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BS Yediyurappa conferred with ‘Super Corona warrior’ award
- Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa was conferred with the ‘Super Corona Warrior’ award on 19 October 2021 at Honnali near Davanagere.
- He has been awarded for his contribution to containing the Covid-19 pandemic.
- He was infected with Corona twice when he was the Chief Minister.
- As many as 5,200 Corona warriors, including health workers, were felicitated at the function.
Railway Board to shut down IRSDC
- The Railway Board has issued an order to close down the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC).
- IRSDC was set up for the redevelopment of stations across the country.
- This is the second organization under the Railway Ministry to be shut down after the closure of the Indian Railways Organisation for Alternative Fuel (IROAF) on September 7, 2021.
Moody’s upgrades outlook for the Indian banking system
- Moody’s Investors Service has revised the outlook for the Indian banking system to stable from negative.
- It expects India’s economy to continue to recover in the next 12-18 months, with GDP growing 9.3% in the fiscal ending March 2022.
- It has released a report titled “Banking system outlook – India: Stabilizing asset quality and improved capital drive outlook change to stable”
Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell passes away
- Former US secretary of state Colin Powell passed away in Oct 2021.
- A veteran of the Vietnam War, Powell spent 35 years in the Army and rose to the rank of four-star general before becoming the first Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- He joined President George W. Bush’s administration in 2001 as Secretary of State, the first Black person to represent the US govt on the world stage.
India, UK held an inaugural maritime dialogue on 18 October 2021
- India and the UK on 18 Oct’21 held their inaugural maritime dialogue in a virtual format, as agreed in the India-UK Roadmap 2030 for future relations adopted at the Virtual Summit between the two Prime Ministers in May 2021.
- It involved exchanges on cooperation in the maritime domain and the Indo-Pacific.
- Both had earlier affirmed their shared vision of an open and free Indo-Pacific region.
India to host ‘Gen Next’ leaders from 75 democratic countries
- India will host young leaders from 75 democracies under the initiative Gen-Next Democratic Network.
- Young leaders below the age of 35 from the ruling party, opposition party, and other key parties are being invited.
- The first batch will include leaders from Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, Chile, and Zambia.
- The event will be inaugurated on 25 November 2021.
Study identifies new genes for fibromuscular dysplasia
- According to a new study, three new genetic variants that regulate gene expression in the arteries are connected to fibromuscular dysplasia, an arterial disease that can cause dangerous consequences for the heart and vessels.
- The findings, published in Nature Communications by an international team of FMD experts from the United States and Europe.
Bhavani Devi wins Charlellville National Competition in France
- Fencer Bhavani Devi, who made history at the Tokyo Olympics by becoming the first Indian to compete in the sport at the Games, has won the Charlellville National Competition in France in the Individual Women’s Sabre event.
- At the Tokyo Olympics, she won her round of 64 matches 15-3 against Tunisia’s Nadia Ben Azizi before going down to eventual bronze-medallist.
My Finance Wellness launches “ViSah” App
- My Finance Wellness (MFW), the first FinEduTech brand in the country, has recently launched a new mobile application “ViSah” for working professionals in the country.
- The app is designed to provide unbiased and product-agnostic personal finance management advice to working professionals.
- With this app launch, the company now has a product portfolio covering MSMEs and Individuals.
IOC EB celebrates 100th anniversary in Ancient Olympia
- The 100th anniversary of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) was celebrated on 18th October.
- The IOC President and the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, each planted an olive tree next to the Coubertin Grove.
- The IOC President and the IOC Vice-Presidents laid a wreath in memory of Pierre de Coubertin.
Bajaj Group appoints Gopal Agarwal as Executive Director, Finance
- Bajaj Group announces the appointment of Gopal Agarwal as Executive Director-Finance with effect from October 14, 2021.
- He will report to Kushagra Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Group, and will be based at the Group’s Head Quarters at Bajaj Bhawan, Mumbai.
- Gopal is a consummate investment banker.
- He held leadership positions at Adani Group, SBI Caps, etc.
First-ever Ship-to-Ship transfer operation of LPG in Indian Coast
- The first-ever ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operation of LPG in the Indian Coast was undertaken by the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) at Kolkata’s Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port.
- According to the ministry, BPCL engaged service provider M/s Fendercare Marine to render the services at the offshore STS location.
Russia-China holds naval drill “Joint Sea 2021” in the Sea of Japan
- The Russia and China joint naval exercises “Joint Sea 2021” has kicked off at Russia’s Peter the Great Gulf, in the Sea of Japan, on October 14, 2021. The exercises will culminate on October 17, 2021.
- The drill is being carried out as part of ‘Joint Sea’ 2021, the series of bilateral naval exercises that have been taking place between the two services since 2012.
AMFI appoints Balasubramanian as Chairman
- Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Managing Director and CEO A Balasubramanian has been appointed as Chairman of Mutual Fund Industry body AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds).
- Besides, Radhika Gupta, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Edelweiss AMC, was elected as the Vice-Chairperson of AMFI.
- AMFI is an industry standards organization in the mutual funds’ sector and was formed in 1995.
Acquisition of Hinduja Group’s healthcare BPO services by Betaine
- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of worldwide healthcare BPO services of Hinduja Global Solutions Ltd by Betaine B.V.
- Betaine is owned and controlled by funds comprising The Baring Private Equity Asia Fund VIII, which is a fund affiliated with Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA).
- Hinduja Global Solutions is engaged in the provision of IT and ITeS services.
Dubai signs deal with India to build infrastructure in J&K
- Dubai has signed an accord to build infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir.
- The MoU by Dubai is the first investment agreement by a foreign government in the sensitive region following the withdrawal of Kashmir’s autonomy.
- Dubai will build infrastructure including industrial parks, IT towers, multi-purpose towers, logistics centres, a medical college, and a speciality hospital.
Amit Rastogi: New CMD of National Research Development Corporation
- Retired commodore Amit Rastogi, after spending 34 years in the Indian Navy, took over as the Chairman and MD of the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), on 18 Oct’21.
- He was earlier Director at Electrical Engineering at Integrated Headquarters for 5 years.
- NRDC is an enterprise of DSIR (Department of Scientific and Industrial Research), Ministry of Science and Technology.
NITI Aayog unveils geospatial energy map of India
- NITI Aayog on 18 October 2021 unveiled a geospatial energy map of the country capturing data on all sources of energy.
- It will be a key tool for policymakers, investors, conservationists, financial institutions, and disaster management authorities.
- It includes visualization of spatial and non-spatial data on renewable and non-renewable power plants, oil and gas downstream sector, etc.
RBI slaps ₹1 crore fine on SBI for non-compliance
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of ₹1 crore on the State Bank of India (SBI).
- It has been penalized for deficiencies in regulatory compliance.
- This penalty has been imposed in the exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of section 47A (1) (c) read with sections 46(4)(i) and 51(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
IMF reduces India’s potential growth forecast by 25 bps to 6%
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pared down India’s potential growth forecast by 25 basis points to 6%.
- Potential growth is the rate of growth that an economy can sustain over the medium term without generating excess inflation.
- India’s GDP accounts for around 7% of the world and 80% of South Asia total in purchasing-power party (PPP) terms.
RBI imposes monetary penalty on Standard Chartered Bank
- RBI has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1.95 cr on Standard Chartered Bank, India.
- It has been penalized for non-compliance with the directions on ‘Customer Protection – Limiting Liability of Customers in Unauthorised Electronic Banking Transactions.
- This penalty has been imposed under the provisions of section 47 A (1) (c) read with section 46 (4) (i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
Foreign ministers of India, Israel, the US and UAE hold a virtual meeting
- India, Israel, the US, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held the first virtual meeting of their foreign ministers on 18 October 2021.
- The meeting was joined by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid from Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken from Washington, and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan from Abu Dhabi.
Rajasthan govt to disburse ₹18,500-cr crop loans to farmers in FY22
- The Rajasthan govt will be providing ₹18,500 cr crop loans to the farmers in the state in the financial year 2021-22.
- The loan would be disbursed in association with cooperative banks.
- The target of disbursement of crop loans has been increased from ₹16,000 crore to ₹18,500 cr in the year 2021-22.
- 2.40 lakh new farmers have done registration and applied online portal in the current year.
2021 Premio Planeta literary prize presented to Cameron Mola
- One of Spain’s most popular crime writers, Cameron Mola, has won 2021 Premio Planeta literary prize for a novel ‘The Beast’.
- However, it was revealed that three men were writing under the pseudonym.
- Jorge Diaz, Agustin Martinez, and Antonio Mercero came together to write novels under the pseudonym Cameron Mola.
- The prize is being awarded since 1952 by the Spanish publisher Grupo Planeta.
Indian American Vinai Thummalapally named to top USTDA post
- US President Joe Biden has appointed Indian-American former diplomat Vinai Thummalapally as the Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).
- USTDA is the federal agency dealing with trade and related issues.
- Prior to this appointment, he served as the Executive Director of SelectUSA, a US Department of Commerce initiative.
Bhaskarabda to be added to official Assam calendar
- Bhaskarabda (lunisolar calendar) will be added to the official calendar of the Assam government.
- Presently, the official calendar makes use of the Saka calendar and the Gregorian calendar.
- The Bhaskarabda calendar differs from the Gregorian calendar by 593 years and is counted from the date of the ascension of Kumar Bhaskar Barman to the throne of Kamrup.
North Korea fires one ballistic missile off its east coast
- North Korea fired one ballistic missile off its east coast on 19 October 2021.
- The missile was unveiled in January 2021 and was described as “the world’s most powerful weapon”.
- The missile was launched from the vicinity of Sinpo, where North Korea keeps its submarines as well as equipment for test-firing submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
At 86 percent, Goa tops crime detection in-country
- Goa, with a crime detection rate of 86 percent, tops among states of India.
- This was informed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on 18 October 2021.
- The figure was 93 percent for 2020 and 86 percent for 2021 so far.
- In 2020, there were 34 murders in the state, and in 2021, so far, the figure is 16.
- He also informed that verification of Tenants Bill will be introduced in the current session.
Procter & Gamble commits ₹500 crores towards a rural growth fund
- Procter & Gamble (P&G) India has set up a P&G Rural Growth Fund.
- It will allocate ₹500 crores to partner with startups and small businesses to develop media outreach and go-to-market solutions like tech-enabled selling, etc.
- The fund is part of P&G India’s ‘vGROW’ programme.
- The additional infusion takes the investment commitment of P&G to ₹1,200 crores in its vGROW program to date.
Amazon Pantry tops YouGov’s retail rankings 2021
- Marketplace Amazon’s Pantry has topped YouGov’s Retail Rankings 2021.
- Amazon Pantry with a score of 27 topped the ranking.
- YouGov Retail Rankings give scores for each grocery brand, both online and offline.
- Future Retail’s Big Bazaar is placed second in the rankings with a score of 21.1, followed by supermarket chain DMart in third place.
Sri Lanka seeks $500 million loans from India for fuel purchase
- Sri Lanka has sought a USD 500 mn credit line from India to pay for its crude oil purchases amid a severe foreign exchange crisis.
- The Sri Lanka govt is seeking a loan under the India-Sri Lanka economic partnership arrangement.
- The country’s oil bill has jumped 41.5 percent to USD 2 billion in the first seven months of 2021, compared to 2020.
IRCTC becomes ninth PSU firm to cross-market capitalization of ₹1 trn
- Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) has become the ninth public sector entity to join the elite club of ₹1 trillion market capitalization (m-cap) with its shares surging over 300% so far in 2021.
- Earlier, SBI, Coal India, NMDC Ltd, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Power Grid Corp. Ltd, SBI Life Insurance, Bharat Petroleum Corp., and SBI Cards have achieved this milestone.
INDUS (Innovation Development Upskilling) IoT Kit launched
- Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar launched INDUS (Innovation Development Upskilling) IoT Kit.
- It is a single board IoT development platform.
- It was inaugurated at the CDAC Centre in Bangalore on 18 October 2021.
- The CDAC developed kit, of the size of a credit card, is fitted with 6 sensors, actuators, connectivity, and debugger interfaces.