Current affairs
- Devendra Fadnavis has been re-elected unopposed as the leader of BJP state legislative party leader In Maharashtra. The meeting saw participation of all 105 newly-elected BJP MLAs.
- India and Saudi Arabia signed 12 MoUs in several areas including for the establishment of a Strategic Partnership Council and to enhance cooperation in security, defence and energy, as well as for the launch of the RuPay cards.
- The US House of Representatives has officially recognized the mass extermination of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1917 as genocide. The House supported the resolution by 405-11 votes.
- The ICC has imposed a two-year ban on Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, with one year suspended, for failing to report a corrupt approach by a bookie.
- The World Cities Day is celebrated every year on October 31, 2019. The celebrations are focused on the general theme ‘Better City, Better Life’. The theme of 2019 World Cities Day will be “Changing the world: innovations and better life for future generations”.
- The 2nd Assembly of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) will be hosted by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in New Delhi on October 30-31, 2019. The Assembly will be attended by various delegated from the member states and other invitees.
- The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on October 30, 2019 permitted the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) to enroll in the National Pension Scheme (NPS) at par with the NRIs.
- The agreement for the establishment of a high-level strategic partnership council was signed between Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. A meeting of this council will be held every two years.
- Vice President Venkaiah Naidu introduced a 15 point charter to improve the functioning of Parliament. According to this, political parties should ensure at least 50% attendance of the members to overcome the issues of lack of quorum.
- Lebanon’s PM Saad Hariri had to resign after mass protest against imposing tax on WhatsApp and Facebook in the country. On October 17, the government announced to impose tax on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger for sending messages and calls.
