioners
Engine oil
Copper based electric wires
None of these
Q. Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted National
Security Guard (NSG) personnel and their families
on the Raising Day of NSG. Who among the
following is the current Director General of NSG?
Surjeet Singh Deswal
Rakesh Asthana
V S K Kaumudi
Rajesh Ranjan
None of these
Q. Which of the following city has recently
launched the campaign ‘Red light on, Gaadi off’ to
tackle air pollution?
Hyderabad
Mumbai
New Delhi
Bhopal
Patna
Q. Recently, the JK Government has signed an MoU
with ________ to provide a platform for local
artisans, craftsmen, weavers to reach customers
across the globe.
Amazon
Paytm
Flipkart
Snapdeal
None of these
Q. Which of the following state has announced the
setting up of the world’s biggest Zinc Smelter
project?
Uttar Pradesh
Gujarat
Assam
Bihar
Haryana
Q. Recently, Kishore Bhimani passed away. He was
a/an ________.
Sports Journalist
Sitar player
Kathak dancer
Novelist
Climate activist
Q. Recently, Jacinda Ardern has secured the second
term as the Prime Minister of ________.
Australia
New Zealand
Canada
Austria
Spain
Q. Which of the following state/UT has recently
announced the ‘My Town My Pride’ programme?
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
New Delhi
Maharashtra
Jammu and Kashmir
Q. Who among the following has been designated as
a one-man monitoring committee to prevent stubble
burning in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh?
Dipak Misra
Jagdish Singh Khehar
M B Lokur
Uday Lalit
None of these
Q. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will conduct first
Open Market Operations (OMOs) to buy State
Developments Loans (SDLs) aggregating
_________ through auction.
Rs 5,000 crore
Rs 08,000 crore
Rs 10,000 crore
Rs 15,000 crore
None of these
Q. Which of the following state/UT has launched
Mission Shakti for security of women in the state?
Bihar
Maharashtra
Gujarat
Uttar Pradesh
Assam
Q. Who among the following has been appointed as
the chairman of Indian Banks' Association (IBA)?
Rajkiran Rai
Rakesh Sharma
Shyam Srinivasan
Sandeep Bakhshi
None of these
Q. Recently, Vishal V Sharma has been appointed
as the next permanent representative of India to
___________.
Food and Agriculture Organization
International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization
World Bank Group
None of these
Q. Recently, the International Weightlifting
Federation (IWF) has appointed Michael Irani as its
interim president. IWF is headquartered in
_________.
Geneva
Bern
Rome
Paris
New York
Q. Who among the following has been elected
unopposed president of Delhi and District Cricket
Association?
Rohan Jaitley
Pankaj Singh
Jay Shah
Sunil Gavaskar
None of the above
Q. Who among the following is the author of the
book ‘The Battle of Belonging’?
Ramachandra Guha
Shashi Tharoor
Ghulam Nabi Azad
Sharad Pawar
None of these
Q. ‘BepiColombo’ mission has been launched to
explore and study which of the following planet?
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Mercury
None of these
Q. Recently, Which of the following country hosted
the virtual Summit of Ministers of Justice of
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?
China
India
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Russia
Q. The highly versatile BRAHMOS missile has
been jointly designed, developed and produced by
India and _________.
France
Israel
USA
Russia
None of these
Q. The first-ever SCO Startup Forum will be
launched on 27th October 2020 ahead of the SCO
trade ministers meeting on 28th October. Which of
the following country is not a member of SCO?
Kazakhstan
Turkmenistan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan
Q. Who among the following participates in the
102nd meeting of the World Bank Development
Committee Plenary?
Piyush Goyal
Nirmala Sitharaman
Rajnath Singh
Nitin Gadkari
None of the above
Q. ‘SLINEX-20’ is a military exercise between
India and ________.
South Africa
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Saudi Arabia
Seychelles
Q. Which of the following country invited PM Modi
to join celebrations of 50 years of the country's
independence?
Sri lanka
Indonesia
Bangladesh
Vietnam
None of the above
Q. Recently, India and Chile held their first joint
commission meeting. What is the capital of Chile?
Lima
Bogota
Santiago
Buenos Aires
None of these
Q. Recently, the Government has extended the
concession rate on cargo movement between India,
Chabahar Port in __________.
Saudi Arabia
Yemen
Iran
Oman
None of these
Q. Which of the following football club recently
received the I-League trophy, 7 months after
clinching the title.
Mohun Bagan
Gokulam Kerala
Indian Arrows
Sudeva
TARU
Q. Who among the following recently clinched the
Women's Singles title at Denmark Open?
Nozomi Okuhara
Akane Yamaguchi
Chen Yufei
Carolina Marin
Aya Ohori
Q. World Osteoporosis Day is observed every year
on _________.
17 October
18 October
19 October
20 October
21 October
Q. World Statistics Day is observed every year on
_________.
17 October
18 October
19 October
20 October
21 October
Q. India has been ranked on ________ spot on Asia
Power Index 2020?
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
None of these
Q. Which of the following countries has topped the
Asia Power Index 2020?
Japan
China
USA
India
Indonesia
Q. Which of the following country has joined the
Malabar Naval exercise with India, US and Japan?
Australia
France
UAE
Sauddi Arabia
None of these
Q. Who among the following has recently launched
the AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme?
Nitin Gadkari
Narendra Singh
Thawar Chand Gehlot
Ravi Shankar Prasad
None of these
Q. Nitin Gadkari lays the foundation stone for the
country's first-ever multi-modal logistic park in
_________.
Rajasthan
Bihar
Assam
Gujarat
Telangana
Q. NITI Aayog will establish India’s first Frontier
Technologies Cloud Innovation Centre in
partnership with __________.
Amazon Web Services
Microsoft Azure
IBM
None of these
Q. Which of the following institute’s startup
launches ‘mooPay’ for Dairy Farmers in Rajasthan?
IIT Mumbai
IIT Madras
IIT New Delhi
IIT Kharagpur
Q. ISA Solar Awards has been conferred for the first
time under which of the following categories?
Kalpana Chawla awards
Visvesvaraya award
Diwakar award
C. V. Raman award
B only
A and B
B and C
A, B and C
A, B, C and D
Q. International Chefs Day is observed every year
on _________.
18 October
19 October
20 October
21 October
22 October
Q. In October 2020, In an historic development, the
first delegation from which of the following country
reached Israel?
Saudi Arabia
Iran
United Arab Emirates
Syria
Armenia
Q. Police Commemoration Day is observed every
year on _________.
18 October
19 October
20 October
21 October
22 October
Q. Which of the following state has become the first
state in the country to cap prices of masks?
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
Gujarat
Maharashtra
Assam
Q. Recently, which of the following satte celebrated
Kati Bihu festival?
Assam
Nagaland
Manipur
Tripura
Arunachal Pradesh
Q. Recently, Dharmendra Pradhan launched the trial
run of buses on Hydrogen-Blended CNG buses in
_________.
New Delhi
Chennai
Mumbai
Gandhinagar
None of these
Q. Recently, Uttar Pradesh Governor launches a
women's safety campaign ‘Safe City Project’ in
__________.
Agra
Prayagraj
Lucknow
Meerut
None of these
Q. According to Health Ministry, How many states
have reported reduction in prevalence of parasitic
intestinal worm infection also known as Soil-
Transmitted Helminthiases (STH)/
4
6
11
14
19
Q. Elavenil Valarivan is associated with which of
the following sports?
Football
Hockey
Badminton
Shooting
Table tennis
Q. Recently, Union Minister of Youth and Sports
Kiren Rijiju attended the Youth-20 (Y20) Summit
being held virtually in _________.
Saudi Arabia
China
US
France
Germany
Q. International Stuttering Awareness Day is
observed every year on ________.
19 October
20 October
21 October
22 October
23 October
Q. India participates in the 18th meeting of the
Prosecutors General of SCO via video conference.
Who among the following is the current Solicitor
General of India?
Mukul Rohatgi
Tushar Mehta
Ashok Bhushan
K. K. Venugopal
Arun Mishra
Q. Recently, the ‘COVIRAP’ diagnostic technology
developed has been successfully validated for its
efficacy in COVID-19 detection by the Indian
Council of Medical Research (ICMR). COVIRAP
has been developed by _________.
IIT Delhi
IIT Madras
IIT Mumbai
IIT Kharagpur
IIT Ropar
Q. In October 2020, The last of four indigenously
ASW stealth corvettes _________ was
commissioned into the Indian Navy at Naval
Dockyard in Visakhapatnam.
INS Kavaratti
INS Kamorta
INS Kadmatt
INS Tejas
None of these
Q. Which of the following Indian city will host the
third India-US 22 Ministerial Dialogue on 27th of
October?
Washington DC
Chennai
New York
New Delhi
Srinagar
Q. Recently, The RPF has started _________
initiative is to provide a safe and secure environment
to lady passengers travelling in trains throughout
their journey.
Suraksha
Mission Shakti
Meri Saheli
Disha
None of these
Q. Which of the following state has launched the
‘Mo Bidyut’ portal?
Bihar
Jharkhand
Odisha
Telangana
Andhra Pradesh
Q. Which of the following state has topped the
Anemia Mukt Bharat Index in the country?
Gujarat
Assam
Haryana
Uttar Pradesh
Rajasthan
Q. Sushil Kumar Singha has been concurrently
accredited as the next High Commissioner of India
to the Solomon Islands. What is the capital of
Solomon Islands?
Honiara
Port Vila
Apia
Suva
None of these
Q. “Portraits of Power: Half a Century of Being at
Ringside” is the autobiography of ________.
Arvind Panagariya
Shikha Sharma
NK Singh
Raghuram Rajan
Arvind Subramanian
Q. World Snow Leopard Day is observed every year
on _________.
21 October
22 October
23 October
24 October
25 October
Q. Recently, DRDO successfully conducted the
final trial of the NAG missile in Pokhran range. NAG
is a/an ________.
Anti-Tank Missile guided missile
Anti-ship ballistic missile
Multi-platform hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile
Anti aircraft missile
None of these
Q. The Union Minister of State for Culture and
Tourism Shri Prahlad Singh Patel launched the ‘Life
in Miniature’ project in partnership with ________.
Amazon.in
Yahoo
Apple
Q. Recently, Asan Conservation Reserve gets first
Ramsar site tag from ________.
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
Karnataka
Uttarakhand
Himachal Pradesh
Q. Which of the following state has launched the
‘YSR BIMA’ insurance scheme for BPL families?
Odisha
Jharkhand
Assam
Andhra Pradesh
West Bengal
Q. Which of the following state/UT has launched the
Smart Black Board scheme in 80,000 government
schools of the state?
Bihar
Kerala
Telangana
Tamil Nadu
Assam
Q. Who among the following will lead the panel
formed by Election Commission of India to examine
the issue of revising the expenditure limit for
candidates for Lok Sabha and assembly polls?
Harish Kumar
Umesh Sinha
Rajeev Kumar
A and B
A, B and C
Q. Who among the following has been named as the
national brand ambassador of Parle Agro to
maximise reach and awareness of its fruits plus fizz
portfolio ‘B-Fizz’?
Virat Kohli
Suresh Raina
Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Salman Khan
Ayushman Khurana
Q. Recently, Vijayalakshmi Ramanan passed away.
She was the first _________.
First woman to cross English Channel
Female Chief Justice of Bombay High court
Woman officer in the Indian Air Force
Female F1 driver of India
Female director of AIIMS New Delhi
Q. Recently, Jayanta Madhab passed away. He was
a/an _________.
Journalist
Economist
Actor
Singer
Politician
Q. Mole Day is observed every year on 23 October.
What is the value of Avogadro’s Number?
6.02 x 1017
6.02 x 10-17
6.02 x 1023
6.02 x 10-23
None of these
Q. United Nations Day is observed every year on
________.
22 October
23 October
24 October
25 October
26 October
Q. World Development Information Day is
observed every year on ________.
22 October
23 October
24 October
25 October
26 October
Q. Recently, Which of the following country has
approved the sale of weapons systems worth around
1.8 billion dollar to Taiwan?
France
US
Israel
Russia
None of these
Q. After Bangladesh, Which of the following
country has rejected the purchase of the coronavirus
vaccine from China?
Brazil
Japan
Afghanistan
UAE
None of these
Q. Recently, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu paid
tribute to the revolutionary freedom fighter
Ashfaqulla Khan who is most widely known for the
Kakori train robbery. Kakori train robbery took
place in the year _______.
1919
1922
1925
1927
1930
Q. ‘COVAXIN’ has received the nod for Phase-3
clinical trials in the country. ‘COVAXIN’ has been
developed by ________ in collaboration with the
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Cipla Ltd.
Dr. Reddys Laboratories Ltd.
Bharat Biotech
None of these
Q. AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik
inaugurated the Regional Raw Drug Repository at
All India Institute of Ayurveda. AAI is in ________.
Kolkata
New Delhi
Chennai
Agra
None of these
Q. Which of the following district bags the top
position for implementation of Pradhan Mantri Gram
Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)?
Indore
Mandi
Mathura
Almora
Chamoli
Q. Which of the following is state/UT observed
black day on October 22?
Andaman and Nicobar
Uttar Pradesh
Gujarat
Jammu and Kashmir
Assam
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
of the state.
Bihar
Karnataka
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
Uttarakhand
Q. World Polio Day is observed every year on
________.
22 October
23 October
24 October
25 October
26 October
Q. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has
announced that Pakistan will continue to remain on
its grey list till February 2021. FATF is
headquartered in ________.
Rome
Paris
Geneva
Vienna
None of these
Q. Recently, Saad al-Hariri has been renamed as
Prime Minister of ________.
Egypt
Jordan
Lebanon
Turkey
None of these
Q. Which of the following country has joined the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) to become its
190th member?
Andorra
San Marino
Monaco
Malta
None of the above
Q. Recently, Which of the following country has
assumed the Chairmanship of the Governing Body of
International Labour Organisation (ILO)?
China
India
Bangladesh
Russia
Nepal
Q. Who among the following will lead the NITI
Aayog panel formed to look into introducing reforms
in the urban planning education system?
Jayati Ghosh
Amitabh Kant
Rajiv Kumar
Ashok Lavasa
Arvind Subramanian
Q. PM Modi will launch the Kisan Suryodaya
Yojana for providing 16 hours of power supply to
farmers in _________.
Bihar
Rajasthan
Gujarat
Punjab
None of these
Q. Recently, the World Bank has sanctioned Rs 3
crore to develop India’s first sand dune parks in
_________.
Andhra Pradesh
Goa
Odisha
Rajasthan
Gujarat
Q. Who among the following has entered into a
partnership with Atlantis to expand the Digital First
Program in India?
Rupay Card
Mastercard
Visa
ICICI Bank
None of these
Q. Which of the following bank has announced a tie
up with Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) to enable
finance options for the automaker's customers and
dealers?
Axis Bank
Bank of Baroda
HDFC Bank
Yes Bank
None of these
Q. Which of the following country has recently
ordered a ‘no mask, no service’ policy?
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Nepal
Myanmar
None of these
Q. Which of the following country has joined UAE,
Bahrain in recognising Israel?
Saudi Arabia
Oman
Sudan
Libya
None of these
Q. Which of the following country’s foreign
ministries does not recognize Hong Kong BNO
passports as valid travel documents?
China
Japan
USA
Austria
None of these
Q. Which of the following country has released a
commemorative postage stamp on the 75th
anniversary of the United Nations Organisations?
India
Bhutan
China
Sri Lanka
None of these
Q. Which of the following country is the host for the
4-day Commanders’ Conference of Indian Army?
Kolkata
New Delhi
Chennai
Srinagar
None of these
Q. Which of the following country has secured the
first rank in disbursing loans under PM Swanidhi
Scheme?
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
Rajasthan
Gujarat
None of these
Q. Who among the following is a part of the first
batch of Women Pilots on Dornier Aircraft?
Divya Sharma
Shubhangi Swaroop
Shivangi
A and B
A, B and C
Q. Who among the following has won the
Portuguese Grand Prix 2020?
Lewis Hamilton
Valtteri Bottas
Max Verstappen
Charles Leclerc
None of these
Q. Recently, Lee Kun-Hee passed away. He was the
chairman of which of the following company?
Samsung
Intel
Huawei
Sony
None of these
Q. Recently, Mahesh Kanodia passed away. He was
a/ an _________.
Climate activist
Journalist
Singer
Footballer
None of these
Q. World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is observed
every year on _________.
25 October
26 October
27 October
28 October
29 October
Q. Japan will achieve zero carbon emissions by
_________.
2030
2035
2040
2050
2055
Q. Who among the following is leading the Indian
delegation at the BRICS Parliamentary Forum 2020?
Om Birla
Sumitra Mahajan
M. Venkaiah Naidu
Meira Kumar
None of these
Q. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
alliance plans to build a headquarters for space operations
in ________.
US
France
Germany
Russia
Canada
Q. President Ram Nath Kovind pays homage to former
President K.R. Narayanan on his birth anniversary.K.R.
Narayanan served as the _________ president of India.
07th
08th
09th
10th
11th
Q. Who among the following launched the ‘e-Dharti Geo
portal’ to integrate maps and lease plans and make its
geographic information system (GIS)-enabled.
Hardeep Singh Puri
Rajnath Singh
Amit Shah
J. P. Nadda
None of these
Q. Which of the following bank has shut down its
operations in Sri Lanka?
Yes Bank
ICICI Bank
Axis Bank
HDFC bank
None of these
Q. Which of the following company has topped the
Forbes’ list of World’s Best Employer 2020?
Amazon
IBM
Microsoft
Samsung
Q. Recently, Indian-origin Wavel Ramkalawan has been
elected as the President of _________.
Maldives
Seychelles
Cambodia
Laos
None of these
Q. Recently, Naresh Kanodia passed away. He was a/an
_________.
Journalist
Footballer
Actor
Cricket commentator
Novelist
Q. International Animation Day is observed every
year on ________.
25 October
26 October
27 October
28 October
29 October
Q. Luis Arce has been declared as the president of
which of the following nations after the 18th October
elections?
Peru
Mexico
Bolivia
Ecuador
None of these
Q. The Northern Command of Indian army
celebrated the Infantry Day on _________.
25 October
26 October
27 October
28 October
29 October
Q. The 1.8 kilometre long Feni bridge will be
completed by December this year. Feni bridge will
connect India to ________.
Bhutan
Nepal
Bangladesh
Myanmar
Sri Lanka
Q. Who among the following is leading the Indian
delegation at the 3rd bilateral 2+2 Ministerial
Dialogue between India and US?
Rajnath Singh
Narendra Modi
S. Jaishankar
Amit Shah
A and B
A and C
B and C
A and D
B and D
Q. India Post has recently signed an agreement for
electronic exchange of customs data with which of
the following country’s postal department?
Japan
US
Australia
Israel
France
Q. The Centre set up a high-level committee headed
by __________ to commemorate the 400th birth
anniversary of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Amit Shah
Amitabh Kant
Narendra Modi
Prahlad Singh Patel
Smriti Irani
Q. Who among the following inaugurated the virtual
festival of ‘Parampara Series 2020-National Festival
of Music and Dance’ organized by Natya Tarangini
in partnership with the United Nations?
M. Venkaiah Naidu
Ram Nath Kovind
Amit Shah
Narendra Modi
Nitin Gadkari
Q. Recently, the Union Minister of Tribal Affairs
launched two Centers of Excellence for Tribal
Welfare. Who among the following is the current
Tribal Affairs minister of India?
Hemant Soren
Dharmendra Pradhan
Narendra Singh Tomar
Arjun Munda
Giriraj Singh
Q. Recently, Aditya Puri resigned from the post of
Managing Director of which of the following bank?
Axis Bank
Yes Bank
HDFC Bank
ICICI Bank
None of the above
Q. Which of the following country hosts the 19th
Meeting of SCO Ministers of Foreign Economy &
Foreign Trade?
Russia
India
China
Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
Q. Recently, India extends __________ credit line
to Central Asian countries for priority projects
$ 1 billion
$ 1.5 billion
$ 2 billion
$ 2.5 billion
$ 5 billion
Q. Who among the following is the chairman of the
15th Finance Commission?
Ashok Lahiri
Arvind Subramanian
Ajay Narayan Jha
N.K. Singh
None of these
Q. Air Quality Index between 201 and 300 is
considered as _________.
Poor
Moderate
Good
Hazardous
None of the above
Q. Which of the following state government has
recently started a digital library to help students in
higher education?
Maharashtra
Gujarat
Haryana
Uttar Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Q. Which of the following state has launched a
Young Advocates Welfare Fund to provide a
monthly financial assistance of 3000 rupees each for
two years to the lawyers who just come out of law
colleges?
Gujarat
Tamil Nadu
Haryana
Karnataka
Uttar Pradesh
Q. Which of the following bank has signed a loan
agreement amounting to up to one billion US Dollars
with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation?
State Bank of India
Yes Bank
HDFC Bank
Punjab National Bank
Indian Bank
Q. The Reserve Bank of India has barred Payment
System Operators (PSOs) from launching any new
proprietary QR code for payment transactions. Q in
QR code stands for _________.
Quality
Quick
Quantitative
Quasi
Quard
Q. Recently, Keshubhai Patel passed away. He
served as the chief minister of __________.
Bihar
Uttar Pradesh
Telangana
Gujarat
Punjab
Q. Who among the following is the author of the
book “Night of the Restless Spirits: Stories from
1984”?
Khushwant Singh
Shobha De
Sarbpreet Singh
Amitav Ghosh
Surjit Patar
Q. ‘Swadhinata Puraskar’ is the highest national
award of _________.
Nepal
Pakistan
Myanmar
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Q. Indian Railways has launched __________
initiative for security of women passengers.
Sakhi
Meri Saheli
Meri Suraksha
Nirbhay
None of these
Q. Who among the following recently inaugurated
the 4th India Energy Forum by CERAWeek
organised by HIS Markit?
Amit Shah
Nitin Gadkari
Piyush Goyal
Narendra Modi
Raj Kumar Singh
Q. Which of the following organization has
developed a simple messaging application named the
‘Secure Application for Internet’ (SAI)?
Defence Research and Development Organisation
India Army
Indian Air Force
Indian Space Research Organisation
State Bank of India
Q. Which of the following state has passed an order
for 7.5 % reservation to govt school students in UG
medical courses?
Maharashtra
Tamil Nadu
Karnataka
Madhya Pradesh
Kerala
Q. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated
Arogya Van & Arogya Kutir in _________.
Rajasthan
Bihar
Gujarat
Madhya Pradesh
None of the above
Q. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the
Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) has been
rescheduled to __________.
December 2020
January 2021
February 2021
March 2021
April 2021
Q. Recently, which of the following state has
launched ‘Dharani’ Portal for land and property
registration?
Bihar
Odisha
Telangana
Karnataka
Assam
Q. ‘Sumangal’ & Student Scholarship web portals
has been launched by __________ state government.
Jharkhand
Odisha
West Bengal
Assam
None of the above
Q. Which of the following has launched a
contactless multi-purpose card that can function as a
credit card and as a metro smart card in association
with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation?
Axis Bank
SBI Card
HDFC Bank
Rupay Card
Phonepe
Q. National Unity Day is observed every year on
_________.
27 October
28 October
29 October
30 October
31 October
Q. Who among the following is known as the
father of Indian Nuclear Programme?
Homi Jehangir Bhabha
Verghese Kurien
Vikram Sarabhai
Satyendra Nath Bose
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Q. The Union Cabinet has approved the
Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India
and _________ on cooperation in the field of
Information and Communication Technologies.
Australia
US
France
Israel
Japan
Q. Government has been implementing the Ethanol
Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme to sell petrol
blended with ethanol up to ________.
5%
10%
12%
15%
25%
Q. Which of the following countries has entered
into a strategic partnership to develop India’s GIFT
City?
France
UK
Japan
US
None of these
Q. Who among the following launched “SERB-
POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in
Exploratory Research)”, designed exclusively for
women scientists?
Prakash Javadekar
Smriti Irani
Harsh Vardhan
Nitin Gadkari
None of these
Q. Which of the following has become the first one
in India to start paperless e-boarding?
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport
Indira Gandhi International Airport
Kolkata International Airport
None of these
Q. Which of the following institutes have
developed a low-cost membrane technology to
produce psychoactive drugs and anti-aging
compounds?
IIT Delhi
IIT Mumbai
IIT Guwahati
IIT Madras
None of the above
Q. Who among the following has released the
world's first scientoon book” “Bye Bye Corona”?
Narendra Modi
Rajnatha Singh
Anandiben Patel
Smriti Irani
Harsh Vardhan
Q. Who among the following indian film has won
the best original score at 14th Asian Film Awards?
Gully Boy
Kesari
Super 30
Panipat
Article 15