1. Amrit Lal Meena Assumes Charge as Coal Secretary
Tags: Person in news
Amrit Lal Meena took over the charge of the post of Secretary, Ministry of Coal on 1 November, 2022.
Important facts
Prior to assuming the present post, Amrit Lal Meena, (a 1989 Bihar cadre IAS officer), was holding the charge of Special Secretary (Logistics), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Amrit Lal Meena replaces Dr. Anil Kumar Jain, who retired as Coal Secretary on 31 October.
Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Electrical Engineering from Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur, Meena did his Post-Graduation Diploma in Public Policy and Management from IIM, Bangalore.
He had served as District Magistrate in five districts of the state of Bihar for more than nine years.
He worked in various departments including Rural Development, Urban Development, Building Corporation as Secretary in the Government of Bihar.
He also worked as Principal Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary in the Road Construction Department, Government of Bihar.
2. 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.
3. Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy wins the French open Badminton men’s doubles title
Tags: Sports Person in news
The Birmingham Commonwealth gold medallist pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won the French Open Badminton 2022 men’s doubles title on 30 October 2022. It was also their first BWF Super 750 title.
The French open Badminton 2022 was held in Paris, France from 25-30 October 2022.
The Indian badminton pair defeated Chinese Taipei’s pair of Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han in the final on 30 October 2022.
This was also the first time since Partho Ganguli and Vikram Singh’s triumph in 1983 that an Indian men’s doubles pair won the French Open badminton title.
This was Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy’s fourth BWF World Tour title. They won the Hyderabad Open 2018, the Thailand Open 2019 and India Open 2022.
The win also makes Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy the first Indian doubles pair to clinch a BWF Super 750 crown.
BWF (Badminton World Federation )
It is an international governing body of Badminton in the world .
It was set up as the International Badminton Federation in 1934 and later converted into the World Badminton Federation in 2006.
Currently it has 176 member countries.
Headquarters : Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
4. 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
5. Sankar Muthusamy settles for a silver medal at the BWF World Junior Championships 2022
Tags: Sports Person in news
S Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian had to settle for a silver medal at the 22nd World Junior Badminton Championships 2022 after losing in the men’s singles final in Santander, Spain on 30 October 2022. In the final he lost to Chinese Taipei’s Kuo Kuan-lin.
The 22nd BWF World Junior Badminton Championships 2022 was held at Santander in Spain from 17-30 October 2022.Players under 19 years of age participates in the tournament.
Medals for India in the championships
India has won an overall 10 medals at the Junior World Badminton Championship.
It has won one gold, four silvers and five bronze medals at the event .
Saina Nehwal is the sole Indian player to have won a gold medal at the championship. She won the gold medal in the 2008 World Junior Championship held at Pune, India.
The last medal for India was won by Lakshya Sen in 2018 when he won the Bronze medal.
BWF (Badminton World Federation)
It is an international governing body of Badminton in the world.
It was set up as the International Badminton Federation in 1934 and later converted into the World Badminton Federation in 2006.
Currently it has 176 member countries.
Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
6. Saras Food Festival 2022 inaugurated by the Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste
Tags: Festivals place in news Person in news
The Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Steel, Faggan Singh Kulaste inaugurated the “Saras Food Festival 2022” in New Delhi on 28 October 2022. The Food Festival has been organized by the Union Rural Development Ministry from 28th October to 10th November, 2022 in New Delhi.
Women from self-help groups (SHG), formed under the flagship program ‘National Rural Livelihoods Mission’ of the Union Ministry of Rural Development are participating in this festival.
Speaking on the occasion the minister said that efforts are on to have at least 25% of all sales by women self-help groups through e-commerce portals annually.
He said that the Ministry has already signed agreements with e-commerce giants like Amazon, and Flipkart and there have been efforts by States/Union Territories in getting SHGs products registered on e-commerce platforms. e.g, Flipkart, Amazon and Meesho etc.
Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development said that there are about 8 crore 62 lakh women are members of SHGs and they have presence in 97% of Blocks, while 85 % of them are directly connected with the network of the Ministry.
7. Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates new IIFT campus at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh
Tags: place in news Economy/Finance Person in news
Union Finance and Corporate Affairs minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated the new campus of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. The campus has been set up with the help of Andhra Pradesh government and it will be temporarily hosted in the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University , Kakinada.
Speaking on the occasion the Union Minister for Commerce and Industries, Consumer Affairs, Food, Public Distribution and Textiles Piyush Goyal said that at present, the Indian economy is worth 3.5 trillion US dollars. With continuous efforts Indian economy will reach tenfold in the next 25 years, by 2047, when we mark the 100th year of independence. The development can be achieved by making available expert human resources to the maximum extent.
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT)
The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) was established in 1963 as an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry to contribute in the skill building for the external trade sector of India..
It is one of the top business schools of India with a special focus on Trade and Finance.
The Institute was granted “Deemed to be University” status in 2002.
It has campuses at Delhi, Kolkata and Kakinada .
Vice Chancellor : Manoj Pant
8. Government to set up NIA offices in all states by 2024; Amit Shah
Tags: place in news Summits Person in news
Addressing the two day (27-28 October 2022) Chintan Shivir at Surajkund, Haryana on 27 October 2022, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that National Investigation Agency (NIA) will set up its branches in all the State’s by 2024.
The Chintan shivir which has been organized by the Union Home Ministry is being attended by Chief Ministers of the States, Home Ministers of States and Lieutenant Governors and Administrators of Union Territories .
NIA was set up by the Government of India in 2009 after Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008. It is the premier counter - terrorist agency in India.
9. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman virtually attends the 7th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news
Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman attended the 7th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) via video conference from New Delhi on 26 October 2022.
Every year at the Annual Meeting, the Board of Governors meets to take key decisions on important matters relating to AIIB, and its future vision.
India is a Founding Member and the second largest shareholder in AIIB. India also has the largest project portfolio within AIIB.
The theme of this year’s Annual Meeting was “Sustainable Infrastructure toward a Connected World”.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
- It is a multilateral development bank which was set up in 2016.
- Its area of operation is in Asia and it provides loans to build Infrastructure of tomorrow -green infrastructure with sustainability, innovation and connectivity at its core.
- However its members are from around the world . At present it has 104 member countries.
- China is the majority shareholder of the bank and India is the second largest shareholder of the bank
- The United States and Japan are not the members of the bank
- AIIB has given maximum loans to India
- It will set up its first overseas office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- Urjit Patel of India is one of the five Vice-President of AIIB.
Current President of the Bank: Jin Liqun of China.
Headquarters: Beijing, China
10. Narendra Singh Tomar presides over the 7th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agro-Forestry
Tags: Person in news International News
The 7th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting (AIMMAF) on Agriculture and Forestry was held virtually on 26 October 2022. The meeting was co-chaired by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar.
Agriculture Ministers of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam also participated in the meeting.
In the meeting, the progress in implementation of various programs and activities under the Medium Term Action Plan of ASEAN-India Cooperation (Year 2021-2025) was reviewed. The meeting also welcomed the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations.
Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN)
It is considered to be one of the most successful regional groups in the world.
It was set up in 1967 as a group of South-East Asian nations.
At present there are 10 members in the group. They are:
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The headquarters of ASEAN: Jakarta, Indonesia.
