National
‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ (Education at Doorstep) scheme
⇒ Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin launched the ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ (Education at Doorstep) scheme at a function held in Villupuram district on 27 October 2021.
Objective:
The main objective of the ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ scheme was to address the learning gap that had arisen among students due to the closure of schools during the Covid-induced lockdowns in the state.
Faizabad Railway Station has been Renamed
⇒ The name of Faizabad (FD) Railway Station in Lucknow Division of Northern Railway has been changed to Ayodhya Cantt (station code: AYC) with immediate effect.
In October, the Uttar Pradesh government led by CM Yogi Adityanath had decided to rename Faizabad railway station.
UP government has also changed the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj and Mughalsarai railway junction as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay junction.
Secretary, Department of Biotechnology
⇒ Dr Rajesh Gokhale, a professor of Biology at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Biotechnology.
Dr Gokhale has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Biotechnology for a period of two years.
Gokhale assumed the office after the superannuation of Dr Renu Swarup.
Pragati Operating System for 'JioPhone Next'
⇒ Jio Platforms and Google have jointly developed the Pragati operating system for JioPhone Next.
Pragati OS – Pragati stands for progress – is powered by Android, is a result of this passionate effort bringing together the best minds at Jio and Google.
JioPhone Next has a translation feature working in 10 Indian languages. The phone uses a language translation tool as a special feature to enable communication between vernacular speakers in India.
International
India’s official entry for Oscars 2022
⇒ Tamil drama Koozhangal (Pebbles), directed by filmmaker Vinothraj PS, has been selected as India’s official entry for the 94th Academy Awards.
Koozhangal had won the top honour, the Tiger Award for best film, at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), earlier this year.
- The 94th Academy Awards are scheduled to take place on March 27, 2022 in Los Angeles.
GPEA 2021 and AIBP 2021 Award
⇒ Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, has won the Global Performance Excellence Award (GPEA) 2021 and International Best Practice Award (AIBP) 2021–Platinum category from The Asia Pacific Quality Organization (APQO).
About Award:
- The GPEA was instituted by APQO, which is the only formal international recognition of performance or business excellence incorporated, and headquartered in New Zealand.
- The AIBP award was introduced in 2019 that provides opportunity to GPEA applicants to participate and compete for recognition of best practices.
Sports
2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships
⇒ The 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships were held in Belgrade, Serbia from 25 October to 6 November, 2021.
India won a total of 1 bronze medal in the championships.
» Akash Kumar won the Bronze medal in the Bantamweight event, becoming the 7th Indian male boxer ever.
Akash endured a 5-0 loss against Kazakhstan’s Makhmud Sabyrkhan in the 54kg category.
2021 Denmark Open
⇒ The 2021 Denmark Open was a badminton tournament that took place from 19 to 24 October 2021 at the Odense Sports Park in Odense, Denmark.
Winners:
Mixed doubles:
- Yuta Watanabe (Japan)
- Arisa Higashino (Japan)
Men’s singles:
Viktor Axelsen (Denmark)
Men’s doubles:
- Takuro Hoki (Japan)
- Yugo Kobayashi (Japan)
Women’s singles:
Akane Yamaguchi (Japan)
Women’s doubles:
- Huang Dongping (China)
- Zheng Yu (China)