1) International Chef’s Day: 20 October
•International Chefs Day is observed globally on 20 October every year. The day aims to celebrate and honour the noble profession and educate people around the world about eating healthy. It is also the day for experienced chefs to pass on their knowledge and culinary skills to the next generation with a sense of pride and commitment.
•The theme of International Chefs Day 2020 campaign is Healthy Food for the Future. International Chefs Day was created by Dr Bill Gallagher, a renowned chef and the former president of the World Association of Chefs Societies (World Chefs), in 2004.
2) Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches ‘Mo Bidyut’ portal
•Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik has launched the electricity consumer service portal ”Mo Bidyut” and a mobile app through video conference. The bilingual online electricity integrated consumer service portal www.mobidyut.com developed by the Energy Department and dedicated to the public under 5T (Teamwork, Transparency, Technology, Time leading to Transformation) initiative of the state government. Through this people will now be able to avail efficient, time-bound, and transparent online service delivery.
3) ADB and India inks USD 177 million loan for Maharashtra
•The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a loan agreement worth USD 177 million, to upgrade 450 km of state highways and major district roads in Maharashtra. The project aims to improve connectivity between rural areas and urban centres in the state to enable rural communities to have better access to markets, employment opportunities and services, which in turn will expand development and livelihood opportunities outside of the state’s major urban centres to second-tier cities and towns thus reducing income disparities.
4) Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone of multi-modal logistic park in Assam
•The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari virtually laid the foundation stone for the first-ever multi-modal logistic park of India, at Jogighopa, in Bongaigaon district of Assam.
5) Australia to join Malabar-2020 Naval Exercise with India, US & Japan
•India has invited Australia to participate in its trilateral naval exercise “Malabar-2020” which is scheduled to be held in November 2020, in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. In 2020, the exercise will be held in a ‘non-contact – at sea’ format. It aims to increase cooperation and enhance safety and security in the maritime security domain.
•The Malabar series of naval exercises began in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy-US Navy. Later, Japan joined the Naval exercise in 2015. It must be remembered that US-India-Japan and Australia are already the part of the “Quad” alliance.
6) India successfully test-fires “SANT” Missile off Odisha coast
•India successfully flight-tested its indigenously developed Stand-off Anti-tank (SANT) missile from Integrated Test Range (ITR) off Odisha coast. The missile was test-fired from a roof-top launcher of the ground-based platform. It is an upgraded version of the anti-tank missile, Helicopter Launched Nag (HeliNa). This was the 11th missile test-fired by India within one and a half month.
7) India ranked 2nd in OECD International Migration Outlook report
•India has acquired the second rank in terms of the number of migrants going to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and acquiring the citizenship of those countries. China retained its top spot with 4.3 lakh migrants, which was 1 per cent lower than the 2019 report.
8) NK Singh launches his autobiography ‘Portraits Of Power’
•Veteran Economist and bureaucrat N K (Nand Kishore) Singh has released his autobiography titled “Portraits of Power: Half a Century of Being at Ringside”. The book portrays the life of NK Singh who played an active role in the development of the Indian economy. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission. The book is published by Rupa Publications India.
9) India’s Elavenil Valarivan wins gold in International Air Rifle Championship
•In Shooting, the world number one Elavenil Valarivan of India won the gold medal in women’s event of the 2020 Sheikh Russel International Air Rifle Championship. The event was organised by Bangladesh Shooting Sport Federation (BSSF).
•Japan’s Naoya Okada won the gold in the men’s event, while India’s Shahu Tushar Mane bagged a silver. The event was a 60-shots competition in which shooters from six nations participated which included Bangladesh, India, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Bhutan.
