Current Affairs | National | International | SSC | UPSC 19th October 2024

1. India’s Arjun Erigaisi has won the WR Chess Masters Cup. 

• Arjun Erigaisi has won the WR Chess Masters Cup after defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the finals. 
• He defeated his friend R Praggnanandhaa in the semifinals of the knock-out event. 
• Arjun scored a 2-0 victory over Sivananda Bodhana of England.
• Arjun displayed great form and precision throughout the event to win this title. 
• Arjun is now leading the FIDE Circuit. 
• He will now compete in the European Chess Club Cup, starting in Serbia. 

2. NHRC’s national conference on the rights of older persons concluded. 

• A day-long national conference on the ‘Rights of Older Persons’ concluded at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. 
• It has been organized on the occasion of the 31st Foundation Day of the National Human Rights Commission of India. 
• Union Minister Shri Amit Yadav, who chaired the first session, assured the government’s commitment to the welfare of older persons. 
• Addressing the issue of ‘Ageing of the Aged,’ ‘Analyzing the gendered face of ageing and how to tackle the same’ and ‘Evaluating the healthcare scenario were the three technical sessions of the conference. 
• NHRC has taken several steps including forming a core group and issuing guidelines for the protection of the rights of elderly persons. 

3. Coastal security exercise 'Sagar Kavach' successfully organised by the Indian Coast Guard. 

• Coastal Security Exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’ successfully conducted by the Indian Coast Guard off Gujarat and Union Territory of Daman and Diu on 16-17 October. 
• Coordinated by the Coast Guard Regional Headquarters, Gandhinagar, this exercise was the second edition this year. 
• It was aimed at enhancing maritime and coastal security preparedness by validating existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
• It was actively attended by various stakeholders, including the Indian Navy, State Police, Marine Police, Border Security Force (BSF), National Security Guard (NSG), Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Port Authorities. 
• Major resources in the exercise included ships and boats of the Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy and Marine Police, and aerial surveillance was provided by Coast Guard aircraft and drones. 
• During the two-day event, several operational scenarios were simulated to test the coordination and effectiveness of all participating agencies in maintaining maritime security. 

4. The first international research and innovation center will be set up in Dubai by IIT Madras. 

• Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) is set to set up its first international flagship centre in Dubai, which will focus on research, innovation and entrepreneurship. 
• The IITM Global Dubai Centre, scheduled to launch in early 2025, will specialise in advanced areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), data science, robotics and sustainable energy, forming a vital link to India's entrepreneurial ecosystem. 
• This initiative has been made possible by an agreement between IIT Madras and the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) of Dubai. 
• The agreement was signed by Hadi Badri, CEO of Dubai Economic Development Corporation (DEDC), and Professor Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Dean of Global Engagement at IIT Madras, during GITEX Global 2024. 
• The first-of-its-kind IITM Global Dubai Centre, under IITM's new entity 'IITM Global', will focus on research, innovation, intellectual property licensing and technology transfer in priority areas for Dubai. 
• These include AI, data science, robotics and sustainable energy technologies. 
• IIT Madras was established with German government assistance, following an agreement in 1959 to establish a top engineering school in India. 
• In 1951, the first Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) was established in Kharagpur, West Bengal.

5. Virat Kohli became the fourth Indian batsman to reach 9,000 Test runs. 

• Indian batsman Virat Kohli has become the fourth Indian batsman to reach 9,000 Test runs in the ongoing match against New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. 
• After Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar, Kohli is the fourth Indian batter to achieve this feat during India’s second inning. 
• At the international level, Tendulkar tops the all-time list of Test runs with 15,921 runs, followed by Dravid with 13,265 runs and Gavaskar with 10,122 runs. 
• Virat Kohli is the second-highest Test run-scorer among active players after England's Joe Root. He is ranked 18th in the overall list. 
• Virat Kohli set a new record in the ongoing Test series, becoming India's second-most capped player with 536 international matches, surpassing MS Dhoni's 535.
• He is now only behind Sachin Tendulkar, who is at the top spot with 664 matches. 

6. Government may reduce the spectrum lease period to 10 years. 

• The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is considering reducing the tenure of spectrum leased to telecom operators through auction from the current 20 years to 10 years. 
• This is being evaluated because the life cycle of technology is getting shorter and the value of spectrum is getting depreciated in the long term, resulting in operators not being able to realise its full value. 
• If the proposal is finalised, it will be implemented in future auctions. 
• According to the telecom industry, if the period is reduced, then the government will also have to reduce the reserve price. 
• The first auction in the country was held in 2010 for 3G spectrum, through which the government raised more than Rs 1 lakh crore. 
• About two years ago, the government had proposed to increase the spectrum lease period to 30 years and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had also recommended in this regard. 

7. The creation of largest protected marine area in the North Atlantic was approved by the regional assembly of Portugal's Azores Islands. 

• As a result, the archipelago is now at the forefront of the worldwide ocean conservation movement, which seeks to fulfil the UN's 2030 target of safeguarding 30% of the planet's land and water. 
• Nearly 300,000 square kilometres (115,830 square miles) will be covered by the network. 
• Underwater mountain ranges and delicate marine ecosystems, such as deep-sea corals, hydrothermal vents, and marine creatures, will be protected. 
• Fishing and sea tourism would be prohibited in half of the network, which would be declared a totally protected area. 
• Only extremely selective fishing will be permitted in the other half, which has been declared a highly protected region. 
• An independent territory, the nine-island archipelago is located around 1,500 kilometres (932 miles) west of the Portuguese peninsula. 

8. On October 19, the Group of Ministers (GoM) convened to propose modifications to the GST rates held its meeting. 

• It discussed the rationalization of taxes, particularly on health and life insurance premiums. 
• The GoM was established to look into measures to reduce the 18% GST rate that is now applied to insurance premiums. This was the group's first meeting. 
• Samrat Choudhary, the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, is in charge of the 13-member GoM. 
• One of the GoM's mandates is to advise the GST Council on how health and life insurance premiums should be taxed. 
• Ministers from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana are on the panel. 
• By the end of October, it is anticipated that the GST Council will receive final report of GoM. 
• Choudhary will chair a second group of ministers to talk about the general rationalisation of GST rates. 
• The six-person GoM will assess potential revenue losses from lower common goods tax rates and possible measures to make up for those losses. 
• The current GST rate on life and health insurance premiums is 18%. 

9. Madhya Pradesh government installed pink alarms at Datia district hospital and medical college for women’s safety. 

• In Madhya Pradesh, `pink alarms’ have been installed at the government-run district hospital and medical college in Datia. 
• This is the first government hospital in the state where this facility has been provided for women’s security. 
• The pink alarm system is the idea of district collector Sandeep Makin. 
• After pressing the pink alarm, this will set off a siren and within five minutes the security personnel will reach the person in trouble. 
• The pink alarms were installed in the staff duty room on all three floors of the Maternity Ward, Trauma Center and the New OPD Block. 

10. Jharkhand government approved a proposal to enhance the financial assistance under the Maiyan Samman Yojna. 

• The financial assistance under the Jharkhand Maiyan Samman Yojna has been increased from ₹1,000 per month to ₹2,500 per month. 
• This will be provided from December 2024 to 50 lakh beneficiaries of the scheme. 
• The scheme will put an additional ₹9,000 crore burden on the state budget. 
• The government aims to help women from economically weaker sections through this initiative.
• Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren launched the “Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana” in August 2024. 

11. Akhil won the rifle 3-position bronze medal at the ISSF Shooting World Cup Final. 

• On October 16, Akhil Sheoran won a bronze medal in a closely contested men's 50m rifle 3-positions event at the ISSF World Cup Final at the Dr. Karni Singh Range in Tughlakabad. 
• Istvan Peni of Hungary won the gold medal, and Jiri Privartsky of the Czech Republic won the silver medal. 
• This was the second medal for the host team, after Sonam Maskar won a silver on the opening day. 
• Sonam Masker won silver in women’s 10m air rifle, and Olympic champion Huang Yuting of China won gold in the Shooting World Cup final. 
• The ISSF World Cup 2024 was held in New Delhi, India, from 13 to 18 October. 

12. “SAMARTH” (Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles Sector) extended by the government till March 2026. 

• SAMARTH is a demand-driven and employment-oriented mass skilling programme of the Ministry of Textiles. 
• SAMARTH scheme has been extended for another two years (FY 2024-25 and 2025-26) with a budget of Rs 495 crore to train 3 lakh people in textile-related skills. 
• The objective of the scheme is to encourage and support the industry in employment generation in the organised textile and related sectors. 
• It covers the entire value chain of textiles except spinning and weaving. 
• Training programs and curriculum have been rationalised to meet emerging technology and market needs. 
• The scheme is implemented through Implementation Partners (IPs). 
• This includes textile industries and industry associations, Central and State Government agencies, and sectoral organisations of the Ministry of Textiles such as DC & Handlooms, DC & Handicrafts, the Central Wool Development Board, and the Central Silk Board.
• Under the Samarth Scheme, the Ministry has trained 3.27 lakh candidates through implementing partners.
• Out of this, 2.6 lakh (79.5%) have got employment. 
• Employment of women has been emphasized, and 2.89 lakh (88.3%) women have been trained so far. 

13. Indian railways reduced the advanced reservation period from 120 to 60 days. 

• The new time limit for advance reservation booking of trains would take effect from November 1. 
• This step will prevent the blocking of money in rail tickets four months in advance, especially during the holiday season. 
• Since April 1981, it will be the 13th time the Indian Railways has made changes in the time frame for booking ARP in long-distance trains. 
• There will be no change in the limit of 365 days for foreign tourists. 
• As per railway, 85% of bookings happen in less than two months in advance while the remaining happen in four months. 
• The latest move will have no impact on general class tickets reservation in advance. 

14. PM Modi to inaugurate ‘Karmayogi Saptah’. 

• To enhance civil servants’ capacity development, PM Modi will inaugurate ‘Karmayogi Saptah’, or National Learning Week, on October 19 at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi. 
• It aims to enhance individual and organizational capacity development for civil servants across the nation. 
• The National Learning Week (NLW) is anticipated to be the largest event of its kind. 
• The National Learning Week (NLW) has been designed to promote a unified “One Government” message, aligning all participants with national goals and encouraging lifelong learning. 
• Eminent speakers will also address the event and will share insight and strategies for improving citizen-centric service delivery.