Daily GK Updates - 14th October, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Modi Chaired Meeting on ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ Programme: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the meeting on ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ programme in New Delhi. The programme aims at enhancing interaction between people of different cultures from all the states and Union Territories. It is a personal initiative of PM Modi, highlighting India’s cultural diversity in unity and also aims to develop perspective on important issues and help in celebrating the nation’s regional culture. The programme was first announced during the Rashtriya Ekta Divas on October 31, 2015 on the 140th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the first deputy prime minister of India who worked for the nation’s unity. Initiative on Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat was announced by the then finance minister Shri Arun Jaitley during the 2016-17 budget speech.

2. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Launches SUMAN Scheme For Pregnant: The union health and family welfare minister Shri Harsh Vardhan launched Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) scheme during the 13th Conference of Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCCHFW) in New Delhi, to provide free maternity healthcare benefits.  Website for SUMAN and grievance redressal portal was also launched during the event. The aim of this scheme is to bring down mortality in infants and maternal mortality in the country.

Note: CCHFW: It is an advisory body under Article 263 of the Constitution to advise the Department of Health (DoH), health and family welfare ministry on formulating health policies.

The first CCHFW meeting was held in 1998. All Central Council meetings held from the year 1988 up to 2010, were digitized by health & family welfare ministry in collaboration with the WHO Country Office for India.

3. 10th National Cultural Festival begins in Madhya Pradesh: 10th edition of the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav-National Cultural Festival is being organized by the Union Ministry of Culture from 14th to 21st of October under the ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ campaign in Madhya Pradesh. The National Cultural festival will display diverse forms of folk, art and culture of 22 states. The concept of National Cultural Festival was conceived in the year 2015.

Note: nion Minister of State for Culture and Tourism: Prahlad Singh Patel.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. BRICS culture ministers’ meeting 2019 held in Curitiba, Brazil: Prahlad Singh Patel, the Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent charge) has participated in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Culture Ministers’ meeting 2019 held in Curitiba, Brazil. BRICS for India is a valuable platform for consultation, coordination and cooperation on contemporary global issues of mutual interest and the member countries have witnessed cultural cooperation reach new heights. A similar program called ‘Bonding Regions & Imagining Cultural Synergies’ is being organized by the National Gallery of Modern Art of India during November-December, 2019 under the aegis of BRICS Alliance of Museums and Art Gallerie.

2. Typhoon Hagibis strikes northern Japan: Typhoon Hagibis strikes Tokyo, capital of Japan after fierce rain and wind paralysed the capital. The cyclone Hagibis which caused floods, landslides and emergency disaster warnings, could be the strongest to hit Tokyo since 1958. Authorities issued evacuation advisories and orders for more than 6 million people across the country as the storm unleashed the heaviest rain and winds in years. Train operators has suspended bullet train services extensively. “Hagibis” means “speed” in the Philippine language Tagalog.

Note: Japan Capital: Tokyo; Currency: Japanese yen; PM: Shinzo Abe.

3. World Standards Day: 14 October: World Standards Day (or International Standards Day) is celebrated internationally each year on 14 October. The aim of World Standards Day is to raise awareness among regulators, industry and consumers as to the importance of standardization to the global economy. The 2019 theme for WSD is “Video Standards Create a Global Stage”. In 1946 in London, the day October 14 was chosen to celebrate the WSD. The first world standards day was celebrated in 1970 by Mr. FarukSünter, the then President of ISO.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Manju Rani wins silver medal in World Women’s Boxing C’ships: Manju Rani settled for silver medal in World Women’s Boxing Championships at Ulan-Ude in Russia. Russian Ekaterina Paltceva defeated Rani 4 -1 in the 48-kilogram category in the final match of the tournament.

2. Overview of 9th YONEX Dutch Open 2019 held at Topsportcentrum in Almere, Netherlands: The YONEX Dutch Open 2019 was held at Topsportcentrum in Almere, Netherlands from October 8-13, 2019. It was the 9th Super 100 tournament of the 2019 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour and also part of the Dutch Open championships. It was organized by the Badminton Nederland, sanctioned by the BWF. The total prize money of the tournament was $75,000.

List of Winners:

Category	Winner	Runner
Men’s Singles	Lakshya Sen (India)	Yusuke Onodera (Japan)
Women’s Singles	Wang Zhiyi (China)	Evgeniya Kosetskaya (Russia)
Men’s Doubles	Vladimir Ivanov & Ivan Sozonov (Russia)	Mark Lamsfuss & Marvin Emil Seidel (Germany)
Women’s Doubles	Gabriela Stoeva & Stefani Stoeva (Bulgaria)	Rin Iwanaga & Kie Nakanishi (Japan)
Mixed Doubles	Robin Tabeling & Selena Piek (Netherlands)	Chris Adcock & Gabby Adcock (England)

3. Simone Biles breaks the record for most world medals won by any gymnast: American artistic gymnast Simone Biles (22-years) captures all-time medal record at the World Gymnastics Championship. Biles surpassed Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo's record 23 world medals (won in the 1990s), winning “her 24th and 25th world medals (both gold) at the World Championship competition in Stuttgart. Now, Simone Biles holds the record for the most World Championship medals (25), as well as the most gold medals (19) in World Championship history for an athlete of any gender.

4. Dutee Chand breaks her own national record: Star sprinter Dutee Chand (23-years) smashed her own national record in the women’s 100 m semi-finals at the National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi. She surpassed her previous timing of 11.26 second (clocking -11.22 seconds) which she had set at the Asian Championships in April this year. Dutee clocked 11.25 seconds in the final to claim the gold, leaving Archana Suseendran and Himashree Roy behind.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. ICICI Bank launches new FD scheme called “FD health”: Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI Bank) launched a new Fixed deposit (FD) scheme called “FD health” which provides investors a complimentary critical illness cover on 33 critical illnesses for the customers who are in the age bracket of 18-50 years. For the first year, free of cost insurance cover will be provided which can be renewed later. Critical illness cover of Rs 1 lakh from ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company will be provided on opening an FD of Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh for tenure of at least 2 years. Earlier, ICICI Bank had launched FD Life (FD offering a free term life insurance) and FD Invest where interest from FDs is invested in monthly Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) of a mutual fund.

Note: ICICI Bank: Headquarters: Mumbai; MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi

2. World Bank cuts growth forecast to 6% from 7.5%: As per reports on South Asia, The World Bank (WB) has sharply lowered India's economic growth projection for FY 20 to 6%. (earlier estimate -7.5%). The report identified softening consumption due to slow growth in rural incomes, domestic demand and credit from NBFCs as a key challenge. Structural factors behind the weak investment were the other concern flagged by the World Bank. Bangladesh (this fiscal year-7.2%) has become the second-fastest growing economy in South Asia after Bhutan.

India’s Growth forecast:

Major credit rating agencies	GDP growth (now)	GDP growth (earlier)
Moody’s	5.8	6.8
OECD	5.9	7.2
World Bank	6	7.5
RBI	6.1	7.2
ADB	6.5	7.2

AWARDS & HONOURS

1. Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer jointly awarded 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (RSAS) awarded the Sveriges Riksbank (Nobel) Prize in Economic Sciences 2019 in the memory of Alfred Nobel jointly to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to reduce global poverty. Mumbai-born American Banerjee & French-American Duflo are from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, United States of America (USA) and American Michael Kremer is from Harvard University, Cambridge, USA. Duflo became the second female economics winner in the prize’s 50-year history (after Elinor Ostrom in 2009) and she is the youngest to receive the award at the age of 46. The trio will share a prize money of 9 million Swedish krona.

DEFENCE

1. 10th edition of Indo-US joint military exercise ‘Vajra Prahar 2019 ‘ begins in Seattle, US: The joint military exercise ‘Vajra Prahar’ between India and the US (United States) begins at Seattle’s (in Washington, US) Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM). This is the 10th edition of the joint exercise, which will run until 28 October 2019. It is held alternately in India and America. In 2018, the practice took place in Jaipur, Rajasthan. A 45-member Special Forces contingent of the Indian Army has reached the US to participate in this military exercise on behalf of India. Earlier on September 19, 2019, soldiers from both countries underwent joint military training exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas 2019‘ at the Lewis-McCord base. During the exercise, the US Army played the tune of ‘Jana Gana Mana’.

OBITUARIES

1. Sara Danius, First female head of Nobel’s Literature Award Body Passes Away: Sara Danius, the first women head of the prestigious Swedish body that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature, has passed away. She was 57. A literature critic, professor and writer, Ms. Danius was elected to a lifetime position on the Swedish Academy’s board in 2013. She became the body’s first female permanent secretary in 2015 and resigned the position in 2018.

Daily GK Updates - 13rd Oct, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. MHoUPA launches “mHariyali” mobile app for ‘Environment Protection: Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has launched a mobile app named “mHariyali” which aims to encourage Public engagement in planting trees and other such Green drives. People can now upload information/photos of any plantation done by them, which is linked to app and will be displayed on the website www.epgc.gov.in. The App provides for automatic geo-tagging of plants.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Singapore set to become the first country to ban ads for unhealthy sugary drinks: The health ministry of Singapore notified that it will ban ads for unhealthy sugary drinks to combat rising diabetes rates. Thus, it will become the first nation in the world to do so. As per the data from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), 13.7% of adults suffer from diabetes in Singapore. IDF has estimated that the number of people suffering from diabetes in the world is expected to rise to 629 million by 2045 from 420 million people at present.

2. UK to issue coin in honour of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary: The United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr Sajid Javid (Pakistani-origin British finance minister) notified that the UK government will issue a commemorative coin to mark the 150th birthday anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The announcement was made at the 21st Edition of the annual GG2 Leadership Awards ceremony 2019 in London hosted to celebrate the British Asian success. UK’s Royal Mint will work on the coin.

Note: UK Capital: London; Currency: Pound sterling

3. India becomes a member of G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance: India became a member of Group of 20 (G20) Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance which works towards advancing the responsible and ethical use of smart city technologies. The World Economic Forum (WEF), the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation serves as secretariat for the Alliance. It will constitute global regulations and policy standards for the use of connected devices in public spaces.

About G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance: It is a league of 16 (after India joined) of the world’s leading city networks and technology governance organisations. It was established in June 2019, in conjunction with the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan.

4. India ranked 82nd in 2019 Henley Passport Index ranking, Japan and Singapore top the list: Latest 2019 Henley Passport Index ranking was released. In the report, India is currently ranked at 82nd place in 2019, which is one place down from its previous rank of 81 in 2018. Japan and Singapore both hold the most powerful passport by ranking 1st in the list. The study was conducted by Henley & Partners. The index measures the strength of all the passports around the world, based on mobility scores which denotes the number of destinations that could be accessed by the passport-holders of a specific country, without a pre-departure visa. Japanese and Singaporean passport holders can visit a total of 190 countries without a prior visa, thus its mobility score is 190. India’s mobility score is 59. Afghanistan ranks last at 107th position in the list.

Ranks:

Rank	Country
1	Japan and Singapore
2	South Korea, Germany and Finland
3	Denmark, Italy and Luxembourg
4	France, Spain and Sweden
5	Austria, Netherlands and Portugal
82	India

5. International day for disaster reduction: 13 October: The International Day of Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) was observed to promote global culture towards risk awareness and disaster reduction. The theme for the year 2019 is “Reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services”. In 1989, the International Day for Disaster Reduction was started by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). According to the UN, the primary objective is to focus on the target of the Sendai Framework, which highlights “Substantially to reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services, among them health and education facilities, including through developing their resilience by 2030.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. American Olympic swimming champion Conor Dwyer announces retirement: American competition swimmer and 2-time Olympic gold medalist, Conor James Dwyer (30) has announced his retirement after being handed a 20-month doping ban for having testosterone in the form of pellets, surgically inserted into his body. His ban was made effective on December 21, 2019, & he won’t be eligible for Tokyo Games 2020. He had failed a series of anti-doping tests (three times) between November 15 and December 20, 2018.

2. Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge becomes first person to run a marathon in under 2 hours: An Olympic champion and world record holder from Kenya Eliud Kipchoge, aged 34, became the first person to run a marathon in under 2 hours by finishing the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in 1 hour, 59 minutes, 40.2 seconds in Vienna’s Prater Park, Austria. He covered the distance of 26.2miles. The marathon was organised and funded by the British chemical company INEOS. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will not recognise the run as an official record because it was not in open competition.

3. Valtteri Bottas wins Formula One Japanese Grand Prix 2019: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes – Finland) has won the F1 Japanese Grand Prix 2019 Title. This is his third title for the season. Sebastian Vettel was second, Lewis Hamilton was third and Alexander Albon remained fourth.

4. Daniil Medvedev wins Shanghai Masters title 2019 (Tennis): Daniil Medvedev (of Russia) has won the Men’s singles title at Shanghai Masters 2019 (Tennis). He defeated Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-4, 6-1. In the men’s double category Mate Pavić and Bruno Soares are the winners.

5. Overview of World Youth Chess Championship 2019 held in Mumbai, India: World Youth Chess Championship 2019 was held in Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel in Mumbai, India from 1st to 13th October 2019. The Championship was organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) or International Chess Federation. India bagged seven medals (highest medals than any other country) in the Championship including 1 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze medals. Russia won 5 medals in the Championship and followed by India. Medals won by Indian Players in the World Youth Chess Championship 2019:

Indian Player	Event	Medal
Praggnanandhaa R	Open U18	Gold
Agrawal Vantika	Girls U18	Silver
Srihari L R	Open U14	Silver
Deshmukh Divya	Girls U14	Silver
Ghosh Aronyak	Open U16	Bronze
Sreeshwan Maralakshikari	Open U14	Bronze
Ravi Rakshitta	Girls U14	Bronze

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Reserve Bank imposes a monetary penalty on Balancehero India & Toyota Financial: In exercise of the powers vested under Section 30 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, Country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 12.88 lakh on Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) issuer Balancehero India Private Limited for non-compliance of regulatory guidelines. Toyota Financial Services India Limited (TFSIN), the Indian subsidiary of Toyota Financial Services Corporation (TFSC) has also faced Rs 5 lakh penalty for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on ‘Monitoring of Frauds in NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial Companies).

Note: Balancehero India Private Limited Formation: 2014; Headquarters: Gurgaon, Haryana

TFSIN Founded: 2011; Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka

2. ‘Sabse Pehle Life Insurance’ joint mass media campaign to begin: Life Insurance Council has decided to launch the Indian life insurance industry’s first joint mass media campaign with the slogan ‘Sabse Pehle Life Insurance’ (first thing is life insurance) within a month whose total cost will be around Rs 100 crore. For this purpose, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India will provide Rs 40 crore. It will be a joint effort of 24 Indian life insurance companies. The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness about the importance of life insurance. The tagline will also be presented in the major Indian languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bangla among others.

3. ADB signs $190 million worth loan agreement for improving road connectivity in Rajasthan: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India (GoI) have signed the Tranche 2 loan agreement worth $190 million to upgrade 754 kilometers of Rajasthan state highways and major district roads (MDRs) to two-lane or intermediate-lane standards. The project consists of constructing over 200 bus stops, 70 km of the hard shoulder, and 2 km of raised sidewalk on project roads that will benefit commuters and pedestrians, especially women and children. The construction of roads will be based on public-private partnership (PPP) with the participation of Hybrid Annuity Mode and engineering procurement construction (EPC). The loan agreement has been signed in the presence of Shri Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India, and Mr Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, who signed for ADB.

Note: ADB Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines

Rajasthan Capital: Jaipur; Chief minister: Ashok Gehlot; Governor: Kalraj Mishra

4. Mastercard India appoints Vikas Varma as COO: Mastercard India, payment technology major, elevated Mr. Vikas Varma as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the firm. He will take up the responsibility related to new partnerships and development of digital payment solutions and has been serving the firm since 2005.i. Recently, Mastercard had announced an investment of USD 1 billion (around Rs 7,100 crore) in India over the next 5 years.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. India ranked 7th in Brand Finance Nation Brands 2019; USA tops: An annual report on the most valuable and strongest nation brands named Brand Finance Nation Brands 2019 was released by Brand Finance in which India was ranked 7th from 9th rank of 2018 with 18.7% growth in brand value to $2,562 bn. The list was topped by the United States of America (USA) with 7.2% growth in brand value to $27,751 bn. Developing economies grew 31.3 times faster in growth than the developed economies. Singapore emerged as the world’s strongest nation brand with the Brand Strength Index (BSI) score 90.5 out of 100. Only India jumped to the 7th spot whereas no new countries made it to Top 10

Most valuable nation brands:

Rank	Nation	Brand value
1	USA	$27,751 bn
2	China	$19,486 bn
3	Germany	$4,855 bn
4	Japan	$4,533 bn
5	United Kingdom (UK)	$3,851 bn
7	India	$2,562 bn

AWARDS & HONOURS

1. Environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt Felicitated With Indira Gandhi Award: Noted environmentalist and social activist Chandi Prasad Bhatt has been awarded the Indira Gandhi award for national integration for the year 2017-2018, for his services in promoting and preserving national integration in the country. Uttarakhand based 85 year old Bhatt will be presented the 31st Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration on October 31 in New Delhi. It consists of a citation and Rs 10 lakh in cash. The award was instituted by the Indian National Congress in memory of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and is presented on Oct 31, the day she was killed.

DEFENCE

1. 2nd edition of Indo-Japan joint military exercise “Dharma Guardian 2019” to be held in Vairengte, Mizoram: The 2nd joint military exercise ‘Dharma Guardian-2019’ to promote military cooperation between India and Japan will be held in Mizoram. The event is being held from 19 October- 2 November 2019 at Counter Insurgency Warfare School located in Vairengte, Mizoram. Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) comprising 25 soldiers each will participate in the exercise with the aim to share their views on various aspects related to the work of the army. This joint military exercise will improve mutual relations between the two countries and will help in fighting against terrorism. ‘Dharma Guardian exercise is an annual training event, which is being held in India since 2018.

Note: Japan Capital: Tokyo; Currency: Japanese yen; Prime Minister: Shinzō Abe

Daily GK Updates - 12th Oct, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Amit Shah inaugurates 14th Annual Convention of CIC: Home Minister Amit Shah has inaugurated the 14th annual convention of the Central Information Commission (CIC) in New Delhi. All the present and former Chief Information Commissioners, Information Commissioners of the Central Information Commission, State Information Commission, RTI activists and NGOs associated with the implementation of the RTI Act will attend the Convention. The convention has three sessions: Gandhian thought and RTI, RTI as a tool for effective governance, and challenges ahead.

Note: The Central Information Commission (CIC) is the authorised body (established in 2005), under the Government of India to act upon complaints from those individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer. The Chief Information Commissioner of India: Sudhir Bhargava

2. Govt collaborates with IIM Bangalore to launch Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) announced its partnership with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore to launch a new programme 'Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship'. The two-year Fellowship programme will be delivered by IIMB’s Centre of Public Policy (CPP). The programme will be launched on a pilot basis in Gujarat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Those who have a graduate degree from a recognised university and are citizens of India in the age group of 21-30 years will be eligible to apply for it.

3. PM Modi’s new aircraft with missile defence systems will land in June 2020: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two brand-new special aircraft that will reach India next year may be placed under the Indian Air Force rather than Air India. The two long-haul Boeing 777-300ER aircraft are being customised at Boeing’s Dallas facility and are expected to arrive in New Delhi on June 2020. Missile defence systems that will make the aircraft as secure as the Boeing 747-200B used by US President Donald Trump. It will be India’s first dedicated aircraft for the three dignitaries - the President, Vice President and Prime Minister.

4. Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board organizes City Walk Festival in 11 cities: Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has organized a month-long City Walk Festival in 11 cities (from 12th October to 10th November). The City Walk Festival organized in Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Panna, Vidisha, Khajuraho, Chanderi, Jabalpur, Burhanpur and Orchha. In a unique way to promote tourism, local, national and international tourists of all age groups is participating in the festival.

More than 100 city walks organized during the festival on subjects including art, culture, heritage, food, textile, photography and spiritualism. In this festival, the tourists will be acquainted with the rich heritage, natural beauty, glorious history, traditions and ancient heritage of the Madhya Pradesh.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. India to extend over $60 mn line of credit to Comoros: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has signed an MoU with the island nation Comoros. As per MoU, India will extend over $60 mn line of credit to Comoros for Energy and Maritime Defence Cooperation. The Line of Credit consists of over USD 41.6 million for setting up of 18 MW Power Plant in Moroni and another USD 20 million for the procurement of High-Speed Interceptor Boats. The Vice President was also conferred ‘The Order of the Green Crescent’, the highest Civilian Honour of Comoros, by Azali Assoumani, President of Comoros in Moroni.

Note: Comoros Capital: Moroni; Currency: Comorian franc

2. 7th Edition of C40 World Mayors Summit 2019 Held In Copenhagen, Denmark: Climate Leadership Group C40, the group of major international cities that have banded together around making sustainable changes in transportation, energy use, and consumption held its 7th edition of C40 world mayors Summit 2019 at Copenhagen, Denmark from October 9- 12, 2019 with the aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve climate resilience.

Kolkata state Government has received the prestigious “6th C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards 2019 ” for the city’s green mobility at C40 World Mayor Summit held in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has been selected among 7 winners announced by the Bloomberg Philanthropies, which celebrated the best projects across seven categories that define 2019 theme, ‘The Future We Want’.

C40: It has convened six Mayors Summits, hosted by London (2005), New York (2007), Seoul (2009), Sao Paulo (2011), Johannesburg (2014) and Mexico City (2016). C40 Cities connects more than 90 of the world’s leading cities to take bold climate action and build a healthier and more sustainable future.

Note: Denmark Capital: Copenhagen; Currency: Danish krone; Prime minister: Mette Frederiksen

3. India-China 2nd Informal Summit begins in Tamil Nadu: The 2nd “India-China Informal Summit” between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping begins at Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu. The 1st summit took place in Wuhan in the wake of the Doklam crisis in April, 2018.

4. World Migratory Bird Day: 12 October: World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) 2019 is being observed on 12th October (second Saturday of October). The WMBD is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. It has a global outreach and is an effective tool to help raise global awareness of the threats faced by migratory birds. Theme for 2019: ‘Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution!’

5. NASA launched ICON space weather satellite to study earth’s ionosphere: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) space weather satellite from Northrop Grumman’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, with the company’s Pegasus XL rocket attached beneath, from the Skid Strip runway at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United States. Ionospheric is the layer of the earth’s atmosphere that contains a high concentration of ions and free electrons and is able to reflect radio waves. It will study the dynamic zone in an atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above for 2 years. The cost of the satellite is $253 million, which weighs as much as a vending machine was built by Northrop Grumman.

Note: NASA Headquarters: Washington DC; Administrator: Jim Bridenstine; Launch director: Omar Baez

6. Bill Gates’ new book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need”: The founder of Microsoft Corporation and American philanthropist Bill Gates’ new book titled “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” will be released on June 2020. It will be published by UK-based Allen Lane publishers. The book is about climate change and the possible solutions to prevent an environmental crisis.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Mary Kom settles for bronze at World Women’s Boxing Championships: Mary Kom Settles for Bronze (in 51-kg division) medal after Losing Intense Semi-final at Women's World Boxing Championships 2019 in Russia. She lost her semi-final bout against Turkey's Buse naz Cakirogllu. The 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships are held in Ulan-Ude, Russia.

2. 1st India Sports Summit held in New Delhi: Minister of State for Youth and Sports Kiren Rijiju inagurated 1st India Sports Summit 2019 in New Delhi. He also underlined the need to induce a national sporting culture with the aim to make India a sporting powerhouse at the event. He also announced that a ‘Fit India’ mission office would be set up, with the help of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), to promote the aforementioned goals.

3. Jasprit Bumrah appointed as a brand ambassador of Cultsport: Bengaluru (Karnataka)-headquartered health and wellness start-up company curefit announced the appointment of Indian cricket player Jasprit Bumrah as the brand ambassador for its sportswear brand “cultsport”. As per the recently released International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s ODI (One Day International) Player Rankings 2019, Bumrah retained the top position in the bowler rankings.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Forbes India Rich List 2019: The business magazine Forbes has released “The Forbes India Rich List 2019” which has been topped by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani with net worth of $51.4 billion. Mukesh Ambani remained the richest Indian for the 12th year in a row. Industrialist Gautam Adani jumped 8 spots on the list to become the 2nd richest Indian with net worth of $15.7 billion. Overall, the total wealth of tycoons on the 2019 Forbes India Rich List decreased 8% to $452 billion from a year ago (2018).

5 of the Richest Indians in Forbes India Rich List 2019 are:

Rank	Name	Industry	Net Worth ($ bln)
1	Mukesh Ambani	Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)	51.4
2	Gautam Adani	Adani Ports & SEZ (Special Economic Zone)	15.7
3	Hinduja brothers	Ashok Leyland	15.6
4	Pallonji Mistry	Shapoorji Pallonji Group	15
5	Uday Kotak	Kotak Mahindra Bank	14.8

AWARDS & HONOURS

1. Ashleigh Barty wins ‘The Don’ Award: Ashleigh Barty has been awarded Australian sport’s highest individual honour ‘The Don’ Award at the annual Sport Australia Hall of Fame. With the award, she has joined legends like Cathy Freeman and Ian Thorpe in lifting the prestigious prize. Barty was the first Australian to win the French Open in 46 years and is now aiming to become the first Australian woman to end the season with the No.1 ranking since Margaret Court in 1973.

2. GOPIO honored 3 Indian-Americans with Health Council Award 2019 for contribution in the health sector: An International body named Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), presented the Health Council Award 2019 during the GOPIO health summit in New Jersey, United States (US), to people who have contributed in the health sector. The summit aims at improving the health of Indian diaspora people across the world. Among other awardees, 3 Indian Americans were awarded the Health Council Award. The GOPIO also honoured US-based firm Sabinsa Corporation, by Indian-origin Muhammed Majeed, for its achievement and contributions in the health supplements sector.

 Indian-American Awardees:

Name	Field	Awarded category
Rahul Shukla	Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of S S White Technologies and Shukla Medical, US.	Manufacturing of the latest medical equipment.
Hitesh Bhatt	CEO of Bhatt Foundation Inc, US.	Healthcare technology category.
H R Shah	Chairman and CEO of TV Asia,	Promoting health awareness among the Indian diaspora.

DEFENCE

1. 2nd version of India- Bangladesh maritime exercise CORPAT 2019 begins: The 2nd edition of Indian Navy (IN) –Bangladesh Navy (BN) Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) 2019 has been held in Northern Bay of Bengal from October 10-11, 2019 with the participation of INS (Indian Naval Ship ) Ranvijay, a guided-missile destroyer and INS Kuthar, an indigenously built missile as well as BNS (Bangladesh Naval Ship) Ali Haider, a Type 053 frigate and BNS Shadinota, a Type 056 stealth guided missile corvette. This 2-day CORPAT will be followed by the maiden edition of bilateral exercise between the navies at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh from October 12 to 16, 2019, which would additionally embrace air familiarisation of Bangladesh Navy aircrew and a 10-day training exercise between Indian Navy Marine Commandos and BN SWADS (Special Warfare Diving and Salvage). The India Bangladesh CORPAT commenced in 2018.

Note: Bangladesh Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Bangladeshi taka; Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina

OBITUARIES

1. Russian astronaut Alexei Leonov, the first human to walk in space passes away: Russian astronaut Alexei Leonov, who walked for the first time in space in 1965, died in Moscow, Russia after a long illness. He was 85. Leonov, the first human to walk in space. Born on 30 May 1934, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, the Soviet cosmonaut was a close friend of Yury Gagarin, the first person reached space in 1961. Four years later, in March 1965, Leonov and his other partner Pavel Belyayev flew to space under the Voskhod 2 mission. During this mission, on 18 March 1965, Leonov exited the spacecraft and walked for 12 minutes and nine seconds. Mr. Leonov described by the Russian Space Agency as Cosmonaut No. 11, was awarded the country’s highest honor ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’. Leonov led the Russian Soyuz vehicle in the Soyuz-Apollo mission sent in July 1975. This was the first joint space mission of the US (United States) and Russia.