1. BRICS sign Moscow Declaration for supporting multilateral science project 

(i) The third meeting of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS)Ministers for Science, Technology and Innovation was recently held in Moscow. 

(ii) Wherein  the member countries agreed to co-invest for resources in support of multilateral research and development on mutually agreed areas. 

(iii) The Indian delegation which was led by union minister  for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan signed a joined declaration with other member countries termed as the ‘Moscow Declaration’. The declaration reflects BRICS partnership in addressing common global and regional socio-economic challenges through the use of science, technology and IT. 

2.   Magufuli elected as the President of Tanzania 

(i) John Magufuli, member of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ruling party won the presidential elections in Tanzania. 

(ii) He defeated his opponent Edward Lowassa in the elections, thereby extending the rule of his party for the next five years. 

(iii) The Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ruling party has been in power in Tanzania since its independence in 1961 and now Magufuli will replace outgoing President Jakaya Kikwete.

3.  Pakistan loses its re-election at UN Human Right Council

(i) Pakistan recently lost in a re-election to one of top United Nations (UN) human body rights body. It  could  only arena 105 votes of the total 193 member countries at the General Assembly. 

(ii) The UN Geneal Assembly elected 18 member countries on the UN Human Rights Council and the new members will start their term from January 1, 2016 and continue for the next three years. 

(iii) The new members are Belgium, Burundi, Cte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Germany, Kenya, Panama, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Togo, Slovenia, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

4.   India lags behind China in average gender diversity at MNC

(i) As per the latest study released by Zinnov, the average gender diversity in multinational    companies’ Indian R&D centres at 21% with the global average is 31%.  

(ii) The average gender diversity reported in China, is 30% which is relatively better better. The study cites marriage, maternity, and spouse’s relocation and family problems as top reasons for  the high attrition among women employees. 

(iii) It adds that cultural factors are more to blame in India, wherein women are encouraged to take up support  job roles this explains why the women in top positions(8%) are less than those at the junior level(23%) in India.

5.    Indian sanitation activist Bindeshwar Pathak honoured with the US humanitarian award

(i) Renowned Indian sanitation activist Bindeshwar Pathak recently won the New York Global Leader Dialogue humanitarian award for his contribution to sanitation and enhancing the quality of life for millions of manual scavengers. 

(ii) The award will be presented to Pathak in April 2016. Bindeshwar Pathak is a social activist and founder of ‘Sulab International’ which primarily works in construction of toilets based on innovative design and is also leading a movement to discourage manual cleaning of human waste.

6.  Bombay High Court directs NEERI to study pollution of River Godavari during Kumbh  Mela  

(i) The Bombay High Court asked the the National Environmental Engineering ResearchInstitute (NEERI) to study the pollution of River Godavari caused during the Kumbh Mela, in Nasik which began in July 2015.

(ii) In addition the court also directed concerned authorities not to release water from Godavari as it may have been polluted. 

(iii) The division bench was headed by Justice Abhay Oak and asked NEERI to head a committee to study the pollution in the river Godavari caused by the Shahi Snaan during the Kumbh Mela.

7.    Facebook partners with BSNL to create 100 rural Wifi hotspots 

(i) Facebook partnered with state owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) to create 100 WiFi hotspots in rural India with a view to increase the digital penetration in the country. 

(ii) Facebook will invest Rs 5 crore per annum for buying bandwidth from BSNL in his joint  initiative. 

(iii) Nearly 25 villages will be covered under the Pilot programme in southern and western India  and the project is likely to be scaled up and extended from a current three year partnership.

8.   P K Gupta elevated as MD of SBI 

(i) P K Gupta was elevated as the Managing Director (MD) of State Bank of India (SBI) recently. 

(ii) He is to replace corporate banking head P Pradeep Kumar. Presently Gupta, is managing director of the bank’s investment banking arm — SBI Caps.

9.   Rashtriya Ekta Divas celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Vallabhbhai Patel 

(i) On the occasion of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 140th birth anniversary,  PM Narendra Modi and other members of the Parliament paid tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Central Hall of Parliament on October 31. 

(ii) All over India, states are celebrated ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ to commemorate this day.

10.  Karnataka state govt to honour a transgender with the prestigious Rajyotsava Award

(i) In a first, the Karnataka government choose a transgender for the prestigious Rajyotsava Award in the social service category. 

(ii)  Akkai Padmashali, who was announced as the winner is to receive the award on November 1  which includes Rs. 1 lakh, a 20-gram gold medal and a citation.

(iii)  Along with her,  a few of the other 60 personalities chosen for the award include Indian Space  Research Organisation Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar, cricketer Vinay Kumar, writer Aryambha  Pattabhi, the former judge A.J. Sadashiva, film actors ‘Sowcar’ Janaki, Sadashiva Brahmavar,  Shani Mahadevappa and Sadhu Kokila, and theatre actor H.G. Somashekara Rao.

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