GK Current Affairs Quiz October 16, 2019: General Knowledge section of Versionweekly aims to help every competitive exam aspirant to revise the day at ease. Instantly obtain Latest Daily Current Affairs with all essential info, Be the first to know all the Today Current affairs 16 October 2019 top news, Major Issues, Current News, Important events in National Current News as well as International level with clear explanation.
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Q. The RBI imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on which of these banks?
(a) Syndicate Bank
(b) Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd
(c) Punjab National Bank
(d) State Bank of India
(e) Union Bank of India
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: b
Explaination: The RBI imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1 crore on Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd for non-compliance with certain provisions of directions issued by RBI on ‘Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms.
A monetary penalty of Rs 75 lakh has been imposed on Syndicate Bank for non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI on frauds classification and reporting.
Q. Which of these states have signed a MoU with Automotive Electronics Power Private Limited?
(a) Rajasthan
(b) Odisha
(c) Gujarat
(d) Madhya Pradesh
(e) Haryana
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: c
Explaination: The Gujarat government has signed a MoU with the Japanese company Automotive Electronics Power Private Limited (AEPPL) to set up a Rs 4,930 crore lithium battery plant in the state.
As per the MoU, AEPPL, a joint venture between Japanese Toshiba Corporation, Denso Corporation and Suzuki Motor Corporation, will make investments in two phases at Hansalpur.
By 2025, the company plans to produce 30 million cells per year in its plant in Gujarat.
Q. Who amongst these was announced as the brand ambassador of Manyavar?
(a) Ranveer Singh
(b) Amir Khan
(c) Vicky Kaushal
(d) Rajkumar Rao
(e) Ishan Khattar
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: a
Explaination: Manyavar announced Ranveer Singh as their brand ambassador.
He will be seen endorsing the brand’s latest festive collection through a slew of commercials spread across television, digital, and social media.
Ravi Modi is the founder of Manyavar.
Q. When International Rural Women Day is observed?
a. 12 October
b. 13 October
c. 14 October
d. 15 October
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: (d) 15 October
This day is observed every day on 15 October with an objective to improve the economic and social condition of rural women. This day also highlights the importance of rural women in the modern-day economy and campaign against climate change.
Q. Which rule will decide a winner during a tie match as per the new ICC rule?
a. Super Over
b. Duckworth Luis
c. Knock Out
d. First Run
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: (a) Super Over
As per the ICC’s new rule, if both teams score equal runs then a super over will decide the winner. It was also announced by ICC that super over will continue until one team emerged as a winner.
Q. What is the name of Indian Origin economics who recently declared a winner of Nobel Prize 2019 for economics?
a. Vishwajit Chatterjee
b. Abhijit Banerjee
c. SK Burman
d. Anil Joseph Mukharjee
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: (b) Abhijit Banerjee
Abhijit Banerjee, along with his wife, Esther Duflo and Michael Kramer will be awarded the Nobel Prize for their research on ‘Experiments to ending global poverty’. Amartya Sen was given this honour in the year 1998 prior to Abhijit Banerjee.
Q. Who among the following was recently elected as president of Tunisia?
a. Mohammad Albaruni
b. Altaf Hussain
c. Kais Saied
d. Iftikhar Khan
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: (c) Kais Saied
Kais Saied, a former law professor, won the presidential election in Tunisia by a huge margin. He received about 77% of votes in his favour while opposite candidate Nabil Karoui got 23% of votes. Large-scale rallies and door-to-door campaigns were conducted during his election campaign.
Q. When World Standard Day is observed?
a. 14 October
b. 13 October
c. 12 October
d. 11 October
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: (a) 14 October
Every year World Standard Day is observed on October 14. The day is celebrated with the aim of creating awareness among regulators, industry and consumers. It also raises its importance of standardization within the global economy.
6. What is the name of joint military exercise that will be held between India and Japan at Mizoram?
a. Vishva Vijeta-2019
b. Raksha Parv-2019
c. Ultra Battle-2019
d. Dharm Guardian-2019
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: (d) Dharm Guardian-2019
India and Japan are organizing Dharm Guardian-2019, a joint military exercise, at Mizoram to strengthen the military bond. It was first organized in the year 2018. Last joint military exercise was also held at Mizoram. Both countries share their war-related expertise.
Q. The United States recently imposed sanctions on which country over its incursion into Syria?
a. Iraq
b. Iran
c. Turkey
d. Afghanistan
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: (c) Turkey
The United States recently imposed new sanctions against Turkey over its invasion into northern Syria. The sanctions call for a ceasefire, increase in steel tariffs and cancellations of the negotiations over a trade deal with Turkey.
Q. Read the following statements:
Apeksha Kottary has entered the India Book of Records for making the longest gift item, an explosion box, designed on the theme Incredible India.
She has made over 25 varieties of unique gift items so far.
The measurement of this box is 25×25 cm when closed and when opened, its length is around 1,000 cms.
Which of the above statements is/are false?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Only 3
(e) Both 2 and 3
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: b
Explaination: A post-graduate student from Mangaluru, Apeksha Kottary, has entered the India Book of Records for making the longest gift item, an explosion box, designed on the theme Incredible India.
She has made over 35 varieties of unique gift items so far.
The measurement of this box is 25×25 cm when closed and when opened, its length is around 1,000 cms.
Q. Ericsson and ________ enabled a 5G powered Connected Music performance during the inauguration of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2019.
(a) Airtel
(b) Vodafone
(c) Jio
(d) Idea
(e) BSNL
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: a
Explaination: Ericsson and Airtel enabled a 5G powered Connected Music performance during the inauguration of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2019.
A first for India, the show involved connecting two parts of a musical performance using a live 5G network and presenting it as one, for live audiences at both locations.
The ultra-low latency of the 5G network powered the connected music showcase at the IMC.
Q. Who amongst these became only the second captain with 100 wins in women’s cricket?
(a) Mithali Raj
(b) Harmanpreet Kaur
(c) Shikha Pandey
(d) Priya Punia
(e) Sushma Verma
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: a
Explaination: In Women’s cricket, India won the series against South Africa by 3-0.
India scored 146 runs in 45.5 overs.
For India, Harmanpreet Kaur scored a brilliant 38 runs and Shikha Pandey 35.
Mithali Raj became only the second captain with 100 wins in women’s cricket.
Q. India’s first visually-impaired IAS officer Pranjal Patil has taken charge as Sub-collector of ________.
(a) Cochin
(b) Thiruvananthapuram
(c) Chennai
(d) Hyderabad
(e) Mysore
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: b
Explaination: India’s first visually-impaired IAS officer Pranjal Patil has taken charge as Thiruvananthapuram sub-collector.
This is her second assignment since her appointment into service in 2018.
Pranjal lost her vision at the age of 6. Hailing from Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra, she completed her postgraduation in internal relations from JNU.
Q. How many awards did India win at the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation?
(a) 3
(b) 2
(c) 4
(d) 5
(e) 1
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: c
Explaination: The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation were announced on 14 Oct 2019.
The four winners from India, include one from Ahmedabad — Award of Distinction for Vikram Sarabhai Library, Indian Institute of Management (IIM); and three from Mumbai — Award of Merit for Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue and Our Lady of Glory Church; while Honourable Mention for Flora Fountain.
Q. By how much percent has been India’s growth forecast for current fiscal cut by the World Bank?
(a) 6
(b) 7
(c) 9
(d) 8
(e) 5
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: a
Explaination: The World Bank has sharply cut India’s growth forecast for current fiscal to 6%, down from 7.5% forecast in April.
However, the bank in its latest edition of the South Asia Economic Focus said the country was expected to gradually recover to 6.9% in 2021 and 7.2% in 2022.
Moody’s Investors Service recently lowered its growth forecast for India to 5.8% for the current fiscal year from 6.2%.
Q. ________ of Kenya has broken the world record for the women’s marathon with a time of 2:14:04 hours.
(a) Meryem Akda
(b) Brigid Kosgei
(c) Isabellah Andersson
(d) Peninah Arusei
(e) Delilah Asiago
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: b
Explaination: Brigid Kosgei of Kenya has broken the world record for the women’s marathon with a time of 2:14:04 hours at the Chicago Marathon on 13 October 2019.
Kosgei has broken a record that has been undisturbed for 16 years.
The previous existing world record had been held by Great Britain’s Paula Radcliffe.
The earlier record had been 2:15:25 hours.
Q. Which of these states have launched a project to provide a drinking water connection to every household in the state by 2022?
(a) Kerala
(b) Tamil Nadu
(c) Andhra Pradesh
(d) Odisha
(e) Madhya Pradesh
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: c
Explaination: The Andhra Pradesh government has launched an ambitious project to provide a drinking water connection to every household in the state by 2022.
The statewide water grid project would ensure supply of clean drinking water to every household from 2022 for at least the next 30 years.
Groundwater levels in the state have fallen to below 1,100 feet in districts like Anantapur and Chittoor.
Q. India is investing over $________ billion in developing natural supply and distribution infrastructure.
(a) 50
(b) 40
(c) 30
(d) 60
(e) 80
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: d
Explaination: India is investing over $60 billion in developing natural supply and distribution infrastructure as it chases the target of the share of natural gas in its energy base to 15 per cent by 2030.
Natural gas currently constitutes 6.2 per cent of all energy consumption in the country.
Natural gas is gradually becoming a bridging fuel for low carbon economy in India.
Q. Which of these banks has launched a fixed deposit scheme called FD Health?
(a) ICICI
(b) IDBI
(c) Syndicate
(d) HSBC
(e) PNB
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: a
Explaination: ICICI Bank launched a fixed deposit scheme called FD Health, that comes with an in-built critical insurance policy.
The FD Health – Critical illness Cover will be provided to only the primary holder of the FD account.
Anyone between of 18-50 years, will get complimentary insurance cover for a year on 33 critical illnesses.
Free of cost insurance cover will be provided for 1st year.
Q. Which of these IIT’s will collaborate with ExxonMobil on Research in Energy and Biofuels?
(a) Bombay
(b) Madras
(c) Delhi
(d) Guwahati
(e) Roorkee
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: b
Explaination: 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.
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.
Q. ________ and Bernardine Evaristo have jointly won the 2019 Booker Prize after judges flout the rules by declaring a tie.
(a) Alice Walker
(b) Margaret Atwood
(c) Zadie Smith
(d) Arundhati Roy
(e) Maya Angelou
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: b
Explaination: Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo have jointly won the 2019 Booker Prize after judges flout the rules by declaring a tie.
British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie’s tragicomic ‘Quichotte’ was among the six books shortlisted for the prize.
Evaristo is the first black woman to win the prestigious award since its creation in 1969.
Q. In which of these following disciplines did Abhijit Banerjee win a Nobel Prize ?
(a) Economics
(b) Literature
(c) Physics
(d) Chemistry
(e) Medicine
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: a
Explaination: The 2019 Nobel Prize for Economics has been jointly won by Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee, his wife, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer of the United States for their experimental approach for alleviating global poverty.
Abhijit is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Q. President Ram Nath Kovind will embark on a visit to the Philippines and ________ on the 17 Oct 19.
(a) France
(b) Croatia
(c) Singapore
(d) Japan
(e) Russia
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: d
Explaination: President Ram Nath Kovind will embark on a visit to the Philippines and Japan on the 17 Oct 19.
He will attend the Enthronement Ceremony of the Emperor of Japan, His Majesty Naruhito.
The state visit is taking place on the occasion of 70 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
On the second leg of the tour, Mr Kovind will visit Japan on the 21 Oct 19.
Q. Which Indian Airlines became the first in the world to use Taxibot on an A-320 aircraft with passengers on board?
a. SpiceJet
b. Air India
c. IndiGo
d. Go Air
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: (b) Air India
Air India became the first airline globally to use a Taxibot on an A-320 aircraft that too with the passengers on board. Taxibot is a robot-accessed aircraft tractor that is used for taxiing the aircraft from parking bay to runway.
Q. Justice Arup Kumar Goswami was recently sworn-in as the Chief Justice of which High Court?
a. Sikkim High Court
b. Manipur High Court
c. Guwahati High Court
d. Chandigarh High Court
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: (a) Sikkim High Court
Justice Arup Kumar Goswami was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court, succeeding Justice Vijai Kumar Bist. He was administered the oath by Governor Ganga Prasad.
Q. Who won the 2019 Booker Prize?
a. Lucy Ellmann
b. Margaret Atwood
c. Chigozie Obioma
d. Elif Shafak
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: (b) Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo won the 2019 Booker Prize jointly. The Award is awarded every year for the best novel written in English language and published in the United Kingdom.
Q. ________ claimed the men’s singles title at the Bahrain International Series Badminton at Isa Town on 14 Oct 2019.
(a) Aditya Joshi
(b) Pranav Chopra
(c) Priyanshu Rajawat
(d) Dhruv Kapila
(e) Pratul Joshi
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: c
Explaination: Priyanshu Rajawat claimed the men’s singles title at the Bahrain International Series Badminton at Isa Town on 14 Oct 2019.
He beat Jason Anthony Ho-Shue from Canada in the finals.
Indian mixed double pair of Juhi Dewangan and Venkat Gaurav Prasad also finished at the top.
Q. Zimbabwe and ________ were re-admitted as ICC members in a meeting held in Dubai on 14 October 2019.
(a) Brazil
(b) Nepal
(c) Australia
(d) Indonesia
(e) Sri Lanka
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: b
Explaination: Zimbabwe and Nepal were re-admitted as ICC members in a meeting held in Dubai on 14 October 2019.
Zimbabwe will now be able to take up their place in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup in January and the ICC Super League later in 2020.
They had been suspended in July 2019 following government interference in the running of the Board.
Q. ________ completed a sprint double in the 59th National Open Athletics Championships, clocking the fastest time in 200m by an Indian in 2019 with a 23.17 second burst.
(a) Dutee Chand
(b) Manika Batra
(c) Heena Sidhu
(d) Mandeep Kumar
(e) Vandana Rao
Answer/ Explanation
Answer: a
Explaination: Dutee Chand completed a sprint double in the 59th National Open Athletics Championships, clocking the fastest time in 200m by an Indian in 2019 with a 23.17 second burst.
She won a gold medal for the same and also set a national record in 100m recently.
Dutee was also adjudged the best female athlete while shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, who broke his own national record, was named best athlete in the men’s category.
16th October 2019 Current Affairs | Top Current Affairs One Liner
International
International Day of Rural Women being celebrated today (15 October)
- International Day of Rural Women is being celebrated today (15 October).
- Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has urged the world community, accord top priority to empowerment of women.
- Mr. Naidu also urged to make it a global agenda and encourage more women to embark on the path of entrepreneurship and self reliance.
- Empowerment of women is central to achieving inclusive, equitable and sustainable development.
- Apart from creating an ecosystem for rural entrepreneurship to thrive,there is an urgent need provide them employable skills.
US President announces to authorize sanctions against Turkish officials
- Protesting Turkey’s military offensive into northeast Syria, US President Donald Trump has announced that he will authorize sanctions against Turkish officials, raise steel tariffs and end negotiations on a 100 billion dollar trade deal.
- Turkey launched a cross-border assault on Kurdish fighters on Wednesday after the US decided to withdraw troops from Syria.
- This executive order will enable the US to impose powerful additional sanctions on those who may be involved in serious human rights abuses, obstructing a ceasefire, preventing displaced persons from returning home, forcibly repatriating refugees or threatening the peace, security or stability in Syria.
- Turkey’s military offensive is endangering civilians and threatening peace, security and stability in the region.
- Trump is fully prepared to swiftly destroy Turkey’s economy if Turkish leaders continue down this dangerous and destructive path.
- The order will authorize a broad range of measures, including financial sanctions, the blocking of property, and barring entry into the US.
- He asserted that his administration will aggressively use economic sanctions to target those who enable, facilitate, and finance heinous acts in Syria.
- During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump had promised to bring back US troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
- US forces have defeated the ISIS physical caliphate, the troops are coming out will now redeploy and remain in the region to monitor the situation and prevent a repeat of 2014, when the neglected threat of ISIS raged across Syria and Iraq.
House of Commons debate over Queen’s speech on Brexit
- In Britain, the House of Commons is currently debating over the speech of Queen Elizabeth II where she had highlighted her government’s plans over Brexit.
- Her government’s priority has always been to secure the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union on October 31.
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson repeated that Britain must leave the EU on October 31. Now, all depends on the outcome of closed-door discussions in Brussels.
- The officials are racing to reach a deal on Britain’s exit terms before a summit of EU leaders starting on Thursday.
- As per a British law, if Boris Johnson cannot get a deal by 19 October, 2019, he might have to ask the EU to delay Brexit for a third time rather than risk a no-deal departure.
- The bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier had earlier mentioned that it may even be possible this week but they’re not there yet.
New Zealand to establish team of investigators dedicated solely to tackling online extremism
- New Zealand will establish a team of investigators dedicated solely to tackling online extremism.
- Ms. Jacinda Ardern has led global efforts to force technology firms to clamp down on extremist material since a lone gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers in March.
- The attack also showed her own government needed to improve resources to curb the spread of online hate.
- A dedicated team focused on targeting and disrupting violent extremist content across our digital channels will work in a similar way to how child sexual exploitation material is targeted.
- She sought to work with online content hosts to find and remove harmful content.
- The Internal Affairs department would hire 17 specialists in investigative, forensic and intelligence work to focus on violent extremist content online.
National
Over 50 lakh citizens benefited from free treatment under Ayushman Bharat Scheme
- Over 50 lakh citizens have benefited from free treatment under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.
- This is an important milestone in the journey of creating a healthy India.
- It will make every Indian proud that in a year, over 50 lakh citizens have benefited from free of cost treatment.
- Apart from curing, this scheme is empowering several Indians.
- The scheme, which is the world’s largest health care programme, provides a health cover of five lakh rupees annually to vulnerable families and aims at benefiting more than ten crore poor families all over the country.
Ravi Shankar Prasad stresses on need for low-cost and indigenous technology to achieve digital inclusion
- The digital inclusion is the most important process and the process must be achieved through technology that is low-cost and homegrown.
- India now has a larger vision where it will reform and perform in order to transform.
- Aadhaar card is a digital supplement to one’s physical identity and Government has ensured that the security of this system cannot be penetrated. Aadhaar is the future of digital India.
- Data is emerging as a big asset and in India and it is crucial that the focus should be on generating quality data in the billions.
- Data availability, data utility, data innovation, data commerce and data privacy all must work in coordination.
Nitin Gadkari to inaugurated a Conference on One Nation One FASTag
- Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and MSME inaugurated a conference on One Nation One FASTag in New Delhi.
- The conference saw the signing of MoUs with state departments / other agencies for bringing in a unified electronic tolling solution across the country.
- Another MoU between the Indian Highways Management Company Ltd. and GSTN was also signed.
Economy
RBI raises withdrawal limit to Rs 40,000 for PMC bank account holders
- Reserve Bank has enhanced the withdrawal limit for the account holder of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank or PMC Bank to 40 thousand rupees from 25 thousand rupees.
- This is the third time, RBI has raised the withdrawal limit since its clamp down on PMC Bank last month (September, 2019).
- After reviewing the bank’s liquidity position and its ability to pay its depositors, it has decided to further enhance the limit. With the revised relaxation, about 77 per cent of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their entire deposits.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is closely monitoring the developments at PMC Bank, and the RBI governor has assured to protect customers’ interest.
- Providing further relief to the customers, the move comes after the weekend assurance by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
- she will urge the Reserve Bank to look into the woes of the depositors of the cooperative bank with urgency. The irate depositors had met her in Mumbai.
- Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank, which is among the top 10 urban cooperative banks, was placed under an RBI administrator on September 23 for six months due to massive under-reporting of dud loans.
- The bank had come on regulatory radar after Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) and its directors failed to repay a Rs 4355 crore putting the bank under liquidity stress. The regulator had capped deposit withdrawals first at Rs 1,000, which was subsequently increased to Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000.
ED seizes assets worth Rs 3,830 crore in PMC Bank money laundering case
- The Enforcement Directorate has seized and identified assets worth three thousand eight hundred 30 crore rupees in connection with its probe in the PMC Bank money laundering case.
- It is valuing a number of properties of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited, HDIL, its directors, promoters, Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative, PMC Bank officials and others.
- The identified assets will soon be attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, PMLA. The ED said, further probe is in progress to identify and locate the balance proceeds of crime.
- The ED case is based on an FIR filed by the Economic Offences Wing, EOW of Mumbai police. The central agency had conducted raids in the case early this month.
WTO gives nod to US to impose trade sanctions on EU goods worth 7.5 billion USD
- The World Trade Organization, WTO, has formally given the go-ahead for the United States to impose trade sanctions on up to 7.5 billion dollars worth of European Union goods.
- This follows a ruling that European planemaker Airbus received illegal subsidies.
- The move by the WTO’s dispute settlement body was largely a formality after the long-awaited ruling by a WTO arbitration panel on the 2nd of October, 2019.
- The ruling found that the European bloc and member States Britain, France, Germany and Spain failed to remove improper subsidies for Airbus that hindered sales by US rival Boeing.
Awards
Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee, Wife Esther Duflo Win Nobel For Economics
- The 2019 Nobel Prize for Economics has been jointly won by Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee, his wife, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer of the United States for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.
- 58-year-old Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee was educated at the University of Calcutta, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Harvard University, where he received his PhD in 1988.
- He is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- In 2003 he founded the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), along with Esther Duflo and Sendhil Mullainathan, and he remains one of the lab’s directors.
- Banerjee is a past president of the Bureau for the Research in the Economic Analysis of Development, a Research Associate of the NBER, a CEPR research fellow, International Research Fellow of the Kiel Institute, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Econometric Society, and has been a Guggenheim Fellow and an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow and a winner of the Infosys Prize.
- He is the author of a large number of articles and four books, including Poor Economics which won the Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year.
- He is the editor of three more books and has directed two documentary films. He also served on the U.N. Secretary-General’s High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
- The research conducted by this year’s laureates has considerably improved the ability to fight global poverty.
- In just two decades, their new experiment-based approach has transformed development economics, which is now a flourishing field of research.
- The President, the Vice President and the Prime Minister have extended their congratulations to Abhijeet Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer on winning the Nobel Prize in Economics for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.
- Their research has helped economists better understand how to fight poverty in India and the world.
- Vice President Venkaiah Naidu is sure that Mr Banerjee’s experimental approach to alleviating global poverty will help the world community to understand and address the formidable challenge of poverty.
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.
- British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie’s tragicomic ‘Quichotte’ was among the six books shortlisted for the prize.
- 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.
- The rules were changed after the last tie in 1992, and organisers told this year’s judges that they were not allowed to pick two winners.
- It was our decision to flout the rules. Seventy-nine-year-old Canadian author Atwood expressed her joy at sharing the award with a younger writer.
- On Rushdie’s ‘Quichotte’ the judging panel commented, a picaresque tour-de-force of contemporary America, with all its alarms and craziness.
- Rushdie conjures a celebration of storytelling and language that will delight lovers of Cervantes, lovers of daytime television and lovers of life.
- 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”.
Sports
Sourav Ganguly set to be new BCCI President
- Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has been unanimously nominated as the new President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI.
- Board member Rajiv Shukla said besides Ganguly, BCCI members have also unanimously selected Jay Shah as Secretary and Arun Dhumal as Treasurer.
- Yesterday (14th October, 2019) was the last date for filing of nominations.
- All these candidates are expected to be elected unopposed at the Board’s Annual General Meeting to be held on 23rd October, 2019.
- At an informal meeting in Mumbai yesterday, all the affiliated units of the BCCI finalised the names of the new office-bearers. A consensus between the state units of BCCI was built for former India captain and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly as the front runner for the post of BCCI president.
- 47-year-old Ganguly was the chairman of the BCCI technical committee and has been a media personality for many years.
-
Jay Shah is the son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah while Dhumal is the younger brother of MoS Finance and former BCCI president Anurag Thakur.
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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has congratulated BCCI President-elect Sourav Ganguly and wished him well in his new assignment.