United Nations has designated the first
Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day. The theme
for World Habitat Day 1 October 2018 is Municipal Solid Waste Management.
- It
was officially designated by the United Nations and first celebrated in
1986. The purpose of the day is to reflect on the state of our cities and
towns and the basic human right to adequate shelter.
- World
Habitat Day was established in 1985 by the United Nations General
Assembly through Resolution 40/202 and was first celebrated in 1986.
October 1- International Day of Older Persons
The International Day of Older Persons is
observed on October 1 each year to recognize the contributions of older persons
and to examine issues that affect their lives.
- On
December 14, 1990 the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish
October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons as recorded in
Resolution 45/106. The holiday was observed for the first time on October
1, 1991.
- The
theme for the 2018 celebration is “Celebrating Older Human Rights
champions”.
September 30- International Translation
Day
International Translation Day is celebrated
every year on 30 September on the feast of St. Jerome, the Bible translator who
is considered the patron saint of translators. The celebrations have been
promoted by International Federation of Translators ever since it was set up in
1953.
- Theme: Translation:
Promoting Cultural Heritage in Changing Times
October 1- World Vegetarian Day
World Vegetarian Day is observed annually around the planet
on October 1.
- It
is a day of celebration established by the North American Vegetarian
Society in 1977 and endorsed by the International Vegetarian Union in
1978, “To promote the joy, compassion and life-enhancing possibilities of
vegetarianism.
Second Anniversary of Surgical Strike was
celebrated as Parakram Parv
Second Anniversary of Surgical Strike was celebrated as
Parakram Parv or Surgical Strike Day on September 29 – 30, 2018 by Indian Army
to showcase gallant action of brave Army in the conduct of Surgical Strikes on
September 29, 2016.
- This
day was also marked to remember sacrifice of soldiers during ‘Uri
incident’.
President of India Inaugurates Mahatma Gandhi
International Sanitation Convention
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the
Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention in New Delhi on September
29, 2018.
- The
Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention is being organised
by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to mark the beginning of
the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi, also coinciding with the fourth anniversary of the launch
of Swachh Bharat Mission.
- Ministers
from over 70 countries will be invited and taken on a ‘Gandhi Trail’ in
Gujarat.
- The
government will use the occasion to “showcase its performance” and
“success story” in the Swachh Bharat programme in the past four years,
which was launched on October 2, 2014, and have a face-to-face dialogue
with the world leaders to share their experiences on sanitation
programmes.
- By
2030, the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG #6, aim to
reach everyone with sanitation, and halve the proportion of untreated
wastewater and increase recycling and safe reuse.
LooReview Campaign: Government and Google
launch campaign to review public toilets
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has partnered with
Google to launch Loo Review campaign on Google Map.
- The
joint campaign has been launched under aegis of Swachh Bharat Mission –
Urban (SBM–U). It will run throughout October and November 2018 in an
effort to increase awareness and ease of locating public toilets across
India.
Petroleum Minister launches SATAT Initiative
Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of
Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched
an innovative initiative titled SATAT (Sustainable Alternative
towards Affordable Transportation).
- This initiative
would benefit vehicle-users as well as farmers and entrepreneurs. It has
been launched with PSU Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to set
up Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and make available
CBG in the market for use in automotive fuels.
India’s Largest war memorial of India will be
built in Jharkhand
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has said their
government is constructing India’s biggest war memorial.
- Stories
of the slain soldiers’ bravery will be written in the war memorial which
will have a replica of the Kargil War so that the youth can understand
their duties towards the nation.
Kolkata Gets India's 1st Comprehensive
City-Level Flood Forecasting and Warning System
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) launched
a Flood Forecasting and Early Warning System (FFEWS) for Kolkata
City. It is also India’s first comprehensive city-level FFEWS.
- It
will reduce economic loss and impacts on livelihood and improve flood
awareness and safety at the community level.
- The Asian
Development Bank (ADB) funded the design and implementation of the
FFEWS through a $1 million technical assistance to KMC from its
Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund under the Urban Financing
Partnership Facility.
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurates 3-Day
Kalahandi Dialogue
The three day Kalahandi Dialogue, a global
conclave on development has been launched by Chief Minister Shri Naveen
Patnaik. Using the platform the Chief Minister launched several projects for
the district of Kalahandi.
- Sujeet
Kumar was the Chairperson of Kalahandi Dialogue. The dialogue aimed
to involve youth in development activities. New PG programmes launched at
OUAT and three centres of excellence were launched.
Assam, 1st State to launch wage compensation
scheme for pregnant women in tea gardens
Assam Government has become the first
Indian state to offer a Wage Compensation Scheme for pregnant
women working in the tea gardens of the state. The scheme will be launched
by Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal in Guwahati. The
announcement was made by the state’s Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa
Sarma.
- Under
the scheme, an amount of Rs 12,000 will be given to the pregnant
women so that they can take care of themselves and the unborn baby. The
compensation of wages to pregnant women will be given in 4 instalments -
Rs 2,000 in the first trimester, Rs 4,000 in the second trimester, Rs
3,000 for institutional delivery and Rs 3,000 for registration of the
child's birth.
Tripura to set up flute performance research
institute
Tripura Government would set up a flute performance research
institute to take out the traditional musical act and its eminence as a
traditional musical instrument across the world, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar
Deb said.
Goa and Portugal Inks MoU for Water and Sewage
Management
The MoU between the Portuguese Environment
Ministry and Goa Public Works Department (PWD) was signed. It will
help Goa manage its water resources better.
- The
signing of the two-year long arrangement is a significant move to work in
tandem to develop common initiatives for water supply and wastewater
management in the state.
The projects would include:
1. Opa
water supply project in north Goa,
2. Sewage water
treatment plant in Valpoi and
3. Manganese-removal
efforts in Selaulim Reservoir.
AYUSH Information Cell Set Up At Indian Embassy
in Romania
Ministry of AYUSH has set up an AYUSH
Information Cell at the premises of the Indian Embassy in Romania to
disseminate authentic information about AYUSH system of medicine and encourage
Ayurveda practice in Romania.
- The
AYUSH Information Cell, Romania will help to organise lectures,
consultation, conduct seminars, training courses and facilitate
associations of AYUSH stakeholders for networking conducting meetings,
develop awareness of AYUSH system among public in Romania.
US and Canada sign trade deal replacing
NAFTA
Canada agreed to sign a trade deal with the
United States and Mexico, revamping the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) after almost a year of negotiations. The new deal has
been named the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
- Under
the agreement, Canada has agreed to export a quota of 2.6 million vehicles
to the United States in the wake of 25% global autos tariffs imposed
by the US on national security grounds.
US, Morocco launch GCTF Terrorist Travel
Initiative to curb terrorist travel
United States and Morocco have launched GCTF Terrorist Travel
Initiative under auspices of Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF).
- The
initiative brings together stakeholders to share expertise on developing
and implementing effective counterterrorism watchlisting and screening
tools. It was launched on sidelines of United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) session in New York.
RBI Slaps Rs 5 Crore Penalty On Karur Vysya
Bank
The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a
penalty of Rs 5 crore on Karur Vysya Bank for non-compliance of its
directives.
- According
to RBI statement, the penalty was imposed for non-compliance with its
directions on "Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC)
norms, reporting of frauds, and on the need for discipline at the time of
opening of current accounts".
RBI bars Bandhan Bank from opening branches
RBI has barred the bank from opening new branches and put a
freeze on the remuneration of Bandhan Bank MD and CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh.
The bank can open branches with the prior approval of the RBI.
- The
RBI pulled up Bandhan Bank for its failure to bring down the promoter
holding to 40 per cent, as mandated in the licensing norms for universal
banks.
Government constitutes competition law review
committee
Union Finance Ministry has constituted Competition Law Review
Committee to ensure that legislation is in tune with changing business
environment. The committee was constituted in pursuance of Government’s
objective of ensuring that legislation is in sync with needs of strong economic
fundamentals.
- The
Committee will be headed by Injeti Srinivas, Secretary of the Union
Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The Competition Act was passed in the year
2002 and the Competition Commission of India was set up in pursuance of
the same.
Sushil Modi-Led GoM to examine modalities for
'calamity tax' under GST
The Government constituted a seven-member
ministerial panel headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi to examine
modalities for revenue mobilisation in case of natural calamities and
disasters.
- The
panel would look into five issues flagged by the Council, including
whether the new tax should be levied only in the state concerned or should
it be an all-India levy, and that should it be on specified luxury or sin
goods only.
Jayant Mammen Mathew elected president of INS
Jayant Mammen Mathew, Executive Editor of Malayala Manorama,
was elected as the president of the prestigious Indian Newspaper Society, an
apex body of the country’s print media industry.
Ravi, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu,
elected PTI chairman
Ravi, Publisher and former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu,
has been unanimously elected Chairman of the Press Trust of India
(PTI). Also,Vijay Kumar Chopra, Chief Editor of the Punjab Kesari Group of
newspapers, was elected Vice-Chairman.
Nobel Prize 2018: Nobel Medicine Prize Goes To
James P Allison and Tasaku Honjo
Nobel Medicine or Physiology Prize has been
awarded to James P Allison and Tasaku Honjo “for their discovery of
cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.”. This is for
the first time that no Literature Prize will be given in 70 years because
of a #MeToo scandal.
- Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded by the Nobel Assembly at
Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
UN Champions of the Earth Award 2018
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has been awarded with the UN’s highest environmental honour-
Champions of the Earth Award, bestowed upon five other individuals and
organisations.
- French
President Emmanuel Macron, President of France and Modi have been jointly
recognised in the Policy Leadership category for
their pioneering work in championing the International Solar Alliance and
promoting new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action,
including Macron’s work on the Global Pact for the Environment and Modi’s
unprecedented pledge to eliminate all single-use plastic in India by 2022.
- Cochin
International Airport has also been
honoured this year with the award for Entrepreneurial Vision, for its
leadership in the use of sustainable energy.
Veteran Harmonium Player Pandit Tulsidas Borkar
passed away
Renowned harmonium player Pandit Tulsidas
Borkar passed away in Mumbai. He was 84. He was being treated
for chest infection.
- Born
in Goa, Borkar made a name for himself as an accomplished harmonium player
and was conferred with the Padma Shri award in 2016. He was also
a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Legendary Chicago blues guitarist Otis Rush
dies at 84
Legendary Chicago blues guitarist Otis
Rush, whose passionate, a jazz-influenced sound influenced generations of
musicians, has died.
- Otis
Rush won a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Recording in 1999
for "Any Place I'm Going." Rush was inducted into the
Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1984.
Yuvraj Wadhwani lifts Asian Junior Squash title
Yuvraj Wadhwani has won the 25th Asian
junior individual squash championship title. He defeated Anas Ali
Shah of Pakistan in the final in Chennai. Yuvraj has become
the second Indian to win the Under-13 title after Veer Chotrani, who
had won the title in 2014 in Iran. I
- India
came out of the championship with a gold, a silver and four bronze
medals. The bronze medals came in the other age categories through
Kavya Bansal, Tiana Parasrampuria, Sanya Vats and Tushar Shahani.
