Notes:
The India International Silk Fair (IISF-2018) has inaugurated by Union Minister Smriti Irani at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on October 16. The fair will give a platform to exporters to display their products and to overseas buyers an opportunity to place orders and source their merchandise. In it, over 108 exhibitors of silk and blended silk will display their produce. Over 218 buyers from various countries will participate in the 3-day fair. Artisans from Jammu & Kashmir and north-east will showcase their unique products from their region which will be an added attraction for buyers. The IISF-2018 is expected to generate business of over $20 million for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) engaged in producing silk and blended silk garments, fabrics, accessories and floor covering. India is the second largest producer of silk in the world. The country’s silk industry is agriculture based and labour intensive and provides gainful employment to around eight million artisans and weavers in rural areas.

Notes:
Prema Gopalan, founder of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), has been honored as the India Social Entrepreneur of the Year (SEOY) 2018 for her work in promoting women’s entrepreneurship at the grassroots and ensuring rural livelihood. The SSP model comprises four ventures: a federated network of 5,000 self-help groups; a resilience fund for women-led businesses; a rural school of entrepreneurship and leadership for women; and a market aggregator that provides warehousing, branding, marketing and distribution services to last-mile business women. The SEOY award was jointly founded by Jubilant Bhartia Foundation and Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship in 2010. It recognizes promising and high-impact social entrepreneurs who implement practical and sustainable solutions. The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a sister organization of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Notes:
Priyank Kanoongo has been appointed the new Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for a period of 3 years. The post of chairperson fell vacant after Stuti Kacker’s tenure ended on September 16, 2018. The NCPCR is a statutory body, which was set up by an Act of Parliament in 2007 under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005.

Notes:
The 4th edition of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Relays 2019 will be hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama (near Tokyo), which is scheduled to begin from May 11-12, 2019. The 2019 edition of IAAF World Relays will serve as a qualifier for the 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Top 12 teams in world rankings will be qualified for the competitions in Doha while the best eight will make their way to Tokyo.

Notes:
The 6th RCEP Inter-sessional Ministerial Meeting (IMM) was held in Singapore on 12-13 October, 2018. The Ministers from 16 RCEP countries discussed modern, comprehensive and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement among ASEAN and ASEAN’s FTA partners. The Indian delegation was led by CR Chaudhary, the Minister of State for Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. The meeting also reviewed developments since the 6th RCEP Ministerial Meeting held in August 2018 in Singapore. The RCEP stands for “Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership”. It is a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the 10 member states of the ASEAN (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six Asia-Pacific states with which ASEAN has existing free trade agreements (Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand).

Notes:
Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas is celebrated every year on 15th of October to increase active participation of women in agriculture & allied sectors. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh will address the function in New Delhi this afternoon. Women farmers, entrepreneurs, farming organizations, agricultural scientists and researchers from different states will participate in the event. In 2016, the Ministry had decided to observe 15th of October as Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas. Women are contributing invarious aspects of agriculture including sowing, planting, fertilizing, plant protection, harvesting, weeding, and storage.

Notes:
Paul Allen (65), who co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Bill Gates, has passed away in Seattle on October 15 , 2018. In 1975, they founded the Microsoft at Albuquerque in New Mexico to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800 hobby-kit personal computer. It was Allen who came up with the name Microsoft and had left the company in 1983. After that, he became the billionaire philanthropist who invested in conservation, space travel, arts and culture and professional sports. Allen was on the list of America’s wealthiest people who pledged to give away the bulk of their fortunes to charity. At the time of his death, he ranked 44th on Forbes’ 2018 list of billionaires with an estimated net worth of more than $20 billion.

Notes:
The SRiX Agri-Business Academy, which is an Indo-UK collaborative initiative, has been launched at SR Innovation Exchange (SRiX) Campus in Warangal. It is India’s first agri and food business online learning platform and was launched by Andrew Fleming, the British Deputy High Commissioner at Hyderabad. SRiX is a technology business incubator under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. It is focused on startups in Agriculture, Cleantech and IoT. Sarras Academies Ltd (a UK-based company) and SriX have joined hands to launch the Academy. This highlights the collaboration between Telangana and UK.

Notes:
The 14th edition of the Men’s Hockey World Cup will be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar from 28 November to 16 December, 2018. Turtle Olly has been declared as the official mascot of 2018 tournament at the Puri sea beach in Odisha. Alongside the promotion of the event, the mascot aims to raise awareness about the conservation of the Olive Ridley turtle, which is said to be on the verge of extinction in the state of Odisiha. From the games perspective, Olly personifies the spirit of sportsmanship and encourages the participants to play the sport with complete fairness and in the right spirit. In the 18-day mega event, 16 countries are participating including India.

Notes:
The International Day of Rural Women is celebrated every year on 15th of October to recognize the crucial role of women and girls in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing. The 2018 theme “Sustainable infrastructure, services and social protection for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls”, places empowerment of rural women at the heart of fulfilling the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs. To mark this day, UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres stated that the empowerment of rural women and girls is essential to building a prosperous, equitable and peaceful future for all on a healthy planet.