aditya
06:29
VISION IAS Mains 2021 Test 6 With Solution PDF
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Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Daily Current Affairs, 19th October 2021
aditya
06:24
1) Punjab CM Charanjit Channi launches ‘Mera Ghar Mere Naam’ scheme
•In Punjab, Chief Minister Charanjit Channi launched a new scheme titled ‘Mera Ghar Mere Naam’, which aims to confer proprietary rights on the people living in the houses within the ‘Lal Lakir’ of villages and the cities. The land area which is a part of the village habitation and is used for non-agriculture purposes only is known as Lal Lakir.
•The state government will undertake drone surveys of residential properties, both in rural and urban areas for digital mapping, following which all eligible residents would be given the property cards, after proper identification or verification, to confer proprietary rights upon them in a time-bound manner. The property card will serve the purpose of registry against which they can avail loans from the banks or even sell their properties.
2) NITI Aayog joins hand with ISRO to launch Geospatial Energy Map
•NITI Aayog has launched the Geospatial Energy Map of India which will provide a holistic picture of all energy resources of the country. The map has been developed by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Energy Ministries of the Government of India.
3) WHO Global TB report for 2021: India worst-hit country in TB elimination
•The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released the ‘Global TB report for 2021, where it highlighted the effects of COVID-19 which led to a huge reversal in the progress of Tuberculosis (TB) elimination. The report also mentioned India as the worst-hit country in TB elimination, where the detection of new TB cases saw a huge impact in 2020.
•A dramatic reduction of 20% TB cases were witnessed in 2020 as compared to 2019, ie; a gap of 4.1 million cases. The progress in TB detection has gone back to the levels of 2012, with India accounting for 41% of the total case drops in 2020.
4) China launched 1st Solar Exploration Satellite
•China has successfully launched its 1st solar exploration satellite into space from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province aboard a Long March-2D rocket. The satellite was named as ‘Xihe’ (Xihe is the goddess of the sun who created the calendar in ancient Chinese mythology), also known as the Chinese Hα Solar Explorer (CHASE). The satellite has been developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
5) Sri Lanka seeks 500 million dollar as loan from India
•The Government of Sri Lanka has sought a USD 500 million credit line from India to pay for its crude oil purchases, as the country is facing a severe foreign exchange crisis in the island nation after the pandemic hit the nation’s earnings from tourism and remittances. The USD 500 million credit line is part of the India-Sri Lanka economic partnership arrangement. The facility would be used for purchasing petrol and diesel requirements.
•The country’s GDP contracted by a record 3.6 per cent in 2020 and its foreign exchange reserves plunged by over a half in one year through July to just USD 2.8 billion. This has led to a 9 per cent depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee against the dollar over the past one year, making imports more expensive.
6) NASA launches Lucy Mission to study the Jupiter Trojan asteroids
•The US space agency NASA has launched a first-of-its-kind mission called ‘Lucy Mission‘ to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. The mission life of Lucy is 12-year, during which the spacecraft will fly by a total of eight ancient asteroids to study about solar system’s evolution. These will include one main-belt asteroid and seven Jupiter Trojan asteroids.
7) India’s “Takachar” Wins Prince William’s inaugural ‘Eco-Oscar’ Award
•New Delhi-based 17-year-old entrepreneur Vidyut Mohan is among the five global winners for the inaugural ‘Earthshot Prize’, also known as the ‘Eco-Oscars’, that honours people trying to save the planet. Vidyut has been awarded in the Clean our Air category, for his technology called ‘Takachar’, a small and portable device that uses crop residue to convert it into bio-products like fuel and fertilisers to reduce smoke emissions and combat air pollution. Each of the five winners will receive £1 million for their project.
8) RBI imposes Rs 1 crore penalty on State Bank of India
•The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 1 crore on India’s largest public lender State Bank of India (SBI). The penalty has been imposed for non-compliance with the directions contained in “RBI (Frauds classification and reporting by commercial banks and select FIs) directions 2016”.
•The penalty has been imposed in the exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of section 47A (1) (c) read with sections 46(4)(i) and 51(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
9) RBI authorised Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) to collect Direct taxes
•The Reserve Bank of India has authorised Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) to collect direct taxes on behalf of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). After obtaining the approval, KVB has started the integration process with the CBDT to collect direct taxes. The integration would enable the bank to allow its customers to remit the direct taxes through any branch/net banking/ mobile banking services (DLite Mobile application).
10) Amitabh Chaudhry reappointed Axis Bank CEO
•The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the re-appointment of Amitabh Chaudhry as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of private lender Axis Bank for a period of three years. Amitabh had taken charge as Axis Bank’s new MD and CEO in January 2019 after as outgoing MD and CEO Shikha Sharma retired, effective December 31, 2018. The extended three-year term will be effective from January 1, 2022.
The HINDU Notes – 19th October 2021
aditya
06:11
📰 Kushinagar connect to Sri Lanka
Premier Mahinda’s son Namal to lead team at PM Modi’s inauguration
•When Prime Minister Narendra Modi declares open the Kushinagar International Airport in Uttar Pradesh on October 20, a sizeable Sri Lankan contingent, led by a member of the first family, will be present.
•Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, nephew of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, will travel to Uttar Pradesh, along with ministerial colleagues and a group of 100 Buddhist monks to attend the event, according to officials in Colombo.
•The airport is expected to provide seamless connectivity to tourists from Sri Lanka, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, etc. Kushinagar is the centre of the Buddhist circuit, which consists of pilgrimage sites at Lumbini, Sarnath and Gaya. Buddhist pilgrims consider Kushinagar a sacred site where, they believe, Gautama Buddha delivered his last sermon and attained ‘Mahaparinirvana’ or salvation.
•The inaugural flight on Wednesday will land at the airport from Colombo, Sri Lanka, carrying the 125-member delegation of dignitaries and Buddhist monks. Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris termed the inaugural Buddhist pilgrims’ flight to Kushinagar “a landmark” in the India-Sri Lanka relations.
•To mark the occasion, Sri Lanka will present to India photographs of two murals painted by renowned Sri Lankan artist Solias Mendis at the Kelaniya Rajamaha Vihara, a popular Buddhist temple near Colombo, officials at the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi told The Hindu.
•One of the murals depicts ‘Arahat Bhikkhu’ Mahinda, son of Emperor Ashoka delivering the message of the Buddha to King Devanampiyatissa of Sri Lanka. The other shows the arrival of ‘Theri Bhikkhuni’ Sanghamitta, the daughter of the Emperor, in Sri Lanka, bearing a sapling of the ‘sacred Bodhi tree’ under which Siddhārtha Gautama is believed to have obtained enlightenment.
Tapping Buddhist links
•The gesture comes at a time when Sri Lanka and India have agreed to strengthen ties through their shared Buddhist heritage. Enhancing connectivity between the neighbours and tourist exchanges were among the key talking points during Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla’s visit to Sri Lanka earlier this month.
•In a virtual bilateral summit with PM Mahinda Rajapaksa in September 2020, Mr. Modi announced a $ 15 million grant to Sri Lanka for promoting bilateral Buddhist ties. The airport inauguration and the enhanced connectivity to a site revered by Buddhist pilgrims is one of many initiatives in India’s apparent outreach to the Sinhala-Buddhist majority of the island nation.
•Despite India’s known support to the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration in defeating the LTTE in 2009, sections among Sri Lanka’s southern population remain India-sceptics, wary of the big neighbour who “interfered” in Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict, “sided with Tamils”. They resist India commenting on power devolution or conduct of elections to provincial councils in Sri Lanka, and oppose any Indian role in developing “national assets”.
Cultural diplomacy
•In the decade after the civil war, which coincides with China’s growing influence in the island nation, New Delhi seems keen on recasting its image as a friend and collaborator, using religious and cultural diplomacy.
•During his recent visit, Foreign Secretary Shringla, who travelled across the island, made the first stop in the central Kandy district, to offer prayers at the famed Buddhist temple Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. India regularly invokes the Buddha and Buddhist history in its messaging in Sri Lanka, especially on social media.
•When India sent the first consignment of 5 lakh doses of Covishield vaccines to Sri Lanka in January this year, the Indian High Commission in Colombo in a tweet linked its arrival to a “blessed Poya Day”, or full moon day considered holy by Buddhists. The mission also wishes Sri Lankans on Twitter on almost every full moon day, and has images of the Buddha adorning its compound wall.
•Sri Lanka, too, considers promoting shared Buddhist ties a matter of “paramount importance”, as was outlined in the Integrated Country Strategy prepared by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda.
•On the growing emphasis on shared Buddhist ties, senior political scientist Jayadeva Uyangoda said: “A cynic might say this marks the beginning of a soft saffronisation [of bilateral ties], but when seen at a serious level, it signals that India is going to have a more assertive foreign policy stance towards Sri Lanka than in the recent past.”
Revamped airport
•The terminal building at the airport is spread across 3,600 sqm and was constructed at an estimated cost of ₹260 crore. It can handle 300 passengers during peak traffic. The Airports Authority of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Uttar Pradesh government in 2019 for taking over the operation and development of the unused airport.
📰 A shadow foreign policy for the first time
Premier Mahinda’s son Namal to lead team at PM Modi’s inauguration
•When Prime Minister Narendra Modi declares open the Kushinagar International Airport in Uttar Pradesh on October 20, a sizeable Sri Lankan contingent, led by a member of the first family, will be present.
•Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, nephew of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, will travel to Uttar Pradesh, along with ministerial colleagues and a group of 100 Buddhist monks to attend the event, according to officials in Colombo.
•The airport is expected to provide seamless connectivity to tourists from Sri Lanka, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, etc. Kushinagar is the centre of the Buddhist circuit, which consists of pilgrimage sites at Lumbini, Sarnath and Gaya. Buddhist pilgrims consider Kushinagar a sacred site where, they believe, Gautama Buddha delivered his last sermon and attained ‘Mahaparinirvana’ or salvation.
•The inaugural flight on Wednesday will land at the airport from Colombo, Sri Lanka, carrying the 125-member delegation of dignitaries and Buddhist monks. Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris termed the inaugural Buddhist pilgrims’ flight to Kushinagar “a landmark” in the India-Sri Lanka relations.
•To mark the occasion, Sri Lanka will present to India photographs of two murals painted by renowned Sri Lankan artist Solias Mendis at the Kelaniya Rajamaha Vihara, a popular Buddhist temple near Colombo, officials at the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi told The Hindu.
•One of the murals depicts ‘Arahat Bhikkhu’ Mahinda, son of Emperor Ashoka delivering the message of the Buddha to King Devanampiyatissa of Sri Lanka. The other shows the arrival of ‘Theri Bhikkhuni’ Sanghamitta, the daughter of the Emperor, in Sri Lanka, bearing a sapling of the ‘sacred Bodhi tree’ under which Siddhārtha Gautama is believed to have obtained enlightenment.
Tapping Buddhist links
•The gesture comes at a time when Sri Lanka and India have agreed to strengthen ties through their shared Buddhist heritage. Enhancing connectivity between the neighbours and tourist exchanges were among the key talking points during Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla’s visit to Sri Lanka earlier this month.
•In a virtual bilateral summit with PM Mahinda Rajapaksa in September 2020, Mr. Modi announced a $ 15 million grant to Sri Lanka for promoting bilateral Buddhist ties. The airport inauguration and the enhanced connectivity to a site revered by Buddhist pilgrims is one of many initiatives in India’s apparent outreach to the Sinhala-Buddhist majority of the island nation.
•Despite India’s known support to the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration in defeating the LTTE in 2009, sections among Sri Lanka’s southern population remain India-sceptics, wary of the big neighbour who “interfered” in Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict, “sided with Tamils”. They resist India commenting on power devolution or conduct of elections to provincial councils in Sri Lanka, and oppose any Indian role in developing “national assets”.
Cultural diplomacy
•In the decade after the civil war, which coincides with China’s growing influence in the island nation, New Delhi seems keen on recasting its image as a friend and collaborator, using religious and cultural diplomacy.
•During his recent visit, Foreign Secretary Shringla, who travelled across the island, made the first stop in the central Kandy district, to offer prayers at the famed Buddhist temple Dalada Maligawa or the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic. India regularly invokes the Buddha and Buddhist history in its messaging in Sri Lanka, especially on social media.
•When India sent the first consignment of 5 lakh doses of Covishield vaccines to Sri Lanka in January this year, the Indian High Commission in Colombo in a tweet linked its arrival to a “blessed Poya Day”, or full moon day considered holy by Buddhists. The mission also wishes Sri Lankans on Twitter on almost every full moon day, and has images of the Buddha adorning its compound wall.
•Sri Lanka, too, considers promoting shared Buddhist ties a matter of “paramount importance”, as was outlined in the Integrated Country Strategy prepared by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda.
•On the growing emphasis on shared Buddhist ties, senior political scientist Jayadeva Uyangoda said: “A cynic might say this marks the beginning of a soft saffronisation [of bilateral ties], but when seen at a serious level, it signals that India is going to have a more assertive foreign policy stance towards Sri Lanka than in the recent past.”
Revamped airport
•The terminal building at the airport is spread across 3,600 sqm and was constructed at an estimated cost of ₹260 crore. It can handle 300 passengers during peak traffic. The Airports Authority of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Uttar Pradesh government in 2019 for taking over the operation and development of the unused airport.
📰 India needs a caste count
A new intervention strategy can then be fashioned to emancipate groups that are still at the bottom of the ladder
•The Constituent Assembly sat together 114 times to draft a visionary Constitution for India, targeted at transforming an ancient civilisation into a modern nation state. The Preamble inter alia stated that there would be justice (social, economic and political) and equality of status and opportunity.
An economic and social fillip
•In order to fulfil the egalitarian construct of the Constitution, the makers of modern India incorporated into the chapter on Fundamental Rights three path-breaking postulates: Article 17 (abolishing untouchability), Article 23 (prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour) and Article 24 (prohibition of child labour). The Constitution outlaws discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth and mandates equality of opportunity in matters of public employment albeit with caveats to promote the interests of the underprivileged. Part XVI delineates Special Provisions relating to certain classes, including reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Anglo-Indians in the Legislatures. This reservation system was supposed to end 10 years after the commencement of the Constitution. However, it has been extended every 10 years since. The objective is to provide a political voice to the disempowered. Article 335 provides for reservations for SCs and STs in public employment both under the Union and the States. The Constitution thus provides both an economic and social fillip to the weaker sections who had been discriminated against historically. The aim is to bring about social integration that could pave the way for the creation of a classless ethos.
•In 1990, another step was taken in this direction when the then Prime Minister V.P. Singh decided to act on the recommendations of the Mandal Commission report and provide 27% reservation in public employment to Other Backward Classes (OBCs). This was subsequently extended to educational institutions. This added to the existing 22.5% reservation quota for SCs and STs thereby increasing reservations in educational institutions to 49.5%. This decision led to a nationwide tumult in university campuses and a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.
•In Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, the Supreme Court upheld 27% reservation for OBCs but struck down the 10% quota based on economic criteria. It further fixed the ceiling of reservations at 50%. It also held that a “caste can be and quite often is a social class. If it is backward socially, it would be a backward class for the purposes of Article 16(4).” It also evolved the concept of a creamy layer. It held that individuals from backward classes who had attained a certain social, educational and vocational status in life would not be classified as OBCs for the purposes of reservation. This was done to ensure that those who really require reservation get it. The OBC reservations sparked off similar demands from socially powerful and upwardly mobile caste groups. Reservations provided by successive governments either within the 27% quota for OBCs or beyond the 50% ceiling to various communities were struck down by various courts or are still being challenged.
Demand for a caste census
•The demand for a caste census is growing louder as its findings can be used to cross the 50% hurdle. If it can be empirically established that the OBCs are numerically higher, perhaps it could be argued that the 50% cap on reservation is redundant. But where would that leave merit? Nations are built by an intricate interplay of social inclusion and meritocracies. The UPA government had, albeit reluctantly, acquiesced to a Socio-Economic and Caste Census in 2011 that it then rigorously implemented. In 2016, the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Rural Development observed that “the data has been examined and 98.87% data on individuals’ caste and religion is error free”. However, the NDA government told the Supreme Court and Parliament that the caste census data are flawed and cannot be released. This assertion that flies in the face of the observations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development.
•Over time, what has been forgotten is the original dream of transforming India into an egalitarian and classless society. Undoubtedly, while reservations have ameliorated socio-economic backwardness, they have equally created silos whereby the benefits of reservation have been more far-reaching vertically than horizontally. Therefore, a new paradigm of affirmative action is required to fulfil the vision of the makers of independent India given that economic stimuli have not brought about societal integration. Since it has been judicially determined that caste is synonymous with class, a fresh socio-economic caste census is imperative if the previous one is flawed and cannot be released.
•Once it is known what the economic and social status of every caste group is, a new intervention strategy can then be fashioned to emancipate caste groups that are still at the bottom of the ladder and require that socio-economic impetus. The focus of affirmative action would thus shift from emancipating an individual to a caste group as a whole. Only when all castes are equal can society become egalitarian.
📰 Improving livestock breeding
Revised schemes will enhance the productivity and traceability standards of India’s livestock
•Livestock breeding in India has been largely unorganised because of which there have been gaps in forward and backward integration across the value chain. Such a scenario impacts the quality of livestock that is produced and in turn negatively impacts the return on investment for livestock farmers. Approximately 200 million Indians are involved in livestock farming, including around 100 million dairy farmers. Roughly 80% bovines in the country are low on productivity and are reared by small and marginal farmers. To enhance the productivity of cattle, the Rashtriya Gokul Mission was initiated in 2014 with a focus on the genetic upgradation of the bovine population through widespread initiatives on artificial insemination, sex-sorted semen, and in vitro fertilization.
Entrepreneurship development
•The revised version of the Rashtriya Gokul Mission and National Livestock Mission (NLM) proposes to bring focus on entrepreneurship development and breed improvement in cattle, buffalo, poultry, sheep, goat, and piggery by providing incentives to individual entrepreneurs, farmer producer organisations, farmer cooperatives, joint liability groups, self-help groups, Section 8 companies for entrepreneurship development and State governments for breed improvement infrastructure.
•The breed multiplication farm component of the Rashtriya Gokul Mission is going to provide for capital subsidy up to ₹200 lakh for setting up breeding farm with at least 200 milch cows/ buffalo using latest breeding technology. The entrepreneur will be responsible for the arrangement of and would be able to sell at least 116 elite female calves every year out of this farm from the third year. The entrepreneur will also start generating income out of the sale of 15 kg of milk per animal per day for around 180 animals from the first year. This breeding farm will break even from the first year of the project after induction of milk in animals. Moreover, the strategy of incentivising breed multiplication farm will result in the employment of 1 lakh farmers.
•The grassroots initiatives in this sphere will be further amplified by web applications like e-Gopala that provide real-time information to livestock farmers on the availability of disease-free germplasm in relevant centres, veterinary care, etc.
•The poultry entrepreneurship programme of the NLM will provide for capital subsidy up to ₹25 lakh for setting up of a parent farm with a capacity to rear 1,000 chicks. Under this model, the hatchery is expected to produce at least 500 eggs daily, followed by the birth of chicks that are in turn reared for four weeks. Thereafter, the chicks can be supplied to local farmers for rearing. Under this model, the rural entrepreneur running the hatchery will be supplying chicks to the farmers. An entrepreneur will be able to break even within 18 months after launching the business. This is expected to provide employment to at least 14 lakh people.
•In the context of sheep and goat entrepreneurship, there is a provision of capital subsidy of 50% up to 50 lakh. An entrepreneur under this model shall set up a breeder farm, develop the whole chain will eventually sell the animals to the farmers or in the open market. Each entrepreneur can avail assistance for a breeder farm with 500 does/ewe and 25 buck/ram animals with high genetic merit from the Central/State government university farms. This model is projected to generate a net profit of more than ₹33 lakh for the entrepreneur per year.
•For piggery, the NLM will provide 50% capital subsidy of up to ₹30 lakh. Each entrepreneur will be aided with establishment of breeder farms with 100 sows and 10 boars, expected to produce 2,400 piglets in a year. A new batch of piglets will be ready for sale every six months. This model is expected to generate a profit of ₹1.37 crore after 16 months and 1.5 lakh jobs. The revised scheme of NLM coupled with the Rashtriya Gokul Mission and the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund has the potential to dramatically enhance the productivity and traceability standards of our livestock.
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
GS SCORE Current Affairs October 2021 Week 2 PDF
aditya
07:31
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VISION IAS Mains 2021 Test 5 With Solution PDF
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07:16
VISION IAS Mains 2021 Test 5 With Solution PDF
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VIKRAM GREWAL HISTORY OPTIONAL NOTES PDF AIR 51 UPSC CSE 2018
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07:12
VIKRAM GREWAL HISTORY OPTIONAL NOTES PDF AIR 51 UPSC CSE 2018
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Monday, October 18, 2021
Daily Current Affairs, 18th October 2021
aditya
18:27
1) International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: 17 October
•The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed every year on 17 October across the globe. The day aims to raise awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution around the world, particularly in developing countries. 2021 Theme: Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, Respecting all People and our Planet”.
2) 37th Raising Day of National Security Guard
•The National Security Guard (NSG) force, popularly known as Black Cats, observes its Raising Day on October 16, every year. The year 2021 marks the 37th anniversary of the establishment of the NSG. NSG is an elite counter-terrorism unit under the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs.
3) India re-elected to UN Human Rights Council
•India has been re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for a sixth term on October 14, 2021, with an overwhelming majority. The new three-year term of India will be effective from January 2022 to December 2024. India received 184 votes of the 193 votes cast in the election.
•The elections were held for a total of 18 seats and countries needed a minimum of 97 votes to get elected to the 47 UN member council. The headquarters of the UNHRC is in Geneva, Switzerland.
4) Indian Army wins gold medal in the Exercise Cambrian Patrol 2021
•A team from 5th Battalion-4 (5/4) Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) representing the Indian Army won the gold medal at the prestigious Cambrian Patrol Exercise which was held in the United Kingdom. The Indian Army team took part in the event and competed with a total of 96 teams including 17 international teams representing Special Forces and prestigious Regiments from different parts of the world.
•The Indian Army team received rich accolades from all the judges. The team was praised for their excellent navigation skills, overall physical endurance and delivery of patrol orders.
5) Jonas Gahr Store becomes Norway’s new PM
•Jonas Gahr Store, the Leader of the Labour Party in Norway, has assumed the charge of the Prime Minister of Norway with effect from October 14, 2021. In September 2021, Store’s Labour Party won the parliamentary elections, following which incumbent Prime Minister Erna Solberg and her government stepped down.
•Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, the leader of Norway’s centre-left Labor Party, stood outside the royal palace with his 19-member team — 10 women and nine men — that includes the leader of the euroskeptic Center Party, Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, who becomes finance minister. Emilie Enger Mehl became Norway’s youngest-ever justice minister at age 28, while the foreign minister portfolio went to another woman — Anniken Scharning Huitfeldt.
6) Russia-China holds naval drill “Joint Sea 2021” in Sea of Japan
•The Russia and China joint naval exercises “Joint Sea 2021” has kicked off at Russia’s Peter the Great Gulf, in the Sea of Japan, on October 14, 2021. The exercises will culminate on October 17, 2021. During the war game, the combined force would practice shooting at targets designed to imitate enemy surface ships and hold air-defence drills.
•The drill is being carried out as part of ‘Joint Sea’ 2021, the series of bilateral naval exercises that have been taking place between the two services since 2012. The exercise is being held from 14–17 October, Russian state news agency TASS reported. The PLAN is participating in the exercise with the Type 052D destroyer Kunming
7) Russian team back on Earth after filming first movie in space
•A Russian film crew are back on Earth after wrapping up scenes for the first movie shot in space. Klim Shipenko and actor Yulia Peresild left the International Space Station and landed in Kazakhstan – to be met by a crew filming touchdown scenes. The movie has been in its own kind of space race – with Tom Cruise. He is apparently part of a Hollywood filming-in-space project involving Nasa and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
•The filmmakers had blasted off from the Russia-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan earlier this month, travelling to the ISS with veteran cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov to film scenes for “The Challenge”.
8) SEBI constitutes 4-member high powered advisory committee on settlement orders
•The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has constituted a four-member “high powered advisory committee on settlement orders and compounding of offences”. The Chairman of the committee will be Vijay C Daga, retired judge of the High Court of Bombay. The terms of reference of the Committee will be as per “Securities and Exchange Board of India (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, 2018”.
9) Navrang Saini gets additional charge as Chairperson of IBBI
•Navrang Saini has been given the additional charge as the Chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). The post fell vacant after M.S. Sahoo retired after a five-year tenure on September 30. Saini is a Whole Time Member of IBBI.
•The government has assigned additional charge of Chairperson to Mr Saini in addition to his existing duties. This will be for three months or till the joining of a new incumbent to the post or until further orders, whichever is earlier, it said in a release on October 13.
10) ICC & UNICEF to Partner for Mental Wellbeing of Children & Adolescents
•Ahead of the 2021 men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and UNICEF have that they would partner to help break the stigma around mental health by raising awareness about the issue amongst children and adolescents.
•The ICC and UNICEF are aiming to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing amongst children and adolescents and encourage greater conversation and understanding of it throughout the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 beginning.
11) Rahul Dravid appointed as Team India head coach
•Former Indian batter, Rahul Dravid has been appointed as Team India’s head coach and he will be succeeding Ravi Shastri, whose tenure at the helm ends after the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup in the UAE. As per reports, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and honorary secretary Jay Shah had a meeting with Dravid in Dubai and pleaded with him to take charge of the national team. As per reports, Dravid, also known as ‘The Wall’ of Indian cricket, has been roped in on a two-year contract and he will draw a salary of INR 10 crores.
•Team India has also appointed lieutenant Paras Mhambrey as their bowling coach, replacing Bharat Arun. Even as Vikram Rathour has been persisted with as the batting coach, the decision on who should replace fielding coach R Sridhar hasn’t been made just yet.
