VISION

📰 Centre enhances powers of BSF; Punjab slams move

 Vision IAS Summary of Union Budget 2021-2022 PDF

 Vision IAS Prelims 2021 CSAT Analysis PDF

Vision IAS Prelims 2021 GS Paper-1 Analysis PDF

1)  International Day for Disaster Reduction: 13 October

•The United Nations International Day for Disaster Reduction is held annually on 13 October since 1989. The day is celebrated to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction and also celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face.

•The theme of the 2021 International Day for Disaster Reduction is “International cooperation for developing countries to reduce their disaster risk and disaster losses”.

2)  PM Narendra Modi addresses 28th NHRC Foundation Day programme

•The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressing at the 28th National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Foundation Day programme, through video conferencing, in New Delhi on October 12, 2021.

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the 28th NHRC Foundation Day programme, through video conferencing on October 12, 2021, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and NHRC chairperson. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India is a Statutory public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993, for the promotion and protection of human rights and dignity of the marginalised.

•The Prime Minister concluded by mentioning the human rights of future generations. He emphasized that with measures like International Solar Alliance, renewable energy goals and Hydrogen Mission, India is rapidly moving in the direction of sustainable life and eco-friendly growth.

3)  Haryana bans govt employees from participation in politics, elections

•Facing farmers’ protests over new farm laws for over a year now, the Haryana government has banned the participation of its employees in politics and elections. A notification has also been issued from the office of the chief secretary in this regard while implementing Haryana Civil Services (Government Employees Conduct) Rules, 2016.

•The administrative secretaries, heads of department, managing directors, chief administrators of boards, corporations, divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners of Haryana, registrar of universities of Haryana and registrar (general), Punjab and Haryana High Court have been directed to ensure compliance of Rules 9 and 10 of Haryana Civil Services (Government Employees’ Conduct) Rules, 2016 in letter and in spirit. Any violation of the same should invite immediate and strict disciplinary action.

4)  IEA invites India to become full-time member

•International Energy Agency (IEA) has invited India to become its full-time member. This membership invitation was given in the light that, India is the world’s third-largest energy consumer. If this proposal is accepted, it will require India to increase its strategic oil reserved to 90 days requirement.

•Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri held discussions with IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. During the discussion, IEA executive director invited India to deepen its cooperation with IEA by becoming its full member.

5)  Germany launches World’s First Self-Driving Train

•German rail operator, Deutsche Bahn and industrial group, Siemens launched the first automated & driverless train of the world. The self-driving train was launched in the city of Hamburg. This project is being developed by ‘Siemens and Deutsche Bahn’. It is being dubbed as “world-first”. The project is part of a 60-million-euro modernisation of the rapid urban rail system of Hamburg. These automated trains will offer a reliable service without laying a single kilometre of new track.

6)  India announces $200 million line of credit for Kyrgyzstan

•India announced a $200-million line of credit for Kyrgyzstan and signed an agreement to carry out small but high impact projects for community development in the Central Asian state. The two initiatives were among several measures announced by external affairs minister S Jaishankar at the end of a two-day visit to Kyrgyzstan.

•External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held “constructive” talks with the top Kyrgyz leadership to boost bilateral ties, including defence cooperation and discussed global issues like Afghanistan. Jaishankar, who arrived as part of his four-day visit to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Armenia with an aim to further expand bilateral ties with the three Central Asian countries, called on Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and discussed with him expanding economic between the two countries.

7)  Alexander Schellenberg appointed Austria’s new Chancellor

•Alexander Schellenberg was elected as Austrian Chancellor after the resignation of Sebastian Kurz. Sebastian Kurz resigned because of his involvement in a corruption scandal. Apart from Alexander, Michael Linhardt joined in for the role of foreign minister. He was the former ambassador to France. The appointment of both persons helped in ending the crisis within the Austrian government, the Austrian People’s Party and Green Party Coalition.

•Alexander Schellenberg is a graduate from the College of Europe. He was a career diplomat & became a mentor to Sebastian Kurz when he became a foreign minister. Kurz selected him as the director of strategic foreign policy planning as well as the head of the European department.

8)  India’s retail inflation eases to 4.35% in September

•Retail inflation declined to 4.35 per cent in September, mainly due to lower food prices, according to government data released. The Consumer Price Index-based (CPI) inflation was at 5.30 per cent in August and at 7.27 per cent in September 2020. As per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the inflation in the food basket eased to 0.68 per cent in September 2021, significantly down from 3.11 per cent in the preceding month.

9)  Amit Khare appointed advisor to PM Modi

•Former bureaucrat Amit Khare, who last month retired as higher education secretary, has been appointed as advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for two years on contract basis. Mr Khare, a 1985 batch (retired) IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, had superannuated on September 30.

•The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Khare as advisor to the prime minister in Prime Minister’s Office, in the rank and scale of secretary to government of India.

10)  EESL appoints Arun Kumar Mishra as CEO

•Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of Public Sector Undertakings under the Ministry of Power has announced the appointment of Arun Kumar Mishra as chief executive officer (CEO) on deputation. He will be responsible for EESL’s operations across the nation.

11)  Former SBI Chief Rajnish Kumar appointed as Chairman of BharatPe

•The fintech startup, BharatPe has appointed former State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar as the Chairman of its board. The former SBI chairman will work closely with the top officials of the company on key business and regulatory initiatives. He will also take part in defining BharatPe’s long-term and short-term strategy.

12)  Indian Shooters win 43 medals at ISSF Junior World Championship

•The 2021 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Championship Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun was held at Lima in Peru. The Indian shooters claimed a historic win with 43 medals to stand atop in the medal table. These included 17 Gold, 16 Silver and 10 Bronze medals. The USA finished second on the medal table with 21 medals including six gold, eight silver and six bronze.

•Meanwhile, Manu Bhaker created a milestone record of becoming the first Indian shooter to win the highest number of medals in a single edition of the ISSF Junior World Championships, with as many as five medals. These included 4 gold medals and a bronze.

📰 Expert panel clears Covaxin for emergency use in 2-18 age group

VISION IAS Mains 2021 Ethics Printed Notes PDF

1)  World Arthritis Day: 12 October

•The World Arthritis Day is observed every year on October 12 to raise awareness about arthritis, an inflammatory condition that causes pain and stiffness in joints that can worsen with age. This day was started by Arthritis and Rheumatism International (ARI) in 1996 in order to spread awareness about arthritis and encourage policymakers to help reduce the burden of arthritis. The World Arthritis Day theme 2021 is Don’t Delay, Connect Today: Time2Work..

2)  PM Narendra Modi launches Indian Space Association

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA) via videoconferencing. Its founding members include Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Nelco (Tata Group), OneWeb, Mapmyindia, Walchandnagar Industries and Ananth Technology Limited.

3)  Tamil Nadu’s ‘Kanniyakumari Clove’ gets GI Tag

•The unique clove spice grown in the hills of Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu has been awarded a geographical indication (GI) as ‘Kanyakumari clove’. In India, the total production of cloves is 1,100 metric tons and of this, 1,000 metric tons is produced in Tamil Nadu every year while 750 metric tons of cloves are produced in the Kanyakumari district alone.

•Apart from this, the traditional dye-painted figurative and patterned cloth called Karuppur kalamkari paintings and the wood carvings of Kallakurichi from Tamil Nadu have also received GI tags.

4)  Railways launch two long haul freight trains ‘Trishul’, ‘Garuda’

•The Indian Railways has launched two long haul freight trains “Trishul” and “Garuda” — which are twice or multiple times longer than the normal composition of freight trains. These long haul trains provide a very effective solution to the problem of capacity constraints in critical sections. These trains are twice or multiple times longer than the normal composition of freight trains and provide a very effective solution to the problem of capacity constraints in critical sections.

5)  GoI launched ‘My Port App’ for digital monitoring of port operations

•The Centre government has launched ‘MyPortApp’ in Kolkata for digital monitoring of port operation. It has been launched for promoting transparency and to provide port-related information. The app has been launched for those port users who want to use various port services. It includes all facts about the port digitally.

•The app incorporates information related to Vessel Berthing, Rake & Indent, Rake Receipt, Container Status, Tariff, Bills, Port Holidays and can be accessed anywhere 24×7.

6)  Arvind Kejriwal launches ‘Desh Ke Mentor’ Programme

•Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has launched a programme under which students of Delhi government schools will be provided guidance on career choices by citizens who are successful in their respective fields. The ‘Desh ke mentor’ programme entails ‘adopting’ one to 10 government school students who can be mentored by citizens who are successful in their respective fields. The Delhi government had in August announced that Bollywood actor Sonu Sood will be the brand ambassador for the mentors’ programme.

Function of “Desh ke mentor’ programme:

•Mentors will take out 10 minutes every week to guide students over the phone. Interested citizens can adopt between one to 10 children studying in the city’s government schools as part of the initiative.

7)  UNDP Releases 2021 Multidimensional Poverty Index Report

•The 2021 Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report was jointly released by UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). The report provides estimates on multidimensional poverty across 109 developing countries (with data from surveys ranging 2009-2019/2020); These include 26 low-income countries, 80 middle-income countries and 3 high-income countries. The index measures each person’s deprivations across 10 indicators divided into three equally weighted dimensions.

8)  Adani Group takes over management of Jaipur International Airport

•Gautam Adani-led Adani Group has took over the responsibilities of the Jaipur International Airport from the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The airport has been leased out to the group by the government of India for a period of 50 years. For the last two months, officials from Adani group have been observing operations at the airport. Airport director J S Balhara handed over a symbolic key of the airport to Chief Airport Officer Adani Jaipur International Ltd Vishnu Jha in the presence of other officials.

9)  K V Subramanian resigned as Chief Economic Adviser

•The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) KV Subramanian has decided to return to academia after the completion of his three-year term in the Finance Ministry of India. KV Subramanian had taken over the charge of Chief Economic Adviser on December 7, 2018. The appointment was made nearly five months after his predecessor Arvind Subramanian had stepped down.

•KV Subramanian, earlier in his career, had been part of the expert committees for the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Subramanian has also been well-versed with the private sector, with brief stints in top corporates including ICICI Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and Tata Consultancy Services.

10)  FIFA unveils “Ibha” mascot of India’s 2022 U-17 Women’s World Cup

•World football body, FIFA has unveiled the official mascot of the U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022 “Ibha” an Asiatic lioness representing women power. The tournament will be held in India from October 11-30 next year. The announcement coincided with the International Day of the Girl Child.

•According to a release issued by the global body, Ibha aims to inspire women and girls across India and around the world to realise their potential. Ibha is a strong, playful and charming Asiatic lioness that aims to inspire and encourage women and girls by using teamwork, resilience, kindness and empowering others.