1) Health Ministry to observe Vigilance Awareness Week
•The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will observe the Vigilance Awareness Week from 28th October to 2nd November, 2019. The week will be observed with the theme of “Integrity- a way of life”. Vigilance Awareness Week will commence with the administration of ‘Integrity Pledge’ to the officers/staff of the Ministry by the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, to fight against corruption and commit to highest standards of honesty and integrity.
•The week will be observed as per directions of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Government of India. CVC observes Vigilance Awareness Week every year to promote probity in public life and to achieve a corruption free society.
2) ‘Maharatna’ status granted to state-owned HPCL & PGCIL
•‘Maharatna’ status has been granted by the Government to state-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited. The status also comes with greater operational and financial autonomy.
•The grant of Maharatna status to the PSUs will impart enhanced powers to their Boards to take financial decisions. The Boards can structure and implement schemes relating to personnel and human resource management and training. They can also enter into technology joint ventures or other strategic alliances, among others.
3) “Global Bio-India 2019” Summit to be held in New Delhi
•The Global Bio-India 2019 will be held for the first time in India in New Delhi from 21st to 23rd November, 2019. It is one of the largest biotechnology stakeholders integration programme. India is hosting this mega event for the biotech community to attract investments and showcase our indigenous strengths and aspirations of the indigenous talent pool. A brochure of GlobalBio-India 2019 was also released at the Curtain Raiser ceremony.
•The DBT, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India will organize the event with Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council. The Summit is one of the largest biotechnology stakeholders conglomerate to be held in India for the first time. The event will bring together stakeholders from 30 countries, 250 start-ups, and 200 exhibitors.
4) USD 165 mn loan agreement for Odisha’s Integrated Irrigation Project
•The Government of India, Government of Odisha and the World Bank have signed a USD 165 million loan agreement. The agreement is signed for Odisha’s Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture.
•The project will be implemented in rural areas vulnerable to droughts and largely dependent on rainfed agriculture. The project will strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers against adverse climate by improving access to resilient seed varieties and production technologies, diversifying towards more climate-resilient crops, and improving access to better water management and irrigation services. The project will also support aquaculture in rehabilitated tanks, help farmers access affordable and quality fingerlings, and disseminate improved aquaculture practices and post-harvest management.
•The $165 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Member of World Bank Group), has a 6-year grace period, and a maturity of 24 years.
5) CBSE & NCERT launches ‘Tamanna’ test for Class 9 & 10 students
•The Central Board of Secondary Education and National Council for Educational Research and Training have launched an online aptitude test called ‘Tamanna’. Tamanna stands for “Try And Measure Aptitude And Natural Abilities“. Tamanna is an aptitude test that aims to help students of Class 9 and 10 to make a better choice of subjects, eventually helping them in making an informed decision while choosing subjects in Class 11 and 12. Tamanna provides information about strengths of students and there is no pass or fail in this test.
6) Bill Gates overtakes Jeff Bezos as the world’s richest person
•Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates overtook Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos lost the title as the world’s richest man to Bill Gates, after losing nearly $7 billion in stock value leaving his net worth to $103.9 billion. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is currently worth $105.7 billion.
•Bezos ended Gates’ 24-year run as the richest man in 2018 and became the first man on earth with a net worth of $160 billion. Bill Gates debuted on Forbes’ first ever billionaire list in 1987 with a net worth of $1.25 billion.
7) Karnataka wins Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20
•Karnataka has won the 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Trophy. Karnataka defeated Tamil Nadu by 9 wickets in the finals of Vijay Hazare Trophy at Bengaluru. Karnataka won their 4th Vijay Hazare Trophy title with a dominant display against Tamil Nadu. Abhimanyu Mithun took a hat-trick in the summit clash.
