Mansukh Mandaviya Inaugurated 24X7 Direct Port Entry Facility at VOC Port, Tuticorin

• Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge) for Shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya virtually inaugurated 24X7 Director Port Entry (DPE) facility for containers at the V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust (formerly Tuticorin Port Trust), Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.
• The facility will enable direct movement of containers from factories without any intermediate handling at any Container Freight Stations (CFS).
• Earlier, the CFS operated only during working days from 10 AM to 8 PM, because of which there was a delay in admitting containers.

India> Commemorative Postage Stamp on 75th Anniversary of UN

• Department of Posts (DoP), Ministry of Communications (MoC), Government of India released a commemorative postage stamp on the 75th anniversary of the UN Organization. Dr. S Jaishankar, Union External Affairs Minister was the chief guest of the event.
• 75th Anniversary of UN-On October 24, 2020 The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued 3 stamp mini-sheets to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations day.
• These stamps include, the International Day of Non-Violence in 2009, the International Day of Yoga in 2017, Deepawali Stamps in 2018 and Mahatma Gandhi's 150th Birth Anniversary Stamp in 2019.
• Previously, the Department of Posts has released similar commemorative postage stamps on the UN's 9th anniversary in 1954, on 40th anniversary in 1985 and on 50th anniversary in 1995.

Kerala becomes first state in the country to fix MSP for vegetables

• Kerala became the first state in the country to fix Minimum Support Price (MSP) / Base Price for 16 agricultural items which include Vegetables, Fruits and Tubers to support farmers and boost agricultural sector.
• The scheme will come into effect from November 1, 2020, which is celebrated as Keralapiravi day (Day commemorated to celebrate the birth of Kerala as a state on November 1, 1956).
• 16 Agriculture items - Tapioca, Banana / Wayanadan Banana, Pineapple, Ash Gourd, cucumber, Bitter Gourd, Snake Gourd, Tomato, Beans Nadan, Lady's Finger, Cabbage, Carrot, Potato, Beans, Beetroot, and Garlic.
• The Base Price will be 20% above the production cost of vegetables,
• To become eligible, farmers have to upload the area of ​​their farmland, data on sowing, expected harvest and harvest time on AIMS (Agricultural Information Management System) web portal of Department of Agriculture Development and Farmer's Welfare, Kerala.

The crops will be procured from farmers through VFPCK (Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam) and Horticorp. All the yields procured

• under the scheme, will be sold under the brand name "Jeevani-Kerala Farm Fresh Fruits and Vegetables".
• Farmers will be eligible for base price only for vegetables and fruits grown within a maximum of 15 acres.

Cochin Shipyard Limited + Italy's Fincantieri> Signed MoU in Shipping Industry

• Cochin Shipyard Limited and Fincantieri S.P.A. of Italy virtually signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the areas of Design, Ship Building, Ship Repair, Marine Equipment Manufacturing and also for Training & Skill Development
• About Fincantieri S.P.A.
• Head Office - Trieste, Italy> CEO - Giuseppe Bono
• About Cochin Shipyard Limited
• HQ - Cochin, CMD - Madhu S Nair

DTC + NBCC → To Build First Of Its Kind Multilevel Bus Depots in Delhi

Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Building Construction Corporation

• (NBCC) to establish the first of its kind multilevel bus depots with all modern facilities at Hari Nagar and Vasant Vihar in Delhi.
• These modern facilities will increase the bus parking capacities in the limited available spaces and reduce the parking cost per bus.
• Under this MoU NBCC will take up the redevelopment of depots at Vasant Vihar and Hari Nagar and residential colonies of DTC in Shadipur and Hari Nagar.

Indian Cricketer Rohit Sharma became Brand Ambassador of Dr. Trust

• Rohit Sharma, Indian Cricketer appointed as the brand ambassador of Dr Trust, healthcare firm.
• He will feature in a new integrated campaign for Dr Trust.

List of other brands that endorsed Rohit Sharma in 2020

• Massimo Batteries in January 2020.
• IIFL Finance (1st ever brand ambassador) in April 2020
• Crickingdom, a Dubai-based cricket coaching academy in April 2020.
• Oakley, sports eyewear brand in India, in August 2020.
• Vega, India's leading beauty accessories brand in October 2020.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla virtually addressed Sixth BRICS Parliamentary Forum

• Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla virtually addressed the Sixth BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China & Republic of South Africa) Parliamentary Forum.
• Theme of the meeting - "BRICS partnership in the interest of the global stability, general safety and innovative growth: parliamentary dimension."
• Chairman of the 6th BRICS Forum - Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia, Vyachaslav Volodin.
• Apart from Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers (Lok Sabha), Kanimozhi Karunanidhi participated in the meeting.

ACKO + Finserv Markets → To Offer Two & Four Wheeler Insurance

• ACKO General Insurance, partnered with Finserv Markets, a subsidiary of Bajaj Finserv to offer two and four wheeler insurance policies.
• Under this partnership, customers can buy the ACKO insurance for the vehicles on the Finserv platform

About Acko General Insurance

• HQ - Mumbai
• Head - Varun Dua

Payment Date for Vivad se Vishwas scheme extended

• Government of India has extended the deadline for making payment under the Vivad se Vishwas scheme till March 31, 2021.
• This deadline extension is being done for the third time in the series under the direct tax dispute settlement scheme. The last date to make declaration under the scheme has been extended to December 31, 2020.
• This steps are being taken by the government in order to provide relief to the taxpayers.

Vivad se Vishwas scheme

• The scheme was introduced by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the union budget 2020-21. The scheme has been aimed to settle down the pending direct tax cases.
• Some of the features of the scheme are stated under:
• The scheme covers the disputes pending at the level of income tax appellate tribunal, high court, commissioner,Supreme Court and international arbitration.
• The scheme also withdraws the penalty and interest of the taxpayers who paid their pending taxes by March 31, 2020. In such cases, the tax payer paid only 25% of disputed amount as penalty till March 31, 2020. It will be increased to 30%. This scheme is aimed at solving 483 thousand direct tax related disputes.

IOCL + IBM → Partnered for Digital Services

• Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) entered into partnership to transform the customer's experience of IOCL. About 12,400 IOCL distributors covering about 130 million consumers can use the Indian Oil One mobile app & portal, developed by IBM Services.
• The Indian Oil One mobile app & portal are part of Indian Oil's Project ePIC (Electronic Platform for Indian Oil customers), a digital transformation project.
• . This project is an integrated platform for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Distribution Management System (DMS).
• It is managed by IBM globally.

About IBM

• CEO Arvind Krishna
• HQ - Armonk, New York

About IOCL

• HQ - New Delhi
• Chairman - Shrikant Madhav Vaidya

Keshubhai Savdas Patel Former CM of Gujarat Passed Away at 92

• Keshubhai Savdas Patel, former Chief Minister of Gujarat and veteran leader of BJP and founder of Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) passed away
• He was tested positive for coronavirus in September 2020.

19th International Animation Day 2020 → October 28

• International Animation Day (IAD) is annually celebrated across the globe on October 28 and 2020 marks the 19th anniversary of IAD.
• The day is celebrated to recognize, honor and celebrate the artists, the scientists and also the technicians behind animated art including animated movies.
• ASIFA (Association Internationale du Film d'Animation or International Animated Film Association), a member of UNESCO (the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) coordinates and helps promote IAD celebrations globally.

International Internet Day 2020 → October 29

• The International Internet Day has been annually celebrated on 29th October since 2005 to mark the anniversary of the first internet transmission on 29th October 1969.
• The day aims to celebrate the people who supported to build the internet and provide a chance to reflect on the changes brought by the internet.
• The Internet which is defined as the remote connection of two computers was achieved on 29th October 1969.
• Leonard Kleinrock, Charley Kline and Bill Duvall played the key role on the first internet connection.

World Stroke Day 2020 → October 29

• World Stroke Day is annually observed on October 29 to raise awareness about stroke prevention, treatment and recovery.
• The theme of the World Stroke Day 2020 webinar is 'Get Ready to join the Movement'.
• The central idea for the World Stroke Day 2020 campaign is Join the Movement with the hashtag 1 in 4 '.
• About World Stroke Organization (WSO)
• President - Professor Michael Brainin of Austria