1. Giorgia Meloni to become the first female Prime Minister of Italy
Tags: Person in news International News
A coalition of the right wing alliance has won a majority in the recently held Italian parliamentary election on 25 September 2022.
The coalition has won 235 seats in the 400 member Italian Parliament's lower house, Chamber of Deputies.
The Brother of Italy party led by Giorgia Meloni emerged the largest single party with 118 seats.
She is likely to be the first female Prime minister of Italy after the foundation of the Italian Republic in 1946.
She will be the 31st Prime Minister of Italy.
The Italian parliament has two houses. The upper house called the Senate has 200 members and the lower house called the Chamber of deputies has 400 members.
President of Italy: Sergio Mattarella
Currency of Italy: Euro
Capital of Italy: Rome
2. Union Minister of Rural Development Giriraj Singh will launch the ‘Jaldoot app’ on 27 September
Tags: National Science and Technology
The Union Minister for Rural Development Giriraj Singh will launch the ministry’s developed “Jaldoot App” in New Delhi on 27 September 2022.
The App will be used to capture the water level of selected wells in a village.
The Jaldoot app will enable Gram Rojgar Sahayak (GRS) to measure the water level of selected wells twice a year (pre-monsoon and post-monsoon). These will be representative of the ground water level in that village.
The app will facilitate panchayats with robust data, which can be further used for better planning of works. The ground water data could be utilised as part of the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) and Mahatma Gandhi NREGA planning exercises.
Depletion in Groundwater Levels
Ground water levels in various parts of the Country are declining because of continuous withdrawal due to reasons such as increased demand of fresh water for various uses, vagaries of rainfall, increase in population, industrialization and urbanization etc.
As per the assessment of Dynamic Ground Water Resources (2017) carried out by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in collaboration with States/UTs, out of the total 6,881 assessment units (Block/ Taluks/ Mandals/ watersheds/ Firkas) in the country, 1,186 units in 17 States/UTs have been categorized as ‘over-exploited’ where ‘Annual Ground Water Extraction’ is more than ‘Annual Extractable Ground Water Resource’.
Government scheme for rejuvenation of Groundwater
Water is a state subject in India. However the central government has launched a few schemes to recharge the groundwater in India.
Atal Bhujal Yojana
The Government of India has launched a Rs. 6000 crore Central sector scheme, Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal) with the assistance of with World Bank assistance.
The programme was launched on 1 April 2020 for a period of five years.
It aims for sustainable management of ground water resources with community participation in 8562 water stressed Gram Panchayats (GPs) of seven States, viz. Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Jal Shakti Abhiyan
Government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan in 2019 in 256 water stressed districts in the country which continued during 2021 also to improve water availability including ground water conditions in these areas.
Further, the “Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain” campaign for the year 2022 have been launched by the President of India.
The JSA-2022 shall continue till 30 Nov 2022.
The campaign has given special emphasis on creation of recharge structures, rejuvenation of traditional water bodies, intensive afforestation etc.
3. Prime Minister Modi arrives in Japan to attend the state funeral of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe
Tags: Person in news International News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached Tokyo on 26 September 2022 to participate in the state funeral of the former Japanese Prime minister Shinzo Abe to be held on 27 September 2022.
Shinzo Abe was shot dead on 8 July 2022 while campaigning for a parliamentary election.
The state funeral to be held in Budokan will be attended by representatives of over 100 countries including 20 heads of state or head of government.
Pm Modi would meet separately with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida and Shinzo Abe's wife in Japan.
Indian and Japan relationship during Shinzo Abe leadership
- PM Modi and Shinzo Abe shared very close ties and the latter had gone on record to call PM Modi his most dependable friend. The close ties between the two leaders helped bolster Indo-Japan ties to a special strategic and global partnership.
- In 2017, he visited Ahmedabad to lay the foundation of India's first bullet train (from Ahmedabad to Mumbai).
- He was also the chief guest at the Republic Day parade in 2014 during the UPA government.
- He addressed the joint session of the Indian Parliament in 2007.
- He was given India's second-highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan in 2021.
Japan
- Japan is also called as Nihon or Nippon
- It is an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean in East Asia.
- It is composed of four main islands Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Honshu is the largest island of Japan.
- It is separated from the Asian mainland by the Sea of Japan.
- Its highest mountain is Mount Fuji.
- It is the third largest economy in the world after the United States and China.
- It is the only country in the world where atom bomb was dropped. In 1945 the U.S. dropped atomic bomb on Hiroshima on 6 August (bomb name Little Boy) and Nagasaki on 9 August (Bomb name Fat Man).
Prime Minister: Fumio Kishida
Capital of Japan: Tokyo
Currency of Japan: Yen
4. National conference on alternative to single use plastic held in Chennai
Tags: place in news National Summits
To promote an environment friendly alternative to the now banned single use plastic in the country, an National Expo on alternatives to banned single use plastics items and Conference of Startups -2022 was inaugurated in Chennai , Tamilnadu on 26 September 2022.
The conference has been jointly organized by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, and Government of Tamil Nadu.
The government of India banned single use plastics from 1 July 2022.
The conference is an attempt to encourage the Startups to innovate and develop an environment friendly alternatives like items made from natural fibers such as coir, bagasse, rice and wheat bran, plant and agricultural residue, banana and areca leaves, jute and cloth.
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change: Bhupendra Yadav
5. A red alert issued in the Philippines due to Super Typhoon Noru
Tags: International News
Officials issued a red alert on September 25 as Super Typhoon Noru advanced in the Philippines.
Important facts
As the cyclone devastated the country's eastern islands, citizens have been asked to evacuate high-risk areas immediately.
Due to the Typhoon, winds gusting up to 240 kilometers per hour have increased the risk of landslides, floods and cyclones in the capital Manila.
The intensity of the cyclone has increased by 90 kmph in 24 hours.
A warning has also been issued for the island of Luzon in the Philippines.
Fishermen in Quezon province have been advised not to venture into the sea due to Typhoon Noru.
In December 2021, Cyclone Rai caused widespread destruction in the Philippines and killed around 400 people.
Cyclone 'Noru' is believed to be the most powerful cyclone to hit the Southeast Asian country this year.
About the Philippines
It is a country located in Southeast Asia.
The official name of this country, made up of a group of islands located in the western Pacific Ocean, is 'Republic of the Philippines'.
Its capital is Manila.
The Philippines is bounded on the east by the Philippines Ocean, on the west by the South China Sea, and on the south by the Celebes Sea.
6. India’s first ‘flex fuel’ car, Toyota sedan
Tags: National National News
India's first 'flex fuel' car, the Toyota sedan is all set to be unveiled later this month. India will join the club of countries (Germany, France and Brazil) that are already using flex-fuel engines for their cars.
What is a Flex Fuel Vehicle?
Currently, flex-fuel is being seen as an alternative to petrol-diesel.
It is an internal combustion fuel prepared by combining gasoline and methanol or ethanol.
Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) are capable of running on 100% petrol or 100% bio-ethanol or a combination of both.
Both fuels are stored in the same common tank.
The most prominent commercially available FFV in the world market is the ethanol flexible-fuel vehicle.
Benefits of Flex Fuel
Made using ethanol blending, this fuel rapidly reduces harmful pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulphur and carbon and nitrogen oxides.
India is dependent on imports for 80 percent of petrol and diesel. With the introduction of flex fuel, dependence on other countries will end.
Ethanol production can also increase in our country because we have better production rates of sugarcane and maize. These are the major sources of ethanol production.
This will also benefit the farmers financially.
Its cost will also be less because it will cost less to prepare it.
7. India’s first ‘flex fuel’ car, Toyota sedan
Tags: National National News
India's first 'flex fuel' car, the Toyota sedan is all set to be unveiled later this month. India will join the club of countries (Germany, France and Brazil) that are already using flex-fuel engines for their cars.
What is a Flex Fuel Vehicle?
Currently, flex-fuel is being seen as an alternative to petrol-diesel.
It is an internal combustion fuel prepared by combining gasoline and methanol or ethanol.
Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) are capable of running on 100% petrol or 100% bio-ethanol or a combination of both.
Both fuels are stored in the same common tank.
The most prominent commercially available FFV in the world market is the ethanol flexible-fuel vehicle.
Benefits of Flex Fuel
Made using ethanol blending, this fuel rapidly reduces harmful pollutants such as carbon monoxide, sulphur and carbon and nitrogen oxides.
India is dependent on imports for 80 percent of petrol and diesel. With the introduction of flex fuel, dependence on other countries will end.
Ethanol production can also increase in our country because we have better production rates of sugarcane and maize. These are the major sources of ethanol production.
This will also benefit the farmers financially.
Its cost will also be less because it will cost less to prepare it.
8. Union Agriculture Minister lays foundation stone of NSC organic seed farm in Morena, MP
Tags: National State News National News
The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, on 25 September laid the foundation stone of an organic seed farm of the National Seed Corporation (NSC) at Morena.
Important facts
The Central Government has decided to set up a farm at Morena (MP) for the production of organic seeds by reclamation of the land in the rough area.
For this, the Government of Madhya Pradesh has allotted 885.34 hectares of land in 4 villages of Morena (Gadora, Jakhauna, Rithora Khurd and Gorkha) to the Union Agriculture Ministry.
This land is a rough area of Chambal and farming was not possible due to the ravines in the area.
On completion of this, new organic seeds of oilseeds will be available to the farmers of Madhya Pradesh.
With this farm farmers will be introduced to modern technology, they will get high yielding seeds and their socio-economic status will improve.
De-notification of 207 hectares of land
He said that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has taken a major decision to recommend de-notification of 207 hectares of land in the National Wildlife Sanctuary of Chambal.
Due to de-notification, this area will be outside the sanctuary area, due to which sand will be available at cheap prices for construction/development works at the local level and this will also create new employment opportunities.
National Seed Corporation (NSC)
NSC is a Schedule ‘B’-Miniratna Category-I company.
It is wholly owned by the Government of India under the administrative control of Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
It was established in March-1963 to undertake production of foundation and certified seeds.
Presently, it is producing certified seeds of about 621 varieties of 80 crops.
9. Union Agriculture Minister lays foundation stone of NSC organic seed farm in Morena, MP
Tags: National State News National News
The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, on 25 September laid the foundation stone of an organic seed farm of the National Seed Corporation (NSC) at Morena.
Important facts
The Central Government has decided to set up a farm at Morena (MP) for the production of organic seeds by reclamation of the land in the rough area.
For this, the Government of Madhya Pradesh has allotted 885.34 hectares of land in 4 villages of Morena (Gadora, Jakhauna, Rithora Khurd and Gorkha) to the Union Agriculture Ministry.
This land is a rough area of Chambal and farming was not possible due to the ravines in the area.
On completion of this, new organic seeds of oilseeds will be available to the farmers of Madhya Pradesh.
With this farm farmers will be introduced to modern technology, they will get high yielding seeds and their socio-economic status will improve.
De-notification of 207 hectares of land
He said that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has taken a major decision to recommend de-notification of 207 hectares of land in the National Wildlife Sanctuary of Chambal.
Due to de-notification, this area will be outside the sanctuary area, due to which sand will be available at cheap prices for construction/development works at the local level and this will also create new employment opportunities.
National Seed Corporation (NSC)
NSC is a Schedule ‘B’-Miniratna Category-I company.
It is wholly owned by the Government of India under the administrative control of Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
It was established in March-1963 to undertake production of foundation and certified seeds.
Presently, it is producing certified seeds of about 621 varieties of 80 crops.
10. INS Sunayna in Seychelles
Tags: Defence International News
INS Sunayna entered Port Victoria Seychelles on 24 Sep 22 to participate in the annual training exercise Operation Southern Readiness of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).
Important facts
This reaffirms the commitment of the Indian Navy to maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.
It also marks the first participation of an Indian Navy ship in the CMF exercise.
The ship is scheduled to participate as an associate participant in the capacity building exercise organized by the CMF.
Representative delegations from USA, Italy, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and ships from UK, Spain and India are participating in the joint training exercise.
INS Sunayna
It is the second Saryu-class patrol vessel of the Indian Navy.
It was designed and constructed indigenously by the Goa Shipyard Limited.
It is designed for fleet operations, coastal and offshore patrol, maritime surveillance and monitoring of sea lines of communication, and offshore asset and maintenance work.
In June 2018, it was deployed as part of "Operation Nistar", a HADR mission to evacuate Indian citizens from cyclone-hit Socotra islands.
About Combined Maritime Forces (CMF)
It is a multi-national naval partnership to promote security, stability and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters.
Its main focus areas are counter-narcotics, counter-smuggling, suppressing piracy, encouraging regional cooperation etc.
