Daily updates 26,27,28 October 2019

National

1. Health Ministry to observe Vigilance Awareness Week

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will observe the Vigilance Awareness Week from 28th October to 2nd November, 2019.
• The week will be observed with the theme of “Integrity- a way of life”. Vigilance Awareness Week will commence with the administration of ‘Integrity Pledge’ to the officers/staff of the Ministry by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, to fight against corruption and commit to highest standards of honesty and integrity.
• The week will be observed as per directions of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Government of India.
• CVC observes Vigilance Awareness Week every year to promote probity in public life and to achieve a corruption free society.

2. 'Maharatna' status granted to state-owned HPCL & PGCIL

• 'Maharatna' status has been granted by the Government to state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited.
• The status also comes with greater operational and financial autonomy.
• The grant of Maharatna status to the PSUs will impart enhanced powers to their Boards to take financial decisions.
• The Boards can structure and implement schemes relating to personnel and human resource management and training. They can also enter into technology joint ventures or other strategic alliances, among others.

State News

3. First-ever Ladakh Literature Festival

• Ladakh administration is organizing the first-ever Ladakh Literature festival. The 3-day Literature Festival is being organized from 29 to 31 October 2019.
• The first-ever Ladakh Literature festival aims to celebrate the uniqueness of the region in the fields of Art, Culture and Literature.
• There will be screenings of Ladakhi films, discussions on Heritage and presentations on History and Archeology of Ladakh, during the festival.
• To provide an opportunity to children, youth and women to participate in the 3 Day Ladakh Literature Festival several competitions and events like Calligraphy, Culinary art are also incorporated.

Agreements

4. USD 165 mn loan agreement for Odisha's Integrated Irrigation Project

• The Government of India, Government of Odisha and the World Bank have signed a USD 165 million loan agreement.
• The agreement is signed for Odisha's Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture.
• The project will be implemented in rural areas vulnerable to droughts and largely dependent on rainfed agriculture.
• The project will strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers against adverse climate by improving access to resilient seed varieties and production technologies, diversifying towards more climate-resilient crops, and improving access to better water management and irrigation services.
• The project will also support aquaculture in rehabilitated tanks, help farmers access affordable and quality fingerlings, and disseminate improved aquaculture practices and post-harvest management.
• The $165 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Member of World Bank Group), has a 6-year grace period, and a maturity of 24 years.

5. IOB launches health care plus insurance policy

• Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) in association with Universal Sompo General Insurance Co Ltd. has launched upgraded health care plus insurance policy.
• It is a co-branded insurance scheme exclusively designed for IOB customers with a sum insured starting from ₹50,000 and going up to ₹15 lakh.
• The policy issuance will be made on a real-time basis at the IOB branches to its customers. Self, spouse, dependent children, dependent parents can be covered under the policy.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RBI Grade ‘B’ 2019:

• MD & CEO of IOB: Karnam Sekar; Founded: 10 February 1937.
• Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• Tagline: Good people to grow with.

Appointments

6. Manohar Lal Khattar sworn in as CM of Haryana for a second term

• Senior BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar was sworn in as the chief minister of Haryana for second straight time, with the support of Dushyant Chautala led Jannayak Janta Party.
• Dushyant Chautala took oath as deputy chief minister of Haryana. Governor administered him the oath of office and secrecy at a function at Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/SSC CGL:

•  Governor of Haryana: Satyadev Narayan Arya.

Ranks and Report

7. Bill Gates overtakes Jeff Bezos as the world’s richest person

• Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates overtook Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person.
• Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos lost the title as the world’s richest man to Bill Gates, after losing nearly $7 billion in stock value leaving his net worth to $103.9 billion.
• Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is currently worth $105.7 billion.
• Bezos ended Gates’ 24-year run as the richest man in 2018 and became the first man on earth with a net worth of $160 billion.
• Bill Gates debuted on Forbes’ first ever billionaire list in 1987 with a net worth of $1.25 billion.

Summit and Conferences

8. “Global Bio-India 2019” Summit to be held in New Delhi

• The Global Bio-India 2019 will be held for the first time in India in New Delhi from 21st to 23rd November, 2019. It is one of the largest biotechnology stakeholders integration programme.
• India is hosting this mega event for the biotech community to attract investments and showcase our indigenous strengths and aspirations of the indigenous talent pool.
• A brochure of GlobalBio-India 2019 was also released at the Curtain Raiser ceremony.
• The DBT, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India will organize the event with Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council.
• The Summit is one of the largest biotechnology stakeholders conglomerate to be held in India for the first time.
• The event will bring together stakeholders from 30 countries, 250 start-ups, and 200 exhibitors.

Sports

9. Jasprit Bumrah, Smriti Mandhana win Wisden India Almanack Cricketer of the Year award

• Indian Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and batswoman Smriti Mandhana won the Wisden India Almanack Cricketer of the Year award.
• The other 3 winners are Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman, Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan.
• Smriti Mandhana became the third woman to win ‘Cricketer of the Year’, after Mithali Raj and Deepti Sharma. Former Indian cricketers Gundappa Viswanath and Lala Amarnath were inducted into the Wisden India Hall of Fame.
• Wisden India Almanack, annual cricket publication, also featured the name of Indian cricketer Mayank Agarwal for his splendid performance in the Test match against South Africa in a recently concluded series. 
• The book titled “Cricket Country: The Untold History of the First All India Team” by Prashant Kidambi was adjudged the Wisden India Book of the Year 2019 (Published by Penguin India).

10. Karnataka wins Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20

• Karnataka has won the 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy. Karnataka defeated Tamil Nadu by 9 wickets in the finals of Vijay Hazare Trophy at Bengaluru.
• Karnataka won their 4th Vijay Hazare Trophy title with a dominant display against Tamil Nadu. Abhimanyu Mithun took a hat-trick in the summit clash.

11. Prithvi Sekhar wins gold in World Deaf Tennis Championship

• India’s unseeded Prithvi Sekhar beat 3rd seeded Jaroslav Smedek of the Czech Republic by 6-4, 6-3 points and clinched the men’s singles title in World Deaf Tennis Championships 2019.
• The 2nd Edition of World Deaf Tennis Championships 2019 was held in Antalya, Turkey.
• He had also won the men’s doubles bronze medal with Prashanth Dasharath Harsambhavi.

Important Days

12. World Day For Audiovisual Heritage: 27 October

• World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is celebrated all over the world on 27th of October.
• The theme for World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2019 is “Engage the Past Through Sound and Images”.
• In 2005, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) General Conference declared October 27 as World Day for Audiovisual Heritage.

Obituaries

13. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Dilip Parikh passes away

• Former Gujarat Chief Minister Dilip Parikh passed away. He served as the 13th Chief Minister of Gujarat between October 1997 and March 1998.
• He was an industrialist and also served as president of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Miscellaneous

14. CBSE & NCERT launches 'Tamanna' test for Class 9 & 10 students

• The Central Board of Secondary Education and National Council for Educational Research and Training have launched an online aptitude test called ‘Tamanna’.
• Tamanna stands for "Try And Measure Aptitude And Natural Abilities". Tamanna is an aptitude test that aims to help students of Class 9 and 10 to make a better choice of subjects, eventually helping them in making an informed decision while choosing subjects in Class 11 and 12.
• Tamanna provides information about strengths of students and there is no pass or fail in this test.

Daily updates 25 October 2019

National

1. BPRD releases "Data on Police Organizations (DoPO 2018)"

• Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G. Kishan Reddy has released the Bureau of Police Research and Development's flagship publication “Data on Police Organizations” (DoPO 2018) in New Delhi.
• The Data on Police Organisation in India is an important compilation of information on police infrastructure, manpower and other resources from all States, Union Territories, CAPFs and CPOs.

Major highlights of the DoPO 2018:

• There has been an increase of 19,686 Police personnel in the sanctioned strength of the State Police and 16,051 in the strength of CAPFs
• There has been 20.95% increase in the strength of Woman Police which brings the total percentage of women in the Indian Police to 8.73%.
• The overall Police Population Ratio at the state level stood at 192.95 policemen per lakh population.
• Police Stations have increased from 15579 to 16422. This includes Cyber Police Stations whose number has risen from 84 to 120.
• Electronic surveillance has improved with addition of 2,10,278 CCTV Cameras.

2. Chenani-Nashri Tunnel renamed as Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Tunnel

• J&K’s Chenani-Nashri Tunnel, a 9 km-long tunnel that reduces the distance between Jammu and Srinagar by 31 km has been renamed as Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Tunnel.
• The 'Chenani-Nashri Highway Tunnel' is not only India's longest highway tunnel but also Asia's longest bi-directional highway tunnel.
• The renaming of the tunnel aims to preserve Mukherjee's heritage and memory as well as a tribute for his sacrifice for the nation.

3. Indian Railway launches One Touch ATVM

• Indian Railways has launched ‘one touch ATVM’ at 42 suburban stations of Central Railway over Mumbai Suburban Network.
• The machine has been launched to render fast ticketing to millions of commuters. This new machine will reduce the waiting time of the passengers and allow passenger to avoid standing in long queues.
• The new machine is loaded with the user friendly procedure which will greatly ease the load on ticketing system of Mumbai Suburban Network. A total of 92 ATVMs has been installed at 42 suburban stations.

Awards News

4. Ilham Tohti wins Sakharov Prize

• The European Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize to Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti. He has been awarded the Sakharov Prize for his attempts to "foster dialogue" between Chinese people and the Uighur.
• Ilham Tohti, who is from the Uighur minority, has been a fierce critic of China's treatment of the Uighur people. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment in China for “separatism”.
• The outspoken former Professor of economics at a Beijing university was sentenced in 2014.

Ranks And Reports

5. India ranked 63rd in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking

• World Bank has released Ease of Doing business Rankings which includes 190 countries. As per the rankings, India has jumped 14 places and has been ranked at 63rd among 190 countries.
• New Zealand and Somalia retained their 1st and 190th spot respectively. The indicator measures the performance of countries across 10 different dimensions in the 12-month period ending May 1, 2019.
• From 2020, the World Bank has expanded its ease of doing business survey to 2 more cities: Bengaluru and Kolkata in addition to Delhi and Mumbai that are currently surveyed. The World Bank has decided to have four cities from every country with a population above 100 million.

Key findings of the Report:

• India has become one of the top 10 most improved countries for the third consecutive time.
• The country’s score improved from 67.3 (in 2018) to 71.0 (in 2019), as per The Doing Business 2020 study.
• India saw the biggest jump in ranking in the “resolving insolvency" category from 108th to 52nd on the back of the government implementing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
• India's ranking improved substantially in “dealing with construction permits" (from 52nd to 27th) and “trading across borders" (from 80th to 68th).
• India’s ranking improved in “registering property" from 166th to 154th despite a drop in score.

Miscellaneous

6. ITBP celebrated its 58th Raising Day

• Indo-Tibetan Border Police celebrated its 58th Raising Day on 24th October 2019. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy took the salute of the Raising Day Parade ITBP's Headquarters in Greater Noida.
• The Parade comprised of all Frontier Contingents of the Force including women, Commando, Skiing, mountaineering and paratroopers’ contingents besides the dog squad & mounted columns. The parade showcased valour and courage of various contingents.
• Indo-Tibetan Border Police was raised on 24 October, 1962 in the wake of Chinese aggression on Indo-China border.

Daily updates 24 October 2019

National

1. Union Cabinet approves merger of BSNL and MTNL

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the merger of loss-making telecom firms BSNL and MTNL as part of a revival package.
• The Cabinet has also given in-principle nod to the merger of BSNL and MTNL and till modalities are in place, MTNL will be a subsidiary of BSNL
• The revival package includes raising sovereign bonds, monetising assets and voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for employees.
• The revival package for BSNL and MTNL includes raising of Rs 15,000 crore sovereign bonds and monetising Rs 38,000 crore of assets in next 4 years. Under the package, 4G spectrum worth Rs 20,000 crore will be administratively allotted to the two firms.

Agreements

2. GeM and Federal Bank sign MoU for payment related services

• The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Federal Bank to offer a number of services including transfer of funds through GeM Pool Accounts (GPA), advising of Performance Bank Guarantees (e-PBG) and Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) to the registered users on the portal.
• The MoU will facilitate a cashless, paperless and transparent payment system on the portal and would create an efficient procurement system for government entities.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RBI Grade ‘B’ 2019:

• MD & CEO of Federal Bank: Shyam Srinivasan; Tagline: Your Perfect Banking Partner
• Headquarters: Kochi, Kerala.

Awards

3. Mohun Bagan confers life membership to Abhijit Banerjee

• The Mohun Bagan Athletic Club has conferred life membership to Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee.
• The club handed him the First Day Cover of 1911 and the maroon green jersey with his name written on it. He was also given a book on the history of the club.
• In 1911, Mohun Bagan became the first Indian club to win the Indian Football Association (IFA) Shield beating the East Yorkshire Regiment of the British Army in the final.

Defence

4. Vreedhi Financial Services receives an NBFC licence from RBI

• Vreedhi Financial Services (VFS) has secured a non-banking finance company licence from the Reserve Bank of India.
• It’s objective is to provide credit and other services to micro-enterprises operating in tier two-three cities and small towns.
• The company will create a digital lending model by the next financial year.
• It will address the gap between the addressable and viable credit in the micro-enterprises space which is $123 billion as per the study conducted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RBI Grade ‘B’ 2019:

• Governor of RBI: Shaktikanta Das; Headquarters: Mumbai.
• Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.

Defence

5. Indian Army to conduct 2019 “Sindhu Sudarshan” exercise 2019 in Rajasthan deserts

• The Indian Army (IA) is to conduct exercise codenamed “Sindhu Sudarshan” for the year 2019 in the deserts of Rajasthan from November 29 to December 4, 2019.
• The aim of this exercise is to evaluate the capability of the defence services in an integrated air-land battle.
• In the Sindhu Sudarshan exercise, operational efficiency of the Strike Corps fighting in the desert terrain will be assessed and the Indian Air Force(IAF) will provide support in terms of destruction of targets and airlifting troops.
• The exercise showcasing a high degree of synergy between the Army and Air Force will be reviewed by Lieutenant General SK Saini.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RBI Grade ‘B’ 2019:

• Chief of the Army Staff: General Bipin Rawat.
• Air Chief Marshal: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.

Sports

6. Abhishek Nayar retires from all forms of cricket

• Veteran Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
• He represented India in 3 One Day Internationals but his record as a First Class player is more promising.
• He played 103 first-class games, most of them for Mumbai, and scored 5749 runs with 13 centuries and 32 fifties while taking 173 wickets in a career spanning a decade and a half.
• He also played 99 List-A games in which he amassed 2145 runs and picked 79 wickets.

7. Praveen Kumar wins gold in Wushu World Championship

• Praveen Kumar has become the 1st Indian man to win a gold medal at the Wushu World Championships.
• He defeated Philippines' Russel Diaz by 2-1 in the men’s sanda event in the 48kg category of the 15th World Wushu Championships held in Shanghai.
• Among other Indians, Poonam in women's 75kg category and Sanathoi Devi in women's 52kg category secured silver medals while Vikrant Baliyan bagged the bronze in the men's 60kg category.
• Wushu Sanda is a martial art which combines full-contact kickboxing, including close range punches and kicks, with wrestling, takedowns, throws, sweeps and kick catches.

Books and Authors

8. A new book entitled “Ten Studies in Kashmir: History and Politics” released

• An Indian historian, educationist and Padma Shri recipient, Kashi Nath Pandit’s new book entitled “Ten Studies in Kashmir: History and Politics”, published by Academic Foundation.
• A new book looks at the riveting history of Jammu and Kashmir from the time of its political and geographic consolidation to the abrogation of the state's special status.
• The book, which comes after the scrapping of Article 370 provisions in August, will shed light on the happenings from 1947 till the revocation of the special status of the state.

Important Days

9. World Development Information Day: 24 October

• The United Nations observes World Development Information Day on 24 October every year.
• The General Assembly in 1972 established World Development Information Day to draw the attention of the world to development problems and the need to strengthen international cooperation to solve them.
• The General Assembly decided that the date for the Day should coincide with United Nations Day i.e. 24 October.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RBI Grade-B Prelims:

• Headquarters of United Nations: New York, USA; Founded: 24 October 1945.
• Secretary-General of the United Nations: Antonio Guterres.

10. United Nations Day: 24 October

• 24th October has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948. UN Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter.
• The United Nations was founded in 1945 to support collective action to realize peace, development and human rights for all.
• United Nations will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations in 2020 with inclusive global conversation on the role of global cooperation in building the future we want.
• The UN75 initiative seeks to spark dialogue and action on how we can build a better world despite the many challenges we face.

Obituaries

11. Belgian Paralympian Marieke vervoort ends life through euthanasia at 40

• Marieke Vervoort, Belgian Paralympic athlete has ended her life at the age of 40 through euthanasia (the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering).
• She was suffering from a muscle disease that caused her constant pain, paralysis in her legs.
• She was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 14, after which she made her life in the sport and took part in basketball, swimming and triathlon in a wheelchair.
• She won gold in the 100 meters and silver in the 200 meters at the 2012 London Games, while at the Rio Games 2016 she managed to win silver in the 400 meters and bronze in the 100 meters. She signed euthanasia documents in 2008, to allow a doctor to end her life.

Miscellaneous

12. Deepika Padukone, PV Sindhu named as ambassadors for ‘Bharat Ki Laxmi' initiative

• Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone and Indian badminton player PV Sindhu were named the ambassadors for Bharat Ki Laxmi. It is an initiative by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
• The aim of this initiative is to celebrate the contribution & accomplishments of women of the nation for the public good. The hashtag for the initiative is #BharatKiLaxmi.

13. Amazon’s male white bellbird is the world’s loudest bird

• The male white bellbird is the world’s loudest bird which hits 125.4 decibels.
• This study was published in the journal Current Biology. This was recorded by Biologist Jeff Podos at Brazil in the mountains of the northern Amazon.
• The call by the bird is made as part of their mating rituals and it's mating call is about three times louder than screaming phias.
• The screaming phias (Lipaugus vociferans), also an Amazonian species, previously held the record of being the world’s loudest bird.

14. Vijaya Bank Museum inaugurated in Bengaluru

• The Vijaya Bank Heritage Museum has been inaugurated at the headquarters of the erstwhile Vijaya Bank i.e. Bengaluru.
• The museum has a rare collection of photos through which the growth of the bank is showcased.
• The memories of the erstwhile Vijaya Bank can now be refreshed at a museum dedicated to its history. Vijaya Bank was one of the premier nationalised banks in the country.
• The erstwhile Vijaya Bank, along with the erstwhile Dena Bank, was amalgamated with Bank of Baroda on April 1, 2019.