‘Father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb’ A. Q. Khan passes away
Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, the man regarded as the “Father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb”, has passed away, He was 85. The atomic scientist, Dr Khan was hailed as a national hero for transforming Pakistan into the world’s first Islamic nuclear power and for his contributions in enhancing the country’s defence capabilities.
World Mental Health Day: 10 October
World Mental Health Day is observed every year on 10 October globally for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. The overall objective of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. The theme for World Mental Health Day 2021 is ‘Mental health in an unequal world’.
History and Significance of World Mental Health Day:
World Mental Health Day was first observed on October 10, 1992, as an annual activity of the World Federation for Mental Health. The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.
Bathukamma festival begins in Telangana
The nine-day floral festival has begun in Telangana. The festival began with excitement as the women were dressed in traditional clothes and colourful processions were carried out in Telangana, the Bathukamma festival is celebrated during Durga Navratri. Bathukamma festival begins on the day of Mahalaya Amavasya and the festival continues till nine days, ending on the day of Durgashtami.
List of Festival in Telangana
- Bonalu Festival
- Inavolu (Iloni) Mallanna Jathara
- Sammakka Sarakka Jatara
- Nagoba Jathara
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Telangana Capital: Hyderabad;
- Telangana Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan;
- Telangana Chief minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao.
PNB launches ‘6S Campaign’ under customer outreach programme
Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched ‘6S Campaign’ under a customer outreach programme to extend financial services at a concessional rate during the festival season. The ‘6S Campaign’ encapsulates different schemes such as – Swabhiman, Samruddhi, Sampark and Shikhar, Sankalp and Swagat. The objective is to drive a special awareness campaign for the development of financial services in the country and to accelerate credit growth, improve penetration of social security schemes and drive digital banking push.
About the ‘6S Campaign’ programme
- Through Swabhimaan, the Bank aims to aggressively push the financial inclusion agenda by deepening penetration of the three Jan Suraksha or Social Security Schemes pertaining to the insurance and pension sector namely, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana, and Atal Pension Yojana.
- Under the Samruddhi scheme, Bank aims to drive credit outreach for the agricultural sector which is the cornerstone of the Indian economy.
- Under Shikhar, Sankalp and Swagat schemes, the Bank has devised special rates of interest to drive credit offtake in the retail and MSME sector. In addition, focussed products and customer segments have also been identified for targeted outreach in line with the Bank’s broader strategic agenda.
- Within the ambit of Digital Outreach and Service Delivery, Bank would run a Sampark campaign, aimed at driving penetration of its flagship mobile application, PNB One.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Punjab National Bank Headquarters: New Delhi.
- Punjab National Bank MD and CEO: S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao.
- Punjab National Bank Founded: 19 May 1894, Lahore, Pakistan.
National Postal Day: 10 October
In India, the National Postal Day is celebrated annually on 10 October, as an extension of World Post Day, which is celebrated on 9 October. The Day aims to commemorate the role played by the Indian postal department for the past 150 years, which was founded in 1854 by Lord Dalhousie. Indian postal service is an integral part of India. The postal services in India have given the best performance despite the diversity in culture, tradition and difficult geographical terrains.
India’s PIN Code system:
PIN in Pincode stands for Postal Index Number. The 6-digit PIN system was introduced by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications on 15 August 1972. The first digit of the PIN code marks the region. The second digit denotes the sub-region. The third digit marks the district. The last three digits show the post office under which a particular address falls.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Indian Post Secretary: Vineet Pandey.
- Indian Post Headquarters: New Delhi.
Valtteri Bottas Wins Turkish Grand Prix 2021
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Finland) has won the F1 Turkish Grand Prix 2021, held on October 10, 2021. This is his first title of this season. Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) came second while Sergio Perez (Mexico- Red Bull) finished third. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton finished fifth.
International Day of the Girl Child: 11 October
The International Day of the Girl Child (also known as Day of Girls and the International Day of Girls) is observed annually on October 11 since 2012. This international observance day was declared by the United Nations to raise awareness of issues facing girls internationally surrounding education, nutrition, child marriage, legal and medical rights. The theme for 2021 International Day of the Girl Child is “Digital generation. Our generation”.
History of the day:
In 1995 at the World Conference on Women in Beijing countries unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing the rights of not only women but girls. The Beijing Declaration is the first to specifically call out girls’ rights.
On December 19, 2011, United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.
FICCI projects 9.1% GDP growth for FY22
India’s GDP is expected to grow at 9.1 per cent in 2021-22 as the economic recovery, post the second wave of the pandemic, seems to be holding ground. The survey was conducted in September 2021 and drew responses from leading economists representing the industry, banking and financial services sector. FICCI’s Economic Outlook Survey also noted that the ongoing festive season would support this momentum.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- FICCI Founded: 1927;
- FICCI Headquarters: New Delhi;
- FICCI President: Harshavardhan Neotia;
- FICCI CEO: Sangita Reddy.
Reliance New Energy Solar acquires REC Solar Holdings
Reliance New Energy Solar Ltd (RNESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), has acquired 100 per cent shareholding of REC Solar Holdings AS (REC Group), a Chinese state-owned solar power company. RNESL has acquired the REC Group from China National Bluestar (Group) Co Ltd., for an Enterprise Value of $771 million.
About the acquisition:
- This acquisition will enable Reliance to move closer to achieve the goal of generating 100GW of solar energy by 2030, and in turn, support the country’s global goal to produce 450GW of renewable energy by 2030.
- REC Group has three manufacturing facilities, two in Norway for making solar-grade polysilicon and one in Singapore making PV cells and modules. With this acquisition, RNESL will become the owner of REL’s three manufacturing facilities.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- RNESL Headquarters location: Mumbai;
- RNESL Founded: 2021.
Abolhassan Banisadr, Iran’s first president passes away
Abolhassan Banisadr, Iran’s first president after the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution who fled Tehran after being impeached for challenging the growing power of clerics as the nation became a theocracy, died. He was 88. He was elected president in 1980, Banisadr was impeached 16 months after taking office for challenging the growing power of clerics.
Banisadr then served as Iran’s minister of economics and foreign affairs and, with the help of the Islamic clergy, became president. He faced huge difficulties from the start, including the US embassy hostage crisis and the Iran-Iraq war but, above all, the opposition of fundamentalist clerics.
The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 2021 announced
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2021 with one half to David Card (University of California, Berkeley, USA) “for his empirical contributions to labour economics”. The other half jointly to Joshua Angrist (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA) and Guido Imbens (Stanford University, USA) “for their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships”.
This year’s Laureates – David Card, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens – have provided us with new insights about the labour market and shown what conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn from natural experiments. Their approach has spread to other fields and revolutionised empirical research.
About the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences:
In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. The Prize is based on a donation received by the Nobel Foundation in 1968 from Sveriges Riksbank on the occasion of the Bank’s 300th anniversary. The first Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen in 1969.
The Prize in Economic Sciences is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden, according to the same principles as for the Nobel Prizes that have been awarded since 1901.
Malayalam writer Benyamin bags Vayalar Award
Well-known Malayalam writer Benyamin has bagged the 45th Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Literary Award for his book “Manthalirile 20 Communist Varshangal”. The prestigious award, instituted by the Vayalar Ramavarma Memorial Trust, comprises a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a sculpture designed by renowned sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman and a citation.
A political satire, the novel revolves around a nondescript village called Manthalir and the influence of religion and politics in its culture in two decades. It was chosen for recognition by an expert panel comprising writers K R Meera, George Onakkoor and C Unnikrishnan.
Astronautical Society of India Confers Aryabhata Award to G Satheesh Reddy
Secretary DDR&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy has been conferred the prestigious Aryabhata Award by the Astronautical Society of India (ASI) for his outstanding lifetime contribution to the promotion of astronautics in India. Dr Reddy is a pioneer in the area of R&D of advanced avionics, navigation, and missile technologies.
Dr Reddy has contributed immensely to strategic and tactical missile systems and helped the country become self-reliant in critical defence technologies. He is an institution builder and has set up mechanisms to establish robust defence development and production ecosystem.
About the ASI:
The ASI is engaged in the dissemination of technical and other information related to astronautics by conducting technical meetings, bringing out technical publications and organising exhibitions.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- President of Astronautical Society of India: Dr K Sivan;
- The Astronautical Society of India (ASI) was set up in 1990;
- Astronautical Society of India HQ: New Delhi.
Telugu Filmmaker B Gopal Chosen for Satyajit Ray Award
Well-known Telugu filmmaker B Gopal, alias Bejawada Gopal, has been chosen for the fourth Satyajit Ray Award for his overall contribution to Indian cinema. Gopal has directed 30 films Telugu films and two Hindi movies. He was selected by a panel comprising Malayalam filmmaker Balu Kiriyath, music director Perumbavoor G Raveendranath and others.
The award is instituted by the Satyajit Ray Film Society Kerala, a state-based organisation, the award comprises Rs 10,000 cash prize, a memento, and a plaque.
Jyotiraditya M. Scindia flags off the Doon Drone Mela
Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has flagged off the Doon Drone Mela 2021 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Minister flagged off the event with a paragliding demonstration and also interacted with the drone companies exhibiting their prototypes at the Doon Drone Mela. The day marked the demonstration of the Drone & Aerosports Demonstrations that included a paragliding demonstration by the Border Security Force, a Paramotor demonstration by Harsh Sachan, and an agriculture spraying drone demonstration by IoTechWorld Aviation & Dhaksha.
Furthermore, the event also included an emergency search & response drone demonstration with an indigenously 3D-printed drone by the Drone Application and Research Centre (DARC) & State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). It was followed by a brief survey drone demonstration by the Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS) under the SVAMITVA Scheme along with a training drone demonstration by Sqn Ldr Varsha Kukreti (Retd).
