1. WORLD'S LARGEST KHADI NATIONAL FLAG
World's largest Khadi national flag was installed at Leh in Ladakh on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
About:
- It was inaugurated by Ladakh Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur. The tricolor, which is 225-feet long and 150-feet wide, weighs around 1,000 kg.
- The flag has been made by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and was displayed by 57 Engineer Regiment of the Indian Army.
- The flag is the largest hand woven and hand spun Cotton Khadi Flag ever manufactured in India by the Khadi Village and Industries Commission affiliated Mumbai based Khadi Dyers and Printers.
Source : All India Radio
2. LOKAPRIYA GOPINATH BORDOLOI AWARD FOR NATIONAL INTEGRATION AND NATIONAL CONTRIBUTION
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has conferred Assam Government’s biennial Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi Award for National Integration and National Contribution at a special function in Guwahati.
About:
- The awardees are Assam branch of Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, German based Assamese litterateur Dr. Nirod Kumar Barooah and Shillong Chamber Choir at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra.
- The award carries five lakh rupees each, a citation and an angavastram.
- The Gopinath Bordoloi Award is named after the first chief minister of Assam after independence and He was a freedom fighter. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1999 posthumously.
Source : All India Radio
3. PANDORA PAPERS
There are at least 380 persons of Indian nationality in the Pandora Papers.
About:
- The Pandora Papers investigation is the world’s largest-ever journalistic collaboration, involving more than 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries.
- The investigation is based on a leak of confidential records of 14 offshore service providers that give professional services to wealthy individuals and corporations seeking to incorporate shell companies, trusts, foundations and other entities in low- or no-tax jurisdictions.
- The entities enable owners to conceal their identities from the public and sometimes from regulators. Often, the providers help them open bank accounts in countries with light financial regulation.
How is Pandora different from the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers?
- The Panama and Paradise Papers dealt largely with offshore entities set up by individuals and corporates respectively.
- The Pandora Papers investigation shows how businesses have created a new normal after countries have been forced to tighten the screws on such offshore entities with rising concerns of money laundering, terrorism funding, and tax evasion.
Important Info :
Is setting up a trust in India, or one offshore/ outside the country, illegal?
- The Indian Trusts Act, 1882, gives legal basis to the concept of trusts.
- While Indian laws do not see trusts as a legal person/ entity, they do recognise the trust as an obligation of the trustee to manage and use the assets settled in the trust for the benefit of ‘beneficiaries’. India also recognises offshore trusts i.e., trusts set up in other tax jurisdictions.
Source: Indian Express
4. KAMDHENU DEEPAWALI 2021 CAMPAIGN
Kadhenu Deepawali 2021 campaign was launched to manufacture and market more than 100 Crore Cow dung based Deepak lamps and Laxmi-Ganesh Idols.
About:
- Kamdhenu Deepawali is to make Cows to be economically useful by proper economic use of Cow Dung and Cow Urine too along with its Milks, Curd, Ghee.
- More than 300 items are getting made now byPanchgavya from Cow. This includes Deepawali items too like – Deepak, Lamps, Candles, Sambrani cup, Havansamagri, Dhoopbatti, incense sticks, Hard board, Wall piece, Laxmi-Ganesh idols etc made up of Cow dung.
- The Gomaya lamps made by Cow Entrepreneurs and Cow owners will save the environment by providing eco-friendly alternative to chemical based Chinese lights.
Source : PIB
5. ELECTRICITY (TRANSMISSION SYSTEM PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND RECOVERY OF INTER-STATE TRANSMISSION CHARGES) RULES 2021
The Union Ministry of Power has promulgated the Electricity (Transmission System Planning, Development and Recovery of Inter-State Transmission Charges) Rules 2021.
About:
- The rules underpin a system of transmission access which is termed as a General Network Access in the inter-state transmission system.
- This provides flexibility to the States as well as the generating stations to acquire, hold and transfer transmission capacity as per their requirements. Thus, the rules will bring in rationality, responsibility and fairness in the process of transmission planning as well as its costs.
- In a major change from the present system of taking transmission access, power plants will not have to specify their target beneficiaries.
- The rules will also empower state power distribution and transmission companies to determine their transmission requirements and build them.
- Also, states will be able to purchase electricity from short term and medium term contracts and optimize their power purchase costs. Apart from introducing GNA, the rules also specify clear roles of various agencies involved in the transmission planning process.
- The Central Electricity Authority shall prepare a short-term plan every year on rolling basis for next 5 years and perspective plan every alternative year on rolling basis for next 10 years.
- The rules have enabled, for the first time, that the transmission capacity can be sold, shared or purchased by the States and generators.
Source : PIB
6. CRYPTO CURRENCY
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned against the adoption of Crypto currency, saying it can threaten financial stability of emerging markets.
About:
- According to the IMF, Crypto currency poses new challenges to financial stability and consumer protection risks remain substantial given limited or inadequate disclosure and oversight.
- The total market value of all the crypto assets surpassed 2 trillion dollars as of September 2021, a 10-fold increase since early 2020.
- IMF’s financial experts said, anonymity of crypto assets also creates data gaps for regulators and can open unwanted doors for money laundering, as well as terrorist financing.
- Although authorities may be able to trace illicit transactions, they may not be able to identify the parties to such transactions, they said. Additionally, the crypto ecosystem falls under different regulatory frameworks in different countries, making coordination more challenging, IMF said.
Source : All India Radio
7. SWACHH BHARAT MISSION GRAMEEN (SBMG)
Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti organized important activities/campaigns under Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBMG) Phase 2 to accelerate the ODF Plus momentum and sustaining the Open Defecation Free (ODF) achievements in villages.
About:
- Sthayitva evam Sujalam Abhiyan: Launched on 25th August 2021 for a period of 100 days, the SthayitvaevamSujalam Abhiyan has focussed on liquid waste management by targeting construction of 1 million soak pits, retrofitting of toilets and ODF Sustainability.
- Satyagraha se SwachhagrahRath Yatra: States and UTs launched SwachhtaRaths which visited their districts/blocks and GPs before concluding journey at the state/UT capital. The Raths played a significant role in spreading mass awareness on Swachhta, influencing behaviour changes for effective Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) and ODF Sustainability.
- Swachhta Hi Seva (SHS) 2021: During the SHS 2021 fortnight, various activities were organized to promote community mobilization where over 60 lakh people participated and contributed in over 1.5 lakh Shramdaan activities.
- Swachhta Samvads: DDWS has been organising virtual discussions, or ‘samvads’ with Sarpanches, Collectors, Zilla Parishad officials, BDOs and other sanitation stakeholders since April 2020.
Source : PIB
8. TRINCOMALEE HARBOUR
Foreign Secretary of India, Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited the Second World War-era oil storage facility in the strategically important port district of Trincomalee on Sri Lanka’s east coast, which has been a key bilateral economic partnership link for decades.
About:
- The Trincomalee harbour, one of the deepest natural harbours in the world, was developed by the British during the War.
- Since 2003, the Lanka IOC, the Sri Lankan subsidiary of India’s oil major Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), has the leasing rights to 99 tanks at the facility for a period of 35 years for an annual payment of $100,000.
- His visit to the site assumes significance as oil sector trade unions in Sri Lanka have demanded that tanks be brought under the control of the state fuel entity Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).
- As per the agreement, the IOC was also given a one-third share of the Sri Lankan government entity, Petroleum Storage Limited. However, the CPC trade unions had been pressing for the takeover of the tanks.
Source : The Hindu
9. SUCHETGARH
With the ceasefire between India and Pakistan holding for eight months, the first-ever retreat ceremony at the Octroi Post on the International Border (IB) in Jammu’s Suchetgarh is a major push to promote border tourism in Jammu and Kashmir.
About:
- The ceremony on the lines of Amritsar’s Wagah border reflects the great legacy and valour of the Border Security Force, India’s first line of defence.
- With the beginning of the retreat ceremony, the tourism potential of Suchetgarh will be fully tapped, giving a fillip to the economic development of the area.
Source : The Hindu
10. GAMING DISORDER
Gaming addiction, a disorder is quickly growing as the pandemic spurred an increased use of Internet devices.
About:
- According to the All India Gaming Federation, India’s online gaming industry is expected to be worth ₹15,500 crore by 2023.
- A 2019 survey by the U.S.-based Limelight Networks found that India had the second largest number of gamers after South Korea.
- The World Health Organization categorised gaming disorder as a mental health condition in 2018.
- In September 2021, China limited gamers under 18 years to just three hours of online games per week, during specified times, and made the industry responsible for enforcing the restriction.
Important Info :
Legal status in India
- In India, legal focus has been on recent laws in the southern States seeking to ban online games such as rummy, poker or even fantasy sports which offer prize money or financial stakes.
- Last week, the Kerala High Court quashed such a law in the State, accepting the industry’s stance that, as games of skill rather than chance, they should not trigger bans on gambling.
Source : The Hindu