British Indian author Preti Taneja has said that 'Aftermath' is the hardest book she hopes she would ever write after the work set in the wake of the 2019 London Bridge terror attack in the UK won her the Gordon Burn Prize 2022.

The Prize, which celebrates the year's most dazzlingly bold and forward-thinking fiction and non-fiction written in English, is now in its tenth year.

Taneja's book was selected by a panel of judges made up of sportswriter and columnist Jonathan Liew, author Denise Mina (chair), broadcaster Stuart Maconie, artist and poet Heather Phillipson and Scotland-based Indian-origin writer Chitra Ramaswamy.

Taneja is a professor of World Literature and Creative Writing at Newcastle University and her first novel, 'We That Are Young', a translation of 'King Lear' set in contemporary India, won the Desmond Elliott Prize 2018.

China has put a hold on a proposal by India and the US at the United Nations to list Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Shahid Mahmood as a global terrorist, the fourth instance in as many months that Beijing has blocked bids to blacklist terrorists at the world organisation.

It is learnt that China placed a hold on the proposal by India and the US to designate Mahmood as a global terrorist under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.

This is the fourth time in as many months that China has put a hold on listing proposals to designate Pakistan-based terrorists under the 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee regime.

The US Treasury Department designated Mahmood a global terrorist in December 2016.

President Joe Biden will announce  on Oct 19 he's putting the final 15 million barrels on the market from a record release of US strategic oil reserves, with more releases possible if energy prices spike.

State Bank of India, the country’s largest bank, 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.

The interest rates for deposits below Rs 10 crore remain unchanged at 2.70%. The revised rates are applicable from October 15, 2022, onwards. Earlier, the bank had also increased its interest rates on fixed deposits below Rs 2 crore by 10-25 basis points effective from October 15.

The bank is offering up to 5.85% interest on fixed deposits from a tenure of up to 10 years. The bank has also raised FD rates for senior citizens. Senior citizens can get up to 6.35% interest in deposits with the bank. SBI is the only bank to have increased the FD rates following the latest hike in repo rate by the RBI (RBI).

Adani Defence Systems & Technologies Ltd. (ADSTL) has signed definitive agreements on  Oct 18 to acquire Air Works, India’s biggest and highly diversified independent MRO with the largest pan-India network presence across 27 cities.

Air Works has developed extensive operational capabilities within the country for key defence and aerospace platforms. It has been carrying our maintenance, repair and overhaul works on aircrafts and their systems across the spectrum, from the Indian Navy’s P8I, the landing gear of the Indian Air Force’s 737 VVIP aircraft, base maintenance for ATR 42/72, A320 and B737 fleet of aircraft. The Company operates from its European Aviation Security Agency (EASA) and DGCA-certified facilities at Mumbai, Delhi, Hosur and Kochi. 

Established in 1951, Air Works Group offers a host of services including MRO and heavy checks, Line maintenance, Cabin and Interior refurbishment, Exterior finishing and painting, Avionics upgrades, integrations and retrofits, End-of-lease/ redelivery checks, Maintenance training, and Asset Management services to domestic and international clients.

Sajan Bhanwala became the first Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to win a medal at the Under-23 World Championship when he edged past Ukraine's Dmytro Vasetskyi on 'criteria' to emerge winner in the bronze play-off,  in Pontevedra , Spain.

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.

India finished ahead of Kuwait but behind toppers Australia and second-placed Iraq qualification event, which identified participants for next year's tournament in Uzbekistan.

Top teams from all the 10 groups and the five best runners-up qualified for the final tournament, with Uzbekistan getting a direct entry as hosts in the 16-team continental event to be held from March 1 to 18 in 2023.

India had lost 2-4 and 1-4 to Iraq and Australia respectively in their previous group matches.

Q1. Name the person who has been elected as Congress' first non-Gandhi president in over two decades ?

1. Mallikarjun Kharge
2. Shashi Tharoor
3. Madhusudan Mistry
4. Rahul Gandhi
5. None of These

Q2. 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

1. Gujarat
2. Rajasthan
3. Maharashtra
4. Andhra Pradesh
5. None of These

Q3. Name the UN Secretary-General  who on  Oct 19 has  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 ?

1. Brian Christensen
2. Kristalina Georgieva
3. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
4. Antonio Guterres
5. None of These

Q4. With the aim of achieving self-reliance and boosting exports in the defence sector, the  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on  Oct 19 announced the 'Fourth Positive Indigenisation List' of 101 items during the opening ceremony of DefExpo 2022 in

1. Mumbai , Maharashtra
2. Bengaluru , Karnataka
3. Gandhinagar , Gujarat
4. Guwahati  , Assam
5. None of These

Q5. Name the British Indian author who has  won the Gordon Burn Prize 2022 ?

1. Preti Taneja
2. Chitra Ramaswamy
3. Inayat Bunglawala
4. Anita Anand
5. None of These

Answers

1--------------------1   Mallikarjun Kharge

2--------------------3   Maharashtra

3-------------------4    Antonio Guterres

4--------------------3   Gandhinagar , Gujarat

5---------------------1    Preti Taneja