National News
National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC)
- The National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC) is launched for better taxpayer service and promotion of ease of doing business.
- NeAC, an Income tax department, will avoid face-to-face interaction between taxpayers and tax officials and shall impart greater efficiency, transparency and accountability in the assessment process.
Innovation Learning Programme, DHRUV
- The programme is started at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and will conclude on 24th of this month at IIT, Delhi.
- Under the DHRUV programme, 60 talented students will be chosen from Science, Mathematics and Performing Arts and they will be mentored in the centre of excellence for 14 days so that they can reach their full potential.
Disaster Warning Device Launched by the Government
- GEMINI stands for Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information.
- The device is developed by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) which is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), and Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship Programme
- The programme is designed under the Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) which is a World Bank loan assisted project for skill development.
- The MGNF programme will provide the students with an in-built component of on-ground practical experience with the district administration.
‘Garbage Cafe' in Chhattisgarh's Ambikapur
- The collected plastic waste will be sold at Solid-Liquid Resources Management Centre which will then be turned into granules and will then be used in the construction of roads in the city.
- Ambikapur is the first dustbin-free city of Chattisgarh and was ranked as the 2nd cleanest city in the country in Swachhata rankings.
SARAS Aajeevika Mela
- The SARAS initiative is undertaken by the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).
- The marketing arm of the Ministry, Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) is administering the Mela.
Mobile App, “mHariyali” Launched
- The mobile app, “mHariyali” has been launched for ‘Environment Protection in Government Colonies’.
- “Haryali Mahotsav”, a mass plantation drive was launched in San Martin Park, Chanakyapuri on 28th July 2019 by Secretary HUA in which approx 500 plants were planted.
10th Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav
- Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav is the flagship and premier festival of Ministry of Culture, launched in the year 2015.
- The Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme was launched on 31st October 2016 with the aim to promote engagement and enhance mutual understanding amongst the people of different States/UTs for securing a strong cultural bond.
Banking
Govt. announced 5% DA for Central Employees
- The Union Cabinet has also decided to relax the date for the mandatory requirement of Aadhaar seeding for release of benefits under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKSN) till 30th November 2019.
- The scheme provides income support of Rs 6,000 per year to landholding families and the amount is released in 4 instalments of Rs 2000 each.
Bangladesh becomes 2nd Fastest-Growing Economy
- The World Bank released the report 'South Asia Economic Focus, Making (De) Centralization Work' on 13th October 2019.
- The report shows that the GDP growth rate in Bangladesh is projected to be 7.2% for FY 2019 and 7.3% for FY 2020.
Awards and Honours
| Award | Awardee |
| Asia Environmental Enforcement Award | Ramesh Pandey |
| Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine 2019 | Scientists William G Kaelin, Gregg L Semenza and Jr Peter J Ratcliffe |
| Nobel Prize for Physics 2019 | Scientists Michel Mayor, James Peebles and Didier Queloz |
| Nobel Prize in Literature 2019 | Austrian author Peter Handke |
| Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2019 | Scientists Stanley Whittingham, John Goodenough and Akira Yoshino |
Important Days
| Date | Day | Theme |
| 9th October 2019 | World Post Day | -- |
MoU’s Signed
GeM signs MOU with Union Bank of India
- The MoU will offer paperless, cashless and transparent payment and procurement system for government entities on the GeM portal.
- GeM has already signed MoU with 14 Public Sector and private banks to enable online integration for payments and various banking services.
MoUs signed between India and Sierra Leone
- Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu on his visit to Sierra Leone has signed 6 agreements with Mr Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
- India was among the first countries to contribute to the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) with the deployment of the 4000 strong Indian Military contingents.
Government Schemes
Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan, SUMAN launched
- Under the SUMAN scheme, pregnant women, mothers up to 6 months after delivery, and all sick new-borns will be able to avail free healthcare benefits.
- In order to end all preventable maternal and newborn deaths, the initiative aims to provide quality health service at no cost for denial of services for every woman and newborn visiting the public health facility.
Defence
India received its 1st Rafale Fighter Jets
- India had signed an agreement worth Rs 59,000 crore with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.
- This was the formal handover ceremony and the 1st batch of 4 Rafale jets will fly in India by May 2020 and the other sets are expected to arrive by September 2022.
2nd Edition of Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT)
- BNS Ali Haider, BNS Shadinota from Bangladesh and INS Ranvijay (a guided-missile destroyer) and INS Kuthar (an indigenously built missile Corvette) from India will participate in the exercise.
- In the current edition, mutual cooperation whilst patrolling near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) will be practised.
DHARMA GUARDIAN – 2019
- DHARMA GUARDIAN-2019, Joint Military Exercise between India and Japan is scheduled to be conducted at Vairengte, Mizoram from 19th October to 2nd November 2019.
- 25 soldiers from each country would be teamed for the Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF), to participate in the exercise.
President's Colours to the Army Aviation Corps
- The president awarded the Colours during the ceremony at the Combat Army Aviation Training School.
- President’s Colours is an acknowledgement of the meritorious service rendered by the Army Aviation Corps over the years.
Sports
Surender Singh creates three World Records
- The World Powerlifting Championship is being held in Berlin, Germany.
- Under the superb guidance of International Coach Dronacharya Bhupender Dhawan, Three-time World Champion Mukesh Singh added another gold only to be known as 4-time World Champion.
Summits and Conferences
9th RCEP Intersessional Ministerial Meeting
- Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is to attend the 9th RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) Intersessional Ministerial Meeting.
- RCEP was commenced in 2013 with the objective is to achieve mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement among the ASEAN member states and ASEAN's FTA partners.
2nd India-China Informal Summit
- The 70th anniversary of the establishment of India-China relations in 2020 will be fully utilized to deepen exchanges at all levels including between their respective legislatures, political parties, cultural and youth organizations and militaries.
- Both the countries agreed to establish sister-state relations between Tamil Nadu and Fujian Province which is the link of the age-old commercial and people-to-people contacts between the countries.
2019 First Global DXB Challenge
- The 2019 First Global DXB Challenge is a large gathering for creative young minds in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence.
- The competition is organised by the Dubai Future Foundation and the theme is ‘Ocean Opportunities’.
