Current Affairs 17th & 18th October 2021| Current Affairs News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty- 17 October

• Every year, October 17 is observed as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
• This day is a means to recognize and acknowledge the efforts and struggles that people, who are pushed to live in poverty, face.
• 2021 Theme: Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, Respecting all People and our Planet”.
• This day provides a chance to those people to voice out their concerns and make everyone realize that these people are the first one who will have to fight poverty.
• On October 17, 1987, poverty was proclaimed as a violation of human rights by people who had assembled at the Trocadéro in Paris to honor the victims of extreme poverty, hunger and violence. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was also signed on this day in 1948
• People who gathered also recognized the need to protect their rights which were inscribed on a commemorative stone which was unveiled the same day.
• The UN General Assembly adopted its resolution 47/196 on December 22, 1992, and declared October 17 as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Govt launches India’s 1st ‘One Health’ Consortium for Surveillance of Bacterial, Viral Infections

• The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) launched India’s 1st ‘One Health’ consortium to carry out surveillance of important bacterial, viral and parasitic infections of zoonotic as well as transboundary pathogens.
• It will consist of 27 organizations led by DBT-National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB), Hyderabad (Telangana).
• It was launched by Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology through video conferencing.
• It will also look into the use of existing diagnostic tests and the development of additional methodologies to understand the spread of emerging diseases.

India signs MoU with Russia for Di-ammonium Phosphate Fertilizer Supply

• India signed a long-term Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Russia for DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate) fertilizer supply. 
• The reason behind this agreement is to stabilize the prices of DAP and to reduce dependence on countries like Jordan, Morocco, and China.
• Only 25 CPSEs tagged as ‘excellent’ in the Performance Assessment by DPE
• In accordance with the performance review conducted by the department of public enterprises (DPE) for 2019-2020, only 25 of the 144 Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) have been tagged as ‘excellent’.
• This figure is down by 10 from 35 as compared to 2018-2019 mainly due to depreciation of the rupee, stricter assessment and drop in net profits.
• Among other categories, 28 units are categorized as poor, 18 as very good, 66 as good; and 30 as fair.

About Department of Public Enterprises (DPE):

• In July 2021, DPE became part of the Ministry of Finance. Earlier it came under the aegis of the Ministry of heavy industries.

EAM S Jaishankar to embark on a five-day visit to Israel

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on a five day official visit to Israel at the invitation of Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Israel Yair Lapid. 
• This is his first visit to the country as External Affairs Minister. He has hold a bilateral meeting with the Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Israel.
• India and Israel elevated bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership during the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel in July 2017. Since then, the relationship between the two countries has focused on expanding knowledge-based partnership, which includes collaboration in innovation and research, including boosting the Make in India initiative.
• The External Affairs Minister has interacted with Indian-origin Jewish community in Israel, Indologists, Indian students who are currently pursuing their education in Israeli universities and business people including from the hi-tech industries.

Nirmala Sitharaman and David Malpass has emphasized need to scale up climate financing for impactful projects

• World Bank President David Malpass met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Washington and discussed India’s efforts on climate change action.
• The World Bank has emphasised the need for scaling up climate finance for impactful projects in line with Nationally Determined Contributions and development goals.
• Malpass also reaffirmed the international financial institution’s strong commitment to India across all World Bank Group entities, including the International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.
• The World Bank President Malpass congratulated Minister Sitharaman on India’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign and thanked India for its international role in vaccine production and distribution.

2nd edition of Naval Commanders’ Conference of 2021 to be held in New Delhi

• The second edition of Naval Commanders’ Conference of 2021 will be held in New Delhi from Oct 18th to 22.
• The conference serves as a platform for Naval Commanders to discuss important maritime matters at the military-strategic level as well as interact with Senior Government Officials through an institutionalised forum.
• Due to the rapidly changing geostrategic situation of the region, the significance and importance of the Conference is manifold.
• It is an institutionalised platform to deliberate, direct, devise and decide issues of utmost importance, which will shape future course of Indian Navy.
• The Navy has focused on being Combat Ready, Credible and Cohesive force and despite the COVID- 19 pandemic, continues to assiduously execute its mandate. The Indian Navy has witnessed a significant growth in its operational tasking over the years in consonance with India’s rising maritime interests.
• Indian Naval ships on Mission Based Deployments across the Indian Ocean Region have remained poised for quick response to any developing situation. Indian Navy ships deployed in the Gulf of Aden and the Persian Gulf continue to provide security for trade flowing through these areas.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

8th Edition of joint military exercise MITRA SHAKTI

• The 8th Edition of joint military exercise MITRA SHAKTI between the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army culminated in Ampara, Sri Lanka.
• The exercise commenced on the 4th of this month.
• Exercise Mitra Shakti, based on counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations in semi urban terrain is the largest bilateral exercise being undertaken by the Sri Lankan Army and it forms a major part of India and Sri Lanka’s growing defence partnership.
• Defence Ministry, during the past 14 days, both the contingents displayed great enthusiasm and professionalism while practising joint drills.
• The participating contingents expressed immense satisfaction at the termination of the exercise in terms of standards achieved during the conduct of the exercise.

IMF releases ‘Global Financial Stability Report 2021’ – analyses ‘Cryptoization’

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released the ‘Global Financial Stability Report-2021’, that discusses the adaptation of cryptocurrencies in emerging markets, the report mainly discusses ‘Cryptoization’.
• The IMF names the potential of macro-financial risks due to asset and currency substitution as ‘cryptoization’.

Challenges in Crypto-ecosystem:

• No reliable method for estimating flow of crypto assets across countries.
• Inefficient Payment systems & Unethical macroeconomic policies leading to Cryptoization.
• Risk of Investor protection for crypto-assets.
• India ranks 2nd in the ‘Global Crypto Adoption Index 2021’, which was topped by Vietnam
• India’s daily Crypto trading volume peaks between $300 -$500 million, with establishment of over 300 new blockchain companies in 2021

About International Monetary Fund (IMF):

• MD – Kristalina Georgieva
• Establishment – 1944
• Headquarters – Washington, D.C., USA
• Member Countries – 190

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Dharmendra Pradhan has inaugurated 29th Hunar Haat in Uttar Pradesh

• Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan has inaugurated the 29th Hunar Haat at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.
• The Hunar Haat is being organised by the Union Ministry for Minority Affairs as a part of a series of 75 Hunar Haat to be organised across the country under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The Hunar Haat are proving instrumental in providing branding and market to the skillful artisans and craftsmen and the products displayed at Hunar Haat are also available on Government-e-Marketplace i.e. GeM.
• Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal were also present on the occasion.
• Over 700 artisans and craftsmen from across the nation are participating in the Hunar Haat which will go on till 25th October. Various cultural programmes are also scheduled daily to attract crowd to the Hunar Haat.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

Kerala Bank seeks RBI nod to collect NRI deposits

• Kerala Bank has sought the permission of the Reserve Bank of India to collect deposits from NRI’s, eyeing the ₹1,50,000,000 crore NRI deposits credited to various commercial and PSU and private sector banks in the State.
• V N Vasavan, the State Cooperation Minister,a major share of this NRI deposit amount is being utilised for disbursing loans to big corporates outside the State and in speculative businesses in stock markets.
• Kerala Bank is aiming to utilise these NRI deposits for developing the basic infrastructure of the State.
• The bank will provide an opportunity for non-resident Keralites to be part of the development of the State and to intervene in its economy

Bank of India announced the rates cut on home loan, vehicle loan interest rates

• Bank of India (BoI) has announced a 35 basis points (bps) reduction in home loan interest rate and a 50 bps reduction in vehicle loan interest rate.
• The new interest rates are effective from October 18, 2021 till December 31, 2021.
• Following the reduction, home loan interest rates will start at 6.50 per cent against the current rate of 6.85 per cent and vehicle loan interest rates will start at 6.85 per cent against 7.35 per cent. One basis point is equal to one-hundredth of a percentage point.
• This special rate, which is part of the festive offer, is available for customers applying for fresh loans and also for those seeking transfer of loans, the public sector bank said in a statement.
• Processing charges have also been waived for both home and vehicle loans till December-end 2021.

Vested Finance Partnered with SBM Bank to Facilitate Forex Transfer

• Vested Finance, a platform for investing in foreign stocks for Indians has partnered with SBM Bank, the Indian subsidiary of State Bank of Mauritius and launched a new solution named ‘Vested Direct’ for facilitating forex transfers at low costs.
• Using Vested Direct Investors could open a free-of-cost, no-minimum-balance savings account with SBM Bank funds.

About Vested Finance:

• Headquarters – San Francisco, California, USA
• CEO – Viram Shah

ADB Expanded 2019–2030 Climate Finance Ambition to $100 Billion

• Asian Development Bank (ADB) increased its ambition to deliver climate financing to its Developing Member Countries (DMCs) from 2019–2030 by $20 billion to $100 billion.
• Objective is to support DMCs that are facing challenges under COVID-19 and the climate crisis.

Background: 

• In 2018, ADB committed to making its own climate financing of around $80 billion by 2030 and also to ensure at least 75 percent of the total number of its operations support climate action. 
• The current announcement increased this financing commitment.
• ADB forecasts the overall climate financing from its own resources in 2019–2021 to reach about $17 billion.

About Asian Development Bank (ADB):

• Establishment– 1966
• Headquarters– Manila, Philippines
• President – Masatsugu Asakawa
• Managing Director General– Woochong Um
• Members– 68 members (49 – Asia & Pacific, 19 – outside)

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Navrang Saini gets additional charge as IBBI Chairperson

• The Central Government gave Navrang Saini, Whole Time Member, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), an additional charge as the Chairperson of IBBI. 
• He has been appointed for a period of three months or till the joining of a new incumbent to the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier He will succeed S. Sahoo who retired on September 30, 2021 after a five-year tenure on.

About IBBI:

• Established in 2016, it is a key institution in implementing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC),
• Headquarter– New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS & HONOURS

WHO’s DG Bestows “WHO Director-General’s Award” Posthumously on Henrietta Lacks in Geneva

• The Director General (DG) of World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus honoured the late, Henrietta Lacks with a ‘WHO Director-General’s award’, for recognizing her world-changing legacy, who died of cervical cancer, 70 years ago, on 4 October, 1951.

About HeLa cells

• The researchers named the tissues of Henrietta Lacks as “HeLa cells”, which became a popular word in the medical world.
• Her cells became the first “immortal” cell line, and have allowed for incalculable scientific breakthroughs such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
• These cancer cells taken from her body became a research substance for scientists globally, and it was after research on those sample cells that the medical world developed vaccines for dangerous diseases such as polio, cancer, drugs for HIV and COVID-19 research.

About World Health Organization (WHO)

• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Founded: 7 April 1948
• Director General: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari to command Crew-3 mission of NASA-SpaceX

• An Indian-American astronaut is part of NASA-SpaceX’s third mission to the International Space Station (ISS). 
• The mission is set to be start on October 30th from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
• Bharti Group-backed OneWeb Launched 36 Satellites from Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia
• OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company owned by the UK Government and Bharti Global has launched 36 satellites by Arianespace from the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia.
• With this successful launch and contact with the 36 satellites, the total number of in-orbit constellations of OneWeb has become 358 satellites, more than half of its entire 648 LEO satellite fleet, which will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity.
• OneWeb is now over halfway to deliver global service in 2022.

About the launch:

• The satellites were separated from the rocket in 9 batches over a period of 3 hours 52 minutes.
• The signal acquisition on all 36 satellites is also confirmed.

Note:

• With this launch, OneWeb will start its service demonstrations which will showcase the hardware and capabilities across an array of applications.

OneWeb partnership with Galaxy Broadband

• OneWeb has partnered with Galaxy Broadband, a Canadian distribution partner, to deliver OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency communications services across Canada and the wider Arctic Region.

About OneWeb:

• Chairman– Sunil Bharti Mittal
• CEO– Neil Masterson
• Headquarters– London, United Kingdom (UK)

Demo centres:

• OneWeb has opened demo centres at its headquarters in London, and at the Westcott Venture Park Innovation Centre in Buckinghamshire as well as in the United States of America (USA), in Talkeetna, Alaska, and Germantown, Maryland.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

China, Russia conducts Joint Sea-2021 Naval Exercise in the Sea of Japan

• On Oct 14, 2021, Russia and China’s navies kicked off at Russia’s Peter the Great Gulf, joint naval maneuvers in the Sea of Japan.
• The exercise will run until 17,2021.
• It is the first time China has sent anti-submarine warfare planes and destroyers of more than 10,000 tons in displacement for exercises abroad.
• During that , the combined force would practice shooting at targets designed to imitate enemy surface ships and hold air-defence drills.
• The warships participating from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are Type 055 destroyer Nanchang, Type 052D destroyer Kunming, Type 054A frigates Binzhou and Liuzhou, and Type 903A comprehensive supply ship Dongpinghu.

About China :

• President: Xi Jinping
• Capital: Beijing
• Currency: Renminbi

About Russia :

• President: Vladimir Putin
• Capital: Moscow
• Currency: Russian ruble

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

NITI Aayog & UNDP India Launches Handbook On Sustainable Urban Plastic Waste Management

• NITI Aayog and UNDP ( United Nations Development Programme )India launched a handbook titled ‘NITI Aayog-UNDP Handbook on Sustainable Urban Plastic Waste Management’ in New Delhi.

About the Book :

• The Book provides a comprehensive overview of managing plastic waste by representing and discussing components of the entire plastic waste value chain.
• The discussion for the Handbook was initiated in February 2021.
• The Handbook is a repository of 18 case studies/best practices and examples from cities in India, including 4 from Southeast Asia, which face similar infrastructure and plastic waste challenges.

The Book is divided into four major components

1. Technical models for recycling
2. Material Recovery Facilities (MRF)
3. Governance for effective plastic waste management
4. IEC and Digitization

• The book covers every aspect of the entire plastic waste management service chain and will enable Urban Local Bodies and other stakeholders involved in the sector to learn from the successful business and service models covered under this handbook to plan for efficient plastic waste management in their cities according to their requirements and guidelines.

Key People :

• NITI Aayog Vice Chairperson Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Amitabh Kant, Rameshwar Prasad Gupta, Secretary Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Special Secretary Dr K. RajeswaraRao, and Shoko Noda, UNDP India Resident Representative also present the event.

About NITI Aayog :

• Formed: 1 January 2015
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairperson: Narendra Modi
• Vice Chairperson : Rajiv Kumar
• CEO : Amitabh Kant

CURRENT AFFAIRS : PERSON IN NEWS

William Shatner becomes oldest person in history to fly to space

• 90-year-old Canadian actor William Shatner has become the oldest person ever to fly to space.
• He blasted into space on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket on October 13, 2021.
• He was joined by three other fellow passengers, Chris Boshuizen, William Shatner, Audrey Powers and Glen de Vries on the 11-minute journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere and back again.
• They reached an altitude of 66.5 miles (107 kilometers) over the West Texas desert in the fully automated capsule ‘New Shepard.
• It was the second successful near-space flight by Blue Origin, which earlier in July launched a crew that included Bezos.

Note :

• William Shatner is a Canadian actor, author, producer, director, screenwriter, and musician.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

Chennai Super Kings wins 2021 IPL title              

• On Oct 15, 2021, Chennai Super Kings clinched their fourth Indian Premier League title after beating Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in the summit clash at Dubai International Stadium .
• This was the 14th edition of IPL which is an India-based Cricket league in 20-20 format.
• This was the 4th win of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL, having previously won the tournament in 2010, 2011, and 2018.
• The first half of IPL was played in India, while the second half was played in UAE.
• S. Dhoni is the captain of CSK, the winning team & Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was led by Eoin Morgan of the Runner up team ( He is from England ).
• Faf du Plessis was named man of the match hit a magnificent 86 off 59 balls
• Player of the Tournament: Harshal Patel (RCB)
• Highest Run Scorer : Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK) gets the Orange Cap for scoring the most runs – 635 – in this season
• Highest Wicket Taker (Purple Cap): Harshal Patel (RCB )gets the Purple Cap for his 32 wickets in the season

About IPL :

• The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league, contested by eight teams based out of eight Indian cities.
• The league was founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007.
• First editions : 2008
• Mumbai Indians team has won the IPL title the highest number of times, i.e 5 times.

Amy Hunter Becomes Youngest Batter To Hit ODI Century                     

• Amy Hunter (16)  became the youngest-ever batter to score an international century in Ireland Women’s clash against Zimbabwe.
• She struck an unbeaten 121 in Harare to become the youngest player, male or female, to score a one-day international century.
• The Belfast batter who was playing in only her fourth ODI broke the record previously held by India’s Mithali Raj, scorer of a century against Ireland in 1999 when she was 16 years 205 days.

2021 SAFF Championship : India Beat Nepal 3-0 To Win 8th Title

• On Oct 16, 2021, India beat Nepal, 3-0, to win the 2021 SAFF Championship final title at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives.
• Top Scorer in the championship Sunil Chhetri (Captain) – 5 goals.
• Sunil Chhetri , Suresh Singh Wangjam and Sahal Abdul Samad were the goal scorers for the Indian team in the final.
• The 37-year-old Chhetri scored his 80th international strike at the championship to equal his score with Lionel Messi and became the second highest goal-scorer in international football among active players.

About 2021 SAFF Championship :

• It is the biennial international men’s football championship of South Asia organised by South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).
• This is the eighth SAFF Championship title claimed by the Indian men’s national football team.
• Previously the team had won the title in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015.

About South Asian Football Federation :

• Headquarters: Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Founded: 1997
• President: Kazi Salahuddin
• Motto: Strength in Unity
• Membership : 7 member associations

Daily CA On Oct 14 15 & 16 :

• World Student’s Day is celebrated every year on October 15, it is celebrated in honour of the birth anniversary of the former president of India, Late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam with the theme of ‘Learning for people, planet, prosperity, and peace’.
• The United Nations’ International Day of Rural Women celebrates and honours women and girls living in rural areas on 15 October each year with the theme of Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All”
• World Standards Day is an international day celebrated internationally each year on 14 October.
• World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year worldwide on 16 October to commemorate the date of the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) till 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs 1,41,600 crores w.e.f October 1, 2021. 
• Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC) was accorded the status of ‘Maharatna central public sector enterprise (CPSE)’ by the Department of Public Enterprises, under the Ministry of Finance.
• Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh virtually launched Climate Resilience Information System and Planning (CRISP-M) tool for integration of climate information in Geographic Information System (GIS) based watershed planning under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Scheme (MGNREGS). 
• PM launched Rs 100 Lakh cr Gati Shakti- National Master Plan for Infrastructure Development from New Delhi
• A two-day National conference for zoo directors and veterinarians 2021 was hosted by Sardar Patel Zoological Park, Kevadia, Gujarat. 
• The Department of Biotechnology has launched the country’s first ‘One Health’
• Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Ashwini Kumar Choubey has implemented the best global standards which will facilitate access to national and international markets for Small and Medium Enterprises. 
• India hosted the first ever SCO Seminar on Role of Women in Armed Forces. Secretary (West) Reenat Sandhu, the role of India’s women military officers at the global level in UN peacekeeping missions.
• In its October 2021 World Economic Outlook (WEO) titled ‘Recovery During a Pandemic Health Concerns, Supply Disruptions, and Price Pressures’, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has retained India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for 2021 unchanged at 9.5 percent (July 2021 forecast).
• Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually participated in the ‘G20 Extraordinary Leaders’ Meeting on Afghanistan’, which has been organised to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) along with its partners (including UNICEF, PATH, the Gates Foundation) have launched the 1st ever Global strategy to defeat “Meningitis”- a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people each year.
• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar who is in Yerevan, Armenia on the third and last leg of visit to central Asia paid homage at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex.
• In Manipur, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh launched the “Chief Minister’s Health for All”.
• Justice Aravind Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court.
• Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has recorded over 40 percent growth in container traffic in first half of the current financial year as compared to the corresponding period last year.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the ‘Small Finance Bank’ (SFB) licence to Centrum-BharatPe’s ‘Unity Small Finance Bank Ltd (USFBL)’ to carry on an SFB business in India.
• The digital payment platform PhonePe has partnered with National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) and launched a unique payment link named ‘ClickPay’ to enable customers to make recurring online bill payments.
• Digital payments firm PayPal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) to increase the knowledge base of Indian micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs). 
• Saraswat Cooperative Bank Ltd. (Saraswat Bank) has partnered with Axis Securities to offer its customers investing services through a 3-in-1 account.
• The State Bank of India (SBI), Union Bank of India (UBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Indian Bank have picked up more than 12% stake each in the proposed bad bank National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL).
• Indian Bank made a tie up with a fintech company Fisdom for its mobile banking app to manage the new digital wealth management products.
• Indian Overseas Bank is now integrated with TN Govt’s IFHRMS (Integrated Finance Human Resource Management System) portal designed for collection of all treasury receipts.
• PNB Housing Finance Limited (PNBHFL) has called off its proposed ₹ 4,000 crore share sale plan to Carlyle Group and other marquee investors including General Atlantic and Ares SSG, citing protracted delays and uncertainty over regulatory approvals required for the preferential issue.
• As part of a bureaucratic reshuffle, Meera Mohanty appointed as the Joint Secretary (JS) in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Ritesh Chauhan has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), replacing Ashish Kumar Bhutani.
• James Sangma of Meghalaya Won 2021 PETA India Award for ‘Vegan Leather’ Initiative
• Microsoft Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Indian American Satya Nadella got the prestigious C K Prahlad award for Global Business Sustainability Leadership for the year 2021.
• Karnataka Bank Ltd has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to appoint Pradeep Kumar Panja, an Independent Director of the bank, as part-time non-executive Chairman with effect from November 14, for a period of three years.
• The Managing Committee of the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has elected A K Goel, Managing Director & CEO, UCO Bank, as the Chairman of the Association for the term 2021-22.
• On Oct 14, 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her American counterpart, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, participated in the 8th U.S.-India Economic and Financial Partnership.
• On the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami (Oct 15, 2021), Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation seven new defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs), created by incorporating the dissolved erstwhile Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
• The 17th edition of the Joint Military Training Exercise “Ex Yudh Abhyas 2021” between the Indian Army and the United States Army, is scheduled to take place from October 15 to 29, 2021 at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska in USA.
• Indian government-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited(BPCL), has unveiled an automated fuelling technology system, called “UFill”.
• On Oct 14, 2021, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur launched the ‘MyParkings’ app.
• In the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021, India’s rank has dropped to 101 with a GHI score of 27.5 out of 50, which comes under serious category among 116 countries.
• Reliance Industries, the country’s largest company by revenues, profits and market value, has topped Indian corporates in the World’s Best Employers rankings 2021 published by Forbes.
• In the 58th edition of EY’s ‘Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index’ (RECAI), India remained at the third position with an index score of 70.2 released by the consultancy firm Ernst & Young (EY).
• Sunil Chhetri has equalled the legendary Pele by making the 77th international goal as his 83rd minute strike, on October 10, 2021.
• Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) unveiled ‘Our Goal for All’ as the official tagline for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022.
• Divya Deshmukh, a 15-year-old from Nagpur, Maharashtra became the 21st Woman Grand Master (WGM) of India after qualifying in the 3rd WGM norm.

Daily CA On Oct 17 & 18 :

• Every year, October 17 is observed as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty with the theme of Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, Respecting all People and our Planet”.
• The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) launched India’s 1st ‘One Health’ consortium to carry out surveillance of important bacterial, viral and parasitic infections of zoonotic as well as transboundary pathogens.
• India signed a long-term Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Russia for DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate) fertilizer supply. 
• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on a five day official visit to Israel at the invitation of Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Israel Yair Lapid. 
• World Bank President David Malpass met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Washington and discussed India’s efforts on climate change action.
• The second edition of Naval Commanders’ Conference of 2021 will be held in New Delhi from Oct 18th to 22.
• The 8th Edition of joint military exercise MITRA SHAKTI between the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army culminated in Ampara, Sri Lanka.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released the ‘Global Financial Stability Report-2021’, that discusses the adaptation of cryptocurrencies in emerging markets, the report mainly discusses ‘Cryptoization’.
• Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan has inaugurated the 29th Hunar Haat at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.
• Kerala Bank has sought the permission of the Reserve Bank of India to collect deposits from NRI’s, eyeing the ₹1,50,000,000 crore NRI deposits credited to various commercial and PSU and private sector banks in the State.
• Bank of India (BoI) has announced a 35 basis points (bps) reduction in home loan interest rate and a 50 bps reduction in vehicle loan interest rate.
• Vested Finance, a platform for investing in foreign stocks for Indians has partnered with SBM Bank, the Indian subsidiary of State Bank of Mauritius and launched a new solution named ‘Vested Direct’ for facilitating forex transfers at low costs.
• Asian Development Bank (ADB) increased its ambition to deliver climate financing to its Developing Member Countries (DMCs) from 2019–2030 by $20 billion to $100 billion.
• The Central Government gave Navrang Saini, Whole Time Member, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), an additional charge as the Chairperson of IBBI. 
• The Director General (DG) of World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus honoured the late, Henrietta Lacks with a ‘WHO Director-General’s award’, for recognizing her world-changing legacy, who died of cervical cancer, 70 years ago, on 4 October, 1951.
• An Indian-American astronaut is part of NASA-SpaceX’s third mission to the International Space Station (ISS). 
• OneWeb has partnered with Galaxy Broadband, a Canadian distribution partner, to deliver OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency communications services across Canada and the wider Arctic Region.
• On Oct 14, 2021, Russia and China’s navies kicked off at Russia’s Peter the Great Gulf, joint naval maneuvers in the Sea of Japan.
• NITI Aayog and UNDP ( United Nations Development Programme )India launched a handbook titled ‘NITI Aayog-UNDP Handbook on Sustainable Urban Plastic Waste Management’ in New Delhi.
• 90-year-old Canadian actor William Shatner has become the oldest person ever to fly to space.
• On Oct 15, 2021, Chennai Super Kings clinched their fourth Indian Premier League title after beating Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs in the summit clash at Dubai International Stadium .
• Amy Hunter (16)  became the youngest-ever batter to score an international century in Ireland Women’s clash against Zimbabwe.
• On Oct 16, 2021, India beat Nepal, 3-0, to win the 2021 SAFF Championship final title at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives.