1. PM Modi declares Rajasthan's Mangarh Dham national monument
Tags: National National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared Mangarh Dham in Rajasthan a national monument on 1 November, 2022.
Important facts
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the ‘Mangarh Dham ki Gaurav Gatha’ programme in Banswara district of Rajasthan on 1 November.
The event is being organised by the Ministry of Culture. The Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are also participating in this program.
He addressed a gathering of members of Bhil tribals and other tribes at Mangarh Dham in Banswara district.
PM paid tributes to the tribals who were massacred by the British army in 1913 in Mangarh in Rajasthan.
About Mangarh Dham
It is a memorial for around 1,500 tribals massacred by the British army in 1913, is located on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border, a region with a large tribal population.
In 1913 the assembly of tribals and forest dwellers against the British Raj in Mangarh was led by the social reformer Govind Guru.
This massacre of tribals, which took place six years before Jallianwala Bagh, is sometimes referred to as "Adivasi Jallianwala".
On November 17, 1913, the British army killed hundreds of Bhil tribesmen in the hills of Mangarh.
The Bhil tribe is called the "Dhanush Man of India" because they are highly skilled in learning the bow.
2. Kalanamak Rice
Tags: Science and Technology National News
Indian Agricultural Research Institute has successfully tested two new dwarf varieties of Kalanamak rice (Pusa Narendra Kalanamak 1638 and Pusa Narendra Kalanamak 1652) in Uttar Pradesh which give double yield.
About Kalanamak Rice
It is a traditional variety of paddy with black husk and strong aroma.
It is a non-basmati rice with medium slender grain length.
It is believed to be a gift from Lord Buddha to the people of Shravasti when he visited the region after attaining enlightenment.
This variety has been in cultivation since the original Buddhist period (600 BCE).
It is popular in the Himalayan Terai (Kapilvastu) of Nepal and eastern Uttar Pradesh, where it is known as the fragrant black pearl.
Kalanamak rice was granted a Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Government of India in 2012.
Two dwarf varieties of Kalanamak rice
Pusa Narendra Kalanamak 1638
Pusa Narendra Kalanamak 1652
Health Benefits of Kalanamak
It is rich in micronutrients such as Iron and Zinc.
Therefore it is said to prevent diseases borne out of nutrient deficiencies.
Regular consumption of Kalanamak rice is believed to prevent Alzheimer's disease.
It contains 11% protein, which is almost twice that of common rice varieties.
It has a low glycemic index (49% to 52%) which makes it relatively sugar free and suitable for diabetics.
It also contains antioxidants like anthocyanins which are useful in preventing heart disease.
Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI)
It is also known as the Pusa Institute, India's national institute for agricultural research, education and extension.
The institute was originally located in Pusa, Bihar as the Imperial Institute of Agricultural Research in 1911.
In 1919 it was renamed as Imperial Agricultural Research Institute and after a major earthquake in Pusa, it was shifted to Delhi in 1936.
It is financed and administered by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
3. Goa Maritime Symposium
Tags: Defence National News
The fourth edition of the Goa Maritime Symposium (GMS) is being conducted by the Naval War College (NWC) at Goa from 31 October to 1 November 2022.
Important facts
The theme of GMS-2022 is Maritime Security Challenges in the Indian Ocean Region: Converting Common Maritime Priorities into Collaborative Mitigation Frameworks.
The Symposium was inaugurated by Rear Admiral Rajesh Dhankhar, Commandant, Naval War College.
The participants of the symposium include Captains/ officers of the rank of Commander or equivalent from navies/ maritime forces from friendly countries like Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand besides India.
About Goa Maritime Symposium (GMS)
It was conceptualised and instituted by the Indian Navy in 2016.
It is a forum for promoting collaborative thinking, cooperation and mutual understanding between India and the major maritime countries of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
The Symposium is organised biennially by NWC, Goa and so far three editions of the event have been organised.
4. S Jaishankar participated in the virtual meeting of the Heads of Government of the SCO
Tags: International News
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented India at a virtual meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (CHG) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on 1 November 2022.
Important facts
The 21st Meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) is being held on 1 November 2022 in the virtual format.
The meeting was attended by SCO Member States, Observer States, Secretary General of the SCO, Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), Turkmenistan and other invited guests.
India remains actively engaged in various SCO activities and dialogue mechanisms in the region as well as other multilateral cooperation within the SCO framework.
The leaders of the SCO member states met for the summit meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on 16 September 2022.
The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Samarkand Declaration was adopted.
Member countries also called for the improvement of SCO activities and the development of efficient transport corridors for interconnectivity.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
It is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.
It was founded in 2001.
The SCO Charter was signed in 2002, and came into force in 2003.
It is a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation.
Its aim is to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.
China, Russia and four Central Asian states – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – were founding members of the SCO.
Official Languages - Russian and Chinese
Chairmanship - On the basis of rotation for a year by Member States
The Council of Heads of Governments (CHG) is the second-highest council in the organization.
5. Union Minister Hardeep Puri attends the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference
Tags: Person in news International News
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri attended the Opening Ceremony of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC-2022) on 31 October 2022 at Abu Dhabi. United Arab Emirates.
Hosted by ADNOC(Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), ADIPEC is one the world's leading events of the energy industry and aims to provide insights on the latest trends affecting an evolving global energy system including the global economy, energy supply as well as next generation of energy solutions.
Mr Singh who was on a day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held bilateral discussion with his counterparts from UAE, Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, and Dr. Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, Minister of Industry & Advanced Technology, MD & Group CEO, ADNOC, to strengthen energy cooperation within the overall framework of India-UAE Strategic Partnership.
The Minister also inaugurated the India Pavilion, set up jointly by Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
India- UAE Trade Relations
- UAE is an important trade partner of India with which India has a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to promote free trade in goods and services.
- UAE is the third largest trading partner of India after China and the United States.
- UAE is the second largest export market for India after the United States.
- UAE was the second largest source of imports for India after China. The US is the third largest source of imports.
- India ranks as the UAE’s number one trading partner for non-oil exports, accounting for nearly 14 percent of the UAE’s total non-oil exports globally.
United Arab Emirate (UAE)
- It is a federation of seven Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Khaimah, Ajmain, Fujairah, 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 Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He is the king of Abu Dhabi.
6. Income Tax Department launches HARIT Aaykar initiative on the occasion of the National Unity Day
Tags: National Economy/Finance
The Income Tax Department on the occasion of the National Unity Day has launched the HARIT Aaykar initiative to increase greenery and create micro forests. National Unity day is observed in India on 31 October to commemorate the birthday of the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Independent India Sardar Vallabah Bhai Patel.
Under the HARIT (Hariyali Achievement Resolution by Income Tax) initiative, the Department resolves to increase the green cover by planting trees and creating micro-forests in and around the Income Tax Department's buildings and other public areas.
Income Tax in India
Income tax is a direct tax which is imposed on the income of an Individual or Corporates.
It was first imposed in India on 24 July 1860.The first income tax was imposed in India in 1860 by Sir James Wilson.
Income Tax day is observed every year on 24 July .
When the Income Tax Act 1922 was introduced it laid a proper framework for the direct tax administration in the country. After Independence the Income Tax act 1961 consolidated and replaced the 1922 Act.
Applicability
It is applicable all over India. Sikkim was brought under the Income Tax act 1961 in 1989 and Jammu and Kashmir was brought under the act in 2019.
Tax administration Structure in India
In 1924, the Central Board of Revenue was constituted as a statutory body with functional responsibilities for administering the Income Tax Act.
In 1963, the Central Board of Revenue was bifurcated, and a separate Board for Direct Taxes known as Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) was constituted under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963.
Who can levy Income Tax in India?
Income tax is levied by the central government on the income of a person or a company as specified by the Income Tax act.
However Income tax on agricultural income is levied by the respective state government.
7. Brazilian Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wins 3rd term as the President of Brazil
Tags: Person in news International News
The leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Worker Party won his third term as the President of Brazil after narrowly defeating the incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro in a runoff election. Declaring the result on 30 October 2022 the Supreme Electoral Court of Brazil, declared Lula as the next President. Lula secured 50.9% of votes against 49.1% for Bolsonaro and he received more than 60 million votes, the most in Brazilian history.
The 77-year-old Lula's will take oath of his office on 1 January 2023 for another 4 year term.
Runoff Election
Under the Brazilian constitution a candidate has to win more than half of the votes polled and if none of the candidates secure the required votes then there is another round of voting called run off polls.
In the runoff polls the top two candidates who secures the maximum votes can contest again for the post.
In the first round of voting held on 2 October 2022 neither Lula nor Bolsonaro got the required votes. Hence the runoff election was conducted on 30 October 2022.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Lula first became the President of Brazil after he won the 2002 election and he was re-elected again in the 2006 election. However he was convicted in a case of corruption in 2017 and was sentenced to 9 and half years to prison. Later he was released from prison after the Federal Supreme Court overturned his conviction.
Pink Tide in Latin America
Lula’s election marks the continuation of the Pink tide in the Latin American politics where the leftist leaders are coming back to power. His victory over far-right president Jair Bolsonaro leaves Brazil joining Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Peru in a growing leftist bloc.
Brazil
It is the fifth largest country in the world area wise after Russia, Canada, China, and the United States.
It covers almost half of the South American Continent.
60% of the Amazon rainforest which is considered the lung of the earth lies in Brazil.
Capital: Brasilia
Currency: Brazilian Real
President: Jair Bolsonaro
8. UGC ask Universities and Colleges to observe 11 December as ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Diwas’
Tags: National
The Higher education sector regulator University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all Universities and colleges in India to observe a Bharatiya Bhasha Divas on 11 December every year to create “language harmony” and develop a conducive environment for learning Indian languages.
This order of the UGC comes after a committee set up by the Union Education ministry to promote the Indian language proposed to observe December 11 as Bharatiya Bhasha Diwas or Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav on the birth anniversary of poet Subramania Bharati.
Subramania Bharati is considered to be a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry who penned songs to kindle patriotism during the Independence movement.
The UGC said that there is a need to create ‘language harmony’, to develop a conducive environment for learning more and more Indian languages apart from mastering one’s own mother tongue. Commonalities in Indian languages have been one of the primary unifying factors of Indians,”
University Grant Commission
University Grant Commission was set up on the recommendation of the University Education Commission, which was set up in 1948 under the Chairmanship of Dr. S Radhakrishnan.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) was formally inaugurated by the late Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the then Minister of Education, Natural Resources and Scientific Research on 28 December 1953.
The UGC, however, was formally established only in November 1956 as a statutory body of the Government of India through an Act of Parliament.
It comes under the Department of Higher Education, Union Ministry of Education.
Functions
It has mainly two functions
- It is responsible for the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education in India.
- It provides fund to the Central Universities and other Universities and Institutions of higher learning
Headquarters and Regional Centers
The headquarters of the UGC is in New Delhi
The six regional centers of UGC are at Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Guwahati and Bangalore.
Chairman: Professor M. Jagadesh Kumar.
9. Russia suspends UN backed Black sea grain deal with Ukraine
Tags: Russia-Ukraine International Relations
Russia on 29 October 2022 announced that it was suspending participation in the United Nations and Turkiye brokered black sea grain deal. The Russian move has been condemned by the United States President Joe Biden saying it will increase starvation in the world.
More than 9 million tonnes of corn, wheat, sunflower products, barley, rapeseed and soya have been exported under the deal, signed on 22July 2022.
Why Russian pulled out of the deal
According to the Russian Defence ministry, Ukraine attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula with 16 drones early on 29 October 2022, and that British navy "specialists" had helped coordinate the "terrorist" attack. It also accused British navy personnel of blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month.
It said that Russia is no longer able to guarantee the safety of the civilian ship under the agreement.
Black Sea grain deal
- President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 in an offensive he said was aimed at “demilitarising” and "denazifying" Ukraine. The Russian Naval fleet later blockaded the Black sea port of Ukraine which was a major grain shipment port for Ukraine.
- The blockade halted the shipment of grains from one of the biggest exporters of grains in the world where 5 million tonnes of grains used to be shipped per month.
- This precipitated a sharp increase in food prices across the world, sparking fear of famine in parts of Africa.
- Ukraine, Russia, Turkiye and the United Nation signed an agreement on 22 July 2022 in Istanbul ,Turkiye to unblock Ukraine’s Black Sea grain exports.
- When the agreement was signed, the U.N. World Food Programme said some 47 million people had moved into "acute hunger" as the war halted Ukrainian shipments.
- The agreement which is set to expire on 19 November 2022 established a safe corridor for the Ukrainian grain ships and Russia guaranteed the safety of the civilian ship.
10. South Korea declares national mourning after Halloween stampede kills 151 people
Tags: International News
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning on 30 October 2022 after a Halloween stampede killed 151 people in a packed nightlife area in the South Korean capital city of Seoul.
At least 151 people, mostly teenagers including foreigners from China, Iran, Uzbekistan and Norway have been killed in one of South Korea’s worst disasters and the world's worst stampedes in decades. The local authorities expect the death toll to rise.
It was the first Halloween event in Seoul in three years to be virtually free of COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing. The stampede happened in an alley near a nightclub in the Itaewon district of Seoul which was packed with people .
Halloween festival
Halloween is based on the Celtic festival Samhain, a celebration in ancient Britain and Ireland that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the New Year on 1st November. Halloween is observed every year on 31 October.
It is believed that during Samhain the souls of those who had died that year travelled to the other world and that other souls would return to visit their homes.
People wear costumes to hide themselves from these wandering souls. Another tradition is the carving of demonic faces on pumpkins.
Republic of Korea (South Korea)
It lies in the Korean peninsula in East Asia.
The Korean peninsula was divided into communist Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Republic of Korea (South Korea) after the Korean War in 1953.
Capital: Seoul
Currency: South Korean Won
