Current Affairs

Compendium
October 2019
 CONTENTS
NATIONAL NEWS 1
 Country’s top three cleanest railway stations are from Rajasthan: Survey ………………. 1
 Prime Minister Modi declares country open defecation–free ………….…………….……….. 1
 39th World Congress of Poets Inaugurated at KIIT ………….………….………….…….…………. 1
 Government launches SUMAN scheme, assures free medicines for pregnant women …. 2
 Govt to promote STEM education among girl students through ‘Vigyan Jyoti’ ………… 2
 West Bengal celebrates success of Kanyashree scheme at International Day of the
Girl Child .….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………….. 2
 Harsh Vardhan inaugurates 13th Conference of Central Council of Health and
Family Welfare (CCHFW) ………….………….………….………….………….………….…………………… 3
 RTI ‘Report Card’ Laments Pending Cases, Vacancies in Information Commissions …. 3
 Nitin Gadkari inaugurates conference on ‘One Nation One Tag – FASTag’ in
New Delhi ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………………….. 4
 1.34 crore street lights to be replaced with LED by March 2020 ………….…………………. 4
 ‘Mo Sarkar’ initiative launched ………….………….………….………….………….……………………. 4
 Gandhinagar becomes first kerosene–free district of Gujarat ………….…………………….. 5
 Assam’s NRC: law schools launch legal aid clinic– Parichay for excluded people ……. 5
 IT Ministry launches performance smart–board for monitoring key programmes ….. 5
 Peddapalli best Swachh district in country ……………………………………………………………… 6
 Vande Bharat Express train from Delhito Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu inaugurated .. 6
 Rajasthan to create pneumoconiosis fund with DMF money ………….………….…………… 6
 Rural houses to get 2–3 hr piped water supply daily ………….………….………….……………. 6
 India’s first e–waste clinic to be set up in Bhopal ………….………….………….…………………. 7
 Government plans to set up PM KISAN call centre ………….………….………….……………….. 7
 Tamil Nadu become the first State in the country to enact a law on contract farming .. 7
 Nagaland partners with Madhya Pradesh under ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ ………. 8
 Indian Railways launches ‘Operation Dhanush’ against ticket touts ………………………… 8
 Women in Delhi to get free rides in buses ………………………………………………………………. 8
 Gujarat Ayurveda University signed MoU ……………………………………………………………….. 9

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 PwD can now vote through postal ballots ……………………………………………………………….. 9
 Air India depicted ‘Ik Onkar’ on tail to mark 550th birth anniversary of
Sri Guru Nanak Dev ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………….. 9
 UP CM Yogi Adityanath launches new emergency helpline number 112 …………………. 9
 Uttar Pradesh tops in crimes against women, says NCRB report ………….……………….. 10
 Odisha govt inks LoU for ‘drink from tap mission’ with UNICEF ………….…………………. 10
 Odisha Mo Parivar programme launched ………….………….………….………….……………….. 10
 Centre clears six new medical colleges for T.N. ………….………….………….………………….. 10
 President Kovind lays foundation stone for Sri Sathya Sai Sanathana Samskruti
Project in Japan ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………………. 10
 Prakash Javadekar launches first national protocol to enumerate snow leopard
population in India ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………………. 11
 Indian Railways launched One Touch ATVM ………….………….………….………….…………… 11
 UP CM Yogi Adityanath launches Mukhya Mantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana …………. 11
 President Kovind inaugurates Golden Jubilee celebrations of Vishwa Shanti
Stupa in Rajgir ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….…………. 11
 Ministry of Tribal Affairs’ partners Niti Aayog and Facebook for Second Phase of
Goal ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………… 12
 Malnutrition behind 69 per cent deaths among children below 5 years in India:
UNICEF report ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….. 12
 Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Council abolished . ………….………….………….………………. 12
 From 2021, no Assam govt jobs for those with more than two children ……………….. 12
 Additional News ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………………….. 13
INTERNATIONAL NEWS 14
 PM Modi receives Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mamallapuram for 2nd
Informal Summit ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……… 14
 India ranked 102 in Global Hunger Index 2019 ………….………….………….………………….. 14
 UNGA approved the addition of Venezuela to UNHRC 14
 United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) launched
the Cryptocurrency Fund ………….………….………….………….………….………….………………… 15

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 Saudi Arabia announced that it will allow women in the kingdom to serve in the
armed forces ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………. 15
 EU Parliamentary delegation visited Srinagar ………….………….………….………….…………. 15
 India to adopt Brazil model of human milk bank ………….………….………….………………… 15
 Prez Trump releases 50 million dollars in stabilisation assistance for Syria …………… 16
 India and Netherlands launched the second phase of the LOTUS–HR …………………… 16
 Uber opens helicopter service ………….………….………….………….………….………….…………. 16
 India joins global alliance on responsible use of smart city technologies ……………….. 16
 Intersessional Ministerial Meeting for RCEP agreement held in Thailand ………………. 17
 Global Fund raises $13.92 billion to fight AIDS, TB, malaria ………….………….……………. 18
 Turkey pounds Syrian towns, sparking exodus ………….………….………….………….……….. 18
 Parliamentary delegation led by LS speaker attends IPU Assembly in Serbia ………… 18
 G20 Okayama Health Ministers’ Conference held ………….………….………….……………… 19
 M. Venkaiah Naidu led Indian delegation to NAM ………….………….………….……………… 19
 Ministers of India, France and Vanilla Islands met ………….………….………….……………… 19
 29th BASIC Ministerial Meet concluded ………….………….………….………….………………….. 19
 Ecuador announces it will leave OPEC in 2020 ………….………….………….………….………… 20
 World’s first guitar–shaped hotel opened in Florida ………….………….………….…………… 20
 French minister visited India to co–host second assembly of ISA ………….………………. 20
 India signs MoU with Saudi Arabia to launch RuPay card in Gulf Kingdom ……………. 20
 Three Indian–origin CEOs in top 10 ………….………….………….………….………….…………….. 21
 India, Saudi Arabia to Set up Strategic Partnership Council Headed by Modi &
Crown Prince ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………. 21
 Cabinet approves Science and Technology Cooperation between India and USA ….. 21
 UN General Assembly elected 14 States to the Human Rights Council ………………….. 22
 Sri Lanka removed from FATF’s Grey List ………….………….………….………….………………… 22
 Other International News ………….………….………….………….………….………….……………….. 22
DEFENCE & SECURITY – NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL 23
Indo–Japan Joint Military Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN – 2019 ………….………………………. 23
Indo–French bilateral ‘Exercise SHAKTI’ to be conducted in India ………….……………………. 23
Exercise Him–Vijay not linked to Chinese Prez Xi’s visit: Defence sources ……………………. 23

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Indo–Mongolian Joint Exercise Nomadic Elephant 2019 ………….………….………….…………… 23
India Kazakhistan Joint Military Exercise KAZIND –2019 ………….………….………….……………. 24
DRDO is manufacturing a hypersonic missile ………….………….………….………….………………… 24
IAF fired two BrahMos missiles at Trak Island in the Andaman Nicobar group of islands … 24
Defence forces organises DANX–19 in Andaman ………….………….………….………….…………… 24
Visakhapatnam: India–Myanmar Naval Exercise commence onboard INS Ranvijay …….. 25
Two–day long manoeuvres by Sudarshan Chakra Vahini began at Jaisalmer ……………….. 25
Col Chewang Rinchen Setu: India’s highest altitude all–weather permanent bridge in
eastern Ladakh ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………….. 25
President Kovind presents prestigious Colours to Army Aviation Corps ………….…………… 25
Sangam Youth Festival organised by Indian Army ………….………….………….………….…………. 26
The US military successfully test–fired an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental
ballistic missile ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………….. 26
ECONOMICS & FINANCIAL AWARENESS 26
World Bank released report : India at 63rd position in latest Doing Business Report …… 26
Govt Accords ‘Maharatna’ Status to Hindustan Petroleum, Power Grid Corp ……………… 26
ICICI Bank sells entire stake in GST Network to 13 state governments ………….…………….. 27
NSE Indices launches Nifty Midcap150 Quality 50 Index ………….………….………….………….. 27
NBCC bags Rs 400–cr contract to develop National Sports University in Imphal …………. 27
Bangladesh is the standout economy in South Asia ………….………….………….…………………. 28
World Economic Forum’s 33rd India Economic Summit ………….………….………….…………... 28
PRAKASH portal launched for better coordination in coal supplies to power plants ……. 28
RBI Monetary Policy: Repo rate cut, GDP forecast lowered ………….………….…………………. 29
BSE joins hands with FICCI to enhance MSME and start–up environment ………………….. 29
Fitch cut India’s FY20 GDP growth forecast to 5.5% ………….………….………….…………………. 29
Union Cabinet approved merger of BSNL and MTNL ………….………….………….………………… 30
Vijaya Bank Museum inaugurated in Bengaluru ………….………….………….………….……………. 30
Reliance MF renamed: Nippon India Mutual Fund ………….………….………….………….………… 30
India, Swiss to work together ………….………….………….………….………….………….………………… 30
Commerce & Industry and Railways Minister attended the 8th RCEP Ministerial
Meeting in Bangkok ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………………. 31
Additional News ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………… 31

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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 32
Smominru Malware Affecting 4,700 Computers Every Day, Researchers Claim …………… 32
Task force to improve India’s rights record ………….………….………….………….…………………… 32
Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), estimates the total carbon on Earth ………….……………. 32
First–Ever Image of the ‘Cosmic Web’ Reveals the Gassy Highway That Connects
the Universe ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….…………………… 32
MIT researchers developed new technology to remove carbon dioxide from air …………. 33
Mastercard to launch solution for smartphones to become contactless acceptance
Devices ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………….. 33
IIT–Hyderabad creates Bio Bricks from Agri waste ………….………….………….……………………. 33
NASA To Launch Golf Cart–Sized Rover To Search For Water ………….………….……………….. 33
CSIR conducted genome sequencing ………….………….………….………….………….…………………. 34
Stanford researchers create new catalyst that can turn carbon dioxide into fuels ……….. 34
MeitY launched Startup Hub for stakeholders ………….………….………….………….………………. 34
NASA unveils space–suit for next Moon landing ………….………….………….………….……………. 34
11th Nuclear Energy Conclave held at New Delhi ………….………….………….……………………… 35
Mars once had salt lakes similar to those on Earth: Study ………….………….……………………. 35
India handed over vaccines to Myanmar ………….………….………….………….………………………. 35
IIT Madras students developed new service ………….………….………….………….…………………. 35
IITs dominate QS India rankings, Calcutta University tops among state–run varsities ….. 36
IIT Kharagpur Graduate Develops Device To Curb Air Pollution ……………………………………. 36
1st National Hindi Science writers conference held in Lucknow ………….……………………….. 36
ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT 36
Emperor Penguins vulnerable to sea ice changes this century ………….………….……………… 36
The annual Ganges river dolphin census has begun ………….………….………….…………………. 37
C40 Cities: 14 cities drive sustainable diet plan ………….………….………….………….…………….. 37
An eel like the bhujia: discovered by Scientists in Kerala ………….………….………….………….. 37
Kejriwal address C–40 Climate Change Summit ………….………….………….………….…………….. 38
New Odisha initiative: Meal in exchange for plastic waste ………….………….…………………… 38
Colombo Declaration on Sustainable Nitrogen Management ………….………….……………….. 38
Rs 50,000 fine for idol immersion in River Ganga and its tributaries: Centre ……………….. 38
No ban on single–use plastics, to be phased out by 2022 ………….………….………….…………. 39

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Madhya Pradesh set to get its seventh tiger reserve ………….………….………….………………… 39
1 in 5 species: study looks at scale of global wildlife trade ………….………….………….………… 39
Additional News ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……………… 40
HONOURS / AWARDS 41
Ilham Tohti won Sakharov Prize ………….………….………….………….………….………….……………. 41
Olga Tokarczuk wins Nobel prize in literature for 2018, Peter Handke for 2019 ………….. 41
Abiy Ahmed, the winner of Nobel Peace Prize 2019 ………….………….………….…………………. 42
2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry announced ………….………….………….………….………………….. 42
AIIMS Delhi Wins Top Cleanliness Award from Centre ………….………….………….……………… 42
President Kovind presents Vayoshreshtha Samman–2019 ………….………….………….……….. 43
Vice President presents ‘Most Eminent Senior Citizen Award’ to Shri K. Parasaran …….. 43
Gandhi Mandela Award 2019 ………….………….………….………….………….………….………………… 43
The US to award Pepsico India ………….………….………….………….………….………….………………. 43
Lonely Planet ranks MP 3rd ‘Best Value Destination’ in world ………….………….……………… 43
Varun Jain won Businessworld 40 Under 40 Award ………….………….………….………………….. 44
IIM Calcutta’s MBA Ranked in Top 20 in the World, Best in India ………….…………………….. 44
President of India Confers Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards ……………………. 44
Lucknow school bagged Guinness World Record ………….………….………….………….………….. 44
BharatPe wins Innovation in Digital Payments Award at MeitY ………….………….……………. 45
Additional News ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….…………….. 45
ART AND CULTURE 46
Baul Festival concludes in Dhaka ………….………….………….………….………….………….…………… 46
Deepotsav’ Enters Guinness World Records ………….………….………….………….…………………. 46
Nationwide “Paryatan Parv 2019” to promote tourism inaugurated in New Delhi ………. 46
Nirmala Sitharaman releases special coin ………….………….………….………….………….…………. 47
Shirui Lily Festival inaugurated in Manipur ………….………….………….………….………….……….. 47
Nepalese Festival ‘Kukur Tihar’ began ………….………….………….………….………….………………. 47
Gujarati New Year 2019 ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….…………….. 48
Thotlakonda Buddhist site to be renovated ………….………….………….………….………………….. 48
Travel advisory for tourists visiting Turkey ………….………….………….………….………….………... 48
First–ever Ladakh Literature Festival ………….………….………….………….………….………………… 48
Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated CCRT e–portal ………….………….………….………….……………. 49

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1st Day Care Recreation Centre in Leh ………….………….………….………….………….………………. 49
MP Tourism Board to organize City Walk Fest ………….………….………….………….………………. 49
Additional News ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….…………….. 49
APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS 50
Seven High Courts get new Chief Justices ………….………….………….………….………….…………. 50
Justin Trudeau wins Canada’s general election ………….………….………….………….…………….. 50
Manohar Lal Khattar takes oath as Haryana CM ………….………….………….………….…………… 50
Sophie Wilmes chosen as first woman prime minister of Belgium ………….…………………… 51
Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde was appointed as the 47th Chief Justice of India ……………. 51
Former IMF chief Christine Lagarde appointed head of European Central Bank ………….. 51
Sajjan Jindal became vice Chairman of WSA ………….………….………….………….…………………. 51
Kais Saied was sworn in as Tunisian president ………….………….………….………….………………. 52
Antonio Costa re–elected as the Prime Minister of Portugal ………….………….………………… 52
New Governors/Lt Governors ………….………….………….………….………….………….………………… 52
New whole–time member of IBBI ………….………….………….………….………….……………………… 52
Other Important Appointments ………….………….………….………….………….…………………………. 53
OBITUARIES 54
Celebrated opera singer Jessye Norman dies ………….………….………….………….……………….. 54
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Dilip Parikh, 82, Dies; PM Pays Tributes ………….…………… 54
Horticultural legend passed away ………….………….………….………….………….………….…………. 54
Chakravarthula Raghavachari passed away ………….………….………….………….………….………. 54
Yoga Inspirational teacher V Nanammal dies ………….………….………….………….……………….. 54
Alexei Leonov, the first person to conduct a spacewalk, passed away ………….…………….. 55
Cuban ballet dancer Alicia Alonso passed away at 98 ………….………….………….………………. 55
Other News ..……….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….………….…………. 55
SPORTS 56
2024 Olympic Games logo unveiled in Paris ………….………….………….………….………………….. 56
Ashleigh Barty wins ‘The Don’ Award ………….………….………….………….………….……………….. 56
Graeme elected as MCC Honorary Life Member ………….………….………….………………………. 56
Anandan won gold in Military World Games ………….………….………….………….………………… 56
Raunak Sadhwani: India’s 65th Grandmaster ………….………….………….………….……………….. 57
Bengal Warriors won 7th Pro Kabaddi League ………….………….………….………….……………… 57
Praveen: 1st Indian to win gold in Wushu ………….………….………….………….………….…………. 57
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Rohit Sharma hit maiden double hundred ………….………….………….………….………….………… 57
Rohit Sharma reached top 10 in all formats ………….………….………….………….…………………. 57
Shakib Al Hasan banned by ICC ………….………….………….………….………….………….…………….. 58
Swaroop Singh completed Ironman Malaysia ………….………….………….………….………………. 58
Satwiksairaj–Chirag lost French Open final ………….………….………….………….………….……….. 58
Jasprit Bumrah and Mandhana won Wisden award ………….………….………….…………………. 58
Military World Games: Boxer Deepak wins silver, Balaji claims bronze in tennis …………. 58
Papua New Guinea qualify for World T20 ………….………….………….………….………….…………. 59
Tiger Woods won the Zozo Championship ………….………….………….………….……………………. 59
Eden Gardens to host India’s first ever Day–Night Test match ………….………….…………….. 59
Indian paddler Payas Jain shines in ITTF World Cadet Challenge ………….………….………….. 59
SAI facilities to be made free of cost ………….………….………….………….………….…………………. 60
Karnataka crowned Vijay Hazare Trophy champs ………….………….………….………….…………. 60
3rd SAFF U–15 Women’s Championship ………….………….………….………….………….…………… 60
Kuhoo Garg–Dhruv Rawat won Egypt title ………….………….………….………….……………………. 60
Mithali Raj becomes 1st female player to complete 20 yrs in international cricket ……… 60
Virat Kohli creates history ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….……….…. 61
Amit Panghal won in World Military Games ………….………….………….………….…………………. 61
India Women defeated South Africa in Cricket: India clinch series 2–0 ………….……………. 61
Dutee Chand breaks her own national record ………….………….………….………….………………. 61
IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES 62
Military Nursing Service celebrates 94th Raising Day ………….………….………….……………….. 62
World Statistics Day: October 20, 2020 ………….………….………….……………………………………. 62
World Mental Health Day: 10 October ………….………….………….…………………………………….. 62
International Animation Day: 28 October ………….………….………….………………………………… 62
World Day For Audiovisual Heritage: 27 October ………….………….………….…………………….. 63
Ayurveda Day: 25 October ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….…………. 63
Vigilance Awareness Week: 28 Oct–2 Nov ………….………….………….……………………………….. 63
United Nations Day: 24 October ………….………….………….………………………………………………. 63
World Development Information Day: 24 October ………….………….………….…………………… 63
International Girl Child Day: 11 October ………….………….………….…………………………………… 64
Sources ………….………….………….………….………….………….………….…….……………………………. 65

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019

October, 2019

NATIONAL NEWS
Country’s top three cleanest railway stations are from Rajasthan: Survey
● Railway Minister Piyush Goyal released the ‘Stations’ Cleanliness
Survey Report’ (Cleanliness assessment of Non–suburban and
Suburban Stations 2019).
● While Jaipur was on the first position, Jodhpur on second
followed by Durgapura in third position.
● North Western Railway followed by South East Central Railway and East Central Railway
are the top three railway zones
● Railways have been conducting third party audit and cleanliness ranking of 407 major
stations annually since 2016
Prime Minister Modi declares country open defecation–free
● On the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the country
open defecation–free, claiming success for the government’s
initiative under which every household now apparently has
access to a toilet.
● In 60 months, 600 million people have been given access to toilets, more than 110
million toilets have been built.
39th World Congress of Poets Inaugurated at KIIT
● The 39th World Congress of Poets (WCP) has commenced in
KIIT Deemed to be University, Odisha from October 2, 2019,
coinciding with the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi.
● More than 1000 poets, writers from 82 countries including India and 500 poets from
Odisha attend the Congress.
1

● The theme of the 39th WCP is ‘Compassion through Poetry’ as its theme to
commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Bapu.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● This is the third time WCP is being hosted in India – on the previous two occasions, it
was held in Chennai in 1986 and 2007. It is a matter of pride for Odisha and India to be
hosting such a coveted Congress.
Government launches SUMAN scheme, assures free
medicines for pregnant women
● Aiming zero preventable maternal and newborn deaths in
India, the central government launched the Surakshit
Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) scheme, under which pregnant women, mothers up to 6
months after delivery, and all sick newborns will be able to avail free healthcare benefits.
● The scheme will largely help in bringing down maternal and infant mortality rates in the
country.
● Under the scheme, the beneficiaries visiting public health facilities are entitled to several
free services. These include at least four ante natal check–ups that also includes one
checkup during the 1st trimester, at least one checkup under Pradhan Mantri Surakshit
Matritva Abhiyan, Iron Folic Acid supplementation, Tetanus diptheria injection and other
components of comprehensive ANC package and six home–based newborn care visits.
● Union health minister Harsh Vardhan launched the scheme.
● Static Fact: India’s maternal mortality rate has declined from 254 per 1,00,000 live births
in 2004–06 to 130 in 2014–16. Between 2001 and 2016, the infant mortality rate came
down from 66 per 1,000 live births to 34.
Govt to promote STEM education among girl students through ‘Vigyan Jyoti’
● Alarmed by the low percentage of women in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM),
the Centre has planned a programme to help girl
students inculcate interest in these areas and also
fund them if they get into any top institute for
pursuing these underrepresented subjects.
● The programme ‘Vigyan Jyoti’ aims to tap 100 girl students in 550 districts from 2020–
2025, the officials said. The students will be chosen based on their percentile, they
added.
● The programme will cover girl students from grade 9 to 12.
West Bengal celebrates success of Kanyashree scheme
at International Day of the Girl Child
● Aiming to empower girls, the West Bengal government has
2

taken the initiative to set up a Kanyashree University in Nadia

district and Kanyashree colleges across the state

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● The Kanyashree university would be only for women.
● Government started the Kanyashree scheme to empower girls, and it has been allocated
a budget of Rs 7,000 crore since its launch in 2013.
● The main objective of the scheme is to ensure that girls study in schools and delay their
marriages until the age of 18 years.
Harsh Vardhan inaugurates 13th Conference of Central Council of Health and
Family Welfare (CCHFW)
● Urging the participating
Health Ministers from
States/UTs to increase
healthcare spending to a
minimum 8% of their
State budget so as to
meet the goals of
healthcare spending of
National Health Policy
2017– 2.5% of GDP by 2025, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh
Vardhan stated that “From the first CCHFW meeting, we together have achieved several
health milestones, especially India being certified Polio–free.
● This has been possible because of our collaborative efforts. If all Health Ministers come
together for a cause, no task can be impossible.” He was inaugurating the 13th
Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare (CCHFW)
RTI ‘Report Card’ Laments Pending Cases,
Vacancies in Information Commissions
● Despite a Supreme Court directive in February
2019, a study released on the 14th anniversary
of the enactment of RTI Act says that the Centre
has failed to make timely appointments to
commissions.
● It said while the Act empowers information commissions to impose penalties of up to Rs
25,000 on erring Public Information Officers (PIOs) for violations, the commissions have
found to be imposing them sparingly.
● Karnataka imposed the maximum amount of penalities at Rs 77 lakh followed by
Haryana at 47.8 lakh whereas the SICs of Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura did
not impose any penalty during this period.
3

● The State Information Commissions of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were found to be the
worst–performing – they provided just 21% of the information asked for.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Nitin Gadkari inaugurates conference on ‘One Nation One Tag – FASTag’ in
New Delhi
● Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin
Gadkari inaugurated a conference on ‘One
Nation One Tag – FASTag’ in New Delhi, to
roll out the process for having a unified
electronic system across the country.
● The unified and nation–wide inter–
operable RFID–based tag for vehicles is a
major step in large scale transport reforms.
Under this system the same FASTag affixed
on the windscreen of a vehicle can be used to pay toll across all toll plazas in the country.
1.34 crore street lights to be replaced with LED by March 2020
● The number of LED street lights in the country has
doubled from 49 lakh in March 2018 to 1 crore on
October 1, 2019.
● These lights are being installed under the Street
Lighting National Programme (SLNP) that was
launched on January 5, 2015 with the objective to
replace all conventional street lights with smart and
energy efficient LED street lights by March 2019.
● This target was set to replace 1.34 crore conventional street lights with energy efficient
LED lights by March 2019.
● Now the target for replacing these street lights has been fixed for March 2020.
● 1 croreth LED street light using a remote control was installed in Gurugram in Haryana.
‘Mo Sarkar’ initiative launched
● Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched his government’s
new governance initiative ‘Mo Sarkar’ on the occasion of Gandhi
Jayanti.
● The objective of the ‘Mo Sarkar’ programme is to provide service
with dignity to people who are coming to government offices for
different purposes.
● The phone numbers of people who are coming to government
offices will be collected randomly with the purpose to improve the
4

governance system by collecting feedback on behaviour and

professionalism of government officers.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Gandhinagar becomes first kerosene–free district of
Gujarat
● Home Minister Amit Shah allotted 1,000 LPG connections
to the people in Gandhinagar.
● Cooking gas connections to the rural women have been
allotted under the Ujjwala Yojana.
● ONGC has completed this scheme at the cost of 6.13 crore rupees covering more than
75 thousand beneficiaries.
Assam’s NRC: law schools launch legal aid clinic–
Parichay for excluded people
● Law schools across India launched a collaborative legal
aid clinic for people excluded from the updated
National Register Citizens (NRC) in Assam.
● More than 19 lakh out of a total of 3.3 crore applicants
were left out of the Supreme Court–monitored NRC that was published on August 31.
● Those who were left out are required to file appeals against their exclusion within 120
days of receiving their rejection order from the NRC authority.
● The clinic, named Parichay (Identity) and to be headquartered in Guwahati, is envisaged
to function as a “clearing house of litigation and research assistance for lawyers filing
appeals against exclusion from the NRC”.
IT Ministry launches performance smart–
board for monitoring key programmes
● The IT Ministry launched an ‘automated real time
performance smart–board’ which will act as a
single window access for Centre, state or district–
specific projects implemented by the Ministry.
● The smart–board, which was inaugurated by IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, will
enhance analysis through data integration by consolidating multiple data sources into
one centralised, easy–to–access platform.
● During an event to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Prasad
also unveiled the ‘Digital Charkha’, an art installation at the IT Ministry.
● The Digital Charkha is an amalgamation of the traditional design with a digital spin. The
wheel of the Charkha is made up of interlinked digital grids in place of fine threads thus
5

portraying that the core of Digital India is embedded in Gandhian philosophy of equality,
unity, corruption free and empowerment of ordinary citizens.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Peddapalli best Swachh district in country
● Peddapalli district has emerged as the “Overall
Best District” in the country during the annual
survey conducted in the country as part of
Swachh Survekshan 2019 by the Union Ministry
of Jal Shakti.
● The district had earlier won two national awards in Swachh Sundar Shauchalay (neat and
clean toilets) and Open Defecation Free (ODF) district with the construction of 1.35 lakh
individual sanitary latrines and its utilisation.
Vande Bharat Express train from Delhito Vaishno Devi
shrine in Jammu inaugurated
● Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Jammu & Kashmir
would see huge development in the next decade.
● He was speaking at the inauguration of a Vande Bharat
Express train that will connect Delhi with the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu through the
Katra railway station.
● The train, is also known as Train 18
● The first Vande Bharat Express that runs between Delhi and Varanasi was inaugurated
in February.
Rajasthan to create pneumoconiosis fund with DMF money
● Rajasthan has announced the
creation of a Pneumoconiosis Fund,
which will be majorly financed by
money from the District Mineral
Foundation (DMF).
● This Fund will be used to finance a
comprehensive policy on the disease released by the Rajasthan government on October
3, 2019.
● Pneumoconiosis, a lung disease, mostly affects workers who work in the mining and
construction sectors and deal with soil, silica, coal dust and asbestos. The disease
includes asbestosis, silicosis and coal workers’ pneumoconiosis.
Rural houses to get 2–3 hr piped water supply daily
● Rural households will get two to three hours of piped
6

water supply and 14.6 crore such households will be

provided piped water connection in the next five years as
part of the Union government’s Jal Jeevan Mission.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● Jeevan Mission seeks to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual
household tap connections (HarGharJal) to all rural households by 2024.
● It will be implemented by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Jal
Shakti Ministry.
● The group of Governors on Jal Shakti was constituted by President Ram Nath Kovind in
August 2019.
India’s first e–waste clinic to be set up in Bhopal
● The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have joined
hands to set up the country’s first e–waste clinic here,
that would enable segregation, processing and disposal
of waste from both household and commercial units.
● Electronic waste will be collected door–to–door or
could be deposited directly at the clinic in exchange for
a fee.
● The CPCB will provide technical support at the unit
Government plans to set up PM KISAN call centre
● The government is planning to set up a call centre to
respond to farmers’ queries about the PM Kisan
minimum income support scheme.
● It plans to have a dedicated round–the–clock
interactive voice response (IVR) system.
● At present there is a helpline number for farmers to
register complaints and seek information, but there have been complaints galore that
farmers do not getting any response.
Tamil Nadu become the first State in the country to enact a law on contract
farming
● Tamil Nadu has become the first State in the country
to enact a law on contract farming with President
Ram Nath Kovind giving assent to the Agricultural
Produce and Livestock Contract Farming and
Services (Promotion and Facilitation) Act.
● According to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,
7

Coimbatore, contract farming refers to varied

formal and informal agreements between
producers and processors or buyers.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Nagaland partners with Madhya Pradesh under ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’
● Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’
programme has brought in the
states of Nagaland and Madhya
Pradesh as one to celebrate the
spirit of national integration.
● The Directorate of Higher Education
of Government of Nagaland as the
nodal department of ‘Ek Bharat,
Shreshtha Bharat’ has conducted
various activities undertaken in partnership with Madhya Pradesh.
● ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ has enabled the celebration of Unity in Diversity and have
promoted the spirit of National Integration in showcasing the richness of traditional
heritage and culture and most pertinently created a long term engagement between the
two states.
Indian Railways launches ‘Operation Dhanush’ against ticket touts
● Indian Railways’ Central Railway zone conducted
‘Operation Dhanush’ recently against ticket touts
involved in e–ticketing.
● The operation was carried out in all the five divisions
falling under the Central Railway Zone.
● The operation was aimed to control touts on e –
ticketing in view of Diwali rush of passengers to their native places.
● The drive yielded arrest of 23 agents.
Women in Delhi to get free rides in buses
● Women in Delhi will get free rides in public buses
starting from 29 Oct 2019.
● As per the plan, conductors will distribute pink tickets
having face value of 10 rupees each to women
passengers for free–travel.
● The government will then reimburse the transporters
based on the number of such tickets issued.
● Currently, 3,400 bus marshals are already Working.
8

● Women employees of the Delhi government, local bodies and undertakings will not be
entitled for transport allowance if they opt for free ride in DTC and cluster buses.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Gujarat Ayurveda University signed MoU
● Gujarat Ayurveda University has signed an MoU with
a wellness brand Sri Sri Tattva.
● Established in 1965 by an Act of Gujarat State
Government, Gujarat Ayurveda University aims to
promote the ancient science of Ayurveda by carrying
joint studies, trial and R&D projects in the field of Ayurveda.
● The MoU signed will be complimenting each other’s area of expertise on the subject of
Ayurveda.
PwD can now vote through postal ballots
● The people over 80 years of age and person with
disability can now cast their votes through postal ballot.
● However, such voters will have both the choices
available either voting through postal ballot by following
due procedure or going to the polling station on polling
day for voting.
● The Ministry of Law and Justice has amended the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
Air India depicted ‘Ik Onkar’ on tail to mark
550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev
● In a unique gesture to mark 550th birth anniversary
of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji, Air India has depicted Sikh
religious symbol ‘Ik Onkar’ on the tail of one of its
aircraft.
● The flight is set to fly from Amritsar to Stansted in the United Kingdom on 31 Oct 2019.
● Air India will fly its aircraft thrice a week on the Mumbai–Amritsar–Stansted route.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath launches new emergency helpline number 112
● UP CM Yogi Adityanath launched an all–
encompassing emergency helpline number ‘112’ to
access police, fire brigade, ambulance and other
services under the Emergency Response Support
System.
● He also launched a senior citizen safety initiative
‘Savera’. In many places, especially, the urban areas, elderly couples live alone and they
9

do not have any support. “Savera initiative will instill new confidence in them.
● This single helpline number 112 will reduce the response time.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Uttar Pradesh tops in crimes against women, says NCRB report
● National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has released a report
on criminal cases that happened in India between 2017–18.
● Out of the total 3, 59,849 cases, Uttar Pradesh alone had
56,011 cases.
● Maharashtra with 31979 cases and West Bengal with 30,002
cases were second and third on the list.
Odisha govt inks LoU for ‘drink from tap mission’ with UNICEF
● The Odisha government has signed a Letter of
Understanding (LoU) with UNICEF to provide safe drinking
water to every household in the state.
● The LoU was signed by the state housing and urban
development department (HUDD) to provide 24–hour
safe drinking water and the project has been named as
‘Drink From Tap Mission’.
● The project will be launched on a pilot basis for about 1.2 lakh people.
Odisha Mo Parivar programme launched
● Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched a social service initiative
aimed at encouraging environment protection, blood
donation, and the welfare of Odias in distress.
● The initiative will also come to the rescue of Odias stranded in foreign countries.
Centre clears six new medical colleges for T.N.
● The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare gave its
approval to Tamil Nadu’s proposal to establish six new medical
colleges.
● The institutes will come up in Tiruppur, the Nilgiris, Ramanathapuram, Namakkal,
Dindigul and Virudhunagar at a cost of ₹1,950 crore and will be attached to existing
hospitals in these districts.
● The Centre would sign MoU with the Tamil Nadu govt for the same
President Kovind lays foundation stone for Sri
Sathya Sai Sanathana Samskruti Project in Japan
10

● President Ram Nath Kovind laid the foundation stone

for Sri Sathya Sai Sanathana Samskruti Project at Sai
no Sato, Kakegawa, Japan on 24 October 2019.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● Sai no Sato will be developed as a temple on the lines of Akshardham and Swaminarayan
Temple to promote Indian traditional culture.
● The President also attended a banquet hosted in his honour by Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe of Japan.
Prakash Javadekar launches first national protocol to
enumerate snow leopard population in India
● Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched
the first national protocol to enumerate the snow leopard
population in the country on the occasion of International Snow Leopard Day.
● The Day is celebrated on October 23 every year to protect and conserve the snow
leopards and preserve the beautiful wildlife of the Himalayas.
● India is believed to have 400 to 700 snow leopards.
Indian Railways launched One Touch ATVM
● Indian Railways has launched ‘one touch ATVM’ at 42 suburban
stations of Central Railway to render fast ticketing to millions of
commuters over Mumbai Suburban Network.
● Railway passenger can avail the service of this new machine at 42 suburban stations.
● This new machine will reduce the waiting time of the passengers and allow passenger to
avoid standing in long queues.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath launches Mukhya Mantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana
● UP CM Yogi Adityanath launched its flagship scheme Kanya
Sumangla Yojna on 25 October 2019.
● The scheme will provide an amount of 15 thousand rupees
in a phased manner to every family in which a girl child takes
birth.
● Funds will be released in instalments when a girl child completes various achievements,
like vaccination, admission in class 1, 5 and 9, graduation.
President Kovind inaugurates Golden Jubilee celebrations
of Vishwa Shanti Stupa in Rajgir
● President Ram Nath Kovind visited Rajgir in Bihar on 25 October
2019.
11

● He inaugurated day long golden jubilee celebrations of Vishwa Shanti Stupa (World
Peace Pagoda) in Rajgir.
● The Vishwa Shanti Stupa has completed 50 years of its establishment.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● Situated on Ratnagiri hillock, this iconic structure was constructed by Japanese Buddhist
monk popularly known as Fujii Guruji in 1969.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs’ partners Niti Aayog and
Facebook for Second Phase of Goal
● Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister of Tribal
Affair announced the second phase of GOAL (Going
Online as Leaders), a Facebook program aimed at
inspiring, guiding and encouraging tribal girls from across
India to become village–level digital young leaders for their communities.
● Launched earlier this year in March, GOAL connects underprivileged young tribal women
with senior expert mentors in the areas of business, fashion and arts to learn digital and
life skills.
● In the second phase of the program, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Facebook together
will digitally mentor 5000 young women in India’s tribal dominated districts.
Malnutrition behind 69 per cent deaths among children
below 5 years in India: UNICEF report
● The ‘State of the World’s Children’ Report 2019 of the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) states that Malnutrition
causes around 69 per cent of children’s death in India.
● As per the report, 149 million children of under 5 age were stunted and around 50 million
children were wasted in 2018.
● The report also says that every second Indian woman is suffering from anaemia.
Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Council abolished
● Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Council was abolished on
October 18, 2019, making the way for the bifurcation of Jammu
& Kashmir State into two Union Territories – Jammu & Kashmir
and Ladakh.
● The J&K Council was dissolved under Section 57 of the J&K Reorganisation Bill, 2019.
● With this, the tenure of all the Members of the Legislative Council has come to an end.
From 2021, no Assam govt jobs for those with more than two children
● The Assam Cabinet decided that no government jobs will be given
to persons having more than two children after January 1, 2021.
12

● The important decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting that also

adopted a New Land Policy, which will give three bighas of
agricultural land to landless indigenous people and half a bigha for constructing a house.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Additional News
Assam govt starts scholarship scheme for children of tea tribe community
The Assam government has decided to start a scholarship scheme for children of tea
tribe community, studying in 10th and 12th classes. It would cover students of all tea gardens
in the state. An amount of 10 thousand rupees will be provided to each student. ’Shramik
Mitras’ would be appointed in every tea garden to make people aware of the scheme.
Delhi govt launched Farishte Dilli Ke scheme
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched ‘Farishte Dilli Ke’, a new initiative aimed at
felicitating citizens who take accident victims to hospitals. The government will bear all the
expenses related to a road accident. ’Farishte Dilli Ke’ scheme was launched in February 2017.
SARAS Aajeevika Mela being held
The Ministry of Rural Development organised SARAS Aajeevika Mela at India Gate Lawns
from 10–23 October 2019. SARAS Aajeevika Mela is an initiative by the Deendayal Antyodaya
Yojana–National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY–NRLM). Its objective is to bring the rural
women Self Help Groups (SHGs) under one platform to showcase their skills and sell their
products.
‘AngiKaar’ launched in Tripura
In Tripura, CM Biplab Kumar Deb inaugurated the ‘AngiKaar’ campaign for the state in a
formal function held at the city’s town hall on 10 October 2019. The objective of the ‘AngiKaar’
campaign is to bring the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY–U) under
one fold of other central government implemented scheme.

Union HRD Minister launches ‘Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme–

DHRUV’
Union Minister for Human Resources Development Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank
launched DHRUV programme in the headquarter of ISRO in Bengaluru on 10 October 2019.
DHRUV is a unique programme to identify talented students and mentor them in the centre of
excellence for 14 days so that they can reach their full potential and work for the society.
CBSE, NCERT launch ‘Tamanna’ aptitude test for Class 9, 10 students
Tamanna stands for Try And Measure Aptitude And Natural Abilities.Tamanna is an
aptitude test that aims to help students of Class 9 and 10 to make a better choice of subjects,
eventually helping them in making an informed decision while choosing subjects in Class 11
and 12.
13

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019

International News
PM Modi receives Chinese President Xi Jinping
at Mamallapuram for 2nd Informal Summit
● Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off his second
informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
with a guided tour of a temple complex dating back
to the 8th century in Tamil Nadu’s Mamallapuram.
● At the temple complex, Modi and Xi visited three monuments – Arjuna’s Penance, Panch
Ratha and the Shore Temple.
● Static Fact: Coastal town of Mamallapuram, was chosen as the venue for the meeting
because it showcases India’s ancient culture and heritage and links with China’s Fujian
province.
● It has a group of Hindu monuments and is declared as UNESCO world heritage site
● The Chennai meet is the second edition of the informal summit between Modi and Xi.
● The first was in the picturesque Chinese lake city of Wuhan in April 2018, months after
a 73–day face–off between the armies of the two countries at Doklam took their
relationship to an all–time low.
India ranked 102 in Global Hunger Index 2019
● The 2019 Global Hunger Index (GHI) indicates
that the level of hunger and undernutrition
worldwide falls into the serious category.
● As per the index, India ranks 102 out of 117
qualifying countries, with a score of 30.3.
● India has slipped from 95th rank in 2010 to 102nd in 2019 on the Global Hunger Index
(GHI). The aim of the GHI is to trigger action to reduce hunger around the world.
UNGA approved the addition of Venezuela to UNHRC
● The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
approved the addition of Venezuela to its 47–
member UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
● Venezuela has been under a severe economic
collapse. The crisis has led to a massive crisis in food,
medication, and electricity.
14

● Static Fact: United Nations Human Rights Council: Formed on: 15 March 2006
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland President: Coly Seck.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● UNHRC is an organ that functions under the UNGA. It aims to protect and promote
human rights around the world. There are 47 members in UNHRC, excluding the addition
of Venezuela.
United Nations International Children’s Emergency
Fund (UNICEF) launched the Cryptocurrency Fund.
● This new venture of UNICEF will now be able to receive, hold
and disburse donations of cryptocurrencies ether and
bitcoin.
● For the first time ever the United Nations organizations, UNICEF will use cryptocurrencies.
● The aim of the UNICEF’s Cryptocurrency Fund is to fund open source technology
benefiting children and young people around the world.
Saudi Arabia announced that it will allow women in
the kingdom to serve in the armed forces
● Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de
facto ruler, has approved various other reforms that are
aimed at widening women’s rights
● The country has initiated a broad programme of economic and social reforms to
empower women in the country.
● The move aimed to increase the rights of women in the kingdom.
EU Parliamentary delegation visited Srinagar
● A delegation of 23 Members of Parliament from
different European countries which is on a two day
visit to Srinagar met students, women, traders,
fruit growers besides panchs & sarpanchs.
● The delegation is the first international group to
visit Kashmir after scrapping of J&K’s special status.
● The delegation also visited Army’s 15 Corps Headquarters at Badami Bagh Cantonment
in Srinagar.
India to adopt Brazil model of human milk bank
● The Centre has set a target of ensuring at least 70 per cent
infants to have access to breast milk by the year 2025.
● The target will subsequently be increased to 100 per cent.
15

● India has taken inspiration from Brazil’s success in the field of human milk bank and
decided to adopt a similar model in creating a wide network of human milk banks.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Prez Trump releases 50 million dollars in stabilisation assistance for Syria
● US President Donald Trump released 50 million dollars in
stabilisation assistance for Syria to protect persecuted ethnic and
religious minorities and advance human rights.
● White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said, this funding
will provide emergency financial assistance to Syrian human rights
defenders, civil society organisations and reconciliation efforts directly supporting
ethnic and religious minority victims of the conflict.
India and Netherlands launched the second phase of the LOTUS–HR
● During the visit of His Majesty King Willem–Alexander
and Her Majesty, Queen Maxima of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands a joint launch of the second phase of the
Local Treatment of Urban Sewage streams for Healthy
Reuse (LOTUS–HR) program was done by the Union
Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and
Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
● In the second phase, 10 thousand L sewage water will be treated per day.
● The LOTUS–HR project is jointly supported by Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of
Science and Technology, Government of India and Netherlands Organization for
Scientific Research /STW, Government of Netherlands.
● Static Fact: The project was initiated in July 2017 and aims to demonstrate a novel
holistic (waste) water management approach that will produce clean water which can
be reused for various purposes.
Uber opens helicopter service
● The users will soon be able to book helicopter flights to John
F. Kennedy (JFK) International airport through their apps.
● The flights are operated by HeliFlite Shares, a licensed
company.
● The company announced its Uber Copter offer on 3 October 2019.
India joins global alliance on responsible use of
smart city technologies
● India has joined the league of 15 of the world’s leading
16

city networks and technology governance

organisations that will work towards advancing the
responsible and ethical use of smart city technologies.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● The G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance will create global norms
and policy standards for the use of connected devices in public spaces, a World Economic
Forum (WEF) release said.
● The Global Smart Cities Alliance’s founding set of institutional partners include the
presidents and host nations of the Group of 20 (G20) in 2019 and 2020; Japan and the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the Smart City Mission of India; Cities for All; Cities Today
Institute; Commonwealth Local Government Forum; Commonwealth Sustainable Cities
Network among others.
● Jeff Merritt, is Head of Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics and Smart Cities at the World
Economic Forum (WEF).
● Smart city technologies can help decrease traffic congestion, combat crime, improve
resilience during natural disasters and reduce greenhouse emissions. Without proper
governance, these technologies pose significant risk, notably to privacy and security, the
release noted.

Intersessional Ministerial Meeting for RCEP agreement held in Thailand

● The two–day Intersessional Ministerial Meeting
of the countries negotiating the 16 nation mega
trade deal, the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, is
expected to wrap up on October 12 in Thailand
without finding a common stand on many of the
pending issues.
● The all powerful Trade Negotiating Committee
(TNC) which consists of the chief negotiators of all the participating countries is likely to
meet on October 17 and 18 to look at India’s concerns over electronic data sharing and
demands for local data storage requirements.
● It should be noted that India had proposed certain tweaks in the negotiating text of
electronic commerce during the 9th Intersessional Ministerial Meeting that began in
Thailand on October 11.
● India wants the RCEP agreement to allow member countries to retain their rights to
protect digital data generated from their respective territories to achieve legitimate
public policy objectives and to protect its essential security or national interests.
● While its approach is laudable, experts who are closely watching the developments are
not sure whether RCEP members initiating such controls are meant to serve the national
17

interest or essential security concerns. Further, there is no certainty that India’s proposal
will be accepted by other negotiating countries.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Global Fund raises $13.92 billion to fight AIDS, TB, malaria
● French President Emmanuel Macron said a conference of the
Global Fund to fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria
raised at least USD 13.92 billion for the next three years.
● Macron, who hosts the international conference in the
French city of Lyon, vowed to keep working to reach the USD
14 billion goal the organization had set up from the USD 12.2
billion brought in during the last conference in 2016.
● A dozen heads of state and government, mostly from African countries, were attending
the two–day conference of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
● The organisation said the programs it has supported since its creation in 2002 have saved
32 million lives.
Turkey pounds Syrian towns, sparking exodus
● Turkish and allied forces faced stiff Kurdish resistance as
they battled to seize key Syrian border towns, on the third
day of a broad offensive that has sparked a civilian
exodus.
● President Donald Trump, whose order to pull back US troops from the border effectively
triggered the invasion, said Washington would now seek to broker a truce.
● Pro–Turkish Syrian fighters cross the border into Syria as they take part in an offensive
against Kurdish–controlled areas in northeastern Syria launched by the Turkish military
● The Kurdish forces targeted by Turkey were the US–led coalition’s main ground partner
in years of battle against the militant Islamic State (IS) group and its now–defunct
“caliphate”.
Parliamentary delegation led by LS speaker attends IPU Assembly in Serbia
● A parliamentary delegation led by Lok Sabha Speaker Om
Birla attended the 141st assembly of the Inter
Parliamentary Union (IPU) which was held in Serbia from
October 13 to October 17.
● Presiding officers and parliamentarians from 179 member
countries attended
● Overall theme of the assembly: “Strengthening international law: parliamentary roles
and mechanisms, and the contribution of regional cooperation”.
18

● Static Fact: The Inter–Parliamentary Union (IPU) is an international organisation of

Parliaments of sovereign states with its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● As a focal point for worldwide parliamentary dialogue since 1889, the IPU works for
peace and cooperation among people and for the firm establishment of representative
institutions
G20 Okayama Health Ministers’ Conference held
● India has highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
vision of ‘Sab Ka Saath – Sab Ka Vikas – Sab Ka Vishwas’
for inclusive health along with scheme –– Ayushman
Bharat, at the on–going two day G20 Okayama Health
Ministers’ Conference in Japan.
● Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan also highlighted Mr Modi’s vision
of FIT India Movement and Eat Right campaigns.
● The G20 Health Ministers meeting concluded by adopting the “Okayama Declaration of
the G 20 Health Ministers”.
M. Venkaiah Naidu led Indian delegation to NAM
● Vice President Venkaiah Naidu led the Indian delegation at the
18th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non–
Aligned Movement (NAM) held at Baku, Azerbaijan on 25–26
Oct 2019.
● The theme for the Summit was –Upholding the Bandung Principles to ensure concerted
and adequate response to the challenges of the contemporary world.
Ministers of India, France and Vanilla Islands met
● French President Emmanuel Macron announced a
three–pronged security partnership with India in the
southern Indian Ocean in the backdrop of China’s
growing ambitions in the region.
● These will help in maritime surveillance, protection of marine areas, construction of a
joint agenda to avoid any form of hegemony or intrusion.
● Ministers of India, France and Vanilla Islands (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and
Seychelles in the western Indian Ocean) met to explore economic and development
partnership.
● France is the 2nd largest maritime power in the World.
29th BASIC Ministerial Meet concluded
● The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and
19

Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar participated in the

29th ministerial meeting of the BASIC countries on
Climate Change.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● The meeting was held in Beijing, China on 25th 26th October 2019.
● The meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr. LI Ganjie, Minister of Ecology and Environment of
the People’s Republic of China.
Ecuador announces it will leave OPEC in 2020
● Ecuador, the smallest member of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), will leave the
organization on Jan. 1, 2020, the country’s Energy and Non–
renewable Natural Resources Ministry announced.
● The Andean nation is attempting to increase crude production to raise more income and
has on multiple occasions broken its output quota fixed by OPEC.
● Ecuador joined OPEC in 1973, withdrew in 1992, then rejoined in 2007.
● Other small former OPEC members have also left the organization for fiscal reasons.
Indonesia suspended membership in 2016 as it sought to increase oil exports.
World’s first guitar–shaped hotel opened in Florida
● Hard Rock opens world’s first guitar–shaped hotel.
● The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino is built in South
Florida.
● The guitar–shaped hotel features the recognizable body of an
guitar.
● Its aqua–glass tones reflect the Florida sunlight during the day
French minister visited India to co–host second assembly of ISA
● French Deputy Minister for Ecological and Inclusive Transition
Brune Poirson visited India.
● She co–presided over the second Assembly of the International
Solar Alliance on 31 Oct 2019.
● The International Solar Alliance brings together 80 States and offers concrete solutions
that help reduce the cost of solar installations, particularly in developing countries.
India signs MoU with Saudi Arabia to launch RuPay card in Gulf Kingdom
● India signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia to launch the
RuPay card in the country, making it the third nation in the
West Asia to initiate India’s digital payment system.
20

● It will benefit not only the 2.6 million Indians in the Gulf
Kingdom but also Haj and Umrah pilgrims.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● The RuPay card is a first–of–its–kind Indian domestic Debit and Credit Card payment
network.
Three Indian–origin CEOs in top 10
● Three Indian–origin CEOs have been featured in a list
of world’s top 10 best–performing chief executives.
● ‘The Best–Performing CEOs in the World, 2019’ list
compiled by the Harvard Business Review has been
topped by NVIDIA’s CEO Jensen Huang.
● On the 6th spot is Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, followed by MasterCard CEO Ajay
Banga, ranked 7th and Microsoft chief Satya Nadella on the 9th spot.
India, Saudi Arabia to Set up Strategic Partnership
Council Headed by Modi & Crown Prince
● India and Saudi Arabia have agreed to establish a
Strategic Partnership Council.
● They resolved to strengthen cooperation in combating
terrorist operations and signed 12
● MoUs in various areas of mutual interests.
● The Strategic Partnership Council Agreement was signed by Prime Minister Modi and
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in Riyad.
● Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reached Riyadh on one day official visit, was
accorded guard of honour at the Riyadh airport.
● He addressed the 3rd Future Investment Initiative, FII, forum in Riyadh and held bilateral
discussions with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
● At least 12 Agreements were signed during the visit.
Cabinet approves Science and Technology
Cooperation between India and USA
● The PM Narendra Modi led Union Cabinet
approved the proposal for Agreement on Science
& Technology Cooperation between India and
the US on 24 October 2019.
● Under the agreement, both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral relations by a significant
21

convergence of mutual interests in science and technology.

● Science and innovation–based public–private partnerships will be established.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
UN General Assembly elected 14 States to the Human Rights Council
● The United Nation General Assembly has elected 14
States to the 47–member body of UN Human Rights
Council (UNHRC).
● The UNHRC is responsible for promoting and
protecting all human rights around the globe.
● The Assembly elected Armenia, Brazil, Germany,
Indonesia, Japan, Libya, Marshall Islands, Mauritania,
Namibia, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Korea, Sudan and Venezuela.
Sri Lanka removed from FATF’s Grey List
● Sri Lanka has been removed from the “Grey
List” of the international terror financing
watchdog FATF.
● It will no longer be subject to the Financial
Action Task Force’s monitoring.
● Static Fact: The FATF is an inter–governmental
body established in 1989 to combat money
laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the
international financial system.
Other International News
● Multimedia exhibition organized in Frankfurt
A multimedia exhibition as part of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi was
organized in the India Pavilion at the Frankfurt International Book Fair. The Frankfurt
International Book Fair is the largest and most important book fair which is held annually
in the month of October.
● India extends line of credit of over 60 million US Dollars to Comoros
India will extend a Line of Credit in the field of energy and maritime defence cooperation.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu addressed the parliament of Comoros at its capital
Moroni. He was also conferred ‘The Order of the Green Crescent’, the highest Civilian
Honour of Comoros, by Azali Assoumani, President of Comoros in Moroni.
● Pakistan, Turkey, and Malaysia to launch a BBC type English television channel
The launching of the channel aims to highlight the issues of Muslims and fight
22

Islamophobia in the West. The channel was proposed and discussed at a meeting
between Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and Pakistan premier Imran Khan.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019

Defence & Security – National/International

Indo–Japan Joint Military Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN – 2019
● Joint Military Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN–219 between India
and Japan conducted at counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare
School, Vairengte from 19 Oct 2019 to 02 Nov 2019.
● Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF)
comprising 25 soldiers each will participate in the exercise with an aim to share
experience gained during various Counter Terrorism Operations in respective Countries.
● Static Fact: Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN is an annual training event which is being
conducted in India since 2018.
Indo–French bilateral ‘Exercise SHAKTI’ to be conducted in India
● The bilateral ‘Exercise SHAKTI’ between the armies of
India and France will be conducted from 31st October to
13th November 2019 at Foreign Training Node in Mahajan
Field Firing Ranges, Rajasthan.
● The joint exercise will focus on counter–terrorism
operations in semi–desert terrain.
● The exercise aims at enhancing understanding, cooperation and interoperability
between the two Armies.
Exercise Him–Vijay not linked to Chinese Prez Xi’s visit: Defence sources
● The Indian military exercise Him–Vijay in Arunachal
Pradesh has nothing to do with Chinese President Xi
Jinping’s upcoming visit to India.
● The Indian Army’s newly raised 17 Corps is carrying out
the mega exercise at a height of around 15,000 ft in
Arunachal Pradesh.
● There have been reports that China has raised objection to India on the exercise ahead
of Xi’s visit to India to hold second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Indo–Mongolian Joint Exercise Nomadic Elephant 2019
● 14th edition of Indo – Mongolian joint military training,
Exercise Nomadic Elephant–XIV, was conducted over a
23

period of 14 days, commencing from 05 Oct 2019.

● The exercise was conducted from 05 Oct 19 to 18 Oct 19
at Bakloh.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● Nomadic Elephant–XIV is aimed at training troops in counter insurgency &counter
terrorism operations under United Nations mandate.
India Kazakhistan Joint Military Exercise KAZIND –2019
● The 4th edition of annual military exercise KAZIND 2019
between India and Kazakhstan army was held from 03 oct –15
oct 2019 at Pithoragarh.
● The aim of exercise is joint training of troops in Counter
Insurgency/ Counter Terrorism operations in both Jungle and Mountainous terrain.
● Exercise KAZIND 2019 can be termed as a facade of long standing strategic ties between
India and Kazakhstan.
DRDO is manufacturing a hypersonic missile
● The DRDO is working on manufacturing a hypersonic missile,
that would be capable of travelling at a speed five times
faster than that of sound.
● The next generation hypersonic weapons will have the capacity to move at a speed of
about a mile per second.
● A wind tunnel is being worked on at the moment where the weapon will be tested and
fine–tuned, before it is put to operational use.
IAF fired two BrahMos missiles at Trak Island in the
Andaman Nicobar group of islands
● 2 BrahMos surface to surface missiles were fired by Indian
Air Force at Trak Island in the Andaman Nicobar group of
islands.
● The missile engaged the designated mock targets close to 300 km away.
● The firing of the missiles has enhanced Air force capability to engage the grounds targets
with pinpoint accuracy from a mobile platform.
Defence forces organises DANX–19 in Andaman
● Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) has
conducted the 2nd edition of Defence of Andaman &
Nicobar Islands 2019 (DANX–19).
● The Indian Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard
24

carried out mobilisation and field manoeuvres.

● It was done to validate defensive plans of Headquarters ANC towards pursuance of the
Command’s responsibility and ensuring the territorial integrity of the islands.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Visakhapatnam: India–Myanmar Naval Exercise
commence onboard INS Ranvijay
● The India–Myanmar Naval Exercise called IMNEX2019 is being
organised in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
● The opening ceremony of the second edition of Indo–
Myanmar joint naval exercise was conducted onboard INS Ranvijay.
● Myanmar naval ships UMS Sin Phyu Shin (F–14) and UMS Tabinshweti (773) arrived at
Visakhapatnam.
● The exercise would be conducted in two phases: Harbour phase and Sea Phase.
Two–day long manoeuvres by Sudarshan Chakra Vahini began at Jaisalmer
● Two–day long manoeuvres by Sudarshan Chakra Vahini of
Indian Army Started at Jaisalmer, field firing range in
Rajasthan.
● In this war exercise, the army exhibited its strength
regarding Agni Missile and artillery.
● Artillery, Arms and mechanized forces, Army air defence
and helicopters of army aviation are participating in this exercise to test mutual
coordination.
Col Chewang Rinchen Setu: India’s highest altitude
all–weather permanent bridge in eastern Ladakh
● Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Col.
Chewang Rinchen Setu which has been constructed at an
altitude of 14,650 feet in the forward area of Ladakh
region.
● The 1400–ft –long bridge on Shyok River, situated in Sub–Sector North at 14,650 ft and
christened after ‘Lion of Ladakh’ Col Chewang Rinchen was dedicated to the nation.
● This bridge has been built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
● This Bridge is built on the strategically important road Durbuk Shyok Daulat Beg Oldie in
sub sector north in eastern Ladakh.
President Kovind presents prestigious Colours to
Army Aviation Corps
25

● President Ram Nath Kovind awarded the prestigious

Presidents Colour to the Army Aviation Corps (AAC) in
Nashik on 10 October 2019.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● The personnel in the Corps have been excellent ambassadors of India while operating
overseas in countries like Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, while on
United Nations Peace Keeping Missions.
● Steadfastness by the Corps has won them the Battle title ‘Kargil’ in ‘Operation Vijay’ in
1999.
Sangam Youth Festival organised by Indian Army
● Over 1,500 students from 32 different colleges and
university participated in the ‘Sangam Youth Festival’.
● It was organised by the Indian Army in collaboration
with Jammu University Campus in a bid to spread the
message of peace, prosperity, communal harmony and national integration.
The US military successfully test–fired an unarmed Minuteman III
intercontinental ballistic missile
● The missile was equipped with re–entry vehicles from a base in California across the
Pacific Ocean. The missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
● The test comes a day after Pyongyang tested ballistic missile as a resumption of nuclear
talks with the US.

Economics & Financial Awareness

World Bank released report : India at 63rd
position in latest Doing Business Report
● The World Bank released its latest Doing Business
Report (DBR, 2020) on 24 October 2019.
● India has recorded a jump of 14 positions against
its rank of 77 in 2019 to be placed now at 63rd rank
among 190 countries assessed by the World Bank.
● The World Bank has recognized India as one of the
top 10 improvers for the third consecutive year.
● India is at 1st position among South Asian countries.
Govt Accords ‘Maharatna’ Status to Hindustan Petroleum, Power Grid Corp
● Maharatna’ status has been granted by the Government to
state–owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and
26

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited.

● The status also comes with greater operational and financial
autonomy.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● The grant of Maharatna status to the PSUs will impart enhanced powers to their Boards
to take financial decisions.
● Static Fact: PGCIL is India’s largest electric power transmission utility firm, founded in 23
October 1989, with its headquarters in Gurgaon and its current CMD is K. Sreekanth.
ICICI Bank sells entire stake in GST Network to 13 state governments
● ICICI Bank has exited the GST Network by selling its entire 10
per cent stake to as many as 13 state governments.
● The stake sale is for aggregate cash consideration of ₹1 crore.
● The stake transfer to various stake governments will be
completed by the end of March 2020.
● ICICI Bank has exited the company following the government of India’s decision to make
GST Network into a public sector entity last year.
● Static Fact: As per the decision, the Centre will own a 50 per cent stake in the GST
Network and the remainder will be held by the states on a pro–rata basis in the new
structure.
● Currently, the Centre and the states together hold a 49 per cent stake in the company,
which provides the IT backbone to the indirect tax regime. The remaining 51 per cent is
held by five private financial institutions – HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, NSE Strategic
Investment Co and LIC Housing Finance.
NSE Indices launches Nifty Midcap150 Quality 50 Index
● NSE Indices Ltd launched the Nifty Midcap150 Quality 50
Index, which will track performance of mid–cap companies
based on profitability, leverage and earnings growth
variability.
● The beta index includes top–50 companies from its parent Nifty Midcap 150 Index,
selected based on their ‘quality scores’.
● The base date for the index is April 1, 2005, and base value 1,000.
● Static Fact: CEO of NSE Indices is Mukesh Agarwal.
NBCC bags Rs 400–cr contract to develop National
Sports University in Imphal
● NBCC has signed a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to
27

provide project management consultancy for

development of National Sports University at Imphal,
Manipur.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● National Sports University (NSU) is a sports university in Imphal, Manipur. The
foundation of National Sports University was laid down by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on 16 March 2018.
● Static Fact: NBCC (India) is a Central–owned Public Sector Navratna Enterprise. Its
operations are spread across India & Overseas.It was founded in 1960 and is
headquartered in New Delhi.
Bangladesh is the standout economy in South Asia
● The latest economic outlook update released by the
Asian Development Bank has shown how Bangladesh,
and not India, is the standout economy in terms of
growth momentum in South Asia.
● The structure of Bangladesh’s economy is quite different from India’s. Unlike India,
where the services sector contributes overwhelmingly while industry’s contribution is
much lower than desired, Bangladesh, has a booming industrial sector.
● This allows its economy to create jobs. In India, by contrast, the bulk of the population
is still stuck in the agriculture sector, which contributes the least to the GDP.
World Economic Forum’s 33rd India Economic Summit
● The World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) jointly organised the 33rd India Economic
Summit in Delhi on October 3 and 4, 2019.
● This year’s theme was ‘Innovating for India: Strengthening
South Asia, Impacting the World’
● The IES saw over 800 world leaders from government, private sector, academia and civil
society
● Static Fact: World Economic Forum(WEF) was established in 1971 as a not–for–profit
foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
● Some of the most significant reports published by the WEF are (a)Global
Competitiveness Report (b)Global Gender Gap Report (c)Global Risks Report and
(d)Global Travel and Tourism Report among others
PRAKASH portal launched for better coordination in
coal supplies to power plants
● The Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable
Energy (IC) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri
28

RK Singh and the Union Minister for Coal, Mines and

Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Pralhad Joshi jointly launched
PRAKASH (Power Rail Koyla Availability through Supply Harmony) portal.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● The Portal aims at bringing better coordination for coal supplies among all stakeholders
viz – Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal, Coal India, Railways and power utilities. This is
an important step in ensuring adequate availability and optimum utilization of coal at
thermal power plants.
● The Portal is designed to help in mapping and monitoring entire coal supply chain for
power plants
RBI Monetary Policy: Repo rate cut, GDP forecast lowered
● Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the repo rate or key lending
rate by 25 basis points while maintaining an accomodative
stance. This is the fifth consecutive rate cut by the apex bank
this year, aggregating to 135 bps.
● Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the apex bank also
cuts GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal year 2019–20 to 6.1% from 6.9% earlier.
● Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting decided to reduce the policy repo rate
under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 5.15 per cent from 5.40
per cent with immediate effect.
● The reverse repo rate was reduced to 4.9%.
BSE joins hands with FICCI to enhance MSME and start–up environment
● BSE and FICCI organised a brainstorming session to
identify gaps in the existing policies and make
suggestions for robust policies.
● Besides, the session was organised to promote Udyam
Saathi and Udyam Sakhi initiatives to foster the MSMEs
sector.
● The MSMEs were invited to present their summary of ideas and suggestions as well as
discuss their main issues of concern to the ministry.
Fitch cut India’s FY20 GDP growth forecast to 5.5%
● Fitch Ratings slashed India’s GDP growth forecast in the
current fiscal to 5.5%.
● Fitch, had in June 2019 put India’s GDP growth at 6.6%
for the fiscal year that began in April 2019.
● The projection is lower than 6.1% that the RBI had
29

forecast in early October.

● GDP expansion will pick up to 6.2% in the next financial year (2020–21) and to 6.75% in
the year after.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Union Cabinet approved merger of BSNL and MTNL
● The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi has approved
the merger of BSNL and MTNL as part of a revival package.
● The revival package includes raising sovereign bonds, monetising
assets and voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for employees.
● The revival package for BSNL and MTNL includes raising of Rs 15,000 crore sovereign
bonds and monetising Rs 38,000 crore of assets in next 4 years.
Vijaya Bank Museum inaugurated in Bengaluru
● The Vijaya Bank Heritage Museum has been inaugurated at
the headquarters of the Vijaya Bank i.e. Bengaluru.
● The museum has a rare collection of photos through which
the growth of the bank is showcased.
● Vijaya Bank was one of the premier nationalised banks in the country.
● The erstwhile Vijaya Bank, along with the erstwhile Dena Bank, was amalgamated with
Bank of Baroda on April 1, 2019.
Reliance MF renamed: Nippon India Mutual Fund
● Reliance Mutual Fund has been renamed as Nippon India
Mutual Fund.
● The organization was renamed following the purchase of
75% stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management by
Nippon Life Insurance.
● Nippon India Mutual Fund has become the largest foreign–owned Asset Management
Company in India.
● Sundeep Sikka will continue to lead the company as the CEO.
India, Swiss to work together
● India and Switzerland have decided to carry
forward working together in the Rail Transport
sector.
● The 2 sides have followed upon the 1st meeting of
Joint Working Group (JWG) held between two sides
after the MoU for cooperation this sector was
30

signed in 2017.
● The discussions focused on Freight and Passenger Cars, Railway Electrification
Equipments, Multimodal transport, tunneling technology.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Commerce & Industry and Railways Minister
attended the 8th RCEP Ministerial Meeting in
Bangkok
● Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
RCEP is a proposed regional free trade agreement (FTA)
comprising of ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam)
and their 6 FTA partners (India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand).
● The purpose of RCEP is to create an integrated market spanning all 16 countries, making
it easier for products and services of each of these countries to be available across this
region.
● The RCEP member countries represent 49% of the world’s population and accounts for
30% of world GDP. It also makes up 29% of world trade and 26% of world FDI inflows.
Additional News
● The Government e–Marketplace (GeM) signed a MoU with Federal Bank to offer a
number of services
● India’s first all–women–run automobile service workshop in Jaipur was inaugurated by
Mahindra & Mahindra recently. This move is part of the company’s initiative called ‘Pink
Collars’ to promote the recruitment of women in core productive roles.
● Infosys has been selected as the main supplier to deliver Volvo Cars’ digital
transformation services for its enterprise digital commercial operations applications and
products.
● The Railways has decided to allow carriage to goods of e–commerce giant Amazon on a
pilot basis for three months during the non–peak hours.
● The RBI has given approval to the Kerala government to amalgamate 13 district
cooperative banks (DCBs) with the Kerala State Cooperative Bank to form Kerala Bank.
● Except the Malappuram District Cooperative Bank, all district banks had approved the
scheme of amalgamation proposed by the State government at their respective general
body meetings.
● The 12–member committee has been tasked with suggesting measures to boost GST
collections, to make businesses comply with GST voluntarily, ways to better
administrative coordination. The 12–member panel, which will have five members from
Centre and States each, will submit its first report within 15 days to the GST Council
31

Secretariat.
● The 38th India Carpet Expo is being held in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The expo is
organized by the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC).

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019

Science and Technology

Smominru Malware Affecting 4,700 Computers Every Day, Researchers Claim
● China, Taiwan, Russia, Brazil, and the US have seen the most attacks.
● Security researchers have discovered that the Smominru malware
infected 90,000 machines worldwide during the month of August,
with an infection rate of up to 4,700 computers per day.
● In its post–infection phase, it steals victim credentials, installs a Trojan module and a
cryptominer and propagates inside the network, according to researchers from
Guardicore, a data centre and cloud security company.
Task force to improve India’s rights record
● The government is forming a task force to prepare a National Action
Plan on Human Rights (NAPHR) as mandated under the UN Human
Rights Council’s (UNHRC) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to improve India’s human
rights record.
● The task force will involve the Union home ministry and the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) and have representatives from ministries such as social justice and
health.
Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), estimates the total carbon on Earth
● Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO), a 10–year programme at the US
National Academy of Sciences, has released a series of papers
estimating the total carbon on Earth.
● Carbon dioxide out–gassed to the atmosphere and oceans from volcanoes and other
magmatically active regions is estimated at 280 to 360 million tonnes per year, including
that released into the oceans from mid–ocean ridges.
● Humanity’s annual carbon emissions through the burning of fossil fuels and forests, etc,
are 40 to 100 times greater than all volcanic emissions, DCO said in a statement.
First–Ever Image of the ‘Cosmic Web’ Reveals the Gassy
Highway That Connects the Universe
● Astronomers probed the cosmic web, a large–scale structure
composed of massive filaments of galaxies separated by giant voids.
● They found the filaments also contained significant amounts of gas, believed to help fuel
32

the galaxies’ growth.

● Cold dark matter theory suggest that hydrogen gas created in the big bang collapses first
into sheets and then into filaments strung out across space.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
MIT researchers developed new technology to remove
carbon dioxide from air
● Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) in the US have developed a new technology to capture
carbon dioxide from a stream of air, virtually at any
concentration level.
● This may pave the way for new strategies to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas levels.
● The new method could take out the gas even when it was present in very low
concentrations.
Mastercard to launch solution for smartphones to become
contactless acceptance devices
● Mastercard is set to launch a solution in India where a smartphone
can become a contactless acceptance device.
● If your phone has NFC, then it can become a point–of–sale (POS) device.
● A customer can tap the contactless card on the phone.
● With this innovation, a retailer doesn’t need to invest in the hardware for accepting
contactless payments. The phone will be sufficient.
IIT–Hyderabad creates Bio Bricks from Agri waste
● The researchers from IIT Hyderabad and School of
Architecture, Bhubaneswar have developed biobricks from
agricultural waste.
● The product serves dual purposes of development of eco–
friendly sustainable material and also waste management.
● The bricks are made from agro–waste like wheat straw, paddy straw, sugarcane bagasse
and cotton plant.
● Bio–bricks are more sustainable than clay bricks.
NASA To Launch Golf Cart–Sized Rover To Search For
Water
● NASA will send a golf cart–sized robot to the moon in 2022 to
search for deposits of water below the surface.
● This is an effort to evaluate the vital resource ahead of a planned human return to the
33

moon in 2024 to possibly use it for astronauts to drink and to make rocket fuel,
● The VIPER robot stands for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
CSIR conducted genome sequencing
● Council of Scientific and Industrial Research has done
genome sequencing of over one thousand persons from
different parts of India.
● The initiative called IndiGen has enabled benchmarking
the scalability of genome sequencing and computational analysis at population scale in
a defined timeline.
● The outcome will be utilized towards understanding the genetic diversity on a
population scale.
Stanford researchers create new catalyst that can
turn carbon dioxide into fuels
● Researchers have developed a new catalyst that can help
turn carbon dioxide from car exhaust pipes and other
sources into fuels like natural gas or propane.
● The latest approach from engineers at Stanford University in the US yields four times
more ethane, propane and butane than existing methods that use similar processes.
● It could significantly reduce the near–term impact on global warming.
MeitY launched Startup Hub for stakeholders
● India has set up a hub for startups, which will act as a platform
to connect with incubators, accelerators, mentors, and
eventually, angel funds and venture capitalists.
● MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), a platform to connect the startup
ecosystem, has been formally inaugurated by Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for
Electronics & Information Technology, at the MeitY Startup Summit 2019.
NASA unveils space–suit for next Moon landing
● NASA has unveiled its next–generation space–suits for
upcoming Artemis programme.
● Artemis is scheduled to launch by 2024.
● It will be NASA’s first woman mission on the Moon.
● This space–suit will be more flexible and easy to wear, NASA reported.
● NASA announced that it will allow astronauts to squat to pick up rocks and move more
34

easily.
● The new Moon suit, is known formally as the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit
(xEMU).

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
11th Nuclear Energy Conclave held at New Delhi
● Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the 11th
Edition of Nuclear Energy Conclave 2019
in New Delhi.
● It was organized by India Energy Forum.
● A nuclear plant is coming up in the
Gorakhpur of Haryana.
● A ‘Hall of Nuclear Energy’ was also opened at Pragati Maidan in Delhi.
● The theme of the Conclave: ‘Economics of Nuclear Power– Innovation towards Safer &
Cost–Effective Technologies’.
Mars once had salt lakes similar to those on Earth: Study
● Mars once had salt lakes similar to those on the Earth,
according to a study which indicates that its climate ‘dried
out’ over a long time.
● The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
● It noted that over 3 billion years ago the lake that was
present in Gale Crater underwent a drying episode.
● The Gale Crater formed about 3.6 billion years ago when a meteor hit Mars.
India handed over vaccines to Myanmar
● India has handed over 10,000 vials of anti–rabies vaccines to
Myanmar in an effort to help the Naypyitaw in its fight against
the Rabies disease.
● The aim of this goodwill donation was to provide support to
the Government of Myanmar for its fight against Rabies and
to showcase the strength of India’s pharmaceutical industry
in manufacturing high–quality vaccines at a highly competitive price.
IIT Madras students developed new service
● IIT Madras students have developed an AI–based
solution called ‘Eye in the Sky’ for disaster management
and aid services.
● A team of engineering students is building drones
35

enabled with AI and computer vision to develop an end–

to–end solution for identifying accurate and critical information on people trapped in
disaster–hit areas and communicate them to relief task force.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
IITs dominate QS India rankings, Calcutta
University tops among state–run varsities
● The latest 2 edition of Quacquarelli Symonds
(QS) India University Rankings 2020 was
released recently.
● IIT Bombay has again topped all Indian
Institutes in the list with an overall score of
88.5 followed by IISc– Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (ranked 2 with 84.7 score).
● Indian Institute of Technology Delhi has improved a notch to rank 3 with 82.2 scores. IIM
Kozhikode & MRPL joined hands
IIT Kharagpur Graduate Develops Device To Curb Air Pollution
● IIT Kharagpur graduate Debayan Saha has invented a
device called PM 2.5 which he claimed when fitted near the
silencer pipe in vehicles will curb air pollution.
● The technology uses a combination of electric energy and
wave energy to influence the pollutants like PM 2.5 such
that they act like a magnet attracting other particulate
pollutants from the ambient atmosphere to get attached to it.
1st National Hindi Science writers conference held in Lucknow
● In Uttar Pradesh, the first 2–day long National Hindi Science writers conference started
on 11 October in Lucknow. The conference was organised at Dr. Shakuntala Mishra
National rehabilitation university.
● Its aim is to release science writing from the clutches of English and to promote use of
Hindi and other Vernacular languages.

Ecology and Environment

Emperor Penguins vulnerable to sea ice changes this century
● A new study published in the journal Biological
Conservation has recommended that the status of the
emperor penguin, in the Red List of International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), should be changed to
‘vulnerable’.
● Sea ice needed in the life cycle of emperor penguins is
36

being lost to changing wind patterns and rising temperatures.

● Emperor penguins (Aptenodyptes forsteri) are unique amongst birds because their
breeding relies on stable sea ice.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
The annual Ganges river dolphin census has begun
● It is undertaken by World Wide Fund for Nature–
India in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh
Forest Department.
● It takes place along about 250–km–long riverine
stretch of Upper Ganga between Hastinapur
Wildlife Sanctuary and Narora Ramsar site.
● Unlike previous years, when direct counting method was used, this year the tandem boat
survey method is being used.
● The animal is known to make strange sounds when it breathes, earning it the sobriquet
‘Susu’.
C40 Cities: 14 cities drive sustainable diet plan
● Fourteen global cities have pledged to promote
sustainable food policies to tackle the climate crisis
as well as boost the health of its citizens, according
to C40 Cities — a global climate leadership group
comprising 94 cities around the world.
● The C40 Good Food Cities Declaration was signed by the mayors of Barcelona,
Copenhagen, Guadalajara, Lima, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Oslo, Paris, Quezon City,
Seoul, Stockholm, Tokyo and Toronto at the ongoing C40 World Mayors Summit in
Copenhagen on October 10, 2019.
● As part of the declaration, mayors of these cities will work towards implementing a
‘planetary health diet’ for all by 2030. It will be balanced and nutritious food, based on
the culture, geography, and demography of the cities.
An eel like the bhujia: discovered by Scientists in Kerala
● A unique, new species of eel –loach that lives in
deep subterranean aquifers has been discovered in
Kerala.
● The eel, just about 3 centimetres in length and
pinkish–red in colour, belongs to the genus Pangio
and has been named interestingly as Pangio bhujia,
because it resembles the north Indian snack of bhujia.
● The species, described by scientists of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies
37

(KUFOS), Kochi in a paper in the Zootaxa journal, proves conclusively that certain eel–
loaches, till now found in fast–flowing streams of south and southeast Asia, can exist in
subterranean conditions as well.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Kejriwal address C–40 Climate Change Summit
● Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed the C–40
Climate Change Summit through a video conference on 11
October 2019 after the Ministry of External Affairs denied him
permission to visit Denmark.
● The session is titled ‘breathe deeply, city solutions for clean air’.
● He also addressed a joint press conference with mayors of six major world cities on 11
October 2019.
New Odisha initiative: Meal in exchange for plastic waste
● In an effort to raise awareness about the perils of using
plastic, the Kotpad Notified Area Council(NAC) in Koraput
district Odisha is providing free meals to the poor in
exchange for a kilogram of plastic waste.
● The programme entails a meal for anyone who brings a
kilogram of used polythene bags, plastic bottles and cups.
● It is being carried out under the State government’s ‘Aahar’ scheme.
Colombo Declaration on Sustainable Nitrogen Management
● On October 24, 2019, the member states of United Nations
endorsed a proposed road map for action on nitrogen challenges
called Colombo Declaration on Sustainable Nitrogen Management.
● It was organized by Sri Lanka with the support of UN and its
member nations.
● The aim of the Declaration is to halve nitrogen waste by 2030.
● The event endorsed UN plans for a campaign called “Nitrogen for Life”.
Rs 50,000 fine for idol immersion in River Ganga and its tributaries: Centre
● The directive has been issued by the National
Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to chief
secretaries in 11 Ganga basin states. “No idol
immersion into river Ganga and its tributaries and
on their banks,” says the directive, which was
issued after a meeting between representatives of
states and NMCG officials last month.
38

● The Central government has issued a 15–point directive, including cordoning off ghats
and imposing a fine of Rs 50,000, to prevent the immersion of idols in the Ganga or its
tributaries during festivals, including Dussehra, Diwali, Chhath and Saraswati Puja.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
No ban on single–use plastics, to be phased out by 2022
● India would phase out single–use plastics by 2022, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi announced at the Sabarmati river
front in Ahmedabad on October 2, 2019.
● A blanket ban though would not take place, contrary to
expectations that were raised after the prime minister’s
mention of single–use plastics on August 15, 2019.
● On World Environment Day (June 5), 2018, the then environment minister Harsh
Vardhan had announced that single–use plastics would be phased out by 2020. Later,
that deadline was revised to 2022.
● FICCI had also said the Rs 53,000 crore plus segment of the plastic manufacturing
industry would be hit because of a ban, leading to job losses.
Madhya Pradesh set to get its seventh tiger reserve
● RECENTLY DECLARED the Tiger State of India,
Madhya Pradesh is inching closer to getting its
seventh tiger reserve — the Ratapani Tiger Reserve.
● A committee set up by the state government to
finalise contours of the core and buffer areas of the
proposed reserve, to be carved out of the Ratapani
wildlife sanctuary, has submitted its report.
● The sanctuary is spread over Raisen and Sehore districts, but the tiger reserve will also
include some part of the Bhopal forest division.
1 in 5 species: study looks at scale of global wildlife trade
● A new study has found that
nearly one in every five species of
birds, mammals, amphibians and
reptiles are bought and sold on
the wildlife market globally.
● Out of 31,745 vertebrate species
on Earth, 5,579 (18%) are traded
— a finding that is 40–60 per cent
higher than previous estimates.
● The study, by researchers at the
39

University of Florida and the

University of Sheffield, is
published in the journal Science.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● Trade in wildlife breaks up as 27 per cent (1,441) of mammal species, 23 per cent (2,345)
of bird species, almost 10 per cent (609) of amphibian species and 12 per cent (1,184)
of reptiles.
● The hotspots for mammal trade are in Africa and Southeast Asia, while Australia and
Madagascar are the main trade hotspots for reptiles, the study said. While wildlife pet
trade flourishes in the tropics, product trade is concentrated in tropical Africa and
Southeast Asia, including the Himalayas.
Additional News
● California declares state–wide emergency
California’s Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state–wide emergency due to the
unprecedented high winds that have led to the Kincade Fire in the state. The blaze has
destroyed dozens of homes and wineries, including the iconic Soda Rock Winery built in
1869.
● Renewable energy storage device developed
Researchers have developed a new dielectric capacitor– a device that stores energy like
a battery, taking inspiration from a French pastry. The croissant is made by folding
multiple layers of dough. The researchers found that by pressing and folding a polymer
film capacitor, they were able to store 30 times more energy than the best performing
commercially available dielectric capacitor.
● World’s oldest known natural pearl discovered
The oldest known natural pearl in the world has been discovered by Abu Dhabi
archaeologists working at a Neolithic site on Marawah Island, just off the coast of Abu
Dhabi. Dubbed the ‘Abu Dhabi Pearl’, it was found in layers that have been radiocarbon
dated to 5,800– 5,600 BCE, during the Neolithic period. The earliest known pearl in the
UAE came from a Neolithic site in Umm Al Qaiwain.
● Male white bellbird is the world’s loudest
The male white bellbird is the world’s loudest bird which hits 125.4 decibels. This study
was published in the journal Current Biology. This was recorded by Biologist Jeff Podos
at Brazil in the mountains of the northern Amazon. The call by the bird is made as part
of their mating rituals and it’s mating call is about three times louder than screaming
phias.
● Int workshop on Environmental Flows Assessment
International workshop on Environmental Flows Assessment and Implementation for
India was inaugurated by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister for Jal Shakti at
40

Delhi. The exchange of Indian, European and International Experiences was brought
together by National Mission of Clean Ganga (NMCG) along with the Indo–German
Cooperation with its project Support to Ganga Rejuvenation(SGR).

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● Bio methane plant inaugurated in Coimbatore
Swiss Minister for Environment, Energy Simonetta Sommaruga inaugurated bio
methane plant in Coimbatore. The Swiss–funded Rs.45 lakh project will generate bio
methane from 1.5 ton solid waste collected from Ward 22 in West Zone, which can
generate about 150 units of power. The power will mainly be used for electrification of
street lights in the area.
● ‘Garbage Cafe’ in Chhattisgarh commenced
The first–of–its–kind ‘Garbage Cafe’ commenced in Ambikapur city of Chhattisgarh. The
café is being run by the Ambikapur municipal corporation. o In this unique Cafe, poor
people and rag pickers will get free food in exchange for one kilogram of plastic, while
breakfast will be provided if half a kilogram of plastic is brought to the cafe.
● A new species of giant Dinosaur found
A new species of dinosaur that was 4 times bigger than a velociraptor and lived around
145 million years ago has been unearthed in Thailand. The 26 feet long dinosaur is an
early member of a widespread group of dinosaurs called Carcharodontosaurids.
Carcharodontosaurids included some of the largest land predators ever known.

Honours / Awards
Ilham Tohti won Sakharov Prize
● The European Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize
to Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti.
● He has been awarded the Sakharov Prize for his attempts
to foster dialogue between Chinese people and the Uighur.
● Ilham Tohti, who is from the Uighur minority, has been a fierce critic of China’s treatment
of the Uighur people.
● The former Professor of economics was sentenced in 2014.
Olga Tokarczuk wins Nobel prize in literature for 2018, Peter Handke for 2019
● The Swedish Academy on Thursday awarded two
Nobel Prizes for Literature. The Polish author Olga
Tokarczuk was awarded Nobel Prize in literature for
2018, Austrian author Peter Handke for 2019.
● Olga Tokarczuk, the 2018 Nobel Prize in literature
laureate, was born in 1962 in Poland’s Sulechow. In
41

1993 with ‘Podroz Iudzi Ksiegi’ (The Journey of the

Book–People’), Tokarczuk made her debut as a fiction writer. Olga Tokarczuk’s third
novel ‘Prawiek i inne czasy’ which came in 1996 was a breakthrough.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● The Austrian author Peter Handke, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature 2019,
was born in 1942 in Griffen village located in southern Austria’s Karnten region. His debut
novel ‘Die Hornissen’ was published in 1966. With the play ‘Publikumsbeschimpfung’
(‘Offending the Audience’), Peter set his mark on the literary scene.
Abiy Ahmed, the winner of Nobel Peace Prize 2019
● Abiy Ahmed is Africa’s youngest leader and has instilled a certain
optimism in a region of Africa marred by violence.
● Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize
2019 for his efforts to resolve the long–running conflict with neighbouring foe Eritrea.
● He received the award for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation,
and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with
neighbouring Eritrea, a statement from the Committee said.
● On July 9, 2018, following a historic meeting in Eritrea’s capital Asmara, Abiy and Eritrean
President Isaias Afwerki formally ended a 20–year–old stalemate between the countries
in the wake of the 1998–2000 border conflict.
2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry announced
● Three scientists, John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham
and Akira Yoshino, have been jointly awarded the coveted
prize for their development of lithium–ion batteries.
● John Goodenough of the University of Texas is the oldest laureate ever awarded a Nobel
prize.
● M Stanley Whittingham is from the State University of New York at Binghamton.
AIIMS Delhi Wins Top Cleanliness Award from Centre
● Dr. Harsh Vardhan gave away Kayakalp awards to Public
and Private Health Facilities for high standards of sanitation
and hygiene
● Under the Central Government Hospitals A category, the
first prize of Rs. 3 crore was given to the All India Institutes
of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.
● JIPMER, Puducherry was judged as the runner–up in this category with Rs. 1.5 crore prize
money, and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER),
Chandigarh and Safdarjung Hospital, Delhi won the Commendation Award of Rs. 50 Lakh
each.
42

● Static Fact: The Kayakalp Award was instituted as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on
15th May 2015.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
President Kovind presents Vayoshreshtha Samman–2019
● President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Vayoshreshtha
Samman–2019 on the eminent senior citizens and
institutions in New Delhi in recognition of their services
towards the cause of the elderly persons.
● Vayoshreshtha awards are instituted by the Social Justice
and Empowerment Ministry and are presented as part of
the celebration of the International Day of Older Persons on 1st October.
Vice President presents ‘Most Eminent Senior Citizen Award’ to Shri K. Parasaran
● Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu presented Most Eminent
Senior Citizen Award to legal luminary and former Attorney
General K. Parasaran in New Delhi on 20 October 2019.
● He was honoured on the Elder’s Day celebration of Age Care
India, an organization working for the welfare of the elderly.
Gandhi Mandela Award 2019
● The Gandhi Mandela Foundation has constituted India’s first
International Award, The Gandhi Mandela Award.
● The award was announced on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
● The award honours exemplary work and achievements of the Heads of State and
Government and other distinguished persons/organizations around the world.
The US to award Pepsico India
● The United States has named PepsiCo India for the 2019 Secretary
of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE).
● The award will be presented in a ceremony on 31 October 2019.
● The award recognizes the company’s efforts to save more than 17 billion litres of water.
● The company saved water through community water programmes which positively
impacted 60,000 community members.
Lonely Planet ranks MP 3rd ‘Best Value Destination’ in world
● Madhya Pradesh has been ranked under Top three ‘Best Value
Destination’ of the world in 2020 by Lonely Planet.
● It is one of the most diverse tourist destinations.
43

● The state is blessed with rich wildlife experiences, marvelous

heritage, divine pilgrim spots, several architectural wonders.
● Lonely Planet provides trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Varun Jain won Businessworld 40 Under 40 Award
● udChalo, a brand of Upcurve Business Services Pvt. Ltd, an
online travel portal for the Defence Forces, announced that
its Founder, Director & CEO, Varun Jain was recently
named as India’s Most Definitive List of Young Achievers,
by Businessworld 40 under 40 in association with BW Disrupt.
● BW 40 under 40 summit is a quest for the most influential leaders of the year.
IIM Calcutta’s MBA Ranked in Top 20 in the World, Best in India
● IIM Calcutta has secured the 17th rank globally in the
‘Financial Times master’s in management Rankings 2019’.
● The institute got the ranking for its 2–Year master’s in
business administration (formerly Post Graduate
Programme in Management).
● The position has been advanced by six ranks this year and the institute bagged the 1st
place among the five Indian B–Schools listed in the rankings.
President of India Confers Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards
● The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, presented
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards to
selected companies.
● The President conferred national awards to winning
companies in two categories namely, “Corporate
Award for Excellence in CSR” and “Contribution of CSR in Challenging Circumstances”.
● The Awards have been instituted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to recognize
corporate initiatives in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
● Corporate Award for Excellence in CSR for CSR spend above INR 100 Crores has been
conferred on Power Grid Corporation of India Limited. Corporate Award for Excellence
in CSR for CSR spend between INR 10 Crores 100 Crores to Mahindra & Mahindra
Limited.
Lucknow school bagged Guinness World Record
● Lucknow–based school has won the Guinness World Record for
becoming the ‘world’s largest school’ in terms of strength of
students.
44

● City Montessori School (CMS) has won the global award for having 55,547 students in
2019–20, as stated by CMS founder, Jagdish Gandhi.
● Currently, the CMS has 18 branches and approximately 56,000 students all over the city.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
BharatPe wins Innovation in Digital Payments Award at MeitY
● BharatPe, India’s largest merchant fin–tech company has won
the DigiDhan Mission Fin–tech Award 2018–2019 for
‘Innovation in Digital Payments through Emerging
Technology’ at the MeitY Start–up Summit 2019 held in Delhi.
● The award was presented by Chief Guest, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of
Communication, Electronics & IT and Law & Justice.
Additional News
● Muslim Man of the Year– Imran Khan
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been declared as Muslim Man of the Year 2020
by Jordan’s Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre. Imran won the title in the recent list
of the most persuasive Muslims in the world issued by the Centre. He has also become
the sixth most popular world leader on Twitter, boasting 10.5 million followers on the
social media platform.
● Abhijit Banerjee conferred life membership
The Mohun Bagan Athletic Club has conferred life membership to Nobel laureate Abhijit
Banerjee.The club handed him the First Day Cover of 1911 and the maroon green jersey
with his name written on it. In 1911, Mohun Bagan became the first Indian club to win
the Indian Football Association (IFA) Shield beating the East Yorkshire Regiment of the
British Army in the final.
● National Panchayat Awards 2019 conferred
Minister of Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar conferred the National Panchayat
Awards 2019 at a function in New Delhi on 23 Oct 2019. The Awards were given to
awardee Panchayats and States in various categories– Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat
Sashaktikaran Puraskar, Nanaji Deshmukh Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar, Gram
Panchayat Development Plan Award, etc.
● Spirit Of Kerala won People’s Choice Award
Short film from Kerala Spirit Of Kerala has won the People’s Choice Award at the recently
concluded My Rode Reel film competition. The short film is based on a boat race and
directed by Arun Joseph. My Rode Reel film competition is touted as the ‘world’s largest
short film competition’.
● Gully Boy & Delhi Crime won award
Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt–starrer Gully Boy won the best film from India award in
45

the regional finals at the Asian Academy Creative Awards ceremony. Netflix series Delhi
Crime won for Best Actress, Best Direction, Best Drama Series, Best Editing and Best
Original Programme.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● Eminent writer Homen Borgohain was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement
Award at the 6th edition of the Sadin–Pratidin Achievers Award 2019 on 23 October. The
Sadin–Pratidin Achievers Award is presented by the Guwahati–based media group
SadinPratidin group.

Art and Culture

Baul Festival concludes in Dhaka
● A three day long festival of Baul songs named Indo
Bangla Baul Music Festival ended with spell binding
performances by Bauls from India and Bangladesh.
The program was organised to observe the 129th
death anniversary of Baul saint Fakir Lalon Shah.
● More than twenty five Bauls performed during the
program. Bauls Swapan Adhikari, Karuna Prasad and
Ila Biswas from India performed during the program
among others. Renowned Baul singers from Bangladesh like Tuntun Baul, Razzak Fakir,
Abu Bakr Siddik and Arefina Iva also performed during the event.
Deepotsav’ Enters Guinness World Records
● The much–talked–about ‘Deepotsav’, the
annual Diwali festival in Ayodhya, entered the
Guinness Book of Record with the illumination
of 5.51 lakh earthen lamps on the occasion.
● The event made it to the Guinness World
Records for ‘the largest display of oil lamps’.
● It has been achieved by Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh and Dr
Ram Manohar Lohiya Awadh University.
Nationwide “Paryatan Parv 2019” to promote tourism inaugurated in New
Delhi
● The Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and
Minister of Steel, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan
inaugurated the nationwide “Paryatan Parv
2019” in the presence of the Minister of State
(I/C)for Tourism and Culture, Shri Prahlad Singh
Patel in New Delhi.
46

● Organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Paryatan

Parv 2019 will be held from 2nd to 13th October,
2019 across the country.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● The idea of Paryatan Parv is to propagate the message of ‘Dekho Apna Desh’, with the
objective to encourage Indians to visit various tourist destinations of the country and
also to spread the message of ‘Tourism for All’.
● Paryatan Parv 2019 is dedicated to 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The three components of Paryatan Parv, are:
● Dekho Apna Desh: To encourage Indians to visit their own country.
● Tourism for All: Tourism Events at sites across all States in the country are being
organised.
● Tourism & Governance: Interactive Sessions & Workshops with Stakeholders
Nirmala Sitharaman releases special coin
● Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has released
a special commemorative coin on Paramahansa
Yogananda to mark his 125th Birth Anniversary.
● Paramahansa Yogananda was a great son of India,
who was recognized globally.
● His universal message was to bring harmony among mankind and making it so
acceptable globally even when communications modes were limited.
Shirui Lily Festival inaugurated in Manipur
● Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Prahlad
Singh Patel inaugurated Shirui Lily Festival, 2019 at Shirui
Vangayan Ground of Ukhrul in Manipur on 16 Oct 2019.
● He inaugurated the Strength of Unity Statue as a mark of
opening the third edition of the four–day state festival.
● Folk dances and songs of different ethnic groups and performance by rock bands will be
the main attractions
Nepalese Festival ‘Kukur Tihar’ began
● A 5–day festival, called Tihar, has begun in Nepal.
● The 2nd day is traditionally known as Kukur Tihar,
or the day of the dogs.
● Dogs, during this festival, are adorned with flowers,
have tikka put on their foreheads and offered food
47

as part of the ceremony.

● In Nepalese customs, dogs are believed to be messengers of Yamraj or the god of death
and the ceremony is an attempt to appease the god.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Gujarati New Year 2019
● During the five–day Diwali festival celebrations,
Gujarati New Year falls on October 28, coinciding with
Govardhan Puja.
● Gujarati New Year is celebrated a day after Badi Diwali.
● Going by the Hindu calendar, it falls on Shukla Paksha Pratipada.
● Gujarati New Year is also called Bestu Varas.
● According to the Hindu calendar, it is the Gujarati Vikram Samvat 2076 which has begun.
Thotlakonda Buddhist site to be renovated
● Thotlakonda Buddhist site will be renovated as a
meditation place for Vizagites and tourists.
● It was a sacred place of Buddhists during 300 BC to
300 AD.
● The 2,000–old Maha Stupa at Thotlakonda collapsed
on one side due to heavy rains,.
● Static Fact: Thotlakonda Buddhist Complex is situated on a hill near Bheemunipatnam
about 15 kilometres from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Travel advisory for tourists visiting Turkey
● The Government of India has issued travel advisory for
Indian tourists visiting Turkey.
● The government has asked Indian nationals travelling to
Turkey to get in touch with the Indian missions posted
there for any assistance.
● This comes amid tensions between the US and Turkey growing after President Donald
Trump decided earlier this month to withdraw all 1,000 US troops from the region.
First–ever Ladakh Literature Festival
● Ladakh administration is organizing the first–
ever Ladakh Literature festival.
● The 3–day Literature Festival is being organized
from 29 to 31 October 2019.
48

● The first–ever Ladakh Literature festival aims to

celebrate the uniqueness of the region in the fields of Art, Culture and Literature.
● There will be screenings of Ladakhi films, discussions on Heritage of Ladakh.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated CCRT e–portal
● Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel
inaugurated e–portal of Centre for Cultural Resources and Training and
YouTube Channel in New Delhi on 21 Oct 2019.
● The aim is to take India to newer digital pinnacle and to promote Indian
culture.
● He attended the “Digital Bharat – Digital Sanskriti” program organised
by Rashtriya Centre for Cultural Resources and Training.
1st Day Care Recreation Centre in Leh
● A day–care cum recreation centre
for senior citizens has been
inaugurated in Leh.
● The first Government–sponsored
and operated day–care cum
recreation centre for senior citizens
was inaugurated by Supreme Court
judge, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer.
● It will also be equipped with computer learning and a library and the aged citizens can
entertain themselves with recreational activities.
MP Tourism Board to organize City Walk Fest
● MP Tourism Board will organize a month–
long City Walk Festival in 11 cities from
October 12 till November 10, 2019.
● Local, national and international tourists of all
age groups will participate in the festival.
● More than 100 city walks will be organized
during the festival on subjects including art,
culture, heritage, food, textile, photography and spiritualism.
Additional News
● Indian tourists to be exempted from visas
Indian and Chinese tourists will be exempted from visas to enter Brazil for tourism or
business purposes. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said that there will be no
49

reciprocity in the beginning. US, Australia, Japan, and Canada are already exempt from
short–term tourist and business visas.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019

Appointments/Resignations
Seven High Courts get new Chief Justices
● Justice Lingappa Narayana Swamy, Karnataka High
Court judge, has been appointed as Chief Justice of the
Himachal Pradesh High Court in place of Justice
Ramasubramanian.
● Justice Ravi Shanker Jha, Acting Chief Justice of the
Madhya Pradesh High Court, has been appointed as Chief Justice of the Punjab and
Haryana High Court. Justice Jha will replace Justice Krishna Murari.
● Justice Indrajit Mohanty of the Bombay High Court will take over as the Chief Justice of
the Rajasthan High Court from Justice Bhat.
● Justice Arup K. Goswami, Gauhati High Court judge, has been appointed as Sikkim High
Court Chief Justice and Justice Ajai Lamba, Allahabad High Court judge, has been
appointed as Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court.
● Justice J.K. Maheshwari of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has been appointed as
Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice.
● Justice S. Manikumar of the Madras High Court has been appointed as the Chief Justice
of the Kerala High Court in place of Justice Hrishikesh Roy.
Justin Trudeau wins Canada’s general election
● After the elections in Canada Prime Minister, Justin
Trudeau’s Liberal Party will return to power, but as a
minority government.
● The victory ensures that Trudeau will serve as Prime
Minister for a second term.
● Static Fact: Capital of Canada is – Ottawa and Currency is Canadian dollar.
Manohar Lal Khattar takes oath as Haryana CM
● Manohar Lal Khattar took oath as the Haryana Chief
Minister for a second term and will lead the BJP–JJP
(Jannayak Janata Party) coalition government in the
state.
● JJP leader Dushyant Chautala took oath as his
deputy, a day after the governor invited him to lead
50

the alliance that also has the support of seven Independents.

● Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya administered the oath.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Sophie Wilmes chosen as first woman prime minister of Belgium
● Belgian Budget Minister, Sophie Wilmes has been chosen
as the country’s new caretaker Prime Minister.
● She is the first woman to hold the post in Belgium.
● The 44–year–old will be sworn in by King Philippe.
● Current Prime Minister, Michel is set to take over as
European Council president on December1.
● Static Fact: Capital of Belgium is Brussels and Currency is Euro.
Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde was appointed as the
47th Chief Justice of India.
● Justice Bobde will take oath as the CJI on November 18,
2019.
● He will have a tenure of 17 months and would demit
office on April 23rd, 2021.
● A notification issued by the law ministry under Article 124 (2) said that the President was
pleased to appoint Justice Bobde as the next CJI with effect from Nov 18, 2019. Justice
Bobde will be sworn in at the Rashtrapati Bhavan the same day in a low–key ceremony.
Former IMF chief Christine Lagarde appointed head of European Central
Bank
● European Union leaders confirmed the appointment of
Christine Lagarde as the new chief of the European
Central Bank.
● She will be replacing Mario Draghi (Italy) from November
1.
● She will be chief for a non–renewable term of 8– years.
● She served 8–years as the head of IMF since 2011.
Sajjan Jindal became vice Chairman of WSA
● World Steel Association (Worldsteel) has elected Sajjan Jindal,
Chairman and Managing Director, JSW Steel, as Vice–Chairman
of the association for one year.
51

● The association has also appointed Tata Steel CEO and MD T V

Narendran and Arcelor Mittal Chief L N Mittal as its members.
● The board also elected a 14–member Executive Committee.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Kais Saied was sworn in as Tunisian president
● Kais Saied, a political outsider and retired law
professor, was sworn in as Tunisian president.
He took the oath before the National Assembly
on 23 Oct 2019.
● Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone and Indian
badminton player PV Sindhu were named the
ambassadors for Bharat Ki Laxmi on 22 October
2019.
● It is an initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Antonio Costa re–elected as the Prime Minister of Portugal
● Antonio Costa has been re–elected as the Prime
Minister of Portugal after winning the general
elections.
● He got the most votes in Portugal’s general
election, leaving it poised to continue leading the
government for another four years.
New Governors/Lt Governors
● IAS officer Girish Chandra Murmu has been
appointed as Lt. Governor of Jammu–Kashmir and
R K Mathur as Lt. Governor of Ladakh. Murmu is
serving as the Expenditure Secretary in the Union
Finance Ministry currently.
● P.S. Sreedharan Pillai has been appointed the new
Governor of Mizoram.
● The incumbent Governor of the Jammu and Kashmir Satya Pal Malik has been moved to
Goa.
New whole–time member of IBBI
● The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
(ACC) has approved the appointment of Sudhaker
Shukla as Whole–Time Member of Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
● He is a 1985 Indian Economic Service officer. His
52

period of service for 05 years or up to the age of

65 years.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Other Important Appointments
● Bengaluru–headquartered cure.fit, announced its association with Jasprit Bumrah as the
brand ambassador for its premium sportswear brand, Cultsport.
● Ashok Malik has been appointed as the policy advisor in the Ministry of External Affairs
with the rank of additional secretary. He was press secretary to President Ram Nath
Kovind for a two year term.
● The Appointments Committee of Cabinet approved the appointment of Tuhin Kanta
Pandey as Secretary Department of Investment and Public Asset Management.
● Braj Raj Sharma has been appointed Chairman of Staff Selection Commission while
Sanjeev Nandan Sahai as new Power Secretary.
● Pankaj Kumar will be the new CEO of Unique Identification Authority of India.
● Senior IAS officer Arvind Singh has been appointed as the chairman of Airports Authority
of India and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu will head the National Highways Authority of India.
● Ganji Kamala V Rao, at present in his cadre–state Kerala, has been named the chairman
and managing director, India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) Ltd.
● IAS officer Amit Yadav, joint secretary in the department of telecommunications, has
been appointed as the director general, directorate general of foreign trade.
● Pramod Kumar Tiwari, joint secretary, department of food and public distribution,
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, will be the DG of the Bureau of Indian Standards in the
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
● Senior bureaucrat K Sanjay Murthy will be chief executive officer and managing director,
Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation under the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry.
● Keshav Kumar Pathak, who is serving in his cadrestate Bihar, has been appointed as MD,
National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. under the Ministry of
Road Transport and Highways.
● B Srinivas has been named as the MD, National Horticulture Board, department of
agriculture, cooperation and farmers welfare. He is a 1991 batch IAS officer of Kerala
Cadre.
● IAS officer Vijayendra will be chairman & managing director, National Small Industries
Corporation Ltd. He is at present joint secretary, department of defence production.
● Yes Bank Ltd has appointed Anita Pai as the Chief Operating Officer and Jasneet Bachal
as the Chief Marketing Officer of the bank. Jasneet Bachal will head the marketing and
53

communication efforts of the bank.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019

Obituaries
Celebrated opera singer Jessye Norman dies
● Celebrated opera singer Jessye Norman, an American
soprano who showcased her majestic the voice in
performances around the world, died.
● She was 74 years old and winner of Grammy awards. A pioneering young black woman
in the white world of classical music, Norman quickly became beloved for her seemingly
effortless soaring voice and effervescent personality, a commentator said.
Former Gujarat Chief Minister Dilip Parikh, 82, Dies; PM Pays Tributes
● He served as the 13th Chief Minister of Gujarat between
October 1997 and March 1998.
● He was an industrialist and also served as president of the
Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Horticultural legend passed away
● The man who helped make St. Albert the forested gem it is today,
horticulturalist and parks planner John Beedle, passed away in
October 2019.
● Both John Beedle Park and the John Beedle Volunteer Centre are
named in his honour.
● Beedle was a founding member of the St. Albert Garden Club in 1982 and for decades
served as a judge at area horticultural shows.
Chakravarthula Raghavachari passed away
● Chakravarthula Raghavachari, an eminent Telugu
journalist who had served as editor of the Communist
Party–sponsored Visalandhra Telugu daily for over 32
years, passed away in October 2019.
● Raghavachari was often referred to as ‘Moving Encyclopedia’, for his thorough
knowledge in every field.
Yoga Inspirational teacher V Nanammal dies
● India’s oldest exponent and teacher of yoga, V
Nanammal, has died at her home near Coimbatore, in
54

the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

● She was 99 and still teaching a hundred students a day
until a few months ago.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● Known affectionately as “Yoga Grandma”, Nanammal received the Padma Shri – one of
India’s highest civilian honours.
Alexei Leonov, the first person to conduct a spacewalk, passed away
● Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, the first
person to conduct a spacewalk, passed away on
11 October, aged 85.
● On 18 March 1965, Alexei Leonov became the
first person to float freely outside a spacecraft
in Earth orbit.
● He was called “cosmonaut No 11” who was
twice decorated with the country’s top honour,
the Hero of the Soviet Union.
Cuban ballet dancer Alicia Alonso passed away at 98
● Alicia Alonso, who overcame near–
blindness to become a charismatic
ballerina of unusual range and
power, and who helped found what
became, with Fidel Castro’s support,
the National Ballet of Cuba, died in
Havana. She was 98.
● She is considered one of the greatest
20th Century ballerinas. In 1948, she
founded the Alicia Alonso Ballet Company in Cuba’s capital.
Other News
● Veteran journalist and former sports editor at the Indian Express KR Wadhwaney
passed away.
He also authored 31 books on sports and its various aspects.
● Veteran Kannada writer KB Siddhaiah passed away.
He was one of the founder members of Dalitha Sangharsha Samithi (DSS) during the
eighties.
● Noted saxophonist Kadri Gopalnath passed away in October 2019.
He is a Padma Shri awardee whose son is a noted music director.
55

● Robert Forster, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Jackie Brown, has died.
He appeared in more than 100 films including Mulholland Drive and Medium Cool.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019

Sports
2024 Olympic Games logo unveiled in Paris
● The logo for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
unveiled at a ceremony in the French capital
Paris.
● The circular design with Paris 2024 in the art
deco style which was in vogue in 1924 when
Paris last hosted the Games, also incorporates
the lips and outline of Marianne, the personification of the French Republic since the
revolution in 1789.
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.
Graeme elected as MCC Honorary Life Member
● Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith has been elected as
Honorary Life Member of the Marylebone Cricket Club.
● He has an impressive record in One–Day International, scoring
6,989 runs including ten centuries and became South Africa’s
youngest ever captain at 22.
● Tim May was also awarded Honorary Life Membership in recognition of his outstanding
achievements in cricket.
Anandan won gold in Military World Games
● Para–athlete Anandan Gunasekaran won two gold medals
in the disabled men’s 100m and 400m IT1 events to open
India’s medal account at the 7th CISM World Military
Games.
● Gunasekaran clocked 12.00 sec to win the 100m event, India’s first medal in the ongoing
Games.
56

● Peru’s Casas Jose was second with a timing of 12.65 while Fajardo Pardo Teodicelo of
Colombia took the bronze with 12.72 sec.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Raunak Sadhwani: India’s 65th Grandmaster
● Raunak Sadhwani became India’s 65th Grandmaster.
● He defeated Russian GM Alexander Motylev to become the
Grandmaster at the age of 13 years.
● Sadhwani’s first GM norm came in the 2019 Aeroflot Open and the 2nd in the 2019
Porticcio Open and the final norm at FIDE–Chess Grand Swiss.
Bengal Warriors won 7th Pro Kabaddi League
● In the final of 7th season of Vivo Pro Kabaddi League 2019,
Bengal Warriors won their first title by defeating Dabang
Delhi by 39–34 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
● Most Valuable Player award of the League was bagged by
Naveen Kumar from Dabang Delhi, Best raider to Pawan Kumar Sherawat from
Bengaluru Bulls; Best defender award to U Mumba’s Fazel Atrachali.
Praveen: 1st Indian to win gold in Wushu
● Praveen Kumar became the first Indian man to win a Wushu
World Championships gold, beating Russel Diaz of
Philippines in the 48kg category in Shanghai.
● India finished third overall in the championship in event with a gold, two silvers and a
bronze.
● Static Fact: Wushu is a Chinese martial art which combines full–contact kickboxing,
including close–range punches and kicks.
Rohit Sharma hit maiden double hundred
● Rohit Sharma is the first Indian opener to register two 150–plus
scores in a single Test series and the fourth Indian batsman to
score a double century against South Africa.
● He scored 212 runs from 255 deliveries before losing his wicket to Kagiso Rabada.
● His stellar innings had 28 fours and six sixes.
Rohit Sharma reached top 10 in all formats
● Rohit Sharma has become the third Indian batsman to reach the top 10 in all three
formats after series against South Africa.
● Rohit’s player of the series effort of 529 runs helped him make huge strides from 44th
57

place before the series.

● He has held a career–high ranking of second in ODIs in February 2018 and seventh in
T20 in November 2018.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
Shakib Al Hasan banned by ICC
● Bangladesh Test and T20 Captain Shakib Al Hasan has been
banned by ICC from all cricket for two years, for failing to report
three corrupt approaches, including one at the IPL, by a suspected
Indian bookie, ousting him from the upcoming tour of India.
● He accepted three charges of breaching the ICC Anti–Corruption Code.
Swaroop Singh completed Ironman Malaysia
● Indian Army’s officer Lt. Col. Swaroop Singh Kuntal became
the fastest Indian to complete Ironman Malaysia in a
record time of 12 hours and 14 minutes.
● Static Fact: Ironman event consists of sea swimming
followed by cycling and running.
● The triathlon is required to be done in a cut– off time of 17 hours.
Satwiksairaj–Chirag lost French Open final
● The Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and
Chirag Shetty finished second best at the French Open Super 750.
● They lost the finals in straight games against top seeds Marcus
Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia.
● Satwik and Chirag, had won their maiden Super 500 title at the Thailand Open in August
2019.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mandhana won Wisden award
● Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and batswoman Smriti
Mandhana are the two Indian names among the five
winners of the prestigious Wisden India Almanack
Cricketer of the Year award.
● Mandhana is the third woman to be named Cricketer of the Year, after Mithali Raj and
Deepti Sharma. Stalwarts Gundappa Viswanath and Lala Amarnath were inducted into
the Wisden India Hall of Fame.
Military World Games: Boxer Deepak wins silver, Balaji
claims bronze in tennis
● Indian pugilist Deepak won a silver while tennis player N. Sriram
58

Balaji claimed a bronze medal in their respective events at the

ongoing seventh Military World Games held in Wuhan.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● Deepak had to settle for silver in the men’s light flyweight (46–49kg) category after
losing 0–5 to gold medallist Zhussupov Temirtas of Kazakhstan in the final.
● Balaji then added to India’s tally by outclassing Uzbekistan’s Fomin Sergey 6–2 6–3 in
the men’s singles bronze medal contest that lasted one hour 19 minutes.
Papua New Guinea qualify for World T20
● Papua New Guinea secured their place in the ICC men’s
Twenty20 World Cup 2020.
● ICC men’s Twenty20 World Cup 2020 will be held in
Australia.
● Papua New Guinea secured a 45–run win over Kenya in Dubai.
● Assad Vala is the captain of the Papua New Guinea men’s cricket team.
Tiger Woods won the Zozo Championship
● Tiger Woods won the Zozo Championship by three
strokes matching Sam Snead’s record of 82 PGA Tour
victories. Snead was 52 years old when he recorded his
final tour victory in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1965.
● Lewis Hamilton won the Mexican Grand Prix for Mercedes on 27 October 2019.
Hamilton’s 10th win of the season, and 83rd of his career, was also a 100th for Mercedes
as a constructor.
Eden Gardens to host India’s first ever Day–Night Test match
● The Bangladesh Cricket Board has agreed to India’s
proposal to play a day–night Test at Eden Gardens in
Kolkata during the upcoming two–match series.
● The game, starting on November 22, 2019, will be the
first day–night Test for both teams and second of the
series.
● The first day–night Test took place in 2015 between Australia and New Zealand.
Indian paddler Payas Jain shines in ITTF World Cadet Challenge
● Indian paddler Payas Jain teamed up with South Korea’s Seongil
Jang and Sora Matsushima of Japan to win the gold medal at the
ITTF World Cadet Challenge played in Wladyslawowo, Poland.
59

● In the girls team event, Yashaswani Ghorpade led the Asian

challenge to help them earn a bronze medal with a 3–0 win over
Poland.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
SAI facilities to be made free of cost
● The Sports Ministry announced that sports facilities and stadia
across the country under the auspices of the Sports Authority
of India (SAI) would be made free of cost from November 1,
2019.
● Facilities would be free for national sports federations, clubs
and various leagues. The facilities can be availed for free only for sports events.
Karnataka crowned Vijay Hazare Trophy champs
● Karnataka was crowned the 2019–20 Vijay Hazare Champions
as they beat Tamil Nadu by nine wickets in the Vijay Hazare
Trophy at Bengaluru.
● Abhimanyu Mithun and Mayank Agarwal put on a masterclass performance as
Karnataka won their fourth Vijay Hazare Trophy title with a dominant display against
Tamil Nadu via VJD method.
● As per VJD method, Karnataka should have been 86/1 in 23 overs.
3rd SAFF U–15 Women’s Championship
● The Indian football team won the 3rd Edition of the SAFF U–
15 Women’s Championships 2019 by beating Bangladesh by
5–3 in the penalty shootout.
● The tournament was organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) and was
held at Changlimithang Stadium in Thimpu, Bhutan.
● Indian captain Shilky Devi slotted home from the final spot–kick to hand her side 5–3 win.
Kuhoo Garg–Dhruv Rawat won Egypt title
● In badminton, Kuhoo Garg and Dhruv Rawat won the mixed
doubles title at the Egypt International 2019 in Cairo on
October 20, 2019.
● They showed excellent understanding as they had accounted for the second seeds
Ahmed Salah and Hadia Hosny of Egypt and win over fourth seeds Koceila Mammeri and
Linda Mazri of Algeria in the semi–finals.
Mithali Raj becomes 1st female player to complete 20
yrs in international cricket
60

● Indian women’s cricket captain Mithali Raj achieved the

feat while leading India to an emphatic eight–wicket win
over South Africa Women in the first ODI at Vadodara.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
● Mithali, who made her ODI debut against Ireland on June 26, 1999, completed 20 years
and 105 days in the 50–over format.
Virat Kohli creates history
● Virat Kohli scripted history as he scored a record seventh double
hundred of his career and became the first Indian captain to
score 250 plus in a single Test inning.
● Kohli became the fifth Indian batsman to score 250 in a Test
innings after Virender Sehwag, Karun Nair, VVS Laxman, and Rahul Dravid.
● Virat Kohli became just the second Indian captain to lead India in 50 Test matches as he
walked out for toss in the second Test against South Africa in Pune.
● MS Dhoni is the only other player who has completed this milestone.
● Dhoni captained the side 60 times between 2008 and 2014 while Sourav Ganguly is third
on the list, having led the side 49 times.
Amit Panghal won in World Military Games
● In Boxing, Amit Panghal won his opening bout in the men’s
flyweight (52kg) category as the boxers gave India a good
start in the 7th CISM World Military Games in Wuhan, China
on 20 Oct 2019.
● Panghal beat Douglas Andrade of Brazil 4–1, while Chirag (56kg) defeated Zambia’s
Katanga Christopher 5–0.
India Women defeated South Africa in Cricket: India clinch series 2–0
● In Women’s cricket, India defeated South Africa by five
wickets in the Second One–Day International at
Vadodara and clinched the three match series by 2–0.
● India women overwhelmed the victory target of 248 in
48 overs losing only five wickets.
Dutee Chand breaks her own national record
● Star sprinter Dutee Chand smashed her own national record,
clocking 11.22 seconds, in the women’s 100m semifinals at
the 59th National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi.
● The 23–year–old surpassed her previous timing of 11.26
61

second which she had set at the Asian Championships in

April this year.
● Later she won the gold, leaving Archana Suseendran and Himashree Roy behind.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019

Important Days and Themes

Military Nursing Service celebrates 94th Raising Day
● The 94th Raising Day of the Military Nursing Service (MNS)
was celebrated on 1st October.
● The MNS is the only all women corps in the Armed Forces.
It came into being on March 28, 1888 with the arrival of
first batch of 10 qualified British Nurses in Bombay (now Mumbai), to organise nursing
in Military hospitals in India.
● In 1893 it was designated as Indian Army Nursing Service (IANS) and in 1902 as Queen
Alexandra Military Nursing Service (QAMNS).
● In 1914 for the first time Nurses were enrolled in India and were attached to QAMNS.
● On October 1, 1926, a permanent Nursing Service for the Indian troops was formed and
was designated as the Indian Military Nursing Service (IMNS).
● On September 15, 1943, the IMNS officers became a part of the Indian Army and the
members of service became Commissioned Officers.
World Statistics Day: October 20, 2020
● World Statistics Day was observed on 20 October 2020.
● The day aims to show that good data and statistics are indispensable for informed
decision making by all actors in society.
● The United Nations celebrates the event every five years. The day was instituted by the
United Nations in 2010.
● The theme of the 2015 World Statistics Day was Better Data, Better lives.
World Mental Health Day: 10 October
● World Mental Health Day is observed on 10 October every year.
● It is observed with an aim to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world.
● The theme for World Mental Health Day 2019 is Mental Health Promotion and Suicide
Prevention.
International Animation Day: 28 October
● The day marks the main global event to celebrate the art of animation.
● The day recognizes and celebrates the artists, the scientists, and the technicians behind
62

animated art, including animated movies.

● International Animation Day was proclaimed in 2002 by the Association Internationale
du Film d’Animation (ASIFA).

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
World Day For Audiovisual Heritage: 27 October
● The theme for World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2019 is “Engage the Past Through
Sound and Images”.
● In 2005, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
General Conference declared October 27 as World Day for Audiovisual Heritage.
Ayurveda Day: 25 October
● Every year, the National Ayurveda Day is celebrated on the occasion of Dhanwantari
Jayanti (Dhanteras).
● The government organized the fourth Ayurveda Day at the National Institute of
Ayurveda (NIA) in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
● Dhanwantari Pujan and National Dhanwantari Ayurveda Awards 2019 ceremony was
held at NIA.
Vigilance Awareness Week: 28 Oct–2 Nov
● The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare observed the Vigilance Awareness Week from
28 Oct to 2 Nov 2019.
● The week was observed with the theme of Integrity– a way of life.
● The week was observed as per directions of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
● CVC observes Vigilance Awareness Week every year to promote probity in public life and
to achieve a corruption free society.
United Nations Day: 24 October
● 24th October is being celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948.
● The United Nations was founded in 1945 to support collective action to realize peace,
development and human rights for all.
● United Nations will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations in 2020
with inclusive global conversation on the role of global cooperation in building the future
we want.
World Development Information Day: 24 October
● The UN observes World Development Information Day on 24 October every year.
● The General Assembly in 1972 established World Development Information Day to draw
the attention of the world to development problems and the need to strengthen
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international cooperation to solve them.

● The General Assembly decided that the date for the Day should coincide with United
Nations Day i.e. 24 October.

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019
International Girl Child Day: 11 October
● International Day of the Girl Child is globally observed on 11 October every year.
● The day aims to meet the needs and challenges faced by girls.
● It also aims to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.
● The theme for the year 2019 is Girl Force: Unscripted and Unstoppable.

Date Day Theme

1st October 2019 International Day of Older The Journey to Age Equality
Persons
4th October To World Space Week The Moon: Gateway to the Stars
10th October 2019
5th October 2019 World Teacher’s Day ‘Young Teachers: The future of
the Profession’
7th October 2019 World Habitat Day Frontier Technologies as an
innovative tool to transform
waste to wealth
9th October 2019 World Post Day ––
10th October 2019 World Mental Health Day Suicide Prevention

11th October 2019 International Day of the Girl Girl Force: Unscripted and
Child Unstoppable
12th October 2019 World Migratory Bird Day Protect Birds: Be the Solution to
Plastic Pollution!
13th October 2019 International Day for Disaster Reduce disaster damage to
Risk Reduction critical infrastructure and
disruption of basic services
14th October 2019 World Standards Day Video standards create a global
stage
15th October 2019 International Day of Rural “Rural Women and Girls
Women Building Climate Resilience”
15th October 2019 Global Handwashing Day Global Handwashing Day is
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Clean Hands for All

16th October 2019 World Food Day “Our Actions Are Our Future”

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 Current Affairs COMPENDIUM October, 2019

Date Day Theme

17th October 2019 International Day for the Acting Together to Empower
Eradication of Poverty Children, their Families and
Communities to End Poverty
20th October 2019 World Statistics Day “Better Data, Better Lives”

24th October 2019 World Polio Day ––

27th October 2019 World Day for Audiovisual “Engage the Past Through Sound
Heritage and Images”
28th October to Vigilance Awareness Week “Integrity– a way of life”
2nd November 2019
31st October 2019 World Cities Day “Changing the world:
innovations and better life for
future generations”

Sources
● The Hindu
● The Indian Express
● The Times of India
● Live Mint
● Business Standard
● The Hindustan Times
● India Today
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