1 India succeeded in eliminating trachoma as a public health problem this year: World Health Organization
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that India has succeeded in eliminating trachoma as a public health problem this year. With this, India has become the third country in the South East Asia region to achieve this feat. WHO officially certified India’s achievement during its regional committee meeting in New Delhi. Trachoma is a bacterial infectious disease that affects the eyes and spreads through the secretions of the eyes, eyelids, nose or throat of an infected person. During 1950-60, this disease was one of the major causes of blindness in India. The government launched the National Trachoma Control Programme in 1963 to prevent its spread .
2 John J Hopfield and Geoffrey E Hinton will receive Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize for Physics 2024 has been announced on 8 October . This year the prize will be given to Jeffrey E. Hinton, known as the godfather of AI, and American scientist John J. Hopfield . The announcement of the winners for the Nobel Prize 2024 has started from 7 October, which will continue till 14 October. The Nobel Prize was jointly awarded to Hopfield and Hinton for their ‘ foundational discoveries and inventions that made machine learning possible with artificial neural networks ‘. This year’s award winners have created methods using the tools of physics that helped lay the foundation for today’s powerful machine learning. John Hopfield has created a structure that can store and reconstruct information. Jeffrey Hinton has invented a method that can independently discover properties in any data. This has become essential for the large artificial neural networks in use. The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Pierre Augustini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne Hullier.
3 The 70th National Award Ceremony was held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi
On 8 October, the 70th National Film Awards were given at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi . President Draupadi Murmu gave awards and honours to all the winners. Mithun Chakraborty was honoured with the most prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award of the film world this year . This year, the National Award for Best Choreographer has been taken back from Jani Master , who was accused of raping a minor assistant . This is the first time that a National Award has been taken back from an artist. Rishabh Shetty was awarded Best Actress for the Kannada film Kantara , Nithya Menon for the Tamil film Thiruchitramblam and Manasi Parekh for Best Actress.
4 National Conference-Congress government in Jammu and Kashmir
The result of Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections on 8 October has come. National Conference (NC) and Congress alliance government is going to be formed. The alliance has got 48 seats . BJP won 29 seats and PDP got 3 seats. Aam Aadmi Party, JPC and CPI (M) got one seat each. 7 independents also won. The majority figure in the 90-seat assembly is 46. Voting was conducted in three phases for 90 assembly seats of Jammu and Kashmir. The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir will nominate five MLAs. This number will increase to 95 if 5 MLAs are nominated. 63.88% voting took place in 3 phases from 18 September to 1 October in Jammu and Kashmir. 65% voting took place in the elections held 10 years ago in 2014. This time 1.12% less voting took place.
5 BJP’s hat-trick in Haryana
The results of Haryana assembly elections were completely unexpected. Defying all the exit polls and claims of anti-incumbency, this time too BJP is going to form the government in the state won 48 seats in the 90-member assemblyCongress has got 37 seats , Indian National Lok Dal has got Three seatshave been won by independent candidates. The results make it clear that BJP will form the government in the state.
6 ‘Malabar – 2024’ naval exercise begins
The ‘ Malabar 2024’ naval exercise began on 8 October in Visakhapatnam , Andhra Pradesh . This international naval exercise will take place till 18 October 2024.India hosting Malabar-2024 Australia, Japan and the US in this exercise . Malabar started in 1992 as a small exercise between just India and the US. Japan joined the Malabar exercise in 2015, making it a trilateral naval exercise. In 2020, the Australian Navy joined the Malabar exercise, making it a quadrilateral naval exercise.
7 Agreement signed with NCERT and Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) NCERT signed an agreement with Amazon Seller Services Private Limited on 7 October NCERT textbooks will be made available at printed prices. These books will be made available at about 20,000 pin codes across the country. Apart from this, NCERT will increase the publication of books three times and will publish 15 crore books during the academic year 2025-26. Also, interactive and AI-based e-books will be developed with the aim of making learning joyful for 300 million students, including innovations like talking books. Students and schools will be able to buy textbooks at fixed prices even in remote areas through Amazon’s vast distribution network. This will solve challenges like shortage and delay in supply and ensure equal access to education. Only original NCERT textbooks will be sold on this platform, which will help curb the sale of pirated NCERT textbooks. Amazon will help NCERT monitor and remove unauthorised sellers who distribute fake or overpriced books.
8 Reserve Bank of India announces scholarship scheme for faculty members of educational institutions
The Reserve Bank of India has announced a scholarship scheme for faculty members of academic institutions . Under the scheme , full-time faculty members teaching economics or finance subjects in any University or college in India recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) or AICTE are eligible to apply for short-term research . The areas of research covered for the scholarship are monetary and financial economics, banking, real sector issues and other topics of interest to the RBI . The scheme aims to increase awareness about RBI activities among faculty and students by providing them exposure to various operational areas within the RBI. A maximum of five scholarships will be awarded to candidates shortlisted on the basis of their CV, research proposal of not more than one thousand words and interview conducted by the selection panel.
9 Caribbean Premier League: St Lucia Kings beat Guyana Amazon Warriors to win their maiden title
St Lucia Kings defeated Guyana Amazon Warriors by 6 wickets to win their first Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title. In the final match played at Providence Stadium in Guyana, Guyana Amazon Warriors, captained by Imran Tahir, scored 138 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Dwayne Pretorius scored the highest 25 runs. Noor Ahmed took 3 wickets for the Kings. In response, St Lucia Kings, captained by Faf du Plessis, chased the score with 11 balls to spare. Roston Chase was named Player of the Match for his brilliant performance, while Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmed was awarded the Player of the Series for his excellent bowling throughout the tournament.
10 ‘Humsafar Policy’ launched in New Delhi
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari launched the ‘ Humsafar Policy ‘ in New Delhi to enhance travel comfort on National Highways and accelerate development of wayside amenities . Addressing the event, Shri Gadkari said the scheme will benefit the local marginalized sections of the society. He said the scheme will facilitate smooth, safe and pleasant travel. Shri Gadkari also highlighted that the policy will be environment friendly, formulated with a perspective of ecology and cleanliness.
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