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By admin: Nov. 16, 2022

UP government to build Ramayana, Mahabharata, Buddhist circuits under the New Tourism Policy

Tags: place in news State News

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet in a meeting held on 16 November 2022 and chaired by the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath approved the New Tourism policy for the state on 16 November 2022.  The government will focus on developing the Ramayana ,Krishna, Buddhist and Mahabharata circuit to promote religious  tourism in the state .

Under the Ramayana circuit the places associated with Lord Rama will be developed . It will include Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Bithoor and other places of significance during the Ramayana period.

Under the Krishna Circuit the places associated with Lord Krishna  will be developed. Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul, Govardhan, Barsana, Nandgaon, and Baldev will be included in the Krishna circuit.

Under the Buddhist circuit Kapilvastu, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Kaushambi, Shravasti, Ramgram and other places associated with lord Buddha will be developed .

The Mahabharata circuit will include Hastinapur, Kampilya, Echhatra, Barnawa, Mathura, Kaushambi, Gonda, Lakshagriha.

Under the Shaktipeeth circuit Vindhyavasini Devi, Ashtabhuja to Devipatan, Naimisharanya, Maa Lalita Devi, Maa Jwala Devi, Shakumbhari Devi from Saharanpur to Shivani Devi, Chitrakoot and Sheetla Mata, Mau will be developed.

To boost spiritual tourism in the state, Gorakhpur, Balrampur, Mathura, Sant Ravidas Sthal, Maa Parameshwari Devi, Azamgarh, Bighu Ashram of Ballia, Bateshwar of Agra, Hanuman Dham Shahjahanpur have been included.

To boost wildlife and ecotourism,the government will focus on developing  sanctuary and forest reserves.

Under the new tourism policy the government will develop  places associated with the freedom struggle like Meerut, Shahjahanpur, Kakori and Chaurichaura will be developed as a tourist place . 

To boost tourism in the Bundelkhand area the government will focus  on districts like Charkhari, Chitrakoot, Kalinjar, Jhansi, Deogarh, Lalitpur, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, and Jalaun.

Jaiveer Singh is the Minister of Tourism & Culture in the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Assam government launches millet mission to double the income of state farmers

Tags: Economy/Finance Government Schemes State News

The Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on 16 November 2022 launched the “Assam Millet Mission” aimed at increasing agricultural productivity and doubling the farmer’s income. The mission also aims at encouraging the farmers to diversify their crops. .

Along with the Millet mission the Chief Minister also launched six soil testing and quality control laboratories Bongaigaon, morigaon,Golaghat, Udalgiri,Karimganj and Darrang.

Initially the millet mission will cover 25,000 hectares of land and later it will be extended to 50,000 hectares.

Millets or coarse cereals or nutri cereals 

• Millet is one of the oldest known foods to humans. However its consumption in the world has declined due to the emphasis given to wheat and rice by the governments. 
• It is also called coarse cereals or nutri cereals due to its high nutritive value. 
• Nutri-cereals refers to a group of crops comprising sorghum (Jowar), pearl millet (Bajra), finger millet (Ragi/Mandua), and small millets like little millet (Kutki), kodo millet (Kodo), barnyard millet (Sawa/Jhangora), foxtail millet (Kangni/Kakun), and proso millet (Cheena).
• They are called a superfood as they  are rich in nutrients such as copper, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese. They are low on glycemic index. 

Millets and India 

• According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) , India is the largest producer of millet in the world followed by Niger and China .
• The total production of millets in India in 2020-21 was 17.96 million tonnes which was nearly 41% of the world production.
• Rajasthan was the largest millet producing state in India.
• Millets are grown in about 21 states in the country including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.
• India was the 5th largest exporter of millet in the world in 2020 according to the Union ministry of Commerce data.

International Year of Millets 2023

• To highlight the importance of millets, India proposed in the United Nations to declare 2023 as the International Year of the Millets.
•  The proposal was accepted and passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2021 and 2023 was declared as the International Year of Millets.

First Global Media Congress held in Abu Dhabi;Apurva Chandra represents India

Tags: place in news Summits Person in news

The three day (15-17 November) first World media Congress opened on 15 November 2022 at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The conference-cum-exhibition Congress is organised by ADNEC Group in partnership with Emirates News Agency (WAM).

Theme of the World Media Congress: Shaping the Future of the Media Industry

Over 10,000 delegates and media-related companies are participating in the launch edition of the Global Media Congress.

India was represented by the Secretary, Ministry of Information Broadcasting Apurva Chandra. Addressing the Global Media Congress Apurva Chandra said that India is a country with a traditional media comprising 897 television channels, of which over 350 were news channels, and over 80 thousand newspapers coming out in various languages.

United Arab Emirate (UAE) 

It is a federation of seven Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Khaimah, Ajmain, Fujairah, and Umm -Al-Quwain. It is an Arabian country.

• Abu Dhabi is the largest of the emirates and is the centre of UAE oil business.
• It is situated in the West Asia /Middle East region of the world in the Arabian Peninsula.
• UAE in its present form came into existence in 1971. 

Capital of UAE: Abu Dhabi 

Currency: Emirati Dirham

President of UAE: Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He is the king of Abu Dhabi and the supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Indian company ReNew signs an agreement with the Egyptian government to set up Green Hydrogen plant in Egypt

Tags: Environment Economy/Finance International News

The Indian company ReNew Power Private Limited  , has signed an agreement with the Egyptian government  to set up a  green hydrogen  manufacturing facility at the Suez Canal Economic Zone in Egypt on 15 November 2022.The company will invest $8 billion in the project in phases.

Green Hydrogen refers to the breaking down of the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable sources of energy.

ReNew Power has partnered with Elsewedy Electric S.A.E. (Elsewedy) for this project.  Elsewedy is a leading integrated energy solutions provider in the Middle East and Africa, which will be the local co-developer for the project.

Highlights of the project 

According to the agreement, ReNew will set up a plant with a capacity to produce 20,000 tonne green hydrogen a year, which will later be raised to 220,000 tonnes, by relying on renewable energy sources.  

The project is scheduled to be implemented in phases, the first of which will be a pilot to produce 20,000 tonne green hydrogen, through a 150 MW electrolyser equipped with 570 MW of renewable energy to produce 100,000 tons of green ammonia annually.

What is Green Hydrogen, Brown Hydrogen, Blue Hydrogen?

Hydrogen is the first and the smallest element in the periodic table.

Depending upon the production method the colour of the hydrogen can be Green, Brown, Blue or Grey.    

Green Hydrogen 

It refers to the breaking down of the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable sources of energy. Renewable source of energy means which can be used again and again like solar power, hydel, wind energy etc. It contains no carbon which is responsible for global warming.

Grey Hydrogen 

Grey hydrogen is created from natural gas, or methane, using steam methane reformation. It produces Hydrogen and Carbon dioxide which is released in the atmosphere.

Blue Hydrogen 

Blue hydrogen is produced mainly from natural gas, using a process called steam reforming, which brings together natural gas and heated water in the form of steam.  It produces hydrogen and carbon dioxide.  

Black and Brown Hydrogen 

When black coal or lignite (brown coal) is used in the hydrogen-making process it is called as black or brown coal. 

ReNew Company 

ReNew is one of the largest renewable energy independent power producers globally. ReNew develops, builds, owns and operates utility-scale wind energy, solar energy and hydro projects. 

As of October 10, 2022, ReNew has a gross total portfolio of 13.4 GW of renewable energy projects across India, including commissioned and committed projects.

The company has also announced investing one lakh crore in renewable energy projects, including battery storage in both Maharashtra and Karnataka. 

Founder Chairman and CEO of the Company: Sumant Sinha

Blackstone launches its Asian Data center business from India

Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Science and Technology

American multinational private equity investor Blackstone has started its data centre business in Asia from India. It plans to increase it to 600 MW over the next two years through presence in five locations in the country.

Blackstone launched its data center platform Lumina CloudInfra on 15 November 2022. The Lumina CloudInfra is owned and managed by Blackstone’s Real Estate and Tactical Opportunities funds.

Initially the data center will be set up in Mumbai and Chennai, and later on it will be set up in Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad and Pune.

National Data Center 

The government data center has been set up and managed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).The first Data Centre was launched in Hyderabad in 2008, followed by NDC Pune in 2010, NDC Delhi in 2011 and NDC Bhubaneswar in 2018. 

It operates 37 small Data Centres at various State Capitals to provide services to the Government at all levels. 

National Data Centre (NDC) at Bhubaneswar is a Cloud-enabled Data Centre which has been offering cloud services to Government Departments since its inception. 

The National Data Centres form the core of e-Governance Infrastructure in India by providing services to various e-Governance initiatives undertaken by the Government of India.

What is a Data Center?

A data center is a facility that centralizes an organization’s shared IT operations and equipment for the purposes of storing, processing, and disseminating data and applications. Because they house an organization's most critical and proprietary assets, data centers are vital to the continuity of daily operations.

5G may contribute up to 2% to India GDP by 2030: NASSCOM Report

Tags: Economy/Finance

According to a report by National Association of Software and Services companies (NASSCOM) and Arthur D Little, the adoption of 5G network technology in India is expected to contribute about 2% to India’s GDP amounting to $180 billion by 2030. 

The report titled 5G – Unfolding India's Era of Digital Convergence says that an increasing market penetration, sectoral reforms, improvement in user experience, speedy rollout of services, among others, will contribute to the growth.

Currently, India has 1.1 billion telecom users, which is the second highest in the world after China. Of this, 740 million are 4G users, and they are expected to shift to 5G.

The report says that the government’s National Optical Fibre Network plan which aims to connect all the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country will help enhance India’s potential to 5G adoption.

Sector to lead 5G adoption 

• Among the key sectors, energy and utilities will be the key driver of 5G contributing about 30% of the expected $180-billion potential, followed by retail at 20%, healthcare at 15% and manufacturing sector at 10%. 
• According to the report, adoption of 5G smart metering, smart grid opportunities will boost the usage of 5G in the energy and utilities sector.
•  In healthcare, the penetration is expected to come from online consultation, robotic surgeries, cloud-based patient profiling, and wearables. 
• Digital transformation and smart factories are expected to drive 5G penetration in the manufacturing sector.

5G Launch In India 

The 5th Generation mobile technology was officially launched by the Prime Minister on 1 October 2022. Airtel was the first company to launch the service in India.

National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM)  

• The National Association of Software and  Services Companies(NASSCOM) was set up in 1988
• It is a non-profit organisation of IT  sector companies in India  
• It is a lobby group which works for the promotion of the IT sector and its companies in India and abroad.

Chairman of NASSCOM: Krishnan Ramanujam

President: Debjani Ghosh 

2020-2030 to be India’s Decade and India to become world’s 3rd largest economy and market: Morgan Stanley

Tags: Economy/Finance

In a report titled 'Why This Is India's Decade' the American Investment Banking firm Morgan Stanley expects India to become the world’s third-largest economy and market and India will account for fifth of the global economic growth in the next decade.

Morgan Stanley projection is in line with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projection of India becoming the 3rd largest economy by 2027-28 and SBI’s of India achieving this milestone in 2029.

However the report says that these forecasts will depend on favourable domestic and global factors.

Main highlights of the Morgan Stanley report 

•  India's GDP is set to double from the current $3.4 trillion to $8.5 trillion over the next decade. It expects India to add more than $400 billion to its GDP every year, a scale that is only surpassed by the US and China,
• Four key factors  demographics, digitalization, decarbonization and deglobalization are likely to facilitate India's rapid rise,
• Manufacturing’s share of GDP will rise from 15.6% currently to 21% by 2031, which implies nominal output jumping from $447 billion to about $1.49 trillion,”
• The number of households earning in excess of $35,000 a year is likely to rise fivefold in the coming decade, to over 25 million.
• India’s private consumption will more than double from $ 2 trillion in 2022 to $ 4.5 trillion by the end of the decade, a size that would be roughly similar to China in 2015,
• India's global export market share is expected to more than double at 4.5 per cent by 2031,
• India's services exports will almost treble to USD 527 billion (from USD 178 billion in 2021) over the next decade.
• E-commerce penetration to nearly double from 6.5 per cent to 12.3 per cent by 2031.
• Internet users in India will increase from 650 million to 960 million while online shoppers will grow from 250 million to 700 million over the next 10 years.
• Around 25 percent of incremental global car sales over 2021-2030 will be from India and it expects 30 percent of 2030 passenger vehicle sales to be electric-run.
• India should hit a "major inflection point" for the next residential property boom in 2030 - a confluence of high per-capita income, a mid-30s median age, and higher urbanization.
• India's workforce in the technology services sector will more than double from 5.1 million in 2021 to 12.2 million in 2031.
• Healthcare penetration in India can rise from 30-40 per cent now to 60-70 per cent which will lead to 400 million new entrants to the formal healthcare system.
• Over USD 700 billion in energy investments are expected over the next decade as India accelerates its energy transition.

About Morgan Stanley 

Morgan Stanley is an American Multinational Investment banking firm which was set up in 1935 in New York City.

It is primarily in the business of wealth management, Investment banking, and brokerage and provides other financial services.

Headquarters: New York City, United States of America

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: James P Gorman 

US imposes $1.4 mn fine on Air India over delay in refunds

Tags: International News

Tata Group-owned Air India has been fined $1.4 million in penalties for delayed refunds amounting to $121.5 million for delayed or cancelled flights, under an order from the US Department of Transportation.

Important facts

• Under US law, airlines and ticket agents have a legal obligation to refund consumers in the event of a flight cancellation or a passenger not accepting the option offered.

• According to US regulations, it is illegal for an airline to deny refunds and instead provide vouchers to such consumers.

• The US Department of Transportation received a large number of complaints from air travellers that airlines had failed to provide timely refunds after cancellations or significant changes to flights.

• The US Department of State has fined six airlines over delayed refunds, in what has been called a "historic" enforcement action.

• The fine imposed on Air India is the third highest after Denver-based Frontier and TAP Portugal.

• Apart from Air India, Frontier, TAP Portugal, Aero Mexico, EI AI and Avianca Airlines have also been fined by the US government.

National Commission for Women launched Digital Shakti 4.0

Tags: National National News

The National Commission for Women (NCW) launched the fourth phase of Digital Shakti Campaign, a pan-India project on digitally empowering and skilling women and girls in cyberspace on 15 November. 

Important facts

• Digital Shakti 4.0 focuses on making women digitally proficient and aware to stand against any illegal/inappropriate activity online.

• The National Commission for Women launched it in association with Cyberpeace Foundation and META.

• The launch was followed by an interactive panel discussion on "Combating Online Cyber-enabled Human Trafficking and Other Forms of Online Violence".

Third phase of Digital Shakti

• The third phase of the program was launched in Leh in March 2021 by the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Radha Krishna Mathur and Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.

• In the third phase, a resource center was developed to provide information on all the ways a woman can report when she faces a cybercrime.

About Digital Shakti

• Digital Shakti was launched in June 2018 to raise awareness and help women on the digital front across the country.

• Through this project, more than 3 lakh women across India have been sensitised regarding cyber security tips and tricks.

• It is helping women with reporting and redressal mechanisms, data privacy and use of technology for their benefit.

Chairperson of the National Commission for Women - Rekha Sharma

Indonesian President Joko Widodo handed over the G-20 presidency to Modi as the G 20 summit concludes in Bali

Tags: place in news Summits

The Indonesian President Joko Widodo formally handed over the G-20 presidency to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 November 2022 at the conclusion of the two-day (15-16 November) 17th G-20 Summit in Bali.

Prime Minister Modi said that India's presidency will be inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented. He said that the country is taking the charge at a time when the world is grappling with geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown and rising food and energy prices.

India will officially assume the G-20 Presidency from 1 December 2022.

The 18th G-20 Leaders' Summit at the level of heads of state/government is scheduled to be held on September 9-10, 2023 in New Delhi.

Modi also listed India's priorities for the G-20.

• Over the next one year, India will strive to ensure that the G-20 acts as a global prime mover to envision new ideas and accelerate collective action,"
• The sense of ownership over natural resources is giving rise to conflict today, and has become the main cause of the plight of the environment. For the safe future of the planet, the sense of trusteeship is the solution.
• Modi noted that LiFE that is a 'Lifestyle for Environment' campaign can make a big contribution to this. "Its purpose is to make sustainable lifestyles a mass movement." The prime minister emphasised that the benefits of development are universal and all-inclusive.
• Modi said the G-20 has to convey a strong message in favour of peace and harmony.
• "All these priorities are fully embodied in the theme of India's G-20 Chairmanship -- 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'," he said.

During the G-20 summit meeting the Prime Minister held meetings with various world leaders like British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Macron, the American president Joe Biden and had a brief interaction with the Chinese President Xi Jingping. It was the first face to face between the Indian and Chinese leaders after the Galwan clash in June 2020 which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers and many Chinese soldiers.

Issue of Russia and Ukraine and call for “This Era is not of War”

Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attended the meeting where the issue of Russia-Ukraine conflict divided the member countries of G-20. Western countries want an outright condemnation of Russia while others notably Indian and China are not in favour of condemning Russia. 

However the  final G-20 document which was issued  later condemned  “in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine” and demanded “its complete and unconditional withdrawal” from Ukrainian territory.

It also used the phrase “ This Era is not of War '' and called for an end to the war . This phrase was used by Prime Minister  Modi  while meeting Valdimir Putin during the SCO meeting in Uzbekistan in September 2022. The statement was well received in Europe, which regards India as a close strategic partner of Russia.

G-20 Group 

• Group of 20 or G-20 is a multilateral organisation which was set up in 1999.
• It consists of the world's major developed and developing countries.
• It consists of 19 countries and the European Union. The member countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States.
• Italy was the President of the G-20 in 2021. Indonesia is the President for 2022 and India will be the President in 2023. 
• The first Summit meeting of the leaders of the G-20 was held in 2008 at Washington, United States.
• The G20 has no permanent secretariat.
• G-20 members constitute 60% of the world population, 80% of the World economy and 75% of world trade.

NASA launches its Artemis 1 mission from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida

Tags: Science and Technology International News

The US  space agency NASA launched its Artemis 1 mission on 16 November, 2022 from Kennedy Space Centre, Florida.

Important facts

• About eight minutes after launch, the core stage's engines cut off and the core stage separated from the rest of the rocket.

• After this, the Orion spacecraft was propelled by the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). 

• NASA also deployed the four solar arrays of the Orion spacecraft.

• After completing "translunar injection", Orion separated itself from the ICPS and is now on its way to lunar orbit.

About Artemis 1 mission 

• For the first time in 50 years since the end of the Apollo program, the launch of Artemis 1 is an ambitious US mission to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon.

• The Artemis 1 launch will also be the first flight of NASA's 21st century moon-exploration program.

• With Artemis 1 on the surface of the Moon, NASA aims to demonstrate new technologies, business approaches and capabilities that are essential for future explorations, including Mars.

• The launch aims to further aid in the study of the Moon, its origin and history.

ISRO’s Moon Exploration Mission 

• Chandrayaan 1 

• Chandrayaan-2 

• The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently announced India's third lunar mission Chandrayaan-3, which will consist of a lander and a rover.

WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose steps down

Tags: Person in news

WhatsApp India chief Abhijit Bose and Meta's public policy chief Rajeev Agarwal resigned from their posts on November 16, 2022.

Important facts

• Bose was previously the co-founder of payments firm Ezetap before joining WhatApp as its India head.

• Bose was appointed in 2018 as the first country head for WhatsApp in any country.

• Shivnath Thukral, Director of WhatsApp Public Policy in India, has now been made Director, Public Policy for all Meta brands in India.

• In the past, tech giant Meta had laid off 11,000 of its employees, citing cost efficiency cuts behind it.

• Ajit Mohan, the head of Meta in India, resigned from his post earlier this month. He was appointed as the President of Asia-Pacific at Snap.

• WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform in India, which is owned by Facebook since February, 2014.

• Head of WhatsApp - Will Cathcart

Vivek Joshi appointed on the SBI Board as Government of India nominee

Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news

The Union Ministry of Finance has nominated Vivek Joshi as a Director to the Board of State Bank of India (SBI) on 15 November 2022. He will take the place of Sanjay Malhotra as the government nominee.

Board of Directors of State Bank of India 

The State Bank of India Board of Directors consists of 13 members including the Chairman.

4 Directors are the career officers of the SBI and they are designated as Managing directors. They are C.S. Setty, Swaminathan Janakiraman, Ashwini Kumar Tewari and Alok Kumar Choudhary.

4 directors are elected by the shareholders and 4 directors are nominated by the Government of India.

The Government nominated directors are : Sanjeev Maheshwari, Prafulla P Chhajed, Anil Kumar Sharma and Vivek Johri.

State Bank of India 

• It is the largest commercial bank in India and is owned by the Government of India.
• It has over 22,000 branches, 71,968 Banking Correspondents outlets.
• It has 229 offices/branches in 31 foreign countries. Amongst all the Indian banks, SBI has the largest number of branches/offices outside India.

Chairman of SBI: Dinesh Kumar Khara 

Headquarters: Mumbai

Tagline: The banker to every Indian

Britain approves three thousand work visas for young Indian professionals

Tags: International Relations International News

On November 16, 2022, the United Kingdom government approved three thousand visas for young professionals from India to work in the country every year.

Important facts

• This visa is done under the UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement which was signed in 2021.

• India is the first country to benefit from such a scheme.

• The UK government has approved the UK-India Young Professionals Scheme which offers 3,000 visas to Indian graduates aged 18-30 years to live and work in the UK for up to two years.

• The announcement was made hours after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 17th edition of the G20 Summit in Bali.

UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement 

• The Union Cabinet approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Migration and Mobility Partnership in 2021 between India and the United Kingdom.

• The objective of the agreement is to liberalize the issuance of visas promoting the mobility of students, researchers and skilled professionals and to strengthen cooperation between the two sides on issues related to irregular migration and human trafficking.

About United Kingdom

• It is an island country located off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe. 

• Prime Minister - Rishi Sunak

• Capital - London

• Currency - British pound

• Head of State - King Charles III

Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act implemented in Madhya Pradesh to protect the rights of tribals

Tags: State News

The Madhya Pradesh government implemented the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in the state on 15 November.

Important facts

• It was formally announced by President Draupadi Murmu at a function organised by the state government in Shahdol district on the occasion of the birth anniversary of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

• On this occasion, Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangu Bhai Patel, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and several tribal ministers from the state and the center were present.

• It aims to protect the tribal population from exploitation with the active participation of Gram Sabhas.

Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act, 1996

• The Parliament enacted a special law called the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA) in 1996 and came into force on 24 December 1996.

• The Act is currently in force in areas included in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with the administration of districts dominated by tribal communities, and is applicable to 10 states in the country.

• These 10 states are Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana.

• The Objective of the Act is to ensure self-governance through Gram Sabhas for people living in the Scheduled Areas.

Government has extended the term of DGCI V G Somani again by three months

Tags: Science and Technology Person in news

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has again extended the term of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr V G Somani by another three months. The extension will come into effect from 15 November 2022. 

He was earlier given an extension in August this year for three months. His extended term was to expire on 15 November 2022.

Dr Venugopal Girdharilal Somani played a key role in the approval of covid-19 vaccine, approval of lifesaving drugs and ensuring its quality in combating the covid-19 pandemic.

About DCGI (Drugs Controller General of India)

The Drugs Controller General of India is the head of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, CDSCO is responsible for approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs, control over the quality of imported Drugs in the country

Drugs Controller General of India: Venugopal Girdharilal Somani

Headquarters: New Delhi 

National Press Day

Tags: Important Days

National Press Day is observed every year on 16 November to commemorate a free and responsible press.

Important facts

• National Press Day draws our attention to the freedom and responsibilities of the press.

• With the aim of establishing high ideals in journalism in India, the First Press Commission had envisioned a Press Council. Thereafter, on July 4, 1966, the Press Council was established.

• This council started its formal work from 16 November 1966. Keeping this date in mind, National Press Day started.

• In India, the press has been called 'watchdog' and the Press Council of India has been called 'moral watchdog'.

• Since the year 1997, the Council has celebrated the day in a significant manner through seminars with relevant themes.

• Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur presided over the National Press Day function in New Delhi.

• Article 19 of the Constitution of India provides for the right to freedom of speech and expression.

• India ranks 150th position among 180 countries in World Press Freedom Index 2022.

Press Council of India

• It is a statutory body created by the Press Council Act, 1978. 

• The objective of the Press Council of India is to maintain and improve the freedom of the press and the standards of the press in India.

• It has a Chairman and there will be 28 members.

• Chairperson, Press Council of India - Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai

Union Agriculture Minister inaugurates first Greenfield Farm Machinery Plant in MP

Tags: Economy/Finance National News

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on 15 November, 2022 inaugurated the first greenfield farm machinery plant of Mahindra & Mahindra at Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh.

Important facts

• This new farm machinery plant is capable of manufacturing affordable and accessible farm machinery equipment under the Mahindra and Swaraj brands.

• The plant will also manufacture products for export to global markets in Asia, Africa, Europe and the America.

• The facility is capable of manufacturing a range of new products designed at Mahindra's Global Centers of Technology Excellence in Finland, Japan and Turkey.

• The plant is spread over 23 acres and can manufacture 1,200 combine harvesters and 3,300 rice transplanters per year.

• The establishment of this plant is likely to provide employment to about 1,100 people.

• Mahindra has been one of the leading tractor manufacturing companies globally. 

• In fact, in the first half of the financial year 2022-23, the company sold 2,52,844 tractors in the country, which was 12 percent more than the previous one.

What is a Greenfield Project?

• It refers to an investment in a building, office, or other physical company-related structure or group of structures where no prior facilities exist.

Marwari horses exported for first time, to serve in Bangladesh President entourage

Tags: State News

Six Marwari horses have been exported from Jodhpur to Bangladesh where they will be used for carrying the cart of Bangladesh’s President.

Important facts

• This is the first time that this native breed of horse has been exported from the desert.

• These horses have been brought by the Bangladesh Police for the horse carriage of the President of Bangladesh.

• All six horses are registered as 'Marwari Horses' of Bal Samand Lake Palace, governed by Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur.

• The Animal Husbandry Department of the Central Government gave No Objection Certificate for the export of these horses, in which the export licence was granted by the Director General of Foreign Trade.

• This will pave the way for more exports for Marwari breed as its demand is increasing in Germany, USA, UAE and other countries.

About  Marwari horse

• The Marwari horse breed originated in the Marwar region of Rajasthan, where hot dry desert conditions present a unique ecosystem.

• These are one of the finest horse breeds and are considered to be the most graceful and enduring of all horse breeds.

• These horses are known for their grandeur, beauty, gait and other characteristics that many have said to be incomparable with any other horse breed on earth.

• In 2009, Spanish businessman Mario Calcagno fell in love with the breed and tried hard to take them to Spain but failed.