Notes:
Recently, Infosys Foundation announced Rs 1.5 crores Aarohan Social Innovation Awards (ASIA) to push innovation in social work following increase in funds under the government rules. The awards would be given in six categories including healthcare, rural development and destitute care. The purpose of the awards is to recognise and reward individuals, teams or NGOs that are developing unique solutions for the social sector that have the potential to positively impact the underprivileged in India, at scale. The application for the first edition of the awards would be available from October 15 till this year-end. Participants can submit entries describing their work in the form of videos that can be uploaded on the Aarohan social innovation awards website. Under the government rules, it is mandatory for certain categories of company to spend, in every financial year, at least 2% of the average net profits made during the three immediately preceding financial years, in pursuance of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy.

Notes:
The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has won the ‘ISSA Good Practice Award’ for Administrative Solution for Coverage Extension at the “Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the Pacific” held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia recently. The award recognizes the measures taken by ESIC for extension of coverage-SPREE (Scheme for Promoting Registration of Employers and Employees), reduced rate of contribution rates for 24 months in newly implemented areas and raising the wage limit for coverage under the ESI Act, etc. The ISSA (International Social Security Association) is the principal international organization for Social Security Organizations, Govternments & Departments of Social Security. The Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the Pacific is a triennial Forum, which is the most important social security event in the Region. The Forum provides unique opportunities to CEOs and Managers of ISSA Member Institutions to discuss key social security challenges and share their experiences.

Notes:
Well-known Malayalam poet Paloor Madhavan Namboothiri (86), popularly known as M N Paloor, has passed away at Kovoor, Kerala on October 9, 2018. Paloor, one of the early poets to have modern views, is the author of some of the finest Malayalam poems of the latter half of the 20th century. His poems traced the sufferings of mankind involving all the complexities of a highly urbanised system. He was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award for his autobiography ‘Kathayillathavante Katha’ in 2013. Some of his major collections include ‘Pedithondan,’ ‘Theerthayathra,’ ‘Bhangiyum Abhangiyum,’ ‘Sangamasangeetham,’ ‘Pachamanga’ and ‘Sarga Dhara’. Paloor won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, the state’s highest literary honour, in 1983 for his collection ‘Kalikalam’. He also received the Asan Prize for poetry in 2009.

Notes:
The Union government has constituted the high-level Strategic Policy Group (SPG) to assist the National Security Council (NSC), which advises the prime minister on matters of national security and strategic interests. The SPG will be chaired by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and its members include the NITI Aayog vice chairman, the cabinet secretary, the chiefs of the three defence services, the RBI governor, the foreign secretary, the home secretary, the finance secretary and the defence secretary. The secretary of the Department of Defence Production and Supplies, the scientific adviser to the defence minister and the secretary (R), Cabinet Secretariat will also be members of the panel. The group will assist the National Security Council and undertake among other tasks, a long-term strategic review of country’s security affairs.

Notes:
Jharkhand will be the partner state at Goa International Film Festival (GIFF-2018), which is scheduled to be held from 20th to 28th of November. The decision was taken recently in meeting between Secretary of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ,Mr. Amit Khare and Chief Secretary of Jharkhand, Sudhir Tripathy at Ranchi. This will allow Jharkhand to showcase its culture and favourable film making incentives announed by the state government. It was decided to open community radio station at every districts of Jharkhand. It was also decided to organize Jharkhand Film Festival (JFF), under Indian Panorama, in two towns of Jharkhand in the first month of next year.

Notes:
On October 9 , External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj launched the “India for Humanity” in New Delhi under which the Jaipur Foot artificial limb will be distributed free of cost to the needy across the world. The initiative is launched in collaboration with the charitable organization “Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti” (BMVSS) to honour Mahatma Gandhi’s service to humanity. ‘India for Humanity’ features a year-long series of artificial limb fitment camps in a number of countries spanning the globe to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The purpose of the initiative is to provide for the physical, economic and social rehabilitation of the differently-abled around the world by helping them regain their mobility and dignity to become self-respecting and productive members of society. The BMVSS was founded in 1975 & is better known by its trademark limb Jaipur Foot. It is among the world’s largest organisations for the fitment of artificial limbs and till date has served over 1.73 million amputees.

Notes:
On October 9, Weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga from Mizoram has scripted history by clinching India’s first-ever gold at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In Men’s 62kg Group A weightlifting, Jeremy posted successful attempts of 120kg and 124kg in snatch and 142kg and 150kg in clean & jerk. With his best successful attempts of 124kg in snatch and 150kg in clean & jerk for a combined 274kg, he won the gold medal.

Notes:
On October 9, Weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga from Mizoram has scripted history by clinching India’s first-ever gold at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In Men’s 62kg Group A weightlifting, Jeremy posted successful attempts of 120kg and 124kg in snatch and 142kg and 150kg in clean & jerk. With his best successful attempts of 124kg in snatch and 150kg in clean & jerk for a combined 274kg, he won the gold medal.

Notes:
The World Post Day (WPD) is observed every year on 9 October to mark the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern. It was declared World Post Day at the 1969 UPU Congress in Tokyo, Japan. The proposal was submitted by Anand Mohan Narula, a member of the Indian delegation. Since then, the day has been celebrated all over the world to highlight the importance of the postal services. The 2018 theme is: “Imagine you are a letter travelling through time. What message do you wish to convey to your readers?”. This year’s observance of World Post Day highlights the sector’s value not just for delivering the mail, but for delivering good.

Notes:
Javelin thrower Sandeep Chaudhary has clinched India’s first gold medal at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Para Games with a best throw of 60.01m in Indonesia on October 8, 2018. In the 49kg men’s powerlifting event, Farman Basha claimed the silver and Paramjeet Kumar won the bronze. Swimmer Devanshi Satijawon then picked up a silver in women’s 100 metre butterfly category and Suyash Jadhav clinched the bronze in the men’s 200 metre individual medley category. In Badminton, India lost to Malaysia 1-2 in the semifinals to settle for a bronze.