• Shri Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, inaugurated the ‘Bharat NCX 2023’ alongside Deputy National Security Advisor Shri Rajinder Khanna and National Cyber Security Coordinator Lt Gen MU Nair. The 2nd Edition of the National Cyber Security Exercise 2023 ‘Bharat NCX 2023’ will be conducted as a hybrid exercise over a period of twelve days from 09 to 20 October 2023 with the aim to train senior management and technical personnel of Government/Critical Sector organizations and Public and Private agencies on contemporary cyber threats and handling cyber incidents and response.
• This flagship event serves as an unifying platform for over 300 participants, representing a diverse spectrum of government agencies, public organizations, and the private sector, all resolutely committed to the safeguarding of critical information infrastructure through training sessions, Live Fire and Strategic exercises.

• The tallest statue of Dr B R Ambedkar, the principal architect of India’s Constitution, outside India was formally inaugurated in a Maryland suburb of the US capital here. Amidst chants of “Jai Bhim”, more than 500 Indian-Americans from various parts of the United States and some from India and other countries attended the unveiling ceremony of the 19-feet tall “Statue of Equality”.
• Heavy rain and drizzle did not deter the enthusiasm and energy of the participants, many of whom drove for as long as 10 hours to attend what they described as a historic event. The statue has been made by renowned artist and sculptor Ram Sutar, who also built the statue of Sardar Patel, called as Statue of Unity, and installed on an island in Narmada, metres downstream of the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat.

• October 15 is commemorated as World Students' Day in honour of the notable contributions of former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in the field of education. This observance coincides with the birth anniversary of Dr Kalam, India's 11th President, renowned as the 'Missile Man of India'. He was a distinguished scientist and administrator who worked with the DRDO.
• October 15 was designated as World Students' Day in 2010 to honour Kalam's many contributions – especially in the fields of academia and research. While many reports claim that the declaration came from the United Nations, the occasion is not celebrated beyond India.

• In a move designed to diversify its revenue stream, online food delivery platform Zomato has begun a logistics service called Xtreme that will enable merchants to send and receive small parcels. According to Zomato, merchants can only send intra-city packages that weigh up to 10 kilograms, with the price starting at Rs 35.
• As is the case with Zomato's food delivery service, merchants can live-track their shipments. According to the details available on the app, Zomato already has more than 300,000 delivery partners under Xtreme. In May, reports suggested that Zomato had begun piloting a logistics service to compete with delivery services such as Shadowfax and Dunzo to leverage its vast network of delivery partners.

• Public Sector Lender Bank of India (BOI) on Monday announced the launch of Upgraded Savings Accounts for all segments which covers salaried employees, households, individuals, youth etc.
• Rajneesh Karnatak MD & CEO of the Bank, launcing the upgraded Savings Accounts said that the Bank is poised to grow its Savings Customers base with these newly upgraded Savings Accounts which is now enriched with finest features, concessions & insurance cover.

• World Athletics has nominated Neeraj Chopra for the Men's Athlete of the Year award 2023. The global governing body of Athletics issued the statement announcing Neeraj's nomination. Javelin thrower Neeraj is an Indian Olympic and World Championships Gold medalist.
•  This week marks the opening of the voting process for the 2023 World Athletes of the Year ahead of the World Athletics Awards 2023. World Athletics has confirmed a list of 11 nominees, selected by an international panel of athletics experts, comprising representatives from all six continental areas of World Athletics.

• Former England captain Alastair Cook, his country's record test run scorer, announced his retirement from professional cricket. The 38-year-old left-handed opener, who retired from international cricket in 2018, played his entire county career with Essex.
• Cook was England test captain from 2012 to 2017 and also captain for 69 one day internationals from 2010-14. He scored 766 runs in seven innings during the 2010-11 Ashes tour to help England to their first series win in Australia for 24 years.

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Pusa Krishi, ICAR- Indian Agricultural Research Institute here and Start-up Incubation & Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur.The MoU was signed virtually by Dr. Viswanathan Chinnusamy, Joint Director (Research) IARI and Professor Ankush Sharma, Department of Electrical Engineering, SIIC IIT Kanpur.
• Through this MoU, both the sides will provide vital support to incubators and start-ups, fostering their growth and success.The joint efforts will offer a conducive environment for start-ups to thrive and make meaningful contributions to the agriculture sector.

• The prestigious Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award will be bestowed upon the renowned Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas at the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).The announcement was made by Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur through a post on X.
• IFFI 54, a significant event in the global cinematic calendar, will be graced by the celebrated actor, accompanied by his spouse, eminent actress and philanthropist Catherine Zeta-Jones and their son and actor, Dylan Douglas.Indian Film producer and founder of Percept Ltd. and the Sunburn music festival Shailendra Singh, who is celebrating his 25 years in the Indian Film Industry will also be in attendance.

• Prominent journalist K S Sachidananda Murthy passed away.He breathed his last in the city of Bengaluru.The veteran journalist, who had undergone a lung transplant recently, was battling for his life in the ventilator for the last few days.
• Being one of the most famous journalists from the national capital of Delhi, Sachidananda Murthy had served as the resident editor of Malayala Manorama and The Week.In his illustrious career as a journalist, he also served as the general secretary of the Editors Guild of India and also as a member of the Press Council.

Download Daily GK PDF of 15 October 2023