Red Bull’s Max Verstappen wins United States Grand Prix 2021
Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) has won the 2021 United States Grand Prix held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, United States. This is the 8th win for Verstappen in this season. The race was the 17th round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) stood second while Sergio Perez (Mexico- Red Bull) came third.
List of 2021 F1 Race
- Bahrain F1 Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain)
- Emilia Romagna F1 Grand Prix: Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands)
- Portuguese Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton
- Spanish Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton
- Monaco Grand Prix: Max Verstappen
- Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Sergio Perez (Red Bull- Mexico)
- French Grand Prix: Max Verstappen
- Styrian Grand Prix: Max Verstappen
- Austrian GP: Max Verstappen
- British Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton
- Hungarian Grand Prix: Esteban Ocon (Alpine Renault- France)
- Belgian Grand Prix 2021: Max Verstappen
- Dutch Grand Prix: Max Verstappen
- Italian Grand Prix: Daniel Ricciardo
- Russian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton
- Turkish Grand Prix: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-Finland)
Dr. Rajiv Nigam Selected for 2022 Joseph A. Cushman Award
Former Chief Scientist at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Dr. Rajiv Nigam has been selected for the 2022 Joseph A. Cushman Award for Excellence in Foraminiferal Research. Dr. Nigam is the first Indian Citizen to be selected for the prestigious award. He has been chosen for his outstanding lifetime contributions to the field of foraminifera (microfossil) research.
Dr. Nigam will receive the award at the Cushman Reception during the 2022 Geological Society of America meeting in Denver, Colorado, USA, from October 9-12-2022. The Joseph A. Cushman Award was established by USA based Cushman foundation for foraminiferal research in 1979.
Invest India elected as President of Geneva-based WAIPA
Invest India, a young startup within the Government of India has been unanimously elected as the President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) for 2021-2023. Invest India is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency to help investors looking for investment opportunities and options in India.
The members of the Steering Committee of WAIPA for 2021-23 includes:
- President: Invest India
- Two Vice Presidents: Egypt and Switzerland
- 9 Regional Directors: Brazil, South Korea, Finland, Kuwait, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Ghana, and Samoa.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies Founded: 1995.
India, UK and Australia to jointly launch IRIS initiative at COP26
India, Australia, and the UK in collaboration with small island developing states (SIDS), have planned to launch a new initiative “Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS)”, on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties (COP26). The IRIS platform aims at creating an infrastructure that can withstand disasters and lessen economic losses in island nations.
The IRIS initiative will be launched with initial funding of $10 million from Australia, India and the UK. The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) is scheduled to take place from October 31 to November 12, 2021.
NITI Aayog launches “Innovations for You” Digi-Book
The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of NITI Aayog has launched a Digi-book named “Innovations for You”. The sector in focus in this Digi-book is Healthcare. “Innovation for you” is an initiative of Niti Aayog to share success stories of Atal Innovation Mission’s Startups in different domains.
The Digi-book was launched with the aim of serving as an encouragement for upcoming entrepreneurs in order to work on the path of creativity and imagination for addressing some of the pressing challenges in India. It also aims to showcase the best innovations and entrepreneurs to bring them to the forefront.
NITI Aayog’s Digi Book:
- NITI aayog has launched the DIGI book, as India is celebrating the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
- Digi-book is a compilation of 45 health tech start-ups. These start-ups have been incubated at the Atal Incubation Centres across the country.
- These start-ups have been leveraging technologies such as AI, IoT, ICT and others for providing socially relevant solutions to health issues like neonatal & child care, mental health, dental care, anaemia and monitoring human vitals.
PM Modi launches 5,000-crore ‘Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the “Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission” on October 25, 2021, from his parliamentary constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission is one of the largest pan-India schemes for strengthening healthcare infrastructure across the country and is in addition to the National Health Protection Mission (Ayushman Bharat Yojana).
About the scheme:
- Total outlay of the scheme: Rs. 5,000-crore
- Purpose: to address gaps in public health infrastructure, with a focus on critical care facilities and primary care in both urban and rural areas.
- Benefit: The scheme shall strengthen India’s ability to fight and contain outbreaks of diseases in the future.
- Under the scheme, 17,788 rural health and wellness centres in 10 high focus states will get the support of the scheme.
- For an urban areas, 11,024 urban health and wellness centres will be established in all the states.
- Apart from this, a national institution for one health, four new national institutes for virology, a regional research platform for WHO South-East Asia Region, nine biosafety level-III laboratories, five new regional national centres for disease control will also be set up.
Viktor Axelsen and Akane Yamaguchi won Denmark Open 2021
Danish Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen won the Mens’ single 2021 Denmark Open Badminton held at the Odense Sports Park, Denmark. He defeated world number one Kento Momota of Japan. Akane Yamaguchi of Japan won her second title in the women’s category defeating An Se-young (South Korea).
List of all winners of Denmark Open 2021:
| Category | Winner |
| Mens’ single | Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) |
| Womens’ single | Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) |
| Men’s double | Takuro Hoki, and Yugo Kobayashi (Japan) |
| Women’s double | Huang Dongping and Zheng Yu (China) |
| Mixed double | Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino (Japan). |
AU Small Finance Bank launched QR Sound box for payment alerts
India’s Largest Small Finance Bank AU Small Finance Bank has launched QR (Quick Response) Code Sound Box to boost its digital payments while making it the first bank to launch such a product. The QR Sound Box will help small merchants to run their operations smoothly without the hassle of reading SMS every time when a customer makes a payment. It will be made available in five languages – Hindi, English, Punjabi, Gujarati and Marathi.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- AU small finance bank Headquarters: Jaipur, Rajasthan;
- AU small finance bank MD & CEO: Sanjay Agarwal;
- AU small finance bank Chairman: Raj Vikash Verma.
India’s 1st State-Wildlife DNA testing analysis lab inaugurated in Nagpur
Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, inaugurated India’s 1st State government-owned Wildlife DNA testing analysis laboratory at Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL) in Nagpur, Maharashtra. On the occasion, he also launched 3 Fast Track DNA testing units in Mumbai & Pune under the Nirbhaya scheme.
At present, there are 2 Wildlife DNA testing laboratories at Dehradun & Hyderabad, which are fully owned by the Central Government, whereas the newly launched is the 1st in India to be owned by a state government. The labs will be exclusively dealing with cases registered under Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The labs were developed at a cost of Rs 53 crore under Central Government’s Nirbhaya Scheme.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Maharashtra Capital: Mumbai;
- Maharashtra Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari;
- Maharashtra Chief minister: Uddhav Thackeray.
Disarmament Week 2021
Disarmament Week is observed annually to promote awareness and understanding of the issues of disarmament in several countries. The week aims to reduce the use of weapons, specifically nuclear weapons, to bring peace in society. This year, the disarmament week will be starting on October 24. The week-long observance will continue till October 30. Disarmament Week seeks to promote awareness and a better understanding of disarmament issues and their cross-cutting importance.
History of the week:
Starting on 24 October, the anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, the week-long annual observance was first called for in the Final Document of the General Assembly’s 1978 special session on disarmament (resolution S-10/2). In 1995, the General Assembly invited governments, as well as NGOs, to continue taking an active part in Disarmament Week (resolution 50/72 B, 12 December 1995) in order to promote a better understanding among the public of disarmament issues.
India’s first ‘test tube’ Banni buffalo calf born in Gujarat
The first IVF calf of “Banni” breed of buffaloes, found primarily in Gujarat’s Kutch region, was born at a farmer’s house in the state’s Gir Somnath district. The process was carried out to enhance the number of genetically superior buffaloes to increase milk production. Banni buffalo is known for its resilience and higher milk-producing capacity in an arid environment.
The breed had achieved six pregnancies from 18 recipient buffaloes at his farm, which were implanted with embryos through IVF technology, and the process was carried out by JKBovagenix of NGO JK Trust. India has more than 109 million buffaloes that are 56 per cent of the world’s buffalo population.
Hyderabad Cricket Association unveiled World’s biggest cricket bat
Former India captain and now Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president Mohd Azharuddin has unveiled what is certified by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the biggest cricket bat, designed by Pernod Ricard India (P) Ltd, on Tank Bund. The bat measures 56.10 feet, weighs 9-tonnes and is made of poplar wood. This was to convey best wishes to the Indian cricket team and bring back the T-20 World Cup in Dubai.
ICICI Bank surpasses HUL to occupy 5th spot in m-cap
Private sector lender ICICI Bank has crossed the market capitalisation of Hindustan Unilever to become the fifth-largest company by market value. According to BSE data, ICICI Bank’s market capitalisation (m-cap) stood at ₹5.83 lakh crore, just above HUL’s ₹5.76 lakh crore. This follows the bank posting its highest ever quarterly net profit in the July to September 2021 quarter.
The bank’s scrip touched a 52-week high of ₹859.70 on the BSE before ending at ₹841.05, registering a gain of 10.8 per cent over the previous day’s close. ICICI Bank becomes the second lender after HDFC Bank to break into the top five companies on the BSE in terms of m-cap.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- ICICI Bank MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi;
- ICICI Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra;
- ICICI Bank Tagline: Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka.
U.P. govt renames Faizabad station as Ayodhya Cantt
The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to rename the Faizabad Junction to Ayodhya Cantt railways station. Opened in 1874, the Faizabad railway station comes under the Northern Railway zone. It falls under the Lucknow-Varanasi section. Earlier in 2018, the Yogi Adityanath government had renamed Faizabad Ayodhya on the occasion of Diwali. The BJP government also changed the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj and Mughalsarai railway junction as Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay junction.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- UP Capital: Lucknow;
- UP Governor: Anandiben Patel;
- UP Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath.
