Current Affairs Update 20-24 October, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the Important Current Affairs from 20th to 24th of October, 2016. These are important for the upcoming IBPS PO VI Mains, IBPS Clerk VI Mains, IBPS RRB Mains and NICL and IPPB Mains 2016.

Current Affairs at a Glance – 20th to 24th October, 2016

  1. Luxury car maker BMW and taxi hailing app Ola have signed an MoU to provide on
    demand luxury cab services in India.
  2. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 20 October 2016 notified the amended norms for foreign investment in startups. For
    this, the bank amended the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of
    Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000.
  3. India on 21 October 2016 signed
    a 650-million US dollar loan agreement with the World Bank for the Eastern
    Dedicated Freight Corridor-III (EDFC-III) Project
    . The project will benefit
    industries of Northern and Eastern India, which rely on railway network for
    transportation of material inputs and exports.
  4. AT&T Inc on 22
    October 2016 agreed to buy Time Warner
    Inc for 85.4 billion US dollars
    in a deal that will transform the phone
    company into a media giant.
  5. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in October 2016
    recommended imposition of 3050 crore rupees penalty on Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea cellular. The
    penalty was imposed for allegedly denying interconnectivity to newcomer Reliance
    Jio.
  6. The State Bank of India (SBI) on 20 October 2016 declared Silchar as its 5th zone in North-East India. This zone will cater to the
    banking needs of the people of Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur along with the
    Barak Valley.
  7. Maharashtra Government
    on 19 October 2016 launched Kaushalya
    SETU (Self-Employment and Talent Utilisation) initiative.
    The initiative, which is a skill development programme for students, is likely
    to generate employment for as many as 7.5 lakh people in state.
  8. The Indian Coast Guard Ships
    (ICGS) Aryaman and Atulya were commissioned on 21 October
    2016 at Kochi by Sunil Kumar Kohli, Financial Advisor to Defence Services.
  9. In a dramatic development, Tata Sons, the holding company of the
    $103-billion (around Rs 6.88 lakh crore) Tata group, said its board has removed Cyrus Pallonji Mistry, 48, as
    chairman of the conglomerate and named Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, the
    largest shareholder in Tata Sons, as interim chairman for four months
    .
  10. Vice Admiral S V Bhokare
    on 20 October 2016 assumed office as the Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy
    at Ezhimala in Kerala.
  11. The Milan city council on 20 October 2016 bestowed honorary
    citizenship on the Dalai Lama. However, China has strongly
    opposed another award given to him.
  12. Noted British statistician Sir David Cox on 19
    October 2016 was named the inaugural recipient of the International Prize in
    Statistics.
  13. India on 22 October 2016 lifted the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup.
  14. The Indian football team on 20 October 2016 achieved its best FIFA
    ranking in over six years. The team jumped 11 placed to be 137th in the latest list.
  15. Kochi on 19 October 2016 became the first Indian city to be
    officially declared as one of the venues for hosting the 2017 FIFA U-17 World
    Cup
    . The tournament will be hosted in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium of
    the city.
  16. The United Nations Day 2016 was observed across the world on 24 October
    2016
  17. The Police Commemoration Day was observed on 21 October 2016 across
    India
  18. The book titled The Adivasi Will Not Dance, penned by
    Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, was in news in the second week of October 2016.
  19. Book titled The Sleepwalker’s Dream authored by Dhrubajyoti Borah released. 

Finance/Banking/Industry –
BMW, Ola sign pact for on demand luxury cab services

  • Luxury car maker BMW and taxi
    hailing app Ola have signed an MoU to provide on demand luxury cab services in
    India.
  • While BMW wants to expand the
    luxury car market in the country, which is less than one per cent at present,
    for Ola it is just another extension to its luxury segment “Ola Lux”
    that it had launched in June this year and is present in just three cities.
  • The Bengaluru-based company plans
    to extend the same to other markets soon. Ola targets to double its revenues
    from this segment this year at a mere two per cent, said its COO, Pranay
    Jivrajka. Currently the fleet size is 100.
  • Meanwhile, several global as well
    as domestic auto majors across the world are re-thinking their strategies as
    they witness decline in auto sales due to the growth of on-demand economy
    globally.
  • Frank Schloeder, President
    (Acting), BMW Group India, said that India is a very small market with only
    35,000 cars and the young generation is not looking at buying cars and homes
    anymore but believe in shared economy.
RBI eases norms for foreign investment in startups

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
    on 20 October 2016 notified the amended norms for foreign investment in
    startups. For this, the bank amended the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer
    or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000.
  • Investment in India by Foreign
    Venture Capital Investors (FVCI), registered with SEBI, is governed by the
    provisions of Schedule 6 of the aforesaid Regulations.
Highlights of the Notifications

  • Any FVCI, registered with market
    regulator SEBI, will not require any approval from Reserve Bank of India and
    can invest in unlisted Indian companies.
  • FVCI can invest in following
    sectors- Biotechnology, IT, Nanotechnology, Seed research and development,
    pharmaceutical sector, Dairy industry, Poultry industry, Production of
    bio-fuels, Hotel-cum-convention centres and Infrastructure sector.
  • FVCIs can also invest in Equity
    or equity linked instrument or debt instrument issued by an Indian startup
    irrespective of the sector in which the startup is engaged.
  • FVCIs can invest in units of a
    Venture Capital Fund (VCF) registered under the SEBI or units of a Scheme or of
    a fund set up by a VCF or by a Category I Alternative Investment Fund (Cat-I
    AIF).
  • The downstream investments by a
    VCF or a Cat-I AIF, which has received investment from FVCI, shall have to
    comply with the provisions for downstream investment as laid down in Schedule 11
    of the Principal Regulations.
India, World Bank sign $650 Million agreement for Eastern Dedicated
Freight Corridor

  • India on 21 October 2016 signed a
    650-million US dollar loan agreement with the World Bank for the Eastern
    Dedicated Freight Corridor-III (EDFC-III) Project. The project will benefit
    industries of Northern and Eastern India, which rely on railway network for
    transportation of material inputs and exports.
  • These industries also depend on
    railway network for transportation for the distribution of bulk processed and
    semi-processed commodities and consumer goods. Railway passengers will also be
    benefitted through decongestion of the existing passenger lines.
  • The project is being developed by
    Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. (DFCCIL). It would also
    help in creating jobs in the northern and eastern regions of the country.
Objective

  • The EDFC-III Project is to
    augment rail transport capacity, improve service quality and enhance freight
    carriage throughput on the 401 km Ludhiana-Khurja section of the Eastern
    Dedicated Freight Corridor
  • It seeks to develop institutional
    capacity of DFCCIL to build, maintain and operate the entire DFC network.
  • The third loan agreement that the
    World Bank has signed for the Eastern Corridor, which is about 1840 km long and
    extends from Ludhiana to Kolkata. EDFC is going to be a broad gauge corridor.
    This will have double line and will be electrified. The corridor will also pass
    through Dadri (The origin point of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor) which
    will serve as a junction.
AT&T Inc agrees to buy Time Warner Inc for 85.4 billion US dollars

  • AT&T Inc on 22 October 2016
    agreed to buy Time Warner Inc for 85.4 billion US dollars in a deal that will
    transform the phone company into a media giant.
  • AT&T agreed to pay 107.50 US
    dollars a share, evenly split between cash and stock. The deal is expected to
    close by the end of 2017.
Highlights of the Deal

  • The new company will be headed by
    AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson.
  • Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff
    Bewkes will stay for an interim period following the close of the deal.
  • AT&T will tap 40 billion US
    dollars in bridge loans with 25 billion US dollars coming from JP Morgan Chase
    & Co and 15 billion US dollars from Bank of America Corp.
  • Time Warner agreed to pay a 1.7
    billion US dollars breakup fee if another company outbids AT&T’s offer.
    AT&T, meanwhile, would pay 500 million US dollars if the deal gets blocked.
  • Once the deal is completed,
    AT&T will rely on its entertainment business for more than 40 percent of
    its revenue, based on second-quarter financial results.
Union Government launched UDAN for Regional Air Connectivity

  • Union Government on 21 October
    2016 unveiled the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam
    naagrik), which seeks to get more people to fly in the smaller towns. The Civil
    Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju who launched the scheme in New Delhi
    said the scheme is expected to be rolled out by January 2017.
  • The scheme UDAN envisages
    providing connectivity to un-served and under-served airports of the country
    through revival of existing air-strips and airports. The scheme would be in
    operation for a period of 10 years.
  • The Ministry of Civil Aviation
    took a major step today towards making flying a reality for the small town
    common man.
TRAI recommends Rs 3050 crore penalty on Airtel, Vodafone & Idea

  • Telecom Regulatory Authority of
    India (TRAI) in October 2016 recommended imposition of 3050 crore rupees
    penalty on Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea cellular. The penalty was imposed
    for allegedly denying interconnectivity to newcomer Reliance Jio.
  • TRAI, in its recommendation to
    the Department of Telecom, said it has found the three companies to be
    non-compliant with licence conditions regarding giving interconnection to
    Reliance Jio customers.
  • Airtel: Penalty amounts to 1050
    crore rupees for 21 service areas (all, except Jammu and Kashmir)
  • Vodafone: Penalty amounts to 1050
    crore rupees for 21 service areas (all, except Jammu and Kashmir)
  • Idea: Penalty amounts to 950
    crore rupees for 19 service areas (all, except Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
    and North-eastern States).
SBI declares Silchar as its 5th zone in North East India

  • The State Bank of India (SBI) on
    20 October 2016 declared Silchar as its 5th zone in North-East India. This zone
    will cater to the banking needs of the people of Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur
    along with the Barak Valley.
  • The other four zones of SBI in
    region are located in Guwahati, Shillong, Dibrugarh and Jorhat.
  • Earlier, Silchar was under
    Guwahati zone and it was tough on the part of the bank to address the
    complaints and issues of the customers with such a difficult terrain. The bank
    has 736 branches across North East together with 3000 ATMs and 3000 customer
    service points for customer facilitation.
  • Besides, SBI also opened its
    administrative office at Silchar. This office will facilitate banking issues for
    the customers of the region.
Union Government directs car makers to declare emission details of
every vehicle

  • The Union Ministry of Road
    Transport and Highways made it mandatory for all automobile manufacturers to
    provide emission and noise pollution details for every vehicle they produce.
    The new pollution norms will be made applicable from April 2017.
  • The step will help to keep a
    check on whether the newly bought vehicle is emitting according to what the
    manufacturer claims. The Union Government approved testing agencies will give
    the approval for individual engine model after checking the emission levels.
  • The ministry has notified the
    amendment of Form 22 under the Central Motor Vehicles Act. It is used to
    provide the initial certification of compliance with pollution and safety
    standards at the time of sale to buyers.
Key highlights of amended Form 22

  • From 1 April 2017, the vehicle
    manufacturers will have to provide emission details for each vehicle in the
    revised Form 22 .
  • The Form will include the brand,
    chassis number, engine number (motor number, in case of battery operated
    vehicles) and emission norms, Bharat Stage – IV / VI /Bharat (Trem)
    Stage-III/III etc of the vehicle.
  • The Form will also ask the
    manufacturer to specify the levels of each pollutant like carbon monoxide,
    hydro carbon, non-methane HC, NOx, HC + NOx, PM for petrol and diesel vehicles
    and also sound level for horn and pass by noise values.
Union Government funds Ro Pax Ferry Service in Gulf of Cambay under
Sagarmala Programme

  • The Union Ministry of Shipping on
    17 October 2016 sanctioned the Capital Dredging Project for Ro Pax Ferry
    Services between Gogha & Dahej, in Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat.
  • The step was taken as a part of
    promoting coastal shipping in the country under Sagarmala programme. It is one
    of the flagship projects under Sagarmala which aims to increase share of
    waterways transportation in modal mix to 10% from present level of 7% by year
    2025.
Key highlights

  • The Ministry released 58.50 crore
    rupees as first instalment of grant-in–aid to Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB).
  • The total project cost is
    estimated to be 234 crore rupees of which 50% will be funded by Union
    Government under the Sagarmala programme.
  • The project will result in
    reduction in motorable distance of 231 kilometres between Gogha and Dahej to
    mere 31 kilometres and reduce the travel time from 7 hours to 1 hour only by
    crossing the Gulf in Cambay in 17 Nautical Miles.
  • The initiative will also result
    in savings in fuel, reduction in CO2 emission and reduction in road congestion.
  • The project is first of its kinds
    in India as it will be executed in the area of world’s second highest tidal
    range.
Maharashtra launches Kaushalya SETU initiative

  • Maharashtra Government on 19
    October 2016 launched Kaushalya SETU (Self-Employment and Talent Utilisation)
    initiative. The initiative, which is a skill development programme for
    students, is likely to generate employment for as many as 7.5 lakh people in
    state.
  • For the purpose of employing
    skilled people, the state also signed 22 MoUs with various industries. The best
    part of the initiative is that it would help in bridging the gap between
    education and employment.
Highlights of Kaushalya Setu initiative

  • Students of Maharashtra State
    Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education, who fail to clear Class X
    or SSC exam, would be accommodated in the skill development courses. This will
    help in ensuring that these students do not lose a year.
  • The launch will play a leading
    role in fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Skill India Mission-2020
  • It is a mechanism launched by the
    Union Government under NITI Aayog to support all aspects of start up businesses
    and other self-employment activities, particularly in technology-driven areas.
    SETU is a Techno-Financial, Incubation and Facilitation Programme.
India –
ICGS Aryaman and Atulya commissioned into Indian Coast Guard

  • The Indian Coast Guard Ships
    (ICGS) Aryaman and Atulya were commissioned on 21 October 2016 at Kochi by
    Sunil Kumar Kohli, Financial Advisor to Defence Services.
  • The ICGS Aryaman and Atulya are
    the eighteenth and nineteenth respectively in the series of twenty Fast Patrol
    Vessels (FPVs). They are designed and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited.
Key highlights of Aryaman and Atulya

  • The ships have been christened
    ICGS Aryaman and Atulya.
  • Aryaman literally means Possessor
    of Greatness. It will be based at Kochi under the administrative control of the
    Commander, Coast Guard Region (West).
  • Atulya means Unrivalled. It will
    be based at Visakhapatnam under the administrative control of the Commander,
    Coast Guard Region (East).
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Indo-Italy Scientific and Technological Cooperation re-launched

  • The Indo-Italian Joint Committee
    established under the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement on 21
    October 2016 re-launched the cooperation in the sectors of science, technology
    and innovation. The original agreement was signed between Italy and India in
    2003.
  • The Indian delegation was led by
    Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology while the
    Italian delegation was led by Vincenzo De Luca, Director General for Cultural
    and Economic Promotion and Innovation of the Italian Ministry of Foreign
    Affairs and International Cooperation.
Highlights of the Indo-Italy Scientific and Technological
Cooperation

  • The Joint Committee approved
    several initiatives in bilateral scientific R&D projects of significance
    with the aim of facilitating the mobility of researchers who will be jointly
    selected within the framework of the 2017-2019 Indo-Italy Executive Programme
    of Scientific and Technological Cooperation.
  • IT, energy, environment and
    sustainable agriculture, health care, biotechnology, nanotechnology, physics
    and cultural and natural heritage are the areas for joint projects.
  • A new scientific and technological
    cooperation programme on applied science was launched aiming at developing
    technologies and processes to be applied in industry.
Union Government holds tripartite talks with Manipur government, KNO,
UPF

  • The Union Government held
    tripartite talks with Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s
    Front (UPF) of Manipur to find an amicable solution to their long standing
    demand.
  • The second round of the
    tripartite talks was held on 19 October 2016 in New Delhi. During the dialogue
    the KNO and the UPF indicated their demands in the presence of senior
    representative of Manipur government. The first meeting was held in June 2016.
  • The talks were held in a cordial
    atmosphere and the next round of dialogue will be held in consultation with
    Manipur government, KNO and UPF.
  • To find a permanent solution to
    their demand for homeland and political future, the Home Ministry in June 2016
    had decided to hold tripartite talks with government of Manipur, KNO and UPF of
    Manipur.
India and China conduct Sino India Cooperation 2016 in Ladakh

  • The Indian and Chinese armies on
    19 October 2016 held second joint exercise Sino India Cooperation 2016 in
    Ladakh. The exercise was held as a part of the ongoing initiative to enhance
    interaction and cooperation between India and China, under the provisions of
    Border Defense Cooperation Agreement, 2013.
  • The Exercise was held as a sequel
    to the first Joint Exercise held on 6 February 2016 in the area of Border
    Personnel Meeting Hut at Chushul Garrison of Eastern Ladakh, along with Chinese
    troops of Moldo Garrison.
Key highlights of the exercise

  • During the day long exercise on
    Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR), a fictitious situation of
    earthquake striking an Indian Border village was painted. Thereafter, joint
    teams carried out rescue operations, evacuation and rendering of medical
    assistance.
  • The Indian Team was led by
    Brigadier RS Raman.
  • The Chinese Team was led by
    Senior Col Fan Jun.
Union Government to establish Krishi Vigyan Kendra in each district

  • Union Government in October 2016
    decided to establish at least one Krishi Vigyan Kendra in each of the districts
    in country. These Kendra’s will be developed to provide technical assistance to
    farmers.
  • The decision was announced by the
    Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh while interacting via video conference
    with all the Krishi Vigyan Kendra experts, district level officers associated
    with agriculture development and progressive farmers of 12 States.
  • Besides, Singh also called upon
    the farmers to use the residual husk after paddy farming to make organic
    fertilizer, in paper making and card-board industry and as animal feed. The
    Minister said this will prevent the adverse effect of husk burning on the environment.
Appointments –
Cyrus Mistry removed as Tata group chief, Ratan Tata returns

  • In a dramatic development, Tata
    Sons, the holding company of the $103-billion (around Rs 6.88 lakh crore) Tata
    group, said its board has removed Cyrus Pallonji Mistry, 48, as chairman of the
    conglomerate and named Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, the largest
    shareholder in Tata Sons, as interim chairman for four months.
  • In a letter to Tata group
    employees, Tata said the board has requested him to perform the role of
    chairman and he has agreed to do so “in the interest of stability of and reassurance
    to the Tata group”.
  • However, a brief statement by
    Tata Sons did not give any reasons for Mistry’s ouster, though sources close to
    the development said it was because of “performance” issues and the issue has
    been brewing for some time. The turnover of India’s largest conglomerate
    dropped to $103 billion in 2015-2016 from $108 billion the previous year. Net
    debt rose to $24.5 billion (about Rs 1.63 lakh crore) in March 2016 from $23.4
    billion a year ago.
  • Sources close to the developments
    said Tata has been expressing his displeasure to Mistry about the way the group
    is being run.
  • The board has constituted a
    selection committee to choose the new chairman. Apart from Ratan Tata himself,
    the committee comprises TVS Chairman Venu Srinivasan, Bain Capital’s Amit
    Chandra, former diplomat Ronen Sen and Kumar Bhattacharyya of Warwick. All of
    them, except Bhattacharyya, are on the board of Tata Sons.
Vice Admiral SV Bhokare assumes office as the Commandant of Indian
Naval Academy

  • Vice Admiral S V Bhokare on 20
    October 2016 assumed office as the Commandant of the Indian Naval Academy at
    Ezhimala in Kerala.
  • With this, Bhokare became the
    first officer from the submarine arm of the Indian Navy to take over the charge
    of the Indian Naval Academy.
Japan’s Morinari Watanabe elected President of International Gymnastics
Federation

  • Japan’s Morinari Watanabe on 20
    October 2016 was elected the new President of the International Gymnastics
    Federation (FIG).
  • Watanabe emerged victorious in
    the election after defeating rival candidate Georges Guelzec of France by a
    huge margin in a vote at the governing body’s Congress.
  • Watanabe, who is the
    secretary-general of Japan Gymnastics Association (JGA), won 100 of the 119
    votes. Guelzec, the head of the European Union of Gymnastics (UEG), received a
    mere 19 votes.
Sunil Mishra appointed as Odisha’s CIC

  • Retired bureaucrat Sunil Kumar
    Mishra was on 19 October 2016 appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner
    (CIC) of Odisha. Governor Dr. S C Jamir approved the name of Mishra, an
    official release said.
  • Earlier on 6 October 2016, a
    selection committee chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik recommended
    Mishra’s name to the Governor for appointment as the CIC.
  • Former director general of income
    tax Mishra will succeed former chief secretary Tarun Kanti Mishra. The post of
    CIC was vacant since February 2015. TK Mishra had resigned six months before
    his scheduled retirement on personal ground.
Awards & Honors –
Doctors from AIIMS and SGRH chosen for Dr BC Roy Award

  • Two doctors each from the All
    India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital
    (SGRH) in the third week of October 2016 were selected for the prestigious Dr
    Bidhan Chandra Roy Award for excellence in the field of medicine.
  • Randeep Guleria, Head of
    Pulmonology, and CS Yadav of Department of Orthopaedics from the All India
    Institute of Medical Sciences were selected for the award.
  • Chairman of Board of Management
    at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital D S Rana and Arvind Kumar were also chosen for
    the coveted award.
  • The awards will be presented by
    the President in July 2017.
Milan confers honorary citizenship on Dalai Lama

  • The Milan city council on 20
    October 2016 bestowed honorary citizenship on the Dalai Lama. However, China
    has strongly opposed another award given to him.
  • Lamberto Bertole, Chairman of the
    Council of Milan, honoured the Dalai Lama with the Milan Honorary Citizenship
    award at a ceremony held at the Arcimboldi Theatre in Milan, Italy.
International Prize in Statistics awarded to Sir David Cox

  • Noted British statistician Sir
    David Cox on 19 October 2016 was named the inaugural recipient of the
    International Prize in Statistics. He is honoured for Survival Analysis Model
    Applied in Medicine, Science, and Engineering.
  • The International Prize in
    Statistics Foundation is recognizing Cox specifically for his 1972 paper in
    which he developed the proportional hazards model that today bears his name.
Sports –
India wins 2016 Kabaddi World Cup

  • India on 22 October 2016 lifted
    the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. Team India, under the captaincy of Anup Kumar,
    defeated Iran 38-29 in the final held at the Arena By TransStadia in Ahmedabad,
    Gujarat.
  • This was India’s 3rd World Cup in
    the Standard Style version of Kabaddi.
Indian football team achieves highest FIFA ranking in six years

  • The Indian football team on 20
    October 2016 achieved its best FIFA ranking in over six years. The team jumped
    11 placed to be 137th in the latest list.
  • India, who defeated 114th ranked
    Puerto Rico in an International Friendly in Mumbai in September 2016, garnered
    230 points for the month.
  • In August 2010, India were ranked
    137th which stayed India’s best ever FIFA Ranking since then.
  • The Indian team was ranked 171st
    in February 2015 and slipped to 173rd in March 2015.
  • At present, Argentina tops the
    FIFA World Rankings, followed by Germany and Brazil.
Kochi becomes first Indian city to host FIFA U-17 World Cup

  • Kochi on 19 October 2016 became
    the first Indian city to be officially declared as one of the venues for
    hosting the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The tournament will be hosted in the
    Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium of the city.
  • A 23-member high-level delegation
    comprising experts from FIFA and Local Organising Committee (LOC) ratified
    Kochi as the venue for next year’s mega event. Earlier, the delegation visited
    the Jawarharlal Nehru International Stadium.
  • With this, the event also became
    the first FIFA event to be held in the subcontinent.
  • Tournament Director of the LOC,
    Javier Ceppi said that besides Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the team also visited
    the prospective training grounds in Kochi — Parade Ground, Fort Kochi Veli
    Football Ground, Maharajas College Ground and Government Boys High School
    Panampilly Nagar.
Days –
United Nations Day 2016 observed across the world

  • The United Nations Day 2016 was
    observed across the world on 24 October 2016. The day marks the anniversary of
    the entry into force of the UN Charter (the founding document of UNO) in 1945.
  • In 2016, UN Day will be used to
    highlight concrete actions people can take to help achieve the Sustainable
    Development Goals.
  • On this day, the UN also organise
    a concert to celebrate and reflect on the work of the United Nations through
    the universal language of music. This year, Korean Traditional Music Orchestra,
    Lang Lang, world famous Harlem Gospel Choir, the Hungarian State Opera with
    performances by soprano Andrea Rost and other notable artists will be organised
    at the UN General Assembly Hall. In 2016, the theme of the concert is Freedom
    First.
Police Commemoration Day observed across India

  • The Police Commemoration Day was
    observed on 21 October 2016 across India. The day commemorates the sacrifices
    of ten policemen while defending the borders with China in 1959.
  • Home Minister Rajnath Singh laid
    wreath and paid homage to the police martyrs at Police Memorial Ground,
    Chanakyapuri in Delhi.
  • On 21 October 1959, Chinese Army
    personnel opened fire and threw grenades at the police party of 20 personnel.
Books & Authors –
The Adivasi Will Not Dance authored by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar

  • The book titled The Adivasi Will
    Not Dance, penned by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar, was in news in the second week
    of October 2016.
  • The book was recently shortlisted
    for The Hindu Prize 2016.
  • The characters of the book are
    set in the fecund, mineral-rich hinterland and the ever-expanding, squalid
    towns of Jharkhand.
  • The book, a collection of
    stories, offers the glimpse in the lives of troupe-master Mangal Murmu, who
    refuses to perform for the President of India and is beaten down; Suren and
    Gita, a love-blind couple, who wait with quiet desperation outside a neonatal
    ward; Panmuni and Biram Soren, who move to Vadodara in the autumn of their
    lives, only to find that they must stop eating meat to be accepted as citizens,
    and several other characters.
The Sleepwalker’s Dream authored by Dhrubajyoti Borah released

  • Book titled The Sleepwalker’s
    Dream authored by Dhrubajyoti Borah released. The book authored by Borah,
    President of Asam Sahitya Sabha, narrates the journey of a group of militants
    towards an elusive freedom and an uncertain future.
  • The Sleepwalker’s Dream is about
    June, Ron and several other rebels fleeing their hideout in Bhutan after an
    army attack. With them is their injured, unconscious leader, who is unlikely to
    survive the ordeal of their journey towards the Assam border.
  • Through this book, the author has
    tried to give life to their journey to be an insurgent and the memories that
    hunts them. June is the only woman in the group who is strangulated in memories
    of her long-lost family, her village, her innocent childhood and the tragic
    circumstances under which she had become an insurgent.

Regards

Team ExamPundit