PM Modi inaugurates Kushinagar International Airport in UP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Kushinagar International Airport in Uttar Pradesh. The airport has been built at an estimated cost of Rs. 260 crore, by the Airport Authority of India. Besides, it has the longest runway in Uttar Pradesh. It will facilitate domestic & international pilgrims to visit the Mahaparinirvanasthal of Lord Buddha in Kushinagar.
Kushinagar is the final resting place of Gautama Buddha, where he attained Mahaparinirvana after his death. The airport will help in boosting tourism on the Buddhist circuit. The first international flight at the Kushinagar International Airport landed from Colombo, Sri Lanka, carrying a Sri Lankan delegation of over a hundred Buddhist Monks & dignitaries. Now the number of airports handling passenger flights in Uttar Pradesh has increased to 9.
Kung Fu Nuns wins UNESCO’s Martial Arts Education Prize 2021
The well known Kung Fu Nuns of the Drukpa order of Buddhism has won the inaugural UNESCO’s Martial Arts Education Prize 2021, for their brave and heroic acts of service and championing of gender equality across the Himalayas. The Nuns empower young girls through martial arts, to defend themselves, build confidence, and take on leadership roles in their communities.
About the award:
The award has been launched by UNESCO ICM (International Centre of Martial Arts for Youth Development and Engagement), to collect and promote good practices of martial arts education(MA Edu.)
A Balasubramanian becomes new Chairman of AMFI
A Balasubramanian has been elected as the new Chairman of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). He replaces Nilesh Shah, the Managing Director of Kotak Mutual Fund. Balasubramanian is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management. Meanwhile, Radhika Gupta, the MD and CEO of Edelweiss AMC, has been appointed as vice-chair of AMFI.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Association of Mutual Funds in India Founded: 22 August 1995;
- Association of Mutual Funds in India Headquarters: Mumbai.
India ranks 71st on 2021 Global Food Security Index
India has achieved the 71st position in the Global Food Security (GFS) Index 2021 from among a list of 113 countries. The GFS Index is designed and constructed by London-based Economist Impact and is sponsored by Corteva Agriscience. The overall score of India is 57.2 points on the GFS Index 2021.
According to the report, India held 71st position with an overall score of 57.2 points on the GFS Index 2021 of 113 countries, fared better than Pakistan (75th position), Sri Lanka (77th Position), Nepal (79th position) and Bangladesh (84th position). But the country was way behind China (34th position). However, over the past 10 years, India’s incremental gains in overall food security score were lagging behind that of Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Globally:
Ireland, Australia, the UK, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, France and the US shared the top rank. Their overall GFS score were in the range of 77.8 and 80 points on the index.
About the Index:
The GFS Index measures the factors affecting food insecurity around the world based on 4 main factors and 58 unique food security indicators. The factors include affordability, availability, quality and safety, and natural resources and resilience.
List of India’s Rank Different Index 2021:
- Economic Freedom Index 2021: 121st
- World Happiness Report 2021: 139th
- International Intellectual Property (IP) Index 2021: 40th
- World Press Freedom Index, 2021: 142nd
- World Competitiveness Index 2021: 43rd
- Global Peace Index 2021: 135th
- Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021: 20th
- Global Manufacturing Risk Index 2021: 2nd
- Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021: 46th
- Henley Passport index 2021: 90th
- Global Hunger Index 2021: 101st
Nabard subsidiary ‘NABSanrakshan’ sets up Rs 1000 cr credit guarantee fund trust
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has announced the creation of an Rs. 1,000 crore Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for FPOs (CGFTFPO), a dedicated fund for providing credit guarantees to FPOs. The fund has been launched under the trusteeship of NABSanrakshan Trustee Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NABARD.
For this, NABSanrakshan has signed a trust deed with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Trust has been registered at Mumbai. The credit guarantee offered through the trust will enhance the creditworthiness of FPOs besides facilitating cost-effective production and productivity leading to higher net incomes to the farmers who are members of FPOs.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Chairman of NABARD: G R Chintala;
- NABARD Founded: 12 July 1982;
- NABARD Headquarters: Mumbai.
Imtiaz Ali appointed ambassador of Russian Film Festival
Director-producer Imtiaz Ali has been roped in as the ambassador of the Russian Film Festival in India. As part of the festival, ten notable Russian films of various genres are being premiered for Indian audiences on Disney+ Hotstar from October 16 to November 27. Russia and India are cooperating in the field of cinematography through the BRICS.
About the festival:
- The festival brings celebrated and popular romances, dramas, and comedies from Russia like Ice , On the Edge , Tell Her , Doctor Liza , The Relatives , Another Woman! , Jetlag among others.
- The first-ever online Russian Film Festival in India is organized by ROSKINO with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Cinema Fund, the Moscow City Tourism Committee, Discover Moscow, Rossotrudnichestvo, and with the assistance of Kartina Entertainment.
- The festival was launched in 2020 and has already been successfully held in 14 countries, with more than 200 thousand viewers.
NPCI launches card tokenisation platform ‘NTS’
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched the NPCI Tokenization system (NTS) to further enhance the safety of customers and provide a seamless shopping experience to consumers. The NPCI Tokenization System (NTS) will support the tokenisation of RuPay cards, to provide an alternate for storing card details with merchants.
NPCI’s Token Reference On File(TROF) service will help RuPay cardholders, to maintain the security of their financial data. With NTS, acquiring Banks, Aggregators, Merchants & others can get themselves certified with NPCI & can play the role of Token Requestor to help save the Token reference number (Token Reference On File) against all card numbers saved.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- National Payments Corporation of India MD & CEO: Dilip Asbe;
- National Payments Corporation of India Headquarters: Mumbai;
- National Payments Corporation of India Founded: 2008.
Ecuador declares state of emergency over crime wave
Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso has declared a 60-day state of emergency in the South American country, due to the rise in violent drug crimes. President Lasso has pointed to drug trafficking and consumption as the main drivers behind an increase in murders, home burglary, thefts of vehicles and goods, and muggings.
Under the emergency measures, the armed forces and police would work together to carry out “arms checks, inspections, 24-hour patrols, and drug searches, among other actions. Ecuador is a transit country for cocaine smuggled from neighbouring Peru and Colombia and much of the crime wave is thought to be drug-related.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Ecuador Capital: Quito;
- Ecuador Currency: United States Dollar.
CII organises International Conference and Exhibition “Future Tech 2021”
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has organised an International Conference and Exhibition on Digital technologies, “Future Tech 2021- a Journey of digital transformation to technology adoption and acceleration” from October 19 to 27, 2021. The focus theme of the International conference is “Driving technologies for building the future, we all can trust”.
The inaugural session was virtually attended by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The theme will have 5 pillars: Strategy, Growth, Resilience, Inclusiveness, Trust. The International conference will serve as a platform for Indian industry and entrepreneurs to understand the nuances of technologies and identify the right approach and technologies for their business as well as B2B partnerships.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Confederation of Indian Industry President: T. V. Narendran;
- Confederation of Indian Industry Founded: 1895;
- Confederation of Indian Industry Director-General: Chandrajit Banerjee;
- Confederation of Indian Industry Headquarters: New Delhi, India.
A new book titled ‘Stars In My Sky’ by Divya Dutta
National Award-winning actress Divya Dutta has come up with her second book titled, “The Stars in My Sky: Those Who Brightened My Film Journey”. The book, published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI), will be released on October 25, 2021. In her new book, Divya Dutta shares her experiences with some of the stalwarts of Bollywood who played a significant role in her film career.
Overview of 2021 BNP Paribas Open held at Indian Wells
The 2021 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, also known as the 2021 Indian Wells Masters, was held from October 04 to 18, 2021 at Indian Wells, California, US. This marks the 47th edition of the men’s BNP Paribas Open (ATP Masters) and the 32nd Edition of the women’s BNP Paribas Open (WTA Masters).
The list of winners is given below:
- Cameron Norrie won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 by winning the Men’s singles title at the 2021 BNP Paribas Open
- Paula Badosa defeats Victoria Azarenka to win the Women’s Singles Title
- Elise Mertens and Su Wei Hsieh won the Women’s Doubles title
- John Peers and Filip Polasek won the Men’s Doubles title
About BNP Paribas Open:
- The BNP Paribas Open is the largest combined ATP Tour Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tennis event.
- It is annually held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, the USA.
Australia’s James Pattinson retires from international cricket
Australian fast bowler James Pattinson has retired from international cricket after realising that he won’t be in the reckoning for the Ashes series due to fitness issues. The 31-year-old, who has played 21 Tests and 15 ODIs, though will continue to play domestic cricket.
Pattinson claimed 81 Test wickets and 16 ODI scalps in his career after making his Test debut in December 2011 alongside Mitchell Starc and David Warner against New Zealand in Brisbane. His last Test was against New Zealand in Sydney in January 2020 while he last played an ODI way back in September 2015 against England at Leeds.
Sri Lanka’s first Test captain Bandula Warnapura passes away
Sri Lanka’s first-ever Test captain Bandula Warnapura passed away, following a brief illness. He was 68. A right-handed batsman, he led his country when it faced England in its first-ever Test match in 1982 and played three more Tests, scoring 96 runs overall at an average of 12. He also played 12 ODI matches, scoring 180 runs at an average of 15.
India, Israel, UAE, U.S. decide to launch quadrilateral economic forum
India, Israel, United Arab Emirates and the United States have decided to launch a new quadrilateral economic forum. Quadrilateral builds on ongoing cooperation between U.S., Israel and UAE after the Abraham Accords last year. This QUAD grouping had decided to establish an international forum for economic cooperation and discussed possibilities for joint infrastructure projects expanding economic and political cooperation in the Middle East and Asia.
India, the United States, Israel and the UAE have decided to form a forum for future economic cooperation and to explore possibilities of joint infrastructure projects in the fields of Transportation, Technology, Maritime security, Economics, Trade as well as for additional joint projects.
Colin Powell, first Black US secretary of state, passes away
Colin Powell, the trailblazing soldier and diplomat whose sterling reputation of service to Republican and Democratic presidents was stained by his faulty claims to justify the 2003 US war in Iraq, died of Covid-19 complications. He was 84. He instead joined President George W. Bush’s administration in 2001 as secretary of state. He was the first Black person to represent the US government on the world stage.
