AMBITION QUEST INSTITUTE CHANDIGARH for all government competitive examinations keeps you updated with all the activities occurring around the globe. Current affairs play major role in any entrance examination. Keep yourself updated and prepared. Best of luck.

NATIONAL AND STATE NEWS

1. A casualty evacuation bag to transport or isolate persons infected with COVID-19 is designed by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation). The bag is air and water-proof and treated to deal with biological agents.

• Established: 1958
• Headquarters:New Delhi
• DRDO Chairman: G Satheesh Reddy

2. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) have readied all National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) as quarantine centres to fight the spread of the COVID-19.

• Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship:Mahendra Nath Pandey

3. A mobile app PRAGYAAM is launched by Jharkhand Government to issue e-passes. The app aims to issue e-passes to everyone associated with the delivery of essential services during the nationwide lockdown.

• Capital: Ranchi
• Chief Minister: Hemant Soren
• Governor:DroupadiMurmu

4. A mobile app RajCop citizens app is launched by Rajasthan police to enable individuals and company employees in the state for taking permission for venturing out in necessary conditions.

• Capital: Jaipur
• Chief Minister: Ashok Gehlot
• Governor:Kalraj Mishra

5. Mobile Hand-wash facilities has set by Andhra Pradesh State government for the benefit of Slum Dwellers amidst lockdown in the state. The mobile Hand Wash facility has become handy for both the state authorities and slum dwellers to access facility of hands cleaning.

• Capital: Amaravati
• Chief Minister: S. Jaganmohan Reddy
• Governor:Biswa Bhushan Harichandan

6. Team-11 is set up by the Uttar Pradesh state government. 11 inter-departmental committees have been formed with over two dozen senior government officials working at crucial levels under the CM’s supervision. The Team-11 would be headed by the Chief Minister Yogi Aditya Nath while each of the 11-committees will be headed by a senior bureaucrat of the state.

• Capital: Lucknow
• Chief Minsiter:Yogi Aditya Nath
• Governor:Anandiben Patel

7. The Self Declaration COVID19 Nagaland App is launched by Nagaland. It will be mandatory for any person who has entered into Nagaland after 6th March 2020. The app is crucial for tracking and surveillance of high-risk cases and can be downloaded from the website org.

• Capital: Kohima
• Chief Minister:Neiphiu Rio
• Governor: N. Ravi

8. 11 empowered groups to deal with COVID-19 are formed by the Government of India. These 11 empowered groups have been set up by the GoI under the Disaster Management Act and tasked to ensure a comprehensive and integrated response to COVID-19.

9. The Reserve Bank of India has notified that the mega merger of 10 Public Sector Banks will be effective from 1st April 2020. As per the scheme of amalgamation ten PSBs are to be merged into four banks. Post amalgamation the total number of PSBs in the country will come down to 12 banks.

• Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• RBI Governor:Shaktikant Das

10. The Northern Railways has successfully created first prototype of hospital isolation coachin order to fight against the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. There are 10 isolation wards in each isolation coach.

• Union Minister of Railways: Piyush Goyal

11. The 24×7 National Teleconsultation Centre is launched. Through the centre expert doctors from various clinical domains will be available 24×7 to answer questions related to COVID-19. The modes of communication constitute mobile telephony as well as two-way video communications using platforms like WhatsApp, Skype and Google Duo.

• Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: Ashwini Kumar Choubey

12. The National Book Trust will launch Corona Studies Series to document and provide relevant reading materials for all age-groups for the post-Corona readership needs.

• Established: 1957
• Chairman:Govind Prasad Sharma

13. Corona Kavach a COVID-19 risk tracking app has been launched by the Government of India. This app uses a person’s location to assess whether they are in the high-risk geographical zone or not.

• Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare: Harsh Vardhan
• Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology: Ravi Shankar Prasad

14. The Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Government Hospital in Jaipur is conducting the series of trials on a humanoid robot to provide services to the COVID-19 patients. It is aimed to keep the doctors and nursing staff at a safe distance to protect them against the dreaded coronavirus.

• Capital of Rajasthan: Jaipur
• Chief Minister of Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot
• Governor of Rajasthan:Kalraj Mishra

15. Goa becomes the first Indian state to launch a self-assessment tool called as Test Yourself Goa for COVID-19. This tool helps people identify if they are infected by the virus without visiting a doctor or hospital.

• Capital: Panaji
• Chief Minister: Pramod Sawant
• Governor:Satya Pal Malik

16. Project Isaac is launched by IITGN (Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar). This project aims to engage students in creative projects amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

• Founded:2008
• Director of IITGN: Prof Sudhir Jain

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1. The United Nations Secretary-General launched a $2 billion coordinated global humanitarian response plan to fight COVID-19 in 51 countries across South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

• United Nations Day: 24^TH October
• Headquarteres: New York
• Secreatory General: António Guterres

2. Asian Development Bank (ADB) will invest 100 million US Dollars in India’s infrastructure sector through the government-promoted National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India Fund of Funds (FoF).

• Membership of ADB: 68 countries
• Formed: 19 December 1966
• Headquarters: Manila, Philippines
• President:Masatsugu Asakawa

3. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that the world has clearly entered a recession due to the coronavirus pandemic. The current recession is even worse than that of 2009.

• Managing Director: Kristalina Georgieva

OBITUARIES

1. Tamil folk singer and actress ParavaiMuniyamma passed away. Muniyamma was honoured with the Kalaimamanititle by the Tamil Nadu government.
2. Veteran Japanese comedian Ken Shimura passed away due to coronavirus.
3. MahaVir Chakra (MVC) reci[ient and retired Air Vice Marshal Chandan Singh Rathore passed away. He gave major contributions as a valorous young air warrior during the Sino-India 1962 war and the 1971 Indo-Pak war and contributed towards a stronger and safer India.
4. Former Union Minister and a founding member of the Samajwadi Party Beni Prasad Verma passed away. He served as the telecom minister, steel minister and was also a Lok Sabha member from 1996 to 2014. He also served as the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs during is career.
5. Veteran US civil rights leader Joseph Lowery who helped in establishing the Atlanta-based Southern Christian Leadership Conference, passed away. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom the nation’s highest civilian honour by former President Barack Obama in 2009.

MISCELLENEOUS NEWS (BANKING, DEFENCE, ACHIEVEMENTS, SCHEMES, APPOINMENTS AND OTHERS)

1. Adjaristsqali Georgia LLC a Joint Venture between Tata Power, Norway’s Clean Energy Invest (CEI) and International Financial Corporation (IFC) has announced the start of commercial operation of the 178 MW Shuakhevi Hydro Power Project (Shuakhevi HPP) located in southwest Georgia.

• Headquarters:Mumbai
• TATA Power CEO:Praveer Sinha

2. A team at IIT Bombay has developed a mobile app The app aims to help the authorities in tracking the asymptomatic carriers and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease.
3. Apple has launched an app and website for users across the US. The new COVID-19 app and website provide the needed guidance and latest information from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• Headquarters: California, USA
• Apple Inc. CEO: Tim Cook 

4. Companies Fresh Start Scheme, 2020 is introduced by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The new scheme has been introduced to provide relief to law abiding companies and the Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) amid COVID-19 pandemic. MCA has also revised LLP Settlement Scheme, 2020.

• Union Minister of Corporate Affairs: Nirmala Sitharaman

5. National Aeronautics and Space Administration has picked up a new space capsule from SpaceX to ferry cargo and supplies to the agency’s planned lunar space station. With a $7 billion contract SpaceX will use its Falcon Heavy to send spacecraft Dragon XL to the Lunar Gateway. 

• Headquarters: Washington D.C., United States
• Administrator of NASA: Jim Bridenstine

6. ICICI Bank has rolled out the banking services on WhatsApp which will enable the banks’ retail customers to undertake a slew of banking requirements from their home. To avail the services on Whatsapp customers have to message Hi from their registered mobile number to the Bank’s verified profile number.

• Managing Director & CEO of ICICI Bank: Sandeep Bakhshi

7. A new logo is launched by the Punjab National Bank ahead of its merger with the Oriental Bank of Commerce and the United Bank of India. This new logo bears the distinct signages of all the three PSU banks.

• MD & CEO Of Punjab National Bank: S. Mallikarjuna Rao

8. National Thermal Power Corporation Limited concluded the acquisition of Centre’s entire stake in twohydropower generating firms,Tehri Hydro Power Complex India and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation at Rs 11,500 crore.

• Headquarters of NTPC: New Delhi
• Chairman & MD of NTPC: Gurdeep Singh

9. Abbott Laboratories United States is unveiling a coronavirus testwhich will tell if someone is infected within 5 minutes. The test is so small and portable it is often utilized in almost any health-care setting.

• Headquarters of Abbott Laboratories:Chicago, Illino

10. General Manoj Mukund Naravane has launched Operation Namaste to extend assistance to the govt in containing the spread of coronavirus and insulate the force from the pandemic. Under the operation, the army will help the Government of India fight against the deadly disease.

• Headquarters of Indian Army: New Delhi
• The motto of Indian Army: Service Before Self
• Chief of Army Staff: General Manoj Mukund Naravane

11. Two Indian Revenue Service officers Krishan Mohan Prasad and Satish Kumar Gupta are approved as members of the Central Board of Direct Taxes Board by the appointment committee of the cabinet.

• Chairperson of CBDT:Pramod Chandra Mody

12. CRISIL has reduced India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for fiscal 2021 to 5 per cent from 5.2 per cent expected earlier. The cut is due to the coronavirus pandemic.

• Headquarters:Mumbai
• CEO of Crisil:AshuSuyash
• Chief Economist:Dharmakirti Joshi

13. Moody’s Investors Service reduced India’s GDP growth in 2020 to 5 per cent from the earlier estimate of 5.3 per cent.

• Headquarters: New York, USA

SPORTS NEWS

1. Indian shot-putter Navin Chikara has been suspended by the World athletics body’s, Athletics Integrity Unit for four years. He has been suspended for using a prohibited substance and his four-year suspension starts from July 27, 2018.

• Headquarters: Monaco
• President: Sebastian Coe

2.The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 have been postponed by one year and will be held from 23^RD July to 08^TH August, 2021. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were earlier scheduled to be held from 24^TH July to 09^TH August 2020.

• Capital: Tokyo
• Currency: Japanese yen
• Prime Minister of Japan: Shinzo Abe
• President of International Olympic Committee: Thomas Bach

Tokyo 2020 President: Mori Yoshiro