1. Russia’s Nuclear Submarine test fires Ballistic Missile from White Sea 

• Russia’s Knyaz Vladimir submarine of Borei-class vessel, test-fired its most advanced nuclear-powered missile named, Bulavaintercontinental ballistic missile which precisely hit the target range of 1000 km away in the Russian region of Kamchatka.
• The launch was conducted in the white sea of the northwest coast of Russia with a dummy payload.
• The Knyaz Vladimir submarine is the first upgraded model to be produced in the Borei class of Russian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
• The test-fire was conducted amid arms control tensions between Moscow and the West following the demise of a landmark Cold War-era nuclear pact.Sudan’s first-ever satellite for conducting research in military, economic and space technology has been launched by China.

2. Spanish capital Madrid to host COP 25

• The Spanish capital city of Madrid will host the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 25) from 2 to 13 December.
• The decision was taken following Chile’s stepping down as host for the event due to the ongoing street protests in the South American country.
• The annual Conference of the Parties (COP) summit is a key event which allows representatives from around 200 nations to monitor and discuss the current situation of the world’s warming climate.

3. Guyana to be fastest growing country in the world next year at 86%

• According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Guyana’s GDP is expected to be more at 86% in 2020 after expanding 4.4% in 2019.
• This growth expectation had done after Exxon Mobil Corp.’s discovery of oil at Guyana. Guyana’s economy will grow more than three times within five years.
  Guyana’ GDP is to get fourteen times as fast as China’s GDP in 2020. Guyana is projecting $300 million in petroleum revenue in 2020.
• It is a country of South America with 7,80,000 population and neighbour countries are brazil & Venezuela.
• The oil sector will represent about 40% of the economy within five years.
  It crosses $4billion annual Gross domestic product (GDP) and also it will expand to about $15 billion by 2024.

1. Disabled People over 80 can vote through Postal Ballot 

• The people over 80 years of age and Persons with Disability can now cast their votes through postal ballot.
• However, such voters will have both the choices available either voting through postal ballot – by following due procedure or going to the polling station on polling day for voting.
• On the recommendations of the Election Commission, the Ministry of Law and Justice has amended the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, allowing senior citizens and person with disabilities in the absentee voter list.
• The person will make an application in a new Form 12 D, which will reach the Returning Officer within 5 days following the date of notification of election.
• After the receipt of such application, the elector will be issued a postal ballot paper, which will be deposited in the specified centre after the recording of the vote.

2. Vice President inaugurates 21st North East Book Fair in Guwahati

• Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 21st North East Book Fair in Guwahati, Assam.
• Vice President laid stress on the use of the mother tongue and the relevance of books to stir one’s creativity and stimulate innovative and inventive ideas.
• This book fair was organized by the All Assam Publishers and Booksellers Association (AAPBA). There were as many as 217 bookstalls including one from Bangladesh.

3. Health Minister launched Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0 portal

• Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0 portal in New Delhi.
• This portal will start from December 2019 – March 2020. The IMI 2.0 is a rechristened version of mission Indhradanush Universal Immunization Programme(UIP) which aims to achieve 100% immunization.
• The portal was launched during the celebration of the silver jubilee of the Pulse Polio Programme.
• The health minister also launched Operational guidelines for ˜Strengthening immunization systems to reach every child’ and ‘Operational guidelines for Strengthening Td10 and Td16 vaccine implementation.Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 21st North East Book Fair in Guwahati, Assam.

4. AYUSH Minister Inaugurates (NRIUMSD)

• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH inaugurated National Research Institute of Unani Medicine for Skin Disorders (NRIUMSD) upgraded from Central Research Institute of Unani Medicine (CRIUM) at Erragadda, Hyderabad.
• AYUSH Minister lauded the success of the CRIUM in the treatment of vitiligo and other chronic and stubborn diseases and it’s perhaps the only medical institution in the world which has treated more than 1.5 lakh patients of Vitiligo alone.
• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH: Shripad Yesso Naik.
• Director-General, Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM): Asim Ali Khan.

5. Govt releases maps of newly-created UTs of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh

• The Government of India released the maps of newly created union territories of Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh and the map of India depicting these union territories.
• According to the Home Ministry, the new Union Territory of Ladakh consists of Kargil and Leh two districts. The rest of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir is in the new Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The maps prepared by Survey General of India depicting the new UTs of Jammu – Kashmir, and Ladakh, as created on October 31, 2019, along with the map of India.

6. First-ever movement of container cargo on Brahmaputra

• TThe first-ever containerised cargo movement via Indo-Bangladesh protocol route and Brahmaputra river will start from West Bengal’s Haldia.
• The vessel MV Maheshwari, carrying 53 containers of petrochemicals, edible oil and beverage will take 12-15 days to reach the IWAI (Inland Waterways Authority of India ) terminal at Pandu in Assam’s Guwahati.
• National Waterway 2 (NW-2) is a section of the Brahmaputra River having a length of 891 km between the Bangladesh border near Dhubri and Sadiya in Assam.

1. Kerala Governor inaugurates Ayurveda summit 

• Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan inaugurated the 3rd edition of Global Ayurveda Summit 2019.
• As many as 400 industry leaders and delegates from SAARC, GCC and African countries had gathered in Kochi for the Global Ayurveda Summit 2019.
• The two-day summit organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) deliberated on the theme “Mainstreaming Ayurveda through Startups, Innovation and Branding”. My Name is Ronak-Shah. Ronak’s Education  “BE”

2. Kolkata International Film Festival

• The 25th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) will start on November 8.
• Germany will the country in Focus during this festival. In all, 214 Feature Films and 152 Short and Documentary Films from 76 countries were screened at 17 venues.
• The important segment of the festival includes Homage, Centenary Tribute, Retrospective, Contemporary World Cinema.
• Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Noted Film Personality Kumar Sahani

3. Punjab Cabinet passes resolution to institute Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Award 

• Punjab State Cabinet passed a unanimous resolution to institute Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Award for Promotion of Peace and Interfaith Understanding, in commemoration of the 550th Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
• The award would carry a citation and a cash prize of 11 lakh rupees. This coveted award would be given each year and would be adjudicated by a jury to be notified by the State Government.
• Amarinder Singh launches first of its kind ‘Punjab job helpline’ for job seekers
• The Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh has launched a first of its kind job helpline number 76260-76260 for the unemployed youth of the state under ‘Ghar Ghar Rozgar’ programme.
• The helpline aims to reach every household in Punjab and is designed to call 75,000 mobile and landline numbers daily.
• In this process, a 110 – seat call centre of Punjab Job Helpline has also been created for the data to be prepared.

1. GeM signs MoU with Indian Bank and Canara Bank for payment related services 

• Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has signed MoU with Indian Bank and Canara Bank.
• The MoU will facilitate a cashless, paperless and transparent payment system on the portal and would create an efficient procurement system for government entities.
• Through this partnership, both the banks will be able to offer an array of services including transfer of funds through GeM Pool Accounts (GPA), advising of Performance Bank Guarantees (e-PBG), Earnest
• Money Deposit (EMD) and Payment Gateway to the registered users on the portal.
• MD & CEO of Indian Bank: Padmaja Chunduru.
• MD & CEO of Canara Bank: R A Sankara Narayanan.

2. IIT Delhi to set up space technology cell in collaboration with ISRO

• The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) will set up a space technology cell (STC) in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
• This collaboration is to contribute to the space technology research areas such as AI (Artificial Intelligence), nanotechnology, functional textiles, smart manufacturing at its campus.
• It is also proposed that IIT, Delhi as an Institute becomes an academic partner of ISRO.
• IIT Delhi Director: V Ramgopal Rao.
• ISRO Director: K.Sivan; Headquarters: Bengaluru; Established: 1969

3. Siemens signs MoUs with NTPC, TERI on decarbonisation, energy transition

• Siemens Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NTPC Limited to identify, evaluate and set up reference use cases of hydrogen sector-coupling for various upstream and downstream applications.
• The collaboration is aimed at developing innovative technologies, solutions and techniques to reduce the dependence on Hydrocarbons in India.
• Siemens Limited has also inked a separate MoU with TERI for collaboration on technologies to support the energy transition in India including sector-coupling.
• Among the objectives of the MoU with TERI is realizing the research and technology development projects to enable energy transitions across the electricity, transport and industrial sectors.
• Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of NTPC: Gurdeep Singh.
• Headquarters of NTPC: New Delhi.
• Director of TERI: Ajay Mathur; Headquarters of TERI: New Delhi.

1. Sanjeev Nandan Sahai appointed as Secretary, Ministry of Power 

• Sanjeev Nandan Sahai assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Power. Prior to this, he was serving as the Special Secretary in the Ministry of Power.
• He is a UT cadre IAS officer of 1986 batch. He has also served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of
• Power from May 2018 to July 2019. He will be replacing Subhash Chandra Garg.

2. Dhanlaxmi Bank MD, CEO T. Latha resigns

• Private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) T. Latha has resigned. The bank’s board has accepted the resignation.
• She was appointed as MD and CEO of Dhanlaxmi Bank for three years due to the retirement of former MD and CEO G Sreeram.
• Chairman of Dhanlaxmi Bank: Sanjeev Krishnan; Founded:1927.
• Headquarters: Thrissur, Kerala.

3. Aditya Mishra appointed as chairman of Land Ports Authority of India

• Senior IPS officer Aditya Mishra was appointed as the chairman of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI).
• He is 1989 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Mishra as the chairman of the LPAI on the recommendations of a search-cum-selection panel.
• He has been appointed for a period of five years from the date of assumption of the charge.
  LPAI develops, sanitises and manage the facilities for cross-border movement of passengers and goods at designated points along the international borders of India.
• Headquarters of LPAI: New Delhi; Founded: 2012.

4. IndusInd Bank appointed Sumant Kathpalia as new MD & CEO

• A private sector lender, IndusInd Bank has appointed its consumer banking head Suman Kathpalia, as its new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
• He will replace Romesh Sobti, who will be retired in March 2020. Before joining IndusInd Bank, Sumant Kathpalia headed consumer loans vertical at ABN Amro Bank and joined IndusInd Bank in 2008.
• Headquarters of IndusInd Bank: Mumbai; Founded:1994;
• Tagline: we make you feel richer.

1. Nawazuddin Siddiqui wins Golden Dragon Award at 2019 CIFF 

• Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been awarded the prestigious Golden Dragon Award for his works in Hindi cinema at the Cardiff International Film Festival (CIFF) 2019 held in Wales, United Kingdom.
• Veteran Hollywood star-actress Dame Judith Olivia Dench was also honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the ceremony.

2. Pepsico India wins US award for saving water

• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo presented the prestigious Award for Corporate Excellence to Pepsico India.
• This award is given for its efforts to save more than 17 billion of litres of water by conducting various community programs and replenished over 5 billion litres of water, by impacting 60,000 community members.
• This award is given by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.
  Chairman and CEO of Pepsico: Ramon Laguarta.

3. Rajinikanth to be honoured special Icon award at IFFI 

• The 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will honour superstar Rajinikanth with a special Icon of Golden Jubilee Award and the Life Time Achievement Award for a Foreign Artiste will be conferred to French Actress Isabelle Huppert.
• The festival will be held in Goa from November 20 to 28.
• Russia will be the partner country at the festival this year.

4. Neeraj Sharma wins ‘Early career researcher of the year 2019’ award 

• Indian-origin researcher Neeraj Sharma has been given the Early Career Researcher of the Year award’ by the Australian government.
• This award is given for developing next-generation battery systems such as a sodium-ion battery that will leave a minimal environmental impact.
• He is a professor at the University of South Wales (UNSW)’s School of Chemistry.
• Neeraj Sharma, considered one of the global leaders in the use of neutron and X-ray scattering methods, is also exploring inherently safe solid-state batteries, energy-dense lithium-sulfur batteries, dual function solar batteries and methods for recycling.

5. Writer Anand selected for 27th Ezhuthachan Puraskaram 2019 

• Noted writer Anand has been selected for the 27th Ezhuthachan Puraskaram 2019.
• This award is given by Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and the Government of Kerala.
• He was chosen for his overall contributions to Malayalam language and Literature.
• His real name is P. Satchidanandan uses the pseudonym, Anand.
• Anand retired as Planning director from the Central Water Commission in New Delhi.
• His native is Iringalakkuda, Thrissur at Kerala.
• His first novel was Alkkoottam.
• He is also a recipient of Vayalar Award and Yashpal Award.

6. Documentary on Real Kashmir Football Club bags BAFTA & Scotland Awards 

• The above documentary has bagged the prestigious British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) and Scotland Awards at a glittering ceremony in Glasgow, Scotland.
• The documentary narrates the journey of former Rangers ace David Robertson as the coach of Real Kashmir Football Club, which in its first season finished third in the I-League, which is currently India’s second-tier football league.
• The hour-long film won in the ‘Single Documentary’ category..

7. Sudarsan Pattnaik selected for Italian Golden Sand Art Award 

• International acclaimed Sand Artist Sudarsan Pattnaik who belongs to Odisha has been selected for the prestigious Italian Golden Sand Art Award 2019.
• He will be felicitated during the International Scorrana Sand Nativity festival in Italy which is to be held from November 13 to 18, 2019.
• He was honoured by the union government with the fourth highest civilian ‘Padma Shri’ award in 2014.

8. Madhuri Vijay’s debut novel ‘The Far Field’ wins 2019 JCB prize for Literature 

• U.S. based-Indian author Madhuri Vijay’s debut novel, “The Far Field” bagged this year’s JCB prize for Literature, the most expensive Indian award for writing.
• The novel, published by Fourth estate India, sets a complex personal story against the backdrop of the conflict in the 1990s in Kashmir.
• She also received the Rs 25 lakh as the prize money, a sculpture by Delhi artist duo Thukral & Tagra entitled Mirror Melting.
• JCB prize is an annual Indian literary award instituted in 2018. It is awarded to a distinguished work of fiction by an Indian writer working in English or to a translated fiction by an Indian writer.
• The award is funded by English construction manufacturing group JCB, which established the JCB Literature Foundation to maintain this award.
• In 2018, the JCB Prize for Literature was awarded to Jasmine Days by Benyamin, translated from Malayalam by Shahnaz Habib.

1. India-Uzbekistan 1st-ever joint military exercise Dustlik-2019 begins 

• The first-ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise Dustlik-2019 will begin at Chirchiq Training Area near Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
• The exercise, which will be focused on counter-terrorism, will continue till November 13.
• During the exercise, an Indian Army contingent will be trained along with Uzbekistan Army.
  The exercise will enable the sharing of best practices and experiences between the Armed Forces of the two countries and will lead to greater operational effectiveness.

1. Finance Minister launches two IT initiatives ICEDASH and ATITHI 

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled two new IT Initiatives ICEDASH and ATITHI for improved monitoring and pace of customs clearance of imported goods and facilitating arriving international passengers.
• ICEDASH is an Ease of Doing Business monitoring dashboard of the Indian Customs helping the public see the daily Customs clearance times of import cargo at various ports and airports.
• The ATITHI app will facilitate hassle-free and faster clearance by Customs at the airports and enhance the experience of international tourists and other visitors at the airports.

1. India drops to 106th in FIFA Men’s rankings 

• The Indian football team dropped two places to 106th position in the latest FIFA rankings.
• The downward slid came following the Blue Tigers’ 1-1 draw against lower-ranked Bangladesh in the FIFA World Cup qualifier earlier this month.
• Bangladesh, however, benefitted from the draw, jumping three rungs to 184th spot.
• Belgium has managed to hold on to the top spot, followed by France and Brazil.
• England is placed fourth ahead of Uruguay, Portugal, Croatia, Spain, Argentina and Colombia.

2. India to play first day-night Test with Bangladesh at Eden Gardens

• The Indian cricket team will play its first-ever Day-Night Test match against Bangladesh.
• The Test is scheduled to be held at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata from November 22-26 and will be the second game of a two-match series.
• The match will start at 2 pm (IST) and will comprise a Tea and Dinner break.
• SG pink balls will be used for the 1st time in Test cricket.
• BCCI President: Sourav Ganguly; Headquarters: Mumbai.

3. Mary Kom in IOC’s 2020 Olympics athlete ambassadors’ group 

• The 6-time world champion Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom has been inducted into the 10-member sports ambassador group by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Boxing workforce to represent boxers ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
• Mary Kom will represent the Asian bloc in the group, which also comprises the likes of Ukrainian legend Vasyl Lamachenko (Europe), a two-time Olympic and world gold-medallist who now plies his trade in the professional circuit, and five-time world champion and 2016 Olympic gold-winner Julio Cesar La Cruz (Americas) among others.
• Headquarters of IOC: Lausanne, Switzerland; President: Thomas Bach.
• Formation: 23 June 1894.

4. Maisnam Meiraba clinches Korea Jr Open Title 2019 

• India’s Maisnam Meiraba Luwang clinched the boys’ singles U-19 title at the Woncheon Yonex Korea Junior Open Badminton International Challenge 2019 in Miryang, Korea.
• The top seed Maisnam from Manipur needed just 36 minutes to brush aside the challenge of 15th seed Lee Hak Joo of Korea in a 21-10 21-13 win.
• Meanwhile, the eighth seed, Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, who had bowed out to Luwang 16-21, 22-24 in the semi-final claimed bronze in the same category.

5. Pooja Gehlot wins silver in UWW Under-23 World Championships 

• Pooja Gehlot (53kg) in wrestling claimed India’s second silver medal after going down to Japan’s Haruna Okuno in the finals of the UWW Under-23 World Championships in Budapest.
• She lost 0-2 to Okuno in the summit clash. Ravinder (61kg), had won India’s first silver earlier this week.

6. Novak Djokovic won the Paris Masters 2019 title 

• Novak Djokovic won the Paris Masters 2019 title. He won the title for the fifth time.
• He sealed his 34th Master’s title and fifth overall ATP victory of the year 2019.
• He defeated Canada’s Denis Shapovalov. He secured 6-3 6-4 to win the title.
• Lakshya Sen wins SaarLorLux Open badminton tournament
• India’s Lakshya Sen has won the SaarLorLux Open badminton tournament at Saarbrücken in Germany.
• He defeated Sen Weng Hong Yang of China. Lakshya, seeded eighth, needed 59 minutes to overcome Weng 17-21 21-18 21-16 in the summit clash for his third successive singles title of the season.

7. South Africa wins Rugby World Cup 2019 

• South Africa defeated England’s team by 32-12 scores in the final of the 9 edition of Rugby World Cup 2019 held at International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan.
• This was for the 3rd time the South African(SA) team reached the final of the World Cup and won the tournament.
• The SA team, which won the World Cup for the first time in 1995, also won the final in 2007.
  With this, the team also equalled New Zealand’s record of winning the World Cup three times.

1. 35th ASEAN Summit begins in Bangkok 

• The 35th ASEAN Summit began in Bangkok, Thailand from October 31 to 4 November.
• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a group of ten member countries that encourages political, economic and social co-operation in the region.
• The theme of the summit for this year is “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”.
• Apart from leaders of 10 ASEAN countries head of Eight dialogue partner countries including India, USA, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand are also participating in the summit.
• East Asia Summit (EAS) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Summit (RCEP) will be also held on the side lines of 35th ASEAN Summit.
• 10 ASEAN member countries: Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Laos.

2. Sri Lanka hosts biennial Commonwealth Law Ministers (CLM) Conference

• The biennial Commonwealth Law Ministers’ Conference is being held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 4-7 November 2019. India will be represented at the conference by Union Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad.
• The theme for the 2019 CLM Conference is ‘Equal Access to Justice and the Rule of Law’.
• The Conference seeks to address challenges faced by millions of people seeking to resolve legal disputes.
• These include barriers such as poverty, lack of legal aid, distrust of the justice system and corruption.

1. World’s first blockchain-based carbon trading exchange in Singapore 

• Singapore-based AirCarbon Pte launched the worlds’ first blockchain-based carbon trading exchange.
• This will allow airlines and other corporate buyers to buy as well sell tokens backed by carbon offset credits approved by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
• The company is applying to the Monetary Authority of Singapore for a recognized market operator license and targets for the exchange to be fully operational in 2020.

2. India to adopt Brazil model of human milk bank

• India has taken inspiration from Brazil’s success in the field of human milk bank decided to adopt a similar model in creating a wide network of human milk banks.
• The Centre has set a target of ensuring at least 70 per cent infants to have access to breast milk by the year 2025.
• Target will subsequently be increased to 100 per cent.

3. Air India paints ‘Ek Onkar’ symbol on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft’s

• National Carrier Air India has painted ˜Ek Onkar’ symbol on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft’s tail to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
• The aircraft will fly on October 31 from Amritsar to London. The international flight will facilitate Sikh pilgrims visiting Punjab on the occasion of the Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

4. UNESCO designates Mumbai and Hyderabad as member of UCCN

• UNESCO has designated Mumbai as a member of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the field of FILM and Hyderabad in the field of GASTRONOMY.
• The 7 categories for recognition under UCCN are Crafts and Folk Arts, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Music, Media Arts and Literature.
• Previously, 3 Indian cities were recognized as members of UCCN, namely- Jaipur-Crafts and Folk Arts (2015), Varanasi-Creative city of Music (2015), Chennai-Creative city of Music (2017).
• UCCN, created in 2004, is a network of cities which are thriving, active centres of cultural activities in their respective countries. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network now counts a total of 246 cities.
• UNESCO President: Audrey Azoulay; Founded: 16 November 1945.
• Headquarters: Paris, France.

5. Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurates Guru Nanak Chair at University of Birmingham

• HUnion Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs has inaugurated a new Guru Nanak Chair by the support of Indian government, at the University of Birmingham to enable research around the teachings of the founder of the Sikh religion.
  He announced the new Chair to mark the 550th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak.

6. IFFCO introduces India’s first nanotechnology-based products for on-field trials

• The world’s largest fertilizer cooperative Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) introduced India’s 1st nanotechnology-based product range by introducing Nano Nitrogen, Nano Zinc, Nano Copper for on-field trials at an event held at its Kalol unit in Gujarat.
• The products were produced at IFFCO’s Nano Biotechnology Research Centre (NBRC) in Kalol unit.
• The first phase of the launch was tested with support from Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK)/Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• These nanostructured formulations effectively deliver nutrients to the plants.
• Other benefits of these Nano-products include a reduction in the requirement of conventional chemical fertilizer by 50%, up to 15-30% increase in crop production, improvement in soil health, reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases.
• Managing Director of IFFCO: Uday Shankar Awasthi.
• Founded: 3 November 1967; Headquarters: New Delhi.

1. Veteran Telugu Actress Geetanjali passes away 

• Popular Telugu actress Geetanjali, who is remembered for her role as Goddess Sita in Sitarama Kalyanam, passed away.

• The actress starred in about 500 films and some of her other memorable films include Doctor Chakravarti, Letha Manasulu and Sambarala Rambabu.

2. Film producer Champak Jain passes away

• He was one of the owners of Venus Records and Tapes who produced hit films like the 1994 blockbuster Main Khiladi Tu Anari starring Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar.

3. French Resistance member & Nazi camps survivor Yvette Lundy passes away 

• French Resistance legend & Nazi camps survivor Yvette Lundy who helped Jewish prisoners of war to escape prison during the Nazi occupation of France passed away at the age of 103.
• She was born on 22 April 1916 in France, Yvette was made Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, which is one of the highest decorations in France.

4. Retired judge of Madras HC, N.V. Balasubramanian passes away 

• Justice N.V. Balasubramanian, retired Judge of Madras High Court passed away.
• He served as the Madras High Court judge from 1996 2007 & as the Chairman of committees on fixation of fee for self-financing professional colleges and polytechnics after retiring from service.
• He worked as senior counsel & arbitrator in Supreme Court (SC) of India for 11 years.

5. Former President of FICCI & Industrialist K.K. Modi passes away 

• Former President of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Chairman of Modi Enterprises Krishnan Kumar Modi(K.K.Modi) passed away.
• He was also the president of the confederation of Asia-pacific chambers of commerce and industry from 2002 to 2006. He hailed from Patiala district, Punjab.