NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Election Commission of India launches Garuda App: The Election
Commission of India (ECI) has launched the Garuda app for digital mapping of
all polling stations, to ensure faster, smarter, transparent and timely
completion of election work. Through the Garuda app, Booth Level Officers (BLO)
will upload photos and location information of the polling stations, along with
data like latitude and longitude of the centre, from their registered mobile
numbers. The app will also help in reducing the paperwork.
Note: Election Commission of India Formed:
25 January 1950; Election Commission of India Headquarters: New Delhi; Chief
Election Commissioner of India: Sushil Chandra.
2.
India’s 1st State-Wildlife DNA testing analysis lab inaugurated in Nagpur: Uddhav Thackeray,
Chief Minister of Maharashtra, inaugurated India’s 1st State government-owned
Wildlife DNA testing analysis laboratory at Regional Forensic Science
Laboratory (RFSL) in Nagpur, Maharashtra. On the occasion, he also launched 3
Fast Track DNA testing units in Mumbai & Pune under the Nirbhaya scheme.
At present, there are 2 Wildlife DNA
testing laboratories at Dehradun & Hyderabad, which are fully owned by the
Central Government, whereas the newly launched is the 1st in India to be owned
by a state government. The labs will be exclusively dealing with cases
registered under Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
The labs were developed at a cost of Rs 53 crore under Central Government’s
Nirbhaya Scheme.
Note: Maharashtra Capital: Mumbai; Maharashtra
Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari;
Maharashtra Chief minister: Uddhav Thackeray.
3.
“Writing for My Life” anthology of Ruskin Bond released: “Writing for My Life”, an anthology of author
Ruskin Bond has been released. It contains some of the most exemplary stories,
essays, poems and memories of Ruskin Bond. This anthology has been released 25
years after the first anthology of Bond titled, “The Best of Ruskin Bond”. The
selections for this anthology have been made by Bond himself and his editor
Premanka Goswami. Ruskin Bond is an Indian author of British descent. His first
novel is The Room on the Roof.
Anthology: An anthology is a collection of
literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems,
short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
4.
Drama film Koozhangal is India’s official entry for Oscars 2022: The Tamil-language
drama film Koozhangal (internationally translated as Pebbles), has been
selected as India’s official entry for the 94th Academy Awards (Oscars 2022).
The film has been directed by filmmaker Vinothraj PS and produced by Vignesh
Shivan and Nayanthara. The 94th Academy Awards are scheduled to take place in
Los Angeles, on March 27, 2022.
5.
Vigilance Awareness Week 2021: October 26 to November 01: The Vigilance
Awareness Week 2021 has been organised by the Central Vigilance Commission
(CVC) from 26 October to 01 November 2021. The annual event is celebrated
during the week in which the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel falls, which
is held on October 31. The theme of Vigilance Awareness Week 2021: ‘Independent
India @75: Self Reliance with Integrity‘.
The week-long celebration aims to promote integrity,
transparency and accountability amongst public servants and create awareness
about the existence, causes and gravity of corruption and the threat posed by
it to society as a whole.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Turkey joins Pakistan in FATF Grey list: Global terror financing watchdog
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has retained Pakistan on its ‘Grey List’ of
countries. In a briefing, FATF president Marcus Pleyer also said that three new
countries Turkey, Jordan, and Mali have also been added to the Grey List. In
June this year, the FATF had retained Pakistan on its ‘Grey List’ for failing
to check money laundering, leading to terror financing. The FATF asked
Islamabad to investigate and prosecute UN-designated terror terrorists
including Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. It also asked Pakistan to work to
address its strategically important deficiencies.
Pakistan was placed on the Grey List by the
FATF in June 2018. Since then, Pakistan continues to be in the list due to its
failure to comply with the FATF mandates. Due to its placing on the Grey List,
it has become increasingly difficult for Pakistan to get financial aid from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and
the European Union.
2.
Economist Gita Gopinath to leave IMF in January 2022: The International
Monetary Fund’s Chief Economist and Director of the Research Department, Gita
Gopinath will leave the organisation in January 2022. She will return to
Harvard University’s economics department. She was on public service leave
during her tenure at the organisation, and the leave will end in January 2022.
Gopinath, during her tenure, co-authored the “Pandemic Paper”, a document that
set globally endorsed targets for vaccinating the world against Covid-19, the
IMF said.
Harvard had extended Gopinath’s leave by
one year as an exceptional case, which allowed her to serve as the chief
economist at the IMF for three years. IMF Managing Director Kristalina
Georgieva said Gopinath’s contribution to the fund was “truly remarkable”.
Note: IMF Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
U.S; IMF Managing Director and Chairman: Kristalina Georgieva.
3.
Russian filmmaker Klim Shipenko becomes first to shoot film in space: A Russian film crew
has scripted record by undertaking the first-ever motion picture shooting
session in the International Space Station (ISS). The Russian film director
Klim Shipenko and actress Yulia Peresild spent 12 days in the ISS for filming
30 minutes duration scenes for the film “The Challenge”. It took around 30
hours to record the material while in space. “The Challenge” is the first
feature film to be shot in space. The film is based on the life of a woman
doctor who goes to space to save a cosmonaut’s life.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
FIFA Ranking 2021: India ranked 106th: India has ranked 106th in the FIFA
(Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Rankings 2021, the position
of team India was increased to one spot. After the victory in the SAFF (South
Asian Football Federation) Championship 2021 of team India led by Sunil
Chhetri, it has secured the 106th position. The team has defeated Nepal in the
summit clash. Under the FIFA Rankings, Belgium is at 1st position. Brazil holds
2nd position, France holds 3rd position.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. AU
Small Finance Bank launched QR Sound box for payment alerts: India’s Largest Small
Finance Bank AU Small Finance Bank has launched QR (Quick Response) Code Sound
Box to boost its digital payments while making it the first bank to launch such
a product. The QR Sound Box will help small merchants to run their operations
smoothly without the hassle of reading SMS every time when a customer makes a
payment. It will be made available in five languages – Hindi, English, Punjabi,
Gujarati and Marathi.
Note: AU small finance bank Headquarters:
Jaipur, Rajasthan; AU small finance bank MD & CEO: Sanjay Agarwal; AU small
finance bank Chairman: Raj Vikash Verma.
2.
RBL Bank working on a new digital platform Abacus 2.0: RBL Bank is working
on a new digital platform named Abacus 2.0, that would help the bank to scale
up customer acquisition over the next few years. Using Abacus 2.0, RBL Bank
will provide products and services to new as well as existing customers
digitally. RBL Bank had earlier launched Abacus 1.0 as a platform to increase
its customer base in Tier 1 cities.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. OnePlus
appoints Navnit Nakra as India CEO and Head of India region: Chinese Smartphone
maker OnePlus has announced the appointment of Navnit Nakra as its India CEO
and Head of OnePlus India region operations. Prior to this, Nakra served as the
Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Sales of OnePlus in India.
He had joined the company in February 2020.
2.
Kumar Mangalam Birla to invest in UAE’s digibank ‘Zand’: Kumar Mangalam
Birla, the Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, is set to invest in Zand, the first
digital only independent bank in UAE. For this investment, Birla will partner
with Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Investment
Authority (ADIA). Initial investment is projected between $50-$100 million,
which is expected to be made from Birla’s private family office. Birla is the
first Indian to make an invest in the banking system of UAE.
DEFENCE
1.
DRDO Successfully flight-tests Expendable Aerial Target ‘ABHYAS’: The Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight-tested the
High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT)- ABHYAS, from the Integrated Test
Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Bay of Bengal in Odisha. The target
aircraft is equipped with a MEMS-based Inertial Navigation System (INS) for
navigation along with the Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and
control.
About the ABHYAS: ABHYAS is designed
& developed by DRDO laboratory, Aeronautical Development Establishment
(ADE), Bengaluru, for the Indian Armed Forces. The air vehicle ABHYAS can be
used as an aerial target for the evaluation of various missile systems. The
vehicle is programmed for fully autonomous flight. The check-out of air
vehicles is done using a laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).
2.
Indian Navy launches Offshore Sailing Regatta: The Indian Navy has
organised an Offshore Sailing Regatta from Kochi to Goa, as a part of the Azadi
Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, and above all, boost the spirit of adventure
and ocean sailing among the Navy Personnel. The event organised under the aegis
of the Indian Naval Sailing Association (INSA) will see the participation of
six Indian naval sailing vessels (INSVs), comprising of four 40 footers ad two
56 footers. The vessels will cover a total distance of 360 nautical miles
between the starting point at the Naval base in Kochi to Goa.
The six INSVs include: 56 footer: Mhadei and Tarini; 40 footer: Bulbul, Neelkhanth, Kadalpura and Hariyal.
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