Current Affairs in English – October 13 2022

October 13 , 2022

National Events:

Hijab:

• The Supreme Court has delivered a split verdict on the ban of wearing of hijab in educational institutions in Karnataka.
• Justice Hemant Gupta , in his judgment , dismissed all the appeals filed against the Karnataka high court judgment.
• However , Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia allowed all the appeals. The matter has been referred to the Chief Justice of India for constituting an appropriate bench.

President Droupadi Murmu:

• President Droupadi Murmu flagged off the special extension of Guwahati – Kolkata – Guwahati train upto Agartala and extension of Agartala – Jiribam – Agartala Jan Shatabdi Express upto Khongsang , Manipur , on 13 October 2022.
• At IIT Guwahati , she also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for various projects including Supercomputer facility Param Kamrupa.

Retail Inflation:

• Retail inflation , based on the consumer price index ( CPI ) , rose to 7.41 % in September 2022 compared to 7 % in August 2022.
• As per the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation data , inflation in the food basket stood at 8.41 per cent , compared to 7.57 per cent in August.
• Inflation in clothing and footwear stood at 10.17 % while fuel and light witnessed 10.39 % inflation.

PM-DevINE:

• The union cabinet has approved a new scheme , Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region ( PM – DevINE ) , to fund infrastructure projects in the North East India.
• This scheme will have an outlay of Rs 6,600 crore for the four – year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
• It will get 100 % central funding & will be implemented by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.

Multi – State Cooperative Societies ( Amendment ) Bill , 2022:

• The Union Cabinet has approved the Multi – State Cooperative Societies ( Amendment ) Bill , 2022. It seeks to amend the Multi – State Cooperative Societies Act , 2002.
• Election authority will be set up to ensure fair , free and timely elections. India has more than 1500 multi – State co – operative societies serving as an important tool to promote economic and social betterment of their members.

75 years:

• External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar , will pay an official visit to Egypt from 15-16 October 2022. This is his first bilateral visit to the country.
• Both countries are celebrating 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Egypt has been invited as a Guest Country during India’s Presidency of G – 20 in 2022-23.

Hydropower projects:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of two hydropower projects in Chamba Himachal Pradesh , in October 2022.
• These projects will generate over 270 million units of electricity annually and Himachal Pradesh is expected to get annual revenue of around 110 cr rupees.
• He also flaged off the Vande Bharat Express from Una to New Delhi.

Conference of Ministers of Power and New & Renewable Energy of States and Union Territories:

• Power Ministry will hold a two day conference of Ministers of Power and New & Renewable Energy of States and Union Territories in Udaipur , Rajasthan on 14 October 2022.
• The two – day conference will discuss the emerging issues in power sector. The conference will be inaugurated by the Union Power Minister R.K Singh.
• The discussion will also be held on ensuring 24 x 7 power supply.

Aparajita Sarangi:

• Lok Sabha member from Bhubaneswar , Aparajita Sarangi has been elected as a member to the executive committee of the Inter – Parliamentary Union ( IPU ).
• Sarangi bagged 12 out of total 18 available votes in the election to the post held at Kigali , Rwanda.
• Post her win , Sarangi will represent India at the 15 – member executive committee of the union . IPU HQ : Geneva , Switzerland. Founded : 1889.

CIL & NLCIL:

• Aimed at utilising the country’s vast reserves of coal & lignite , Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited ( BHEL ) has signed MoUs with Coal India Limited ( CIL ) and NLC India Limited ( NLCIL ) for setting up Coal Gasification based plants.
• Under these MoUs , BHEL will jointly set up a Coal to Ammonium Nitrate Project with CIL and a lignite – based gasification pilot plant with NLCIL for power generation.

IIPA:

• Union Minister & National Chairman of the Indian Institute of Public Administration ( IIPA ) Jitendra Singh on 12th Oct 2022 approved 111 new members of IIPA. It includes 9 newly recruited IAS officers serving as Assistant Secretaries at the centre.
• The IIPA membership was earlier reserved for only retired officers. IIPA established : 1954. President : Jagdeep Dhankhar ( Vice President of India ).

“Prasthan”:

• The Indian Navy conducted a security exercise , called ” Prasthan ” , in the Offshore Development Area ( ODA ) off Kakinada , Andhra Pradesh on 12th Oct 2022.
• The exercise , conducted by Eastern Naval Command , is held every 6 months. It is coordinated by the Indian Navy & involves all stakeholders in the maritime domain , including oil & gas operators , State Marine Police & the Indian Coast Guard.

‘ Delhi E – Monitoring ‘:

• Delhi government has launched an app called ‘ Delhi E – Monitoring ‘ to keep a track of all the ongoing and upcoming projects. The app allows a single window access to information of all projects under the E – Governance Plan.
• Chief Secretary of the Delhi government Naresh Kumar will be in – charge of monitoring the projects. Delhi Lt. Governor : Vinai Kumar Saxena. CM : Arvind Kejriwal.

66A:

• The Supreme Court has said that no person can be prosecuted under the repealed Section 66A of the Information Technology Act.
• According to Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, a person who publishes objectionable information through a computer or telecommunication device can be jailed for up to 3 years and fined.
• However, pointing out the importance of freedom of expression and stating that Section 66A directly affects the public’s right to know anything, the Supreme Court canceled that section in 2015.

Tamil Nadu Events:

‘ Kadavur Slender Loris Sanctuary ‘:

• The Tamil Nadu government has notified the first Indian sanctuary for the endangered Slender Loris in Karur and Dindigul districts of the state.
• A total of 11,806 hectares in the forest areas of the Karur and Dindigul districts will be merged to form the ‘ Kadavur Slender Loris Sanctuary ‘.
• Slender Lorises are also protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life ( Protection ) Act , 1972.

”Kutti Kavalar”:

• Chief Minister M.K.Stalin launched a road safety awareness program for students called ‘Kutti Kavalar’. The Tamil Nadu Government and Coimbatore Life Trust have jointly designed this road safety awareness programme.
• The objective of the ‘Kutti Kavalar’ program is to sensitize young school children about road safety awareness through a designed curriculum and thereby make them ambassadors of road safety.

International Events:

VAP:

• The Department of Biotechnology ( DBT ) is implementing a focused bilateral collaborative programme known as the Indo – US Vaccine Action Programme ( VAP ).
• It is being implemented jointly with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ( NIAID ) , National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) , USA , since July 1987.
• The current five – year VAP Joint Statement has been extended till 2027.

World Sight Day : 13th October:

• World Sight Day is celebrated every year on the second Thursday of October. In 2022 , It is being observed on 13th Oct.
• This day is celebrated with the intention to raise awareness around vision impairment , which includes blindness too.
• It was originally initiated by the Sight First Campaign of Lions Club International Foundation in 2000 . 2022 Theme : ‘ Love Your Eyes ‘.

Comprehensive space – based solar telescope:

• China successfully launched its first comprehensive space – based solar telescope called the Advanced Space – based Solar Observatory ( ASO – S ) on 9th Oct 2022.
• It has been nicknamed ‘ Kuafu – 1 ‘ & it will provide insights into how the Sun’s magnetic field causes coronal mass ejections ( CMEs ).
• India is also planning to launch a similar mission called Aditya – L1 by 2023 , to study the solar atmosphere.

’Meta’:

• Russia has taken steps to include ‘Meta’ in the list of terrorist organizations. Meta is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
• The company is headquartered in the United States.

Sports Events:

World Championship Shotgun:

• At the International Shooting Sport Federation ( ISSF ) World Championship Shotgun , India finished fifth with one gold , one silver and two bronze medals in Osijek , Croatia.
• Italy , Great Britain and USA , took the top three spots. In Men’s Skeet Team , India’s Gurjoat Khangura , Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka got ninth – place among 22 teams.

36th National Games:

• The 36th National Games concluded on 12th Oct 2022 with a concluding ceremony at Surat , Gujarat chaired by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
• Services topped the medal tally with a total of 128 medals including 61 Gold while Maharashtra secured the second position with 140 medals ( 39 gold ).
• Harshika Ramchandran won the best female player award and Sajan Prakash won the Best Male player award.

37th National Games:

• The Indian Olympic Association ( IOA ) has announced that Goa will host the 37th edition of the National Games in October 2023.
• The 35th National Games were held in Kerala in 2015 and Goa was to host the 36th edition in November 2016 but due to different reasons the state failed to host them.
• The 36th National Games were held in Gujarat between 29 September and 12 October 2022.