the sveriges riksbank prize in economic...food day helps raise people's awareness of problems...

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Nobel prize for Economics

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic

Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (Swedish:

Sveriges riksbanks pris i ekonomisk vetenskap

till Alfred Nobels minne)., informally known as

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic

Sciences, is an award for outstanding

contributions mainly to the field of economics.

The Nobel prize for economics 2019 was jointly

awarded to Esther Duflo and her two co-researchers Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer

"for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty". Duflo is the youngest person

and the second woman to win this award. The prize includes 9 million-kronor (USD 918,000)

cash, a gold medal and a diploma.

India and Sierra Leone

India and Sierra Leone sign six agreements for

cooperation in various fields in the presence

of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and the

president of the host nation Julius Mada Bio.

The agreement includes the extending of a

credit line of $30 million for rice cultivation

and credit line of $123 million in various

sectors such as agriculture, water, and

transmission line.

Both the countries agreed to push for UNSC reforms so that one-third of mankind residing in

Africa and India occupy their rightful place in decision making bodies of the UN. India also

announced the decision to establish a High Commission in Sierra Leone. Both the countries

have agreed to enhance cooperation in agriculture, food processing, Information

Technology, infrastructure development and capacity building. Both the countries showed

further commitment towards strengthening bilateral relations. MoU has been Signed for

Sierra Leone to participate in India’s Pan-African tele-Education, tele-Medicine initiatives, e-

Arogya Bharati and e-VidyaBharati and also to encourage a cultural exchange program

between the governments of both the countries for the years 2019-23.

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India maintains an Honorary Consulate General in Freetown, which functions under the

jurisdiction of the High Commission of India in Accra, Ghana. Sierra Leone does not have a

diplomatic mission in India.

UNAMSIL

It refers to United Nation Mission in Sierra Leone. India was among the first countries to

send deployment of 4000 strong Indian Military contingent who served form january 2000

to january 2001. India has assissted Sierra Leone in the various sectors such as water

resources, agriculture, energy and telecommunication. for its development.

Sierra Leone

it is a country in West Africa, on the Atlantic Ocean. It’s known for the white-sand beaches

lining the Freetown Peninsula. The capital city, Freetown, commemorates the nation’s slave-

trade history with the Cotton Tree landmark and King’s Yard Gate. Both were known as

places of refuge for returned slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries. Nearby Bunce Island was

a key departure point during the slave trade.

G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance

The World Economic Forum (WEF) formed the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance. G20 Global

Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance was established in June 2019,parellel to the

G20 Summit held in Osaka, Japan. The alliance includes 15 city networks and technology

governance organizations from all over the world. The main oim of the alliance is to

promote the responsible and ethical use of smart city technologies by establishing global

norms and policy standards for the use of connected devices in public spaces. The Global

Smart Cities Alliance’s founding set of institutional partners include the presidents and host

nations of the Group of 20 (G20) in 2019 and 2020; Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;

the Smart City Mission of India; Cities for All; Cities Today Institute; Commonwealth Local

Government Forum; Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Network among others.

Smart city technologies can help decrease traffic congestion, combat crime, improve

resilience during natural disasters and reduce greenhouse emissions.

India has taken a critical first step towards accelerating global best practices, fostering

greater openness and public trust as well as mitigating risks regarding the collection of data

in public spaces by joining the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) G20 Global Smart Cities

Alliance on Technology Governance. It will work towards advancing the responsible and

ethical use of smart city technologies.

The new global policy standards for privacy, security and sustainability of smart technologies

will be rolled out in advance of 2020 G20 Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The first policy


design workshops with city leaders will be held in November 2019 in conjunction with the

Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Smart cities

A smart city is a designation given to a city that

incorporates information and communication

technologies (ICT) to enhance the quality and

performance of urban services such as energy,

transportation and utilities in order to reduce

resource consumption, wastage and overall costs.

Comoros

The Comoros is a volcanic archipelago off Africa’s

east coast, in the warm Indian Ocean waters of

the Mozambique Channel. The nation state’s

largest island, Grande Comore (Ngazidja) is ringed

by beaches and old lava from active Mt. Karthala

volcano. Around the port and medina in the

capital, Moroni, are carved doors and a white

colonnaded mosque, the Ancienne Mosquée du

Vendredi, recalling the islands’ Arab heritage.

Even though political stability and peaceful transition takes place in Comoros,cross border

terrorism has, time and again, threatened to derail this process. Piracy and maritime threats

as well as cross border transnational crimes, including cybercrimes, have added new

dimensions to the problem. India on its part is willing and ready to partner with it, and

supplement its efforts to neutralise these threats, particularly in the maritime domain. To

expand bilateral relations Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu of India has signed 6

Memrandum of Understanding (MoU) with the island nation Comoros for Cooperation in

the fields of- Defence Health and Medicine Arts and Culture Tele-education (or e-Vidya

Bharati) Tele-medicine (or e-Arogya Bharati) Exemption of Visa for Diplomatic and Official

Passport holders for short visits and protocol on foreign office consultation.

The Order of the Green Crescent Award

It is the highest Civilian Honour of Comoros. Comoros President Azali Assoumani, in Moroni

conferred The Vice President of India with 'The Order of the Green Crescent'.


India and China

India has announced significant relaxations in its

e-visa policy or rules for Chinese nationals. The

announcement comes at a time when the leaders

of the two nations Prime Minister Narendra Modi

and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping had met for the

second informal summit, in Mamallapuram, Tamil

Nadu. The decision to offer multiple-entry 5-year

visas is offered for a much longer duration than

offered till now and meets a long-standing demand from China.

The significance of this unilateral liberalisation of e-TV for Chinese nationalsis that it will not

only enhance people-to-people exchanges between the two countries but also encourage

more Chinese tourists to choose India as a destination for tourism purposes. In addition to

this the existing e-medical visa, e-conference visa, and the one-year multiple-entry e-

business visa will continue to be issued from the online platform of Indian visas.

BRICS

BRICS is a group of emerging economies consisting

of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. (BRICS)

Headquartered in Shanghai, China. It main

objectives are to cooperate between the member

nations for development, provide financial

assistance, support various projects, infrastructure

etc. It was founded in 2006. Originally acronym

BRIC became BRICS when South Africa in 2011, at

the Saya Summit became a part of the association. BRICS is a valuable forum for

coordination, consultation and cooperation on contemporary global issues of mutual

interest for India.

Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent charge) Prahlad Singh Patel

participated in BRICS Culture Ministers’ meeting held in Curitiba, Brazil. At the meet the

minister reaffirmed India’s commitment to contribute towards strengthening bonds

between member countries. He proposed to add literature as another field of cooperation

between the countries to enhance cooperation in the field of literary works.


World Food Day

It is celebrated every year around the world on

16 October to commemorate the founding of

the United Nations' (UN) Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in

1945. Each year has a different theme. World

Food Day helps raise people's awareness of

problems in food supply and distribution. 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 day has since habitually observed in

more than 150 countries world-wide and raises different issues for discussion for the global

misery of hunger and poverty.

The World Food Day theme for 2019 is “Our Actions Are Our Future. Healthy Diets for A

#ZeroHunger World". The theme is designed to urge people from all the walks of society to

take action for the prevention of hunger, saving food and understanding nutritional values.

It focuses on tackling global hunger. This day is celebrated in India too.

FAO

It refers to Food and Agriculture Organisation. It is a specialised agency of the United

Nations. Its headquaters is in Rome, Italy where the programme is organised on a large

scale. It works towards defeating hunger via international efforts. FAO aims to achieve food

security for all and to make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality

food to lead active healthy lives. It has 194 member states and it works in over 130

countries in the whole world. Some UN Organisations and universities organise symposia,

conferences, workshops, presentations on topics like food production, distribution and

security.

International Day of Rural Women

The United Nations' (UN) International Day of Rural

Women celebrates and honors the role of rural

women. The United Nations has dedicated October

15 as the International Day of Rural Women. It

recognizes rural women's importance in enhancing

agricultural and rural development worldwide. It is

observed on the 15th of October every year. The

day was first passed under a resolution in 2007.


On International Rural Women's Day, United Nations Women, along with the United

Nations community, is drawing attention to the implementation of commitments to gender

equality. The theme for this years celebration is "Rural Women and Girls Building Climate

Resistance."

The significance of this day is that from agriculture to food security, nutrition, land and

natural resource management, domestic care and work, rural women are at the forefront

and are taking charge by being in the driver's seat. They collect biomass fuels, process

foodstuffs, pump and collect water; 80 per cent of households without piped water rely on

women and girls for water collection. As rural women are at the front of the battle lines

where natural resources and agriculture are threatened.

This year's theme for International Day of Rural Women have been kept keeping the climate

change in mind. On this day the UN Women Community along with other organizations are

drawing attention towards implementation of following commitments of UN Framework

Convention on Climate Change, that is, Gender Action Plan Call for actions to support

capacities of rural women towards climate change through agricultural production and food

security. The empowerment of women and girls, ending of poverty and hunger and

achieving food security can be achieved only by improving the role of rural women in every

aspect of global development.

US sanctions on Turkey

The United States has imposed sanctions on Turkish

officials over their invasion into Northeast Syria once

again. It is the areas that are held by Kurdish allies of

the US. Earlier on October 14, 2019 US Treasury

Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Vice President Mike

Pence made an announcement regarding the same.

Action was taken against Turkey's defence and

energy ministries, as well as the ministers of defence, energy and interior. The move freezes

their assets in the US and bans transactions with them that involve the US financial system.

The sanctions call for an immediate ceasefire with Turkey’s further invasion into Syria. US

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing Vice President Mike Pence

to lead a delegation to Turkey for negotiations between the Turks and Kurds.

Apart from imposing sanctions and calling for a ceasefire, the President also increased steel

tariffs and cancelled the negotiations over a trade deal with Turkey which is worth USD 100

billion.


The Turkish invasion of Kurdish-held territory in northern Syria has complicated an already

chaotic war. What began eight years ago as a series of nonviolent protests against the Syrian

government morphed into an international conflict, between dozens of local factions, the

Islamic State and several foreign countries.

UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards

UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards are given

with as the strategic purpose of UNESCO with in the

region Asia Pacific. The objective is to motivate the

protection of Cultural Heritage sites, which are

initiated by any individual organization under

private sector or institutional organization.

The Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation

were declared at a function held in Malaysia.

Award of Distinction

• Vikram Sarabhai Library, Indian Institute of Management, (Ahmedabad) India

• Keyuan Garden (Suzhou) China

• Nelson School of Music, (Nelson) New Zealand

Award of Merit

• Our Lady of Glory Church (Mumbai) India

• Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue (Mumbai) India

• Tseto Goenpa (Paro) Bhutan

• Guyue Bridge (Zhejiang) China

• Lyttelton Timeball Station (Christchurch) New Zealand

Honourable Mention

• Flora Fountain (Mumbai) India

• Westpac Long Gallery (Sydney) Australia

• The 5s Classroom (Kew) Australia

• Liddell Bros. Packing Plant (Wuhan) China


International Poverty Eradication Day 2019

It is celebrated across the globe every year on 17

October to raise awareness and highlight the

problems faced by the poverty-stricken people or

families and work towards eradicating poverty

globally in all its forms. The theme of International

for the Eradication of Poverty 2019 is “Acting

together to empower children, their families and

communities to end poverty”.

The first commemoration of the event took place in Paris, France, in 1987. Over 100,000

people gathered on the Human Rights and Liberties Plaza at the Trocadéro to honour

victims of poverty, hunger, violence and fear at the unveiling of a commemorative stone by

Father Joseph Wresinski, founder of the International Movement ATD Fourth World. On the

22nd of December 1992, four years after Wresinski's death, a resolution 47/196 was

adopted by the General Assembly the United Nations where it officially designated October

17 as The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. All the States and people are

invited to promote the day and do various activities to eradicate poverty and destitution.

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Kartarpur Corridor

It is the corridor which connects Pakistan's Sikh

pilgrimage Kartarpur Sahib to Punjab's

Gurdaspur. It is located in the Narowal district of

Pakistan across the Ravi river. It is about 4 km

from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in India.

Kartarpur Sahib was established by Sikh faith

founder Guru Nanak Dev in 1522. A gurdwara

was built to commemorate the site where Guru

Nanak lived for 18 years until his death in 1539. It is the second holiest site of the Sikh

religion after Gurdwara Janam Asthan- the birth place of Guru Nanak Dev Ji located at

Nankana Sahib, Pakistan.

As a major initiative India and Pakistan agreed to set up the much awaited Kartarpur

corridor that will connect the holy shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Shrine in Gurdaspur district

to Punjab and Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating

Kartarpur corridor from the integrated check post on the Indian side on the 8th of

November 2019.

Vajra Prahar

It is a Special Forces joint training exercise

conducted alternately in India and the US. Last

year the joint training exercise took place in

Jaipur, Rajasthan. This year 45-member Special

Forces team from the Indian Army will train

alongside US Special Forces. The training will

enable sharing of best practices and experience in

areas such as operational tactics and joint mission

planning capabilities.

The 10th edition of the joint military exercise will be Conducted In at Joint Base McChord

(JBLM),Seattle between 13 October 2019 and 28 October 2019. The primary goal of these

bilateral military exercises and defence exchanges is to achieve a political or military

objective between India and the US where a conventional force might affect the overall

outcome.

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DHARMA GUARDIAN – 2019

It is an annual training event which is being

conducted in India since 2018. India undertakes

series of military exercises wih various countries.

Dharma Guardian, the joint military exercise

between India and Japan, will be held at the

Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School

Vairengte in Mizoram from 19th October 2019

to 2nd November 2019. It is very crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced

by both the nations in the backdrop of global terrorism. Indian Army and Japanese Ground

Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) comprising 25 soldiers each, will participate in exercise. The

main aim of the training is to share experience gained during various Counter-Terrorism

Operations in respective Countries. The exercisr also aims to cover platoon-level joint

training on counter-terrorism operations in jungle and urban scenario. The joint military

exercise between Indian Army and Japanese Grouond Self Defence Forces will not only

enhance the level of defence co-operation but will furthur encourage the bilateral relations

between the two nations.

World Standards Day

World Standards Day is an international day

which is celebrated globally each year on 14

October since 1946. The aim of World Standards

Day is to raise awareness among regulators,

industry and consumers as to the importance of

standardization to the global economy. It is

celebrated every year by the members of IEC

(the International Electrotechnical Commission),

ISO (The International Organization for Standardization) and ITU (The International

Telecommunication Union). The day honours the efforts of the thousands of experts who

develop voluntary standards within standards development organizations such as the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), International Electrotechnical

Commission (IEC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International

Telecommunication Union (ITU), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

BIS : The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) which is the national Standards Body of India

working under the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution,

Government of India celebrated Worlds Standard Day. It is established by the Bureau of

Indian Standards Act, 1986 which came into effect on 23 December 1986.


OASIS

It refers to Officers Automated & Structured

Information System. It has been launched by

AG/MP 5 & 6 on the Army Intranet. Indian

Army has started digitisation of its official

records. Under the programme the records of

the Army officers are digitized. OASIS will

facilitate officers to view their service records,

raise observations, also view & download

monthly Statements of Accounts, Form-16 and yearly DSOP Fund statements. When the

officer retires, the whole data will migrate from Oasis to Retired Officers Digital Records

Archive (RODRA). The RODRA holds the pension details of the officers.

Earlier, the roll out of the Oasis the records were manually preserved by Manpower

Planning Directorate and the whole process of collecting the records, keeping a track and

checking the records was very cumbersome. With the new system things are expected to

become smooth.

GOAL

It refers to Going Online as Leaders. It is a digital

skill training programme for tribal Women of

India. The program goal aims to inspire,

encourage and guide tribal girls across India to

become village level digital literate leaders for

their community. The first phase of the program

was launched in March 2019. The GOAL initiative

has been taken by the social networking

company - Facebook to empower women by providing digital literacy, leadership, life skills

and entrepreneurship skills

Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda announced the second phase of programme

GOAL which will mentor 5000 young women from tribal dominated districts of India. The

program will provide technical support to the socially and economically marginalized

women for their needs to succeed, using the technology they may otherwise have not had

access to.


IN-BN Bilateral Exercise

It refers to Indian Navy and Bangladesh Navy

bilaeral exercise. Indian navy and the navy of

Bangladesh for the first time will participate in a

bilateral exercise at Visakhapatnam from October

12 to 16. The exercise will give furthur rise to

development of mutual communication and

sharing of best practices by adding a new

dimension to India- Bangladesh maritime

relations.

The exercise would also include air familiarisation of Bangladesh Navy aircrew and a 10-day

training exercise between Indian Navy Marine Commandos and BN SWADS. The first edition

of IN-BN Bilateral Exercise will be held after the second edition of Indian Navy (IN) and

Bangladesh Navy (BN) Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT). The first edition of CORPAT

commenced in 2018 in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal.

The IN-BN CORPAT, which commenced last year, is aimed at upgrading to a bilateral

exercise with the navies engaging in seamanship evolutions, flying exercises with integral

helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft at sea.

INS Ranvijaya a guided-missile destroyer and INS Kuthar, an ingeniously built missile

Corvette are participating in the CORPAT along with BNS Ali Haider, a Type 053 frigate and

BNS Shadinota, a Type 056 stealth guided missile corvette.

As India and Bangladesh share a common territorial boundary of over 4,000 kilometres and

a maritime boundary, the navies of both the countries aim to practice and hone their

mutual cooperation whilst patrolling near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL)

during the current edition of CORPAT. The sea phase would be followed by harbour phase

that would include professional interaction between the navies, visits to the Indian Naval

training and maintenance facilities at Visakhapatnam

EX-EASTERN BRIDGE-IV

It is a name given to the joint exercise between

Indian Air Force (IAF) and Royal Air Force Oman

(RAFO). EX EASTERN BRIDGE-V kickstarted at Air

Force Base Masirah, Oman. The exercise will be


held till October 26. The last exercise, EX-EASTERN BRIDGE-IV was held in 2017 at Jamnagar.

The IAF contingent comprises of MiG-29 and C-17 aircraft. MiG-29 for the first time

participating outside India will be exercising with Royal Air Force Oman’s Eurofighter

Typhoon, F-16 and Hawk. The participation of the Indian Air Force in the exercise will

promote professional interaction, exchange of experience and operational knowledge.

NCERT

It refers to The National Council of Educational

Research and Training. The National Council of

Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an

autonomous organisation of the Government of

India which was established in 1961 as a literary,

scientific and charitable Society under the Societies'

Registration Act (Act XXI of 1860).

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is planning to review the

14-year-old National Curriculum Framework (NCF) in accordance with a new national

education policy (NEP) and set up a committee for the purpose. The NCF has been revised

four times so far in 1975, 1988, 2000 and 2005. The recently proposed revision is the fifth

framework. A committee will be set up for this purpose.

RTI Act

It refers to Right to Information. It is act of the

Parliament of India to provide for setting out the

practical regime of the right to information for

citizens and replaces the erstwhile Freedom of

information Act, 2002.The authorities under RTI

Act 2005 are called quasi-judicial authorities.

As defined in the Right to Information Act, 2005,

the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and

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Information Commissioner(IC) currently hold tenure of 5 years and their perks are similar to

that of the Chief Election Commissioners.

In July 2019, the Government of India amended the act Section 13 and Section 16 of the RTI

Act to lay down terms and conditions of services to the officials. According to the new draft

rules from Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the terms and perks of the CICs

and ICs are to be fixed as that of Cabinet Secretary and Secretary to the GoI level. This may

also mean that they will likely be downgraded in the ‘Table of Precedence’ several notches

down from 9A where the CEC, Comptroller and Auditor General and Chairman, UPSC are

placed, to position 23 occupied by the Secretary to the Government of India.

Table of Precedence

It is a protocol list prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs and is based on the hierarchy

and rank of government functionaries.

Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Council

The Government of Jammu and Kashmir abolished

the 62 year old Legislative Council of Jammu and

Kashmir under Section 57 of J & K Reorganization

Act, 2019. The State Legislative Council has come

to an end with the State Administration issuing

orders for its abolition with immediate effect. This

order has been issued ahead of the bifurcation of

Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories of

Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir - on the midnight of October 31. J & K and Ladakh will now

be Union Territories from November 1, 2019. The J & K Reorganisation Bill, 2019 was passed

by the Parliament in August 2019. For the transition of Ladakh region as the youngest Union

Territory that will be done on 31 October 2019, Jammu and Kashmir Government has

shifted Ladakh Affairs Department along with its Administrative Secretary Rigzin Samphel to

Leh. Mr Rigzin who hails from Ladakh region is a 2003 Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer.

Jammu and Kashmir government has also issued formal orders for opening of new

administrative secretariat in Ladakh under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill

which was passed in August 2019.

According to the order the State Administration has asked the 116-member staff of

Legislative Council to report to the General Administration Department (GAD) by 22nd of

October. As per the government order, all the vehicles purchased for council were

transferred to state motor garages.


J & K legislative council

It was established in 1957 following adoption of a new constitution by state constituent

assembly and passing of Legislative Councils Act in Parliament.. The council was created

with a strength of 36 members. The council functioned as an upper house. The members of

the legislative council members remained in office for a period of six years. The council

comprised of 22 members elected by state assembly, 2 members from local authorities, 2

from panchayat constituency and 8 members nominated by Jammu and Kashmir Governor

from eminent persons from various fields.

Sewa Service Trains

The Indian railways today started 10 Sewa

Service trains. It launched a website and mobile

app that allows passengers to register their

complaints online.These Sewa Service trains will

not only ease the hassle of travelling for daily

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passengers but will also help divert short distance traffic from roads to the railways.These

trains will connect small towns with their closest major cities and ease the hassle of

travelling for daily passengers. The trains will run between Delhi and Shamli, Bhubaneswar

and Nayagarh Town, Murkongselek and Dibrugarh, Kota and Jhalawar City and Coimbatore

and Palani as a daily passenger train from today.

Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal flagged off the Sewa Service train between Delhi and

Shamli at New Delhi and other trains through video conferencing along with health minister

Harsh Vardhan , oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of state for railways Suresh

C. Angadi. These trains will provide better rail connectivity between smaller and satellite

towns and important cities.

The 10 ‘Sewa service’ Trains are - Vadnagar to Mahesana DEMU train, Asarva (Ahmedabad)

to Himmatnagar DEMU, Karur to Salem DEMU, Murkongselek to Dibrugarh passenger train,

Yesvantpur to Tumkur DEMU, Delhi to Shamli daily passenger train, Bhubaneswar to

Nayagarh Town Express, Kota to Jhalawar City Passenger train, Palani to Coimbatore

Passenger train, Coimbatore to Pollachi Passenger train.

5G Spectrum Auction

It is a process where a government uses an

auction system to sell the rights to transmit

electromagnetic signals overs specific bands.

Union telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on

Friday said the 5G spectrum auction will be

conducted this year-end or early next year.

Under the scheme, the government plans to

auction around 8,293.95 MHz of airwaves at an

estimated total base price of Rs 5.86 lakh crore. The last spectrum sale, 4G spectrum was

conducted in 2016.

The High-band 5G spectrum will clearly provide the anticipated leap in data speed, capacity,

quality and low latency as compared to 4G spectrum.It will lead to much higher data speeds

and propel Internet of Things, which will transform sectors such as agriculture,

manufacturing, healthcare, and education.

World Skills India Training Centres

World Skills India Training Centres Union Skill

Development and Entrepreneurship Minister

Mahendra Pandey unveiled plans to set up 14


Authorized World Skills India Training Centres across 9 cities for media and entertainment

sector. The new institutes will be set up for advanced skill training of candidates in media

and entertainment sector and also to develop skilling eco-system for training candidates for

the international market. These cities are Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore,

Mumbai, Pune, Shillong and Trivandrum. The main objective of the new institutes by the

government is to encourage more youth to get skilled and not just participate. Certification

courses of 9 months to 36 months duration on graphic design technology, 3D digital game

and print media technology will be offered by the centre.

India Mobile Congress

It is the largest mobile technology event in South

Asia. It is organized by Department of

Telecommunications along with Cellular

Operation Association of India (COAI). This year

the event is being conducted between October

14, 2019 and October 16, 2019. The Congress

brings together Government entities, industries

and other ecosystem players. It acts as a

common platform to discuss and display the

latest technology in the world. Apart from being

the largest digital technology event, it is also the largest networking event in India.

Highlights of the event During the event exhibition and conferences are organized. It also

presents most recognized awards in the technology industry, especially in digital

technology. Objectives of the event The event is organized to promote start-ups, innovators

and enterprises It also promotes local manufacturing It drives in investments The event acts

as a platform to spread knowledge about the ongoing research and development in the field

It enhances international regional cooperation in the South and South east region.

Science and Technology


ISRO

It refers to Indian Space Research Organization.

It has achieved numerous milestones since its

establishment starting from the first Indian

Satellite, Aryabhata to Rohini, the Polar Satellite

Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geosynchronous

Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

will soon carry out another major test for its reusable launch vehicle (RLV) in which the

vehicle will be flown to a height of 3 km by a helicopter and let free to land autonomously at

an airstrip in Challakere in Chitradurga district in Karnataks. It will function as a space shuttle

that will carry a payload to space and glide back to the earth. It is a second launch by ISRO.

The Reusable Launch Vehicle Program was first launched in 2016.

The objective of it is to cut down the launch cost by reusing the spacecraft. The RLV

(Reusable Launch Vehicle) has been tested over water butfor the first time,it will be tested

on land.

The launch vehicle is critical to India's Human Space Flight initiative – Gaganyaan. The four

aspects of the RLV which are to tested are - hypersonic flight experiment (HEX), return flight

experiment (REX), autonomous landing experiment (LEX) and scramjet propulsion

experiment (SPEX). There are two stages in the recovery process. The first stage is similar to

that of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster. The second stage is an advanced version of RLV testing

done in 20.

The Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) has 2.2 km runway and the RLV will be dropped from a

helicopter at an altitude of 3 km. An onboard computer will help the RLV glide for some

distance before touching down on the runway like an aircraft.

Space Walk

Two NASA American Astronauts Christina Koch

and Jessica Meir created history on Friday,

October 18 when they left the International

Space Station (ISS) for a spacewalk. It was first

all-female space walk ever in space history. The

historic extravehicular activity (EVA) began at

7:38 EDT (1138 GMT), which was ahead of

schedule as the spacewalk was slated to begin

at 7:50 EDT (1150 GMT). The were guided by veteran NASA astronaut and capsule

communicator (CAPCOM) Stephanie Wilson on the ground and fellow astronauts Luca


Parmitano and Andrew Morgan located on the International Space Station. Both astronauts

will replace a power unit on the ISS which failed last week.

Russian Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya was the first woman to do a spacewalk in 1984

followed by NASA astronaut Kathryn Sullivan became the first American woman to do so

later the same year. 15 Women have participated in 42 spacewalks over the past 35 years.

Out the 15 women who have done spacewalks, 14 have been NASA astronauts. Koch is on

track to make history again in December as she gets closer to setting a new record for the

longest amount of time continuously spent in space by a U.S. woman, beating former NASA

astronaut Peggy Whitson's former record of 288 days.

Typhoon Hagibis

It is a large and powerful typhoon which was

has been named Hagibis to name four tropical

cyclones in the western north Pacific Ocean.

The name Hagibis contributed by the

Philippines means "rapidity" or "swiftness."

Thphoon Hagibis was a large and powerful

tropical cyclone that was considered to be the

most devastating typhoon to hit the Kanto

region of Japan since Typhoon Ida in 1958. Hagibis caused additional impacts in Japan, after

Faxai struck the same region one month prior.It has been used to name four tropical

cyclones in the western north Pacific Ocean. The name was contributed by the Philippines

and means "rapidity" or "swiftness."

Recently,Japan was Hit by the ferocious Typhoon Hagibis which caused fight floods. Some of

the worst damage hit Nagano city, central Japan, where the Chikuma River burst its banks,

inundating large swaths of land in brown water and forcing military helicopters to airlift

stranded people from homes.

Environment & Biodiversity News


Paris Zoo

A strange and mysterious new yellowish

organism has been unveiled at Paris zoo. It has

no has no mouth, no stomach and no eyes, but

can somehow detect and digest food. This

strange organism has been dubbed as "blob". The

"blob" has almost 720 sexes, can move without

legs or wings and heals itself in two minutes if it

gets cut in half.

As per the director of the Paris Museum of Natural History Bruno David, it is a living being

which belongs to one of nature’s mysteries. It is still a mystery whether the organism is an

animal or a fungus as it behaviour is very strange.

The blob was named after a 1958 science-fiction horror B-movie, starring a young Steve

McQueen, in which an alien life form - The Blob - consumes everything in its path in a small

Pennsylvania town.

Switzerland Glaciers

All glaciers are located within the Swiss Alps.

Most of them are situated in the Pennine and

Bernese Alps. The Jungfrau-Aletsch protected

area includes the largest glaciers of the Alps.

There are glaciers in the four major drainage

basins of Switzerland. There are more than 500

glaciers in the country.

Due to climate change glaciers in Switzerland

have shrunk by 10% in the last five years. A record melting rate that has never been seen

before in over a century of observations. According to the annual study published by the

Cryospheric commission at the Swiss Academy of Sciences around 20 glaciers have shown

melt rates that have reached record levels. The summer 2019 heatwave saw glacier melt

rates break records, leading to huge losses in ice volume. As per the report most glaciers in

Central Europe, Western Canada and the United States will vanish in the second half of this

century if current rates of ice loss continue.

According to the letter published in the National Journal glaciers have lost over 9,000 billion

tons of ice between 1961 and 2016. More than 4,000 glaciers are to disappear from the Alps

at the end of this century if green house gas emissions are not controlled


Storm quakes

Scientists have discovered a phenomenon in which

a strong storm causes seismic events in the

seafloor. Some of which are as strong as a

magnitude 3.5 earthquake. The quakes are fairly

common, but they weren't noticed before because

they were considered seismic background noise.

However, they aren't dangerous.

World Youth Chess Championship

It is a chess competition for girls and boys under the age

of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. Twelve world champions are

crowned every year. The first predecessor of the youth

championship was the Cadet Championship. It started off

unofficially in 1974 in France for players under 18.

The World Youth Chess Championship event held in

Mumbai concluded With a happy note for India on 12

Sports News



October 2019. India's 14 year old chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa shone bright as he

claimed the coveted gold in the the World Youth Chess Championship in Mumbai. The

Grand Master from Chennai won a Gold in the Under-18 Open category. In this event India

bagged 7 medals including 1 gold and 3 silver and 3 bronze medals.

The winners of the World Youth Chess Championship 2019

U18 Open:

1. Praggnanandhaa R. (INDIA) 9.0 2. Shant Sargsyan (ARMENIA) 8.5 3. Artur Davtyan (ARM) 8.0

U18 Girls

1. Polina Shuvalova (RUSSIA) 8.5 2. Vantika Agrawal (INDIA) 8.0 3. Alexandra Obolentseva (RUSSIA) 7.5

U16 Open

1. Rudik Makarian (RUSSIA) 8.5 2. Stefan Pogosyan (RUSSIA) 8.0 3. Aronyak Ghosh (INDIA) 8.0

U16 Girls:

1. Leya Garifullina (RUSSIA) 8.5 2. Nurgali Nazerke (Kazakhstan) 8.5 3. Anousha Mahdian (IRI)8.0

U14 Open

1. Aydin Suleymanli (Azerbaijan) 9.0 2. Srihari L R (INDIA) 8.0 3. Sreeshwan Maralakshikari (INDIA) 8.0

U14 Girls

1. Meruert Kamalidenova (Kazakhstan) 8.5

2. Divya Deshmukh (INDIA) 8.0

3. Rakshitta Ravi (INDIA) 8.0


Cori "Coco" Gauff

She is an American former world No. 1 junior

tennis player. She won one junior Grand Slam

singles title and another in doubles. She was the

runner-up in the girls' singles event at the 2017

US Open, making her the youngest finalist at the

event in the tournament's history.

Coco Gauff has won her first WTA title by beating

Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to capture the Upper Austria Ladies on Sunday. She defeated

Jelena Ostapenko.

AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships

AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships is a

biennial amateur boxing competitions organised

by the International Boxing Association (AIBA),

which is the sport governing body. Alongside the

Olympic boxing programme, it is the highest level

of competition for the sport. The mega event was

hosted by Ulan-Ude, Russia from 3rd to 13th of

October 2019. Around 224 competitors from 57

nations participated in the event. Mary Kom,

Manju Rani, Lovlina and Jamuna Boro from India played their semifinal bouts.

The 19 year old Debutant Manju Rani(48kg) from Haryana, India scripted history as she

became the first Indian woman boxer in 18 years to enter the finals of Women’s World

Boxing Championship. She defeated her opponent Chuthamat Rakshat of Thailand. she won

silver medal in the finals after going down 1-4 against the host nation’s second-seeded

boxer Ekaterinal Paltceva.

M C Mary Kom (51 kg), Debutante Jamuna Boro (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain(69kg) won

bronze medal.

Japanese Grand Prix 2019

The 2019 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One

racing event held on 13 October 2019 at the Suzuka

International Racing Course in Suzuka in the Mie

Prefecture, Japan. The race was the seventeenth round

of the 2019 Formula One World Championship and


marked the 45th running of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas Won the Japanese GP, Mercedes Clinch Record Constructors' Title. He is a

Finnish racing driver currently the winner in Formula One with Mercedes. He has previously

driven for Williams from 2013 to 2016. Since joining Mercedes, Bottas has won 6 races, 3 in

2017 and 3 in 2019.

BCCI

It refers to The Board of Control for Cricket in

India. It is the national governing body for cricket

in India. The board was formed in December 1928

as a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu

Societies Registration Act.

Former 47 year old Indian cricket captain and

Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President

Sourav Ganguly has been unanimously nominated as the new President of the Board of

Control for Cricket in India. BCCI has also selected Jay Shah as Secretary and Arun Dhumal as

Treasurer. Jay Shah is the son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah while Dhumal is the

younger brother of MoS Finance and former BCCI president Anurag Thakur. All these

candidates are expected to be elected unopposed at the Board's Annual General Meeting to

be held on 23rd of this month.

Chicago Marathon

The Chicago Marathon is a marathon held every

October in Chicago, Illinois. Alongside the Boston,

New York, London, Berlin, and Tokyo Marathons,

it is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus,

it is also an IAAF Gold Label race. The Chicago

Marathon is the fourth-largest race by number of

finishers worldwide

The 25 year old Runner Brigid Kosgei of Kenya smashed women's world record in Chicago

Marathon. She broke Radcliff's previous record of 2:15:25 which the Briton set in London in

April 2003 by 2:14:04


Dutch Open

The Dutch Open is an annual badminton

tournament held in the Netherlands since 1932

and currently organized by Nederlandse

Badminton Bond. It is a part of the European

Badminton Circuit.

Rising 18 year old Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen

on Sunday clinched his maiden BWF World Tour

title by winning the Dutch Open men's singles title after beating Yusuke Onodera of Japan in

the summit clash.

Sports Ministry

Ministry of sports on Sunday decided to allow

national and state sports federations, leagues

and clubs to organise sports events in all

sporting facilities owned by the government,

free of cost. Making sporting infrastructure

accessible to all.

Non-Sports Authority of India coaches will also

be allowed to train their athletes at the

stadiums without any charge. Stadiums in Delhi including Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Indira

Gandhi Stadium, Major Dhyanchand Stadium and Karni Singh Shooting Range (KSSR) will be

opened in the first phase for the state and national federations to host competitions,

tournaments and league of all sporting disciplines. The decision has been made in to provide

impetus to the Fit India Movement.

SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship

It is an international football competition for

women's under-15 national teams organized by

SAFF. The tournament was hosted by Thimpu,

Bhutan from 9 October to 15 October 2019.

Four teams from the region i.e. india,

Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal took part in the

tournament. India beat Bangladesh 5-3 via a

penalty shoot-out to win the SAFF U-15

Women’s Championship title after the summit

clash ended goalless in regulation time.


Golden Shoe Award

The European Golden Shoe is an award that is

presented each season to the leading goalscorer

in league matches from the top division of every

European national league. The trophy is a

sculpture of a football boot.

Lionel Messi, star striker of FC Barcelona, has won

the 2018/19 European Golden Shoe award. It is

the sixth of his illustrious career and the third consecutively. He scored a total of 36 goals in

34 games last season in the league and helped Barca to successfully defend the La Liga title.

Air India

Air India is the flag carrier airline of India,

headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by

Air India Limited, a government-owned

enterprise, and operates a fleet of Airbus

and Boeing aircraft serving 94 domestic and

international destinations.

It has become the 1st airline in world to use

Taxibot on A-320 aircraft with passengers on board. Chairman and MD of Air India Ashwani

Lohani flagged off the flight AI665 (Delhi – to Mumbai). The use of taxi-boat is a giant step

forward towards a cleaner environment. It will bring down the consumption of fuel by 85

per cent and reduce engine wear and tear. The ignition will be turned on only when the

aircraft reaches the runway.

Taxiboat

It is a robot-used aircraft tractor for taxiing an aircraft from parking bay to runway and vice-

versa. It is a pilot-controlled semi-robotic towbar-less aircraft tractor used as alternate

taxiing equipment. The taxibots will be used for departing flights only. It will be significantly

used during taxiing of an aircraft.

Economic News


One Nation One Tag – FASTag

It is the name given to a conference that was inaugurated by

the Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari

held in New Delhi. The objective of the conference is to roll

out the process for having a unified electronic system across

the country. Under this system the same FASTag affixed on

the windscreen of a vehicle can be used to pay toll across all

toll plazas in the country. It aims to integrate the collection

of toll digitally and ensure seamless mobility of vehicles

across India.

At the conference a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

was signed between Indian Highways Management Company

Ltd (IHMCL) and Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) for

integration of FASTag with GST e-way bill system.

IHMCL also exchanged MoUs with several state departments/other agencies/ authorities for

integrating with FASTag.

FASTag

It is a simple to use, reloadable tag or device that employs Radio Frequency Identification

(RFID) technology which enables automatic deduction of toll charges and lets vehicle pass

through toll plaza without stopping for cash transaction.

CERAWeek

CERA refers to Cambridge Energy Research Associates.

CERAWeek by IHS Markit founded in Cambridge in

1983 has become the world’s premier energy event.

Each year, CERA clients gathered for a few days in

Houston, Texas to attend the executive conference

where they gained insight into the energy future while

connecting with their peers. Over time, the program

was expanded to five days of informative sessions and

networking opportunities—and named CERAWeek.

The 3rd India Energy Forum by CERAWeek was

conducted in New Delhi. Hundreds of delegates from Indian as well as regional energy

companies, institutions, and governments, and also a number of international speakers

gathered at 3rd India Energy Forum by CERAWeek under the patronage Union Ministry of

Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.


The Key topics explored in the conference includes India's energy transition Low-carbon &

sustainable energy solutions asIndia is the third-largest energy consumer in the world after

the US and China. The provision of heat, light, and mobility Game-changing industry

technologies. Outlook for global oil and gas markets & investment Growing domestic oil and

gas production and expanding use of natural gas across the economy. Ethanol blending

percentage has risen from 0.67% in 2012-13 to 6%. The government is pushing to achieve

10% blending percentage of ethanol in petrol by 2022, which in turn will boost farm

economy. More than 95% of households have become smoke-free because of the use of

LPG( Liquid Petrolium Gas) and as well as Natural Gas that is playing an important role in the

energy basket.

Team Cashless India

The initiative dubbed as 'Team Cashless

India' aims to bring consumers and

merchants to the “forefront of the digital

payments dialogue”. The campaign will

encourage Indian citizens to nominate one

or more merchants who currently do not

accept digital payments to go digital.

Mastercard and it's brand ambassador MS Dhoni have launched Team Cashless India

campaign. It aims to bring more merchants and customers on board to boost digital

payments in India. The move is in line with Mastercard's endeavor to create an ecosystem

that encourages users to use digital payments for their day-to-day purchases.

Priyadarshan

He is a noted Indian director and producer. He

has made several blockbuster Malayalam and

Hindi films. He has been conferred the Madhya

Pradesh government’s National Kishore Kumar

Samman for 2018-19 at a function held in

Khandwa on 13th October 2019. National

Kishore Kumar Samman for 2018-19 : The

People in News


National Kishore Kumar Award has been instituted by MP Department of Culture in memory

of eminent playback singer and all-rounder, Kishore Kumar. He was born in Khandwa,

Madhya Pradesh and he died on the 14th of October 1987. It is awarded for excellence in

cinematic achievements. It carries a citation and a cash prize of Rs.2 lakh. The first recipient

of this award was Hrishikesh Mukherjee (1997–98).

Kais Saied

He is a 61 year old Tunisian politician and

former professor of constitutional law. He is

an independent candidate with no political

experience. He ran as an Independent in the

2019 Tunisian presidential election and was

elected the 6th President of Tunisia on 13

October 2019. He won a landslide victory in

recently concluded Presidential runoff and is

all set to become the President of Tunisia. The Independent law professor won with 72.71%

of votes against his rival, Nabil Karoui. The election was brought forward after the death in

July of Tunisia's first democratically elected president, Beji Caid Essebsi. The poll was the

second free Presidential elections in Tunisia since 2010-11 uprising that toppled long-

standing ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The poll was the second free Presidential elections in

Tunisia since 2010-11 uprising that led to the overthrow of long-serving ruler Zine al-Abidine

Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring.

Booker prize award

79 year old Margaret Atwood is the oldest

ever Booker winner, while Evaristo is the first

black woman to win the 2019 Booker Prize.

Atwood's The Testaments, the Canadian

writer's follow-up to The Handmaid's Tale,

was recognised alongside Londoner Evaristo's

novel Girl, Woman, Other.

Booker Prize

The Booker Prize for Fiction, formerly known as the Booker–McConnell Prize and the Man

Booker Prize, is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel written in the

English language and published in the United Kingdom.


Sajjan Jindal

He is an Indian entrepreneur. He is the chair

and managing director of JSW Group of

companies diversified in steel, mining, energy,

sports, infrastructure and software business.

JSW Steel is India's largest private steel

producer. He has been elected as the Vice-

Chairman of World Steel Association

(Worldsteel) for a period of 1 year. The

association alongwith Tata Steel CEO and MD T

V Narendran and ArcelorMittal Chief L N Mittal elected HBIS Group Co-Chairman Yu Yong as

its chairman, Andre Johannpeter, executive vice-chairman, Gerdau to the post of vice-

chairman. Apart from this, the board also elected a 14-member Executive Committeeas its

members. RL Steels and Energy Limited (India) too were elected as regular members and

Steel Ministry’s Joint Plant Committee (JPC) as an affiliated member.

World Steel Association (worldsteel)

It is international trade body for iron and steel industry. It is one of the largest industry

representations in world with members that represent approximately 85 percent of the

world's steel production, including over 160 steel producers, national and regional steel

industry associations, and steel research. It was established on 10 July 1967. It's headquarts

is in Brussels, Belgium.

Justice SA Bobde

Sharad Arvind Bobde is a judge of the Supreme Court of India.

He is a former Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court. He

is also serving as the Chancellor of Maharashtra National Law

University, Mumbai and Maharashtra National Law University,

Nagpur.

His name was recommended by the Chief Justice of India(CJI)

Ranjan Gogoi for appointment as the next Chief Justice of

India. If he is appointed then he will take the oath of Office on November 18, 2019, a day

after the retirement of incumbent CJI Gogoi. Justice Bobde will serve as the 47th Chief

Justice of India (CJI) for a period of one year and five months till April 23, 2021.


IPS Anup Kumar Singh

He is a 1985-batch Gujarat-Cadre IPS officer. He has been

appointed as the new Director-General (DG) of National

Security Guard (NSG) by the Appointments Committee of the

Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. NSG is also

known as the Black Cat Commando Force.

NSG

It means the National Security Guard or the Black Cat Commando Force. It is a counter

terrorism unit under the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It was raised in 15th

October1984, following Operation Blue Star, Akshardham Temple attack and the

assassination of Indira Gandhi, "for combating terrorist activities with a view to protect

states against internal disturbances". NSG commandos are based in five hubs across

country.They also render personal security to some of most high-profile VVIPs such as

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and some chief ministers.



Madhya Pradesh

To celebrate the idea of unity in diversity of

India’s Heritage, the flagship and premier

festival of Ministry of Culture, the Rashtriya

Sanskriti Mahotsav is to be conducted in

Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh on 14th October,

2019. The festival which began in 2015 is a

part of the celebrating the plural traditions

under the Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat

initiative. It is being organized between the 14th October, 2019 and 21st October 2019. It

will be a seven day Mahotsav which will showcase rich Indian cultural heritage.It will cover a

profusion of art forms from classical and folk music and dance, theatre to literature and the

visual arts and would offer the chance to experience the best in established and emerging

virtuosity.

Rajasthan

The two-day Rozgar Mela concluded in

Bikaner which was organized on the 12th and

13th of October2019. It was conducted by the

National Skill Development Corporation

(NSDC) under Ministry of Skill Development

and Entrepreneurship. The Rozgar Mela

witnessed overwhelming participation from

over 100 companies across more than ten

high economic growth sectors. It provided a platform to the youth to interact and engage

with the corporate India and explore employment opportunities with them in the areas of

their interest. The two-day Skill India Rozgar Mela concluded with more than 7500 visitors

and job aspirants. More than 2000 youth were shortlisted over the last two days getting

offered for myriad job roles across industry.

Rojgaar Mela

It is an event where a number of employers and job seekers come together for the purpose

of applying and interviewing for jobs. Rozgar Melas are typically held in large assembly halls

with a booth for each employer. It is one of the largest job fairs that is organized by NSDC

with an intention of providing vocational training and job opportunities to the youth

Places in News


through the program. The Rojgaaar fair also included Kaushal mela where councelling is

provided for candidates and parents. Here the aspirants have opportunities to register with

PMKVY – Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and PMKKY – Pradhan Mantri Kaushal

Kendra Yojana.

PMKVY

It refers to Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana which is an initiative of the Ministry of Skill

Development and Entrepreneurship. It is implemented by the NSDC. The scheme was

launched in 2016 and is planned to operate till 2020. The main objective of the program is

to increase productivity and align training and certifications according to the requirement of

the country.

Jammu and Kashmir

The Jammu and Kashmir Government will soon start

telemedicine services in Srinagar to improve medical

facilities in the state capital. Under the proposed

service, all medical institutions in Srinagar district will

be connected with each other through a trusted and

round-the-clock satellite-based networking channels.

The project includes upgrading of existing facilities at

SKIMS and GMC, Srinagar, where it is available and

setting up of these facilities at all other hospitals and

health centres in the district and then connecting all

of them together. Consultations with concerned agencies to introduce telemedicine services

are currently underway.The service will be started in Srinagar as a pilot project.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka unveiled South Asia’s tallest tower in

Colombo city. The tower stands 350-metre-tall and is

17-storeyed, called the Lotus Tower. It is located in

the heart of Colombo city. It is a 17 storeyed tower

and comprises a hotel, a television tower, a

telecommunications museum, restaurants, a

shopping mall, auditorium, an observation deck and

a conference centre. The tower is spread over an

area of 30,600 sq metres. The tower is built with

fibre optic cables and is fully equipped with necessary telecommunication equipment. The

construction of the tower cost over $100 of which 80% of the cost was funded by China

under the controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Sri Lanka and China signed the Lotus


Tower agreement in 2012 to build the tower. As per the agreement China National

Electronics Import and Export Corporation (CEIEC)was the general contractor. It foreseen to

be one of the significant landmarks and an epitome of island country’s culture, economy

and development.

Manipur

Shirui Lily festival is being celebrated in Manipur. The

festival was sponsored by the Department of Tourism,

Manipur and organized by the Shirui Lily Festival

Organizing Committee. It is celebrated to spread

awareness about the endangered Shirui Lily and

promoted the district of Ukhrul as a must-visit tourist

destination in Manipur.

The Shirui Hills is known for a unique species of land-lily, the Shirui Lily which grows at a

height of about 8,500 ft above sea level was declared as the State Flower of Manipur in

1989. Shirui Lily or Siroi lily and Botanical name Lilium Mackliniae Sealy, is known worldwide

for its rare and modest beauty. It was discovered in 1946. The flower is today considered an

endangered species.

Punjab

The National Highway starting from Kapurthala

connecting Gobindwal Sahib and terminating near Taran

Taran in the State of Punjab has been declared as new

National Highway No. 703AA. Union Minister for Road

Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has announced

that it will be named

‘Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Marg’, after the first Sikh guru.

This decision has been taken to mark 550th Birth

Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. The name Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Marg will be effectve

from November 2019.


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