Current Affairs 21st October 2021| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

Police Commemoration Day- OCT 21

• National Police Commemoration Day is observed on October 21 every year.
• It is observed to salute the spirits of police forces and their families and brave police martyred who lost their lives fighting for the country.
• It is celebrated to motivate and pay respect to the police personnel who perform their duties with the utmost diligence.
• Police Commemoration Day commemorates the day in 1959, when twenty Indian soldiers were attacked by Chinese troops in Ladakh’s Hot Spring area, in which, ten Indian policemen lost their lives and seven were imprisoned.
• Since that day, 21 October has been observed as Police Commemoration Day in honour of the martyrs.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Prime Minister has inaugurated Vishram Sadan at National Cancer Institute in Jhajjar

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 806-bedded Vishram Sadan at the National Cancer Institute in Haryana’s Jhajjar Campus of AIIMS, New Delhi.
• He addressed the event through video conferencing and likewise inaugurated the Vishram Sadan.
• The development of the Vishram Sadan will ease the problems of the cancer patients as well as their family members who have to repeatedly come to hospitals and further face accommodation issues
• The Centre’s Jan Aushadhi Kendras which aims to provide medicines to the poor section of the country at very low prices
• As part of the Infosys Corporate Social Responsibility, the 806-bedded Vishram Sadan at Haryana’s Jhajjar campus of AIIMS New Delhi will provide an air-conditioned accommodation facility to the people who accompany the cancer patients at the hospital.
• It has been constructed at a cost of Rs 93 crore by the foundation and is in close proximity to the hospital as well as the OPD blocks of the National Cancer Institute.

52nd International Film Festival of India to be held in Goa

• The 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Goa November 20,the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has announced.
• The Directorate of Film Festivals will organise the mega event in a hybrid format– virtual and physical —in collaboration with the Goa government and the Indian Film Industry
• On the occasion of the birth centenary of the maestro of Indian cinema Satyajit Ray, the ministry has announced the Directorate of Films Festivals will pay tribute to him through a “Special Retrospective” at the IFFI this time.
• The 52nd edition of the IFFI will be held in a hybrid format considering the success of the 51st edition in January 2021.

Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav participated in virtual LMDC Ministerial meeting

• Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change, virtually participated in the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) Ministerial meeting titled “Preparations for COP 26 on Climate Change – Expectations and Challenges”.
• The virtual LMDC Meeting was hosted by the Plurinational State of Bolivia on 18 October 2021.

Addl.Info:

• LMDC comprises around 25 developing countries from Asia and other regions.

Purpose of the meeting:

• The meeting was convened to gather perspectives on the way forward for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s 26th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26), which is to be held in Glasgow, UK from October 31 to November 12, 2021.

Address by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav:

• He called for the rapid reduction of emissions by the developed countries in this decade.
• He also highlighted that between 2005 and 2016, India has achieved a reduction of 24% in emission intensity of its GDP, and achieved its pre-2020 voluntary target.
• He noted that the commitments of carbon neutrality and to raise ambitions in nationally determined contributions to be in line with climate justice and principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC).
• He highlighted the climate actions of India in areas such as renewable energy, energy access, and efficiency, sustainable transport including e-mobility, sustainable agriculture, and enhancing green cover.
• Highlighting the importance of global partnerships and cooperation, he requested the LMDC countries to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) launched by India.

Working Group Constituted to overhaul PMFBY; Headed by Ritesh Chauhan

• The Central Government has constituted a Working Group (WG) to be headed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PMFBY, currently Ritesh Chauhan to roll out an overhauled Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from Kharif 2022.
• The group will submit its report in six months.
• The key reason for the WG formation is the quitting of the scheme by many states due to the share of premium.

About Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY):

• Initiated– 2016
• Parent Ministry– Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW)

NITI Aayog Launches Geospatial Energy Map of India

• NITI Aayog along with ISRO has launched the Geospatial Energy Map of India which will provide a holistic picture of all energy resources of the country. 
• This map identifies and locates all primary and secondary sources of energy and their transportation.
• Geospatial Energy Map of India was launched by Rajiv Kumar (Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog), Dr. V K Saraswat (Member, NITI Aayog), and Shri Amitabh Kant (CEO, NITI Aayog).
• Geographic Information System (GIS) Energy Map of India will help in providing a holistic picture of all energy resources of the country with a visualization of energy installations including power plants, oil and gas wells, petroleum refineries, coal fields and coal blocks, district-wise data on renewable energy power plants, and so on.
• This brings together the power of a geographic information system in 27 thematic layers to bring together all of them in a relatable fashion.

About NITI Aayog:

• The NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India), is a think tank of the Government of India established as a replacement for the Planning Commission to provide with relevant strategic, directional and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of development process.NITI Aayog will monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Global Transport Sector needs $ 49.9tn investment by 2040 to reduce GHG: Report by UNOPS

• In accordance with the report by United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), there is dire need of cleaning up the transport sector to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contain global warming.
• To achieve this, there is also a need for massive investments for green mobility like electric and hydrogen fuel vehicles estimated at $ 49.9 trillion by 2040.
• The report highlighted that 16% of the GHG emissions are through the transport sector after energy and buildings.

About United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS):

• Executive Director– Grete Faremo
• Headquarters– Copenhagen, Denmark

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin-not attending UN COP26 climate summit in Glasgow

• Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will not attend the UN COP26 (Conference of the Parties) climate summit in Glasgow, the Kremlin.
• No reason was given for the decision not to attend, but a Kremlin spokesperson, climate change was an “important” priority for Russia.
• COP26 takes place in Scotland’s largest city from 31 October to 12 November. Russia’s decision is seen as a blow to efforts to get leaders to negotiate a new deal to stall rising global temperatures.
• Unfortunately, Putin will not fly to Glasgow, that climate change was “one of our foreign policy’s most important priorities.”
• Putin has not commented on the official announcement, but at an international energy forum in Moscow on 13 October, the Russian leader cited the coronavirus pandemic as a factor in his decision to travel.

Bank of Maharashtra net profit jumps ₹264 crore in Q2

• Bank of Maharashtra reported a 107 per cent year-on-year jump in second quarter net profit at ₹264 crore against ₹130 crore in the year ago quarter.
• Net interest income in the reporting quarter rose 34 per cent yoy at ₹1499 cror Other income was up 23 per cent yoy at ₹493 crore.
• Loan loss provisions jumped to ₹583 crore, including towards increase in provisions on account of implementation of resolution plans under RBI’s “Resolution Framework for COVID-19 related stress” against a write back of ₹55 crore in the year ago quarter.
• Deposits increased by 14.46 per cent yoy to ₹1,81,572 crore. Advances rose by 13.55 per cent yoy to ₹1,10,728 crore.

About BOM:

• Headquarters: Pune
• Tagline: One Family One Bank
• MD and CEO: A.S Rajeev

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

RBI rule on recurring payments: Small businesses, start-ups feeling the heat

• Small businesses and start-ups running on a subscription model are losing out on users and timely payments due to the Reserve Bank of India’s new rule on recurring payments.
• For instance, the non-profit digital rights advocacy group, Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), which runs on a monthly donorship model, lost nearly 70 per cent of its existing membership base of close to 423.
• Under the new rules, banks are required to inform customers in advance about recurring payments due, and transactions would be carried following a nod from the customer. So, the transaction will not be automatic, but will be done after authentication from the customer. 
• RBI’s new payment rule has resulted in major disruptions for businesses – an avoidable one that has put Indian start-ups at a disadvantage. For an entrepreneur, continuity in business is absolutely critical.
• The manner in which the policy was implemented has wreaked havoc and has put Indian companies in a precarious position.

RBI imposes ₹1 crore penalty on Paytm Payments Bank

• The Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of ₹1 crore on Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) and ₹78 lakh on Western Union Financial Services for non-compliance with certain directions.
• The RBI on examination of PPBL’s application for issue of final Certificate of Authorisation (CoA), it was observed that it had submitted information which did not reflect the factual position.
• As this was an offence of the nature referred to in Section 26 (2) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, a notice was issued to PPBL.
• After reviewing the written responses and oral submissions made during the personal hearing, the RBI determined that the aforementioned charge was substantiated and warranted the imposition of a monetary penalty.
• Thereafter, the central bank by an order on October 1 imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1 crore on PPBL.

About Paytm:

• Paytm is an Indian multinational technology company that specializes in digital payment system, e-commerce and finance.
• CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
• Founder: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
• Founded: 2010, Noida

IMF Reduced India’s Potential GDP Forecast by 25 bps to 6%

• In its ‘2021 Article IV consultations with India’ report, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reduced India’s potential GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth forecast in the medium term by 25 basis points (bps) to 6 percent from 25 percent due to the impact of COVID-19 on investments and labour markets.

Addl.Info:

• Potential growth is the rate of growth that an economy can sustain over the medium term without generating excess inflation.

About IMF’s Article IV Consultation:

• Every year IMF will hold bilateral discussions with members under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement.
• A team will visit the country and collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. This year’s discussions were virtual.

About International Monetary Fund (IMF):

• Establishment – 1944
• Headquarters – Washington, D.C., United States
• Member Countries – 190
• MD – Kristalina Georgieva

Dvara E-Dairy & Jana SFB tie-up to Finance Small and Medium Dairy Farmers

• Agri-fintech firm Dvara E-Dairy Solutions Private Limited has entered into a collaboration with Jana Small Finance Bank (Jana SFB) to service small dairy farmers by empowering small and medium dairy farmers with financial and cattle management solutions using digital technologies.

Addl.Info:

• Through Jana SFB’s extensive branch network in rural and agricultural regions across India, Dvara E-Dairy intends to expand the credit and underwriting process for cattle loans.
• The Dvara E-Dairy’s digital identity (ID) tag Surabhi e-Tag will provide accurate cattle identification based on the muzzle identity.
• The Surabhi Score based on digital assessment, complements the underwriting of cattle loans based on dairy activities and customised cattle management recommendations.
• This helps dairy farmers to improve their livelihood and achieve household financial goals.

About Jana Small Finance Bank (Jana SFB)

• Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director– Ajay Kanwal
• Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
• Founded– 2008

About Dvara E-Dairy Solutions

• Founder and CEO-Ravi KA
• Establishment – 2008
• Headquarters – Chennai, Tamil Nadu

NABSanrakshan signs Trust Deed for Rs 1000cr Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for FPOs

• NABSanrakshan Trustee Private Limited (NTPL), a subsidiary of NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) signed a trust deed for Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Farmer Producer Organisations (CGFTFPO).
• This led to the setting up of a dedicated credit guarantee fund of Rs 1, 000 crore for 10,000 FPOs. The trust is registered at Mumbai (Maharashtra) and signed by officials of the Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) and NTPL.

CCI Approved Acquisition of HGS’ healthcare BPO services by Betaine BV & GCAPH by Starnmeer B.V

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of worldwide healthcare business process outsourcing (BPO) services of Hinduja Global Solutions Ltd(HGS) along with certain assets, contracts and employees by Betaine B.V.

CCI Approved Acquisition of GCAPH by Starnmeer:

• CCI has also approved the acquisition of Global Content Alpha Partners Holdco Pte. Ltd. (GCAPH) by Starnmeer B.V. (Starnmeer) under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.m The proposed combination under Sections 5(a) of the Competition Act, 2002, concerns the acquisition of up to the entire issued share capital of GCAPH from its existing shareholders.

About Starnmeer B.V. (Starnmeer):

• Starnmeer B.V. is owned and controlled by funds comprising the Baring Asia Private Equity Fund VII, a fund affiliated with BPEA.

About GCAPH:

• GCAPH is involved in the provision of services within the IT & ITeS sector (particularly in BPO) and assists the customers involved in the communications, media and service sectors and education sector.
• In India, GCAPH is present through its subsidiaries: LearningMate Solutions Pvt Ltd; SPI Technologies India Pvt Ltd.; Scope e-Knowledge Center Pvt Ltd; and Scientific Publishing Services Pvt Ltd.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

OnePlus has appointed Navnit Nakra, as its India CEO and Head of the OnePlus India region

• OnePlus, has announced the appointment of Navnit Nakra, as its India CEO and Head of the OnePlus India region.
• Nakra’s journey with OnePlus India began in February 2020 as the Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, wherein he drove the corporate strategy plans as well as key strategic partnerships that are vital to the India business.
• He also went on to oversee the sales operations of the company in the region, taking on the additional role of the Head of India Sales over the past year.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUs AND AGREEMENT

STPI FinBlue, Chennai signed an MoU with ASEAN Financial Innovation Network Ltd (AFIN)

• STPI FinBlue, Chennai signed an MoU with ASEAN Financial Innovation Network Ltd (AFIN) to explore cross border collaboration.
• The signing of MoU with AFIN will strengthen the collaboration for leveraging the latter’s expertise and knowledge to empower start-ups incubated at STPI FinBlue, Chennai to develop ‘World Class Products.
• STPI FinBlue, Chennai, is a domain specific facility for start-ups working in financial technology at Chennai. Setup by STPI, the CoE is having incubation centre along with SandBox and API Exchange access and provides the necessary support like training, mentoring, marketing, access to funding resources, IPR/ patenting assistance and other requisite support to the start-ups working in this domain.
• Devesh Tyagi, Senior Director, STPI, it is very apt for STPI to sign an MoU with AFIN so that both the leading FinTech technology countries can collaborate with each other and share the best practices across the border

Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corp signs agreement for BharatNet project implementation

• Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corporation Ltd (TANFINET) has signed the Master Service Agreement for the implementation of BharatNet Project in Tamil Nadu with various system integrators.
• The project aims at providing 1 Gbps bandwidth connectivity to all Gram Panchayats. It signed the agreement with L&T (for Package C); ITI Ltd (Package D) and Third-Party Agency BECIL in the presence of Information Technology minister T Mano Thangaraj and IT Secretary Neeraj Mittal.
• The project will cover Gram Panchayats through optical fibre cable with high-speed bandwidth connectivity. TANFINET is a special purpose vehicle implementing the BharatNet project in Tamil Nadu at a total cost of ₹1,815 crore.
• BharatNet enables to provide affordable but quality “digital” services, e-education, telemedicine and triple-play services to all Gram Panchayats.
• It also aims to provide high speed internet services to government offices, schools, colleges and business enterprises. By providing such services, the project augments the delivery of government services and generates employment in rural areas.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : RANKING & INDEX

Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2021: India ranks 71st out of 113 countries      

• India is ranked at 71st position in the Global Food Security (GFS) Index 2021 out of 113 countries with a score of 2 points.
• It was followed by Pakistan (75th), Sri Lanka (77th), Nepal (79th) and Bangladesh (84th).
• The GFS Index was designed and constructed by London-based Economist Impact and is sponsored by Corteva Agriscience.
• Ireland (84), Austria (81.3), Britain (81), Finland (80.9), Switzerland (80.4), the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, France and the US shared the top spot on the index with an overall GFS score of between 77.8 and 80 points.

About GFS Index :

• The GFS Index measures the factors affecting food insecurity around the world based on 4 main factors and 58 unique food security indicators. 
• It was first published in 2012, and is managed and updated annually by The Economist’s intelligence unit.
• The factors include: affordability, availability, quality and safety, and natural resources and resilience.
• India ranked 80^th on Food Affordability, 29^th on Availability, 74^th on Quality and Safety, and 40^th on Natural Resources and Resilience.
• Food Affordability: Pakistan and Sri Lanka are ahead of India in the category by 52.6 and 62.9 points, respectively.
• Food Availability: India scored 65.7 points, fared better than Pakistan with 63.0 points, and Sri Lanka with 50.6. Venezuela scored the lowest with 27.1 points.
• Quality & Safety: India scored 59.1 in the category, while Pakistan lagged with 55.7 points..
• The GFSI 2021 is the 10^th
• The GFSI aims to provide insight to enable action to fill systematic gaps and accelerate progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ENVIRONMENT

A New Species of Onion : Allium Negianum Discovered in Uttarakhand

• A New Species of Onion named Allium Negianum Discovered in Uttarakhand to honour the late Dr. Kuldeep Singh Negi who was an explorer and the collector of Allium.
• The new species found in Uttarakhand has been described in the journal Phytokeys.
• It was discovered by the scientists in the border area of Malari Village, in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
• Dr. Anjula Pandey, Principal Scientist at ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, together with scientists K Madhav Rai, S Rajkumar, and Pawan Kumar Malav discovered the new species.

About Allium Negianum :

• A genus Allium includes many staple foods such as garlic and onion, among 1,100 species worldwide
• The newly described species is restricted to the region of western Himalayas and hasn’t yet been reported from anywhere else in the world.
• It grows at 3,000 to 4,800 m above sea level and can be found along open grassy meadows, sandy soils along rivers, and streams forming in snow pasture lands along alpine meadows.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

Union Minister Rajnath Singh launched a book titled  ‘Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition’

• Union Minister Rajnath Singh launched a book titled  ‘Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition’ authored by Uday Mahurkar and Chirayu Pandit.
• The Book is published by Rupa publications & the book launch event held at Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.
• Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat was also present on the occasion.
• Rajnath Singh described Savarkar as an icon of Indian history.

About the Book :

• The book will clear out rumours about the life of Savarkar.

About Uday Mahurkar :

• Mahurkar was born on 28 September 1962 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
• He is an Indian journalist, political analyst and author.
• He was a deputy editor at the India Today
• In October 2020, he was appointed as the Information Commissioner by the Government of India.

Other Books :

1. Marching with a Billion Published by Penguin Random House India
2. Centrestage Published by Random House India

About Savarkar :

• Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was born on 28 May 1883 in Nashik, Maharashtra.
• He was an Indian politician, activist, and writer.
• He developed the Hindu nationalist political ideology of Hindutva while imprisoned at Ratnagiri in 1922.
• He was a leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha.

Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan authors a Book Titled The Origin Story of India’s States 

• A New Book Titled The Origin Story of India’s States authored by Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan.
• The Book is published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI), & it will be released on October 25.

About the Book :

• The Book will present the incredible origin stories of each of India’s 28 states and eight union territories.
• The book lays out the fascinating political and historical circumstances of the birth of India’s states and union territories.

About Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan :

• Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan is a writer, actor and strategy consultant from Bengaluru, India.
• This is his first non-fiction book.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

2021 BNP Paribas Open held in USA

• The 2021 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament was held from October 04 to 17, 2021 at Indian Wells, California, USA.

Winners of 2021 BNP Paribas Open :

Category	Winners	Runners
Men’s Singles	Cameron Norrie (United Kingdom)	Nikoloz Basilashvili (Georgia)
Women’s singles	Paula Badosa (Spain)	Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
Men’s Doubles	John Peers Filip Polasek	Aslan Karatsev Andrey Rublev
Women’s Doubles	Hsieh Su-wei Elise Mertens	Veronika Kudermetova Elena Rybakina

About BNP Paribas Open :

• The BNP Paribas Open was a professional men’s and women’s tennis tournament currently played in Indian Wells, California, US.
• It was the 47th edition of the men’s event and 32nd of the women’s event.
• It was classified as an ATP Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2021 ATP Tour and a WTA 1000 event on the 2021 WTA Tour.

Note :

• The 2021 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, also known as the 2021 Indian Wells Masters.

Rankings 2021:

• ATP rankings as of 18th October 2021, (rank 1) Novak Djokovic of Serbia tops the ranking followed by Daniil Medvedev (Russia) and Stefanos Tsitsipas(Greece) at rank 2 and 3 respectively.
• For the first time in around 5 years, Roger Federer of Switzerland has dropped out of the Top 10 in the ATP ranking.
• At present, he is ranked 11th in the ATP ranking.
• WTA Rankings as of 18th October 2021, Ashleigh Barty of Australia tops the ranking followed by Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Karolina Pliskova of Czechia at rank 2 and 3 respectively.

Indian Grandmaster Panneerselvam Iniyan wins La Nucia Open chess tourney in Spain

• The 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster P Iniyan won the La Nucia Open chess tournament 2021 held in La Nucia, Spain.
• He scored an unbeaten0/8 with GMs Andrey Sumets (Ukraine) and Rodrigo Vasquez Schroeder (Chile) but the Indian won the event on the basis of a better tie-break score.
• He won a trophy and €2500 (approx.₹218,400) as a prize.
• This is Iniyan’s third over-the-board triumph of the year since he won a double at Noisiel Open, fourth overall including online events.
• It was organized by the Chess Federation of the Valencian Community.

About La Nucia Open :

• The La Nucia Open is a 9-round Swiss tournament taking place from 6-12 October 2021 in La Nucia, Spain.
• The tournament witnessed the participation of 87 players including 10 GMs, 9 IMs from 14 countries across the world. 
• The total prize fund of the tournament was €9000.

About Panneerselvam Iniyan :

• Panneerselvam Iniyan born in 13 September 2002 Erode, Tamil Nadu.
• He is India’s 61st player to be awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE.
• He achieved the first GM norm in June 2017 at the “Ciutat de Montcada” open, the second in February 2018 at the Böblingen open, the third in July 2018 at the Barberà del Vallès

Indian GM Praggnanandhaa won Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour 2021

• The 16-year-old Indian Grandmaster (GM) Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has won the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour 2021 finals after defeating Christopher Yoo of the USA (United States of America).
• The event was launched by the Play Magnus Group in April 2021 to give young chess stars a springboard to stardom during the pandemic.

Addl.Info:

• Praggnanandhaa has defeated Christopher Yoo by 3-0 in the final and won USD 12,500 and secured a regular spot at the 2022 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
• 24 talents from around, representing 13 countries have participated in the chess tour.
• The Tour has also been nominated for a prestigious ESG Award for its work promoting gender equality.

Top 3 of FIDE (The International Chess Federation) Rankings:

• Carlsen, Magnus (Norway)
• Caruana, Fabiano (USA)
• Ding, Liren (China)

Daily CA On Oct 20 :

• The International Chefs Day is observed every year on 20 October with the theme of “Healthy Food for the Future”
• The World Osteoporosis Day (WOD)is observed annually on October 20 with the theme of “Serve Up Bone Strength”.
• India will participate in the Moscow Format meeting on Afghanistan & the meeting is being hosted by Russia.
• Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh launched Web Based Project Monitoring Portal (WBPMP) for Military Engineer Services (MES) at New Delhi.
• Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off Modi Van under the ‘Seva Hi Sangathan’ programme to commemorate Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing 20 years as the Head of Government.
• The Central Government has kept the interest rates on ‘Small Savings Schemes’ (SSS) unchanged for the third quarter of Financial Year 2022, ie; from 1st October 2021 to 31st December 2021.
• The Minister of State (MoS) for Communication, Devusinh Chauhan, participated in the Ministerial Roundtable Session of the 50th-anniversary edition of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Digital World 2021, which was held in Vietnam and hosted by the government of Vietnam.
• Union Minister Amit Shah, Ministry of Cooperation inaugurated 14 projects worth Rs 299 crore and laid foundation stones of 12 projects worth Rs 643 crore from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• The union minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman made a week-long official visit to the USA (United States of America) to attend the Annual Meetings of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meetings, India-US Economic and Financial Dialogue, and other associated investment meetings.
• In accordance with the ‘World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2021 report’ by International Energy Agency (IEA), almost USD 4 trillion investment into clean energy is required by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement pledge to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 
• Google Payment India Private Limited reported its revenues for the financial year 2020-21 as ₹8 crore.
• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance reported a 6 per cent jump in its net profit for the second quarter of the fiscal, aided by robust growth in premium income.
• During July to September 2021, PhonePe saw 33.6 per cent growth in transactions from the previous quarter at 526.5 crore, while the value of transactions grew 23.3 per cent to ₹9,21,674 crore.
• Utkarsh Small Finance Bank Limited has announced the inauguration of its first branch in the city of Chennai and in the state of Tamil Nadu.
• Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), a Telecom operator and Larsen and Toubro (L&T), an Indian Multinational conglomerate company have joined hands for a pilot project to test 5G-based smart city solutions.
• Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd. launched a ‘Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS)’ Insurance for drone owners & operators.
• IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited (IndiaFirst Life) ,a joint venture of Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India introduced ‘’IndiaFirst Life Saral Bachat Bima Plan’’.
• National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) in collaboration with Chainflux has launched a blockchain platform for gold bullion named ‘NSE-Shine’. 
• Sahdev Yadav, former Secretary General of IWLF, was unanimously elected as the President of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF).
• An Indian Social Enterprise ‘Takachar’, under the leadership of Vidyut Mohan was named as the winner of inaugural ‘2021 Earthshot Prize’ that was created by the United Kingdom’s Prince William to reward people fighting to save planet earth.
• The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has organised the International Conference and Exhibition on Digital technologies – “Future Tech 2021” is scheduled from 19 – 27 October 2021.
• India has ranked 40th out of 43 pension systems across the world in the 2021 Mercer CFS Global Pension Index survey.
• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, have discovered that a particular gene (DLX1) has an important role to play in the growth and development of prostate cancer.
• A New Book Titled “Actually… I Met Them: A Memoir” authored by Indian lyricist Gulzar.
• National Award-winning actress Divya Dutta is set to release her second book ‘The Stars in My Sky’: Those who Brightened My Film Journey.
• Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma won the men’s elite race in a time of 2 hours, 4 minutes and 1 second & Kenya’s Joycline Jepkosgei won the women’s race in a blistering 2:17.43 in London, United Kingdom.
• Ace Indian fencer Bhavani Devi has won the Women’s Sabre Individual event at the Charlellville National Competition in France.

Daily CA On Oct 21 :

• National Police Commemoration Day is observed on October 21 every year.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 806-bedded Vishram Sadan at the National Cancer Institute in Haryana’s Jhajjar Campus of AIIMS, New Delhi.
• The 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Goa November 20,the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has announced.
• Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change, virtually participated in the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) Ministerial meeting titled “Preparations for COP 26 on Climate Change – Expectations and Challenges”.
• The Central Government has constituted a Working Group (WG) to be headed by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PMFBY, currently Ritesh Chauhan to roll out an overhauled Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from Kharif 2022.
• NITI Aayog along with ISRO has launched the Geospatial Energy Map of India which will provide a holistic picture of all energy resources of the country. 
• In accordance with the report by United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), there is dire need of cleaning up the transport sector to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contain global warming.
• Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will not attend the UN COP26 (Conference of the Parties) climate summit in Glasgow, the Kremlin.
• Bank of Maharashtra reported a 107 per cent year-on-year jump in second quarter net profit at ₹264 crore against ₹130 crore in the year ago quarter.
• Small businesses and start-ups running on a subscription model are losing out on users and timely payments due to the Reserve Bank of India’s new rule on recurring payments.
• The Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of ₹1 crore on Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) and ₹78 lakh on Western Union Financial Services for non-compliance with certain directions.
• In its ‘2021 Article IV consultations with India’ report, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reduced India’s potential GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth forecast in the medium term by 25 basis points (bps) to 6 percent from 25 percent due to the impact of COVID-19 on investments and labour markets.
• Agri-fintech firm Dvara E-Dairy Solutions Private Limited has entered into a collaboration with Jana Small Finance Bank (Jana SFB) to service small dairy farmers by empowering small and medium dairy farmers with financial and cattle management solutions using digital technologies.
• NABSanrakshan Trustee Private Limited (NTPL), a subsidiary of NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) signed a trust deed for Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Farmer Producer Organisations (CGFTFPO).
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of worldwide healthcare business process outsourcing (BPO) services of Hinduja Global Solutions Ltd(HGS) along with certain assets, contracts and employees by Betaine B.V.
• OnePlus, has announced the appointment of Navnit Nakra, as its India CEO and Head of the OnePlus India region.
• STPI FinBlue, Chennai signed an MoU with ASEAN Financial Innovation Network Ltd (AFIN) to explore cross border collaboration.
• Tamil Nadu FibreNet Corporation Ltd (TANFINET) has signed the Master Service Agreement for the implementation of BharatNet Project in Tamil Nadu with various system integrators.
• India is ranked at 71st position in the Global Food Security (GFS) Index 2021 out of 113 countries with a score of 2 points.
• A New Species of Onion named Allium Negianum Discovered in Uttarakhand to honour the late Dr. Kuldeep Singh Negi who was an explorer and the collector of Allium.
• Union Minister Rajnath Singh launched a book titled  ‘Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition’ authored by Uday Mahurkar and Chirayu Pandit.
• A New Book Titled The Origin Story of India’s States authored by Venkataraghavan Subha Srinivasan.
• The 2021 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament was held from October 04 to 17, 2021 at Indian Wells, California, USA.
• The 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster P Iniyan won the La Nucia Open chess tournament 2021 held in La Nucia, Spain.
• The 16-year-old Indian Grandmaster (GM) Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has won the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour 2021 finals after defeating Christopher Yoo of the USA (United States of America).