 The World Bank released the Human Capital Index (HCI) as part of the World Development Report 2019. Broader theme of the World Development Report (WDR) this year is “The Changing Nature of Work”. As part of this report, the World Bank has launched a Human Capital Project (HCP). The HCI has been constructed for 157 countries. The HCI for India has been estimated at 0.44. The Index was released at the World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings in Bali, Indonesia. Singapore topped the poll after it was highly rated for its universal health care system, education exams results and life expectancy figures. It is followed by South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Finland. India was ranked at the 115th position lower than Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh. |
The key observations regarding HCI for India in the Report are as follows:
|
| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
 Veena Sendre from Chhattisgarh has been chosen as India’s first ‘Miss Trans Queen’. Veena defeated Namita Ammu of Tamil Nadu to claim the title at the national-level beauty contest organised in Mumbai. Sendre, a former Miss Chhattisgarh, belongs to Mandir Hasaud village in Raipur. |
| Source- The Firstpost |
 Indus Towers, world’s largest telecom tower company (outside China), won the Deming Prize for 2018, being the first Indian company in the service sector and the fifth in the world to achieve this. The Deming Prize was bestowed on Indus Towers for distinctive performance improvements through the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) practices. Indus Towers is only the 29th Indian company to win this coveted award, with other notable names including Tata Steel, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra and Mahindra, and NBC Bearings, etc. |
| Source- Business-Standard |
 The Severe Cyclonic Storm ‘TITLI’ over the west-central Bay of Bengal moved northwards with a speed of about 14 kmph over Westcentral Bay of Bengal near latitude 16.5°N and longitude 85.8°E, about 320 km south-southeast of Gopalpur (Odisha)and 270 km southeast of Kalingapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). It is very likely to intensify further into a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm. |
| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
 The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the merger of the existing regulatory institutions in the skills space – National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) and the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) into the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET). NCVET will regulate the functioning of entities engaged in vocational education and training, both long-term and short-term and establish minimum standards for the functioning of such entities. |
|
The primary functions of NCVET will include –
|
| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
 External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj participated in the 17th Council of Heads of Government, CHG, meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to be held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. This was the second CHG meeting since India became a full member of SCO in June 2017. Last year, CHG meeting was held in Sochi, Russia and was also attended by EAM. The SCO CHG meeting is a forum that enables India to engage with SCO member countries and Observer states of Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia. It is the first major meeting since Kyrgyzstan took over as chair of the Organisation. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 Well-known Malayalam poet M N Paloor passed away at the age of 86-year due to age-related ailments. Paloor won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award, the state’s highest literary honour, in 1983 for his collection ‘Kalikalam’. He also received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his autobiography ‘Kathayillathavante Katha’ in 2013. Some of his major collections include ‘Kalikalam’, ‘Pedithondan’, ‘Theerthayathra’and ‘Bhangiyum Abhangiyum’. |
| Source- Business-Standard |
 Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has left for Paris on a three-day visit to France. Ms Sitharaman will hold wide-ranging talks with her French counterpart Florence Parly on ways to deepen strategic cooperation between the two countries and also deliberate on major regional and global issues of mutual interests. During the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, the two countries decided to expand strategic ties and deepen counter-terror cooperation. The two sides also inked a strategic pact providing for the use of each other’s military facilities including opening naval bases to warships. |
| Source- News On AIR |
 Since 2012, 11 October has been marked as the International Day of the Girl. The theme for International Day of the Girl Child 2018 is ‘With Her: A Skilled Girl Force’. The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights. |
| Source- The United Nations |
 IIT-Madras will collaborate with Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA) to enhance data-driven governance. Through this engagement, the Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBC DSAI ) at IIT-Madras has agreed to support the State government on various data science and ICT-related challenges. The collaboration is expected to contribute towards various aspects of governance, including (but not limited to) education, healthcare, and agriculture, says a press release from IIT-Madras. |
| Source- The Indian Express |
You need to login to perform this action.
You will be redirected in
3 sec
