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By admin: Oct. 13, 2022

Solar Electric Hybrid high speed ferry launched in Goa

Tags: Environment Person in news State News

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal launched a Solar-Electric Hybrid High Speed Ferry and inaugurated a floating jetty project at Panaji, Goa on 13 October 2022. 

The Solar-Electric Hybrid High Speed Ferry project is funded by the government of Goa at a cost of over 3.9 crores and has a carrying capacity of 60 passengers. 

The floating jetty has been funded by the Inland Waterways Authority of India, the three jetties commissioned were built at a project cost of Rs. 9.6 crores. The jetties are solid concrete structures that float on water, are easy to install and have minimal environmental impact in their construction. 

Speaking on the occasion the minister said that the project is likely to boost the tourism sector in the state.

First Solar Powered Ferry in India 

The first solar powered ferry in India, Aditya was launched in 2017 in Kerala. It was built by the NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats for the Kerala State Water Transport Department.

External Affairs minister S.Jaishankar to visit Egypt on his first official tour

Tags: International News

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, External Affairs Minister Dr S.Jaishankar will be on his first official visit to Egypt from 15-16 October 2022. He is going there on the invitation of Egypt's Foreign minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry.  According to the ministry both the leaders will discuss a range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. 

India and Egypt traditionally enjoy warm and friendly relations underpinned by historical and cultural linkages. India is trying to deepen its relation with Egypt.

 Recently in the month of September Defence minister Rajnath Singh was on a visit to Egypt to deepen defence ties.

 Both countries are celebrating 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. 

Egypt has been invited as a ‘Guest Country’ during India’s Presidency of G-20 in 2022-23.

Economic relations 

Egypt has been one of India’s largest trading partners in Africa and the promotion of bilateral trade, commerce and investments will be one of the focus areas during the visit. 

India - Egypt bilateral trade touched a record high at US$ 7.26 billion during the financial year 2021-22. 

Indian investment in Egypt exceeds US$ 3.15 billion. Over 50 Indian companies are actively present in Egypt in a range of sectors like manufacturing, chemicals, energy, infrastructure, retail etc.

Arab Republic of Egypt 

It is an Arab country which is located on the African continent.

President: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

Capital: Cairo

Currency: Egyptian pound 

17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention 2023 website launched to start online registration

Tags: National Summits State News

The website for the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention was jointly launched on 13 October 2022 by the External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar and the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan. 

The launch of the PBD website (pbdindia.gov.in) marks the commencement of online registration for participation in the PBD Convention 2023. 

Pravasi refers to the Indians who are working abroad (Non Resident Indians) or persons of Indian origin who have taken up the citizenship of other countries. 

17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention

• The 17th PBD Convention is being organized from 08-10 January 2023 at Indore, Madhya Pradesh, in collaboration with the Government of Madhya Pradesh. 
• The 17th PBD Convention will be held in a physical format after a gap of four years. The last PBD Convention in 2021 was held virtually during the Covid pandemic.
• The theme of PBD Convention 2023 is "Diaspora: Reliable partners for India’s progress in Amrit Kaal”.
• The PBD Convention 2023 will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 09 January 2023.
• The Youth PBD will be held on 08 January 2023, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. 
• On 10 January 2023, President Droupadi Murmu will confer Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards and preside over the Valedictory Session.

Who organizes the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with a state government  and an Industry body, either  Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) or Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI) . It is normally organised on 9 January.

Significance of  9 January  

• On this day in 1915 the greatest pravasi of India , Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa  in 1915 from South Africa  to India .
• His ship SS Arabia  docked in Bombay (now Mumbai)  on 9 January 1915.To honour and celebrate the occasion the government of India decided to start  Pravasi Bharatiya Divas  in 2003.

Meenaskshi Lekhi leads Indian delegation at the 6th CICA Summit meeting at Astana

Tags: place in news Summits International News

Union Minister for External Affairs Meenaskshi Lekhi  led the Indian delegation at the 6th Conference on Confidence Building Measures and Interaction in Asia (CICA) summit  held on 12-13 October 2022 at the Kazakhstan  capital, Astana.

Replying to the Statement of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif on Kashmir she said that Pakistan is misusing the CICA for propagating malicious propaganda against India. She said that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.

Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) 

The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.

The idea of convening CICA was first proposed by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, on 5 October 1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. 

27 countries including India, China, and Pakistan are members of CICA.

Summit meetings of CICA 

The First summit meeting was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 4 June 2022. It was attended by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The second CICA summit was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on June 17, 2006

The third CICA Summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey on 8 June 2010

The Fourth CICA Summit, was held in Shanghai, China  on 21 May 2014 

The Fifth CICA Summit was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 15 June 2019.

5th South Asian GEO India-2022 to be held in Jaipur from 14 -16 October 2022

Tags: place in news Summits

The three day (14 -16 October) 5th South Asian Geoscience Conference, GEO India 2022 will be held in the Rajasthan’s capital Jaipur. The conference aims at sharing the latest research on improved production of natural gas and oil.

The Conference will be inaugurated by the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and will be attended by over 100 experts from across India and other countries including the US, Norway and the European countries.

The conference is being organized by the Association of Petroleum Geologists (APG).

The theme of the 5th South Asian Geoscience Conference, GEO India 2022 is : ‘Fossil fuels, decarbonization and changing energy dynamics’.

All India law ministers conference to be held in Gujarat from 14th – 16th October, 2022

Tags: place in news Summits

The Union Ministry of Law and Justice will host an All India Conference of Law Ministers and Law Secretaries at Ekta Nagar in the Narmada district of Gujarat from 14th to 16th October, 2022.

Law Ministers and Law Secretaries from States and Union Territories will be participating in the conference. The Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju will address the conference on 15 October.

The conference will discuss a variety of topics relating to India's legal system so that policymakers may develop a road map for the country's future.

Maharatna Coal India to set up 1190 MW Solar Power Project in Rajasthan

Tags: Economy/Finance Science and Technology State News

The Government of India owned Maharatna Company, Coal India Limited (CIL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RUVNL), for setting up a 1,190-MW solar power plant in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan on 13 October 2022. The plant will be installed in a 2,000-MW solar park being developed by RVUNL in Poogal, Bikaner.

RVNUL CMD R K Sharma and Technical Director of Coal India Limited, V Reddy signed the MoU in the presence of Union Minister of Coal Prahlad Joshi and Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot in Jaipur.

Recently the e-commerce giant Amazon announced to set up its first solar plant in Rajasthan.

Rajasthan as an attractive destination for solar power 

Rajasthan with Thar Desert is suitable for generation of solar power using the desert's intense heat.  Furthermore, in comparison to the rest of the country, the state is thinly populated. Solar power plants in less populated areas enable clean energy to reach isolated communities that do not have access to electricity.

Rajasthan has the world's largest solar plant with a capacity of 2,245 MW in Bhadla of the Jodhpur district of the state.

In March this year the state government announced two new solar parks of 1,800 MW to be developed in the Jaisalmer and Bikaner districts of the state.

For the 800 MW project in Jaisalmer RNVUL was the developing agency while the 1,000 MW solar power project in Bikaner will be developed by Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation in the first phase.

Private solar project developer Rays Experts also announced in May this year that they will develop the world's largest solar park in Rajasthan with a capacity of 3000 MW. The project will be set up in Bikaner.

Service Sports Control Board tops the medal tally at the 36th National Games 2022

Tags: Sports Defence

The Service Sports Control Board (SSCB) has topped the medal tally at the recently concluded 36th National Games 2022 with 128 medals, including 61 golds, 35 silvers and 32 bronze. This is the fourth consecutive time that the SSCB has topped the medal tally in the National Games. It topped the medal tally in 2007, 2011 and 2015 and 2022 games.

Service Sports Control Board (SSCB) is a combined team of the Indian Army, Navy and Air force.

The National Games 2022 were held in six cities; Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Bhavnagar, of Gujarat from September 29 to October 12.  It was last held in Kerala in 2015. 

The next 37th National Games will be held in Goa in 2023.

Best Athlete of the National Game 2022

Best male athlete: 

29 year old swimmer, Sajan Prakash of Kerala. He won five golds, two silvers and one bronze medal. 

Best female athlete:

14 year old swimmer, Hashika Ramachandra of Karnataka. She won  six golds and one bronze medal in the game.

Best State Trophy

Maharashtra was awarded the Indian Olympic Association’s Best State trophy for winning the most medals (140) in the Games. 

However Maharashtra finished second to SSCB in the medal tally as SSCB had won more gold medals(61) as compared to Maharashtra (30) gold medals. 

National Games 2022 medal tally

RBI prohibits regulated entities from using Brickwork Rating services

Tags: Economy/Finance

Reserve Bank of India has asked Banks and NBFC, Credit Information Companies and other financial entities regulated by it, to immediately stop obtaining any new ratings from Brickwork Ratings India.

Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in its order dated 6 October 2022 had directed the Brickwork Ratings India,  to wind up its operation within 6 months after a number of deficiencies were found in its working by a joint team of RBI and SEBI .

Credit Rating Agencies are regulated by SEBI in India. Brickwork is one of the seven Sebi-registered credit rating agencies. The others are CRISIL, CARE, ICRA, Fitch, Infomerics Ratings and Acuité Ratings & Research.

What is a Credit Rating Agency? 

• Credit Rating agencies are financial companies which rate the credit worthiness of the government or the companies which want to raise capital from the market.
• Credit means loan and Credit worthiness means whether the borrower is capable of returning the loan on time or not and what is the level of risk involved.
•  The Rating agency looks into the borrower's financial strength and weakness, the quality of its management, its field of business  etc and then expresses its opinion .
• The credit rating agency expresses its opinion on the credit worthiness of the borrower by giving it ratings. Credit rating agencies typically assign letter grades to indicate ratings. Normally AAA is the highest possible rating for the borrower. 
• It means that in the opinion of the credit rating agency the borrower's risk of default is very low and it will repay the loan on time.
• Greater the risk, lesser the rating. If the rating agency gives the borrower a junk rating then it means that the risk of default is highest.

Benefits of rating 

• The credit rating agency's rating helps the investor/lender in determining the level of risk involved in giving loans to the borrower. 
• It also helps the borrowers as the rating affects the interest rates. If the borrower has been given the highest possible rating then the borrower will get loans at cheapest possible rates. As the rating declines the level of risk increases and so is the rate of interest.
• Companies which have been given junk ratings find it difficult to borrow money from the market and if anybody agrees to provide it loan then the rate of interest is very high.

NSDL buys 5.6% stake in government’s e-commerce project ONDC

Tags: Economy/Finance

India’s first depository company National Securities and Depositories Limited (NDSL) has announced on 12 October 2022 that it has bought 5.6 per cent stake in the Government of India backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) for Rs 10 crore.

ONDC started its live beta testing on 30 September 2022 across 16 pin codes in Bengaluru, Karnataka. 

National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) invested an amount of Rs 10 crore in ONDC under the private placement route. Private placement means the shares were sold directly to the NSDL by the ONDC Company and it was not offered to the public.

ONDC was set up by the Union Commerce and Industry Ministry in 2022 to develop an open network for e-commerce in India. 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.

Last month, state-owned Bank of India acquired over 5.5 per cent stake in ONDC for Rs 10 crore.  Apart from Bank of India, many companies like Microsoft, Paytm, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Phone Pe and others have invested in the project.

Eastern Naval Command conducts offshore security exercise ‘Prasthan’

Tags: Defence

Offshore security exercise 'Prasthan' was conducted at Krishna Godavari Basin Offshore Development Area (ODA) during 11-12 October, 2022.

Important facts

• It was conducted under the aegis of the Eastern Naval Command Headquarters, Ministry of Defence.

• This exercise is conducted every six months.

• This Exercise was conducted in the KG basin to validate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), address various contingencies and strengthen the command & control organisation towards Maritime Security.

• It aims to integrate the efforts of all maritime stakeholders involved in offshore defence.

• The exercise was coordinated by the Indian Navy and involved all stakeholders in the maritime sector, including Oil and Gas Operators, State Marine Police, Fisheries Department and Indian Coast Guard etc.

• It practiced contingencies such as terrorist infiltration, bombing, evacuation of casualties, search and rescue, fire incidents, oil spills and mass evacuation.

IAEA chief Rafael Gross calls for protecting Zaporizhzhia nuclear power in a meeting with President Putin in Russia

Tags: place in news Russia-Ukraine Person in news International News

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Gross met the Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg, amid concern over the safety of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

Rafael Gross met Putin after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv last week. 

Rafael Gross called for setting up a protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear power plant and asserted that they cannot lose any more time. He emphasised that Russia and Ukraine must do everything to help in ensuring that a nuclear accident does not occur during the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

Concern over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant 

The 6000 MW Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex is the largest European nuclear power complex which has been occupied by the invading Russian forces since early March 2022.

The area has been heavily fortified by the Russian military and the Ukrainian forces are also launching a counter attack. This has led to the fear that the nuclear complex could be hit in an attack which could lead to a nuclear catastrophe in the area. 

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

The IAEA was set up in 1957 as an agency of the United Nations.

The IAEA was set up to work with the member countries and multiple partners worldwide to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies. 

The International Atomic Energy Agency is the world's central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field.

Member Countries: 175

The IAEA headquarters is at Vienna, Austria and it has two regional offices located in Toronto, Canada and Tokyo, Japan,

Director General: Rafael Gross

Two day conference of Power and renewable energy ministers of States

Tags: Summits National News

Power Ministry to hold a two day conference of Ministers of Power and New & Renewable Energy of States and Union Territories in Udaipur, Rajasthan on 14 October 2022. 

Important facts

• The two-day conference will discuss the emerging issues in the power sector.

• The conference will be inaugurated by Union Energy Minister RK Singh.

• The conference is expected to deliberate on strengthening the power sector with a focus on energy conservation, renewable energy and reforms in the power sector.

• In the conference, discussions will also be held on ensuring round the clock power supply through investments, feasibility of state power distribution companies, smart metering, rights of consumers and future power systems.

Agenda of discussion

• Viability of DISCOMs

• Smart Metering

• Renewable Energy and Storage

• Power Sector Reforms

• Ensuring 24 x 7 power supply through timely investment

• Rights of Electricity Consumers

• Future power system in the year 2030

• Energy Conservation

PM Modi flags off Vande Bharat Express train from Una in Himachal Pradesh

Tags: State News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the country’s fourth Vande Bharat Express train from Una railway station in Himachal Pradesh on 13 October 2022.

Important facts

• The train will run between Amb Andaura, Una in Himachal Pradesh and New Delhi.

• The train will help in promoting tourism in the region and provide a comfortable and fast mode of travel.

• The travel time from Una to New Delhi will now be reduced by two hours.

• This is the fourth Vande Bharat train to be introduced in the country and is an improved version as compared to the earlier, which is much lighter and capable of reaching higher speeds in a shorter duration.

Features of Vande Bharat 2 

• It will be equipped with more advancements and improved features like 0 to 100 Kmpl speed in just 52 seconds, maximum speed up to 180 Kmph, lesser weight of 392 tons instead of 430 tons, and WI-FI facility.

• The new Vande Bharat will also have 32-inch LCD TVs which were 24 inches in the earlier versions.

• The 15 percent more energy efficient AC with the dust free clean air cooling of the traction motor will make travel more comfortable.

• The facility of side recliner seats which is being provided to the executive class passengers will now be made available for all classes.

About Vande Bharat Express Train

• The first Vande Bharat Express was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15 February 2019.

• These trains have a self-propelled engine which can save diesel and reduce electricity usage by up to 30%.

• The first Vande Bharat Express was manufactured by Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai.

• It was manufactured under the ‘Make in India’ programme, at a cost of about Rs 100 crore.

• Currently, two Vande Bharat Expresses are operational - first between New Delhi and Varanasi and the second from New Delhi to Katra.

• These trains can achieve a maximum speed of 160 kmph. 

• In the Union Budget for 2022-2023 the government has proposed the development and manufacture of 400 new Vande Bharat trains in the next three years.

PM Modi lays foundation stone of two hydropower projects in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh

Tags: State News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of two hydroelectric projects in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh on 13 October 2022.

Important facts

• These two hydroelectric projects are 48 MW Chanju-III Hydro-Electric Project and 30 MW Deothal Chanju Hydro-Electric Project.

• These projects will generate more than 270 million units of electricity annually and Himachal Pradesh is expected to generate an annual revenue of about Rs 110 crore.

• He also launched Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-III in Chamba.

• Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)-III, about 3125 km of roads will be upgraded in the state.

• Under this phase, about Rs 420 crore has been approved by the central government for the upgradation of 440 km of roads in 15 border and remote blocks of the state.

President Droupadi Murmu flags off Kolkata-Agartala express train

Tags: State News

President Draupadi Murmu flagged off the Agartala-Khongsang Janshatabdi Express and Agartala-Kolkata Express from Agartala Railway Station on 13 October 2022.

Important facts

• These trains connecting Tripura to Assam, West Bengal and Manipur will help boost connectivity and tourism in the Northeast region.

• The President is on a three-day visit to Tripura and Assam.

• President Murmu inaugurated the Tripura Judicial Academy and laid the foundation stone of the National Law University, Tripura.

• The President will later inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various projects of the Union Ministries of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare and the Government of Assam.

• This will include a supercomputer facility at PARAM Kamrup and a facility for design and development of high powered microwave components at IIT Guwahati.

• The President will also lay the foundation stone of the Regional Institute of Medical College and Hospital at Dhubri, National Institute of Virology (NIV) at Dibrugarh (Assam) and Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh).

About Tripura

• Capital   -   Agartala

• Governor   -   Satyadeo Narain Arya

• Chief Minister - Manik Saha

• State Bird  -  Green Imperial Pigeon (Ducula aenea)

• State Tree   - Agar (Aquilaria malaccensis)

• State Flower  -   Nageswar (Mesua Ferrea)

• Borders    -    Bangladesh, Mizoram and Assam.

• connected with the rest of India -  by NH-44 that runs through Assam, Meghalaya, North Bengal, Kolkata and other parts of India.

• No. of Districts   -  08

World’s first space tourist Dennis Tito to ride to moon again on SpaceX

Tags: Person in news International News

World’s first space tourist, Dennis Tito, has signed up with the Elon Musk Company SpaceX, to fly around the Moon aboard the Starship rocket.

The SpaceX Company on 12 October 2022 said that the rocket will take Tito and his wife, Akiko, within 200km (125 miles) of the far side of the Moon without landing on its surface.  The date of the launch has yet to be announced as the Starship is yet to be tested.

Dennis Tito, an American engineer and entrepreneur became the first human space tourist to visit the International Space Station in 2001.

He was launched onboard a Russian rocket with the help of US-based Space Adventures in 2001.

Few companies in the world are striving to make space travel a reality. They are SpaceX , Richard Branson-founded Virgin Galactic SPCE.N, and  Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin  which currently offers suborbital joyrides that hit an altitude of about 106km (66 miles) above the Earth.

90 year old American actor, William Shatner, who played the role of Captain James T Kirk on the TV series Star Trek, became the oldest person to ride a rocket into space when he travelled on a Blue Origin flight last year.

Human Space Flight 

The first person to go into space was Yury Gagarin of the Soviet Union on 12 April 1961 onboard the Vostok Rocket.

The first woman to go into space was Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union on 16 June 1963 onboard the Vostok 6 Rocket.

The first American to go into space was Alan Shepard in 1961.

Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma is the only Indian to go into space. He was part of the Soviet mission aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984. 

IMF lauds DBT scheme, calls it 'logistic marvel'

Tags: Economy/Finance Government Schemes

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 12 October 2022 lauded the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme in India and described it as a "logistical miracle" considering the country's sheer size.

Important facts

• The International Monetary Fund's deputy director, Paolo Mauro, said India's plan is a "logistic marvel that has helped hundreds of millions of low-income people".

• He said that countries across the world should learn from the DBT scheme as it is very impressive.

• He said that this program is specially targeted towards women, elderly and farmers and the technological innovation involved is commendable.

• IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinches said that India has emerged as a bright light at a time when the world is facing imminent prospects of recession.

• Gourinchas said that India needs some significant structural reforms to achieve the ambitious target of a $10 trillion economy.

• The Chief Economist lauded India's digitization efforts and termed it as a game changer.

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme

• The process of transferring the subsidy amount directly into the account of the beneficiaries instead of providing it directly to the government offices is known as DBT.

• In this context, transfer can be defined as the payment that the government makes directly to the beneficiary without receiving any return. Scholarships and subsidies are some examples.

• The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme was introduced on 1 January 2013.

• Its main objective was to reform the government's distribution system and redesign the existing process in welfare schemes by making the flow of money and information faster, safer and fraud-free.

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction

Tags: Important Days

International Disaster Risk Reduction Day is organised every year on 13 October to raise awareness about disaster mitigation and risk mitigation around the world.

Important facts

• In 2022, this international day will focus on Target G of the Sendai Framework.

• The Sendai Framework is a progressive framework and this important framework aims to reduce the number of people affected and critical infrastructure damage caused by disasters by 2030.

• The Sendai Framework emphasizes the need to fulfil the 2015 Paris Agreement.

• The primary goal of the Sendai Framework is to avoid new risks and mitigate existing risks.

• The theme of 2022 - Early Warning

Background of the day

• The day was started in 1989 following the call of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to promote a culture of disaster reduction across the world.

• The day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness of the importance of reining in the risks they face.

• In 2009, UNGA officially designated 13 October as the date to celebrate this day.

ISSF World Championship Shotgun: India finish fifth with one gold

Tags: Sports Sports News

At the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championships in Shotgun, India finished fifth with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals in Osijek, Croatia.

Important facts

• Shotgun powerhouses Italy, Great Britain and the USA finished the top three.

• China prevailing over India on the medal tally by virtue of winning a silver more, both the Asian giants had the same medal haul.

• The United States won the gold medal in the women's skeet team event on the final day of 12 October, with Indian trio Maheshwari Chauhan, Darshana Rahore and Raija Dhillon finishing 10th in the qualification.

• In the men's skeet team, India's Gurjot Khangura, Mairaj Ahmed Khan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka were placed ninth out of 22 teams.

• Italy won its seventh gold in this event.

• The ISSF World Championships has now shifted to Cairo, Egypt for the rifle and pistol leg.

ISSF World Championship

• The championship is administered by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF).

• These championships, including all shooting events of the ISSF, have been held every four years since 1954.

Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022 gets Cabinet approval

Tags: National National News

The Union Cabinet on 12 October 2022 has approved the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022. 

Important facts

• This bill has been brought to amend the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002.

• The aim of the amendment bill is to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country.

• The amendment to the Act will improve governance, increase transparency and accountability and reform the electoral process in multi-state cooperatives.

• Election authority will be constituted to ensure fair, free and timely elections.

• This amendment is an attempt to improve the ease of doing business and bring in more transparency.

Highlight of the bill

• The Bill includes provisions relating to representation of women and members of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes on the boards of multi-state cooperatives.

• The bill will include provisions of the 97th Constitutional Amendment.

• The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011 deals with the cooperative societies operating in India.

• The bill will expand the composition of the board and ensure financial discipline, apart from enabling multi-state cooperatives to raise funds.

• The Bill has specific provisions for the establishment of a Co-operative Election Authority, a Co-operative Information Officer and a Co-operative Ombudsman.

• There is a provision to ban the offenders for three years to bring more electoral discipline.

• The Bill provides for bringing in selected directors with experience in the fields of banking, management, cooperative management and finance.

Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002

• Co-operative is a state subject, but there are many societies such as sugar and milk, banks, milk unions etc. whose members and areas of operation are spread over more than one state.

• This act was passed to govern the multi state cooperative societies.

• For example, the Karnataka-Maharashtra border has most of the sugar mills that procure sugarcane from both the states.

• Maharashtra has the highest number of such cooperative societies followed by Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi.

India defeated South Africa in the final ODI to win the series 2–1

Tags: Sports Sports News

India beat South Africa by 7 wickets in the third and final One Day International cricket match on 11 October in Delhi to register a 2–1 win in the 3-match ODI series.

Important facts

• Chasing the target of 100 runs set by South Africa, India achieved the target by scoring 105 runs in 19.1 overs for the loss of three wickets.

• Kuldeep Yadav was declared player of the match.

• Fast bowler Mohammad Siraj was given the 'Man of the Series' award for his consistent performance in the series.

• He took five wickets in three matches at an average of 20.80 and an economy rate of 4.52.

• His best bowling figures in the series was 3 for 38. 

• Shikhar Dhawan was the captain of India in this series.