1) World Students’ Day 2019
•World Students’ Day is celebrated every year on October 15 on former president APJ Abdul Kalam’s birthday. The day is commemorated on his birth anniversary because of Dr Kalam was a dedicated teacher and identified himself foremost in that role before anything else.
•Due to the former President’s love for students, various educational institutions in India observe Kalam’s birthday in their own way. In 2010, the United Nations declared October 15 to be World Students’ Day.
2) International Day of Rural Women: 15 October
•The International Day of Rural Women is observed on 15th October. The day recognizes the crucial role of women and girls in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing.
•This year’s theme is “Rural Women and Girls Building Climate Resilience”. This year’s theme highlights the important role that rural women and girls play in building resilience to face the climate crisis.
3) Nation pays homage to former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on his 88th birth anniversary
•The nation pays homage to former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on his 88th birth anniversary and remembered his contributions to the country. The birthday of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam the most popular President of India is celebrated as World Students Day.
•Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, better known as the ‘Missile Man of India’ for his contributions towards the development of the country’s missile projects was born on October 15, 1931, at Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. Dr Kalam made innumerable contributions to Indian defence. Dr Kalam’s commitment, patriotism and vision to make India a strong nation will continue to inspire people.
•In 2002, Dr Kalam became the 11th President of India and famously became the ‘People’s President’ for his friendly nature to one and all. The former President suffered a cardiac arrest on July 27, 2015, and passed away while giving a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong.
4) Kais Saied elected as new President of Tunisia
•Kais Saied is elected as the new President of Tunisia after a landslide victory in recently concluded Presidential runoff. The Independent law professor Kais Saied won against his rival, Nabil Karoui. He won Tunisia’s presidential election with 73% of votes. The elections followed the death of President Beji Caid Essebsi in July 2019.
5) 1st National Hindi Science writers conference begins in Lucknow
•The first National Hindi Science writers conference 2019 started in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh with an aim to promote the use of Hindi and other Vernacular languages in science writing. The conference is organised at Dr Shakuntala Mishra National rehabilitation university was inaugurated by the speaker of the state assembly Hriday Narayain Dixit. A dedicated website WWW.VIGYANLEKHAN.COM has been prepared for this event.
6) 2nd phase of LOTUS-HR launched in New Delhi
•The 2nd phase of an Indo-Dutch project called Local Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams for Healthy Reuse, or LOTUS-HR was launched at Barapullah drain in New Delhi. This project was launched by Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan and the Dutch Royal couple, Netherlands King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. The (LOTUS-HR) project was set up in 2017 at the Sun Dial Park here as part of a collaboration between the governments of India and the Netherlands.
7) Sangam Youth Festival organised by Indian Army
•Over 1,500 students from 32 different colleges and university participated in the ‘Sangam Youth Festival’ being organised by the Indian Army in collaboration with Jammu University Campus in a bid to spread the message of peace, prosperity, communal harmony and national integration. During this festival, several events are being organised so the students can showcase their talents and skills.
8) IIT Madras to collaborate with ExxonMobil for research in Energy and Biofuels
•IIT Madras will collaborate with ExxonMobil on Research in Energy and Biofuels. The 5-year joint-research agreement focuses on biofuels, data analytics, gas conversion and transport, and is intended towards finding low-emission solutions. ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE) for research on energy and biofuels is the research and engineering arm of ExxonMobil Corporation, a leading global oil, natural gas, and petrochemicals company. ExxonMobil works with over 80 universities around the world.
•India is the 3rd highest producer of agro-residues globally with the surplus potential of over 230 million tonnes per year after China and Brazil. India’s huge biofuel potential is expected to get realized shortly with the ‘new biofuel policy’ of Government of India, which targets to convert the country’s biofuel industry into a $15.6 billion economy.
9) Director Priyadarshan gets MP govt’s Kishore Kumar award
•Noted director and producer Priyadarshan, who has made several blockbuster Malayalam and Hindi films, was conferred the Madhya Pradesh government’s National Kishore Kumar Samman for 2018-19 at a function in Khandwa, MP. The award, instituted by MP Department of Culture, carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a citation.
•Khandwa is the birthplace of the legendary singer-actor Kishore Kumar and he had expired on October 13, 1987, in Mumbai.
10) Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo jointly win Booker Prize
•Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo have jointly won the 2019 Booker Prize after judges flout the rules by declaring a tie. The Booker rules say the prize must not be divided, but the judges insisted they could not separate Atwood’s – ‘The Testament’ and ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Evaristo, who is the first black woman to win the prestigious award since its creation in 1969.
•British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie’s tragicomic ‘Quichotte’ was among the six books shortlisted for the prize. This was the fifth time that the Mumbai-born novelist was shortlisted, including the 1981 win where he bagged the award for “Midnight’s Children”.
11) Nitin Gadkari inaugurates conference on ‘One Nation One Tag – FASTag’ in New Delhi
•Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a conference on ‘One Nation One Tag – FASTag’ in New Delhi to roll out the process for having a unified electronic system across the country. Under this system the same FASTag affixed on the windscreen of a vehicle can be used to pay toll across all toll plazas in the country.
12) Air India becomes first airline to use Taxibot on A320 aircraft
•Air India became the first airline in the world to use a Taxibot on a A320 aircraft with passengers on board. Taxibot is a robot-used aircraft tractor for taxiing an aircraft from parking bay to runway and vice versa. The national carrier’s Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani flagged off flight AI665, which was carried to runway using Taxibot at terminal 3 of the Delhi airport to Mumbai.
•It is a pilot-controlled semi-robotic towbarless aircraft tractor used as alternate taxiing equipment. Taxibots will also help in decongesting boarding gates and the apron area by providing efficient pushbacks. it is the first such usage on any Airbus aircraft worldwide.
13) ICC changes super over rule for all its major events
•The International Cricket Council (ICC) has changed the super-over rule for all its major events following the uproar over the outcome of the men’s World Cup final this year when England was declared winners against New Zealand on boundary count. As per new rule, in case of a super over tie, there will be a repeated super over until one team has more runs than the other.
