DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Oct. 1, 2022

NGT fines Telangana government 3,800 crore rupees for improper waste management

Tags: Science and Technology State News

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) in an order delivered on 1 October 2022 has imposed a penalty of ₹3,800 crore on the Telangana government for its failure to treat solid and liquid waste.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A K Goel said huge gaps exist in the management of solid and liquid waste in the southern state.

Providing clean air, water, hygiene and environment have to be the top priorities for good governance, the bench said, adding that the state could not avoid its constitutional responsibility of providing a pollution-free environment.

The NGT said compliance would be the chief secretary's responsibility and directed him to file progress reports every six months.

The NGT is monitoring compliance with the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and other environmental aspects by the states and Union territories.

National Green Tribunal was established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010. It deals with matters related to environmental protection and conservation of forest. Its headquarter is in  New Delhi.

Burkina Faso leader Damiba deposed in a military coup

Tags: International News

A group of Burkina Faso army soldiers announced on 30 September 2022  that they  have removed  Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba from the post of President, who himself came to power through a military coup. 

The soldiers introduced Captain Ibrahim Traore as the new leader of the country.  

Traore said Burkina Faso's government and constitution had been dissolved.

Leaders of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), the political and economic union of fifteen countries in the region, condemned the coup.

Burkina Faso 

It is a landlocked country in West Africa. It was earlier called the Upper Volta.

It was a French colony which gained its independence in 1964.

Capital: Ouagadougou

Currency: CFA franc

Telecom Technology Development Fund scheme launched by Universal Service Obligation Fund

Tags: Science and Technology Economics/Business

The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), a body under the Department of Telecommunications, officially launched the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) Scheme on 1st October 2022, to promote indigenous telecom technology.

Aim of the Telecom Technology Fund  

It aims to fund Research and Development  in rural-specific communication technology applications and form synergies among academia, start-ups, research institutes, and the industry to build and develop the telecom ecosystem. 

The scheme aims to promote technology ownership and indigenous manufacturing, create a culture of technology co-innovation, reduce imports, and boost export opportunities and creation of Intellectual Property.

The scheme entails grants to Indian entities to encourage and induct indigenous technologies tailor-made to meet domestic needs.

What is USOF (Universal Service Obligation Fund) 

• To provide good quality telecom service in rural and inaccessible areas where the private sector won’t go due to low profit or loss, the government of India came up with the Policy of Universal Service obligation.
• Under this policy a Universal Service obligation Fund was set up which will provide funds for creating telecom facility in the rural and inaccessible areas.
• Every private telecom companies has to pay a certain percentage of its income to this fund.
• The Universal Service Support Policy came into effect from 01.04.2002. 
• USOF comes under the Department of Telecommunication, Ministry of Communication, and Government of India.
• The infrastructure created under USOF comes under Government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)

Indore adjudged the cleanest city in India for the consecutive sixth time: Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022

Tags: place in news National Government Schemes

The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs announced Indore as the cleanest city of India for the consecutive sixth time in its  7th Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022’ ,announced on 1 October 2022. 

The award was presented to the  winner State and the cities by the President Droupadi Murmu at a function held in New Delhi on 1 October 2022.

The Madhya Pradesh City of Indore was followed by Surat of Gujarat and Navi Mumbai of Maharashtra,who were ranked second and third respectively.

Best Clean State 

Madhya Pradesh was ranked the cleanest State followed by Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra at the second and third place respectively.

Cities having a population of less than one lakh 

In the category of cities having a population of less than one lakh, Maharashtra’s Panchgani was ranked number one, followed by Chhattisgarh’s Patan (NP) and Maharashtra’s Karhad.

Cities having a population of more than one lakh along Ganga River 

Haridwar was adjudged the cleanest Ganga town in the category of more than 1 lakh population, followed by Varanasi and Rishikesh.

Cities having a population of less than one lakh along Ganga River 

Bijnor of Uttar Pradesh adjudged the cleanest Ganga town in the category of less than 1 lakh population, followed by Kannauj and Garhmukhteshwar, all of Uttar Pradesh.

Cleanest cantonment board.

Deolali in Maharashtra was adjudged the cleanest cantonment board.

Cleanest State having fewer than 100 urban local bodies.

Tripura has bagged the top rank among the states having fewer than 100 urban local bodies.

SWACHH SURVEKSHAN

Swachh Survekshan is the world’s largest urban sanitation and cleanliness survey which has been conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs since 2016. The aim of the Swachh Survekshan is to foster a spirit of healthy competition among towns and cities so as to improve their service delivery to citizens and towards creating cleaner cities. 

In the first Swachh Survekshan 2016, 73 major cities were surveyed. However in the 7th edition of Swachh Survekshan 2022, 4,355 cities were surveyed making it the world’s largest urban cleanliness survey

This year’s survey with a “People First” theme received over an unprecedented 9 crores, feedback, a marked increase from last year’s 5 crores.

Union Ministry for Housing and Urban Affairs: Hardeep Singh Puri

National Voluntary Blood Donation Day

Tags: Important Days

Every year National Voluntary Blood Donation Day is observed on 1st October. It is observed to raise awareness about Blood donation and promote voluntary Blood donation in the country. 

This year the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare organised Raktdaan Amrit Mahotsav, a countrywide mega drive for voluntary blood donation from 17th September to 1st October this year. 

When was it started? 

The National Voluntary Blood Donation was first observed in 1975. It was started by the Indian Society of Blood Transfusion and Immunohematology.

Note 

World Blood Donor day is observed on 14 June every year in the world. 

The theme of the World Blood Donor day 2022 is: Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives.

Government’s ambitious ONDC platform launched in Bengaluru

Tags: place in news Economy/Finance

The Government of India ambitious Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) started its live beta testing on 30 September 2022 across 16 pin codes in Bengaluru, Karnataka. 

In April 2022, the Government launched the pilot phase of the open network for digital commerce in five cities – Delhi, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Shillong and Coimbatore. 

ONDC is being launched to take on the multinational e-commerce giant Amazon and Flipkart which control around 60 % of the Indian e- commerce market.

What is ONDC?

What is Open Network for Digital Commerce(ONDC)

It is an ecommerce platform built by the government of India to enable the small kirana stores to access processes and technologies that are typically deployed by large e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.

Unlike Amazon or Flipkart which is a closed system, ONDC is an open system with interoperability.

Who has set up the ONDC? 

Open Network for Digital Commerce is a private non-profit company established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Union Ministry of Commerce and industry to develop open networks for e-commerce. It was founded in April 2022. 

Many companies like Microsoft, Paytm, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Bank of India, Phone Pe and others have invested in the project.

Target of the ONDC 

The government wants to raise the e-commerce reach in the country to 25% of the population in the next 2 years as compared to 8% at present. ONDC will play a key role in achieving the target.

It is targeting to sign 900 million buyers onboard and targeting 1.2 million sellers on the shared network within the next 5 years, while achieving a gross merchandise value of 48 billion dollars.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal take charges of office

Tags: Person in news

Senior IAS officer Sunil Barthwal assumed charge as the Commerce Secretary on 30 September 2022.  Sunil Barthwal, is a 1989-batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre and was previously the Labour and Employment secretary.

Sunil Barthwal replaced B.V.R Subrahmanyam who has retired. B.V.R Subrahmanyam has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of India Trade Promotion Organisation(ITPO).

Important Secretary of the Government of India for exam

Cabinet Secretary: Rajiv Gauba  

Finance Secretary:  T V Somanathan 

Home Secretary: Ajay Kumar Bhalla 

Defence Secretary: Ajay Kumar 

Foreign Secretary: Vinay Mohan Kwatra 

Avinash Pandey elected President of the 1AA Indian chapter

Tags: Person in news

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the ABP network, Avinash Pandey was elected as the President of the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) for 2022-23 at its annual general meeting.

Abhishek Karnani, director, Free Press Journal Group, was elected as Vice President.

The IAA comprises corporate members, organisational members, and educational affiliates. It has 56 chapters with individual members and young professionals from 76 countries including the top 10 economies in the world.

 IAA is an over 80 years’ old organization and is headquartered in New York, United States of America.

Airtel becomes the first telecom company to launch 5 g services in India

Tags: National Economy/Finance

Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel has announced the launch of 5g mobile service in 8 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Siliguri on 1 October 2022. He announced the launch of 5 g service from 1 October 2022 during the 6th Indian Mobile Congress being held in New Delhi from 1-4 October 2022. Airtel became the first telecom company to launch the 5g service in India. It intends to cover the whole of India by March 2024. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Mobile Congress on 1 October and the theme of the Mobile Congress is: ``New digital Universe".

Mukesh Ambani owned Jio Telecom has announced that it will roll out its services in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai by Diwali and the whole country would be covered by December 2023. 

Jio 5G will be the world`s largest and most advanced 5G network. Unlike other operators, Jiu’s 5G network will be stand alone with zero dependency on 4G network. 

Vodafone Idea has not yet disclosed its 5g roll out plan.

RBI announces the list of 16 NBFC included in the NBFC-Upper Layer for enhanced supervision

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the list of 16 Non-Banking Finance Companies- Upper List (NBFC-UL) on 30 September 2022 for better and enhanced regulation of the sector. 

In October 2021, RBI introduced scale based regulation for NBFC.

Scale Based Regulation 

RBI introduced the concept of scale based regulation for the NBFC on the basis of the model developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Regulation (BCBS).  The BCBS model provided for proportionality of regulation of banks according to the size of the Banks and its importance in the country’s economy.

If the bank was very big and if its collapses can badly affect a country’s economy, then those types of banks needed more supervision by the country’s central bank.

These types of banks in India are called Domestic- Systemically Important Banks (D-SIB). They are ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI.

Types of NBFC and Scale Based Regulation

Similar concept has been introduced for NBFC in India. According to risk and their importance to the economy, RBI has divided NBFC into four layers: Base Layer, Middle Layer, Upper Layer and Top Layer.

NBFCs in the lower layer will be known as NBFC-Base Layer (NBFC-BL). NBFCs in the middle layer will be known as NBFC-Middle Layer (NBFC-ML), NBFCs in the Upper Layer will be known as NBFC-Upper Layer (NBFC-UL) and NBFCs in the Top Layer will be known as NBFC-Top Layer (NBFC-TL).

The Base layer NBFC are considered to be less important and less risky and the upper layer has the highest risk of affecting the economy if they fail. 

The level of supervision of the NBFC by the RBI will depend on the risk as per the principle of proportionality of regulation.  It means the Upper layer NBFC will be very closely regulated by the RBI and they will have to follow extra guidelines of the RBI.

The level of regulation will relax as one goes down the list.

RBI does not expect any NBFC to be put in the top layer.

List of the companies  

The 16 companies in the NBFC-UL list are: 

LIC Housing Finance, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, Shriram Transport, Tata Sons, L&T Finance, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co., Shanghvi Finance Pvt. Ltd, Muthoot Finance, PNB Housing Finance, Tata Capital Financial Services, Aditya Birla Finance, HDB Financial Services and Bajaj Housing Finance.
 Regulation of NBFC by RBI 

NBFC has been mentioned in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act 1934. However, it got the power to regulate and supervise  the NBFC only in 1964 when Chapter III-B was inserted  in the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (‘RBI Act’). The RBI’s power to regulate and supervise the NBFC has been enhanced by various amendments to the act later on.

SEBI includes mutual fund units in Insider Trading regulations

Tags: Economy/Finance

Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in its board meeting on 30 September 2022 decided to include mutual fund units in the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015.

This  means that penal action can be taken against the officials of the fund house who use unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) pertaining to mutual funds, which is not yet publicly available to the unit holders.

An insider means who is a connected person or has possession of UPSI pertaining to the mutual fund schemes. 

Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was set up on 12 April 1988 and it was given statutory status by the SEBI Act 1992 on 30 January 1992.

• It comes under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
• It is the regulator of the Capital market and Commodities market in India.
• The first SEBI chairman was Dr S A Dave (1988-90)
• Madhabi Puri Buch is the current and 10th Chairperson of the SEBI.
• Headquarters : Mumbai

Union Minister Anurag Thakur launches Swachh Bharat 2022 at Prayagraj

Tags: National National News

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur launched a month-long nationwide 'Swachh Bharat 2022' at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh on 1 October.

Important facts

• The objective of Swachh Bharat 2022 program is to organize cleaning of public places and houses in all the districts of the country from 1st October to 31st October 2022.

• He said that 'Swachh Bharat' will lead to 'Swasth Bharat' and youth will play an important role in this campaign.

• He appealed to the public to contribute to saving the resources of the country and contribute to nation-building.

• He told that Prayagraj stood first in the Indian Sanitation League organized in 1850 cities of the country.

• Swachh Bharat 2022 programme is being organised in six Lakh villages of 744 districts across the country through the network of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) affiliated Youth Clubs and National Service Scheme Affiliated Institutions. 

• Swachh Bharat 2022 is not just a program but a serious effort to make people realize the importance of cleanliness.

• It will also contribute to the Happiness Index of the country.

World's largest safari park to be developed in Gurugram

Tags: State News

A statement released by the state government on 29 September stated that Haryana will create the largest jungle safari park in the world in the Aravalli range.

Important facts

• The 10,000-acre safari park will cover Gurugram and Nuh districts of Haryana.

• This project will be the largest such project in the world.

• Currently, Sharjah is home to the largest curated safari park.

• Opened in February 2022, Sharjah Safari Park is spread over an area of about 2,000 acres.

• The proposed Aravalli Park will be five times the size of Sharjah's Safari Park and will include a large herpetarium (a zoological exhibition space for reptiles and amphibians).

• The Safari Project of Haryana will be a joint project of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Government of Haryana.

• Under the project, the central government will also provide funds to Haryana for the project.

About Safari Park

• A safari park is an area or parkland in which animals are kept where they can roam freely.

• Bird Park in Gurugram Safari Park, four areas for big cats, one large area for herbivores, one area for exotic animal birds, visitor sites, tourist areas, botanical gardens, biomes, equatorial, tropical, coastal, desert, etc. will be included.

About Aravalli range

• It is a hill chain in northern India that runs 350 miles (560 kilometres) northeast across Rajasthan state. 

• Isolated rocky outcroppings can still be seen to the south of Delhi.

• Natural resources (including minerals) are abundant here and it acts as a barrier to the expansion of the Western Desert.

Directorate General of Training (DGT) launches Bharatskills Forum

Tags: National National News

The Directorate General of Training (DGT) on 30 September launched Bharatskills Forum.

Important facts

• It allows sharing of books, notes, videos, question bank, etc., and other relevant skill-related content for learners.

• The facility will act as a digital repository for the skilled community by facilitating sharing of content in various forms like handwritten notes, PDFs, scanned copies or recorded video messages of trainers or trainees in any language.

Bharat Skills

• In Oct 2019 DGT launched an online learning platform called the Bharatskills (https://bharatskills.gov.in ).

• It is a central digital repository for skills for trainees and trainers of the ITI ecosystem, providing easy access to updated syllabus, e-books, question banks, mock/practice papers, learning videos etc. for courses under Craftsman Training.

• The platform provides unparalleled access to a centralized, scalable and thriving ecosystem through its industrial partners for students and faculty who can now learn new age (Industrial Revolution 4.0) skills to meet the demands of the industry.

China Withdraws Proposal Against AUKUS Nuclear Submarines Plan At IAEA

Tags: International News

India's diplomatic prowess at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) forced China to withdraw its proposal against AUKUS (United Group of Australia, Britain and America) on 30 September.

Important facts

• China tried to get the resolution passed at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) general conference held in Vienna from 26 to 30 September 2021.

• The AUKUS (Australia, UK and US) Security Partnership had announced that it would facilitate Australia to acquire technology to build nuclear-powered submarines.

• On 30 September, China argued that the initiative violated its responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It also criticized the role of the IAEA in this respect.

• India's well-considered role helped many countries to take a clear stand on the Chinese proposal.

• The Indian Mission to the IAEA in Vienna worked closely with many IAEA member states in this regard.

• When China realized that its proposal would not get majority, it withdrew its draft resolution on 30 September.

AUKUS Alliance

• In September 2021 Australia, United States and United Kingdom (AUKUS) made an announcement to develop hypersonic missiles.

• They will work together through a security alliance called AUKUS to develop hypersonic missiles.

• The move comes amid growing concerns from the US and allies about China's growing military influence in the Pacific.

International Day for Older Persons

Tags: Important Days

International Day of the Elderly is celebrated every year on 1 October across the world.

Important facts

• The day is celebrated to spread awareness about the importance of senior citizens in the society and to appreciate their contribution.

• Senior citizens carry a lot of responsibility on their shoulders as the leaders of the society.

• They also carry forward the traditions, culture of the society and pass on their knowledge and experience to the younger generation.

• Older people are also highly vulnerable, with many living in poverty, health problems and discrimination.

• This day is also celebrated to focus on the responsibilities of the people to make the life of the elderly people happy.

• The theme of International Day of Older Persons, 2022 - "Resilience of Older Persons in a Changing World".

Background of the day

• On 14 December 1990, the United Nations General Assembly decided to observe 1 October every year as the International Day of Older Persons.

• International Day of Older Persons was celebrated for the first time on 1 October 1991.

Other facts

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the elderly population currently stands at 600 million.

• It is poised to double by 2025 and touch 2 billion by 2050.

• According to the United Nations Population Fund's 2019 report, India had a population of 1.36 billion elderly people and 6% of the population was 65 years of age or above.

AFSPA extended to 6 months in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh

Tags: National National News

The Central Government has extended the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) for another 6 months in the disturbed areas of 12 districts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.

Important facts

• According to the notice issued by the Union Home Ministry, AFSPA will be fully implemented in 3 districts of Arunachal and 9 districts of Nagaland.

• Nagaland’s nine districts where AFSPA will be implemented from October 1 - Dimapur, Niuland, Chumukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek, Peren and Zunheboto - and 16 police stations in four other districts - Kohima, Mokokchung, Longleng and Wokha.

• In Arunachal Pradesh, AFSPA will be applicable in three districts - Tirap, Changlang and Longding and the areas falling within the jurisdiction of Namsai and Mahadevpur police stations in Namsai district.

• Nagaland has 16 districts, Arunachal Pradesh has 26.

These areas of the states were removed from AFSPA

• AFSPA was completely withdrawn in Tripura in 2015, Meghalaya in 2018 and Mizoram in the 1980s.

• Due to the improvement in the security situation, AFSPA was removed completely in 23 districts of Assam and partially in one district with effect from April 1, 2022.

What is AFSPA?

• Armed Forces Special Powers Act, (AFSPA),1958, gives armed forces the power to maintain public order in “disturbed areas.”

• It came into force decades ago in the context of insurgency in the northeastern states.

• It provides "special powers" to the army, air force and central paramilitary forces.

• The Act provides that if "reasonable suspicion exists", the armed forces may also arrest any person without warrant; May enter or search premises without warrant and prohibit possession of firearms.

What are the Disturbed Areas?

• A disturbed area means which is declared by notification under Section 3 of the AFSPA.

• A region may be disturbed because of differences or disputes between members of different, racial, religious, language or regional groups or castes or communities.

• The Central Government or the Governor of the State or administrator of the Union Territory have power to declare the whole or part of the State or Union Territory as a disturbed area.

PFRDA observe 1 October as the National Pension System Diwas

Tags: Economy/Finance Important Days National News

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is observing 1st October as the National Pension System Diwas (NPS Diwas) to promote pension and retirement planning among the citizens of India. 

Important facts

• PFRDA is promoting this campaign on its social media platforms.

• PFRDA is organizing this campaign under 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'.

• The objective of the pension regulator, PFRDA is to encourage every citizen, be it working professionals or self-employed professionals, to plan for building a pension corpus after retirement to ensure a financially sound future.

• NPS subscribers will get the benefit of tax deduction on their contributions and regular income after retirement.

About PFRDA

• It is the regulatory body under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India for overall supervision and regulation of pension system in India.

• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Act was passed on 19 September 2013 and was notified on 1 February 2014.

• It regulates the National Pension System (NPS), subscribed by employees of Govt of India, State Governments and by employees of private institutions/organizations and unorganized sectors.

• As on 24 September, 2022, total number of subscribers under NPS is 571.86 lakhs (5.72 crores) and total Assets Under Management (AUM) is 7,99,467 crore (7.99 trillion).

India abstains on UNSC resolution condemning Russia’s ‘referenda’ in Ukraine

Tags: International News

India abstained from voting on a draft resolution tabled by the US and Albania at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on September 30 that condemned Russia's illegal referendum and its occupation of Ukrainian territories.

Important facts

• The resolution demanded that Russia immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine.

• 15 Security Council countries were supposed to vote on this resolution, but Russia used a veto against it, due to which the resolution could not be passed.

• 10 of the 15 Security Council countries voted in favor of the resolution, while China, Gabon, India and Brazil did not participate.

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the occupation of another country's territory by threat or use of force is a violation of the United Nations Charter and the principles of international law.

• India's position has been clear and consistent from the very beginning of this conflict.

• She said that the global order is based on the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and the territorial integrity of all states. Rhetoric or escalation of tension is not in anyone's interest.

• On 30 September, Russian President Putin submitted his claim to the Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya.

• It was also decided by the Security Council that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally" withdraw all its military forces from the territory of Ukraine.

About UNSC :

• It was established in 1945 by the United Nations Charter.

• It is one of the six major organs of the United Nations.

• The other 5 organs of the United Nations are - the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the Trusteeship Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice and the Secretariat.

• It has five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, collectively known as the P5. 

• India is currently a non-permanent member of the UNSC for a two-year term, which expires in December.

• Any one of them can veto a resolution.

• Headquarters - New York