1.Agriculture Minister launches AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme:- 
The Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has launched the AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme on October 19, 2020. The scheme has been formulated by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) which is the apex autonomous development finance institution under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR scheme
The scheme is an unique way that will assist cooperatives to play an important role in creation of healthcare infrastructure in the country. Under the scheme, the NCDC would extend term loans to prospective cooperatives by 10,000 crore in coming years. The scheme would be providing a working capital and margin money to meet operational requirements of the health facilities. It also provides interest subvention of one percent to cooperatives where women are in majority.
2.First-ever SCO Startup Forum to be launched on 27th October:-
The first-ever SCO Startup Forum will be launched on 27th October 2020 ahead of the SCO trade ministers meeting on 28th October. The forum will lay the foundation for multilateral cooperation and engagement among the SCO Member States to develop and hone their startup ecosystems, collectively. India is currently the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world with over 35,000 startups, close to 25% of which are core technology startups operating in areas of AI, Robotics, Cloud Computing, IoT, Digital Health, Financial & Education Technology. he ‘Startup India’ has launched 10 bilateral bridges since its inception and has helped many technology-based startups to expand their businesses to global markets. The SCO currently comprises eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan)
3.India ranked 94 in Global Hunger Index 2020:- 
India ranked 94 among 107 nations in the Global Hunger Index 2020. With a score of 27.2, India has been placed in the “serious” category in the GHI scale. Although there is an improvement in a score as compared to 38.9 in 2000, 37.5 in 2006, and 29.3 in 2012 but still it represent a serious level of hunger. Last year, India’s rank was 102 out of 117 countries. According to the report, 14 per cent of India’s population is undernourished. It also showed the country recorded a 37.4 per cent stunting rate among children under five and a wasting rate of 17.3 per cent. The under-five mortality rate stood at 3.7 per cent.
4.Aishwarya Sridhar wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award:- 
A 23-year-old, Mumbai based girl, Aishwarya Sridhar became the first Indian woman to win the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award. It is the 56th year of the prestigious award. Her image titled ‘Lights of passion’, won among 50,000 entries from over 80 countries across the world. Only 100 images were shortlisted and she won the award for her photograph in the Behaviour Invertebrates category. She is the first and youngest girl to win this prestigious award from India in the Adult category. The award winners were announced at the Natural History Museum in London.
5.India successfully test-fires BrahMos missile from INS Chennai:- 
India successfully test-fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, from the Indian Navy’s indigenously-built stealth destroyer INS Chennai with the weapon hitting a pre-designated target in the Arabian Sea. The missile hit the target in the Arabian Sea successfully with pinpoint accuracy after performing high-level and extremely complex manoeuvres.
About BrahMos Missile:
The highly versatile BrahMos has been jointly designed, developed and produced by India and Russia under the joint venture, BrahMos Aerospace.The supersonic cruise missile can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, and land platforms.The missile has a top speed of Mach 2.8, nearly three times the speed of sound.The extended-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile that can hit targets 400 km away. The range has been increased from the existing 290 km.
6.India conducts successful night trial of nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile:- 
India has successfully conducted the night trial of its nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore, off Odisha coast. The user flight trial was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command of the armed force under the watch of DRDO scientists as part of a training exercise.
About Prithvi-2:
The state-of-the-art missile is India’s first indigenous surface-to-surface strategic missile, developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. The 9-metre tall liquid-propelled Prithvi-2 has a range of 350 km and can carry a 1-tonne warhead. It uses Advanced Inertial Guidance System (AIGS) with manoeuvring trajectory to reach the target with a few metre accuracy. It has been designed to deliver advanced warheads deep into enemy territory. The missile dives at the target at an 80-degree angle.
