Current Affairs 28th October 2020| Current Affairs News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

Infantry Day celebrated across J&K, Ladakh UTs to mark landing of Indian Army in Srinagar in 1947

• Indian Army celebrates 27th October every year as the ‘Infantry Day’, as it was on this day that the 1st Battalion of the SIKH Regiment landed at Srinagar airbase and displayed resoluteness and extraordinary courage to thwart the evil designs of the Pakistan Army who had invaded Kashmir with the help of tribal raiders.
• The 74th ‘Infantry Day’ to mark landing of the Indian Army in Srinagar on this day in 1947.

International Animation Day

• International Animation Day is marked every year on October 28.
• This day is marked to celebrate the art and techniques of animation. Right from basic cartoons to now full-fledged movies, the art of creating movement and projecting it on screen is enjoyed by everyone, young and old.
• It was first celebrated on Oct 28th, 2002 in honor of Emile Reynaud’s first performance of Theatre Optique.

Disarmament Week: 24-30 October

• Disarmament Week seeks to promote awareness and better understanding of disarmament issues and their cross-cutting importance. 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.
• Throughout history, countries have pursued disarmament to build a safer, more secure world and to protect people from harm. Since the foundation of the United Nations, disarmament and arms control have played a critical role in preventing and ending crises and armed conflict. Heightened tensions and dangers are better resolved through serious political dialogue and negotiation—not by more arms.

About United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs:

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Head: High Representative for Disarmament : Izumi Nakamitsu

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Centre sets up high-level committee to commemorate Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur’s 400th birth anniversary

• The Centre set up a high-level committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate the 400th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur.
• The mandate of the 70-member committee includes approval of policies, plans, programmes and supervision and guiding the commemoration, besides deciding broad dates for detailed programmes of celebration.
• The members of the committee include former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Hardeep Singh Puri, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, chief ministers of Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan.
• Other members include Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Akali Dal leaders Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir Singh Badal, SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal, former chief of Indian Army J J Singh, former chief of Indian Air Force Birender Singh Dhanoa, and sportspersons Milkha Singh and Harbhajan Singh.
• Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla will be the member secretary of the high-level committee.

Mandaviya inaugurates direct entry facility at VOC port

• Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated direct port entry facility at VO Chidambaranar Port in Tuticorin, a move that will reduce logistics cost and boost ease of doing business.
• The DPE facility would enable direct movement of containers from factories, without intermediate handling at any CFS, thus facilitating shippers to gate-in their factory stuffed exports directly to the container terminal on 24×7 basis.
• The facility is created in an area of 18,357 sq m inside the truck parking terminal which was developed under the ‘Sagarmala’ for issuing customs clearance of export cargo.
• It can handle 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per month.
• Port entered into an MoU with Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) to operate the facility for 30 years and the Customs department has also approved operating the DPE facility in the port.

About Minister of Shipping

• Minister of State for Shipping and Union Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilizers: Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya
• Constituency: Gujarat

Shri Arjun Munda launches two Centers of Excellence for tribal welfare in partnership with Art of Living

• Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Shri Arjun Munda launched two Centers of Excellence for Tribal Welfare in a collaboration between Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and Art of Living (AoL) through video conference.
• It is a very praiseworthy initiative of Art of Living (AoL) to launch two Centres of Excellence in partnership with The first initiative ‘Strengthening PRIs’ will be launched in 5 districts covering 30 Gram Panchayats and 150 villages of Jharkhand, in creating awareness among elected representatives of PRI about various Tribal Acts and Rules and different welfare schemes available for these tribals and help them getting access to these schemes. The model is designed to create the youth volunteers among the tribal youths by giving them personality development training, instilling the sense of social responsibility among them and thereby creating the tribal leaders who will work for their community in spreading this awareness.
• The second is about training 10000 tribal farmers in Aurangabad District of Maharashtra on sustainable natural farming based on Go-Adharith farming techniques. Farmers will be helped in getting the Organic certification and the marketing opportunities will be made available to them to make each of them Atmanirbhar Tribal Farmers.

About MoTA

• Minister of Tribal Affairs: Arjun Munda
• Constituency: Khunti, Jharkhand

About AoL

• Founder: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
• Founded: 1981
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

V Prez Venkaiah Naidu launches virtual festival of ‘Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of Music and Dance’

• Launching the virtual festival of ‘Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of Music and Dance’ organized by Natya Tarangini in partnership with the United Nations, the Vice President stated that music and dance make lives more fulfilling by rejuvenating and energising. He added that they bring harmony into lives and nourish inner spirit by dispelling gloom and despair.
• Referring to Samaveda and Bharatamuni’s Natyashastra, the vice president stated India has a glorious tradition of music and dance.
• He stated that India’s diverse art forms of dance, music, and drama represent our common civilisational philosophy and values like harmony, unity and solidarity.
• There is also a distinct focus on devotion, spirituality and there is an entire gamut of expressions of nine ‘rasas’ that constitute human existence, he added. It may be noted that this festival has been organized to coincide with the World Day for Audio-visual Heritage.

Microsoft, NSDC collaborate to empower 1 lakh women with digital skills

• Microsoft stated it has collaborated with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to impart digital skills to more than one lakh underserved women in India over the next ten months.
• This initiative is an extension of Microsoft’s partnership with NSDC to provide digital skills to over 1 lakh youth in the country. NSDC, Microsoft join hands to provide digital skills to over 1 lakh youth
• The programme will curate a series of live training sessions and digital skilling drives to help create opportunities for young girls and women, particularly first time job seekers and those whose jobs may have been impacted by Covid-19, to join the future workforce.
• Under this partnership, eSkill India – NSDC’s digital skilling initiative – will support in building the outreach of this engagement through its skilling ecosystem, which includes sector skill councils, training partners, and training centres. Microsoft and NSDC will award a joint e-certificate to participants post-course completion.
• Furthermore, 20,000 young women from regions with the least female labour force participation will be selected by NSDC and skilled through dedicated skills for the employability training program for employment in IT/IT-enabled job roles

About Microsoft:

• CEO: Satya Nadella
• Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States

About NSDC:

• CEO: Manish Kumar
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• CFO: Prakash Sharma

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

India Post, US Postal Service sign agreement for electronic exchange of customs data

• Department of Posts and United States Postal Service, USPS have entered into an agreement for electronic exchange of customs data related to postal shipments exchanged between the two countries.
• The agreement will make it possible to transmit and receive electronic data of international postal items prior to their physical arrival at the destination and would enable customs clearance of postal items in advance in line with the evolving global postal framework.
• USA is the top export destination for India which is also reflected in exchange of goods through postal channel. In 2019, around 20 per cent of outbound EMS and 30 per cent of Letters and Small Packets transmitted by India Post were destined to USA whereas 60 per cent of the Parcels received by India Post were originated from USA.
• Exchange of Electronic Advance Data as per the Agreement will be a key driver towards promoting mutual trade with emphasis on the exports from different parts of India to USA through postal channel. USA is a major destination of MSME products, Gems and Jewelery, Pharmaceuticals and other local products from India. This will fulfill a major demand of export industry to expedite customs clearances of export items.

About India Post:

• Secretary :Pradipta Kumar Bisoi ,
• Arundhaty Ghosh, Director General;
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Japan to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050

• Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has stated that the country will achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.
• The Prime Minister stated, he intends to make a sustainable economy a pillar of his growth strategy and put maximum effort into achieving a green society.
• Suga emphasized the need to shift away from fossil fuels to counter climate change as an opportunity rather than a burden. As per Japan’s current energy plan, 56 per cent of its energy requirements come from fossil fuels.

About Japan:

• Capital: Tokyo
• Currency: Japanese yen
• Prime minister: Yoshihide Suga

India, U.S sign five agreements including ‘Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement’

• India and the U.S inked a landmark defence agreement that will allow sharing of high-end military technology, classified satellite data, and critical information between the two countries. The signing of the long-negotiated Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement — also known as BECA — during the third edition of the 2+2 dialogue between the two strategic partners boosts bilateral defence and military ties. It comes in the backdrop of India”s tense border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
• A joint statement issued towards the end of the talks stated India and the U.S would cooperate on infrastructure development in the Indo-Pacific and partner with like-minded countries in the ASEAN and beyond for a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific.
• The U.S reiterated its support for India’s quest for a permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.
• India reiterated the importance of peace, stability and prosperity for all countries in the indo pacific region
• India and the U.S agreed to ramp up their security ties and boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, amidst China’s growing belligerence and expansionist designs.India-U.S collaboration in defence production and counter-terrorism figured in the talks.

About USA:

• President: Donald Trump
• Capital: Washington, D.C.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

CSB Bank partners with IIFL Finance for gold loan origination

• Private-sector lender CSB Bank, formerly Catholic Syrian Bank, has entered into a partnership with non-banking finance company, IIFL Finance (IIFL) for sourcing and managing retail gold loan
• IIFL, acting as Business Correspondent (BC) of the bank, will source new business from markets where the Thrissur-based CSB Bank does not have an adequate branch network.
• IIFL would help CSB Bank penetrate the lower strata of customers and rural areas resulting in scaling up of the customer base.
• This arrangement would result in scaling up of the customer base.
• This partnership, which combines the strengths of the bank’s balance sheet and NBFC’s last-mile connect with customers, will enable the financial inclusion of under privileged customers in need of credit on reasonable terms.

About CSB Bank

• CEO: C.VR. Rajendran
• Headquarters: Thrissur

About IIFL Finance

• CEO: Nirmal Jain
• Headquarters:Mumbai

SVC Bank launches rewards programme

• SVC Bank (SVC Co-operative Bank) stated it has tied up with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for a rewards programme.
• The SVC Rewards programme is designed to make banking experience more rewarding for its customers in the form of points earned upon use of SVC Bank Cards and digital solutions, the bank stated.
• These points can be then redeemed to purchase products and services across leading brands in electronics, home decor, fashion, lifestyle, sports and fitness and health and beauty, it stated.

About SVC Bank:

• Founded: 1906
• Founder: Late Rao bahadur shripad subbarao talmaki (1868-1948)
• Headquarters: Mumbai, India
• About NPCI:
• Founded:2008
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• (Non-Exe Chairman): Biswamohan Mahapatra
• (MD & CEO): Dilip Asbe

SBI raises Rs 5,000 crore by issuing Basel-III compliant bonds

• The State Bank of India (SBI) stated it has raised Rs 5,000 crore by issuing Basel-III compliant bonds.
• The committee of directors of capital raising met and accorded its approval to allot 50,000 Basel-III compliant non-convertible, taxable debt instruments, SBI stated in a regulatory filing. The debentures qualifying as tier II capital of the bank of face value of Rs 10 lakh each, at par, bearing a coupon of 5.83 per cent aggregating to Rs 5,000 crore were allotted to bond subscribers on October 26, 2020, it stated.
• The interest on the bonds will be paid annually for a tenor of 10 years and call option after 5 years and on anniversary date thereafter, the country’s largest lender stated. Under call option, the bond issuer can call back the bonds before the maturity date by paying back the principal amount to investors.
• The Basel-III capital regulations are globally accepted banking norms under which banks need to improve and strengthen their capital planning processes. Basel-III norms are being implemented in phases since 2013 by Indian banks to mitigate concerns on potential stress on asset quality and consequential impact on performance and profitability of banks.

About SBI:

• Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 1 July 1955

BharatPe launches digital gold on its platform

• BharatPe, a leading merchant payment network, has announced the launch of digital gold on its platform. The launch of this new category of fintech product is in line with the company’s commitment to offer the entire gamut of financial products to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
• Through this latest offering, BharatPe’s merchants will be able to buy and sell 99.5 per cent pure24-carat gold. Merchants can choose to buy in rupees or grams, any time of the day and from anywhere, by using the BharatPe app.
• To facilitate this, BharatPe has also partnered with Safegold, a digital platform that allows customers to buy, sell and receive vaulted gold. SafeGold has appointed IDBI Trusteeship Services to protect the interest of merchants with regard to their gold purchases.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

PPL tournament to be played in Indore to free city from single use plastic

• On the lines of IPL cricket, a unique Plastic Premier League (PPL) tournament is being played in Indore, Madhya Pradesh to free the city from single use plastic.
• Indore is known for its innovative efforts regarding cleanliness. Indore has been awarded as the cleanest city in the country four times so far. four teams have been formed for the Plastic Premier League competition.The 19 zones of Indore Municipal Corporation are divided into these four teams.
• For the competition, the team captain Radio Jockey will encourage citizens to donate more and more plastic from their radio station.
• These teams have been provided municipal workers and five vehicles to collect plastic. The team that collects the most single-use plastics in this 45-day competition will be awarded the PPL Trophy.

About Madhya Pradesh:

• Capital: Bhopal
• Governor: Anandiben Patel(additional charge)
• Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

AP Govt to resume State formation day fete from Nov 1

• Six years after the State bifurcation, Andhra Pradesh Government will officially resume celebrations of Andhra Pradesh State Formation Day on November 1.
• The Government has issued an order asking the official machinery in the State capital as well as district headquarters to observe the state formation day from this year.
• The celebration of the AP formation day was halted by N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP government after the bifurcation of the State in 2014 carving out Telangana as a sign of the protest over the manner in which the bifurcation was carried out.
• Instead, June 2 which was declared as the Appointed Day for State bifurcation in 2014, has been observed as a day to mark a resolve to rebuild the State along with June 8 as the first popularly elected government was formed after elections post bifurcation.
• As a State, Andhra had seen many ups and downs in history. It was a part the Madras Province during the British period. After a strong movement for Andhra State, it was carved out as a new state with present Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in 1953.
• It had become Andhra Pradesh on November 1, 1956 with the addition of the Telangana region as was the first linguistic State to be formed in the country.

About Andhra Pradesh:

• Capital(s): Visakhapatnam (executive), Amaravati (legislative),Kurnool (judicial)
• Governor: Biswabhusan Harichandan
• Chief Minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

IIT Kanpur and ASI sign MoU with Italian institutes for restoration of monuments

• The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) and the Archaeological Survey of India have signed an agreement with two institutions from Italy, seeking restoration and protection of historical monuments.
• The MoU was signed among IIT-K, Ca’Foscari University of Venice, Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti E Paesaggio, Venice, on creating a network and sharing skills for restoration and protection of historical monuments.
• All institutes have agreed to develop collaborative scientific study activities and sharing skills to restore and protect monuments on a reciprocal and equal basis.
• All institutes shall seek to promote collaboration and activities in areas such as collaboration in scientific studies and skill sharing, the exchange of knowledge, experience, academic materials and publications, conducting workshops, undertaking joint field studies and technology development.

About ASI

• Director General: V. Vidyavathi
• Headquarters: New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS

CSIR-CDRI Scientist Dr Saman Habib elected as fellow of Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi

• Saman Habib, Chief Scientist and Professor (CSIR) in Molecular Biology Division,CSIR-CDRI, Lucknow brought the laurels to the Institute again through her outstanding work for understanding the malaria parasite.
• She is elected as fellow of Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi. Her research group’s interest in the malaria parasite is driven by the desire to understand (a) the molecular workings and functions of the relict plastid (apicoplast) of Plasmodium, (b) mechanisms of protein translation employed by Plasmodium organelles and (c) human genetic factors and susceptibility to severe P. falciparum malaria in endemic and non-endemic regions of India.
• The Indian National Science Academy was established in January 1935 with the object of promoting science in India and harnessing scientific knowledge for the cause of humanity and national welfare.

About CSIR:

• Director General: Shekhar C. Mande
• Head quarters : Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Night of the Restless Spirits: Stories from 1984 by Sarbpreet Singh

• Author Sarbpreet Singh shares how the 1984 massacre impacted his life and how this collection of stories came to be.
• Night of the Restless Spirits is a collection of heart-rending short stories that attempt to capture the 1984 massacre in all its complexity and contradictions. Sarbpreet Singh’s stories take the reader on a journey fraught with love and tinged with tragedy, frayed relationships, the breaking down of humanity and resilience in the face of absolute despair, blurring the lines between the personal and political.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE

AIM Launches India–Australia Circular Economy Hackathon(I-ACE), with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

• AIM (Atal Innovation Mission), in association with CSIRO, is organizing a two-day hackathon on circular economy, ‘India–Australia Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE)’, on 7 and 8 December.
• I-ACE will focus on identification and development of innovative technology solutions by bright-minded students, startups and MSMEs of both nations.
• Shortlisted students and startups/MSMEs will be called for the hackathon, where two winners (one student and one startup/MSME) per theme from each country will be announced at an award ceremony on 11 December.
• The winning Indian student and startup/MSME teams will be awarded a prize of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively, coupled with post-hackathon product development opportunities. The winning Australian student will be awarded a prize of AUD$3500 and the winning Australian SMEs/startup team a prize of AUD$9500.

The four key themes for the hackathon are as follows

• Innovation in packaging reducing packaging waste
• Innovation in food supply chains avoiding waste
• Creating opportunities for plastic waste reduction
• Recycling critical energy metals and e-waste

About Australia

• Capital: Canberra
• Currency: Australian dollar

About Niti Aayog

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairperson: Narendra Modi

Women Startup Summit 2020 gain key focus in KSUM initiative

• As Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) began its six-day programme that aims to boost female presence in entrepreneurial ventures, the October 31 ‘Women Startup Summit 2020’ gained key focus as a culminating event providing tips for success in businesses.
• The month-end summit will feature speeches by corporate captains, marking the highlight of the KSUM initiative that is part of the state government’s dynamic measures to promote women-led industry ventures.
• The summit, which features a startup competition named ‘She Loves Tech India 2020’, is being co-organised by Startup India, TiE Kerala and Indian Women Network of Confederation of Indian Industry.
• The programme began with a Hackathon Orientation. Titled ‘InnovatHer’, it was led by KSUM, ICFOSS and TCS. Subsequently, Anterprise Network co-founder Robert Lobo led a session on ‘Decoding Investor Mindset’. This was followed by ‘She Loves Tech India 2020’ a pitch workshop for startups.
• KSUM is the state government’s nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities.

About Kerala:

• Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
• Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan
• Chief minister: Pinarayi Vijayan

Piyush Goyal launches First-ever SCO Startup Forum ahead of SCO trade ministers meeting

• Commerce and Industries minister Piyush Goyal launched first-ever SCO Startup Forum ahead of the SCO trade ministers meeting to be held virtually.
• The forum will lay the foundation for multilateral cooperation and engagement among the SCO Member States to develop and hone their startup ecosystems, collectively.
• Innovation and Startups will be the key focus area of SCO Heads of Government meeting on 30th November 2020 which will be hosted by India for the first time.
• The Forum shall identify areas of cooperation by launching multiple entrepreneurial activities like startup showcase through a dedicated virtual platform, mobilizing capital for startups, sharing of best practices, procuring social innovations, and knowledge exchange workshops etc.
• India is currently the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world with over 35,000 startups, close to 25% of which are core technology startups operating in areas of AI, Robotics, Cloud Computing, IoT, Digital Health, Financial & Education Technology.
• India has organized many events in the run up to SCO Heads of Government meeting including ministerial meetings which have received support from all the SCO member states.

About Ministry of Commerce and Industry:

• Piyush Goyal, Cabinet Minister
• Constituency: Maharashtra
• Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State
• Som Parkash, Minister of State

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Young Bangladeshi boy wins special prize in Global Art Competition conducted by ICCR

• A six year old Bangladeshi boy Anzar Mustaeen Ali won a special prize of USD 1000 for his artwork in the global art competition organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR).
• The ICCR had launched a global painting competition named ‘United Against CORONA- Express through Art’ which attracted 8000 artwork entries from around the world. After the first round of competition 210 artworks were shortlisted. The final jury evaluated and decided the winners from each category such as Indian and Foreign, Professional/Amateur/Children in four different sections: Contemporary Art; Folk and Tribal Art; Cartoons and Illustrations and Digital and New Age Art.

About ICCR:

• President: Vinay Sahasrabuddhe
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Director General: Shri Dineshk Patnaik

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

NASA’s SOFIA Discovers Water On Sunlit Surface Of Moon

• Two new studies published in Nature Astronomy suggest there could be much more water than previously thought, including ice stored in permanently shadowed “cold traps” at lunar polar regions.
• Previous research has found indications of water by scanning the surface — but these were unable to distinguish between water (H2O) and hydroxyl, a molecule made up of one hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom.
• But a new study provides further chemical proof that the Moon holds molecular water, even in sunlit areas.
• Using data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Airborne Telescope, researchers scanned the lunar surface at a more precise wavelength than had been used before — six microns instead of three.
• This allowed them to distinguish the spectral fingerprint of molecular water.

About NASA

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

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Legendary Gujarati Actor Naresh Kanodia Passes Away Due to COVID-19 at 77

• Veteran Gujarati actor and ex-BJP MLA Naresh Kanodia passed away at the age of 77 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat due to coronavirus.
• He died two days after his brother Mahesh Kanodia’s demise.
• Their contributions to the world of culture, especially popularising Gujarati songs, music and theatre will never be forgotten.

Daniel Menaker, award-winning author and editor, Passes away

• Daniel Menaker, an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction and a longtime editor at The New Yorker and Random House who worked with Alice Munro, Salman Rushdie, Colum McCann and many others, has died at age 79.
• Daniel Menaker was the author of several books, including the memoir My Mistake and the comic psychological novel The Treatment, adapted into a 2007 movie starring Chris Eigeman and Ian Holm.
• He was also known for the O Henry Award-winning title story of his collection The Old Left.

DAILY CA 25th -27th OCT

• International Day of Diplomats- 24th oct
• Vigilance Awareness Week- 27th oct -2nd nov
• World Day for Audiovisual Heritage-24th oct
• Indo-Tibetan Border Police celebrates 59th Raising Day
• Income tax return filing deadline for FY20 extended till December 31
• MoS for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan inaugurates philately exhibition on ‘India and the UN: A Postal History’
• Ministry of Earth Sciences dedicates Flash Flood Guidance services for South Asian countries
• Bangladesh govt orders ‘no mask, no service’ policy
• Third India-US 2 plus 2 Ministerial Dialogue underway in New Delhi
• Reserve Bank bars payment system operators from launching new QR codes
• NBFCs approach RBI for inclusion as beneficiaries to on-tap TLTRO
• RBI revises norms for housing finance firms
• India’s First Sand Dune Park To Come Up In Goa With The Support Of World Bank
• Ladakh LG launches 100-day campaign to provide potable water supply in schools, anganwadi centres
• UP Govt to establish anti-human trafficking Police Stations in each and every district
• BSE inks MoU with ICCI to support SMEs, start-ups in listing
• Indian-origin Wavel Ramkalawan is elected Seychelles President
• Guinea President Alpha Condé wins controversial third term
• Luis Arce Wins Bolivian Presidential Election With 55% of Votes
• India-assisted Mangdechhu hydroelectric project in Bhutan wins award
• India ranks 131 out of 138 in global mobile internet speed ranking: Ookla
• Samsung Beats Amazon, IBM to Top Forbes List of World’s Best Employers
• UP govt secures first rank in disbursing loans under PM Swanidhi Scheme
• Indian Parliamentary Delegation led by LS Speaker to attend VIth BRICS Parliamentary Forum
• IIT in Partnership with TCS Sets New Trends in India’s Advanced Manufacturing Sector
• Lewis Hamilton wins Portuguese GP to break Michael Schumacher’s F1 record
• Alexander Zverev wins title in Cologne for 2nd week in a row
• Sabalenka beats sick Azarenka to win Ostrava Open
• Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee passes away at 78
• Veteran Gujarati Singer Mahesh Kanodia passes away

DAILY CA 28th OCT

• Infantry Day celebrated across J&K, Ladakh UTs to mark landing of Indian Army in Srinagar in 1947
• International Animation Day- 28th oct
• Disarmament Week: 24-30 October
• Centre sets up high-level committee to commemorate Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur’s 400th birth anniversary
• Mandaviya inaugurates direct entry facility at VOC port
• Shri Arjun Munda launches two Centers of Excellence for tribal welfare in partnership with Art of Living
• V Prez Venkaiah Naidu launches virtual festival of ‘Parampara Series 2020-National Festival of Music and Dance’
• India Post, US Postal Service sign agreement for electronic exchange of customs data
• Japan to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050
• India, U.S sign five agreements including ‘Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement’
• PPL tournament to be played in Indore to free city from single use plastic
• AP Govt to resume State formation day fete from Nov 1
• CSB Bank partners with IIFL Finance for gold loan origination
• SVC Bank launches rewards programme
• SBI raises Rs 5,000 crore by issuing Basel-III compliant bonds
• BharatPe launches digital gold on its platform
• Microsoft, NSDC collaborate to empower 1 lakh women with digital skills
• CSIR-CDRI Scientist Dr Saman Habib elected as fellow of Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi
• Night of the Restless Spirits: Stories from 1984 by Sarbpreet Singh
• AIM Launches India–Australia Circular Economy Hackathon(I-ACE), with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
• Women Startup Summit 2020 gain key focus in KSUM initiative
• Piyush Goyal launches First-ever SCO Startup Forum ahead of SCO trade ministers meeting
• Young Bangladeshi boy wins special prize in Global Art Competition conducted by ICCR
• NASA’s SOFIA Discovers Water On Sunlit Surface Of Moon
• IIT Kanpur and ASI sign MoU with Italian institutes for restoration of monuments
• Legendary Gujarati Actor Naresh Kanodia Passes Away Due to COVID-19 at 77
• Daniel Menaker, award-winning author and editor, Passes away