VISION

1)  United Nations Day: 24 October

•Every year 24 October is celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948. It was on this day in 1945 that the Charter of the United Nations came into force. With the ratification of the UN Charter by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being. It was declared to be an international observance in 1971 by UNGA and that it should be observed as a public holiday by United Nations member states.

2)  International Day of Diplomats: 24 October

•The International Day of Diplomats is celebrated on 24 October every year. The day aims to commemorate the contributions made by diplomats in shaping the world since ancient times and in making our planet a better place. It also aims to bridge the gap in perception and reality of diplomats’ lives among the general public.

•The first International Day of Diplomats was celebrated in Brasília on 24 October 2017. The day was proposed by Indian poet-diplomat Abhay K and saw participation from the diplomats of Bangladesh, France, Ghana, Israel, Italy, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey.

3)  Indian Navy launches Offshore Sailing Regatta

•The Indian Navy has organised an Offshore Sailing Regatta from Kochi to Goa, as a part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, and above all, boost the spirit of adventure and ocean sailing among the Navy Personnel. The event organised under the aegis of the Indian Naval Sailing Association (INSA) will see the participation of six Indian naval sailing vessels (INSVs), comprising of four 40 footers ad two 56 footers. The vessels will cover a total distance of 360 nautical miles between the starting point at the Naval base in Kochi to Goa.

4)  South Korea flight tests first homegrown space rocket “Nuri”

•South Korea recently launched its first indigenously developed rocket, known as “Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II” or “Nuri”. The launch vehicle lifted off from the Naro Space Center, in Goheung, built on an island nearly 300 miles (500 kilometres) south of Seoul. Nuri rocket is 47.2 metres long and weighs 200 tons. The three-stage rocket is fitted with six liquid-fuelled engines. It has been built at an estimated cost of 2 trillion won (£1.23bn or $1.6bn).

5)  China launches satellite ‘Shijian-21’

•China successfully launched a new satellite named Shijian-21. The satellite will be used to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies. Shijian-21 was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China’s Sichuan Province on a Long March-3B carrier rocket. The satellite will be mainly used to test and verify space debris mitigation technologies. This launch marked the 393rd mission for the Long March series carrier rockets.

6)  Rajinikanth honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award

•Actor Rajinikanth was honoured with the prestigious 51st Dadasaheb Phalke Award at the 67th National Film Awards ceremony, for his contribution as an actor, producer and screenwriter. He received the prestigious award from Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu for his stupendous contribution to Indian cinema.

•Instituted in 1969, the award is the highest honour for an artiste in Indian cinema. The award was decided by a jury consisting of five members: Asha Bhonsle, director Subhash Ghai, Mohanlal, Shankar Mahadevan and actor Biswajeet Chatterjee. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2019 was to be announced last year but was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, as were the National Film Awards for 2019.

7)  Election Commission of India launches Garuda App

•The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched the Garuda app for digital mapping of all polling stations, to ensure faster, smarter, transparent and timely completion of election work. Through the Garuda app, Booth Level Officers (BLO) will upload photos and location information of the polling stations, along with data like latitude and longitude of the centre, from their registered mobile numbers. The app will also help in reducing the paperwork.

8)  DRDO Successfully flight-tests Expendable Aerial Target ‘ABHYAS’

•The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight-tested the High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT)- ABHYAS, from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Bay of Bengal in Odisha. The target aircraft is equipped with a MEMS-based Inertial Navigation System (INS) for navigation along with the Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control.

9)  Election Commission of India launches Garuda App

•The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched the Garuda app for digital mapping of all polling stations, to ensure faster, smarter, transparent and timely completion of election work. Through the Garuda app, Booth Level Officers (BLO) will upload photos and location information of the polling stations, along with data like latitude and longitude of the centre, from their registered mobile numbers. The app will also help in reducing the paperwork.

10)  “Writing for My Life” anthology of Ruskin Bond released

•“Writing for My Life”, an anthology of author Ruskin Bond has been released. It contains some of the most exemplary stories, essays, poems and memories of Ruskin Bond. This anthology has been released 25 years after the first anthology of Bond titled, “The Best of Ruskin Bond”. The selections for this anthology have been made by Bond himself and his editor Premanka Goswami. Ruskin Bond is an Indian author of British descent. His first novel is The Room on the Roof.

11)  Drama film Koozhangal is India’s official entry for Oscars 2022

•The Tamil-language drama film Koozhangal (internationally translated as Pebbles), has been selected as India’s official entry for the 94th Academy Awards (Oscars 2022). The film has been directed by filmmaker Vinothraj PS and produced by Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara. The 94th Academy Awards are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, on March 27, 2022.

12)  FIFA Ranking 2021: India ranked 106th

•India has ranked 106th in the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Rankings 2021, the position of team India was increased to one spot. After the victory in the SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Championship 2021 of team India led by Sunil Chhetri, it has secured the 106th position. The team has defeated Nepal in the summit clash. Under the FIFA Rankings, Belgium is at 1st position. Brazil holds 2nd position, France holds 3rd position.

13)  Nagaland to host 56th National Cross Country Championship

•The 2022 South Asian Federation Cross Country Championships is scheduled to be held in Kohima, Nagaland on January 15, 2022. Besides this, the 56th National Cross Country Championships will also be clubbed with the South Asian Federation Cross Country Championships. This will be the first-ever national athletics event hosted by Nagaland.

•Top athletes from the eight South Asian countries will take part in the day-long international sports event. The championship will involve running on different types of terrain including sprint over dirt, jog downhill and mounting uphill.

📰 Punjab’s Operation Red Rose unfurls to curb illicit liquor trade

Nitish Rajora – AIR 268 CSE 2020 Topper’s Answer Booklet PSIR PDF

KURUKSHETRA Magazine October 2021 (Hindi) PDF

VISION IAS Mains 2021 Test 8 With Solution PDF

 What is the issue?

Prices of fuels were increased again taking petrol and diesel prices to record high levels with diesel nearing Rs 100/litre mark in most cities.

What are the reasons for fuel price rise?

• A sharp increase in global demand as the world economy recovers from the pandemic.
• The price of Brent Crude breached the $85 per barrel mark earlier this week reaching its highest level since 2018 .
• The output of the top oil-producing countries is inadequate to meet the demands.
• OPEC+ cartel has been slow to boost the production of oil.
• Low crude oil supply from the US keeps the crude oil prices elevated.
• Elevated tax levels in India - The central government had last year increased levies on petrol by Rs 13 per litre and on diesel by Rs 16 per litre.

What will be the implications of rise in fuel prices?

What is the issue?

Provision of electricity security in India has a long way to go since its per capita electricity consumption is still only a third of the global average.

What is the status of India’s energy security?

Energy security refers to the uninterrupted supply of energy at affordable prices.

• As of 31 July 2020, the total installed power capacity in India was 372 GW.
• The share of non-fossil fuels in installed capacity is 38%.
• India’s energy consumption is forecast to grow at around 4.5 per cent annually to 2035.
• India faces the twin challenges of providing energy security to its population and mitigating climate change.

What are the major sources of India’s energy sector?

1)  International Snow Leopard Day: 23 October

•Every year, October 23 is observed as International Snow Leopard Day since 2014. The day commemorates the anniversary of the Bishkek Declaration and to celebrate this endangered cat and raise awareness for its conservation and protection. It was on October 23, 2013, when political leaders from 12 countries came together to endorse the ‘Bishkek Declaration on the conservation of snow leopards.

•Snow Leopard is found in 12 countries. They are India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

2)  Mole Day observed on 23rd October

•On 23rd October every year mole day is celebrated which is popular amongst all chemistry enthusiasts. This day is marked to commemorate and honour the Avogadro‘s number. The celebration of this day happens from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m commemorating the chemistry is measuring unit. This occasion aims to make the students interested in chemistry and its concepts. The theme for the occasion, inspired by the mascot – A Mole. This year the theme is DispicaMole Me. 

3)  Chhattisgarh launched “Shri Dhanwantri Generic Medical Store” Scheme

•Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has virtually launched a new scheme named ‘Shri Dhanwantri Generic Medical Store scheme’ to provide low-cost generic medicines and enable seamless healthcare services to the vulnerable people of the state. The scheme will be implemented by the Urban Administration and Development Department (UADD).

•Under the scheme, around 188 medical shops are planned to be opened in 169 cities. Currently, 84 generic medical shops are opened in the inaugural session to distribute medicine. Under this scheme, people will get a discount between 09 per cent and 71 per cent on the MRP (Market Rate Price) of generic medicines.

4)  UIDAI to host ‘Aadhaar Hackathon 2021’

•Government agency UIDAI is hosting a Hackathon titled “Aadhaar Hackathon 2021”. The hackathon is starting on 28 Oct 21 and would continue till 31 Oct 21. With new challenged and themes, the Hackathon 2021 will have two topics. The first theme is around “Enrolment and Update”, which essentially covers some of the real-life challenges being faced by the residents while updating their address. The second theme of the Hackathon is around the “Identity and Authentication” solution offered by UIDAI.

•UIDAI is soliciting innovative solutions to prove Identity without sharing the Aadhaar number or any demographics information. Also, it is looking for innovative applications around face authentication API – the newly launched authentication modality of UIDAI. The objective is to popularize some of the existing and new APIs to solve the needs of residents.

5)  Parambikulam Tiger Conservation Foundation wins Earth Heroes Awards 2021

•The Parambikulam Tiger Conservation Foundation has bagged the Earth Guardian Award instituted by the NatWest Group. The eight winners of the award were felicitated by the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora secretary-general Ivonne Higuero through a virtual ceremony.

6)  Turkey joins Pakistan in FATF Grey list

•Global terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has retained Pakistan on its ‘Grey List’ of countries. In a briefing, FATF president Marcus Pleyer also said that three new countries Turkey, Jordan, and Mali have also been added to the Grey List. In June this year, the FATF had retained Pakistan on its ‘Grey List’ for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing.

•The FATF asked Islamabad to investigate and prosecute UN-designated terror terrorists including Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. It also asked Pakistan to work to address its strategically important deficiencies.

•Pakistan was placed on the Grey List by the FATF in June 2018. Since then, Pakistan continues to be in the list due to its failure to comply with the FATF mandates. Due to its placing on the Grey List, it has become increasingly difficult for Pakistan to get financial aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union.

7)  Microsoft Launches Program To Support AI Startups In India

•Microsoft recently announced the launch of Microsoft AI Innovate, a 10-week initiative that will support startups in India leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, helping them scale operations, drive innovation, & build industry expertise. The program will also enable startups to reach out to newer customers and geographies with Microsoft’s sales and partners.

•To support the startup ecosystem in the country, the company has launched a programme, Microsoft AI Innovate, for nurturing and scaling startups that are leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI). Microsoft AI Innovate was aimed at bringing together startups, corporates, industry bodies, governments, and venture capital firms, to create a shared platform for learning and innovation. The selected startups in each of the cohorts will have access to industry deep-dive sessions and AI masterclasses by industry experts, mentoring by unicorn founders, skilling and certification opportunities, among other benefits.

8)  Martin Scorsese, Szabo to get Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement award

•Hollywood veteran Martin Scorsese and celebrated Hungarian filmmaker Istevan Szabo will be honoured with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s International Film Festival of India (IFFI). The 52nd edition of the film festival will be held from November 20 to 28 in Goa.

•While Szabo is known for his masterpieces like 1966’s “Father” and 1981 movie “Mephisto”, Scorsese is one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential directors in film history.

•The opening film of this edition of IFFI will be “The King of all the World”, directed by Carlos Saura. Around 30 titles have been shortlisted for screening at 52nd IFFI from prominent International Film Festivals in the Festival Kaleidoscope and World Panorama Section. The festival will also pay a special tribute to Sean Connery, the first actor to portray fictional British spy James Bond on the big screen.