1. NHIDCL signs MoU with IIT Patna for innovation in highways construction
Tags: National Economics/Business National News
National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, on 14 October signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Patna for innovative solutions collaboration in highway construction.
Important facts
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by IIT Patna Director TN Singh and Managing Director of NHIDCL Chanchal Kumar.
NHIDCL has signed agreements with several IITs and other institutions to promote innovation in highway construction.
It has signed MoUs with CSIR-CBRI, IIT Roorkee, IIT Kanpur and NSDC during the year 2022-23.
Earlier, MoUs were signed with IIT Bombay and IIT Guwahati to share knowledge of innovative ideas and technologies in the field of Highway Engineering.
This will help NHIDCL to introduce innovative technologies and find practical solutions to the issues of highway construction in challenging hilly and border areas.
2. First National Coal Conclave and Exhibition to be held in Delhi
Tags: National National News
The Indian National Committee World Mining Congress, under the patronage of the Ministry of Coal, will organize the first National Coal Conclave and Exhibition during 16-17 October in New Delhi.
Important facts
The theme of the conclave is “Indian coal sector-sustainable mining towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat”.
The two-day event will provide a platform for policy makers, public and private sector mining companies.
Researchers, academicians and other stakeholders will prepare and interact with necessary road maps for the Indian coal sector to align with the national mission of 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat'.
Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs, Prahlad Joshi and Minister of State for Coal, Mines and Railways, Raosaheb Patil Danve will address the conclave.
Around 150 students from the mining engineering sector are expected to participate, apart from senior functionaries from the Ministries of Coal, Mines, Power, Steel, NITI Aayog, Disaster Management.
Focus area of the conclave
Self-sufficiency in power sector
Aatmnirbharata’ in steel making for coal
Technology and sustainability
3. 1,800 Bangladeshi Civil Servants to be trained at NCGG by 2025
Tags: National National News
The 53rd Capacity Building Program for Civil Servants of Bangladesh was inaugurated on 11 October 2022 at the National Center for Good Governance (NCGG) in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand.
Important facts
Under this, 1,800 Bangladeshi civil servants will be trained by India under a capacity building program by 2025.
Before 2019, 1500 civil servants of Bangladesh have been trained at NCGG.
It is the only institute in the country which has trained around 1,700 field level officers of Bangladesh Civil Service including Assistant Commissioners, SDMs and Additional Deputy Commissioners etc.
About National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG)
It was set up in 2014 by the Government of India as an apex institution in the country.
It is governed by a governing body headed by the Cabinet Secretary.
Its other members include secretaries of various departments of the Government of India.
It focuses on good governance, policy reform, training and capacity building, and also acts as a think tank.
It has undertaken capacity building of civil servants from several countries in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs.
It has trained civil servants from 15 countries such as Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia, Seychelles, Gambia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Laos, Vietnam, Bhutan, Myanmar and Cambodia.
It helps in initiating governance reforms through study, training, knowledge sharing and promotion of good ideas.
4. Living Planet Report 2022
Tags: International News
Recently the Living Planet Report 2022 has been jointly released by the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London.
Important facts
According to this report, the global wildlife population has declined by 69% between 1970 and 2018.
The report has been prepared by tracking about 32,000 organisms of more than 5,230 vertebrate species between 1970 and 2018 in the 'Living Planet Report'.
The Living Planet Index has been used to calculate the decline in vertebrate species in the Living Planet Report.
'Living Planet Index'
It assesses the state of biodiversity of the world based on population trends of vertebrate species in terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats.
It is issued by the Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society of London).
Other key findings of the report
According to this report, Latin America and the Caribbean region that hosts the Amazon rainforest saw the highest wildlife decline of 94 percent between 1970 and 2018.
Africa recorded the second biggest decline with 66 percent, followed by the Pacific (55 percent).
North America and Europe recorded declines of 20 percent and 18 percent, respectively.
The population of freshwater species has declined by 83 percent.
5. 9th World Ayurveda Congress and Arogya Expo
Tags: National National News
Union Minister of AYUSH Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the Curtain Raiser (a small event that happens before a bigger one and is a preparation for it) for the 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) and Arogya Expo in Panaji on 13 October.
Important facts
The event will be held in Goa from December 8 to December 11, 2022.
The event is supported by the Central Government and State Governments as well as the Union Ministry of AYUSH.
The four-day event will see participation from over 5000 Ayurveda stakeholders – industry stalwarts, practitioners, traditional healers, academics, students, drug makers, medicinal plant growers as well as marketing strategists from across the globe.
Due to the efforts of the Government of India, the market turnover of AYUSH sector has grown from USD 3 billion to more than USD 18 billion in the last 8 years.
Every year on October 23, Ayurveda Day is celebrated by the Ministry of AYUSH on Dhanwantri Jayanti.
The motto of this year's celebration is "Har Din Har Ghar Ayurveda" (Ayurveda Everyday, Ayurveda Everywhere).
All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi is the nodal agency for the implementation of this programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that Goa is planning to become a premier Ayurveda and Health Tourism Center based on several initiatives.
6. 70th Standing Committee meeting of National Board for Wildlife
Tags: National National News
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav chaired the 70th Standing Committee meeting of the National Board for Wildlife on 13 October, 2022.
Important facts
Various policy matters related to wildlife conservation and protection of Great Indian Bustard were discussed in the meeting.
During the meeting the state governments of Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra were requested to submit proposals for setting up conservation breeding centres for Great Indian Bustards in their respective states.
Considering the need for uninterrupted mobile connectivity in nine tribal villages in the Narmada and Vadodara districts of Gujarat and the nearby villages of the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh, the Standing Committee recommended the construction of telecom towers and the laying of optical fiber cables.
The committee also recommended the construction of a bridle track from Rambara to Garud Chatti in Uttarakhand.
The committee has also recommended the development of ropeway between Sonprayag to Kedarnath Dham in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand for the convenience of thousands of pilgrims visiting Kedarnath during Kedarnath Yatra.
About National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)
It is a statutory Board constituted in 2003 under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
It is presided over by the Prime Minister.
It is responsible for promoting the conservation and development of wildlife and forests.
This board performs the role of 'advisory' and advises the state governments on policy making for the conservation of wildlife.
The Standing Committee of NBWL is chaired by the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
7. 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
8. 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.
9. 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
10. 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
