National Affairs
1. NITI Aayog releases Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020
- NITI Aayog along with Institute of Competitiveness has released ‘Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020’
- It is the 1st edition of export index in India
- EPI structure includes 4 pillars: Policy, Business Ecosystem, Export Ecosystem and Export Performance and 11 sub-pillars
- Gujarat emerged as the best performer state, followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan.
- J&K is placed at the last of EPI 2020
- Coastal states are better performer than the landlocked
Sports
2. James Anderson became 1st fast bowler to take 600 Test wickets
- England pacer James Anderson (38 years) became the first fast bowler to take 600 Test wickets.
- He is the 4th bowler to take 600 test wickets only after 3 spinners Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), and Anil Kumble (619).
- He achieved 600 wickets dismissing Azhar Ali in the 5th day of third Test against Pakistan at the Ageas Bowl
- He has played 100 test matches as of now.
National & International Appointments
3. Vinay Tonse appointed as MD & CEO of SBI Mutual Fund
- Vinay Tonse has been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SBI Mutual Fund (MF).
- He will replace Ashwani Bhatia, who has been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) of State Bank of India.
- Prior to this, Vinay Tonse was serving as Chief General Manager of Chennai circle in SBI and was heading SBI’s business & operations in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
- SBI Mutual Fund HQs: Mumbai
National Affairs
4. DoPPW to integrate e-Pension Payment Order with Digi Locker
- Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) has decided to integrate electronic Pension Payment Order (e-PPO) with Digi Locker to enhance Ease of Living of Central Govt Civil Pensioners
- It will facilitate Pensioner to obtain an instant print-out of PPO from their Digi Locker account.
- The move will create permanent PPO record in the Digi Locker eliminating delays and reduce the burden of keeping physical copy
- It has been created with Bhavishya’ software.
International Affairs
5. Donald Trump re-nominated as Republican National Convention candidate
- President Donald Trump has been formally re-nominated as the Presidential candidate by the Republican National Convention for the US Presidential Elections in a virtual event
- US Presidential Elections are scheduled to be held on 3rd November.
- He was re-nominated following a roll call of votes from elected Republican Party delegates from all 50 states.
- Mike Pence was also re-nominated as the Vice-Presidential candidate.
National & International Organizations
6. WHO declares Africa free from Polio disease
- World Health Organization (WHO) has made a landmark announcement declaring Africa free of polio.
- The announcement was made by WHO Regional Director of Africa Matshidiso Moeti. She described this as a historic day for Africa.
- No cases of Polio have been occurred in the past four years in Africa
- Polio virus along with small pox has been now included in the list of viruses that have been wiped out from Africa
- WHO HQs: Geneva, Switzerland
Summits & Conferences
7. 17th edition of India-Vietnam Joint Commission meeting held
- 17th meeting of India-Vietnam Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation was held through video-conference
- The meeting was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh.
- The meeting focused on developments in India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and future trajectory of their wide-ranging engagement.
- Both the nations agreed to coordinate at multilateral forums.
Honours & Awards
8. Neelakanta Bhanu Prakash wins Mental Calculation World Championship
- Hyderabad’s Neelkantha Bhanu Prakash (20 years) has become the first Indian to win gold medal at the Mental Calculation World Championship 2020 at Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO)
- He holds the 4 world and Limca records of ‘fastest human calculator’ in the world
- He surpassed 29 other competitors from 13 countries and won by a clear margin of 65 points
- The championship was held in London and is the most prestigious international competition for mental skill and mind sports
National Affairs
9. NITI Aayog to launch India component of NDC- TIA
- NITI Aayog will virtually launch India Component of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) - Transport Initiative for Asia (TIA)
- It will inform the transport, energy, and climate stakeholders in India about planned project activities for the upcoming year.
- The event will also offer the opportunity to provide input about India’s transport challenges and CO2 reduction ambitions
- It will establish multi-stakeholder dialogue platform for decarbonizing transport.
State Affairs
10. MoHFW inaugurates medical college and super specialty blocks in Rajasthan
- Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has inaugurated 2 medical colleges and 3 super specialty blocks in Rajasthan via video conference.
- Along with this, 5 projects and health facilities of Health Education Department with a cost of Rupees 828 crores have been inaugurated
- The medical college buildings are situated in Bharatpur and Bhilwara and super-specialty centers in Bikaner, Udaipur, and Kota.
- Rajasthan CM: Ashok Gehlot.
National Affairs
11. Ministry of Culture has announced 7 new circles of ASI.
- Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has announced 7 new circles of Archaeological Survey of India to strengthen the process of preservation and registration of archaeological monuments along with registration of artefacts with self-declaration
- The new circles have been created in (Jabalpur) Madhya Pradesh, (Trichy) Tamil Nadu, (Jhansi and Meerut) Uttar Pradesh, (Hampi) Karnataka, (Raiganj) West Bengal and (Rajkot) Gujarat
- Earlier there were 29 ASI circles
Agreement
12. NeGD signs MoU with CSC E-Governance India Ltd for digital inlusion
- National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) has tied up with CSC (Common Service Center) e Governance Services India Limited to facilitate delivery of UMANG services through the network of 3.75 lakh CSCs.
- MoU aims to realise Digital India’s vision of ‘Power to Empower’ and to enable Digital Inclusion in India.
- CSC Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) will e-Governance services of 140 Departments with the help of UMANG App.
Defense
13. Defence Minister rolls out DGNCC mobile training app
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has launched Directorate General National Cadet Corps (DGNCC) Mobile Training App that will support in conducting countrywide online training of NCC cadets amid COVID-19.
- It will offer entire training material to the NCC cadets on one platform and led to the automation of NCC training.
- It will also facilitate the cadets in posting queries related to training, syllabus and will be answered by a panel of qualified instructors.
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