DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Oct. 3, 2022

External Affairs Minister S.Jaishankar to visit New Zealand ,Australia from 5 October

Tags: Person in news International News

The External Affair Minister S. Jaishankar will be on an official visit to New Zealand and Australia from 5-11 October 2022.  The minister will be visiting New Zealand for the first time as an external affairs minister while he will be visiting Australia for the 2nd time this year.

Visit to New Zealand 

According to the Ministry of External Affairs S.Jaishankar will meet the New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and will discuss the whole spectrum of relations between India and New Zealand.

On 6 October he will join New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to honour members of the Indian community for their outstanding achievements and contributions.

According to the ministry “"Both leaders will release India@75 postage stamps to commemorate and showcase Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in New Zealand,"

'Heartfelt - The Legacy of Faith,' a book highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special bond with the Sikh community, will also be released on the occasion. Jaishankar will also launch the book 'Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery'.

He will also meet with several other leaders of New Zealand like Priyanka Radhakrishnan, Minister for Community and Voluntary Sector, Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities and Youth.

Priyanka Radhakrishnan, is the first person of India-origin to become minister in New Zealand.

Australian Visit 

During his Australian visit he will hold the 13th Foreign Ministers’ Framework Dialogue with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong. 

He is also scheduled to meet Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, as well as the officers from the Australian Navy.

Inter- Ministerial meeting held in Delhi to review Parali management

Tags: place in news National Government Schemes

With the onset of the harvesting season for Kharif crops an Inter-Ministerial meeting under the co-chairmanship of Union Minister of Power R.K Singh and Union Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, was held on 3 October 2022, in New Delhi to review the progress of biomass co-firing in thermal power plants along with Parali management in National Capital Region (NCR) and adjoining states.

The meeting was also attended by Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh along with senior officers. 

Background to the meeting 

Farmers in Haryana, Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh burn their Parali in order to clear their harvested paddy fields and prepare for the Rabi season. 

This burning of fields usually leads to heavy air pollution and toxic air in and around NCR during the winter season. 

The meeting was held to take stock of the situation and the preparedness of the concerned government.

To encourage the farmers not to burn the parali and provide them an incentive, the government of India launched the SAMARTH mission. 

Sustainable Agrarian Mission on use of Agro Residue in Thermal Power Plants (SAMARTH) 

Sustainable Agrarian Mission on use of Agro Residue in Thermal Power Plants (SAMARTH) was launched by the Government of India in 2021.

Under SAMARTH the Union Ministry of power launched the National Mission on Use of Biomass in coal based thermal Power Plants.

AIM of the Scheme :

•  It was launched by the Government of India to reduce stubble (parali) burning and to reduce carbon footprint of Thermal Power Plants while increasing the income of farmers.
• The farmers are encouraged to sell their crop residues, stubble to the power plants and earn extra income instead of burning in the field which increases pollution.
• Thermal power plants are encouraged to use crop residue along with coal for production of power.  It will reduce the use of coal for power generation and consequently lesser amounts of carbon will be produced.
• The Ministry of Power's policy on “Biomass Utilization for Power Generation through Co-firing in Coal based Power Plants” issued in October 2021 mandates all thermal power plants in the country to use 5 to 10% biomass along with coal for power production.

Present Status of the SAMARTH mission  

• Giving the achievement of the SAMARTH mission the government said that at present 39 thermal power plants had co-fired biomass pellets.
• In the NCR region, 10 thermal power plants have started co-firing. 
• As on date, 83066 MT of biomass has been co-fired in 39 thermal power plants across the country totalling to a capacity of 55390 MW. 
• In the NCR region, the biomass co-fired is 22,696 MT out of which 95% has been done by NTPC.

Union Minister Narayan Rane inaugurates Khadi Fest – 2022 exhibition in Mumbai

Tags: place in news National Summits

The Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Narayan Rane inaugurated the Khadi fest – 2022 Exhibition in Mumbai on 3 October 2022. The Khadi Fest – 2022 has been organized by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and will be held till 1 November, 2022.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission has been organizing Khadi Fest every year to mark the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. However, this time the exhibition has been organized after a gap of two years.

Khadi Village and Industries Commission (KVIC) 

• The Khadi Village and Industries Commission (KVIC) was set up in 1957 under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act of 1956.
• It is under the Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.
• It is responsible for planning, promotion, organisation, and implementation of programs for the development of Khadi and other village industries in the rural areas along with other agencies engaged in rural development wherever necessary.

Chairman of KVIC:  Manoj Kumar 

Ketanji Brown Jackson appointed as the first black woman Judge of the United States Supreme Court

Tags: Person in news International News

Ketanji Brown Jackson has been appointed as the first Black woman judge of the United States Supreme Court. Jackson is the sixth woman to become the Judge of the United States of America’s Supreme Court.

About the United States of America Supreme Court

• In the United States of America there are two Supreme Courts. Every state in the US has its own Supreme Court which interprets the constitution of the respective state.
• There is a Federal Supreme Court also known as the US Supreme Court which interprets the constitution of the United States of America.
• In the United States all the 50 states have a constitution of their own and the Federal government (United States Government) has a constitution of its own.
• It was set up in 1789.
• It has one Chief Justice and eight other judges.
• The Judges of the Supreme Court are for life. It means they have no retiring age  (In India the Supreme Court Judge retires after reaching the age of 65 years)
• The Supreme Court of the United State has a police of its own which enforce its decision (In India supreme Court has no separate police force)
• It is located in Washington D.C

Svante Paabo, the scientist who discovered the genome of primitive humans, won the Nobel Prize for Medicine

Tags: Awards Person in news International News

Swedish geneticist Svante Paabo won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on 3 October 2022 for discoveries that help in our understanding of how modern day humans evolved from extinct ancestors.

 According to the Nobel Committee, Svante Paabo won the prize for "discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.” 

Svante Paabo is currently the director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. 

Svante Paabo is the son of the Swedish biochemist Karl Sune Detlof Bergström who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1982. 

His pioneering work  

He discovered a new human species called the Denisovans, from a 40,000-year-old fragment of a finger bone discovered in Siberia. 

During the discovery of the genome of an extinct species of human named Neanderthal, he developed a technique by which the genome of any fossil could be accessed. 

Dr. Pebo's more than 40 years of hard work discovered such a technique, which can be used to analyse the genome of millions of years old. Through this technique, factors such as bacteria, fungus, dust, seasonal changes and external chemical changes are cleaned from DNA. In the last 20 years, this technology has gone so far that now millions of DNA can be analysed simultaneously.

What is Genome 

Genome is the set of information about genes within a cell. Within the genome, the complete information of that organism is kept in the form of DNA. This information, called the genome, is made up of DNA molecules. Whenever a cell divides or copies, this information is also copied together.

Nobel Prize 

The Nobel Prize, which is considered to be the most prestigious prize in the world, was created in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and wealthy businessman Alfred Nobel. The prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace have been awarded since 1901 and the economics prize was first given in 1969. 

The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be handed out on 10 December 2022. 10 December is the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel.

Union Finance Ministry to launch a special financial inclusion drive from 15 October

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Union Finance ministry has announced a special campaign to further deepen the Financial Inclusion (FI) framework by completing the task of providing bank accounts to unbanked, providing loans for putting up cold chain infrastructure and expanding the coverage and penetration of Mudra and KCC to newer segments. The campaign will be from 15 October to 26 November 2022.

Focus on seven district 

According to the ministry , the campaign will be  initially be rolled out at the gram panchayat level in seven districts across India including Cuttack (Odisha), Aurangabad and Pune (Maharashtra), Kakinada (AP), Kaushambi (UP), Datia (MP), Barpeta (Assam).

Main focus of the special campaign 

The main focus of the special campaign will be ;

• achieve targets in respect of opening  bank accounts, insurance/pension schemes for eligible individuals,
• distribution of loans to Farmer Produce Organizations (FPOs), Self Help Group (SHG) for establishment of Cold-Chain infrastructure,
• expanding the coverage of MUDRA & Kisan Credit Cards penetration for persons engaged in animal husbandry, dairy & fisheries,
• bringing SHG members within the ambit of the Financial Inclusion ecosystem of the country,
• Linking of existing bank accounts with Aadhaar and mobile number of the existing accounts with special focus on making BSBDA (Basic Saving Bank Deposit Account) Small account into a normal account by doing full KYC (Know Your Customer).

Financial Inclusion 

Financial inclusion refers to the inclusion of the unbanked population of the country under the formal credit system. It simply means that banks shall be present in every area of the country so that people can open accounts with the bank and have access to cheap credit and other financial services.

The National Strategy for Financial Inclusion 2019-24 has set certain targets. They are as follows;

•  Providing banking access to every village within a 5 km radius and in the hilly areas banking access is to be provided in an area having 500 households.
• The milestone has been fully achieved in 25 states and 7 UTs as on March 31, 2022 and 99.94 percent of the identified villages/hamlets across the country have been covered. Efforts are on to achieve the target for the remaining villages/ hamlets.
• Opening of BSBD accounts with overdraft facility up to Rs 5000.
• Providing insurance, pension facilities to the account holders. 

Government cuts windfall tax on crude oil as global oil prices eases

Tags: Economy/Finance

The government of India has announced a cut in the windfall tax on the domestically produced crude oil on 2 October 2022 after the fall in the international crude oil prices.

The windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil   has been reduced to Rs 8000 per tonnes from earlier Rs 10,500 per tonne.

Similarly the government has reduced the export duties on diesel to Rs 5 per liters from earlier Rs 10 per litre.

The export duty on Jet aviation fuel was also reduced to 0%.

The special taxes on the oil sectors were imposed by the government on 1 July 2022 after a steep increase in the price of crude oils in the International market. The special taxes were imposed as the government claimed that the oil companies were earning abnormal profits.

The finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had promised that the government will review the taxes every fortnight and reduce the taxes if the International oil prices come down.

The duties were partially adjusted in the previous five rounds on July 20, August 2, August 19, September 1 and September 16 and were removed for petrol. 

Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto wins London Marathon 2022

Tags: Sports Person in news

The 23-year-old Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw became the youngest winner of the women’s race at the 42nd London marathon, while the Kenyan Amos Kipruto won the men’s section. The London marathon, which is usually held in the month of April every year, was held on 2 October 2022 due to covid.

The London Marathon, like all marathon races, has a distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 miles) long.

This year many leading marathon runners did not participate in the London marathon. The male world record holder Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya opted out of the race while the women’s world record holder Kenyan Brigid Koskei was ruled out due to injury.

The men's and women's winners receive a prize money of $55,000. 

Indian Mars Orbiter mission finally comes to end after 8 years of mission

Tags: Science and Technology

According to the reports quoting ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) the India’s Mars Orbiter spacecraft or Mangalyaan has run out of propellant and its battery drained beyond the safe limit.  It signals perhaps the end of the mission which was launched eight years ago and was designed to function for 6 months.

According to ISRO, the orbiter recently went into a long eclipse, and after that, there was no communication from it. The satellite had gone into eclipse earlier also and performed automatic maneuvers to come out of eclipse and re-establish communications. But if there is no fuel left, it would not be able to perform those automated movements.

The Mangalyaan was launched in a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)  C25 on 5 November 2013 and reached Mars on 24 September 2014. It was ISRO’s first interplanetary mission. At a budget of Rs 450 crore ($74 million), it is one of the most cost-effective space missions in the world.

The Mars mission was designed to last just six months, and the probe has sent a huge volume of data from the red planet in these eight years. The spacecraft carries five scientific instruments, Mars Colour Camera (MCC), Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS), and Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM), Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) and Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP).

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) 

It was set up on 15 August 1969

It is India's national space agency. It launches its space rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

Headquarters: Bengaluru

Chairman: S.Somanath

Defence Minister inducted first indigenously developed light combat helicopters into Indian Air Force in Rajasthan

Tags: Defence Science and Technology

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inducted the first indigenously developed light combat helicopters (LCH) named Prachand was inducted  into Indian Air Force (IAF) at Jodhpur in Rajasthan on October 3.

Important facts

• The LCH was inducted at an event in Jodhpur in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Choudhary.

• The LCH is designed to promote the combat prowess of the Indian Air Force.

• In March 2022, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had approved the purchase of 15 indigenously developed Limited Series Production (LSP) LCHs at a cost of Rs 3,887 crore.

About Light Combat Helicopter (LCH)

• It is a dedicated combat helicopter designed and developed indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

• The Advanced Light Helicopter in LCH is similar to Dhruv.

• It has several stealth features, armoured-protection system, night attack capability and crash-worthy landing gear.

• The helicopter can be deployed for high-altitude bunker-busting operations, counter-insurgency operations in jungles and urban environments, as well as assisting military forces on the ground.

• It has indigenized several key aviation technologies like glass cockpit and composite airframe structure.

• It is the only attack helicopter in the world that can land and take-off at an altitude of 5,000 meters or 16,400 feet with weapons that meet the specific requirements of the Indian Armed Forces.

Government to set up 100 5G labs to boost innovation

Tags: National Economy/Finance National News

Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on 2 October that the government plans to set up 100 labs for 5G technology across India and at least 12 of them will be used to train students and conduct experiments.

Important facts

• The minister also asked companies participating in the Indian Mobile Congress to provide their inputs for the new telecom bill, through which the government aims to simplify the licensing regime.

• He said that the government is working significantly towards simplifying the licensing regime for all telecom companies.

• Indigenous telecom gear maker HFCL announced the launch of 5G Lab-as-a-Service to accelerate the rollout of 5G solutions and services.

• It will provide an automated testing environment for the private sector, academia and the government to work together on innovations.

Bhupesh Baghel launches 'Mahatma Gandhi Rural Industrial Park Scheme'

Tags: Government Schemes Person in news State News

The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has launched 'Mahatma Gandhi Rural Industrial Park Scheme' on 2 October 2022 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. The state government is developing village Gauthans as Rural Industrial Parks to provide employment and means of income to the rural poor families.

Government of Chhattisgarh has established Gauthans in 8048 villages where cattles are kept and provided free of cost fodder, waters etc.

'Mahatma Gandhi Rural Industrial Park Scheme' 

Mahatma Gandhi Rural Industrial Park is being set up in the selected rural areas of the state to develop them as livelihood centers. These parks are being developed as rural production and service centers.

In the first phase 300 Rural Industrial Parks are being developed and for this purpose one to three acres of land has been reserved for the park in Gauthans.

Budget allocation 

A provision of Rs 600 crore has been made for this scheme in the budget of the state government. 

An amount of Rs.1 crore each has been provided to all the approved Rural Industrial Parks.

Features of the Industrial Park 

The amount will be used to develop infrastructure like electricity, roads etc. and provide training to the youths.

Units for the manufacture of vermicomposting, poultry, goat rearing, agricultural and horticultural crops and processing of minor forest produce will be set up in the Gauthans developed under the Suraji Gaon Yojana. Along with this, flour-mill, pulse mill, oil mill are also being established.

Chhattisgarh

The modern state of Chhattisgarh was created on 1 November 2000 by splitting Madhya Pradesh.

Governor of Chhattisgarh: Anusuiya Uikey 

Capital: Raipur 

Nord Stream pipeline leakages

Tags: International News

Sweden's coast guard said on 29 September that it had detected a fourth leak in two damaged Nord Stream pipelines.

Important facts

• These leaks are occurring in important Nord Stream pipelines (Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2).

• These pipelines carry natural gas from Russia through the Baltic Sea to Germany.

• Earlier this week two other leaks were found near Denmark.

• The Danish military released a video saying it had seen gas bubbles on the surface of the sea off the island of Bornholm.

• At the time of the leak, both were not supplying gas to Europe. Methane leaks from broken pipelines have also caused serious concern to environmentalists.

• Germany is Russia’s biggest European gas consumer, and most of it comes through the Nord Stream.

Nord Stream Pipeline

• Nord Stream has two pipelines, each containing two lines.

1. Nord Stream 1

• It was completed in 2011. It runs from Vyborg in northwest Russia to Lubmin in northeastern Germany via the Baltic Sea.

2. Nord Stream 2 

• In 2015, Russian energy major Gazprom and five other European firms decided to form Nord Stream 2.

• It runs from Ust-Luga in Russia to Greifswald in Germany through the Baltic Sea and was completed in September 2021.

• It will carry 55 billion cubic metres of gas every year.

• Nord Stream 1 and 2 together will supply an aggregate of 110 billion cubic metres of gas to Germany per year. 

• The pipeline falls in the territory of EU members Germany and Denmark.

• In December 2019, work on the project was suspended due to the threat of US sanctions.

• In January 2021, the US sanctioned a Russian ship carrying out pipe laying work for the project.

• An agreement was reached between the US and Germany on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Top 5 Natural Gas producing Countries 

• United States - 914.6 billion Cubic Meters

• Russia - 638.5 billion Cubic Meters

• Iran - 250.8 billion Cubic Meters

• China - 194 billion Cubic Meters

• Qatar  171.3 billion Cubic Meters

Top 5 Countries that Consume the Most Natural Gas 

• United States 

• Russia 

• China 

• Iran 

• Canada

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• Top 5 Countries with the Largest Natural Gas Reserves

• 
  

• Russia    

• Iran    

• Qatar    

• Turkmenistan    

• United States

Virat Kohli the first Indian to score 11000 runs in T20

Tags: Sports Person in news

Former Indian cricket captain, Virat Kohli became the first Indian batsman to make 11,000 runs in the T20 format. He crossed the milestone in the 2nd T20 International match against the South African side at the Barsapara cricket stadium, Guwahati, Assam on 2 October 2022.

He scored 49 unbeaten runs in India's total of 237 for 3 in 20 overs .India won the match by 16 runs to go up 2-0 in the three match series.

Virat Kohli is now at the 4th spot in the list of batsmen with most runs in T20s. The list is topped by Chris Gayle of West Indies, who has 14562 runs in 463 matches. Kieron Pollard sits at the 2nd spot with 11915 runs in 614 matches and. Shoaib Malik of Pakistan is at the 3rd spot and has 11902 in 481 matches.

World Habitat Day

Tags: Important Days

World Habitat Day is celebrated annually on the first Monday of every October. In the year 2022, this day is being celebrated on 3rd October.

Important facts

• The day aims to highlight people's basic right to shelter and remind them that they are also responsible for the habitat of future generations.

• It aims to consider the situation in towns and cities and focus on promoting the basic right to adequate shelter and housing for all.

• The theme of 2022 - “Mind the Gap. Leave No One and Place Behind”. 

• This day for the year 2022 will focus on the problem of inequality, the challenges facing cities and other human settlements.

• World Habitat Day 2022 aims to focus on the growing inequalities and vulnerabilities that have been a result of the triple ‘C’ crises- COVID-19, climate change and conflict.

Background of the day

• In 1985, the United Nations declared the first Monday of October every year to be observed as World Habitat Day.

• World Habitat Day was first observed in 1986 with the theme "Shelter is my right".

• Nairobi hosted the first World Habitat day year. 

• In 1989, the UN Human Settlements Programme launched “The Habitat Scroll of Honour award”. 

• It is the world's most prestigious human settlement award.

Election Commission launched Matadata Junction

Tags: National National News

The Election Commission launched Matadata Junction, a year-long voter awareness program on All India Radio on October 3.

Important facts

• Matadata Junction was launched in a program organised at Akashvani Rang Bhawan, New Delhi.

• Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar inaugurated the program in the presence of Election Commissioner of India Anoop Chandra Pandey, CEO Prasar Bharati Mayank Kumar Agarwal.

• DG AIR News Vasudha Gupta and actor Pankaj Tripathi, who is an ECI state icon, were present on the occasion.

About Matadata Junction

•  Under this, 52 episodes of 15 minutes duration will be telecast every Friday on Vividh Bharati stations, FM Rainbow, FM Gold and primary channels of All India Radio.

• Each program will be based on a specific theme on the electoral process.

• All 52 themes aim to encourage all eligible citizens, especially young and first-time voters.

• Quiz, interviews with experts, and songs produced by EC's SVEEP (Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation) team will be played in every episode.

• The program includes a Citizens' Corner where any citizen can ask questions or make suggestions on any aspect of voting.

Matadata Junction will be conducted in 23 languages

• 23 languages are - Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili & Dogri.

Election Commission of India

• It is a permanent and independent body established by the Constitution of India to ensure free and fair elections in India.

• It was established as per the Constitution on 25 January 1950.

• It administers the elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Assemblies, State Legislative Councils and the President and Vice President of the country.

• It has nothing to do with elections to panchayats and municipalities in the states. For this the Constitution of India provides for a separate State Election Commission.

• Basically there is only one Chief Election Commissioner in the Election Commission.

• Currently it consists of two Election Commissioners.

• The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

• They have a tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years.

UNESCO launches list documenting 50 iconic Indian heritage textiles

Tags: National National News

UNESCO released a list of 50 exclusive and iconic heritage textile crafts of the country.

Important facts 

• According to UNESCO, the major challenge to protect the intangible cultural heritage of the South Asian region is the lack of proper inventory and documentation.

• UNESCO's publication aims to bridge this gap.

• UNESCO lists 50 textiles as Distinctive and Prestigious Heritage Textile Crafts of India after conducting extensive research.

Listed some important textile crafts of India

• Toda embroidery and Sungadi of Tamil Nadu

• Himroo weaves of Hyderabad in Telangana

• Bandha tie and dye weaving of Sambalpur in Odisha

• Khes from Panipat in Haryana

• Chamba rumals of Himachal Pradesh

• Thigma or wool tie and dye of Ladakh

• Awadh Jamdani from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh

• Ilkal and Lambadi or Banjara embroidery from Karnataka

• Sikalnayakanpet Kalamkari from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu

• Kunbi weaves from Goa

• Mashru weaves and Patola from Gujarat

• Himroo from Maharashtra

• Garad-Koirial of West Bengal

Burkina Faso coup: Deposed military leader Damiba 'resigns'

Tags: International News

There has been a military coup in the West African country of Burkina Faso. Deposed military leader Damiba 'resigned' on 2 October. A new military takeover has been announced in Burkina Faso.

Important facts

• Paul-Henri Sandogo Damiba offered his resignation, to avoid confrontation with serious human and material consequences.

• Nine months ago, the President was removed from office through a military coup in the country, for the first time in 2022.

• On 29 September, 2022, an army officer on state television announced the dissolution of the current government and the dismissal of the junta leader, President Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Henri Damiba.

• Army Captain Ibrahim Traore will now take over the reins of the country's ruling junta, as president of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguards and Restoration.

About Burkina Faso

• Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa.

• It is bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and the Ivory Coast to the southwest.

• It was formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta.

• Capital - Ouagadougou

• Form Of Government - military regime

• Official Language - French

• Currency - Franc

The Indian Army deploys M777 Howitzers

Tags: Defence National News

The Indian Army has deployed the M777 Ultra Light Howitzer (155 mm) in the harsh terrain of the country's northern border.

Important facts

• This gun is highly transportable for rapid deployment to meet any operational contingency.

• In the next five years, there are plans to induct several guns, including indigenous ones, into the Army's artillery regiments.

• India has contracted 145 M777 guns from BAE Systems (British Aerospace) and more than half of them have been inducted.

• The Indian Army has also deployed the K9 Vajra-T52-caliber self-propelled artillery gun in Ladakh.

M777 Ultra Light Howitzer

• The M777 is a key component of the Army's Field Artillery Rationalization Plan (FARP), which was approved in 1999.

• The 155 mm/39-caliber M777 howitzer has a range of up to 30 km, but is capable of striking targets at ranges of more than 40 km in some areas.

• Built with titanium and aluminum alloys, the howitzers weigh 4,218 kg.

• The Indian Air Force CH-47F Chinook helicopter can carry the howitzer as an underslung load for rapid deployment in high altitude areas.