1. WORLD FOOD DAY
World Food Day is being celebrated every year on October 16 to commemorate the date of the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation in 1945.
About:
- The day is also observed by organisations like World Food Programme and International Fund for Agricultural Development.
- Since 1981, World Food Day has celebrated various themes to highlight the importance of food security, with most of them revolving around agriculture.
- The theme for World Food Day this year is “Our actions are our future- Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life,” as per the official website of FAO.
Source : All India Radio
2. GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX (GHI)
India was ranked 101 in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) for 2021 from 94 in the previous year, trailing behind its South Asian neighbours Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
About:
- The Global Hunger Index (GHI), which tracks hunger and malnutrition, showed that 18 countries, including China, Brazil and Kuwait, shared the top rank, with GHI scores of less than five.
- The report said that wasting among children in India increased from 17.1% between 1998 and 2002 to 17.3% between 2016 and 2020.
- Neighbours Nepal (76), Bangladesh (76), Myanmar (71) and Pakistan (92) are also in the ‘alarming’ hunger category but have fared better at feeding its citizens than India.
- Though India showed improvement in indicators such as the under-5 mortality rate, prevalence of stunting among children and prevalence of undernourishment owing to inadequate food remained high, the report said. It further said food security is under assault on multiple fronts.
Important Info :
About the report
- The report was prepared by the Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and Germany’s Welt Hunger Hilfe. The report termed the level of hunger in India as “alarming".
- The GHI score is based on four indicators—undernourishment; child wasting or the share of children under the age of five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition; child stunting or the number of under-5 children who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition; and child mortality.
- For the 2021 report, data was assessed for 135 countries.
- Out of these, there were sufficient data to calculate GHI scores for 116 countries (in comparison, 107 countries were ranked in the 2020 report). For 19 countries, individual scores could not be calculated, and ranks could not be determined owing to a lack of data.
- The report highlighted that worsening conflict, weather extremes associated with global climate change, and the economic and health challenges associated with the covid-19 pandemic are all driving hunger.
Source: LiveMint
3. ORDNANCE FACTORY BOARD (OFB)
Seven new defence companies carved out of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), were dedicated to the Nation at a function organised by the Ministry of Defence on the occasion of ‘Vijayadashami’ in New Delhi on October 15, 2021.
About:
- To enhance functional autonomy, efficiency and unleash new growth potential & innovation, Government had decided to convert OFB from a Government Department into seven 100 per cent Government-owned corporate entities as a measure to improve self-reliance in the defence preparedness of the country.
- These companies have commenced business from October 01, 2021.
The seven new Defence companies are:
- Munitions India Limited (MIL);
- Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVANI);
- Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWE India);
- Troop Comforts Limited (TCL) (Troop Comfort Items);
- Yantra India Limited (YIL);
- India Optel Limited (IOL) and
- Gliders India Limited (GIL).
Source : PIB
4. ORDNANCE FACTORY BOARD (OFB)
Seven new defence companies, carved out of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), were dedicated to the Nation at a function organised by Ministry of Defence on the occasion of ‘Vijayadashami’ in New Delhi on October 15, 2021.
About:
- To enhance functional autonomy, efficiency and unleash new growth potential & innovation, Government had decided to convert OFB from a Government Department into seven 100 per cent Government-owned corporate entities as a measure to improve self-reliance in the defence preparedness of the country.
- These companies have commenced business from October 01, 2021.
The seven new Defence companies are:
- Munitions India Limited (MIL);
- Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVANI);
- Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWE India);
- Troop Comforts Limited (TCL) (Troop Comfort Items);
- Yantra India Limited (YIL);
- India Optel Limited (IOL) and
- Gliders India Limited (GIL).
Source : PIB
5. Dr. APJ ABDUL KALAM PRERANA STHAL
‘Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Prerana Sthal’ was inaugurated at Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam on October 15, 2021, on the occasion of the 90th birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India.
About:
- The NSTL is the premier naval research laboratory of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).
- On the occasion, NSTL products Varunastra, Torpedo Advanced Light (TAL) and Maareech decoy are being displayed at the venue.
Source: PIB
6. WEALTH REDISTRIBUTION COUNCIL
Pressing on with his campaign promise of redistributing wealth and reducing inequality, Japan’s new prime minister Fumio Kishida unveiled a flagship council, which will be responsible for strategizing how to tackle wealth disparities and redistribute wealth to households.
About:
- The panel, headed by Kishida, will comprise a mix of ministers and representatives from the private sector.
- The panel is expected to hold its first meeting on October 26.
- The panel will focus on the creation of a “virtuous cycle of growth and distribution” of wealth, which was also the pillar of his election campaign.
- In his campaign for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, Kishida proposed income redistribution to rebuild a broader middle class. This can be accomplished, he said, through an updated version of the 1960 “income-doubling plan” behind Japan’s rise as an economic power.
- One of the main focuses of the panel’s discussions will be post-covid economic recovery.
Source: Indian Express
7. KISHANGANGA POWER STATION
Shri R. K. Singh, Union Minister of Power, New & Renewable Energy, visited Dam site of 330 MW NHPC Kishanganga power station at Gurez in Bandipora District of the UT of Jammu & Kashmir.
About:
- The Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme in Kashmir, India. Its dam diverts water from the Kishanganga River (also called the Neelum River) to a power plant in the Jhelum River basin.
- It is located 5 km (3 mi) north of Bandipore in Jammu and Kashmir and has an installed capacity of 330 MW.
Important Info :
Timeline
- Construction on the project began in 2007 and was expected to be complete in 2016.
- It was halted in 2011 due to a dispute with Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty, which went to a court of arbitration.
- In December 2013, the Court ruled that India could divert water for power generation while ensuring a minimum flow of 9 cumecs (m3/s) downstream to Pakistan.
- All three units of 110 MW each were commissioned and synchronized with the electricity grid by 30 March 2018. On 19 May 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the project.
Source: PIB
8. POLICE NAIK (PN)
The Maharashtra government announced they have scrapped the position of a Police Naik (PN) in the force.
About:
- The Maharashtra government took the decision to ensure each Police Constable (PC) who joins the force will retire at least as a Police Sub Inspector (PSI) – a two-star officer – in the force.
- As of now a PC gets promoted to PN after around 10 years of service and later in another 10 years they become Head Constables (HC) and eventually retire as Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASI) – one-star officers – after around 30-plus years of service.
- Now in the absence of the PN post, Constables will directly get promoted to Head Constables in 10 years. These Head Constables in turn will get promoted to ASI’s in another 10 years, ie. 20 years of service. And in next 10 years i.e. 30 years of their service, they will be eligible to be promoted as Police Sub Inspectors.
- Retiring as PSI will mean a higher pension as compared to retirement as ASI apart from having more powers like investigating cases.
- The decision will have an impact on the nearly 45,000 constables in the state police force.
Source: Indian Express
9. INTERNATIONAL MONETARY AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE (IMFC) MEETINGS
Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman attended the Plenary Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the Annual Meetings 2021 held in Washington D.C. on 14th October 2021.
About:
- The meeting was attended by Governors/Alternate Governors representing 190-member countries of the IMF.
- The discussions at the meeting centered on “vaccinate, calibrate and accelerate” which is the theme of the Managing Director's Global Policy Agenda.
- The members of the IMFC elaborated the actions and measures taken by member countries to combat COVID-19 and facilitate economic recovery.
Important Info :
About IMFC Meetings
- The IMFC meets twice a year, once during the Fund-Bank Spring Meetings in April, and again during the Annual Meetings in October.
- The Committee discusses matters of common concern affecting the global economy and advises the IMF on the direction of its work.
Source: PIB
10. MAHARAJAH COLLECTION
The Tata group has reclaimed Air India, but the priceless Air India art collection is not part of the deal and is likely to stay with the government.
About:
- The ‘Maharajah collection’, as it is called, has over 4,000 works, including by Jatin Das, Anjolie Ela Menon, M F Husain and V S Gaitonde.
- These were on display across Air India offices, and on its calendars, posters and menu cards.
- There are posters by cartoonist Mario Miranda as well as ads designed by The New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno, besides paintings, textiles, sculptures, and traditional wooden and bronze artwork.
- No official estimate exists of the worth of the entire collection.
Source : Indian Express
11. THEM LEW MAWLONG AREA
A Meghalaya Cabinet decision to relocate the Dalit Sikh residents of Shillong’s Them lew Mawlong area, also called Punjabi Lane, is facing opposition.
About:
- Sikh groups have called it “illegal” and “unjust”, with Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa saying he would take the issue up with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
- At the heart of it is a simmering issue between the Sikh residents and the local Khasi community, centred on a decades-old land dispute.
Important Info :
Who are the Punjabi Sikhs of Shillong?
- They were first brought to Shillong by the British as manual scavengers and sweepers more than a hundred years ago. Today, the community of about 300-odd families lives in Them lew Mawlong, located next to Shillong’s commercial hub, Iewduh or Bara Bazaar.
- The Mazhabis were brought first, with a British military contingent, to work as sweepers. They were followed by the Ramgarhias (carpenters, blacksmiths and masons), and then the Soniars or goldsmiths, who came after 1947.
- Mazhabi Sikhs, the largest of the groups, were recruited by the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB), and many lived in Bara Bazaar.
Source : Indian Express
12. TALABIRA COAL MINES
NLC India Limited, a Navratna Company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Coal is operating Talabira II&III coal mines (20 MT annual capacity) in Odisha State.
About:
- Talabira II&III OCP has commenced production from the financial year 2020-21 and supplying coal to its End Use plant, NTPL, Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.
- Further to meet the requirement of country`s coal supply, the excess coal quantity after fulfilling the requirement of end use plant, selling the coal to open market through E-auction with due permission from the Coal Ministry.
- The Ministry of Coal has taken all efforts to augment coal supplies to the power sector and decided to divert and augment the supplies to power sector from captive coal blocks. The Ministry offered coal supply from Talabira II&III mines to NTPC for their Power plant.
- In this connection, both the companies worked together to commence the supply of coal from Talabira II&III OCP to NTPC (Darlipali & Lara Power Plants).
- With timely support and necessary coal delivery permits from the Department of Mines, Govt. of Odisha, the coal delivery to the Darlipali Power station has been commenced.
Source : PIB