• Agreements

Coal India signs MoU with NLC for 5000 mw power generation

• Coal India and NLC India (NLCIL), formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation, will jointly set up 5000 MW of power generation capacity of which 3000 MW would be solar powered while the rest 2000 MW would be coal-fuelled.
• CIL and NCIL signed an MoU for setting up a 50:50 joint venture company that would undertake the projects.
• Coal India has been tasked to become a net zero emission energy company by the ministry of coal, a move which requires it to generate 3,000 MW of solar power.
• The MoU also extends for setting up of 2,000 MW of thermal power generation across CIL’s subsidiaries.

• Obituaries

Noted Malayalam Poet MN Paloor Passes Away

• Well-known Malayalam poet M N Paloor passed away at the age of 86-year due to age-related ailments. Paloor won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, the state’s highest literary honour, in 1983 for his collection ‘Kalikalam’.
• He also received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his autobiography ‘Kathayillathavante Katha’ in 2013. Some of his major collections include ‘Kalikalam’, ‘Pedithondan’, ‘Theerthayathra’and ‘Bhangiyum Abhangiyum’.

• States

IIT Madras enters into collaboration with Tamil Nadu e-Governance agency

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency here, to enhance data driven governance in education, health care and agriculture sectors.
• Through this engagement, the Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBC DSAI ) at IIT-Madras has agreed to support the State government on various data science and ICT-related challenges.
• Tamil Nadu Government is the first state government to collaborate with IIT-M for harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology in areas of health, education and agriculture.

• Appointments

Tushar Mehta appointed as the new Solicitor General of India.

• Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has been appointed as the new Solicitor General of India.
• The senior lawyer will assume the office of the Solicitor General till June 30, 2020.
• Presently, Mehta is serving as the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) of India.
• The post had been lying vacant since October 2017 when the then Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar had resigned.

• International

Malaysian government decides to abolish capital punishment

• In Malaysia, the cabinet today decided to abolish the death penalty. Communications and multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said, the government decided to scrap capital punishment following strong domestic opposition to the practice.
• Malaysia’s Lawyers for Liberty rights group said death penalty is barbarous, and unimaginably cruel.
• Capital punishment in Malaysia is currently mandatory for murder, kidnapping, possession of firearms and drug trafficking, among other crimes.

• Appointments

Pravin Srivastava appointed as India's third Chief Statistician

• The government has appointed 58-year-old Pravin Srivastava, a senior officer with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), as the Chief Statistician of India (CSI).
• Srivastava’s tenure will be till August 31, 2020.
• His appointment would take effect from the date of assumption of charge by him.

• Sports

IOC picks Senegal as first African host for Youth Olympics

• The IOC has picked its first African host of any Olympics, formally awarding the 2022 Youth Games to Senegal.
• Senegal President Macky Sall was present on Monday to see International Olympic Committee members confirm the executive board’s preference from four candidates.
• Senegal will host the youth games in three places: Dakar; a new city of Diamniadio, close to the capital; and the coastal resort of Saly.

• Appointments

Mahesh Reddy takes over as PHDCCI Secretary General

• PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Tuesday that Mahesh Y Reddy has taken over as its Secretary General with immediate effect.
• He holds 28 years of experience in national level trade, infrastructure and industry bodies in various capacities, the chamber said in a statement.
• Earlier, Reddy served as Director General of Infrastructure Industry and Logistics Federation of India for eight years.

• Awards

Indus Towers Wins Deming Prize For 2018

• Indus Towers, world’s largest telecom tower company (outside China), won the Deming Prize for 2018, being the first Indian company in the service sector and the fifth in the world to achieve this.
• The Deming Prize was bestowed on Indus Towers for distinctive performance improvements through the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) practices.
• Indus Towers is only the 29th Indian company to win this coveted award, with other notable names including Tata Steel, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra and Mahindra, and NBC Bearings, etc.

• National

Veena Sendre Crowned India's 1st Miss Trans Queen

• Veena Sendre from Chhattisgarh has been chosen as India’s first ‘Miss Trans Queen’.
• Veena defeated Namita Ammu of Tamil Nadu to claim the title at the national-level beauty contest organised in Mumbai.
• Sendre, a former Miss Chhattisgarh, belongs to Mandir Hasaud village in Raipur.

• Sports

Asian Para Games: Archer Harvinder Singh clinches seventh gold as India post their best ever haul

• Archer Harvinder Singh notched up the men’s individual recurve gold, while track-and-field athletes added a silver and a bronze to India’s tally in the Asian Para-Games in Jakarta.
• Harvinder defeated China’s Zhao Lixue 6-0 in the W2/ST category final to claim the top honors and take India’s gold tally to seven.

• International

Oxfam World Inequality Index 2018: India Ranks 147th, Denmark Tops

• UK-based charity ‘Oxfam International’s report named ‘Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index was released in which India ranked 147th among 157 countries analysed and was labeled as “a very worrying situation” with respect to the rising inequality in the country.
• Out of 157 countries measured, Denmark topped the list based on its high and progressive taxation, high social spending and good protection of workers.
• Ranking at 11th, Japan became the topper among the Asian countries.
• Among the BRICS nations, China was ranked 81st on the list, Brazil 39th and Russia 50th.
• The Top 3 Countries include: Denmark, Germany and Finland.

• Sports

Youth Olympic Games: Saurabh Chaudhary bags Gold in 10-m air pistol

• Pistol shooter Saurabh Chaudhary has bagged the Gold Medal in the 10-metre air pistol event in the ongoing Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.
• In Buenos Aires today, the 16-year old blew the field away in the final as he finished a massive Seven and a half points ahead of his closest rival.
• It is India’s third gold medal in the history of Youth Olympic Games and all three have come in this edition in Buenos Aires.

• Important Days

International Day Of The Girl Child: 11th October

• Since 2012, 11 October has been marked as the International Day of the Girl. The theme for International Day of the Girl Child 2018 is ‘With Her: A Skilled Girl Force’.
• The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.

• Appointments

Rakesh Sharma Takes Charge As MD & CEO Of IDBI Bank Rakesh Sharma has taken charge as the managing director and chief executive officer of the bank.

• On October 5, the government had announced Sharma’s appointment as the MD and CEO of IDBI Bank for a period of six months.
• He retired from Canara Bank as the MD and CEO after serving for a period of three years from September 11, 2015 till July 31,

• National

'Very severe cyclonic storm' Titli to make landfall at Odisha-Andhra border along eastern coast

• The Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘TITLI’ over the west-central Bay of Bengal moved northwards with a speed of about 14 kmph over Westcentral Bay of Bengal near latitude 5°N and longitude 85.8°E, about 320 km south-southeast of Gopalpur (Odisha) and 270 km southeast of Kalingapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
• It is very likely to intensify further into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm.

• National

Cabinet Approves Merger Of NCVT And NSDA To Establish NCVET

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the merger of the existing regulatory institutions in the skills space – National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) and the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) into the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET).
• NCVET will regulate the functioning of entities engaged in vocational education and training, both long-term and short-term and establish minimum standards for the functioning of such entities.
• The primary functions of NCVET will include, recognition and regulation of awarding bodies, assessment bodies and skill related information providers, approval of qualifications developed by awarding bodies and Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), indirect regulation of vocational training institutes through awarding bodies and assessment agencies, research and information dissemination, grievance redressal.