Notes:
Suraj Panwar has won the India’s first medal in athletics at the Youth Olympic Games 2018 after claiming the silver in the men’s 5000m race walk event at the Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was India’s third overall medal in athletics in the history of the Youth Olympic Games.

Notes:
Recently, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has officially adopted a proposal to rename the historic city of Allahabad as Prayagraj. The city was known as Prayag before 16th-century Mughal emperor Akbar built a fort near the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna and named it “Ilahabad”. His grandson Shah Jahan renamed the entire city “Allahabad”. An area near the confluence of the river continues to be known as Prayag. The confluence of two rivers is a ‘prayag’, and in Allahabad three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati meet. Hence, it is the king of ‘prayags’. That is why it is ‘Prayagraj’. Now, the proposal will now go to the Centre before the city is officially renamed even though an Uttar Pradesh minister seemed to suggest the change has already come into effect.

Notes:
India has been ranked as the 58th most competitive economy on the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) for 2018. The WEF stated that India’s rank rose by five places from 2017, the largest gain among G20 economies. On the list of 140 economies, the US topped the list followed by Singapore and Germany. As per the report, India leads the region in all other areas of competitiveness except for health, education and skills. It further added that India has invested more heavily on transport infrastructure and services. As per the report, India’s greatest competitive advantages include its market size and innovation. Among the BRICS economies, China topped the list at 28th place. India, however, remained the “South Asia’s main driving force”. The GCI 4.0 is a composite indicator that assesses the set of factors that determine an economy’s level of productivity – widely considered as the most important determinant of long-term growth.

Notes:
Canada has officially become the 2nd Country in the world to legalize the recreational use of marijuana nationwide after Uruguay. The Cannabis Act (or Bill C-45) came into force on 17th October 2018. The new regulations aim to protect public health and safety by allowing adults access to legal cannabis and is a social experiment that the rest of the world will be carefully watching. Marijuana is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant intended for medical or recreational use. With this, Canada has also became the the first G7 nation to legalize the drug’s recreational use. It must be noted that the use of medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001. The Group of Seven (G7) is a group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Notes:
The World Students’ Day (WSD) is observed every year on 15th of October to mark the birth anniversary of former President of India and great scientist Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Dr. Kalam was also the great author. Among his books are: ‘Wings of Fire’, ‘My journey’, ‘Ignited Minds – Unleashing the power within India’ and ‘India 2020 – A Vision for the New Millennium’. In 2015 the United Nations declared 15 October “World Students’ Day”. The day is a celebration of multiculturalism, diversity and cooperation among students across the globe.

Notes:
On October 17, the 8th edition of the European Congress on SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) has started at Kotawice, Poland with theme “Business-Self-Government Together for Economy”. The SMEs from around 50 countries are participating in the 3-day event. From India, Ms. Alka Arora (Joint Secretary in Ministry of MSME) is leading the delegation of 32 Indian SMEs. In order to fructify the opportunities for Indian SMEs, the Congress will be anopportunity to make direct business relations between European and Indian SMEs. The visiting Indian delegation is also expected to showcase Indian products and services at the Expo in the Indian Pavilion.

Notes:
The 3rd edition of Bihu festival, which is also known as Kati Bihu or Kongali Bihu, was celebrated to bring peace and prosperity in Assam. On the occasion of Kati Bihu, women, both in urban and rural areas, try to ward off evil and pray for a rich harvest by lighting earthen lamps. The festival derives its name from the Assamese month of Kati. This is a much sombre festival when compared to the other two Bihu festivals of the state – the Rongali and Bohagi Bihu. The festival is held at this time of the year since the granaries of the farmers usually remain empty and therefore it is known as Kongali (poor) Bihu. As a part of the festival, farmers also tie a special kind of lamp, known as Akash Bati, to poles and the poles are placed in the paddy fields.

Notes:
China has officially opened the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, which connects the Chinese city of Zhuhai to the semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau. It includes an undersea tunnel allowing ships to pass through the Pearl River delta, the heart of China’s manufacturing sector. The 34-mile-long bridge forms a physical link between the mainland and Hong Kong, an Asian financial hub that was handed over from British to Chinese control in 1997 with the assurance it would maintain its own legal and economic system for 50 years. The bridge is part of China’s plan to create a Greater Bay Area, including Hong Kong, Macau and nine other cities in southern China. The area is currently home to 68 million people. In the past, travelling between Zhuhai and Hong Kong would take up to four hours – the new bridge cuts this down to 30 minutes. It costs about $20bn and build in almost a decade.

Notes:
In Cameroon, Paul Biya, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1982, won the 7th presidential term with a landslide victory in a controversial presidential election on October 23, 2018. According to the Constitutional Council of the country, Biya had won 71.3% of the ballot in the October 7 presidential election, marred by allegations of widespread fraud, a low turnout and violence in the poll run-up. The President of Cameroon is elected by first-past-the-post voting; the candidate with the most votes is declared the winner with no requirement to achieve a majority. Biya is currently the longest-ruling non-royal leader in Africa and the oldest ruler in Sub-Saharan Africa after Robert Mugabe stepped down during the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d’état.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has recently constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine the existing legal and institutional frameworks for dealing with matters of sexual harassment of women at the workplace. It will be chaired by the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The GoM will recommend action required for effective implementation of the existing provisions, as well as for strengthening the existing legal and institutional frameworks for addressing issues related to sexual harassment at workplace. Beside this, the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD) has also launched an Electronic Complaints Box ‘SHe-Box’ that enables women, irrespective of their work status, to raise their voice against sexual harassment at workplace.