India is ranked 102 of 117 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2019, behind its neighbours Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Seventeen countries, including Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba and Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI scores of less than five, the website of the Global Hunger Index that tracks hunger and malnutrition said. The report, prepared jointly by Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German organisation Welt Hunger Hilfe termed the level of hunger in India “serious”.

In 2018, it was ranked 103 out of 119 countries. In 2000, the country was ranked 83 out of 113 countries. Now, with 117 countries in the fray, it has dropped to 102.

On the occasion of World Food Day, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan launched Food Safety Mitra Scheme, Eat Right Jacket and Eat Right Jhola. Addressing a gathering in New Delhi today, he said, Eat Right India and Fit India Campaign can prove to be a big success with the right strategy and implementation. The Minister urged people to reduce ghee, salt and ghee in food.
 
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has introduced scheme of Food Safety Mitra (FSM) through which it plans to engage motivated individuals with the food safety ecosystem at ground level. A FSM is an individual professional certified by FSSAI who assists in compliances related to FSS Act, Rules & Regulations with three avatars- Digital Mitra, Trainer Mitra and Hygiene Mitra depending upon their respective roles and responsibilities. During the event, the Minister also launched Eat Right Jhola which is a reusable, washable and bio-degradable bag.

India slipped to the 102 spot in the Global Hunger Index which features 117 countries, according to Concern Worldwide, an aid agency which compiles the report.

India was the lowest ranked South Asian country in Global Hunger Index even behind Pakistan which was ranked 94th. Indeed, India is also ranked below countries such as North Korea at 92.

The report warned that the progress towards a 2030 zero hunger target that was agreed upon by leaders across the words was “under threat”.

The report, topped by Central African Republic, said that it was becoming difficult to feed the world due to climate change.It said that while there has been progress in reducing hunger, but the gains are now being threatened and severe hunger persists in many regions across the world.

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh on Tuesday inaugurated the 41st DRDO Directors Conference in New Delhi.

He said that DRDO has played significant role in ensuring technological advancement of our forces and safeguarding our country.

Chiefs of the three forces & DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy were also present on the occasion.

Addressing the conference, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said that armies that were better equipped always called the shots and decided the destiny of mankind.

They were always the one which had higher technologies. However,India's own historical experience on this has not been good.

He said that besides use of better technologies, integration of technology is the need of the hour.

He added that DRDO can play a significant role in becoming a catalyst in absorption of technology.

The International Cricket Council has readmitted Zimbabwe as a member following a three-month ban.

Zimbabwe, who failed to qualify for this year's World Cup, were suspended from ICC events in July because of political interference.

They are now eligible to play in the men's Under-19 World Cup in January.

However, the lifting of the ban comes too late for Friday's 2020 World Twenty20 qualifying tournament in the United Arab Emirates.

It was agreed in August that Nigeria would replace them in the 14-team round-robin event.

Air India on Tuesday became the first airline in the world to use a Taxibot on a A320 aircraft with passengers onboard.

Taxibot is a robot-used aircraft tractor for taxiing an aircraft from parking bay to runway and vice versa.

On Tuesday morning, the national carrier's Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani flagged off flight AI665 - which was carried to runway using Taxibot at terminal 3 of the Delhi airport - to Mumbai.

With Taxibot it is possible to tow an aircraft from the parking bay to the runway with its engines switched off.

It is a pilot controlled semi-robotic towbarless aircraft tractor used as an alternate taxiing equipment.

"The use of Taxibot on the Air India aircraft at Indira Gandhi International Airport today morning is the first such usage on any Airbus aircraft worldwide. Really an achievement to be proud of. A giant step forward towards a cleaner environment," Lohani said.

Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee on Monday won the Nobel Prize for Economics, joining the list of Indians and people of Indian origin to grab the world's most prestigious award in different fields.

Banerjee shared the award with French-American Esther Duflo and another American economist Michael Kremer for their "experimental approach to alleviating global poverty."

Born in Mumbai, the 58-year-old economist is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He studied at the University of Calcutta and Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University before receiving his PhD in 1988 from Harvard University.

The website and mobile application (Learn to Protect, Secure and Maximise Your Innovation) on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) have been launched by Guruprasad Mohapatra, the Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), in the National Capital today.

Jointly developed by Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM)-DPIIT and Qualcomm and National Law University (NLU), Delhi, the app and the website will be very useful to the Startup community to help them with the IP process.

Comprising of e-text for understanding concepts, quizzes for assessment and grading the learner’s knowledge and understanding of the subject, short animated videos of the concepts and links to additional resources on the subject, the L2Pro India IP e-learning platform will have 11 modules for three different levels, namely, Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. 

Noted director and producer Priyadarshan, who has made several blockbuster Malayalam and Hindi films, was on Sunday conferred the Madhya Pradesh government’s National Kishore Kumar Samman for 2018-19 at a function in Khandwa, the birthplace of the legendary singer- actor.

Kishore Kumar died on October 13, 1987 in Mumbai.

Talking to reporters, Priyadarshan expressed regret that he could not meet the legend.

“I always wish I could meet him once. This honour is encouraging as I received it in Kishoreda’s birthplace,” he told reporters.

The award, instituted by MP Department of Culture, carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a citation, an official of MP Public Relations Department said.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has changed the super over rule for all its major events following the uproar over the outcome of the men's World Cup final this year when England were declared winners against New Zealand on boundary count. As per new rule, in case of a super over tie there will be a repeated super over until one team has more runs than the other.
 
In July this year, England won their first-ever World Cup title. In the final, winner was not decided after the 50-over and super over action, both of which were tied.
 
In the end, England were announced as the winner as they had hit more boundaries, 26, as compared to New Zealand's 17 boundaries in the match.