Today 21 Oct 2020 Update

21 Oct*

 1. *Union Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone of the first multi modal Logistic Park of India in Assam.* The park is being developed under the ambitious bharatmala pariyojana. The park is to be constructed at Rs 690 3.97 crores. It will provide direct connectivity through rail, road, air and water ways to the people.

2. *WB CM Mamata Banerjee has informed that the number of seats in the MBBS course has increased to 4,000 in the state* with the addition of 250 seats in 2 medical colleges- NEET counselling dates would be announced soon.

3. *Two coaches of the 05048 Gorakhpur Kolkata Purvanchal Express train derailed on Tuesday near the Silaut station in Bihar.* The two coaches--an AC coach and a sleeper derailed near Muzzafarpur. However, no casualties have been reported yet, due to the slow train speed.

4. *National Green Tribunal granted environmental clearance to the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project of Telangana* . The Tribunal has directed the Ministry of Environment and Forest to form a 7-member expert committee to suggest rehabilitation and relief measures.

5. *Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday (October 20) directed officials to distribute ration kits to flood-hit families* and financial aid of Rs 500 each to those in relief camps. He also announced Ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakhs to families of the deceased.

6. *Karnataka`s Transport Department has made helmets mandatory for all people riding on the two-wheelers* and imposed a three-month suspension of driving license for non-compliance.

7. *Major reshuffle the Himachal Pradesh government on Monday transferred 22 Indian Administrative Service (IAS), and HP Administrative Service officers,* 

8. *The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday (October 20) filed 14000 pages charge sheet against ten (10) people in NIA Special Court at Mohali, Punjab,* in connection with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) Narco-terror case.

The case pertains to the arrest of one Hilal Ahmed Shergojri and recovery of Rs 29 Lakh from his possession by Punjab Police on April 25 this year. The NIA took up the investigation of the case on May 8 this year.

9. *Chairperson of the National Commission for Women Rekha Sharma on Tuesday met Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in Mumbai and discussed issues related to women in the state, including 'rising cases of Love Jihad'.* : The term 'Love Jihad' is used by some right-wing commentators to allege that there is a conspiracy to lure Hindu women and convert them through inter-faith marriage.

10.  *Farmers of the remote Lahaul Valley in Himachal Pradesh have started taking up cultivation of asafoetida (heeng),* mainly due to the efforts of the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, using the vast wasteland in the cold desert conditions of the region, 

Asafoetida is one of the top condiments and is a high-value spice crop. India imports about 1,200 tonnes of raw asafoetida annually from Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan and spends approximately USD 100 million per year for it.

11. *The Election Commission has barred parties, candidates and others from publishing political advertisements on polling day and a day prior to it the three phases of the Bihar polls* unless their contents are pre-certified by screening committees.

12. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was on Tuesday attacked with slippers while campaigning for Congress candidate from Kutumba assembly seat in Bihar’s Aurangabad district.

13. *The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR into alleged manipulation of Television Rating Points (TRP) on the basis of a reference from the Uttar Pradesh Police* . The case, which was earlier registered at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow on a complaint of an advertising company promoter, was handed over to the CBI by the Uttar Pradesh Government.

 

14. *PM Modi appeals people not to be complacent till there is vaccine for Coronavirus.* PM on Tuesday assured the people that the Centre is making all efforts to ensure that COVID-19 vaccine, whenever it is launched, reaches every Indian. In his address to the nation at 6 pm, the PM asked the people to follow strict guidelines.

15. The Punjab state Assembly on Tuesday passed four Bills, including those negating the Centre's farm laws, during its special session. A resolution against the three new farm laws passed by the Centre has also been adopted.

16. *Three unidentified terrorists killed in encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.* A joint operation was launched by 50 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Pulwama Police. 

17. *Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved a new Defence Research Development Organization Procurement Manual, 2020.* The main objective of release of the manual is to encourage MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) in Research and Development.

18. *No mandatory 14-day quarantine if Army, Navy, IAF personnel travel by air for leave or duty* :  The Indian armed forces have revised the quarantine policy for members of each service, at a time when the ongoing tensions with China at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh have fuelled an additional deployment of troops in the region.

 19. *The Centre is considering to remove convalescent plasma therapy from the national clinical management protocol for COVID-19,* The therapy involves taking anti-bodies from the blood of a person who has recovered from COVID-19 and transfusing those into a COVID-19 patient to help kickstart the immune system to fight the infection. 

*✈INTERNATIONAL NEWS*

  

1. *India, Vietnam Business Forum held virtually* : Export basket from India to Vietnam includes bovine meat, fishery products, corn, steel, pharmaceuticals, cotton, machinery while imports from Vietnam include mobile phones, electrical machinery and equipment, computers, electronic hardware, natural rubber, chemicals, and coffee.

 

2. *India-US to sign the BECA pact during 2+2 Dialogue* : The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister Jay Shankar will hold 2+2 dialogue with their United States counter parts mark as per and Mike pompeo. The dialogue is to be held between October 26 2020 and October 27 2020.

3. *India has welcomed Chile’s decision to designate India as a priority country in its foreign policy* , and its decision to opening Consulate General in Mumbai. the ongoing negotiations for the second round of expansion of Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), India and Chile are soon going to ink a Bilateral Investment Protection Treaty.

4. *US-made jackets for soldiers in Ladakh* : The government has started transporting winter jackets for troops in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) from the storage base in North Delhi. The jackets will be part of the reserve  for  troops in high altitude. The jackets have been imported from the US as part of emergency purchase. The first lot of 15,000 arrived in Delhi two weeks ago.

5. *US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit India next week for the 2+2 dialogue between the two countries to be held on October 26-27 in New Delhi.* The dialogue will take place between the defence and foreign ministers of the nations.

6.  *Islamic State calls to avenge Babri demolition, asks followers to wage Jihad against India* : The dreaded plan of terror organization ISIS against India has been exposed once again. the insidious literature of a digital magazine of the terror outfit which is being used to instigate people belonging to a particular community to take up arms and wage Jihad against the government of India. The magazine, which appears to be a major threat to national security, has come under the scanner of security agencies. The magazine assures people to continue with their protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) assuring them that it stands firmly with them in their fight.

*🌎WORLD NEWS🌍*

 1. *The North Atlantic Treaty organisation is to setup a new Space Centre in Ramstein, Germany.* The centre is to serve as a co-ordination Centre for space observation.

2. The new Centre will gather information about possible threats to satellites. The centre is to be developed into a command centre of defensive measures in near future. The centre is being setup based on Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty organisation.

3. *US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit Sri Lanka and the Maldives this month* , officials of both Indian Ocean nations said on Tuesday, as Washington seeks to counter China`s growing influence in the region. Pompeo will hold two-way talks in Colombo on Oct. 28,

4. *Nagorno-Karabakh war: Turkey establishing permanent military base in Azerbaijan* Analysts believe that the Azeri government has even begun to work towards this. The defense agreement between both the countries provides basis for this, which includes provisions on establishing military bases in each other's countries.

5. The military cooperation between both the countries has already been concerning the regional players. During last year, both the countries organised  10 joint military exercises. The Turkish government has also been working on the capacity building of the Azeri Army, besides supplying it ammunition and drones. All these developments are leading to instability in the region.

6. *Thursday`s debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will feature a mute button to allow each candidate to speak uninterrupted* , The Presidential Commission on Debates said each candidate`s microphone would be silenced to allow the other to make two minutes of opening remarks at the beginning of each 15-minute segment of the debate. 

7. *After Maryam Nawaz's fiery speech against Pakistan PM Imran Khan, her husband Safdar arrested* : Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, on Monday (October 19) tweeted that her husband Captain Safdar Awan has been arrested by Karachi police.  Maryam, who is a senior leader of Pakistan Muslim League (N), said that Karachi police broke open the door of the hotel room where she was staying and arrested Captain Safdar.

8. *Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to operate 28 commercial flights between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi or Dubai per week,* Israel`s transportation ministry said.

9. Pakistan lifts ban on TikTok after blocking it for 10 days over 'obscenity'

.