GK and Current Affairs Updates

National Affairs

Railways to implement Rs 18,000-crore project to run trains at 160 kmph

The Indian Railways will implement a Rs 18,000-crore project to operate trains at a speed of 160 kmph on the busy Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kolkata routes by upgrading infrastructure, Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav.

Agra postal department stops booking posts for Pakistan

In reaction to the Pakistan government’s decision to deny the extension of international postal                     services to India following the deterioration of relations between the two countries, the Agra Postal department has now stopped booking posts for addresses in Pakistan.

Goan cows not the first to love meat but this may make Donald Trump happy

•           Goa government has sent meat-loving cows for rehabilitation

•           A band of 76 stray cows in Goa were found to be loving non-veg food

•           In an earlier case, cows were found to be eating live chickens in Bengal.

PMC bank scam: Protesters demand Rs 25 lakh ex-gratia for deceased account holders

The PMC bank account holders who are protesting at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai have put forth demands to the RBI including providing Rs 25 lakh ex-gratia for the people who died during the period when the bank scam came to light.

Kashmir's Iron Lady Parveena Ahanger on BBC list of 100 most inspiring women

Known as the 'Iron Lady of Kashmir' for her relentless protests against the alleged abduction of her son by the Indian Army in 1990 and thereafter forming the Association of Parents of Disappeared Parents (APDP) in 1994, Parveena Ahanger has featured on the BBC's list of top 100 inspiring women.

PM joked about media trying to trap me with anti-Modi remarks

•           Abhijit Banerjee met PM Narendra Modi at his residence on Tuesday

•           PM Modi lauded Abhijit Banerjee's list of accomplishments who recently won the Nobel Prize

•           Banerjee said PM Modi joked about the media trying to trap him with anti-Modi remarks

Kartarpur pact to be inked on ‘zero line’, India and Pak to not cross border

India and Pakistan will sign an agreement on October 24 to operationalise the Kartarpur Corridor to allow Indian pilgrims to visit a gurdwara built at the site where Guru Nanak spent the final years of his life, capping protracted negotiations on the issue.

Delhi roads in for makeover, 9 stretches to be redone in first phase: Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal said all roads will be redesigned, at the estimated cost of Rs 400 crore, as per international standards. This will include landscaping, space for non-motorised vehicles and wider footpath which will be differently-abled friendly.

Health ministry’s intensified immunisation drive to reach 90% children

About 87% children are covered under the government’s universal immunisation programme (UIP), which is a significant jump from the national average of 70% in 2014.

                                                          INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

President Ram Nath Kovind attends enthronement ceremony of Japan's Emperor Naruhito

President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday attended the enthronement ceremony of Japan's new Emperor Naruhito who completed his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne after his father's abdication earlier this year.

Malaysia's Mahathir stands by Kashmir comments despite palm oil boycott by India traders

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday he would not retract his criticism of New Delhi’s actions in Kashmir even though Indian traders have urged a boycott of Malaysian palm oil.

                                                     TECH AFFAIRS

Apple iPhone XR, among world’s most popular smartphones, now made in India

Apple Inc has started selling its popular iPhone XR phones assembled in India, as it looks to expand its share in the world's second-largest smartphone market where it has struggled against cheaper products from rivals.

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma to take home Rs 3 crore in remuneration in FY20

The proposal pertaining to Sharma's remuneration was approved by members of One97 Communications Ltd at their Annual General Meeting on September 30, 2019, filings with the Corporate Affairs Ministry showed.

Govt to tighten social media rules, will make companies liable for content shared

The government has also stated on affidavit that they will look to finalise and notify the Draft Information Technology Intermediaries Guidelines (Amendment) Rules by January 15, 2020.

World's biggest face recognition system arrives in India next month

With the tender submission date to procure the National Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) just 20 days away, India is closer to install worlds largest facial recognition system to track and nab criminals.

IMPORTANT DATES

 EVENT

•           1633 Battle of Liaoluo Bay: Dutch East India Company defeated by Chinese Ming naval forces in southern Fujian sea

•           1721 Tsar Peter the Great becomes "All-Russian Imperator"

•           1879 Thomas Edison perfects carbonized cotton filament light bulb

•           1884 International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C. adopts Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) worldwide, creating 24 international time zones with longitude zero at the Greenwich meridian

•           1907 Panic of 1907: A run on Knickerbocker Trust Company stock leads to US wide run on banks.

MUSIC

1883 New York's original Metropolitan Opera House has its grand opening with a performance of the opera "Faust".

SPORTS

1978 8th NYC Women's Marathon won by Grete Waitz in her first appearance in world record time 2:32:30.

SPORTS AFFAIRS

UEFA Champions League: Barcelona seek sixth straight win at spirited Slavia

Barcelona will be looking to extend their five-game winning streak when they take on Champions League underdogs Slavia Prague in the teams’ first-ever encounter in Prague on Wednesday. Brushing aside political turmoil around them, Ernesto Valverde’s men eased past Eibar 3-0 away on Saturday with goals from Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann. Their fifth straight competitive win -- including a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan in their last Champions League game - took them to the top of La Liga a point ahead of Real Madrid.

Roger Federer praises Andy Murray’s Antwerp comeback success

-Roger Federer praised Andy Murray’s weekend Antwerp title just 10 months after the former number one underwent a hip resurfacing

-Andy Murray has been selected for Britain’s Davis Cup squad 24 hours after winning his first tournament since 2017.

-Former world number one Murray clinched his first ATP Tour title for over two years on Sunday when he beat Stan Wawrinka in the European Open final in Antwerp.

CoA reign ends as Sourav Ganguly set to take over as 39th BCCI president

-One of India’s most decorated captains Sourav Ganguly will be taking over as the 39th president of the BCCI on Wednesday at its AGM, ending a tumultuous 33-month reign of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators.

-Ganguly is the unanimous nomination for the post of BCCI president along with Union Home ister Amit Shah’s son Jay as the secretary. Mahim Verma of Uttarakhand is the new vicepresident.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

UP police on alert ahead of Supreme Court verdict of Ayodhya issue

Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police OP Singh has said that security arrangements in Ayodhya and the rest of the state are being assessed and upgraded as needed ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on Ayodhya.

Heavy rains create flood scare in parts of Karnataka

Torrential rains in many parts of the state and Maharashtra have created a flood scare afresh as many rivers are in spate, especially in north Karnataka and Chikkamagaluru.

INX Media: Delhi court takes cognisance of CBI chargesheet against Chidambaram

A Delhi court has took cognisance of the CBI chargesheet in the INX Media corruption case accusing former finance minister P Chidambaram of causing loss to the exchequer by violating PMLA.

Over 100 terrorists were ready to infiltrate from six launch pads in PoK near Tangdhar

Over 100 terrorists were waiting in six launch pads in Pakistan occupied Kashmir across Tangdhar sector to infiltrate Jammu and Kashmir in small batches, sources said.

Pakistan stops postal service to India: Breach of international law

 Ravi Shankar Prasad said Pakistan took the decision of stopping the postal mail services between the two countries without prior information.

Siachen area from Base to Kumar post open for tourists

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday declared Siachen area from Base to Kumar post open for tourists from across the world.

Pakistan to levy fees on Kartarpur pilgrims

Pakistan to levy service fee on pilgrims visiting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, Pakistan, considering the maintenance and development work going on in the Kartarpur Corridor. The Pakistan government said that it will charge $20 fee per pilgrim.

India to go ahead with Kartarpur agreement as Pak insists on levying $20 fee on pilgrims

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "If Pakistan wants to levy a service charge despite India's objections, India will go ahead with the Kartarpur Corridor agreement keeping religious sentiments and longstanding demand in mind." The Kartarpur agreement between India and Pakistan will be signed on October 23.

Freedom, conditions apply: Detained J&K leaders can't comment or hold rallies on Art 370 for a year, says bond

While some detained Jammu and Kashmir leaders have been freed, they have had to sign a bond that forbids them from making any comments, issuing statements, giving public speeches or participating in any public event "related to the recent events in the state of Jammu and Kashmir" for one year.

Court allows ED to interrogate Ratul Puri in Tihar

A Special court at the Rouse Avenue Court Complex here on Monday allowed the Enforcement Directorate to further interrogate businessman Ratul Puri in Tihar jail for three days in connection with Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper money laundering case.

-Puri, who is the nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, is accused of allegedly receiving kickbacks in the deal. He was arrested by the ED on September 3.

Zomato fined Rs 1 lakh for breeding mosquitoes in Chennai office

Food delivery giant Zomato has been fined by Greater Chennai Corporation for discarding bags used by its delivery executives on the terrace of its Chetpet office in Chennai.

The food delivery app has been asked to pay Rs 1 lakh for failing to destroy mosquito breeding sources.

IRCTC to pay around Rs 1.62 lakh as compensation for late running of Tejas Express

A delay of more than three hours in the running of Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express on October 19 has cost IRCTC around Rs 1.62 lakh which the railway subsidiary will pay through its insurance companies as compensation to around 950 passengers, a first in the history of Indian Railways.

Heavy rains batter Kerala, IMD issues 2-day orange alert for several districts

According to the weather forecast agency, an orange alert has been issued in 12 districts, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Wayanad, which will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall today accompanied with thunderstorm and lightning.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Imran Khan govt faces united opposition's march, over 1.5 million turnout expected

Political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) called for the anti-government protest, demanding the Imran Khan-led government to step down from power as they have failed to cater to the needs of the people of the country, who the party claimed, were under severe stress due to "government's policy failure".

North Korea says US, South Korea must present new solutions for conflict

The United States and South Korea must produce new solutions for the current standoff on the Korean Peninsula, a senior North Korean military official said on Monday, warning that hostile policies towards Pyongyang would lead to serious consequences.

China's defence minister says resolving Taiwan question is national priority

•           No force can prevent 'reunification' of China, he says

•           He calls China-US military relationship 'generally stable'

•           Taiwan says China has endangered world peace

All taxis in Dubai now fitted with surveillance cameras

The system has sensors that automatically activate the camera once the customer steps into the vehicle.

Egypt reveals details of 30 ancient coffins found in Luxor with inscriptions, paintings

The coffins were for men, women and children from the 22nd dynasty (945-715 B.C.) and had been collected and hidden by a priest for fear of being looted, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities .

China's next space rockets likely to make test flights in 2020, 2021

At about 116 tonnes and with a length of 31 meters, the Smart Dragon-3, set for a test flight in 2021, will be capable of sending 1.5 tonne payloads into orbit.

1984 Sikh Genocide Memorial in US removed after India protests

About three months after a '1984 Sikh Genocide Memorial' to the Sikh victims of the 1984 riots in India was installed at Otis Library here, the memorial was removed - in part following the urging of the Indian government.

HISTORICAL EVENTS

•           1805 Battle of Trafalgar: British Admiral Horatio Nelson defeats combined French and Spanish fleet. Nelson shot and killed during battle.

•           1854 Florence Nightingale with a staff of 38 nurses is sent to the Crimean War

•           1944 World War II: US troops capture Aachen, 1st large German city to fall

•           1948 UN rejects Russian proposal to destroy atomic weapons

•           1950 Chinese forces occupy Tibet

•           1993 Military coup by Burundi President Ndadaye; 525,000 Hutus flee

In Film and TV

1964 Film version of "My Fair Lady" directed by George Cukor and starring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn premieres in New York (Academy Awards Best Picture 1965)

Music

1858 Jacques Offenbach's operetta " Orpheus in the Underworld" (Orphée aux Enfers) premieres in Paris, includes "Infernal Galop" (can-can tune)

Sports

1980 Phillies win their 1st World Championship in their 98-year history

EVENTS

Oct 21 St Eusebius ends his reign as Catholic Pope

                                                      International Affairs

-End terror or face action: Global watchdog FATF puts Pakistan on notice

FATF warned that a part of the action will include urging members to advise their financial institutions to give special attention to business relations/transactions with Pakistan.

-Trump to host G7 summit at his Miami golf resort next year

US President Donald Trump will host the Group of Seven (G7) summit in June next year at his golf resort in Florida, the White House confirmed.

-UK, EU hail new Brexit deal, but Parliament sign-off hangs in balance

The UK and the European Union (EU) declared that they have agreed a new Brexit deal for Britain's withdrawal from the 28-member economic bloc within the October 31 deadline. While UK PM Boris Johnson hailed the agreement as a "great new deal", EU President Jean Claude-Juncker branded it a "fair and balanced agreement".

-US announces Turkey has agreed to ceasefire in Syria

US Vice President Mike Pence announced that the US and Turkey had agreed to a five-day ceasefire in northern Syria to allow for a Kurdish withdrawal from a security zone roughly 20 miles south of the Turkish border.

-Pak warns India against diverting water flow, says it would be act of aggression

Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal made the remarks during his weekly media briefing here in response to a question regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent remarks to stop water flowing to Pakistan.

-Fate of Japan's imperial dynasty rests on shoulders of 13-year-old

Japan only allows males to ascend the ancient Chrysanthemum Throne and changes to the succession law are anathema to conservatives backing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

-Stocks, sterling rise on long-awaited Brexit deal

Wall Street rose as upbeat earnings from Netflix and Morgan Stanley affirmed a strong start to the US reporting season, while the dollar fell against the euro as the common currency got a lift on the long-awaited Brexit deal.

National Affairs

-Trading tyres: How the West fuels a waste crisis in Asia

Not long ago, Nabipur was a quiet farming village in northern India. Now the village is home to at least a dozen furnaces burning a steady stream of tyres to make low-quality oil in a process known as pyrolysis.

-Ranjan Gogoi recommends SA Bobde as 47th  Cheif Justice of India

Justice Bobde has in the past served as Additonal Judge at Bombay high court and Chied Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court.

-Tranfer Assam NRC Coordinatpr to MP for max period possible

The Supreme Court ordered the transfer of Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) coordinator Prateel Hajela of Madhya Pradesh on inter-cadre deputation for the “maximum period possible”.

-Oil companies defer decision to suspend fuel supplies to Air India

Officials said the decision to defer the move follows Air India making a written request for the same as also promising to make regular payments to clear over Rs 5,000 crore in overdue fuel bills.

-Non- recognised private school in Delhi wont be shut:AAP

Delhi Deputy CM and Education Minister Manish Sissodia said that Municipal corporation of delhi will not be allowed to close any mom-recofnised private school.

-50,000 OLA & Uber drivers to go on strike in Telangana on Oct 19

A joint action committee (JAC), comprising over 50000 Ola and Uber driver is joining Telangana state road transport corporation employees on a state wide strike on October 19.

SPORTS

-Sarfaraz Ahmed sacked, Pakistan name Azhar Ali and Babar Azam as captains for Test

Azhar Ali will lead Pakistan in Tests in the 2019-20 season while talented batsman Babar Azam has been given the T20 reins till the World Cup next year in Australia, announced PCB.

                                                           International Affairs

India halved its poverty rate since the 1990s: World Bank report

India has halved its poverty rate since the 1990s and achieved a seven plus growth rate over the last 15 years. The country has achieved annual growth exceeding seven per cent over the last 15 years, halved its poverty rate since the 1990s, and enjoyed strong improvements in most human development outcomes.

Trade deal with China being papered, says Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the partial trade deal agreed with China last week is now being formally put on to the paper.

FATF to rule on harsher sanctions for Pakistan

 The support extended by Turkey, China and Malaysia resulted in the FATF deciding not to include Pakistan on its “black list”. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has reviewed steps taken by Pakistan to counter money laundering and terror financing during meetings underway in Paris and is expected to rule on whether harsher sanctions will be imposed on the country .

-China, Turkey and Malaysia also appreciated the steps taken by Pakistan though some concerns were raised about a tax amnesty scheme offered by the government.

35 pilgrims killed in bus crash near Saudi holy city of Mecca

Authorities in Saudi Arabia say 35 pilgrims have been killed in a bus crash near the Muslim holy city of Mecca. The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported that four others were injured in the crash.

Barack Obama backs Canada’s Justin Trudeau for another term in office

Barack Obama is urging Canadians to re-elect Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, an apparently unprecedented endorsement of a candidate in a Canadian election by a former American president.

Trump dismisses Syria concerns; Democrats walk out of WH meeting

Condemnation of Trump’s stance on Turkey, Syria and the Kurds was quick and severe during the day, not only from Democrats but from Republicans who have been staunch supporters on virtually all issues.

                                                                   National Affairs

In Odisha’s first robotic restaurant, two humanoids to serve customers

-A restaurant in Bhubaneswar first robotic restaurant opened its doors to customers claiming to be the first eatery in eastern India where two indigenously developed robots will serve customers.

-Named ‘Champa’ and ‘Chameli’, the two humanoid robots rolled on the floor of the “Robo Chef” restaurant in Chandrasekharpur area of Bhubaneswar in the evening and served food to the waiting customers. After serving them food, the two robots even chimed “Apana mane khushi to” (Are you happy), a phrase popularised by chief minister Naveen Patnaik during his 2019 election campaign.

Hindu Dalit Nauksham Chaudhary is BJP’s choice in Muslim-dominated Punhana assembly seat of Haryana

-The BJP, which has never won a seat in the Mewat region, has experimented by fielding a Hindu Scheduled Caste woman candidate, Nauksham Chaudhary (28), a rank outsider.

-The Meo-Muslim-dominated Punhana assembly constituency in Haryana’s Mewat region is all set to witness a keenly-fought contest between a debutante Hindu Dalit woman candidate and four Meo-Muslims.

Indian retail market to touch $1,200 billion by 2021

Indian retail market will reach $1,200 billion by 2021 and $1,750 billion by 2026, a FICCI-Deloitte report said, adding that the country’s e-commerce market is expected to touch $84 billion by 2021 and $200 billion by 2026.

                                                  SPORTS Affairs

Liverpool head to United with widest gulf in years

Premier League leaders Liverpool head to Old Trafford on Sunday to face Manchester United and rarely have the odds been so in favour of an away win. Liverpool have won just five times at United in the Premier League era and the Red Devils have won the fixture 16 times, but the gulf in quality between the sides has widened significantly in recent years.

Sourav Ganguly is all set to take charge as the BCCI 

-Sourav Ganguly is all set to take charge as the BCCI president, and the former Indian captain has categorically mentioned that he will speak with the national selectors regarding the future of MS Dhoni before giving his own take on the issue.

Mustafizur Rahman's selection for India tour in doubt amidst fitness concerns

Pacer Mustafizur Rahman will have to prove his match-fitness in the National Cricket League before being considered for selection for the upcoming tour of India.

Consistency will be my main focus at Kings XI Punjab, says new coach Anil Kumble

•           Anil Kumble was roped in as Kings XI Punjab's new head coach last week

•           This will be Kumble's return to coaching stint after he quit as India head coach in 2017

•           Anil Kumble had previously been the chief mentor of Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore

Tech Affairs

Google has finally launched Nest Mini, here's how it is different from Home Mini

Google hosted its annual Made by Google event in the New York City earlier this week where it launched Google Home Mini successor, Google Nest Mini, alongside Pixel 4 smartphones, Pixelbook Go, Pixel Buds and Nest Wi-Fi.

Amazon Alexa gets smarter, allows users to pay bills using voice commands           

Paying various utility bills has always been an ardous task given the nature of services and the service providers. But that changed when Amazon launched Amazon Pay Balance in India back in 2016. Since then Amazon has added a number of new features to its mobile wallet allowing users to not only shop on its e-retail platform using Amazon but also enabling them to use the service to pay their utility bills all without leaving the company's ecosystem. Now, the e-retail giant is making it more easier for users to pay their bills. Amazon has introduced a brand new feature on to its virtual assistant, Alexa, that will enable them to pay their bills simply by asking her to do so.

Vodafone now offering double data on two prepaid plans: Up to 84GB data up for grabs with other mega benefits

•           Vodafone is offering double data offer on select prepaid plans.

•           Subscribers can get up to 84GB data with both these plans.

•           Subscribers will be able to make free unlimited calls.

REWARD and ACHIEVEMENT

Kiran Uniyal sets Guinness World record

Kiran Uniyal, the wife of a serving Colonel of Indian Army, has created Individual Guinness World Records for The most full contact knee strikes in three minutes (one leg) (female) with 263 strikes and The most full contact knee strikes alternate legs in one minute(female) with 120 strikes. The previous records were of 177 strikes and 102 in the female category, respectively.

GoAir received the Best Airline award

GoAir received the Best Airline award by Andaman Tourism Award 2019 in its first edition for its leadership in attaining on-time performance for 12 consecutive months. The Andaman Tourism Award ceremony was organized at Port Blair in association with the Andaman Ministry of tourism and Andaman Association of Tour Operators.

IMPORTANT DATES

-International Poverty Eradication Day

-American Revolutionary War

                                                                National Affairs

Delhi bans diesel gen-sets as GRAP kicks in, air quality very poor in several parts:

National capital banned generator sets, barring those being used in essential and emergency services, on  16-Oct-2019, as the air quality in several places in the city and adjoining areas slipped to "very poor" level. The ban on generators is a part of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), a set of stricter anti-pollution measures to be taken according to severity of pollution.

This is the first time that the ban on gen-sets has been extended to NCR cities of Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad, Sonepat, Panipat and Bahadurgarh.

India ranks below Pakistan, Sri Lanka in Global Hunger Index

-The annual index is designed to measure and track hunger at the global, national and regional levels and to assess progress and setbacks in combating hunger. India is now ranked below Pakistan (94), Bangladesh (88) and Sri Lanka (66) among South Asian nations.

The Supreme Court hearing on the Ayodhya land dispute case has entered the final leg.

- In anticipation of an order within a month's time the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), which has spearheaded the Ram Janmabhoomi movement for decades and has kept construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya as its top agenda, has called a meeting of every "pracharak" with all Sangh affiliated organisation.

Springboard mentor helps professionals transition to Data Science & ML.

-Springboard ,US based learning platform , is now helping professional in transition into Data Science& ML, through its 1:1 mentoring model. Every learner is matched with a personal mentor based on their background  and aspiration to work on projects and help with industry insights.Mentors come from top companies like plipkart,Paytm,InMobi, Ola ,Uber and more.

KKR appoints David Hussey, Mills as chief mentor & bowling coach.

-IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday named Australian David Hussey as the chief mentor and former New Zealand pacer Kyle Mills as the team's new bowling coach.Both Hussey and Mills will work under former New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman Brendon McCullum, who has been appointed as the head coach of KKR for the next IPL.

                                                        International Affairs

The study, released amid growing global alarm over climate change, found that intense heatwaves over the summer in Switzerland had dashed hopes that an exceptionally snow-filled winter would limit the glacier melt this year. Switzerland’s glaciers have lost a tenth of their volume in the past five years alone -- a melting rate unmatched during observations stretching back more than a century.

“Gender Imbalance in Unpaid Work”

 -The annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund said that while men have increased their time spent on unpaid work, women still spend from 20 to 1,000 per cent more time than men around the world.

- Women in Hong Kong spend 2.6 hours a day on unpaid work, and in Mexico 7.1 hours. Gender imbalances in the distribution of unpaid work varies significantly across countries, the paper said.

Turkey launched a cross-border assault on Kurdish fighters on Wednesday after the US decided to withdraw troops from Syria, a move criticised by the Republicans, with some terming it a "betrayal" of the Kurds.

SPORTS

Mumbai's Yashasvi Jaiswal youngest batsman to hit double hundred in List A cricket.

Mumbai opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has become the youngest ever crickter to slam a double hundred in professional 50-over cricket. Jaiswal aged 17 years and 292 days, smashed 203(154) against Jjharkhand in Vijay Hazare Trophy on 16th October 2019.

NATIONAL Affairs

1-         PM Modi holds talks with King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima in New Delhi.

2-         India and Netherlands launch 2nd phase of LOTUS-HR (Local Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams for Healthy Reuse) project in Delhi.

3-         Nirmala Sitharaman ask the firms to clear dues of MSME

a)         “The corporate affairs ministry has a complete list of companies, which have stated that they owe MSMEs nearly Rs 40,000 crore. We are taking a two-pronged approach so that before Diwali, MSMEs will get the dues,” Sitharaman said.

4-         Govt plans to train women across villages to combat water crisis.

a)         Women in villages across 256 water-scarce districts will receive training to ensure clean water supplies, Smriti Irani, the federal minister for women & child development, said in Mumbai Tuesday. The program will be expanded to cover all of India’s 750,000 villages, Irani said.

                                      INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

1-WTO gives US final authorisation to impose tariffs on EU products in retaliation for illegal subsidies given to Airbus.

2-US imposes sanctions, tells Turkey to stop Syria invasion.

3-Jay Chen CEO of  Huawei want to tie up with Reliance Jio. India is still thinking on this 5G ecosystem in the country.

4-Sino-Pak axis plans to sell arms to Nigeria and Myanmar

NATIONAL:

New version of return filing portal to be launched by GST Network

• The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) is to launch an improved version of the GST return filing portal on 22 October. It aims to make the process easier. The announcement was made by the GST Network CEO, Prakash Kumar.

• GST benefit:

♦ GST has reduced complexity by lowering the number of forms to be filed by businesses to 12. Previously it was 495 under as many as 17 central and state laws.

♦ Data that is shared by indirect tax administration with the income tax department has helped in detecting mismatches.

♦ Currently, there are 12.3 million registered GST taxpayers.

India, China to set up high level group to tackle Indias trade deficit

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to set up a high-level group to tackle India's trade deficit at the summit held in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu. The high-level group will be led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from the Indian side and Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua.

Highlights:

♦ The leaders discussed to improve bilateral ties

♦ The summit aimed to break through distrust over border disputes, trade rows, and China’s close military ties with Pakistan

♦ The leaders also said that a new mechanism would be established to discuss trade, investment, and services

♦ China urged India to take an independent decision on Huawei’s bid for India’s proposed 3G network without heeding to U.S. pressure

It was also suggested that the two sides to expand cooperation in the military sector to boost trust

Centre to fund Rs.25 lakh crore for infrastructural development

• Centre has announced Rs.25 lakh crore for infrastructural development in the villages across the country. It was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 13 October. The move aims to strengthen rural infrastructure. The fund will be used to construct modern storage centres for crops also.

Aim:

The fund comes with a broader vision for farmers. Centre has been taking steps to solve the problems of farmers permanently.

Other measures:

♦ Among the allocated Rs.25 lakh crore, Rs.3.5 lakh crore will be used for water conservation and building facilities for water conservation.

♦ The government is also carrying work by constructing roads of the village.

♦ klavya Model School is to be introduced by the government to enhance the education and skills of tribal children.

INTERNATIONAL:

Prahlad Singh Patel participated in the BRICS Culture Ministers Meet

• BRICS Culture Ministers’ Meet was held at Curitiba, Brazil.  Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), participated in the meeting. In the meeting, the countries reaffirmed to contribute towards stronger bonds of friendship and cooperation in cultural fields amongst member countries.

• India-BRICS relationship:

♦ With its rich cultural heritage and traditions, India has contributed towards stronger bonds of friendship and cooperation in the fields of Cultural Heritage, Archives, Literature, Theatre for children and young people, Films, Arts, Museums & Galleries, etc.

♦ India's National Gallery of Modern Arts of India, under BRICS Alliance of Museums and Art Galleries, is to host Bonding Regions & Imagining Cultural Synergies during November-December, 2019.

DAYS:

World Standards Day observed on 14 October

• World Standards Day is observed on 14th October 2019. The day is observed every year. The day is observed to raise awareness of the significance of standardization to the global economy.

The day is celebrated globally by the members of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Employees (IEEE), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), etc.

• Aim:

The day aims to pay tribute to the collaborative efforts of the experts all over the world who developed the voluntary technical agreements that are published as International Standards. It aims to make the world aware of the significance of standardization and its relevance to the global economy.

SPORTS:

Lakshya Sen won the Dutch Open mens singles title at Almere

• Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen won the Dutch Open men's singles title 2019 at Almere, Netherlands. This is his maiden Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour title. He won the title by defeating Yusuke Onodera of Japan in the summit. He secured 15-21 21-14 21-15 to defeat Onodera.

• Lakshya Sen currently ranked 72nd. He had won the Belgian Open in September and reached the finals of Polish Open 2019.

• Result:

Men's Singles: Lakshya Sen (India)

Women's Singles: Wang Zhiyi (China)

Men's Doubles: Vladimir Ivanov, Ivan Sozonov (Russia)

Women's Doubles: Gabriela Stoeva, Bulgaria Stefani Stoeva (Bulgaria)

Mixed Doubles: Robin Tabeling, Selena Piek (Netherlands)

Gauff became the youngest American woman to claim WTA title

• Coco Gauff won the Linz Open title on 13 October 2019 in Austria. She became the youngest American woman to win a tour singles title since 1991 to win the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) title. Because of this win, Coco Gauff is set to become World No. 71.

The previous record was set by Jennifer Capriati in 1991. Venus and Serena Williams won their first WTA titles when they were 17.

• Result:

Women's singles: United States Coco Gauff

Women's doubles: Czech Republic Barbora Krejčiková, Kateřina Siniakova.

DAYS:

National Postal Week observed from October 9 to October 15.

• World Post Day marks the anniversary of the establishment of Universal Postal Union in 1874 and is celebrated on October 9 every year.

Department of Posts is celebrating National Postal Week from October 9 to October 15

Aim:

To bring about awareness about the role of post offices in social economical development.

The Nagpur Postal Region is organizing a week-long celebration during the National Postal Week. Various programs will be organised like World Postal Day on October 9, Banking Day on Oct 10. Jayabhaye presented the important initiatives of the Postal Department such as Aadhar, POPSK, India Post Payment Bank and status of investment opportunities with Post Office Saving Bank.

India Post Offices

There are 3,067 post offices consisting of 13 head post offices, 380 sub post offices and 2,674 branch post offices. The total staff strength of the region is 7,705 as on March 31, 2019.

 The region has 76,109 PLI and 1,03,945 RPLI policies. The premium collected against these policies during the year 2018-19 was Rs 146.45 crore. Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs) have been opened in all the Lok Sabha constituencies in Nagpur Region. There are nine Post Office Passport Seva Kendras in the region which have helped in saving the time and travel requirements for 32,904 passport applicants up to September 30, 2019. There are 11 branches of India Post Payments Bank in the region and so far 197 current accounts and 64,445 savings accounts have been opened in these branches by September 30.

Further, 32 Saksham Grams have also been covered, he said. Similarly, there are 56 Sampoorna Bima Grams in the region as on August 31, 2019 where eligible households have been covered under Rural Postal Life Insurance.

Aadhaar Updation

There are 249 Aadhaar Updation and Enrolment Centres in the region. Number of camps organised from April 1, 2019 to September 30, 2019 was 167. Aadhaar updations and enrolments done in the camps were 9,883 and 1,724, respectively. Timings of Aadhar updation and enrolment services have been changed from 10 am to 6 pm to 9 am to 8 pm at Amravati, Akola head post offices for flexible timings to customers and to 8 am to 8 pm at Nagpur GPO and Nagpur City head post office. Accordingly, the number of speed post articles booked and delivered in the region were 47,79,406 and 80,64,412 respectively in the year 2018-19 and 25,20,276 and 28,64,587 respectively in the year 2019-20 (up to September 30, 2019).

SPORTS:

India to have first Olympic Hospitality House in Tokyo.

• JSW and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced the launch of the India House that will be constructed in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics.

The media persons here that the initiative is aimed at creating a home away from home for Indian athletes and fans who will be travelling to Japan during the multisport event.

The construction of India House will get underway soon on a plot of land that has been rented in the Japanese capital.

 The land is about 2,227 square metres and it will be a multi-level building. It will have a hospitality zone exclusively for Indian athletes, their staff and their families.

Facilities of JSW

The facilities will be there for the public like an Indian restaurant, a section reserved for Indian brands to showcase and sell their products. We are in discussion with various public sector companies and corporates who will be putting up stalls at India House. The tourism boards of individual states will also be asked to showcase their services and selling tourism packages.The Indian House and charges for services inside will be available at subsidised rates for Indian citizens. The Indian athletes would be participating at the Olympics.

The athletes will be living at the Games village, the India House is aimed at creating a place they can see as a home away from home. The separate section which will be having very little interaction with the general public. It will be up to the IOA, the ministry, the athletes' coaching staff and the athletes themselves to decide how much access they want to allow. We will be working closely with the IOA and the ministry to ensure that the athletes are comfortable. The initiative along with the IOA and is in talks with a number of corporates and public sector companies for funding. The idea after their experience in Rio de Janiero during the 2016 Olympics. The Olympics to watch their athletes play would go into these houses at the end of the day.

Eliud Kipchoge First In World To Run A Marathon In Under 2 Hours.

•  Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge made history busting the mythical two-hour barrier marathon on a specially prepared course in a huge Vienna park. The unofficial time completed by him was 1hr 59min 40.2sec. The Olympic champion became the first ever to run a marathon in under two hours in the Prater park with the course readied to make it as even as possible. The 34-year-old already holds the men's world record for the distance with a time of 2hr 01min 39sec, which he set in the flat Berlin marathon on September 16, 2018. Kipchoge bested that mark, making good on a failed attempt two years ago in Monza, Italy.

The run was set up and paced the International Association of Athletics Federations will not validate the time as a world record. The running surface had been part and readied with other features such as a banked corner that could save time and avoid injury. The Pacemakers took turns to support him throughout the 42.195-kilometer (26.219-miles) race. They included 1,500-metre Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz and former world champion Bernard Lagat. The course included a 4.3 kilometer-long straight alley, which the Kenyan ran up and down several times amid dry but foggy weather. The course prepared so that it should take Kipchoge just about 4.5 seconds more than on a computer-simulated completely flat and straight path, according to an analysis by sports experts at Vienna University.

The distance is about 26 metres in altitude and climbs 12 metres. The founders of the main sponsors, Ineos, British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, is taking a personal interest in the challenge and himself competes in Ironman triathlons.

The world marathon record has, for the past 16 years, been contested uniquely between athletes from Kenya and Ethiopia. The two nations are also fierce rivals for distance medals on the track. Kipchoge's record was almost beaten last month in the Berlin marathon by Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele, who ran 2:01.41, just two seconds short of the official world mark.

Mary Kom signs off with bronze in World Championships.

• Mary Kom got third and defeated 1-4 to second seed Cakiroglu, who is the reigning European Championships and European Games gold-medallist. Mary Kom counter-attacks Cakiroglu struggled to make her victory.

The second round followed a similar pattern as far as the tactics went but Cakiroglu seemed the sharper of the two. In the final three minutes, both the boxers upped the ante but Cakiroglu became the dominant aggressor eventually.

The campaign for the 36-year-old Mary Kom and added to her long list of accomplishments. This bronze is her first world medal in the 51kg category.

The six world titles, Mary Kom's incredible career is also studded with an Olympic bronze medal (2012), five Asian titles, gold medals at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, besides numerous other international top finishes. Later in the evening session, Manju Rani (48kg) will be up against Thailand's Chuthamat Raksat, who upstaged fifth seed Yuliyanova Asenova in the quarterfinals. Jamuna Boro (54kg) will take on top seed and former Asian Games bronze-medallist Huang Hsiao-Wen of Chinese Taipei. Last edition's bronze-medallist Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) will face China's Yang Liu, who took down top seed Chen Nien-Chin.

NATIONAL:

Forbes India Rich List Mukesh Ambani retains top position for 12th straight year

• Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani bagged the number one spot with $51.4 billion net worth on Forbes list of richest Indians for the year 2019. Gautam Adani came a close second as he jumped 8 spots on the list with a net worth of $15.7 billion.

• This is the 12th consecutive year that Ambani has topped the list despite being a challenging year' for the Indian economy According to the American business magazine. Ambani's wealth swelled to $51.4 billion this year.Mukesh Ambani remains the richest Indian for the 12th year in a row. Reliance Industries is became one of India's biggest mobile carriers with 340 million subscribersAdani who rose 8 spots to bag the second place on the list saw his fortune rise on account of venturing into a slew of new businesses from airports to data centres.

• Ashok Leyland owners Hinduja brothers came third with a net worth of $15.6 billion, Shapoorji Pallonji Group's Pallonji Mistry was on the fourth spot with a $15 billion net worth, Kotak Mahindra Bank's Uday Kotak ranked fifth with $14.8 billion net worth followed by HCL Technologies Shiv Nadar with a net worth of $14.4 billion.

This year also spelled an 8% drop in the total wealth of business tycoons on the Forbes' 2019 list to $452 billion. It had been a challenging year for the nation's wealthiest" owing to the economic slowdown.

INTERNATIONAL:

NASA Launches Long-Delayed ICON Space Weather Satellite to Study Earth's Ionosphere

• The Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) spacecraft launched aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which was released in midair from its carrier plane, a Stargazer L-1011. The aircraft had taken off about an hour and a half earlier from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

• ICON make its way to Earth orbit on a mission to study the planet's ionosphere, a massive layer of our atmosphere that overlaps with the boundary of space. The spacecraft's measurements will help scientists better understand the link between space weather and terrestrial weather, and how the two interact in the ionosphere, mission team members he ionosphere is continually changing, and it's very dynamic,"Nicky Fox, head of NASA's heliophysics division, explained during a prelaunch news briefing on Tuesday (Oct. 8).

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

India jumps to 7th spot in Brand Finance Nation Ranking

• India jumped two levels to 7th position in the Brand Finance Nation ranking of 2019 The overall economic growth due to slowdown in the manufacturing and construction sectors.The latest report by independent brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, India has jumped to the seventh position from 9th last year, after recording a solid 19 percent growth in brand value to USD 2.6 trillion.

• The Indian economy to recover after the global financial crisis with growth now reduced by a recent slowdown in both the manufacturing and construction sectors.Canada secured 7th position dropped to 8th position. South Korea was at the 10th position last year managed to jump a level up to reach the 9th position.

• Italy which was at 8th position last year, slipped to the 10th.US, China and Germany continued to be the top three nations, respectively even in 2019.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu conferred highest Civilian Honour of Comoros

• Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu conferred the highest Civilian Honour of Comoros The Order of the Green Crescent. The honour was conferred by the President of the Union of Comoros Azali Assoumani in Moroni. He is on a first-ever high-level visit to Comoros.

• India and Comoros signed six agreements on defence, health and culture. The countries decided to exempt each other from Visa for diplomatic and official passport holders for short visits. India as a maritime neighbour is ready to share the experience of its progress with the people of Comoros.

• The Comoros and India have a commonality of approach on most of the important issues facing the world community and have consistently supported each other in different multilateral forums.

India’s trade with Comoros was at USD 47.11 million for 2018-19. The potential for trade between #India and Comoros is vast. India would like to become a valuable partner in the economic development of Comoros.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

SAP appoints new co-CEOs to Bill McDermott

• SAP SE Chief Executive Officer Bill McDermott - Europe’s largest software company replaced Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein as co-CEOs.Morgan joined SAP in the year 2004 most recently served as president of the software giant’s cloud business group. She became the first American woman appointed to SAP’s executive board in 2017 when she was named the president of the Americas and Asia.

• Klein, who joined SAP as a student in 1999 in chief operating officer since April 2016 served on the executive board since 2018.McDermott joined Walldorf, Germany-based SAP in 2002. He was the first American to hold that rank at the maker of business applications and databases. McDermott embraced cloud computing, changing the way SAP sold software so customers could use it over the internet. He has been transitioning the company through acquisitions and revamped products, challenging rivals Salesforce.com Inc. and Oracle Corp.

•  SAP pledged to triple cloud revenue by 2023 the effort has shown mixed results and the company has pushed to shore up profit margins with the support of activist investor Elliott Management.

DAYS:

World Migratory Day is observed on October 12th

• World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) observed on October 12th. It is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. The WMBD unifying the planet’s major migratory bird corridors, or flyways: the African-Eurasian flyway, the East Asian-Australasian flyway, and the Americas flyways.

• Aim:

To reach out to a broader audience and amplify its message for bird conservation.Every year people around the world take action and organize public events such as bird festivals, education programmes, exhibitions and bird-watching excursions to celebrate WMBD. All these activities can also be undertaken at any time on the year because that countries or regions observing the peak of migrations at different times, but the main days for the international celebrations in 2019 are Saturday 11 May and Saturday 12 October.

SPORTS:

Dutee Chand Breaks Her Own 100m Record at National Open Athletics Championships

• Dutee Chand won the 100-meter national record with a time of 11.22 seconds during the semi-finals at the National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi.

• The previous national record was 11.26 seconds held jointly by Dutee and Rachita Mistry. Dutee Chand also bettered her personal best time. by 0.04 seconds, that she registered at the Asian Athletics Championships back in April this year.

• The timing of 11.26 seconds, Dutee would have qualified for the women's 100m semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships, as she had finished 7th in the 3rd heat with a time of 11.48 seconds.

He clocked 11.25 seconds in the final to claim the gold, leaving Archana Suseendran and Himashree Roy in the wake.

• Amiya Kumar Malik, who has been struggling to find his rhythm the whole season, won the bragging rights as the fastest man in the National Open.He won the men's 100m in 10.46 seconds, breaking the beam a hundredth of a second ahead of Malaysia's Jonathan AnakNyepa.

AGREEMENTS AND MOUS:

GeM signed MoU with UBI to avail online services.

• Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Union Bank of India (UBI) under which the bank will offer several services to it including the transfer of funds.

MoU:

♦ The MOU will facilitate a cashless, paperless and transparent payment system on the portal

♦ It will also enable the GeM to create an efficient procurement system for government entities

♦ It will facilitate the online integration for payments and various banking services to GeM.

♦ UBI will provide various services including transfer of funds through GeM pool accounts, advising of performance, bank guarantees and earnest money deposit to the registered users on the portal

GeM:

The commerce ministry launched the procurement portal GeM to increase transparency in public procurement of goods and services, which is estimated at about Rs 8 lakh crore per year.To enable the Online integration for payments and various banking services, GeM has signed MoU with 14 public sector and private banks.

AWARDS:

Olga and Handke won the Nobel Prize for literature.

• Olga Tokarczuk and Peter Handke have won the Nobel Prize for literature for the year 2018 and 2019. It was announced by the Royal Swedish Academy. Each received a nine million Swedish kronor, a medal and a diploma.

2018 award:

As the award was not announced for the year 2018, the academy awarded two winners, one for the year 2018 and one for 2019. The Swedish Academy suspended it in 2018 after a sexual assault scandal.

Olga Tokarczuk:

Polish author Olga Tokarczuk was awarded the Nobel Prize for the year 2018. She also won the Man Booker International Prize in 2018. Tokarczuk, 57, was rewarded for a narrative imagination with an encyclopaedic passion that represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life.

In 1993, her debut novel was published. She has also authored the famous Primeval and Other Times.

The Nobel prize committee appreciated The Books of Jacob that presents a rich panorama of a little-known chapter in European history. she became the 15th female winner of the Nobel Prize out of 116 literature laureates.

Peter Handke:

The Austrian author and playwright Peter Handke, 76, was recognized for his influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience. He has been a controversial figure as he supported the Serbs during the 1990s Yugoslav war. He was charged in 2001 with the Bosnian Genocide.

Nobel Peace Prize: Ethiopia PM Abiy Ahmed wins.

The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who made peace last year with bitter foe Eritrea.

He was awarded the prize for his efforts to "achieve peace and international cooperation".

Mr Abiy's peace deal with Eritrea ended a 20-year military stalemate following their 1998-2000 border war.

He was named as the winner of the 100th Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, where he will receive the award in December.

SPORTS:

Annu Rani won gold at the 59th National Open Athletics Championships.

Javelin thrower Annu Rani won a gold medal in the women's javelin throw event at the 59th National Open Athletics Championships on 10 October in Ranchi, Jharkhand. She defeated Sharmila Kumari to win the title.

She gave a series of throw of 56.97m, 55.97m, 58.31m, 57.29m, 56.86m, 58.60m. Sharmila Kumari's best throw in the event was 53.28m.

In October 2019, the  25-year-old set the national record at 62.43m at the World Championships in Doha.

Result:

Javelin Throw:

1.Annu Rani - 58.60m

2.Sharmila Kumari - 53.28

3.Poonam Rani - 50.67