Appointments :
- The Madhya Pradesh government constituted a judicial commission headed by Rakesh Saxena to probe the stampede at Ratangarh in Datia district on October 13.
- New Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), S. K. Roy.
Resignations/Retirements
Obituaries
Awards
Sports
Books
- RICHARD DAWKINS : An Appetite for Wonder
International
- India has moved from 65 to 63 in the Global Hunger Index, making a marginal improvement since 2012, but continues to languish far behind other emerging economies. The score for the country improved slightly from 22.9 in 2012 to 21.3 this year. As has been the trend, within SAARC countries too, India continued to trail behind Pakistan and Bangladesh on the index.The index is prepared by the International Food Policy Research Institute along with Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide.
- Pre-COP (Conference of Parties), is organised to firm up the agenda for the meeting, where all member-countries of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change gather held at POLAND.
- Typhoon Wipha, packing winds of 140 kilometre per hour (km/hr), is moving towards north Tokyo where the crippled Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant lies
- German defence firm Atlas Elektronik, a leading manufacturer of high-tech maritime and naval systems, is in the process of finalising a deal with India for supplying low-frequency sonar systems for Navy’s warships that will help them detect enemy submarines, warships and torpedoes from a long distance.
- India-Hungary joint commission on economic co-operation on Tuesday signed an agreement between the two countries in the field of traditional medicine.
National
- “My Stamp”, an innovation of India Post, gives individuals the opportunity to get a postage stamp with their photos on it.To get personalised “My Stamp”, the customers will have to fill in the form indicating choice of stamps from available stamp sheets and deposit Rs.300 along with his or her colour photo (with white background) or provide the same in soft copy.
- The Indian Navy inducted into service its largest offshore patrol vessel (OPV), INS Sunayna.
- Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of Karnataka instructed the Law Department to draft legislation in Kannada and then translate them into English.
- First batch of members of the Bnei Menashe tribe may arrive in Jewish state by year-end.899 Indian Jews from Manipur and Mizoram, all members of the “lost” Bnei Menashe tribe, to immigrate to Israel.The Bnei Menashe (literally meaning sons of Menashe) tribe trace their roots to one of the 10 “lost tribes” of Jews exiled by the Assyrian regime over 2,700 years ago.Hundreds of Bnei Menashe are already living in Israel, having made aliyah (immigration) with the help of NGO Shavei Israel, which is dedicated to bringing “lost Jews” around the world to Israel.
- Two Ukraine nationals – crew of the detained US ship Seaman Guard Ohio – were arrested by Tamil Nadu ‘Q’ Branch police.
- Centre wants liquor and petroleum products to come under the GST, states are keen to retain their power to tax these items as they are major sources of revenue.
Polity
- The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has joined government and PSU oil firms against the Supreme Court order making Aadhaar card not mandatory for availing social benefits
- Co-operative societies do not fall within the ambit of Right to Information Act, the Supreme Court has said.
- Convicted Congress leader Rashid Masood became the first MP to lose his seat after the Supreme Court struck down a provision that protects a convicted lawmaker from disqualification on the ground of pendency of appeal in higher courts.
Economics
- Economics Nobel Prize : Shared by Eugene Fama, Robert Shiller and Lars Peter Hansen. Their work ranges from the foundations of modern finance (Fama) to defects in the mainstream models (Fama and Shiller) and improvements in statistical methodology (Fama and Hansen). More
- London-based HSBC, on Thursday, said it would exit its retail broking business in India, the latest global bank to scale back operations in the country.
- China’s economy grew by 7.8 per cent in the third quarter, the fastest growth recorded this year so far.
- Google’s stock surpassed the $1,000 mark for the first time
- The World Bank has lowered its forecast for India’s economic growth in the current fiscal year to 4.7 per cent from 6.1 per cent it had projected in April.The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its World Economic Outlook, slashed India’s growth forecast to 4.25 per cent for the current fiscal.
Env & Ecology
Science & Tech
- The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) has recommended scale-up of the pentavalent vaccine across the country, along with activities to monitor potential adverse effects.The pentavalent vaccine simultaneously provides protection against the five life threatening diseases — Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Hepatitis B and Hib (Haemophilus influenza type b). DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus) and Hepatitis B are already part of the national routine immunisation programme. Protection against Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib), which causes severe pneumonia, meningitis and other life-threatening conditions in children less than five years of age, is a new addition.The pentavalent vaccine, which is being used in 188 countries, is an important tool to reduce under-five mortality in India. Its rollout in Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Vietnam was briefly suspended to investigate concerns over a few deaths, but has since been re-introduced in all of these countries.
- The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to Dr. James E. Rothman, Dr. Randy W. Schekman and Dr. Thomas C. Südhof for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells
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