19 october 2021 current affairs

1. CURRENT AFFAIRS
19 OCTOBER 2021
Dr. A. PRABAHARAN
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2. Russia closes NATO missions as relations with
western military bloc plunge to new low
 Russia announced on October 18, 2021, that it was suspending its mission
to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and will be closing the
alliance’s office in Moscow, as the relations with the western military bloc
plunged to new depths.
 Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov announced the decision after
NATO expelled several members of Moscow’s delegation to the alliance for
alleged spying.
 Lavrov said, “Following the certain measures taken by NATO, the basic
conditions for common work no longer exist.”
 Russia’s Foreign Minister further added that NATO has already greatly
reduced its contacts with Russia’s mission and that the alliance is no longer
interested in dialogue and work as equals.
 However, Lavrov informed that in case of urgent matters NATO can liaise via
the Russian Ambassador in Belgium.
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3. Uttarakhand Floods: Heavy rains, flooding kill
16; IMD says rainfall to reduce
 The death toll has reached 16 as of October 19 in Uttarakhand
which has been struck by incessant rains, landslides, cloudburst,
and flooding for the third consecutive day. The Ramgarh area
of the Nainital district reported a cloudburst while the Naini
Lake is reported to be overflowing and gushing through the
streets in the state.
 All three roads leading to the hill station have been blocked
due to landslides.
 Several houses and an under-construction bridge got washed
away over the raging Chalthi river in Champawat. Several
people including labourers from Nepal died after rubble
flowing down from a field due to rains fell on them.
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4. Indian Army team wins gold in Cambrian
Patrol exercise in UK
 The Indian Army has won a gold medal at the Cambrian Patrol
Exercise held at Brecon, Wales, United Kingdom, from October 13
to October 15, 2021.
 The Army competed against 96 teams which included 17
international teams representing the special forces and regiments
from all over the world.
 The Indian Army was represented by a team from 4/5 Gorkha
Rifles (Frontier Force) at the prestigious exercise.
 General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, the Chief of General Staff of the
British Army presented the Gold Medal to the team members of
the Indian Army in a formal ceremony which was held on October
15, 2021.
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5. Kerala Flood 2021: Idukki dam shutters opened for first time after
2018, Orange alert issued in many districts
 The shutters of the Idukki dam over the Periyar river in Kerala were
opened on October 19, 2021 amid efforts to ease the pressure on the
structure caused due to heavy rainfall in the state.
 Three warning sirens were sounded early in the morning from 10.50
am before the local dam authorities opened the first of the three
shutters of the Cheruthoni dam flanking the main Idukki arch dam
and its massive reservoir.
 Two more of the five shutters of Cheruthoni dam were opened by 35
cm in due course to release water that had reached the height of
2398.08 ft.
 The maximum permissible water level in the dam is 2403 ft. The
shutters of the dam were opened as per the Kerala state government's
plan to release the water in small amounts after its levels crossed the
danger mark.

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6. Mount Harriet in Andaman and Nicobar to
be named Mount Manipur
 The Government of India, as a tribute to the freedom fighters of
Manipur, has decided to rename Mount Harriet as Mount
Manipur. Mount Harriet is an island peak in Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.
 The announcement was made by the Union Home Minister Amit
Shah while he was addressing a public function at Port Blair in
Andaman and Nicobar Islands on October 16, 2021.
 The Union Government has also announced that it will assist the
Manipur state government in constructing a memorial site at
Mount Manipur in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
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7. Rojgar Bazaar 2.0: Delhi govt set to launch
app to offer jobs
 The Delhi Government is set to launch the Rojgar Bazaar 2.0 portal that will be
a digital job matching platform for entry-level jobs in India.
 The government has floated tenders on October 14, 2021, for the development
of the portal. The government had launched the Rojgar Bazaar 1.0 in 2020 that
served as a useful platform for youths looking for jobs and small businesses
looking for skilled workers in Delhi. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia
stated that Rojgar Bazaar 2.0 will be a first-of-its-kind innovative platform
launched by any state government to offer employment-related services
seamlessly to its citizens.
 Rojgar Bazaar 2.0 is a digital job matching platform in India that will offer
entry-level jobs. The app will work on an Artificial Intelligence-based job
matching system to offer end-to-end employment-related information to job
seekers in Delhi.
 The app will be launched by the Delhi Government.
 Tenders for the app have been issued by the Delhi Government on October 14,
2021.
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8. Fruitful meeting, says EAM Jaishankar after talks with counterparts from US,
Israel & UAE
 Union External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar held talks
with foreign ministers of Israel, UAE and US Secretary of
State Antony Blinken virtually on October 19, 2021.
 The Foreign Ministers and Secretary Blinken discussed
expanding economic & political cooperation in the Middle
East and Asia through trade, combating climate change,
energy cooperation, and increasing maritime security.
 The Ministers also discussed how to support global public
health in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and expand
people to people ties in technology and science.
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9. What is Allium Negianum – a new plant
species discovered in Uttarakhand?
 A plant discovered in 2019 in Uttarakhand has been confirmed as
a new species of Allium- a genus that includes many staple foods
such as garlic and onion, among 1,100 species worldwide.
 The new species found in Uttarakhand has been described in the
journal Phytokeys.
 The primary center of evolution for the Allium extends across the
Irano-Turanian bio-geographical region, and the Mediterranean basin
and western North America are considered as the secondary centers
of diversity.
 The scientific name Allium Negianum, given to the newly discovered
species of Allium, honours the late Dr. Kuldeep Singh Negi who was
an explorer and the collector of Allium.
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10. Geospatial Energy Map of India launched
 A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based Energy
Map of India was launched by NITI Aayog on October 18,
2021.
 The Geospatial Energy Map has been developed by NITI
Aayog in collaboration with the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) and with the support of central
government's energy ministries.
 The main aim of the map would be to identify and locate
all primary and secondary sources of energy along with
their transportation/transmission networks to provide a
comprehensive view of energy production and distribution
in a country.
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11. India, Dubai sign MoU to develop real estate, industrial parks in Jammu and
Kashmir
 Jammu & Kashmir administration on October 18, 2021, signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai government
for the real estate development, industrial parks, multipurpose
towers, IT towers, medical college, logistics, super specialty hospital,
and more.
 According to the official release, the Union Minister for Commerce
and Industry Piyush Goyal noted the significance of the day and
said, “With the signing of the MoU with the Government of Dubai,
the world has started to recognize the pace with which J&K are
traversing on the development bandwagon.”
 He added that the signed MoU gives out a strong signal to the
entire world that the way India has been transforming into a global
power, J&K is having a significant role in that as well.
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12. Indian Navy receives its 11th P-8i aircraft from
Boeing
 The Indian Navy received its 11th P-8i aircraft from Boeing on
October 18, 2021. The anti-submarine warfare aircraft is third
aircraft to be delivered under the contract for four additional
Boeing aircraft ordered by India.
 The Union Defence Ministry had earlier signed a contract for
eight Boeing P-8i aircraft in 2009 and the aircraft have already
been delivered to the Indian Navy.
 The contract for procurement of the four additional aircraft was
signed in 2016.
 The Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Anti Submarine
Warfare (LRMRASW) aircraft directly reached the Indian naval
airbase in Goa from Seattle.
 Its induction is expected to provide a major boost to the warfare
capabilities of the Indian Navy.
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