The Canada Government has removed a total of 41 diplomats from India after New Delhi threatened to revoke their immunity. The move comes amid escalating diplomatic tension between India and Canada over slain pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. 

• Canada's foreign minister Mélanie Joly said 41 of Canada's 62 diplomats in India have been removed, along with their dependents.
• Joly said exceptions have been made for 21 Canadian diplomats who will remain in India.  
• The moves come after Canada's allegations that India may have been involved in the June killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar in suburban Vancouver. India has accused Canada of harboring separatists and “terrorists," but dismissed the allegation of its involvement in the killing as “absurd" and has taken diplomatic steps to express its anger over the accusation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the priority section of Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Trains of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Corridor this morning. 

• The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor is being developed at a cost of more than Rs 30,000 crore and will connect Delhi to Meerut with a travel time of less than an hour through urban centres of Ghaziabad, Muradnagar and Modinagar.   

• The 17-km priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Corridor is scheduled to be opened for passengers on October 21 (Saturday). 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was seen interacting with school children and crew of RapidX train - 'NaMo Bharat' - connecting Sahibabad to Duhai Depot, onboard the train. 

• The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), in April, had named RRTS trains as 'RAPIDX'. NCRTC is implementing India's first semi-high-speed regional rail service project. The RRTS is a new rail-based, semi-high-speed, high-frequency commuter transit system with a design speed of 180 kmph.

The cabinet also approved the Amendment of Arunachal Pradesh State Industrial and Investment Policy 2020, which is expected to make the state a favoured destination for investment 

• The Arunachal Pradesh cabinet approved the constitution of a Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) as per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for the three tiger reserves of the state – Namdapha, Pakke and Kamlang.
• A statement from the chief minister’s office mentioned that 336 regular posts will be created for the purpose. 
• According to the 2022 national tiger census, Arunachal Pradesh has a total of nine tigers in the three reserves– a decline of 20 tigers from the previous census done in 2018.

The European Union’s top human rights prize on Thursday, awarded Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in police custody in Iran last year.

• She was arrested by the so-called Iranian Morality Police for not wearing the burqa (a black scarf) properly in a public place. Several videos that went viral on social media platforms showed she slipped into a coma after being tortured brutally by the Iranian police.
• This had prompted worldwide protests against the country’s conservative Islamic theocracy. 
• The EU award, named for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honour individuals or groups who defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. Sakharov, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died in 1989.

The International Monetary Fund expects India to increase its contribution to global growth over the next five years as the economy continues to grow fairly rapidly.  

• India will likely account for 18 per cent of world growth by 2028, up from 16per cent currently, Krishna Srinivasan, director of the Asia and Pacific Department of IMF, told reporters in Mumbai on Thursday.
• India’s faster growth compared with China’s economic slowdown could see the South Asian nation make a bigger contribution to global growth than its larger rival — only temporarily — the latest IMF figures show. 
• However, in terms of the size of their economies, China remains dominant. Based on the latest estimates from the IMF, China’s nominal gross domestic product will increase to $23.61 trillion by 2028, while India’s will reach $5.94 trillion.
• China and India will jointly contribute about half of world growth in both 2023 and 2024, IMF figures show.  

The Indian government is taking steps to modernize the process of estimating crop area and production, acknowledging that the current system is largely manual and prone to delays and errors. 

• The Centre, which oversees this effort, has encouraged states and Union Territories (UTs) to embrace the Digital Crop Survey system starting from the next agricultural year in July.
• The Digital Crop Survey is an initiative to digitize and automate the process of collecting agricultural data. 
• Under the guidance of the Economics, Statistics and Evaluation Division (ESED) within the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, detailed guidelines have been formulated for the collection of agricultural production estimates.
• These guidelines have been shared with states and UTs for their adoption.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship, electronics and information technology, inaugurated Heartland Tripura, a project to impart skill development training to the youth, and said it would attract investments and create jobs.

• The project is undertaken in partnership with Deloitte India and Agartala’s National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology. 
• The minister also said the central government initiated the step to convert the Northeast into a destination of investments and a hub of jobs. 
• He said the government wanted to make Tripura a centre of technological innovation and hoped that big companies like Microsoft and IBM would create opportunities in the state in future.

Kotak Mahindra, received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to acquire Sonata Finance for Rs. 537 crore, the company said in its filing.

• Kotak Mahindra Bank's shares were trading 1.68% higher at Rs.1767.50 per share on BSE at 2:37 pm.  
• The bank had announced to acquire 100% stake of the Non-Banking Finance Company, Sonata Finance Private Limited, in February this year.
• The acquisition received approval of the RBI on October 19, the company said in its stock filing. After the completion of the transaction, Sonata will become a ‘wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank’. 
• The approval has come prior to the announcement of September quarter result by Kotak Mahindra. The bank is set to announce its Q2 results on October 21. 

Mumbai is currently under a cyclone alert due to the warning issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) regarding possible weather disturbances in the city of Maharashtra.

• This alert has been prompted by the expected development of a low-pressure system in the southeastern and adjoining east-central Arabian Sea within the next 48 hours.
• The period from October to December is considered to be favourable for cyclone formation in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, mainly due to higher ocean temperatures.
• If a tropical storm forms in the Indian seas during this time, it will be named "Tej" according to the established cyclone naming practice in the Indian Ocean region. 
• Currently, the chances of this system developing into a cyclonic storm are not considerably high. It is worth mentioning that in 2022, no tropical storms were observed in the Arabian Sea after the monsoon season, whereas the Bay of Bengal witnessed the emergence of two tropical storms, namely Sitrang and Mandous.

World Statistics Day is celebrated every year on 20 October. The day is dedicated to create awareness about the significant role of advanced, reliable, and good quality statistics in the development of global nations.

• The United Nations General Assembly established World Statistics Day on 20 October 2015.
• The main of observing this day is to highlight the huge achievements of national statistical systems, and to foster the importance of statistics in various aspects of society.
• Celebrating World Statistics Day provides an opportunity for statisticians, government organisations, policymakers, and other agencies to promote the values of high quality date and statistics in the current data-driven world. 
• Statistics plays a magnificent role in areas like healthcare, economics, education, environment, and social welfare.
• It not only helps in understanding the complexities of the world, but also helps in the development of effective policies in diverse fields. Statistics is an important aspect of evidence-based decision-making.

Several Foreign Ministers, including those of India, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Iran, Malaysia and South Africa, will participate in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers meeting in Colombo on October 11, 2023, according to the Sri Lankan government, which is preparing to take over as Chair of the regional grouping this week.

• Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry will chair the Council, the highest decision-making body of the IORA, taking over from the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, the current Chair, for the next two years.
• The Ministers will deliberate on ways to cooperate on six priority areas identified by the IORA, including Trade and Investment, Maritime Safety and Security, Fisheries Management, Disaster Risk Management and Blue Economy. The Council will be preceded by the 25th meeting of the Committee of IORA Senior Officials on October 9 and 10.
• Established in 1997 as an intergovernmental organisation of States on the rim of the Indian Ocean, the IORA has members from Africa, West Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Oceania. The Association’s membership has expanded to 23 member states and 11 dialogue partners.

The cotton crop in North India is under the threat of pink bollworm (PBW) attacks and the intensity of pest attacks is seen higher this year compared to the last two years.

• While PBW was observed in cotton only at the end of the season in North during kharif 2022-23, this year the pest has surfaced at the start of the season, which is a big threat for the farmers, said Bhagirath Chaudhary, Director of Jodhpur-based South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC).
• Even the genetically modified pest-resistant Bt Cotton (Bollgard II seed) is falling prey to the pink bollworm, which was designed to resist it.
• The infestation has led to significant crop losses, increasing debts, and profound economic distress among farmers.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is working to upgrade its fleet of Sukohi-30 MKI fighters with indigenous weapon systems and radar named Virupaaksha, sources informed India Today on Thursday( 19 October 2023)

• The IAF currently operates a fleet of more than 250 Sukohi-30MKI fighters.
• The Virupaaksha radar is being developed indigenously, keeping in view the requirements of IAF in different sectors and would be the most advanced one among all the Sukohi-30 variants being flown around the globe, the government sources said.
• The Indian Air Force has been working on a mission mode to indigenise the equipment in its inventory and looking to buy equipment from Indian firms worth over Rs three lakh crore in the near future, the government sources added.

SUKOHI-30MKI JETS

• The Su-30MKI is a multi-role air dominance fighter that can carry a versatile array of weapons including the Astra Mk-1 long-range air-to-air missile, Brahmos Air Launched missile, and an array of bombs, among others.
• It is a 4.5 generation aircraft that can carry out complex manoeuvres at both high speeds and low speeds, which includes the iconic vertical Charlie maneuver.

In a breathtaking display of chess mastery, 24-year-old Indian grandmaster Karthikeyan Murali delivered a remarkable blow to the reigning world champion and number one player, Magnus Carlsen.

• This stunning victory, achieved in the classical chess format at the ongoing Qatar Masters, marks a historic moment in the world of chess. 
• Karthikeyan Murali’s victory over Magnus Carlsen is a significant milestone for Indian chess.
• This remarkable feat occurred in the seventh round of the prestigious tournament, where Karthikeyan deftly handled the black pieces.
• It is only the third instance in chess history where an Indian player has emerged triumphant against the formidable Magnus Carlsen.