• Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan has launched the Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) initiative in New Delhi. The initiative aims to assure dignified, respectful and quality health care at no cost for every woman and newborn visiting the public health facility in order to end all preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
• The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali. He has been awarded for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.
• The Nobel Prizes in Literature 2018 and 2019 were announced at The Swedish Academy in Stockholm. The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2018 is awarded to the Polish author Olga Tokarczuk. The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2019 is awarded to the Austrian author Peter Handke.
• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Economics 2019. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019 was awarded jointly to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”
• The United Nations observed International Day of the Girl Child on 11th of October. The theme for 2019: “Girl Force: Unscripted and Unstoppable”. Note: Headquarters of United Nations: New York, USA; Founded: 24 October 1945. Secretary General of the United Nations: Antonio Guterres.
• Union Minister Nityanand Rai has launched a Government Railway Police’s website “railways.delhipolice.gov.in” and a mobile application “Sahyatri”. The database of criminals, including their photographs, active in railways’ jurisdiction all over India would be uploaded on the Railway police’s website. The Sahyatri app will help railway passengers find out the jurisdiction of a police station and the details of GRP officials by geo-tagging with Google Maps.
• The business magazine Forbes released “The Forbes India Rich List 2019” which has been topped by Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani.
• Indian Forest Service officer Ramesh Pandey has been selected for the prestigious Asia Environmental Enforcement Award by the United Nations Environment Programme.
• The 2nd edition of Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) of the navies of India and Bangladesh was held in Northern Bay of Bengal.
• World Migratory Bird Day was observed on 12^th October. Theme for 2019: “Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution!”
• The Asian Development Bank and the Government of India has signed a $190 Million The amount will be used to upgrade 754 km of state highways and major district roads (MDRs) to benefit about 26 million people in 14 districts of Rajasthan.
• The United Nations observed International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on 13^th October. Theme for 2019: “Reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services”.
• M C Mary Kom has won the bronze medal in the 51 kg event of World Women’s Boxing Championships held in Ulan-Ude,  This is her first world medal in the 51 kg category.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the most-followed elected world leader on photo-sharing app Instagram.
• Life Insurance Council has decided to launch the Indian life insurance industry’s first joint mass media campaign with the slogan ‘Sabse Pehle Life Insurance’. The life insurance council’s campaign represents joint efforts of all 24 Indian life insurance companies who are working towards creating a common narrative aimed at increasing life insurance awareness in the country. Note: Chairman of Life Insurance Council: M.R. Kumar; Headquarters: Mumbai.
• The 2nd joint military exercise ‘Dharma Guardian-2019’to promote military cooperation between India and Japan will be held in Mizoram. Note: Chief of the Army Staff: General Bipin Rawat.
• The 10th edition of the joint military exercise ‘Vajra Prahar 2019’between India and the US will be held in Seattle, US.
• World Standards Day (or International Standards Day) is celebrated internationally each year on 14^th 2019 theme: “Video standards create a global stage”.
• Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen clinched his maiden BWF World Tour title by winning the Dutch Open men’s singles at Almere in the Netherlands.
• Alexei Leonov, the first human to walk in space passed away.
• The founder of Microsoft Corporation and American philanthropist Bill Gates’new book titled “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” will be released on June 2020.
• Pope Francis elevated Indian nun Mariam Thresia to sainthood at a grand ceremony at the Vatican City.
• Air India became the first airline in the world to use a Taxibot on a A320 aircraft with passengers on board. Taxibot is a robot-used aircraft tractor for taxiing an aircraft from parking bay to runway and vice versa.
• ICICI Bank has launched a fixed deposit scheme called FD Health that comes with an in-built critical insurance policy.
• Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo have jointly won the 2019 Booker Prize after judges flout the rules by declaring a tie. The Booker rules say the prize must not be divided, but the judges insisted they could not separate Atwood’s – ‘The Testament’ and ‘Girl, Woman, Other’ by Evaristo.
• The International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15th October. This year’s theme is “Rural Women and Girls Building Climate Resilience”.
• World Students’ Day is celebrated every year on October 15, former president APJ Abdul Kalam’s birthday.
• 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 was 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. Note: ICC Chairman: Shashank Manohar; Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The 13th edition of ICC Cricket World Cup will be held in India from February 9 to March 26, 2023.
• Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan launched Food Safety Mitra Scheme, Eat Right Jacket and Eat Right Jhola. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has introduced the scheme of Food Safety Mitra (FSM) through which it plans to engage motivated individuals with the food safety ecosystem at ground level. A Food Safety Mitra Scheme 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. Eat Right Smart Jacket has been introduced to give an identity to FSSAI staff to ensure transparent inspection.
• Indian Railways (IR)has announced that it will become a net-zero carbon emitter by  The move will be a part of India’s strategy to combat climate change.
• Government of India has appointed  P. S. Chawla, as the new Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure. He will replace Girraj Prasad Gupta.
• World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on 16^th October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in 1945. The theme for WFD 2019 is “Our Actions Are Our Future”.
• As per the 2019 Global Hunger Index (GHI), India ranks 102^nd out of 117 qualifying countries, with a score of 30.3.
• The World Bank-International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded global growth in 2019 to 3%, the slowest since the global financial crisis. India’s growth projections have also been downgraded to 1% and 7.0% in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Note: MD of IMF: Kristalina Georgieva, Headquarters: Washington DC, USA.
• Zimbabwe and Nepal were re-admitted as ICC members.
• India’s longest Tunnel Chenani- Nashri on NH 44, in Jammu and Kashmir will be named after Bhartiya Jansangh Founder Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017 had dedicated to the nation this 2 km long tunnel that reduces the distance between Jammu and Srinagar by 31 km.
• Railways Minister Piyush Goyal flagged off 9 ‘Sewa Service’ trains. These trains are connecting small towns to major cities. The 9 “Sewa Service” trains were launched without any additional investment by the railways and it was an example of how to use existing resources to the maximum.
• UAE announced the establishment of the world’s 1st AI university “Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI)” in Abu Dhabi.
• India handed over the second pair of Mi-24V helicopters to war-torn Afghanistan, boosting the capability of the Afghan Air forces.
• Mastercard,along with cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, launched a nationwide initiative ‘Team Cashless India’ to accelerate the acceptance and adoption of digital payments.
• India ranked 8 2 among the 128 countries surveyed in the World Giving Index (WGI). The USA stood at the top.
• The United Nations’ (UN) International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was observed on October 17. 2019 Theme: “Acting Together to Empower Children, their Families and Communities to End Poverty”.
• The 17-year-old Mumbai teenager Yashasvi Jaiswal make history as he became the youngest cricketer in the world to score a double century in One Day cricket.
• NITI Aayog with Institute for Competitiveness as the knowledge partner released the India Innovation Index (III) 2019. Karnataka is the most innovative major state in India. Sikkim and Delhi take the top spots among the northeastern & hill states, and union territories/ city-states/ small states respectively. Note: Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog: Rajiv Kumar; CEO, NITI Aayog: Amitabh Kant.
• Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced the naming of new National Highway No. 703 AA as “Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Marg.”
• Italy approved a new tax on digital companies, including U.S. tech giants, as part of its 2020 draft budget on October 16. The levy, due to be introduced from next year, will oblige companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon, to pay a 3% levy on internet transactions.
• Indian Air Force and Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) carried out a joint military air force exercise named ‘Shinyuu Maitri’, at the air force station Arjan Singh in Panagarh town in West Bengal. Note: Motto of the Indian Air Force: Nabha Sprsham Deeptam (The Glory that touches the sky). Air Chief Marshal: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria.
• Indian Air Force (IAF) kick started its bilateral joint exercise with Royal Air Force Oman (RAFO), named ‘EX EASTERN BRIDGE-V’ at Air Force Base Masirah, Oman.
• NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir have made history by completing the first-ever all-female spacewalk. They spent 7 hours outside the International Space Station (ISS) replacing a failed power control unit.
• European Union leaders confirmed the appointment of Christine Lagarde as the new chief of the European Central Bank. Note: ECB headquarters: Frankfurt, Germany; Currency: Euro.
• Indian Chess player, Viswanathan Anand has penned a book titled “Mind Master: Winning Lessons from a Champion’s Life”.
• SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar has been appointed as the new chairman of Indian Banks’ Association. Note: CEO of the Indian Banks’ Association: V. G. Kannan; Headquarters: Mumbai.
• The Vice President Shri Venkaiyah Naidu presented the “Most Eminent Senior Citizen Award”to the scholar, legal luminary and former Attorney General of India  K Parasaran.
• The India-Myanmar Naval Exercise called IMNEX-2019 was held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a book titled ‘Bridgital Nation’in New Delhi. The book has been authored by N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons and Roopa Purushothaman, Eminent industrialist.
• World Statistics Day is observed on October 20, once every 5 years. The next World statistics Day will be celebrated on 20^th October 2020. This year World Statistics day theme is “Better Data, Better Lives”. The first World Statistics Day was celebrated in 2010.