1. 18th INDIA-ASEAN SUMMIT
1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 18th India-ASEAN Summit at the invitation of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, the current Chair of ASEAN.
About:
- Highlighting the milestone of 30th anniversary of India-ASEAN Partnership, the leaders announced the Year 2022 as India-ASEAN Friendship Year.
- Building upon the synergies between the ASEAN Outlook for the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), PM and ASEAN leaders welcomed the adoption of the India-ASEAN Joint Statement on cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
- On COVID-19, the Prime Minister highlighted that India has contributed medical supplies worth USD 200,000 to ASEAN’s humanitarian initiative for Myanmar and USD 1 million for ASEAN’s Covid-19 Response Fund.
- Prime Minister Modi announced India’s support for establishing the ASEAN Cultural Heritage List
Source: PIB
2. DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR MAKING AIR TRAVEL EASIER FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
In an attempt to make air travel easier for people with disabilities, the Civil Aviation Ministry issued a list of “draft accessibility standards and guidelines”.
About:
- These guidelines lay down some dos and don’ts for airlines and airport operators to follow to minimise the hurdles faced by disabled people while they are travelling.
- These draft guidelines come nearly a week after actor and dancer Sudha Chandran took to social media to share the ordeal she faced at the airport, where she was asked to remove her prosthetic limb every time she passed through security check.
- As per the draft guidelines, airport operators must now make arrangements to ensure that people with special needs are screened in a way that keeps the “dignity and privacy of the passenger in mind”.
- During the screening of prosthetics, airport security may use X-ray, explosive trace detection devices or visual checks according to their requirement.
Source : Indian Express
3. REGISTERING A POLITICAL PARTY
Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday announced he will be forming his own political party in Punjab ahead of the state assembly elections.
About:
- Any party seeking registration has to submit an application to the Commission within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation as per guidelines prescribed by the Commission in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 324 of the Constitution of India and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
- The registration of all political parties is governed by the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
- As per existing guidelines, the applicant is asked to publish a proposed party name in two national daily newspapers and two local daily newspapers, and provide two days for submitting objections, if any, with regard to the proposed registration of the party before the Commission within 30 days from the publication.
Source : Indian Express
4. RAKESH KUMAR SINGLA VS. UNION OF INDIA
Senior advocate Amit Desai, appearing on behalf of Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, argued in the Bombay High Court and said “Punjab and Haryana High Court and Bombay High Court have held that WhatsApp chats are inadmissible”.
About:
- While hearing the matter of Rakesh Kumar Singla vs. Union of India on January 14, 2021, the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s Justice Jaishree Thakur ruled that “reliance could, however, be placed on the messages only after complying with provisions of Section 65-B of the Indian Evidence Act”.
- The court observed, “Section 65B(4) of the Evidence Act states that any information contained in an electronic record shall be deemed to be a document, provided it satisfies all the conditions mentioned in the said section.
Source : Indian Express
5. AGNI 5 Ballistic missile
India’s Agni 5 ballistic missile was tested for the first time by the Strategic Forces Command.
About:
- The nuclear-capable missile is India’s contender for the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a range of 5,000 km. The latest test comes after reports that China had tested a new hypersonic missile in August.
- Agni 5 is India’s long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, which can hit a target with a precision that is 5,000 km away. This range puts almost the entire China within the missile’s target range.
- Though officially an ICBM needs a missile to have a range of at least 5,500 km, the Agni 5 is India’s closest contender for an ICBM, as it can reach countries across other continents, including parts of Africa and Europe.
Source : Indian Expres
6. NATIONAL FORMULARY OF INDIA (NFI)
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya launched the Sixth Edition of National Formulary of India (NFI).
The salient feature of this edition includes:
- NFI has been published by Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) to promote rational use of medicines in the country.
- The 6th Edition of NFI 2021 has been drafted by adopting the principle ‘do not miss critical and do not overload’ the information by revising the appendices, chapters and drug monographs.
- 34 therapeutic categories chapters including 591 drug monographs and 23 appendices are included in this edition.
- The NFI is aligned with National Health Programmes and National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM).
Source : PIB
7. TERMINAL BALLISTICS RESEARCH LABORATORY (TBRL)
Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh visited Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Chandigarh on October 28, 2021.
About:
- He commended the role of the laboratory in design and development of Multi-Mode Hand Grenade (MMHG), the first munition manufactured by the private sector for the Armed Forces.
- He also mentioned about the Bund Blasting Device Mark II, designed and developed by TBRL, which was handed over to the Indian Army in his presence earlier this month.
- He also inaugurated the Augmented Environmental Test facility.
- Transfer of Technology for TRBL-developed warhead for Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) Mk-II was handed over to Economic Explosives Limited, Nagpur on the occasion.
Source : PIB
8. INTEGRATED URBAN FLOOD MANAGEMENT IN CHENNAI
The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $251 million loan for climate-resilient, integrated urban flood protection and management in the Chennai-Kosasthalaiyar basin to strengthen resilience of Chennai city to floods.
About:
- Ministry of Finance, India signed the agreement for the Integrated Urban Flood Management for the Chennai-Kosasthalaiyar River Basin Project, while Shri Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission signed for ADB.
- The project interventions will help reduce the vulnerability of Chennai–Kosasthalaiyar basin residents to frequent floods, which have in recent years destroyed property and livelihoods.
Source : PIB
9. INDIAN COAST GUARD SHIP ‘SARTHAK’
The indigenously built Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Sarthak’ was commissioned and dedicated to the nation on October 28, 2021 at Goa by the Director General of Indian Coast Guard K Natarajan.
About:
- ICGS Sarthak will be based at Porbandar in Gujarat and operate on India’s Western Seaboard under the Operational and Administrative Control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (Northwest).
- ICGS Sarthak is 4th in the series of five OPVs being built by Goa Shipyard Limited for the ICG.
- These OPVs are multi-mission platforms capable of undertaking concurrent operations. The 105-meter-long ship displacing 2,450 tons is propelled by two 9,100 kilowatt diesel engines designed to attain a maximum speed of 26 knots.
Source : PIB
10. GST COMPENSATION
The Ministry of Finance has released ₹44,000 crore to the States and UTs with Legislature under the back-to-back loan facility in lieu of GST Compensation.
About:
- After taking into account earlier release of ₹ 1,15,000 crore (₹ 75,000 crore released on 15th July, 2021 and ₹ 40,000 crore released on 07th October, 2021), total amount released in the current financial year as back-to-back loan in-lieu of GST compensation is ₹1,59,000 crore.
- This release is in addition to normal GST compensation being released every 2 months out of actual cess collection.
- Subsequent to the 43rd GST Council Meeting held on 28.05.2021, it was decided that the Central Government would borrow ₹1.59 lakh crore and release it to States and UTs with Legislature on a back-to-back basis to meet the resource gap due to the short release of Compensation on account of inadequate amount in the Compensation Fund.
Source : PIB