- National:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various development projects in Maharashtra worth approximately Rs 7,500 crore. PM Modi also inaugurated the 37th National Games of India in Goa. The games were held from October 26 to November 9, 2023.
- Adm R Hari Kumar, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), presented the maiden ‘NIB’ (Navy’s Intellectual Beacon) to Cdr M Arun Chakravarthy during a brief Presentation Ceremony at his chamber on 25 Oct 2023.
- The Central Railway’s Mumbai Division has commissioned the Block Proving by Axle Counter (BPAC) system in the Vashind-Asangaon section. This technology upgrade significantly enhances the safety measures for train operations.
- A new species of edible freshwater fish named ‘Awaous Motla’ has been discovered in the markets of western Odisha, India.
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has indeed released the State Food Safety Index (SFSI) for 2023.
- The Indian Air Force has phased out another MiG-21 squadron based in Rajasthan. The latest MiG-21 Bisons to be phased out belong to the No. 4 Squadron based at Uttarlai in Rajasthan.
- On 1 November, the foundation day of eight states and five union territories was celebrated at Raj Bhavan of Goa. The event was part of the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat program and was attended by former Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai.
- International:
- Thailand has announced that it will allow visa-free entry for tourists from India and Taiwan for a period of six months, starting from November 10, 2023, to May 10, 2024.
- The International Solar Alliance (ISA) announced on October 31, 2023 that the Global Solar Facility (GSF), a payment guarantee fund formed by ISA to stimulate investments into solar power projects, is set to receive a capital contribution of $35 million dollars.
- Bhutan has achieved a remarkable feat by becoming the first country in the world to sterilize and vaccinate all of its stray dogs.
- India and Finland held their 12th Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in New Delhi on 01 November 2023.
- Collins Dictionary has named ‘AI’ as the word of the year 2023. According to the dictionary publisher, AI stands for “the modelling of human mental functions by computer programs”.
- Saima Wazed from Bangladesh has indeed won the election for the position of Regional Director for the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia Region.
- Banking:
- If a cooperative bank wants to change its name, it should contact the Department of Supervision (DoS) at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
- The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has indeed set up a task force. The main objective of this task force is to increase the involvement of banks in the distribution of insurance products across the country
- Economy:
- India’s fiscal deficit for the first half of the current fiscal year, ending in September, was 7.02 lakh crore rupees, equivalent to 39.3% of annual estimates. This is an increase from the previous year’s 37.3%.
- The global labor force participation rate for women is just over 50% compared to 80% for men. However, there is significant variation in the level of female participation across regions.
- According to the ERD’s special report, ONGC is the only Maharatna company that ranks among the top ten profit-making companies of India Inc in FY23.
- The S&P Global India Manufacturing PMI declined to 55.5 in October 2023 from 57.5 in the previous month, missing market expectations of 57.7. This was the lowest reading since February 2023.
- Awards & Honors:
- India-born author Nandini Das has indeed won the 2023 British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding. She received this prestigious international non-fiction prize, worth GBP 25,000, for her book 'Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire’.
- Appointments:
- Koppu Sadashiv Murthy has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), succeeding Nalin Shinghal.
- Books:
- The autobiography of ISRO Chairman S Somnath, titled “Nilavu Kudicha Simhangal,” is written in Malayalam. The book promises to be a tale of motivation, focusing on the power of hard work and perseverance in the face of difficulties.
Questions:
Q.1 Who has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)?a. Nalin Shinghal
b. Koppu Sadashiv Murthy
c. Ratan Tata
d. Mukesh Ambani
Q.2 Who is the author of the book 'Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire’?
a. Arundhati Roy
b. Nandini Das
c. Salman Rushdie
d. Jhumpa Lahiri
