India’s candidates have been elected in leadership positions in all 10 Study Groups of the International Telecommunication Unions’ (ITU) Standardization Sector (ITU-T) in the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) which is underway in New Delhi. The study groups include Operational aspects, Economic & policy issues, security, future networks among others.

The Ministry of Communications in a statement said, India has retained its Chair position in one group and secured Vice-Chair positions in all other 9 Study Groups. With this India has enhanced its leadership position in ITU-T to 11 positions in WTSA-2024 from 7 in WTSA-2022. India is currently hosting the International Telecommunication Unions’ (ITU) World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) 2024 at Bharat Mandapam. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15th October and will continue till the 24th of this month. It is for the first time that WTSA is being conducted in the Asia-Pacific region and it would set the direction of standardization activities ITU-T and its work for the next four years. This year’s WTSA-24 has witnessed more than 3700 delegates from over 160 countries, the highest ever for any WTSA assembly.

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had a net addition of 18.53 lakh members to its subscriber base in August. The payroll data, which was released on Sunday (October 20, 2024) said that in August this year, the growth in subscriber base was 9.07% when compared with August 2023. The Union Labour Ministry said in a release that the growth in enrolments reflects increased employment opportunities and heightened awareness of employee benefits.

9.30 lakh new members were added in August 2024, representing an increase of 0.48% in new members when compared with August 2023. “This surge in new memberships can be attributed to growing employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits, and EPFO’s successful outreach programmes,” the Ministry said.

Alok Verma is set to be the next Director in-charge of Steel Authority of India’s (SAIL) Rourkela Steel Plant. He has been recommended for the post by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) Panel on Thursday. Presently, he is serving as Executive Director (Works) in the same organisation.

Verma has been recommended for the post of Director in-charge of SAIL's Rourkela Steel Plant from a list of 12 candidates, who were interviewed by the PESB panel in its selection meeting held on October 17. Out of 12 candidates, 11 candidates were from SAIL and the candidates was from Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL).

As Director-in-charge of Rourkela Steel Plant, Verma will be a member of the Board of Directors and will report to the Chairman. He will be the overall in-charge of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) and be responsible for the efficient functioning of the Plant and the concerned mines for achieving the corporate objectives and performance parameters. He will also be responsible for project implementation at the plant or concerned mines and for marketing or sales of products from the plant or concerned mines.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has introduced a new visa-on-arrival policy, easing entry for people holding permanent resident cards or visas from the United States, United Kingdom, or any European Union country.

This update was shared by the Indian mission in the UAE on Thursday via a social media post on X. As per the new policy, Indian citizens and their family members who hold ordinary passports will be granted a visa on arrival at all ports of entry in the UAE. This applies to holders of:

A valid visa, residence, or green card issued by the United States of America.
A valid visa or residence issued by the European Union countries and the United Kingdom.
The passport’s validity period shall not be less than (6) months.

The above-mentioned persons have the option of obtaining a visa on arrival for 14 days, extendable for a similar period, or obtaining a visa on arrival for 60 days, non-extendable, after paying the prescribed fees in accordance with the applicable norms in the UAE.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia from October 22-23 to attend the BRICS summit, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Friday (October 18, 2024) during which he is also “expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from BRICS member countries and invited leaders.”

The big question is if Mr. Modi will hold a meeting on the sidelines with Chinese President Xi Jinping, on which official sources said there is “no clarity” as yet.

The BRICS respect “civilisational diversity” and is “free from pressure, double standards and interference in domestic affairs,” Russian Envoy in India Denis Alipov said while stating that it was natural for the grouping to expand one way or another. Stating that the “geopolitical and practical relevance of BRICS grouping was growing”, Mr. Alipov said it promotes the agenda of the global south. He was speaking at an online conference on BRICS organised by India Writes Network.

Indian batter Virat Kohli has become the fourth Indian batsman to reach nine thousand Test runs in the ongoing match against New Zealand at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. He reached the milestone during India’s second innings. Kohli is the fourth Indian batter to achieve this feat after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sunil Gavaskar. The 35-year-old batter is the second-highest Test run-getter among active players, following England’s Joe Root. In the overall list, he is placed 18th.

The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has passed a resolution for the restoration of statehood in the Union Territory. News agency IANS quoted official sources as saying that the resolution was passed during the first cabinet meeting on Thursday.

The meeting was presided over by the Chief Minister and was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary and ministers Sakeena Masood Itoo, Javed Ahmad Rana, Javaid Ahmad Dar and Satish Sharma.

“The draft of the resolution has been prepared and the Chief Minister will travel to New Delhi in a couple of days to hand over the draft of the resolution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir,” IANS quoted sources as saying.

Meanwhile, Waheed Para of Mehbooba Mufti’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in an X post termed the step a “ratification” of the abrogation of Article 370.

The World Bank along with the Asian Development Bank in principle has committed to fund $1,600 million (Rs 13,600 crore) for Amaravati capital city phase-I development and will start releasing the amount from January next year, a senior official of the Andhra Pradesh government has said.

Of the total cost of Rs 15,000 crore for the phase-I development, the Central government will be funding the remaining Rs 1,400 crore, the official said, adding the total amount from the World Bank should be drawn within five years.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), part of the World Bank, which provides loans and guarantees, among others and ADB will be funding $800 million (Rs 6,800 crore) each for the project.

The repayment of the WB and ADB loans will be taken care of by the Centre, the official said.

SJVN has been conferred with two prestigious awards in SHRM India HR Awards 2024 in the Public Sector Enterprises category. The company has been adjudged as First Runner-up in ‘SHRM Award for Excellence in Managing Workforce’ and secured Second Runner-up position in ‘SHRM Award for Excellence in Benefits and Wellbeing.’ Approximately 138 organisations participated in various categories of the coveted awards.

The awards were received by SJVN Executive Director (HR) Chandrashekhar Yadav, during 13th SHRM India Annual Conference 2024 held in New Delhi.

These awards recognize the role of SJVN’s leadership in nurturing the workforce, making it a key contributor in the success of the company. SJVN remains dedicated to fostering a people-centric approach and setting new benchmarks in people management. The company is committed to continuous employee development through comprehensive wellness programs. Also, through innovative training initiatives and robust e-learning platform, SJVN has significantly enhanced employee skills and productivity.

The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has appointed Pubudu Dasanayake as the mentor of the Nepali team, which is set to participate in a triangular cricket series from October 25 to November 4 under the ICC World Cricket League 2 to be held in the US. The triangular series in the US involves the hosts, Nepal and Scotland. Under this series, Nepal will play its first match against the USA on October 27, its second match against Scotland on October 29, and its third match against the USA on November 2. In the fourth and final match, Nepal will compete against Scotland on November 4.