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External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar

♦ External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar inaugurated the eMigrate V2.0 web portal and Mobile App in Delhi on 14 October 2024. The eMigrate portal promotes safe and legal mobility channels for Indian migrants. The enhanced e-Migrate portal aligns with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 10, promoting orderly and responsible migration. ♦ Jaishankar stated that there is a global need for workers who have domain-specific knowledge of their field. He noted that this need for a well-trained workforce in different geographies is only going to grow further. Dr Jaishankar added that this is reflected in the pace at which India has undertaken negotiations with different countries on migration and mobility since 2015.

Current Affairs

International Astronautical Federation (IAF) World Space Award 2024

♦ Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman, S Somanath was awarded the prestigious International Astronautical Federation (IAF) World Space Award 2024. The award was given in recognition of ISRO’s successful Chandrayaan-3 mission, a historic milestone in lunar exploration of the South Pole, making India one of the few countries to do so. The award ceremony took place in Milan, Italy  on 14 October 2024. ♦ The IAF World Space Award is presented to individuals for outstanding contributions in space science, space technology, space medicine, space law, or space management that have had exceptional impact on the world’s progress in astronautics.

Current Affairs

US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF)

♦ The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) hosted its Annual India Leadership Summit 2024 in New Delhi on 14 October 2024. This summit offers a vital platform to strengthen the dynamic strategic partnership between Washington and New Delhi. Key priorities will include enhancing supply chains, boosting semiconductor investment, advancing AI and next-gen technologies, bolstering defense ties, promoting clean energy, and expanding bilateral trade. Both democracies remain committed to securing a free and open Indo-Pacific.   ♦ The summit follows on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s successful recent visit to the US for the Quad Leaders’ Summit and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). 

Current Affairs

2024 Nobel Economics Prize

♦ The 2024 Nobel Economics Prize was awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson for research into differences in prosperity between nations on 14 October 2024. The three economists “have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity,” the Nobel committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. ♦ The economics prize is formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The central bank established it in 1968 as a memorial to Nobel, the 19th-century Swedish businessman and chemist who invented dynamite and established the five Nobel Prizes.

Current Affairs

The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

♦ The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is observed every year on October 13. It focusing on the crucial role of education in protecting and empowering children for a disaster-resilient future. The day aims to raise awareness and promote a culture of disaster reduction and risk awareness around the world. This day was started in 1989, after a call by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. ♦ 2024 theme: "Empowering the next generation for a resilient future."

Current Affairs

L Satya Srinivas

♦ The Union Government has appointed L Satya Srinivas as the additional CEO of the Government e Marketplace (GeM). Currently he is serving as Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce. Srinivas is an officer of the 1991 batch of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Indirect Taxes). ♦ The GeM portal was launched on August 9, 2016, for online purchases of goods and services by all central government ministries and departments.

Current Affairs

Asian Table Tennis Championships 2024

♦ India’s Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee pair clinched the historic bronze medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan on 13 October 2024. The world No. 15 pair lost to Japan’s world No. 33 Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara with a 3-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-9) scoreline.  ♦ Ayhika and Sutirtha became the first all-Indian women’s doubles table tennis pair to win a medal at the Asian Championships. Gool Nasikwala won a gold medal in women’s doubles with Japan’s Yoshiko Tanaka in the inaugural edition in 1952.

Current Affairs

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

♦ Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla leads the parliamentary delegation to the 149th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Geneva, which will be held from 13 to 17 October 2024. All IPU statutory bodies, including the Governing Council, Standing Committees, Committees on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians and on Middle East Questions, as well as the Forum of Women Parliamentarians and the Forum of Young MPs, will meet on this occasion. ♦ The General Debate will focus on the overall theme Harnessing science, technology and innovation (STI) for a more peaceful and sustainable future and provide a platform for delegates to deliberate, exchange views and galvanize parliamentary action. ♦ The IPU has 180 member parliaments and 15 associate members. Members include parliaments from large countries like China, India, and Indonesia, as well as smaller countries like Cabo Verde, San Marino, and Palau.

Current Affairs

PM GatiShakti National Master Plan

♦ PM GatiShakti National Master Plan for muti-modal connectivity is completing three years on 13 October 2024. This master plan was launched in 2021 to provide multimodal connectivity infrastructure to various economic zones.  ♦ PM GatiShakti has integrated 44 Central Ministries and 36 States and Union Territories for planning and executing infrastructure projects. It has achieved a milestone of assessing 208 big-ticket infrastructure projects worth over Rs.15 lakh crore of various ministries.  ♦ The National Logistics Policy under this scheme aims to reduce logistics costs, improve India’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI) ranking to be among the top 25 countries by 2030, and promote data-driven decision-making. 

Current Affairs

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)

♦ The government has approved the upgradation of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to 14th Maharatna, Central Public Sector Enterprises. The Finance Ministry announced this on 12 October 2024. This status will give more autonomy to the company in terms of financial and strategic matters. ♦ HAL is a Department of Defence Production, CPSE with an annual turnover of Rs.28,162 crore and a net profit of Rs.7,595 crore in 2023-24. ♦ To qualify for Maharatna status, a company must meet stringent financial criteria: an average turnover exceeding Rs.25,000 crore, an average annual net worth of more than Rs.15,000 crore, and an average annual net profit of over Rs.5,000 crore over the past three years. ♦ The 14 "Maharatna" public sector undertakings (PSUs) in India are: BHEL, BPCL, Coal India, GAIL, HPCL, Indian Oil, NTPC, ONGC, Power Grid, SAIL, Oil India, REC, PFC,  HAL.

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