Current Affairs-2019 October 24TH

NATIONAL

INX Media: Former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram was sent today to custodial interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate till October 30 in the INX Media money laundering case. Special judge of Delhi court Ajay Kumar Kuhar allowed the ED to quiz Mr. Chidambaram and said that he should be taken to AIIMS immediately in case of any medical complication.

Delhi: A 10-member task force on the Graded Response Action Plan said today that construction activities in Delhi and satellite towns will be banned between 6 pm and 6 am from October 26 to October 30.The task force also issued directions to close coal-based industries, barring power plants, in satellite towns of Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Sonepat and Bahadurgarh during the period.

RTI amendment: The Centre today notified the date from which the recent changes in the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 will come into force.The central government hereby appoints October 24, 2019 as the date on which the provisions of The Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019 shall come into force, a notification by the Personnel Ministry said today.

INTERNATIONAL

Pakistan: Pakistan is expected to earn up to $365, 00,000 from pilgrims visiting the holy Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, officials said today.The service fee from the pilgrims – Indian Rs 259 crore per annum and about Pakistani Rs 555 crore – will be another source of foreign currency generation for Pakistan, which is already reeling under severe financial crisis, a government official said.

Japan: Japanese commercial banks are loading up on complex financial products and risky loans in their hunt for yields, the central bank said today and warned about the accumulating cost of prolonged ultra-low interest rates.

• Thirty-nine people are found dead in a refrigerated lorry container in Grays, England.
• Several Lebanese cabinet ministers resign amid protests after the government announces plans to tax gasoline, tobacco, and online phone calls.
• Ex DU professor SAR Geelani, convicted and later acquitted in Parliament attack case, passes away

ECONOMY TODAY

ITC: 37 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 4,175 crore is achieved by ITC for the quarter ended at September 30, primarily via the government’s tax benefit measures.

BSNL & MTNL: The Union Cabinet on 23^rd October drew up a timeline to merge Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). It also approved a package of nearly Rs 70,000 crore for the two financially stressed entities. Monetising real estate assets worth Rs 37,500 crore is part of the overall relief package that would be used to retire debts, upgrade networks and offer a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) aimed at reducing the companies’ employee strength by half.

Maharatna: The government on 23^rd October accorded ‘Maharatna’ status to state-owned Hindustan Petroleum and Power Grid Corporation, thus giving them greater operational and financial autonomy. The grant of Maharatna status to the PSUs will impart enhanced powers to their Boards to take financial decisions.

Adjusted Gross Revenue: the Supreme Court today dismissed a plea moved by telecom companies challenging the definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) as decided by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Upholding the AGR definition decided by DoT, a three-judge apex court Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra also said that the telecom service providers would have to pay fine and penalties on the unpaid fees so far. The three-judge Bench also made it clear that there would be no further litigation on the issue, and that it would fix a timeframe for calculation and payment of dues by the telecom companies.

• India rises 14 places to 63rd in global Ease of Doing Business rankings
• US SEC launches probe into whistleblower charges against Infosys
• SC allows Centre’s plea to recover adjusted gross revenue of Rs 92k crore from telecom companies

MARKET TODAY

• SENSEX – 39020.39 (-38.44)
• NIFTY-11582.60 (-21.50)
• GOLD (MCX 10 GM)-38325.00 (322.00)
• SILVER (MCX 1 KG)-45965.00 (654.00)
• USD ($) / INR(Rupees Icon)-

TODAY IN HISTORY

• 1260 – Qutuz, the Mamluk sultan of Egypt, was assassinated by another Mamluk leader, Baibars for power.
• 1789 – The Brabant Revolution began with the invasion of the Austrian Netherlands by an émigré army from the Dutch Republic.
• 1912 – First Balkan War, Serbian forces defeated the Ottoman army at the Battle of Kumanovo in the Kosovo Vilayet
• 1949 – Bhumi Pujan of the United Nations headquarter in New York City.
• 2003 – Concorde makes its last commercial flight.

ELECTION RESULT

• Uddhav wants 50:50 formula for CM’s post
• J&K local body polls: Independents bag 217 blocks, BJP 81
• Bypoll Results: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh won seven seats while its ally Apna Dal (S) won one seat in the assembly by-poll to 11 seats
• The AAP got less votes than those cast in favour of NOTA in the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls
• TRS candidate Sanampudi Saidi Reddy won the seat by defeating his nearest rival N Padmavathi of the Congress party by a margin of 43,233 votes
• AIADMK wins both seats in Tamil Nadu bypolls