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LEGEND MAGAZINE (OCTOBER- 2018)

Current Affairs and Quiz, English,

Banking Awareness, Simplification

Exclusively prepared for RACE students Issue: 14 | Page : 48 | Topic : Legend of October | Price: Not for Sale

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LEGEND OF OCTOBER 2018 MAGAZINE - INDEX

S. NUMBER TOPICS PAGE NUMBER

1 NATIONAL AFFAIRS 1

2 STATES IN NEWS 4

3 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 7

4 BANKING AND BUSINESS 10

5 APPOINTMENTS 14

6 AWARDS & HONOURS 15

8 SPORTS 16

9 IMPORTANT DAYS / OBITUARY 19 & 20

10 CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ 20

11 ENGLISH VOCABULARY 26

12 BANKING AWARENESS 37

13 SIMPLIFICATION 44

CURRENT AFFAIRS

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates first

assembly of International Solar Alliance:

➢ The Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi has

inaugurated the first Assembly of the

International Solar Alliance at Vigyan

Bhawan in the presence of the United

Nations’ Secretary General Antonio

Guterres.

➢ The same event also marked the inauguration

of the second IORA Renewable Energy

Ministerial Meeting, and the 2nd Global RE-

Invest. A short film on the “Journey of

Renewable Energy in India” and another film

on Student Initiative on Solar Lamp were

screened on the occasion.

➢ International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an alliance

of 121 solar resource rich countries, lying

fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer

and Capricorn.

➢ ISA was jointly launched by the Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, and President of

France, Francois Hollande on November 30,

2015 in Paris on the side-lines of the 21st

Conference of Parties (CoP 21) to the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change.

BCCI comes under RTI Act:

➢ The Board of Control for Cricketin India

(BCCI) is covered under the RTI Act and

answerable to the people of the country under

its mechanism.

➢ The status, nature and functional

characteristics of the BCCIfulfil required

conditions of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act,

2005.

➢ Section 2(h) of the Act defines criteria under

which a body can be declared as public authority

under the RTI Act.

BCCI

• President: C. K. Khanna

• Headquarters: Mumbai

PM Modi Launches 'Main Nahi Hum' Portal

In New Delhi:

➢ Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch

the 'Main Nahin Hum' portal and mobile

application.

➢ He will also interact with IT and electronic

manufacturing professionals across India via

video-conference.

➢ The portal, which works on the theme

'Self4Society', will enable IT professionals and

organisations to bring together their efforts

towards social causes on one platform.

➢ The portal is expected to help catalyse greater

collaboration towards the service of the weaker

sections of society, especially by leveraging the

benefits of technology.

Centre constitutes GoM to look into sexual

harassment of women at workplace:

➢ The Centre has constituted a Group of

Ministers (GoM) to examine the existing legal

and institutional frameworks for dealing with

matters of sexual harassment of women at

the workplace.

➢ The GoM will be headed by Home Minister

Rajnath Singh. Road Transport and Highways

Minister Nitin Gadkari, Defence Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman and Women and Child Development

Minister Maneka Gandhi will be the members of

the group.

➢ Within three months of its constitution, the

GoM will examine the existing provisions for the

safety of women and recommend further

measures.

➢ The Women and Child Development Ministry

has launched an Electronic Complaints Box “She

Box” that enables women, irrespective of their

work status, to raise their voice against sexual

harassment at workplace.

President Of India Inaugurates

International Arya Mahasammelan-2018:

➢ The President inaugurated the International

Arya Mahasammelan-2018 in New Delhi.

➢ Mahasammelan discussed on the issues such

as prevention of superstition, modernization,

women empowerment, tribal welfare, and

management of natural calamities.

➢ The president discussed about Swami

Dayanand Saraswati. He took effective measures

for educational and social reform especially for

women empowerment and eradication of

untouchability.

➢ The 200th birth anniversary of Swami

Dayanand Saraswati will be celebrated in

2024.

5th National Summit on Public Health Care:

➢ The 5th National Summit on Good and

Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public

Health Care Systems in India began at

Kaziranga in Assam.

➢ The objective of the summit is to share and

learn the good practices being implemented by

several states and organizations for the

betterment of the health sector.

➢ The Summit will be inaugurated by Assam

chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and Union

Minister of Health & Family Welfare J P Nadda at

Borgos Resort, Kaziranga in Golaghat district

of Assam.

PM Modi to unveil world’s tallest statue:

➢ Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the

bronze statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at

Kevadia in Narmada district, on the 143rd

birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.

➢ At 182 metres, the ‘Statue of Unity’, facing

the Sardar Sarovar Dam, is nearly double the

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height of the Statue of Liberty in New York and

taller than the Spring Temple of Buddha in

China, which had held the record at 153 metres.

➢ The Statue of Unity, set up under the Sardar

Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust, has been

constructed at a cost of ₹2, 989 crore (approx

$407 million) in less than four years.

➢ Built by engineering major Larsen & Toubro

Ltd, the statue will be treated as the largest

memorial to the ‘Iron Man of India’.

NMCG Partnered with TSAF for “Mission

Gange”:

➢ The National Mission for Clean Ganga

(NMCG) has partnered with Tata Steel

Adventure Foundation (TSAF) to launch a

month-long rafting expedition of a team of 40

members. It will be led by the first Indian

woman to scale Mount Everest Ms. Bachendri

Pal.

➢ The expedition will start from Haridwar

traversing a distance of around 1500 km

encompassing 8 major towns including Bijnor,

Farrukhabad, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and

Buxar. It will conclude in Patna, Bihar.

Union Cabinet approves creation of smart

railway stations:

➢ The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister

Shri Narendra Modi has approved the

redevelopment of Railway Stations.

➢ It will be completed by Indian Railway

Stations Development Corporation Limited

(IRSDC) as Nodal Agency and main Project

Development Agency, for longer lease tenure of

upto 99 years.

➢ The program will help provide state-of-the-art

amenities to the passengers, generate additional

revenue and be overall cost neutral to the

Railway Ministry.

Government And Google Launch Campaign

To Review Public Toilets:

➢ The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,

under the aegis of Swachh Bharat Mission –

Urban (SBM – U) , has partnered with Google

to launch the Loo Review campaign.

➢ It aims to encourage all local guides in India to

rate and review public toilets on Google Maps.

➢ 500+ cities in India with more than 30, 000

toilets with the name of “SBM Toilet” are

currently live on Google Maps.

➢ The campaign will involve and engage Local

Guides in India to rate and review public toilets

on Google Maps, and use the

hashtag #LooReview for the chance to be

featured on Google Local Guides’ social

channels.

NITI Aayog Inks SoI For With Oracle:

➢ NITI Aayog has signed an agreement

with cloud services provider Oracle, hospital

chain Apollo Hospitals, and pharmaceutical

manufacturer Strides Pharma Sciences.

➢ The agreement aims to curb the distribution of

fake drugs using new technologies.

➢ The partners will pilot a real drug supply chain

using blockchain decentralised ledger and

IoT software.

Government Launches Rail Heritage

Digitisation Project In Collaboration With

Google:

➢ The railway ministry in collaboration

with Google has launched rail heritage

digitisation project.

➢ The project is a first of its kind to showcase

country’s rail heritage to national and

international audience in an online story-

telling platform.

➢ India Railways has a history of more than 165

years and has a rich heritage that includes the

Imperial and the princely railways.

➢ Digitization of rail heritage provides

opportunity to contextualize artifact and other

heritage assets with the stories thus becoming

more meaningful to next generation.

Civil aviation Ministry releases the policy of

Digi Yatra:

➢ The Union Minister of Commerce and

Industry and Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh

Prabhu has released the policy on biometric

based digital processing of passengers at

airports called “Digi Yatra”.

➢ The Digi Yatra Central Platform will be

operational by end of February, 2019.

➢ Bangalore & Hyderabad International

Airports will be ready with pilot implementation

by end of February, 2019.

Indian Railways plans to roll out Project

Utkrisht:

➢ Railways have plans to develop 640 Utkrisht

rakes as part of upgradation of its mail/express

trains in the next two years at a cost of Rs 4

billion.

➢ Developed as 'green rakes' (consisting of 20

or 22 coaches) at Eastern Railways' Liluah

workshop, they cost Rs 600, 000 each.

➢ The rakes have also been given a new colour

scheme on the exterior beige and maroon.

➢ All coaches of this rake are fitted with

energyefficient LED tube lights, panel of LED

lights in doorway and gangway, provision of

dustbins in the toilets, stickers with 'Go Green'

messages, provision of integrated basin-cum-

dustbins in AC coaches.

ISRO, ROSCOSMOS to work together for

first Indian manned mission:

➢ An MoU was inked between ISRO and the

Federal Space Agency of Russia

‘ROSCOSMOS’ for joint activities in the field of

Human Spaceflight Programme.

➢ The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space

Activities and Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO) will be working together on

the Gaganyaan mission.

➢ Indian Space research Organisation (ISRO)

aims to complete Gaganyaan mission before

2022.

Prithvi-II Missile successfully test-fired In

Odisha:

➢ India's Strategic Forces Command has

successfully test-fired its indigenously developed

nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile during

night time as part of a user trial by the Army

from a test range in Odisha.

➢ The surface-to-surface missile, which has a

strike range of 350 km, was launched from a

mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the

Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur

near Balasore.

➢ The missile is capable of carrying 500 to 1,

000 kilogramme of warheads and is trusted by

liquid propulsion twin engines. The state-of-the-

art missile uses advanced inertial guidance

system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its

target.

Indian Railways Signed Agreements with

Government of Russian Federation:

➢ A memorandum of cooperation (MoC) was

signed between the Ministry of Railways and

joint-stock company Russian Railways on the

sidelines of the India-Russia Summit.

➢ It includes the implementation of a speed-

upgradation project in the Nagpur-Secunderabad

section, setting up of a single traffic-control

centre for managing mixed traffic at the local

level, best practices in freight cargo operations,

development of multi-modal terminals and

exchange of the best technologies used by the

two countries.

➢ The cooperation agreement was signed by

Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani

and Oleg Belozerov, Chief Executive Officer

and Chairman of Russian Railways.

CII inks pact with UN Environment:

➢ The Confederation of Indian Industry

(CII) on has signed a memorandum of

understanding (MoU) with the UN Environment

for coherent implementation of the

environmental dimension of sustainable

development.

➢ Mr Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UN

Environment, and Mr Chandrajit Banerjee,

Director-General, Confederation of Indian

Industry, signed an MoU at CII’s headquarters in

Delhi.

➢ The major activity planned under the

agreement includes the #Un-plastic Initiative of

the CII and UN Environment that will begin with

a ‘Call to Action’, which will include

commitments by the industry to take action to

curb plastic pollution.

UN Environment

• Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya

• Head: Erik Solheim

EAM Sushma Swaraj launched ‘India for

Humanity’ initiative in New Delhi:

➢ The External Affairs Minister Sushma

Swaraj has formally launched 'India for

Humanity' initiative to commemorate the

150th birth anniversary of Mahatma

Gandhi.

➢ The initiative will feature a year-long series of

artificial limb fitment camps in a number of

countries spanning the globe.

➢ The MEA is collaborating with the renowned

charitable organisation -- "Bhagwan Mahaveer

Viklang Sahayata Samiti" (BMVSS) for the

implementation.

➢ The larger aim is to provide for the physical,

economic and social rehabilitation of the

differently-abled around the world.

Nitin Gadkari to lay the foundation stone

for development of Ghagra River as

National Waterway:

➢ The Union Minister for Shipping, Road

Transport & Highways and Water Resources,

River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation Shri

Nitin Gadkariwill lay the foundation stone for

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the development work of Ghagra river as

National Waterway (NW) -40 at Basti in

Uttar Pradesh, under the Sagarmala

Programme of Ministry of Shipping.

➢ The waterway will stretch from Manjhighat at

Ganga-Gaghra river confluence to Faizabad

or Ayodhya along Gaghra River for a length

of 354 km.

➢ The Detailed Project Report on the

development of NW-40 envisages terminal at

five locations – Ayodhya, Mahirpur

(Tanda/Kalwari) , Dohrighat, Tortipar and

Manjhighat.

Government reconstitutes Environment

Pollution (Prevention and Control)

Authority:

➢ The Centre has reconstituted Supreme Court-

empowered Environment Pollution

(Prevention and Control) Authority or the

EPCA, which is tasked with taking various

measures to tackle air pollution in the

National Capital Region. The Former secretary

Bhure Lal continues to be the chairman.

➢ The EPCA was constituted with the objective of

protecting and improving the quality of the

environment and preventing and controlling the

environmental pollution in the National Capital

Region.

➢ The EPCA is also mandated to enforce Graded

Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the city as

per the pollution levels.

UNICEF signed MoU with NASSCOM to

strengthen child rights:

➢ UNICEF and NASSCOM Foundation has

signed an agreement to strengthen child rights.

➢ With this Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU) , the two organisations will work

collaboratively on two key areas including

national sensitisation on 'child online

protection' and 'encouraging innovations

for child rights' in India.

➢ They help parents, teachers and children by

letting them know of these risks and guiding

them to a safer, more secure Internet learning

experience.

UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund

• Headquarters: New York, United States

NASSCOM - National Association of

Software and Services Companies

• Headquarters: Noida

Cabinet Approves Merger of NCVT And

NSDA To Establish NCVET:

➢ The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime

Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved

the merger of the existing regulatory institutions

in the skills space - National Council for

Vocational Training (NCVT) and the National

Skill Development Agency (NSDA) into the

National Council for Vocational Education

and Training (NCVET) .

➢ NCVET will regulate the functioning of entities

engaged in vocational education and

training, both long-term and short-term and

establish minimum standards for the functioning

of such entities.

➢ NCVET will have a positive impact on each

individual who is a part of vocational education

and training in the country.

Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘TITLI’ Hits West-

Central Bay of Bengal:

➢ The Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘TITLI’ over the

west-central Bay of Bengal moved

northwards with a speed of about 14 kmph over

West central Bay of Bengal, about 320 km

south-southeast of Gopalpur (Odisha) and 270

km southeast of Kalingapatnam (Andhra

Pradesh) . It is very likely to intensify further

into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm.

➢ While, another Cyclonic Storm “LUBAN”

over west central & adjoining southwest

Arabian Sea moved west-north-westwards and

intensified into a severe cyclonic storm.

➢ It is very likely to intensify further and move

west-north-westwards towards Yemen & South

Oman Coasts during next 4 days.

Government lays foundation stone for

Prime Ministers’ Museum at Teen Murti

Estate:

➢ The Minister of state for culture, Mahesh

Sharma and Union Minister for Housing and

Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri jointly laid

the foundation stone for proposed Museum on

Prime Ministers of India at Teen Murti Estate,

New Delhi. The proposed Museum will be

constructed at a cost of Rs. 271 crore.

➢ The new museum will have the Nehru

Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) at

the Teen Murti Estate. The Teen Murti Estate is

the official residence of India’s first Prime

Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

➢ The proposed Museum is dedicated to all the

Prime Ministers of India and is envisaged to give

visitors a holistic understanding of the continued

thread of leadership.

India becomes second largest solar market;

installs 4. 9 GW in H1:

➢ India installed 4. 9 GW of solar power,

consolidating its position as the second

largest solar market in the world, during the

first half of calendar year 2018. The country was

ranked second, following China during the

January-June period, according to a report by

Mercom Communications India.

➢ Adani remained the largest project developer

in terms of total cumulative installations and top

installer in terms of capacity installed through

the end of the first half.

➢ There are around 70 large-scale project

developers with a pipeline of 5 MW or more in

India. Renew Power had the largest project

pipeline.

DRDO dedicates a website to APJ Abdul

Kalam

➢ The Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has

dedicated a DRDO website -'The Kalam

Vision - Dare to Dream' - to former president

and 'Missile Man' Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

➢ The website was launched on the 87th birth

anniversary of the former president and it

focuses on subjects such as artificial intelligence,

robotics, autonomous systems and cyber

security. Kalam's birthday is on 15 October.

Government Announces Rs 100 Crore

Award For States Completing Household

Electrification Early:

➢ Government has announced 100 crore rupee

awards for states that would complete the

household electrification early under the

Saubhagaya scheme. Apart from discoms,

employees would also collectively get 50 lakh

rupees award for completing the task of

electrifying households under the scheme which

was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi

in September last year.

Govt launches 'Swastha Bharat Yatra'

campaign to create awareness about safe

food:

➢ The government has launched a national

campaign 'Swasth Bharat Yatra' on the World

Food Day in New Delhi.

➢ It aims to sensitise people about eating safe

food and be healthy. A pan-India cycle rally is

also being organised. It propagate a powerful

message 'Eat Right India'.

➢ The FSSAI is leading this campaign to create

consumer awareness about eating safe and

nutritious food for becoming healthy.

➢ The government is also making available foods

at a cheaper rates to people through a public

distribution system and other welfare schemes

with an annual subsidy of about Rs 2 lakh crore.

➢ FSSAI chief executive: Pawan Kumar

Agarwal

North Central Railways launches two

mobile app:

➢ The North Central Railways (NCR) launched

two mobile apps, 'NCR RASTA' and 'Yatri

RASTA', for its employees and passengers,

respectively, for locating assets and stations.

➢ "NCR RASTA (Railway assets Summarized

Tracking Application) and Yatri RASTA (Railway

Approach to Station Tracking Application) were

launched by NCR General Manager Rajiv

Chaudhry.

➢ The 'NCR RASTA' app is for the use of

railway officers and staff and has exact

mapping of all railway assets.

➢ The 'Yatri RASTA' app will allow general

public to locate the railway stations easily.

4 Himalayan Peaks Named After Late PM

Atal Bihari Vajpayee:

➢ Four Himalayan peaks near Gangotri

glacier have been named after former Prime

Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

➢ The peaks are located at6, 557m, 6, 566m, 6,

160m and 6, 100m on the right flank of Gangotri

glacier.

➢ Located near Sudarshan and Saifi peaks in

Raktvan valley, the peaks have been named

Atal-1, 2, 3 and 4. The expedition was jointly

conducted by NIM and the tourism department.

President inaugurates Vishwa Shanti

Ahimsa Sammelan:

➢ President Ram Nath Kovind has

inaugurated the three-day ‘Vishwa Shanti

Ahimsa Sammelan’ at Mangi Tungi in Satana

taluka. It was organised by the Bhagwan

Rishabhdev Murti Nirmaan Samiti.

➢ The president will present the first

international ‘Bhagwan Rishabhdev Award’

to Teerthanker Mahaveer University, based

in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh.

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Ministry of Environment launches Harit

Diwali-Swasth Diwali campaign:

➢ The Environment Ministry has launched

Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali campaign. This

campaign was initiated in 2017-18 wherein large

number of school children participated and took

pledge to minimize bursting of crackers.

➢ The Harit Diwali-Swasth Diwali campaign is

now merged with “Green Good Deed”

movement that has been initiated as a social

mobilization for conservation and protection of

environment. The Ministry is encouraging all

schools and colleges to be part of this campaign.

Prime Minister Announces an Award in

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Name For

Police Personnel:

➢ The Prime Minister announced an annual

award in the name of Netaji Subhash Chandra

Bose for police and paramilitary forces for

commendable contributions in disaster relief

operations.

➢ Prime Minister Mr. Modi announced this while

dedicating the National Police Memorial to the

nation in New Delhi on the occasion of Police

Commemoration Day.

Mobile Health app for citizens of India

Launched by IAF:

➢ The Indian Air Force has launched an

innovative mobile health App named

‘MedWatch’. Itwill provide correct, Scientific

and authentic health information to

airwarriors and all citizens of India.

➢ The app is conceived by the doctors of IAF

and developed in house by Directorate of

Information Technology (DIT) with ZERO

financial outlay.

➢ ‘MedWatch’ is the first mobile health app in

the three Armed Services and was launched by

Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa.

Prime Minister chairs 6th meeting of NDMA:

➢ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi

chaired the sixth meeting of National Disaster

Management Authority (NDMA) at New

Delhi.

➢ Prime Minister reviewed the activities of

NDMA to effectively manage and respond to

disasters affecting the country. He also reviewed

ongoing projects undertaken by NDMA.

➢ Prime Minister emphasized on the need for

better coordination between the various

stakeholders and undertakes more joint

exercises to bring about effective response to

save life and property.

STATES IN NEWS

ASSAM

India's 1st 'Methanol Cooking Fuel

Program' Launched in Assam:

➢ The Namrup-based Assam Petrochemicals

Limited has rolled out the country’s first

methanol-based cooking fuel which will be

cheaper than conventional LPG fuel.

➢ NITI Aayog member and former director

general of the Defence Research and

Development Organisation (DRDO) , Vijay

Kumar Saraswat inaugurated the “Green and

Clean Fuel Pilot Project” on methanol

cooking stove, which is the first of its kind

in India.

➢ The concept of methanol economy is being

actively pursued by China, Italy, Sweden, Israel,

US, Australia, Japan and many other European

nations.

Kati Bihu festival celebrated across Assam:

➢ Assam's third Bihu festival, known as Kati

Bihu or Kongali Bihu, was being celebrated

across the state.

➢ The festival derives its name from the

Assamese month of Kati. On the occasion of

Kati Bihu, women, both in urban and rural areas,

try to ward off evil and pray for a rich harvest by

lighting earthen lamps.

➢ As a part of the festival, farmers also tie a

special kind of lamp, known as Akash Bati, to

poles and the poles are placed in the paddy

fields.

Assam

• Capital: Dispur

• Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal

• Governor: Jagdish Mukhi

ARUNACHAL PRADESH

Arunachal Pradesh and British Council sign

MoU for cultural cooperation:

➢ The Arunachal Pradesh government has

signed a MoU with The British Council here

to strengthen educational and cultural

cooperation.

➢ It will enhance the opportunities for young

people in Arunachal Pradesh and connect them

to international expertise and ideas

➢ As per the MOU, as many as 50 faculty

members from governmenthigher education

institutions will be trained by the British Council

every year, starting from December.

➢ Further, 50 students of higher and technical

education institutes will be trained in English

language skills annually.

Arunachal Pradesh

• Capitals: Guwahati (Judiciary) , Itanagar

• Chief Minister: Pema Khandu

• Governor: BD Mishra

BIHAR

Muzaffarpur’s Shahi Litchi Gets GI Tag:

➢ Bihar’s Shahi Litchi — mostly grown in

Muzaffarpur and adjoining areas of East

Champaran, Vaishali, Samastipur and

Begusarai districts — now enjoys the

geographical indication (GI) tag.

➢ The GI registration was done in the name of

Litchi Growers Association of Bihar, which had

applied for the tag.

➢ Geographical indication is used on a product of

specific geographical origin that attains its

uniqueness or reputation because of its place of

origin.

➢ Litchi happens to be the fourth agricultural

product for which Bihar has got GI tag. In

December last year, three agricultural products

— Bhagalpuri Zardalu, Katarni rice and

Magahi Paan — had been given GI tags.

India’s and Asia’s first Dolphin Research

Centre in Patna:

➢ The National Dolphin Research Centre

(NDRC) , India’s and Asia’s first is set to be

established in Patna.

➢ It will play an important role in strengthening

conservation efforts and research to save the

endangered mammal. Sinha is the chairperson

of the working group for dolphin conservation

set up by the central government.

➢ Presently the dolphin population in India is

estimated to be merely 2000 with a major chunk

present at the Vikramshila Dolphin sanctuary

in Bhagalpur district of Bihar.

Bihar

• Capital: Patna

• Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar

• Governor: Lalji Tandon

GUJARAT

Gujarat’s First Mega Food Park Inaugurated

In Surat:

➢ Union Minister for Food Processing Industries

Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal has inaugurated

the first Mega Food Park in Gujarat.

➢ It is promoted by Gujarat Agro Infrastructure

Mega Food Park Pvt. Ltd and the Park is located

at Village Shah and Vasravi, Surat district.

➢ This Mega Food Park has been set up in 70.

15 acre of land at a cost of Rs. 117. 87

crore.

➢ A 2nd Mega Food Park has been sanctioned by

the Ministry in Mehsana District of Gujarat.

Gujarat

• Capital: Gandhinagar

• Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani

• Governor: Om Prakash Kohli

HARYANA

PM Modi unveils 64-foot-tall statue of

Chhotu Ram in Haryana:

➢ Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a

64-feet-tall statue of peasant leader Sir

Chhotu Ram at his native village Sampla in

Haryana's Rohtak district.

➢ The 64-feet-tall statue has been sculpted by

renowned sculptor and Padma Bhushan-recipient

Ram Vanji Sutar.

➢ Besides unveiling the statue, Prime Minister

Modi also inaugurated a rail coach factory in

Haryana's Sonipat.

➢ Sir Chhotu Ram, was a prominent politician

in British India's Punjab Province, an

ideologue of the peasants of pre-Independent

India.

NABARD, Ayurvet Research Foundation ink

MoU:

➢ The Haryana regional office of NABARD

has signed an MoU with Delhi-based Ayurvet

Research Foundation (ARF) for facilitating

various collaborative initiatives, especially in the

resource-poor districts of Haryana, for the

integrated agricultural and rural development of

the state.

➢ The MoU will facilitate in finding practical

solutions to the problems and challenges

coming in the way of integrated development of

some districts.

➢ The MoU will prove to be a facilitator for

planning and implementation of programmes

like natural resource management, village

development, exploring and creating alternative

employment generation opportunities, upscaling

micro-finance activities and supporting farmer

producer organisations by synergising the efforts

of Nabard and ARF.

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Haryana

• Capital: Chandigarh

• Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar

• Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya

JHARKHAND

Jharkhand To Become Partner State At Goa

International Film Festival:

➢ In 2018, Goa International Film Festival

will be held from 20th to 28th of November

and will have Jharkhand as a partner state.

➢ It will allow Jharkhand to showcase its culture

and favourable film making incentives

announced by the state government. It was

decided to open community radio station at

every districts of Jharkhand.

➢ The decision was taken in meeting between

Secretary of Ministry of Information and

Broadcasting, Mr. Amit Khare and Chief

Secretary of Jharkhand, Sudhir Tripathy at

Ranchi.

Jharkhand

• Capital: Ranchi

• Chief Minister: Raghubar Das

• Governor: Draupadi Murmu

KARNATAKA

India's 1st Cryptocurrency ATM installed In

Bengaluru:

➢ The virtual currency exchange Unocoin has

installed a currency deposit and dispensing ATM

at Kemp Fort Mall in Bengaluru.

➢ The kiosk, installed by Unocoin, allows its

customers to deposit and withdraw minimum

amount of Rs 1000 from the platform.

➢ First of its kind in India, this ATM circumvents

the RBI regulation against bitcoins transaction.

RBI has ruled earlier this year that financial

institutions associated with RBI are not

permitted to deal with cryptocurrencies.

First India-Israel Innovation Centre opens

in Bengaluru:

➢ India’s first India-Israel Innovation

Centre (IIIC) , an entrepreneurial technology

hub, was launched in Bengaluru.

➢ The IIIC is a significant step towards

facilitating penetration of Israeli companies in

India and aims to forge local partnerships and

joint ventures between companies from the two

countries.

➢ The launch of IIIC, at the IoT India Congress

in Bengaluru, the first ever in India that aims to

meet the long pending need to connect the

start-up ecosystems of Israel and India to

improve quality.

Karnataka

• Capital: Bengaluru

• Chief Minister: H. D. Kumaraswamy

• Governor: Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala

MADHYA PRADESH

India’s First Corn Festival Begins in Madhya

Pradesh:

➢ In Madhya Pradesh, the first corn festival

of the country is being held in Chhindwara.

The festival is one of a kind international event.

➢ Madhya Pradesh is one of the largest corn

producing states in India, with Chhindwara being

the highest corn producing district.

India And ADB Signs $110 Million Loan to

Improve Rural Connectivity in MP:

➢ India and the Asian Development Bank

(ADB) has signed a $110 million loan

agreement to upgrade all-weather rural

roads in Madhya Pradesh under the Prime

Minister's Rural Roads Programme (PMGSY) . It

plans to upgrade about 12, 000 km rural roads

across the five states.

➢ The $110 million is the second tranche of the

$500 million Second Rural Connectivity

Investment Programme for India approved by

the ADB in December 2017.

➢ The agreement was signed by Ministry of

Finance Additional Secretary Sameer Kumar

Khare for the Indian government and ADB's

India Resident Mission Country Director Kenichi

Yokoyama for the bank.

Madhya Pradesh

• Capital: Bhopal

• Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

• Governor: Anandiben Patel

MAHARASHTRA

World’s largest Pillar-Less dome

inaugurated in Pune:

➢ India’s Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has

inaugurated the world’s largest dome and

Peace Center at the Maharashtra Institute

of Technology, Vishwarajbaug, in Pune,

India.

➢ The world’s largest dome is with a diameter

of 160 feet, standing taller than the Vatican

Dome, which has a diameter of 139. 6 feet.

The height of the dome at its apex is 263 feet.

➢ The imposing monumental dome, clad in the

finest marble, is the vision of Dr. Vishwanath

Karad, founder-president and director general of

the World Peace Center.

GI tag for Alphonso mango from Konkan

➢ The government has granted Geographical

Indication (GI) tag to the Alphonso Mango

from Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and other

adjoining areas in Maharashtra.

➢ It is a move that will help identify the

authenticity of this variety of fruit. A GI is a sign

used on products that have a specific

geographical origin and possess qualities or a

reputation that are due to that origin.

➢ The first product to get a GI tag in India

was the Darjeeling tea in 2004. There are a

total of 325 products from India that carry this

indication including Mahabaleshwar Strawberry,

Blue Pottery of Jaipur, Banarasi Sarees and

Tirupati.

India’s first domestic cruise ‘Angriya’

flagged off from Mumbai:

➢ Angriya, India’s first luxury cruise ship, is all

set for its inauguration on October 20 at

Mumbai.

➢ Union minister for shipping Nitin

Gadkari and Mahrashtra chief

minister Devendra Fadnavis will flag-off the

cruise which will operate between Mumbai and

Goa. The commercial operations will, however,

begin from October 24.

➢ Named after the first Maratha Navy Admiral

Kanhoji Angre and the Angria bank coral reef

near Vijaydurg, the luxury ship has 104 rooms,

divided into eight different categories.

➢ The cruise has six decks and 104 cabins. It

can ferry 399 passengers at a time. The price

range of the cruise will be from Rs 7, 000 to Rs

12, 000 for one-way.

MAHARASHTRA

• Capital: Mumbai

• Chief Minister: Devendra Fadnavis

• Governor: C. Vidyasagar Rao

MANIPUR

Manipur: 23rd open defecation Free State

➢ Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has

declared Manipur as the 23rd state to

become Open Defecation Free (ODF) in

India.

➢ It is the 5th state in the North East to get the

ODF tag. Dr Najma Heptulla, the Governor

of Manipur handed over the certificate of ODF

Manipur to Singh during the observance of

National Cleanliness Day at Gandhi Memorial

Hall in Imphal.

➢ At the event, the chief minister also announced

the launch of Google Toilet locator, which

enable people to locate the nearest public toilet

for use when needed from their mobile in the

State.

Manipur

• Capital: Imphal

• Chief Minister: N. Biren Singh

• Governor: Najma A. Heptulla

ODISHA

BPCL to set up country’s first biofuel plant

at Bargarh district in Odisha:

➢ Odisha is going to have a Second

Generation (2G) Ethanol Bio-Refinery, first

in the country to produce ethanol from rice

straw, in Bargarh district.

➢ It is planned to be set up at Baulsingha village

under Bhatli tehsil by Bharat Petroleum

Corporation Limited (BPCL) at an estimated cost

of Rs 1000 crore.

➢ The bio-refinery will produce three crore litre

of fuel-grade ethanol annually using rice straw

as feedstock.

➢ The National Biofuel Policy 2018 targets

20 percent ethanol blending to petrol by

2030. While the current ethanol blending in

petrol is only around three to four percent.

Odisha Government launches food security

scheme:

➢ The Naveen Patnaik government launched

its own food security scheme benefiting 25 lakh

people who were left out of the National Food

Security Act.

➢ The beneficiaries will get 5 kg of rice per

person per month at the rate of Rs. 1 per

kg.

➢ The State government will spend Rs. 443. 5

crore per annum to support the scheme and

Rs. 221. 75 crore in the current financial

year.

Odisha Government Launches 'Nirman

Kusuma' Scheme:

➢ Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has

launched 'Nirman Kusuma' programme for

providing financial assistance to the children

of the construction workers for their technical

education in the state.

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➢ The children of construction workers would get

financial assistance for their education in

Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and

polytechnics.

➢ The state government has doubled the death

benefits for the construction workers. While the

construction workers' family was getting Rs.

one lakh as compensation, now they will get

Rs. two lakh.

➢ Similarly, the accidental benefit has been

doubled from Rs. two lakh to Rs. four lakh.

Odisha

• Capital: Bhubaneswar

• Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik

• Governor: Ganeshi Lal

PUNJAB

Punjab Signs MoUs With Israel For Agri

Research, Water Management:

➢ The Punjab government has signed four MoUs

with Israeli institutions to address issues of

farmers and depleting groundwater level in

the state.

➢ The memorandums of understandings (MoUs)

were signed here in the presence of Punjab Chief

Minister Amarinder Singh. The MoUs will help

boost cooperation between Punjab and Israel in

areas such as water conservation as well as

agricultural research and education.

➢ Three MoUs related to agricultural research

were signed by the Punjab Agricultural

University (PAU) with Israel’s ARAVA Institute,

Tel Aviv University (TAU) and Galilee

International Management Institute.

Punjab

• Capital: Chandigarh

• Chief Minister: Amarinder Singh

• Governor: V. P. Singh Badnore

TAMILNADU

IIT-Madras Signs MoU With Tamil Nadu E-

Governance Agency:

➢ The Indian Institute of Technology Madras

has signed a memorandum of understanding

with the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency,

to enhance data driven governance in education,

health care and agriculture sectors.

➢ Tamil Nadu Government is the first state

government to collaborate with IIT-M for

harnessing the power of artificial intelligence

and blockchain technology in areas of health,

education and agriculture.

➢ The collaboration seeks to take up research

relating to data science for government and e-

governance, capacity building in the areas of

data science, information and communication

technology, among others.

Tamil Nadu

• Capital: Chennai

• Chief Minister: Edappadi K. Palaniswami

• Governor: Banwarilal Purohit

UTTAR PRADESH

Uttar Pradesh renamed Allahabad To

Prayagraj:

➢ The Uttar Pradesh cabinet has approved a

proposal to rename Allahabad as ‘Prayagraj’

amid protests by the opposition parties. The city

of Allahabad was originally known as Prayag in

ancient times.

➢ The city's original name Prayag, which means

a "place of offerings", comes from its position

at the Sangam of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna

and the mythical river, Saraswati.

PM Modi Inaugurated Krishi Kumbha In

Lucknow:

➢ Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated

Krishi Kumbha 2018- a mega farmers' conclave-

in Lucknow.

➢ Israel and Japan are official partners of Krishi

Kumbh 2018 that will continue for three days.

Haryana and Jharkhand are the partner states

for Krishi Kumbha 2018

➢ While Japan is being represented by a deputy

minister, Israel's ambassador to India Daniel

Carmon is representing his country at this

extravaganza.

➢ The Yogi Adityanath govt of Uttar Pradesh is

likely to sign a memorandum of understanding

(MoU) with Japan for investment in the

agricultural and allied sectors.

Uttar Pradesh

• Capital: Lucknow

• Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath

• Governor: Ram Naik

WEST BENGAL

India And ADB Sign $240 Million Loan For

Safe Drinking Water Service For West

Bengal:

➢ Government of India and the Asian

Development Bank (ADB) has signed $240

million loan for providing safe and sustainable

drinking water to about 1. 65 million people in

three districts of the state of West Bengal

affected by arsenic, fluoride, and salinity.

➢ The project is supported by a grant of $3

million from the Japan Fund for Poverty

Reduction, financed by the Government of

Japan, and a $2 million grant from ADB’s

Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust

Fund.

➢ Mr. Sameer Kumar Khare, Ministry of

Finance, signed for the Government of India;

and Mr. Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director

of ADB’s India Resident Mission, signed for ADB.

Kolkata Launched India’s First Flood

Forecast System With $1 Mn Assistance

From ADB:

➢ The Mayor of Kolkata Municipal

Corporation (KMC) has launched a flood

forecasting and early warning system

(FFEWS) for Kolkata City to help city officials

and citizens act decisively to minimize damage

before and during disasters.

➢ India’s first comprehensive city-level

FFEWS will reduce economic loss and

impacts on livelihood and improve flood

awareness and safety at community level.

➢ The Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded

the design and implementation of the FFEWS

through a $1 million technical assistance to

KMC from its Urban Climate Change Resilience

Trust Fund under the Urban Financing

Partnership Facility.

Food Security Scheme - Khadya Sathi by

West Bengal:

➢ The West Bengal government has ensured

food security to more than 85 million people of

the state under the 'Khadya Sathi' scheme.

➢ Special assistance is also being given to the

people of Jangalmahal and Hill areas besides

Aila-affected areas and farmers of Singur, tea

garden workers as well as the Toto tribe.

➢ It has implemented on behalf of World Food

Day.

West Bengal

• Capital: Kolkata

• Chief Minister: Mamata Banerjee

• Governor: Keshari Nath Tripathi

List of Committee

WFE Appoints Vikram Limaye As Chairman

of Working Committee:

➢ The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE)

has appointed NSE's Managing Director and CEO

Vikram Limaye as the chairman of its working

group committee.

➢ WFE, which is the global industry association

for exchanges and clearing houses, also

admitted six new members taking the total

number of full members to 70.

➢ The new members are -- Multi Commodity

Exchange of India (MCX) , London Stock

Exchange Group, Boursa Kuwait, Tunis Stock

Exchange, China Securities Depository and

Clearing Corporation and Nairobi Securities

Exchange.

➢ His name was announced at the 58th General

Assembly and Annual Meeting in Athens,

Greece.

WFE

• Chief Executive: Nandini Sukumar

• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom

Govt Constitutes Committee To Review The

Competition Act:

➢ The government has constituted a panel to

review the competition law.

➢ The committee would review “the

Competition Act/ Rules/ Regulations, in

view of changing business environment and

bring necessary changes, if required. ”

➢ The nine-member committee chaired

by Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti

Srinivas includes Insolvency and Bankruptcy

Board of India (IBBI) Chairperson M S

Sahoo and Competition Commission of

India (CCI) Chairperson. At present, Sudhir

Mittal is the acting Chairperson of CCI.

➢ Its aim is to ensure that legislation is in sync

with the needs of strong economic

fundamentals. The Competition Act was passed

in 2002 and CCI started functioning in right

earnest in 2009.

6 member panel set up to resolve Stressed

Assets:

➢ An overseeing committee (OC) is set up

under the inter-creditor agreement (ICA) for

resolution of stressed assets and it will have six

members.

➢ The OC, which is being formed under the aegis

of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) , will

approve resolution plans for stressed assets

submitted by lead lenders.

➢ An intercreditor agreement is an agreement

among creditors that sets forth the various

lien positions and the rights and liabilities

of each creditor and its impact on the other

creditors.

➢ It includes Janki Ballabh (former Chairman,

State Bank of India) , MBN Rao (former

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66054642.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppsthttps://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66054642.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

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Chairman & Managing Director, Canara Bank) ,

M Damodaran (former Chairman, SEBI) and HR

Khan (former Deputy Governor, RBI) .

Government sets up key panel under NSA

to assist National Security Council:

➢ The Central government has revised the

Strategic Policy Group (SPG) that assists the

National Security Council in advising Prime

Minister Narendra Modi on matters of national

security and strategic interests.

➢ The group is the first of the three tier structure

of the NSC. The group will now be headed by

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval,

making him the most powerful bureaucrat in

India.

➢ Earlier, the policy group was chaired by the

Cabinet Secretary, the senior most bureaucrat in

the government. The reconstitution of the group

now places NSA at the top of the structure.

NATIONAL SUMMITS

SUMMIT Key Points/ Area/ Themes Held in

4th Indian International Science Festival (IISF)

2018

The subject of this year's festival is science for

transformation. In IISF 2018, a World Record attempt

will be made to “isolate DNA” by 500 students from

class 8th to 10th standard.

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation

Convention

India is striving to eliminate open defecation in its

entirety by October 2, 2019.

New Delhi, India

13th Annual Convention of Central Information

Commission (CIC)

For improving the transparency and accountability

with a view to improve governance.

New Delhi, India

6th India International Silk Fair 2018 India is the 2nd largest producer of silk in the world. New Delhi, India

27th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference For the discussion of key physics and technology issues

as well as innovative concepts of direct relevance to the

use of nuclear fusion as a source of energy.

Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar (Ahmedabad)

Gujarat, India.

First assembly of ISA, Second ministerial of

IORA and Second REINVEST meet 2018

To launch a National Energy Storage Mission that will

look at manufacturing, deployment, technology

development and policy framework.

Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi

International Conference on Women’s Health,

Wellness and Empowerment

Theme of the conference was: “Give her wings and let

her soar. ” President Ram Nath Kovind addressed the

conference.

Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

2-day First Regional Conference on ‘Women in

Detention and Access to Justice’

To devise strategies and programs for bettering

conditions of Women Prisoners and upholding their

Fundamental Rights.

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

‘2nd World Conference on Access to Medical

Products: Achieving the SDGs 2030’

Working on recommendations from the 1st World

Conference 2017.

New Delhi, India

29th Accountants General Conference The theme of this year’s conference is: “Auditing and

Accounting in a Digital Era”. Accountants General

from all over India are taking part in the conference.

Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, in New Delhi.

32nd world conference of World Union of

Wholesale Markets, WUWM

The theme for the conference: ‘The Wholesale

Markets in the Digital Era: Challenges and

Opportunities. ’

Gurugram, Haryana

46th edition of IHGF-Delhi Fair Autumn-2018 To provide more assistance to the artisans for healthcare

and education of their children.

To participate and prepare for the Ambiente 2019 to be

held in Frankfurt, Germany, where India will be the

partner-country.

Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh

First National Summit on Invest in AYUSH

2018

To encourage all the Departments of the Government

and Private Companies to invest in AYUSH.

New Delhi, India

10th Nuclear Energy Conclave 2018 Theme of the conclave was: “Nuclear Power: Towards

A Clean And Base Load Energy”.

New Delhi, India

Global Agriculture Leadership Summit 2018 The theme of the summit was: ‘Connecting Farmers

to Market’.

New Delhi, India

10th Edition of BIOFACH INDIA The theme of the BIOFACH INDIA conference:

“Enhancing export of organic products trade from

India – strategies and synergies”.

New Delhi, India

INTERNATIONAL

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 3-

day visit to France:

➢ Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has left

for Paris on a three-day visit to France. She will

hold wide-ranging talks with her French

counterpart Florence Parly.

➢ Ms Sitharaman will also take steps in the

supply of 36 Rafale jets by Dassault to the

Indian Air Force under a Rs. 58, 000 crore

deal.

➢ Dassault Aviation SA is an international

French aircraft manufacturer of military,

regional, and business jets.

➢ Note: French President Emmanuel Macron

had visited India in March during which the two

countries decided to expand strategic ties and

deepen counter-terror cooperation.

➢ The two sides also inked a strategic pact

providing for the use of each other's military

facilities including opening naval bases to

warships.

France

• Capital: Paris

• Currency: Euro

President Ram Nath Kovind 3-day visit to

Tajikistan:

➢ President Ram Nath Kovind has reached

Tajikistan on a three-day visit to Central Asian

Country.

➢ The President was received by Deputy Prime

Minister of Tajikistan Zokirzoda Mahmad Toir. All

areas of bilateral, regional and multilateral

cooperation are expected to be discussed during

President’s visit to Tajikistan.

➢ During his visit from October 7-9, he will meet

his Tajik counterpart Emamoli Rahmon,

Speaker of Parliament Shukurjon Zuhurov, and

Speaker of the Lower House (Majlisi

Namoyandagon) of Parliament.

➢ He will also pay his respects to Mahatma

Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore at their

memorials in Dushanbe.

India launches relief operation for tsunami-

hit Indonesia:

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➢ India has launched ‘Operation Samudra

Maitri’ to assist the survivors of earthquake and

consequent tsunami in Central Sulawesi

province of Indonesia.

➢ Two IAF aircraft - a C-130J and a C-17 -

carrying medical personnel and relief material

flew for humanitarian assistance from India.

Indian naval ships INS Tir, INS Sujatha and

INS Shardul have also been mobilised for

humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Indonesia

• Capital: Jakarta

• Currency: Indonesian rupiah

Aung San Suu Kyi: 1st Person to Lose

Honorary Canadian Citizenship

➢ Canada's Parliament formally stripped

Aung San Suu Kyi of her honorary Canadian

citizenship for complicity in the atrocities

committed against Myanmar's Rohingya people.

➢ Suu Kyi is the first person to have her

honorary Canadian citizenship revoked.

➢ Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace

Prize in 1991 for her fight for democracy in

Myanmar.

IORA Countries Adopt Delhi Declaration On

Renewable Energy:

➢ Nearly 21 countries in the Indian Ocean

Rim Association, IORA, adopted the Delhi

Declaration on Renewable Energy in the Indian

Ocean Region.

➢ It was held at the 2nd IORA Renewable

Energy Ministerial Meeting, he 2nd Global Re-

Invest India-ISA Partnership Renewable

Energy Investor's Meet & Expo in Greater

Noida.

➢ The declaration also calls for promotion of

technology development and transfer,

strengthening of public private

partnerships in renewable energy and

collaboration among IORA member states and

the member nations of the International Solar

Alliance (ISA) . IORA member countries also

resolved to collaborate with the International

Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) .

IORA

• Headquarters: Ebene, Mauritius

Pakistan Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Ghauri

Ballistic Missile:

➢ Pakistan has successfully test-fired Ghauri

ballistic missile which is capable of carrying

both conventional and nuclear warheads up to a

distance of 1, 300 kilometers, bringing many

Indian cities under its range.

➢ The launch was conducted by Army Strategic

Forces Command and was aimed at testing the

operational and technical readiness of Army

Strategic Forces Command.

➢ In April, Pakistan successfully test fired an

enhanced version of the indigenously-built

Babur cruise missile that can deliver

conventional and non-conventional weapons

with a range of 700 kilometres.

India elected to UN Human Rights Council

for three years:

➢ India was elected to the United Nations’ top

human rights body for a period of three

years beginning January 1, 2019.

➢ The elections for selecting new members to UN

Human Rights Council (UNHRC) were held at the

United Nations in which the 193-members of

the UN General Assembly took part.

➢ In the Asia Pacific category, India got 188

votes followed by Fiji with 187 votes,

Bangladesh 178, Bahrain and Philippines 165

each.

➢ UN Human Rights Council Headquarters:

Geneva, Switzerland

India Donated 3 Lakh Dollars For

Peacekeeping Initiative At UN:

➢ India has donated three lakh Dollars for a

peacekeeping initiative at the UN.

➢ It will help develop the capacity of future

commanders and managers over a period of

three years.

➢ The Indian government donated the amount

for the 'Pipeline to Peacekeeping Command

Programme' with a specific focus on issues of

conduct and discipline.

➢ UNHeadquarters: New York, United States

➢ Secretary general: António Guterres

World's Largest Airport 'Under One Roof'

Opened In Istanbul:

➢ The world's largest airport terminal "under

one roof" with a capacity to serve 90 million

passengers will be officially opened on October

29 in Istanbul, Turkey.

➢ Dubbed as phase-1A of the project -

Istanbul New Airport - will have a capacity to

handle 90 million passenger per year, making it

the largest such facility in the world.

➢ Overall the first phase has costed 7. 5 billion

Euro. It has been constructed by - IGA - which is

a consortium of companies under a public

private partnership (PPP) model.

Google To Shut Down Google+

➢ Google will shut down the consumer

version of its social network Google+ after

announcing data from up to 500, 000 users may

have been exposed to external developers by a

bug that was present for more than two years in

its systems.

➢ It is a bug in the API for Google+ had been

allowing third-party app developers to access

the data not just of users who had granted

permission.

"Clear Sky 2018": Ukraine launched air

exercises with NATO countries

➢ Ukraine has opened a series of large-scale

air-force exercises with the United States

and seven other NATO countries.

➢ The 12-day-long “Clear Sky 2018” war

games are being held in western Ukraine.

➢ The NATO member countries are the United

States, Britain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark,

Estonia, Poland, and Romania.

➢ The U. S. aircraft including F-15C Eagle

fighter planes and C-130J Super Hercules

military transport planes and drones will

train with about 30 Ukrainian aircraft.

➢ The aim is to enhance regional capabilities to

secure air sovereignty and promote peace and

security through cooperation.

Russia Successfully Launched 1st Soyuz

Rocket Since Failed Space Launch:

➢ Russia has successfully launched a Soyuz

rocket for the first time since the failure of a

similar rocket aborted a manned take-off to the

International Space Station(ISS) recently.

➢ It was the third launch of a Soyuz rocket from

Russia's northern Plesetsk launch pad this

year.

➢ Russia's Roscosmos space agency has set up a

commission to investigate the failed launch to

the ISS and is set to announce its findings on

October 30.

NATO's biggest military exercise begins in

Norway

➢ NATO has launched its biggest war games

since the end of the Cold War.

➢ Trident Juncture involves around 50, 000

soldiers from 31 countries, with the aim to send

a clear message to any potential adversary.

➢ It also includes 65 ships, 150 aircraft and 10,

000 vehicles.

➢ NATO troops will be working together to repel

a mock invasion of Norway. The UK's contingent

will be 2, 700-strong and mainly made up of

Army personnel. The UK is also contributing 480

vehicles and six ships.

➢ Its aim is to ensure that NATO forces are

trained, able to operate together, and ready to

respond to any threat from any direction.

➢ NATO Secretary-General: Jens Stoltenberg

Norway

• Capital: Oslo

• Currency: Norwegian krone

India Signs $777 Million Deal For Israeli

Missile Defence Systems:

➢ A leading state-run Israeli defence

company has signed a USD 777 million

contract with India for the supply of and missile

defence systems for the Indian Navy.

➢ India's Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) will be

the main manufacturer for the project.

➢ The IAI will supply Long-Range Surface-to-

Air Missile (LR-SAM) Air and Missile

Defense (AMD) systems, the marine version

of the AMD system Barak 8, for seven ships of

the Indian Navy.

➢ The IAI is Israel's largest aerospace and

defence company. It develops, manufactures

and supplies defence systems including anti-

missile, aerial systems and intelligence and

cybersecurity systems.

11th session of India and Czech Republic

Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation

held in Prague:

➢ The eleventh session of India – Czech

Republic Joint Commission on Economic

Cooperation (JCEC) was held at Prague.

➢ The Indian delegation was led by Minister of

State for Commerce & Industry, Consumer

Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, C. R.

Chaudhary. Miss Marta Nováková, Minister of

Industry & Trade of Czech Republic led the

Czech side.

➢ Czechoslovakia is preparing a project called

Czech Industrial Cluster (CIC) near Bengaluru.

The CIC will comprise administrative and

production units and will serve as a hub for

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Czech companies that intend to settle down in

India.

Czech Republic

• Capital: Prague

• Currency: Czech koruna

China Successfully Tests 'World's Largest'

Cargo Drone:

➢ China has successfully tested the world's

largest unmanned transport drone which can

carry a payload of 1. 5 tonnes.

➢ A large commercial drone Feihong-98 (FH-

98) developed and modified by the China

Academy of Aerospace Electronics Technology

made a successful test flight at Baotou test site

in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous

region.

➢ Feihong-98 (FH-98) is now the world's

largest unmanned transport aircraft, with a

maximum payload of up to 1. 5 tonnes. It was

adapted from the prototype of the Shifei Y5B,

a China-developed transport plane.

International Conference on Status and

Protection of Coral Reefs held at Bangaram

Island, Lakshadweep

➢ The International Conference on Status

and Protection of Coral Reefs (STAPCOR –

2018) was organized in Bangaram Island,

Lakshadweep.

➢ The theme of the conference was “Reef for

Life. ” Union Minister of Environment, Forest

and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan

inaugurated the conference.

➢ International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI)

has declared the year 2018 as International

Year of the Reef (IYOR 2018) , which aims to

raise awareness about the threats to coral reefs

and the associated ecosystem.

➢ They are under threat from excess

nutrients, rising temperatures, oceanic

acidification, sunscreen use overuse,

overfishing, and harmful land-use

practices, including runoff and seeps.

Pakistan Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Ghauri

Ballistic Missile:

➢ Pakistan has successfully test-fired Ghauri

ballistic missile which is capable of carrying

both conventional and nuclear warheads up to a

distance of 1, 300 kilometers, bringing many

Indian cities under its range.

➢ The launch was conducted by Army Strategic

Forces Command and was aimed at testing the

operational and technical readiness of Army

Strategic Forces Command.

➢ In April, Pakistan successfully test fired an

enhanced version of the indigenously-built

Babur cruise missile that can deliver

conventional and non-conventional weapons

with a range of 700 kilometres.

World Bank offers disaster-hit Indonesia $1

bn in loans:

➢ The World Bank would provide a standby

loan of up to $1 billion for the Indonesian

government for relief and reconstruction efforts

in the country’s two islands that were hit by

earthquakes and a tsunami.

➢ The fund will also give a $5 million grant

for technical assistance to ensure

reconstruction is robust and community-led.

➢ The loan facility package could include cash

transfers to the poorest 150, 000 affected

families for a period between 6 months to one

year, which could help during the recovery

phase.

➢ The physical loss from damage on the

infrastructure, residential and non-residential

property in Sulawesi was around $531 million.

➢ World Bank’s chief executive officer:

Kristalina Georgieva

World’s longest sea bridge between China-

Hong Kong to open:

➢ The world’s longest sea bridge Hong Kong-

Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has been opened.

➢ The 55-kilometer-long bridge, situated in

the Lingdingyang waters of the Pearl River

Estuary, will be the world’s longest sea bridge.

➢ It will slash the travel time between Hong

Kong and Zhuhai from three hours to just 30

minutes, further integrating the cities in the

Pearl River Delta.

Green climate fund approves $1 billion for

projects in poor countries:

➢ A U. N. -backed fund has approved more

than $1 billion for 19 new projects to

help developing countries tackle climate

change.

➢ During a four-day meeting in Bahrain that

ended, officials overseeing the Green Climate

Fund also agreed to start seeking fresh money

next year as its initial capital of about $6. 6

billion will soon be used up.

➢ Funding approved at the meeting in Manama

includes projects linked to geothermal energy in

Indonesia, greener cities in Europe and

the Middle East, and protection for coastal

communities in India.

First India-US tri-services exercise to be

held in 2019:

➢ The first Indo-US tri-services exercise

would take place next year and talks are on to

include the Special Forces of two countries in the

drill

➢ The three forces of India and the US already

take part in bilateral exercises separately -- their

armies participate in an annual drill called Yudh

Abyaas, the air forces take part in a bilateral

drill called Cope India and the navies

participate in an exercise in Malabar, involving

Japan.

➢ But this will be the first time the three

services of the India and the US will participate

in a drill together. The first one will be in India,

and it will take place in 2019.

Europe, Japan sends spacecraft on 7-year

journey to Mercury:

➢ The European Space Agency and the Japan

Aerospace Exploration Agency as

successfully lifted a spacecraft through Ariane 5

rocket carrying two probes into orbit for a joint

mission to Mercury, the closest planet to the

sun.

➢ The unmanned BepiColombo spacecraft

successfully separated and was sent into orbit

from French Guiana as planned to begin a

seven-year journey to Mercury.

➢ The spacecraft was named after Italian

scientist Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo and it was

in the right orbit and has sent the first signal

after the liftoff.

➢ When it arrives, BepiColombo will release two

probes — Bepi and Mio — that will

independently investigate the surface and

magnetic field of Mercury.

China launches twin BeiDou-3 navigation

satellites to speed up GPS-style system

➢ China successfully launched twin BeiDou-3

navigation satellites into space to strengthen

its satellite navigation network being built to

rival the US' Global Positioning System (GPS) .

➢ The satellites were launched from a Long

March-3B carrier rocket from Xichang

Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan province.

It will work with the 14 BeiDou-3 satellites

already in orbit.

➢ The satellites and rocket were developed by

the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China

Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology,

respectively. The launch was the 287th mission

of the Long March rocket series.

➢ Named after the Chinese term for the Big

Dipper, the BeiDou system started serving China

in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2012.

LIST OF AGREEMENTS/MOU’S SIGNED BY INDIA WITH VARIOUS COUNTRIES:

Country Agreement Capital/Currency

Japan To provide an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of around Rs 5, 500 crore (89,

547 million Japanese Yen) as Tranche 1 for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail

project.

Tokyo/ Japanese yen

Portugal In the field of water supply, waste water management and sanitation to be implemented

in the state.

Lisbon/ Euro

Uzbekistan Including for visa free travel for diplomatic passport holders and cooperation in the fields of

tourism, national security, training of diplomats and against trafficking, agriculture and allied

sectors, cooperation on science and technology and in the field of health and medical science.

Tashkent/ Uzbekistani som

Russia A deal worth $5. 43-billion to buy five Russian S-400 Triumf missile shield systems at the

19th India-Russia annual bilateral summit at the Hyderabad House.

Moscow/ Russian ruble

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Agreement on space cooperation and an Indian monitoring station will be built near the

Russian city of Novosibirsk in Siberia.

Tajikistan Indian grant of 20 million US dollars was announced for Tajikistan to finance development

projects. To strengthen political relations, strategic research, agriculture, renewable energy,

traditional medicine, space technology, youth affairs, and culture and disaster management.

Dushanbe/ Tajikistani somoni, Ruble

Sri Lanka For construction of 1200 houses through 50 model villages, using Indian grant assistance of 60

crore Srilankan rupees.

Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte/

Sri Lankan rupee

Tanzania The agreements were signed following India-Tanzania 9th Session of Joint Commission on

Economic, Technical and Scientific Cooperation in New Delhi.

Dodoma/ Tanzanian shilling

Myanmar MoU for the appointment of a private Port Operator for the Operation and Maintenance of

Sittwe Port, Paletwa Inland Water Terminal and associated facilities included in the

Kaladan Multi Model Transit Transport Project in implementation of India’s Act East Policy.

Naypyidaw/ Burmese kyat

Azerbaijan On Trade and Economic, Science and Technology Cooperation (IA-IGC) Baku/ Azerbaijani manat

Croatia To facilitate cultural exchange and diplomatic cooperation. Zagreb/ Kuna

INTERNATIONAL SUMMITS

SUMMIT Key Points/ Area/ Themes Held in

12th ASEM (Asia-Europe

Meeting) Summit

The theme of the ASEM Summit is ‘Global Partners for Global Challenges’. Brussels, Belgium

6th RCEP Inter-Sessional

Ministerial Meeting

To discuss a modern, comprehensive and mutually beneficial economic partnership

agreement among ASEAN and ASEAN's FTA partners.

Singapore

India–West Africa Conclave Focus on business deliberations, Business to Government (B2G) and Business to

Business (B2B) engagements.

India has supported Niger to build Mahatma Gandhi International Convention

Centre (MGICC) in Niamey in Niger at the cost of USD 35. 5 million on grant basis.

Abuja, Nigeria.

17th Council of Heads of

Government, CHG, meeting

This will be the second CHG meeting since India became a full member of SCO in June

2017. Last year, CHG meeting was held in Sochi, Russia. External Affairs Minister

Sushma Swaraj Participates the meeting.

Dushanbe, Tajikistan

International conference on

the future of the Indian

Ocean 2018

It was organized by the Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and

the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute in collaboration with the Global Maritime Crime

Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) .

Colombo, Sri Lanka

8th European Congress on

SMEs

The motto of the Congress was: “Science- Business-Self Government TOGETHER

FOR ECONOMY”.

Kotawice, Poland

Military Exercise

➢ ‘Druzhba-III’ - Pakistan and Russia – North -

Western region of Pakistan.

➢ 'Dharma Guardian' - India and Japan -

Mizoram's Vairengte.

Air Exercise

➢ ‘Cope India’ - India, Japan and the U. S –

Kalaikunda, West Bengal.

Naval Exercise

➢ 32nd Edition of CORPAT – India and

Indonesia - Belawan harbour, Indonesia.

➢ ‘JIMEX 18’ – India and Japan –

Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

➢ IBSAMAR-VI - Indian, Brazilian and South

African Navies - Simons Town, South Africa.

➢ Sahyog-Hop Tac 2018 - India and Vietnam -

Bay of Bengal off the Chennai coast.

BOOKS & AUTHOR

Vice President Releases Biography Of

Anumolu Ramakrishna:

➢ Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu released

a biography of late Anumolu Ramakrishna, a

pioneer in the application of innovative systems

and construction techniques in the Indian

construction sector.

➢ The biography titled 'Building a Legacy' is

authored by city-based Chartered Accountant V

Pattabhi Ram.

➢ Ramakrishna, the former President and

Managing Director at Larsen and Toubro, was

posthumously awarded Padma Bhushan in 2014.

Final Book of Stephen Hawking Released:

➢ The "Brief Answers to the Big Questions",

the final book by Stephen Hawking was

launched at the Science Museum in London,

Britain. The final writings of world-famous

physicist Stephen Hawking have been compiled

in a book.

➢ The book was completed by his family after his

death and presents answers to the questions

that Hawking said he received most during his

time on Earth.

➢ In Brief Answers to the Big Questions, Hawking

looks at the origins of our planet, the

controversial role of genetics and the threat of

artificial intelligence.

'Maharana Pratap: The Invincible Warrior':

A Book Authored By Rima Hooja Released

➢ A new book on Maharana Pratap named

“Maharana Pratap: The Invincible Warrior”

authored by historian Rima Hooja has been

released.

➢ In Maharana Pratap: The Invincible Warrior,

noted historian Rima Hooja describes in detail

how Maharana Pratap managed to elude capture

by the mighty Mughal army for so long and

never bowed down to Akbar.

Benyamin author of 'Jasmine Days' bags

India’s richest book prize:

➢ Benyamin, the author of 'Jasmine Days',

translated from Malayalam into English by

Shahnaz Habib, is the winner of the first

edition of the Rs 25 lakh JCB Prize for

Literature, India's richest literary prize.

'Jasmine Days' is published by Juggernaut

Books.

➢ The book was first published in Malayalam in

2014 as Mullappoo Niramulla Pakalukal and then

translated into English by Shahnaz Habib.

➢ M. S. Swaminathan to be conferred World

Agriculture Prize

➢ The Agricultural scientist M. S.

Swaminathan will receive the first World

Agriculture Prize instituted by the Indian

Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) in

New Delhi. It will carry a cash component of $1,

00, 000.

➢ The prize will be presented by Vice-President

Venkaiah Naidu at Vigyan Bhawan at a special

session, named Swaminathan Global Dialogue

on Climate Change and Food Security organised

by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture.

➢ He has been hailed by the United Nations

Environment Programme as ‘The Father of

Economic Ecology’ owing to his commitment

towards the ever-green revolution movement in

agriculture.

BANKING & BUSINESS

RBI NEWS

Fourth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy

Statement, 2018-19 Resolution of the

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Reserve

Bank of India:

➢ On the basis of an assessment of the current

and evolving macroeconomic situation at its

meeting today, the Monetary Policy

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Committee (MPC) decided to: Keep the policy

repo rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility

(LAF) unchanged at 6. 5 per cent.

➢ Reserve Bank also retained GDP growth

estimate at 7. 4 per cent for the current

financial year, adding that it is likely to go up

to 7. 6 per cent in FY20.

➢ The government has mandated the Reserve

Bank to keep inflation at 4 percent (+/- 2

percent) .

➢ The MPC has changed the stance from

'neutral' to 'calibrated tightening'.

Rates Current Previous

Policy Repo

Rate

6. 50% 6. 50%

Reverse Repo

Rate

6. 25% 6. 25%

Marginal

Standing

Facility Rate

(MSLR)

6. 75% 6. 75%

Bank Rate 6. 75% 6. 75%

CRR 4% 4%

SLR 19. 5% 19. 5%

RBI approved formation of ‘Kerala Bank’

having Rs 650 bn in deposits:

➢ The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) gave its

nod to start that Kerala Bank, a venture

proposed by the Kerala government.

➢ It will be Kerala Cooperative Bank, but will

be referred to as Kerala Bank. It will have all

the facilities of a commercial bank, including

ATMs.

➢ The aim of the new bank was to provide

modern facilities to the Primary Agricultural

Cooperative Societies (PACS) .

➢ Earlier, the state government had formed a

special task force of experts for the formation of

the Kerala Bank. The expert committee was

headed by Chairman M S Sriram.

Kreditech gets NBFC licence:

➢ Kreditech has been licensed by the RBI to

operate as an NBFC with the first-of-its-kind

licence in the Indian financial history for digital

lending business and app-based financing.

➢ Kreditech’s product suite for India will offer

individualised direct-to-consumer loans as well

as its Lending-as-a-Service Solution for vendors,

which allows partners to offer customised credit

products to their customers.

➢ They offers loans to individuals based on their

creditworthiness which is analyzed using their

online data instead of using traditional credit

rating information.

➢ KreditechHeadquarters: Hamburg, Germany.

RBI issues guidelines for facilitating money

transfer among e-wallets:

➢ The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has

released guidelines to facilitate payments among

different mobile

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