Dronacharya Awardee Eminent Cricket Coach Tarak Sinha passes away
Eminent Cricket Coach and Dronacharya Awardee, Tarak Sinha has passed away after a prolonged illness. He is known for training some of India’s finest cricketers like Manoj Prabhakar, Raman Lamba, Ajay Sharma, Atul Wassan, Surinder Khanna, Sanjiv Sharma, Aakash Chopra, Anjum Chopra, Rumeli Dhar, Ashish Nehra, Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant.
Manu Bhaker and Javad Foroughi wins gold in inaugural President’s Cup
India’s woman pistol star Manu Bhaker and Iranian Olympic champion Javad Foroughi has won the 10m air pistol mixed team gold at the inaugural ISSF President’s Cup at the Wroclaw in Poland. The Indo-Iranian pair beat the French-Russian duo of Mathilde Lamolle and Artem Chernousov 16-8 to clinch the gold medal. A seven-member Indian contingent is participating in the ISSF President’s Cup.
Alphabet Inc launches AI-driven drug discovery start-up Isomorphic Labs
Google parent company Alphabet Inc. has launched a new company in London called Isomorphic Labs. The company aims to use AI (artificial intelligence) for drug discovery and medicine to find cures for some of humanity’s most devastating diseases. Demis Hassabis will be the CEO of Isomorphic Labs. Hassabis is the CEO and co-founder of DeepMind, another Alphabet subsidiary that used AI to predict the 3D structure of a protein directly from its amino acid sequence.
The London-based Isomorphic Labs will work on the most important applications of AI — in the field of biological and medical research. The company aims to use AI to accelerate drug discovery, and ultimately, find cures for some of humanity’s most devastating diseases. The new venture also plans to partner with biomedical and pharmaceutical companies, using artificial intelligence to discover new medicinal advancements.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Google CEO: Sundar Pichai.
- Google Founded: 4 September 1998, California, United States.
- Google Founders: Larry Page, Sergey Brin.
Union Power Minister inaugurated the “Pakal Dul Hydro Electric Project” in J&K
Union Power Minister R K Singh virtually inaugurated the diversion of the Marusudar River of Pakal Dul Hydro Electric Project in Kishtwar, J&K. Pakal Dul HE Project (1,000 MW) is being constructed by Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Limited (CVPPPL) and Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation. Marusudar River is a major tributary of the Chenab River.
Pakal Dul HE Project:
- Pakal Dul HE Project is a 1000 MW project. It is being constructed by Chenab Valley Power Projects [P] Ltd. It is a joint venture company of JKSPDC (Govt of J&K) and NHPC Ltd (Govt of India Enterprise).
- Pakal Dul H.E. Project will help in fulfilling the target of 450 GW Renewable energy by 2030.
- CVPPPL has been charged with 3094 MW Hydro Power Projects for construction in J&K. The dam will divert water to the south using a 10 km long headrace tunnel. This project was awarded to a consortium of domestic & foreign countries comprising Bharat Heavy Electricals, AFCONS and Jay Prakash Associate, in February 2014.
- Through this project, an investment of Rs 8212 crores is being made in this region. The investment will in turn provide direct & indirect employment opportunities. It will help in the overall development of local inhabitants.
Puneeth Rajkumar honoured posthumously with Basavashree Award 2021
Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar will be posthumously conferred the Basavashree award 2021 by the Bruhanmutt. Fondly called Appu, Puneeth, who was born in Chennai on March 17, 1975, was an actor, playback singer, television presenter, and producer. Puneeth, son of Matinee Idol Rajkumar, was a lead actor in 29 films and as a child and appeared in many films.
About the award:
The award honours people for services to society in their respective fields by following the principles of Lord Basaveshwar. It is presented by Chitradurga Bruhanmutt since 1997. The award includes Rs 5 lakh cash and a memento. PT Usha (2009), Malala Yousufzai (2014), P Sainath (2016), Dr K Kasturirangan (2020) are some to win the award in recent times.
World Urbanism Day: 08 November
World Urbanism Day, also known as “World Town Planning Day”, is celebrated on 8 November globally, to recognise and promote the role of planning in creating livable communities. World Urbanism Day provides an opportunity to look at planning from a global perspective, in order to draw attention to the environmental impact resulting from the development of cities and territories.
WUD is organised by the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP). The day was founded in 1949 by the late Professor Carlos Maria della Paolera of the University of Buenos Aires, to advance public and professional interest in planning.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- ISOCARP Headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands;
- ISOCARP Founded: 1965.
Bandhan Bank named Zubeen Garg as brand ambassador for Assam
Bandhan Bank has announced Popular Assamese & Bollywood singer Zubeen Garg as the brand ambassador for the Bank in Assam. This association is a landmark one for Bandhan Bank as this is the first time ever that the Bank has associated with a brand ambassador since its inception six years back.
To mark the commencement of this association, Zubeen has released his new music video which showcases diverse elements of Assamese culture and heritage. The song and video have been produced courtesy of Bandhan Bank. Titled ‘Axom Amaar Mone Praane,” the song is a melodious blend of the different kinds of folk music native to Assam.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Bandhan Bank HQ: Kolkata, West Bengal;
- Bandhan Bank Founded: 2001;
- MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh.
Government collected Rs 1.30 lakh crores as GST for October
Gross Goods and service tax (GST) collection for the month of October came in at Rs 1,30,127 crore, the second-highest collection since GST was implemented in July 2017. The highest-ever GST collection of ₹ 1.41 lakh crore was recorded in April 2021. Revenues for the month are 24% higher year-on-year.
Of the gross GST revenue collected in October, Rs 23,861 crore was towards CGST, Rs 30,421 crore was towards SGST and Rs 67,361 crore was towards IGST, and Cess amounted to Rs 8,484 crore. According to the decision taken by the GST Council, back to back the loan of Rs 1.59 lakh crore has been released in advance in lieu of a shortfall in the release of GST compensation during the current fiscal.
List of previous months GST Collection:
- September 2021: Rs. 1,17,010 crores
- August 2021: Rs. 1.12 lakh crores
- July 2021: Rs. 1,16,393 crores
- June 2021: Rs. 92,849 crores
- May 2021: Rs. 1,02,709 crores
- April 2021: Rs. 1.41 lakh crores (All time Highest)
- March 2021: Rs. 1.24 lakh crores
- February 2021: Rs 1,13,143 crores
- January 2021: Rs. 1,19,847 crores
A book titled ‘Not Just Cricket: A Reporters Journey’ by Pradeep Magazine
A book titled ‘’Not just cricket: A Reporters Journey’’ authored by Pradeep Magazine is going to be released in Dec 2021. It consists of life experiences, social, political, ups and downs of Indian cricket by the journalist Pradeep Magazine. He is the author of the book “Not quite cricket” which exposed the match-fixing scandal.
About the author:
Pradeep Magazine is a cricket writer, columnist and former sports editor of The Pioneer, the India Today e-paper and Hindustan Times. He began his journalistic career in 1979 with the Chandigarh edition of The Indian Express and was its cricket editor in 1999-2000. Widely travelled, Magazine has covered international cricket in every Test-playing nation; he is the author of the book Not Quite Cricket that exposed the match-fixing scandal much before it surfaced in 2000.
A new book titled “The Cinema of Satyajit Ray” authored by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay
A new book titled ‘The Cinema of Satyajit Ray’ written by the author Bhaskar Chattopadhyay and published by Westland details the life of legendary Indian Filmmaker – ‘Satyajit Ray’. Bhaskar Chattopadhyay also authored novels like “Patang” (2016), “Here Falls the Shadow” (2017), and “The Disappearance of Sally Sequeira” (2018).
UK unveils commemorative £5 coin celebrating legacy of Mahatma Gandhi
The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has unveiled a £5 coin to commemorate the life and legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. It is the first time Mahatma Gandhi has been commemorated on an official UK coin. The coin is available in a range of standards, including gold and silver, The special collectors’ coin was designed by Heena Glover.
Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the UK, chose the final design for the coin. The coin features an image of a lotus, India’s national flower, alongside one of Gandhi’s most famous quotes – ‘My life is my message’.
TCS becomes Jaguar’s Formula E title partner
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has joined British racing team Jaguar Racing as the title partner, ahead of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The team will be known as Jaguar TCS Racing. TCS and Jaguar will create a dynamic platform that will drive research and innovation while steering towards advanced concepts and electric vehicle (EV) technologies.
The rebranding of the team also brings an all-new livery for 2022. The team heads into Season 8 on the back of its most successful Formula E campaign. Together with drivers Mitch Evans and Sam Bird, Jaguar was second overall in the 2021 Formula E World Championship.
Priyanka Mohite to Receive 2020’s Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award
Maharashtra-based, 28-year old mountaineer Priyanka Mohite was selected by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for the prestigious ‘Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2020’ for outstanding contribution in the field of land adventure. She scaled the world’s highest peak Mt Everest, Mt Lhotse and Mt.Makalu. She is the 1st Indian woman to climb Mt Annapurna, the 10th highest mountain peak in the world.
Tenzing Norgay National Award 2020:
Priyanka is one among the 7-recipients of the ‘2020 Tenzing Norgay National Award’ & will receive the award from President Ram Nath Kovind in during the 2021 National Sports Award.
| Awardee | Category |
| Priyanka Mangesh Mohite | Land Adventure |
| Jay Prakash Kumar | Land Adventure |
| Col. Amit Bisht | Land Adventure |
| Sheetal | Land Adventure |
| Srikaanth Viswanathan | Water Adventure |
| Lt. Col. Servesh Dhadwal | Air Adventure |
| Jai Kishan | Life Time Achievement |
About Tenzing Norgay National Award:
- Established in 1994 as ‘National Adventure Award’, later renamed as ‘Tenzing Norgay National Award’ in 2002.
- Tenzing Norgay is regarded as the 1st person to scale Mount Everest. It is the highest National Award in the field of adventure on land, sea and air, which is equivalent to the Arjuna Award.
SBI launches ‘Video Life Certificate’ facility for pensioners
The State Bank of India has launched a video life certificate service for pensioners. This new facility will allow pensioners to submit their life certificates via video from their homes. This facility is available for pensioners (other than family pensioners). Thus, the spouse of the pensioner receiving a pension from the government will not be able to use this facility.
About the facility:
- As per SBI, the process of video life certificate is paperless and free of cost.
- It is important for pensioners and family pensioners to submit their life certificates before November 30 every year to avoid their pensions getting suspended.
- If the life certificate is not submitted by the pensioner, then he/she will stop receiving his/her pension. If you are a pensioner with a pension account with SBI, here is how you can use the video facility to submit your Jeevan Patra before the deadline.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- SBI Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara.
- SBI Headquarters: Mumbai.
- SBI Founded: 1 July 1955.
Tripura develops country’s ‘first-ever’ bamboo made cricket bat, stumps
Bamboo and Cane Development Institute (BCDI) of Tripura along with the North East Centre of Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR) claimed to have developed the country’s first-ever bamboo made cricket bat maintaining all the standard protocols used for manufacturing cricket bats. These bats could be used in all forms of cricket. The most preferred wood for the production of cricket bats is willow. The company’s CEO recently gave Biplab Kumar Deb a demonstration of the product.
Key Highlight:
- For the development of the bats, the hard Boom (local name) bamboo has been utilized. “Kanakaich (a local kind of bamboo)” has also been used to build bamboo wickets, which are almost completely solid.
- To create this product, we made use of our exclusive bamboo blue board technology.
- First, a Cambridge university paper released a lengthy piece on the usage of bamboo as a substitute for traditional bat-making methods four to five months ago.
- According to BCDI-NECTAR chairman Dr Abhinab Kant, the project was later taken over by NECTAR, with the BCDI taking on the remaining work.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of Tripura: Biplab Kumar Deb; Governor: Satyadeo Narain Arya.
Rashid Khan becomes youngest bowler to take 400 T20 wickets
Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan became the youngest bowler to take 400 T20 wickets during his team’s crucial Super 12 encounter against New Zealand in Dubai. Martin Guptill became Rashid’s 400th victim in T20 cricket. Rashid joined an elite list of cricketers as he picked up his 400th wicket in ongoing New Zealand vs Afghanistan T20 World Cup game. He is the 4th bowler to enter the 400 club after Dwayne Bravo (553), Sunil Narine (425) and Imran Tahir (420).
Earlier, Rashid had become the fastest bowler to register 100 dismissals in Twenty20 Internationals during a T20 World Cup 2021 match against Pakistan. Rashid has 103 wickets for Afghanistan and 93 scalps for Sunrisers Hyderabad while the rest have come for the teams he plays for in different T20 tournaments around the world.
