The rupee plunged 61 paise to decline below the 83-mark for the first time against the US dollar on  Oct 18 amid unabated foreign capital outflows and a strong dollar in the overseas markets.

Besides, rising crude prices in the international markets and risk-averse sentiment among investors weighed on the local currency, traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened strong at 82.32 but later pared gains to settle at an all-time low of 83.01(provisional) against the American currency, down 61 paise over its previous close.

In the previous session on Oct 17, the rupee slipped 10 paise to end at 82.40 against the dollar.

Adani Transmission on  Oct 20 announced that it has bagged a deal to instal and maintain 10.80 lakh smart meters for BEST Undertaking.

Sources pegged the deal value for the multi-year-old engagement by Adani Transmission's distribution platform at Rs 1,300 crore.

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking is a state-run utility that serves consumers in the island city exclusively.

Adani Transmission's subsidiary Adani Electricity Mumbai distributes power in the suburbs, where it competes with Tata Power.

Pakistani cricket authorities hinted  on Oct 19 they may pull out of next year's World Cup in India, a day after officials there said they would not send a team to the 2023 Asia Cup in Pakistan.

Indian cricket board secretary Jay Shah -- who is also president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) -- said on Oct 18 that India "can't" send a team to Pakistan, adding the tournament would be moved to a neutral venue.

His announcement caught Pakistan by surprise, with officials warning it could "split" the international cricket community.

Despite being considered one of sport's greatest rivalries, India and Pakistan have not met on home soil in any version of the game since 2012, and only play each other in multinational tournaments on neutral grounds.

Q1. Name the country’s largest bank which  has increased the interest rates on saving bank deposits by 0.30 percentage points (30 bps) for the balance of Rs 10 crore and above ?

1. Punjab National Bank
2. Bank of Baroda
3. State Bank of India
4. Reserve Bank of India
5. None of These

Q2. Who among the following has became the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to win a medal at the Under-23 World Championship  in Pontevedra , Spain?

1. Bajrang Punia
2. Sushil Kumar
3. Sajan Bhanwala
4. Yogeshwar Dutt
5. None of These

Q3. Skipper Taison Singh and Gurkirat Singh struck in either half as India edged past hosts Kuwait 2-1 in their final qualification match but the third-place finish in Group H was not good enough to qualify for the next year's AFC U-20 Asian Cup to be held in

1. Tajikistan
2. Uzbekistan
3. Kyrgyzstan
4. Kazakhstan
5. None of These

Q4. Who among the following has been appointed as the new Defence Secretary of India ?

1. Sanjay Malhotra
2. Alka Upadhyaya
3. Sanjay Malhotra
4. Aramane Giridhar
5. None of These

Q5. Name the Indian-origin British Home Secretary  who has resigned on  Oct 19 after a "mistake" in using her private email for ministerial communication, in the latest blow to embattled Prime Minister Liz Truss who faces significant discontent among Conservative lawmakers over her botched economic plan ?

1. Suella Braverman
2. Priti Patel
3. Alok Sharma
4. Rishi Sunak
5. None of These

Answers

1---------------------------3   State Bank of India

2-----------------------------3   Sajan Bhanwala

3-----------------------------2  Uzbekistan

4-----------------------------4   Aramane Giridhar

5-----------------------------1   Suella Braverman

The Congress party elected veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge as its first non-Gandhi president in 24 years on Oct 19.  Out of the 9,385 votes polled in the Congress presidential polls, Mallikarjun Kharge got 7,897 votes, Shashi Tharoor secured 1,072 votes, and 416 votes were declared invalid, the party's Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry said.

Kharge won with eight times more votes.

Kharge will replace Sonia Gandhi, the longest-serving party president who has been at the helm since 1998, barring the two years between 2017 and 2019 when Rahul Gandhi had taken over.

India has decided to work a mega project to set up six new European Pressurised Nuclear Power Reactors (NPRs) at Jaitapur in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra by joint collaboration to enhance the generation of electricity from nuclear plants in the country. In connection with this project, a French delegation, led by Cherysoula Zacharopoulou-the Minister of State for Development met the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Science and Technology and Space and Atomic Energy Dr Jitendra Singh on Oct 18  during the current India visit.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on  Oct 19 paid tributes to the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai on the first day of his three-day visit to India.

Accompanied by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Guterres placed a floral wreath at the 26/11 attacks memorial in the hotel.

It is the UN chief's first visit to India since his second term in office commenced in January. He had earlier visited the country in October 2018 during his first term at the top office.

Guterres will deliver a public address at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai on the subject -- "India @75: UN-India Partnership: Strengthening South-South Cooperation" later in the day, before flying to Gujarat.

The UN secretary general will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an event relating to the Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) in Gujarat's Kevadiya on October 20.

His visit to the country comes more than a week before the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee holds its two-day deliberations in India.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar would hold bilateral discussions with Guterres on issues of global concern, steps to deepen India's engagement with the UN, including through the country's upcoming presidency of the G20.

In Kevadiya, Guterres is expected to pay floral tributes at the Statue of Unity, the MEA said, adding that he will also visit the country's first solar-powered village in Modhera (Gujarat) and other development projects in the area.

With the aim of achieving self-reliance and boosting exports in the defence sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on  Oct 19 announced the 'Fourth Positive Indigenisation List' of 101 items during the opening ceremony of DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

All the items included in the lists will be procured from indigenous sources as per provisions given in Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020. This list provides continuous impetus towards self-reliance in defence.

According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the 'Positive Indigenisation List' is one of the landmark initiatives towards achieving self-reliance in defence sector.

The MoD had earlier promulgated 'First, Second and Third Positive Indigenisation Lists', comprising 310 items on August 21, 2020, May 31, 2021 and April 07, 2022 respectively.

The 'Fourth Positive Indigenisation List' of 101 items was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Oct 19 . These lists would boost indigenisation and achieve 'Aatmanirbharta' in the defence sector and increase exports in the coming times.