National News
Railway to launch Pilot Project to introduce Industry 4.0
- The pilot project has been launched by the Ministry of Railways and the Department of Science and Technology in partnership with IIT Kanpur.
- The department of Science and Technology has recently launched 'Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (ICPS)' to enhance research and development work in this field.
‘Consumer App’ Launched by MCAFPD
- Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution launched ‘Consumer App’: A one-stop solution for consumer grievance redressal’.
- Consumers get information about 42 Sectors including e-commerce, Banking, Insurance, Consumer Durables, Electronic Products, etc.
Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express
- The train operation aims the speedy development of the Jammu and Kashmir region and makes it par with the other states.
- This will also improve connectivity along with spiritual tourism of devotees to Vaishno Devi.
India and Mauritius jointly launched Projects
- The grant (total $353 million) was awarded by the Government of India to Mauritius in March 2017.
- In 2017, India provided a Special Economic Package of $353 million for the execution of five projects in Mauritius, of which the Metro Express project and the ENT hospital are the part.
'Sarbat Da Bhala Express'
- Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal requested to rename the train on the occasion of the 550th Parkash Purb i.e. the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
- In Sultanpur Lodhi only, Guru Nanak Ji spent 14 years of his life and taught that all communities are one.
Financial assistance for the State of Karnataka and Bihar
- Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah has approved the advance release of Rs.400 crore and Rs.1200 crore to the State of Bihar and Karnataka respectively, from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
- During the South-West Monsoon 2019, 13 States have been affected by unprecedented floods/landslide.
eDant Seva Website & Mobile Application
- The first-ever oral health awareness website and mobile application are launched by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in collaboration with the Union Health Ministry.
- The 'e-DantSeva' digital platform will contain the information about the National Oral Health Programme, list of dental colleges and facility etc.
Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at West Jalefa, Tripura
- The Tripura government submitted a proposal in June this year, to the Ministry of Industries and Commerce for the setting of an agro-based SEZ at Jalefa.
- An estimated investment of around Rs. 1550 crore will be made in setting up first-ever SEZ.
Youth Co: Lab jointly launched by NITI Aayog and UNDP
- The Youth Co: Lab is launched with the aim of accelerating social entrepreneurship and innovation in young India and promote youth leadership.
- The Youth Co: Lab will give a chance to the young entrepreneurs and innovators, to connect with governments, investors, mentors, incubators etc. who will help equip them with entrepreneurial skills.
Vayoshreshtha Samman-2019
- It is a scheme of awards gradually upgraded to the status of National Awards and is instituted by the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry.
- International Day of Older Persons was observed on 1st October and these awards are presented as a part of it.
50th International Film Festival of India 2019
- The Golden Jubilee edition of the festival will showcase 200 best films from 76 countries, 26 feature films and 15 non-feature films in the Indian Panorama section.
- Information and Broadcasting Ministry said that for the first time, films with audio Deion will be screened for the visually impaired.
Banking
RBI cuts Repo Rate by 25 Basis Points
- The cut has been made to 5.15% from 5.40% earlier, while the reverse repo rate has been adjusted to 4.90% and bank rate at 5.40 %.
- RBI has revised the GDP outlook from 6.9% in previous Monetary Policy committee meet in August to 6.1% for 2019-20.
Swiss Bank Shared Financial Info with India
- Switzerland Federal Tax Administration (FTA) has exchanges information on financial accounts with 75 countries, about their nationals within the AEOI (Automatic Exchange of Information) framework.
- The AEOI implementation is reviewed by the Global Forum of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Bharat-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)
- The amount raised through Bharat-22 would help the government meet its disinvestment target of Rs 1.05 lakh crore for the current financial year.
- State Bank of India (SBI). Indian Bank and Bank of Baroda are the only three public sector banks that figure in Bharat-22 index.
Index and Ranking
World Digital Competitiveness Rankings
- The largest jump was registered by Indonesia and China i.e. from 62nd to 56th and 30th to 22nd respectively.
- The Index ranks 63 nations and measures their capacity to adopt digital technologies as a key driver for economic transformation in government, business, and society.
School Education Quality Index (SEQI)
- The index provides States and UTs with a platform to identify their strengths and weaknesses and aims to bring an ‘outcomes’ focus to education policy.
- This is the 1st edition of SEQI which foster the spirit of competitive and cooperative federalism and consists of 30 critical indicators.
Swacch Bharat cleanliness Assessment 2019
- The North Western Railways headquartered at Jaipur has maintained top rank consecutively for the second year.
- Jaipur Junction and Gandhinagar Jaipur stations have made the facility to treat single-use plastic, and bottle crushing machines have been planted at the station.
Awards and Honours
| Award | Awardee |
| Saraswati Samman Award | Telegu poet K Siva Reddy |
Important Days
| Date | Day | Theme |
| 2nd October 2019 | Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri | -- |
| 2nd October To 13th October 2019 | Paryatan Parv 2019 | -- |
| 7th October To 11th October 2019 | World Cotton Day | -- |
MoU's Signed
Bilateral talks between India and Bangladesh
- A total of seven agreements were signed between India and Bangladesh in several areas including education, health, defence, trade and connectivity, development cooperation etc.
- She was the chief guest at the 33rd India Economic Summit which was organised by the World Economic Forum in New Delhi on 3rd October 2019.
Government Schemes
Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2019 – 20
- The maximum limit of subscribed shall be 4 KG for individual and HUF each and 20 Kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal (April-March) notified by the Government from time to time.
- In case of joint holding, the investment limit of 4 KG will be applied to the first applicant only.
PM-ASMI to integrate Existing Schemes to fight against Maternal Mortality
- The Scheme aims to bring down maternal and infant death to zero by providing quality medical service to them in public healthcare.
- Through PM-ASMI both infrastructure and quality of service will be improved with taking care of dignity of women.
Assam Launched free Medicines Scheme for tea garden Workers
- The Free Drug scheme will provide medicines including 142 essential drugs, 47 surgical items, 45 consumables/linens and 6 numbers of disinfectants free of cost to 651 tea garden hospitals in the State garden.
- 20 crores will be allotted each year on this scheme. This scheme is similar to already available scheme Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) which was operational in 442 tea garden and has a wage compensation of Rs12,000 which given in four instalments to pregnant women working tea garden.
Science and Technology
BRAHMOS Supersonic Cruise Missile Successfully Test-Fired
- BRAHMOS is a medium range, supersonic cruise missile, made with a joint venture of DRDO, India and Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
- The name BrahMos is formed from combining the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.
Sports
Sumit Nagpal won the title of ATP Challenger Tournament
- Sumit Nagpal clinched the men's singles title of ATP Challenger Tournament, held on 30th September 2019.
- He defeated Facundo Bognis by straight-sets 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 37 minutes.
Summits and Conference
India International Cooperative Trade Fair
- The first-ever India International Cooperative Trade Fair is aimed at enhancing rural and farm prosperity (doubling farmers income by 2022) by promoting cooperative to cooperative trade within India and abroad.
- This will be India's first and the largest international cooperatives trade fair.
