1. Indian mountaineers climbed an untouched mountain peak, named it after APJ Abdul Kalam
i. Two mountaineers Arjun Vajpai and Bhupesh Kumar in third week of October 2015 created history by becoming first people to climb 6180 meter high unnamed peak in Himachal’s Spiti Valley. The duo named the peak as Mout Kalam, in honour of former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam.
ii. Newly named Mt. Kalam is located near Bara Shigri Glacier, largest glacier located in Himachal Pradesh. Bara-Sigri glacier is the second longest glacier in Himalaya after Gangotri both are around 30 km long.
iii. Vajpai and Kumar hailing from Noida and Bulandshahr respectively started the expedition on 8 October 2015 from Noida and completed the climb on 14 October 2015 and hoisted the Indian national flag. They returned back on ground on 20 October 2015.
iv. Earlier in 2010, Vajpai became the youngest Indian to climb Mt. Everest. He climbed the highest peak in the world at the age of 16. Bhupesh has scaled 17 peaks in India.
2. President gives away Sangeet Natak Akademi awards, fellowships
i. President Pranab Mukherjee presented the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Awards for the year 2014 at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.
ii. While leading musicologist S R Janakiraman, theatre doyen and noted filmmaker M S Sathyu, and musicians Vijay Kumar Kichlu and Tulsidas Vasant Borkar were awarded fellowships of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, 35 eminent personalities were honoured with Akademi Awards in the categories of music, dance, theatre, traditional folk/tribal music/dance/theatre and puppetry and overall contribution/scholarship in the performing arts.
iii. Nine artistes — including Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Iqbal Ahmed Khan, Nath Neralkar, Nayan Ghosh and Ronu Majumdar— received awards for their contribution to music, while eight artistes were honoured for their contribution to dance.
iv. Eminent folk singer from Jammu and Kashmir Abdul Rashid Hafiz, who is known for his renditions of traditional Chakri singing, was among eight artistes facilitated for their contribution to traditional arts. Noted playwright Asgar Wajahat was amongst the eight artists honoured for their contribution to theatre.
3. Ratan Tata invests in virtual cash start-up Abra
i. Abra, a Silicon Valley bitcoin startup, on Thursday revealed it had raised money from Tata Sons chairman emeritus Ratan Tata and American Express, as part of its $12-million Series-A funding.
ii. Abra raising funds was reported last month, but the company did not reveal Tata’s participation then. These are the first investments in the crypto-currency world for both American Express and Ratan Tata.
iii. Bitcoin is a system of electronic money, used for buying and selling online and without the need for a central bank. Bitcoin is also a unit of the bitcoin electronic system of money.
iv. Tata has been investing in Indian, as well as international start-ups, for about a year. He has invested in companies such as Ola, Paytm, Snapdeal, Urban Ladder, Bluestone, and CarDekho. Tata has invested in at least 12 start-ups in the past year. He is also an advisor to private equity firms IDG Ventures, Kalaari Capital, and Jungle Ventures.
v. Using the Abra app, users can store digital cash and send money to any smartphone. It uses a network of individuals or businesses earning money by buying and selling digital cash to and from any consumer via the Abra app.
4. Japan offers soft loan to India for bullet train project
i. Japan has offered soft loan of 15 billion dollars (Rs 90,000 crore) at an interest rate of less than 1 per cent to India’s ambitious first bullet train project viz. Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor along with technology.
ii. In this regard, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has submitted its report to the Union Railway Ministry. In its report JICA has envisaged a reduction in the travel time on the 505-km long corridor between the two western cities to 2 hours from the existing period of over 7 hours.
iii. The report also has mentioned that the bullet train is expected to run at speeds of around 300-350 km/hour.
iv. Japan’s announcement comes in a bid to surpass competition from China and other countries. It also seeks to overcome Japan’s broader push back against China’s involvement in infrastructure development in South Asia over the past several years.
5. Himachal Pradesh to host India’s first Paragliding World Cup
i. India’s first Paragliding World Cup has begun at Bir Billing near Baijnath town in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Snow leopard is the official mascot of this World Cup. It is for the first time that Paragliding World Cup is being organised in a South Asian country. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju flagged off the event.
ii. In this one week competition, more than 130 registered pilots including 14 women pilots from 35 countries would take part. Indian side is represented by 8 flyers and 6 among them are from the Himachal Pradesh.
iii. The Paragliding World Cup will have different categories of competition including Paragliding, Hot air ballooning, Hand gliding and Acrobatic shows.
iv. Himachal Pradesh government and Kangra District Administration have made elaborate arrangements for the purpose of World Cup. Helicopters and Air ambulance along with forty rescue teams equipped with latest equipment gave been deployed at various strategic locations to meet any emergency situation.
6. First World Indigenous Games begins in Palmas, Brazil
i. First World Indigenous Games has kicked off in the northern Brazilian city of Palmas. The lavish opening ceremony of the multi-sport event was attended by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
ii. The first of its kind international multi-sport event will involve around 2000 indigenous athletes belonging to different indigenous ethnic groups from 30 countries. Participants from countries like Ethiopia, Brazil, Mongolia, Australia, Philippines, Russia, Ethiopia and New Zealand are participating.
iii. The first World Indigenous Games will host sporting events like archery, canoeing, spear tossing and a race through the forest. Besides, non-competitive events will be also hosted to showcase different traditions of indigenous ethnic groups.
7. Indian-origin Ashok-Alexander Sridharan sworn in as mayor of Bonn in Germany
i. Indian-origin Ashok-Alexander Sridharan on 21 October 2015 sworn in as the mayor of Bonn in Germany. Bonn is the 18th most populated city in Germany and the provisional capital of erstwhile West Germany. Sridharan was elected to the office as a candidate of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel-led Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) party in an election held in September 2015.
ii. With this win, Sridharan became the first Person of Indian Origin (PIO) to be elected as the mayor of a major city in the country. Further, he also became the city’s first mayor from an immigrant background.
iii. With this win, Sridharan became the first Person of Indian Origin (PIO) to be elected as the mayor of a major city in the country. Further, he also became the city’s first mayor from an immigrant background.
iv. It was for the first time in 21 years that a candidate from the CDU won the Bonn mayoral election leaving the Social Democratic Party (SPD) out in the cold.
8. Hurricane Patricia struck Mexico's Pacific coast
i. Hurricane Patricia, one of the most powerful storms on record, struck Mexico's Pacific coast on 23 October 2015. The hurricane carrying destructive winds with a speed of 165mph forced thousands to flee homes and beach front resorts.
ii. Patricia landed about 55 miles west-northwest of Manzanillo, home to the largest container port on Mexico's Pacific seaboard. There were no reported casualties and officials said the damage might not be as catastrophic as feared.
iii. The US National Hurricane Center said the hurricane hit as a Category Five storm - the highest classification. But it has since weakened to a Category Four, and will be downgraded to a tropical storm in the coming hours. It also said that it would lead to life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in rural areas.
9. Western Digital to buy SanDisk for 19 billion US dollar
i. Western Digital Corporation on 21 October 2015 announced that it entered into a definitive agreement with SanDisk Corporation to buy it for 19 billion US dollar. Both the Multi National Corporations (MNCs) are based in the USA.
ii. The acquisition is expected to pave the way for utilization of complementary product lines of both the companies and will provide the foundation for a broader set of products and technologies from consumer to datacenter.
iii. While Western Digital is an industry-leading developer and manufacturer of storage solutions that enable people to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content, SanDisk is a Fortune 500 and company and is a global leader in flash storage solutions.
iv. SanDisk was co-founded by Indian-origin entrepreneur Sanjay Mehrotra in 1988 and has market capitalization worth 13.3 billion US dollars as of June 2015.
1. Doordarshan emerges most watched Hindi channel
i. Public broadcaster Doordarshan today claimed that it has emerged as the most watched Hindi channel in terms of time spent per viewer ahead of top General Entertainment Channels.
ii. The "monumental development" comes in as Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) released the much awaited All India viewership data, which includes rural India, for the very first time, a statement released by Doordarshan said.
iii. This indicates that after tuning to the channel, viewers preferred to continuously watch it for a longer duration of time rather than frequently switching the channels, as compared to other GECs, it added.
iv. The channel also witnessed a significant rise in ratings and moved up to the 7th position in Hindi Speaking Markets in the week 41, according to the data, the statement said.
2. India's first double-decker Shatabdi train to run between Mumbai, Goa
i. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has announced that the Railways would soon start country's first-ever double decker Shatabdi Express that would ply between Mumbai and Goa.
ii. Residents of Goa seeking Rajdhani luxury train services have to rely on the Trivandrum Rajdhani which passes through Goa and makes a halt at Margao in South Goa.
iii. Responding to concerns to allow more tourists to make train journeys into Goa, Prabhu said the Railways can also start holiday train for tourists.
iv. The first double-decker air conditioned train between Howrah and Dhanbad was flagged off in October 2011, and since then the service is operational between many cities, including Ahmadabad-Mumbai, Chennai-Bangalore, Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Lucknow.
3. NDRF ties up with 30 PSUs to jointly tackle emergencies
i. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has partnered with about 30 Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to jointly tackle and mitigate man-made or natural disasters or emergencies.
ii. In this regard, a coordination meeting was held between NDRF and prominent PSUs like ONGC, Air India, GAIL and others involved in the mining and shipping and heavy industries sector.
iii. The maiden meeting was attended by over 40 senior officials from these PSUs for enhancing each other others capabilities for disasters or emergencies.
iv. The first of its kind initiative aimed to ensure efforts for building a good synergy between the government organisations. It will also ensure that two sides can act as one strong unit in case of any king emergency or disasters in case of small or mid-level exigencies.
4. Ministry of Railways flagged off Vigithon to fight against corruption
i. Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu on 25 October 2015 flagged off Vigithon marathon in Mumbai to sensitise people for a fight against corruption at the grass-root level. Vigithon was a run for corruption free India and was organised by public sector lender Union Bank of India.
ii. Several school children, common people, customers and employees of the bank participated in Vigithon. It brought in all the stakeholders together on a common platform to create sensitisation against corruption.
iii. Vigithon was aimed at educating the people about several instances of corruption and empowering them with the means to fight the problem. The run will be organised at other metro centres across the country as well.
iv. The run was organised as a precursor to the Vigilance Awareness Week which is going to be observed from 26 October 2015 till 31 October 2015. Vigilance awareness week is observed every year since 2000 as per the guidelines of the Central Vigilance Commission.
5. World Polio Day observed globally
i. World Polio Day was observed on 24 October 2015. The day was observed to create awareness about the hazards of the crippling disease. The Day was established by Rotary International over a decade ago to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis.
ii. Use of this inactivated poliovirus vaccine and subsequent widespread use of the oral poliovirus, developed by Albert Sabin, led to the establishment of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988. Since then, GPEI has reduced polio worldwide by 99percent.
iii. A Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) aims to eradicate polio worldwide by 2018. GPEI is a public-private partnership led by national governments and spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and UNICEF.
iv. According to UNICEF data, polio does not exist in most of the world, as the cases are down by 99.9 percent worldwide. There have been 51 cases of wild polio virus globally since the beginning of 2015, compared with 242 wild polio cases for 2014.
v. Just two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, have reported cases of wild polio so far in 2015, while on 24 July 2015, Nigeria, Africa's last remaining polio-endemic country, recorded the first year in history without a single case.
6. Sin Tax to be imposed on alcohol, tobacco during GST regime
i. Sin Tax has been included under the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) law that will be effective from 1 April 2016. GST is being seen as one of the biggest tax reforms in the country.
ii. Sin tax is an excise tax levied on products and services like alcohol, tobacco and gambling considered bad for health or society.
iii. These additional taxes are also seen as efforts to discourage people from use of such products or services.
iv. This kind of tax is often used by government to attract higher their tax revenues as people generally refrain from opposition to such levies as they are indirect in nature and affect only their end users.
7. Renowned Hollywood actress Maureen O’Hara passes away
i. Renowned Irish-American actress and singer Maureen O’Hara passed away in Boise, US. She was 95. She was one of the last living stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood of the 1940s and 1950s. She was known for playing fiercely passionate but sensible heroines roles.
ii. O’Hara was born in 1920 in Dublin in then United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (present Ireland). She started her career in 1939 after she was brought to Hollywood by legendary actor Charles Laughton.
iii. Her first film was The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939). Since then she had she had starred in more than 60 films.
iv. After retiring from acting career in 1970s, she successfully ran an airline business with her aviator husband Charles Blair. After her husband’s death she became first woman in US history to head a scheduled commercial airline.
v. Though she was never nominated for a competitive Academy Award, but in 2014 she was presented with an Honorary Academy (an honorary Oscar). She is only the second actress to receive an Academy Award for acting without having been nominated previously after Myrna Loy.
8. Bengali actor Pijush Ganguly passes away
i. Bengali film, television and stage actor Pijush Ganguly passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal. He was 50. Ganguly died because of multiple organ failure after he was critically injured in a road accident on 20 October 2015 at Santragachi in Howrah district.
ii. Ganguly was born on 2 January 1965 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He had started his career as an employee of NABARD and later shifted to acting career.
iii. His acting career began as a stage actor and later worked in television and films. He had started his television career with TV series Abar Jakher Dhan.
iv. He had acted in acclaimed films like Goynar Baksha, Byomkesh Phire Elo,Laptop, Iti Srikanta and Mahulbanir Sereng.
9. Abhishek Verma became first Indian to win Silver Medal in Archery World Cup Final
i. Indian archer Abhishek Verma 24 October 2015 created history by winning a silver medal in the Archery World Cup Final medal in the compound section held in Mexico City. With this, he became the first ever Indian to bag Archery World Cup Final medal.
ii. Verma went down 143-145 to Turkey's Demir Elmaagcli in the summit clash.
iii. In 2014, Verma bagged the gold medal in the men's compound archery team event along with Rajat Chauhan and Sandeep Kumar, and the silver medal in the men's individual compound event at the Asian Games held at Incheon, South Korea.
iv. He also won a gold medal in the compound men's individual section on 15 August 2015 in the third leg of Archery World Cup held in Wroclaw, Poland.
10. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won 2015 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix title
i. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on 25 October 2015 won the 2015 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix title. It was the third title for Hamilton at the Circuit of the Americas in Elroy, Texas of the USA where championship is being held annually.
ii. In the final race, while his team-mate Nico Rosberg of Germany stood at the second position, Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel (Germany) was at the third.
iii. Also, driver of Force India Sergio Perez (Mexico) was the fifth person to complete the race. For Hamilton, it was the tenth title in the 2015 season having won the races in Australia, China, Bahrain, Canada, the UK, Belgium, Italy, Japan and Russia prior to the US championship.
iv. With this win, he also won the 2015 World Drivers’ Championship (WDC). It was the third title for Hamilton as he won the WDCs in 2008 and 2014 also.
v. So far, Hamilton won more races compared to any other British driver in the history of Formula One and is currently 3rd on the all-time list, with 43 wins.