Current Affairs 5 November 2022

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Indian Army Registers IPR for New Design & Camouflage Pattern UniformAccording to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the Indian Army has registered the “Intellectual Property Rights” (IPR) of the new Camouflage Pattern and Design of the Improved Combat Uniform.

• The new Indian Army combat uniform features a “unique digital disruptive pattern” and was unveiled on Army Day i.e., January 15, 2022.

The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, Kolkata, West Bengal, has completed the registration process for the new uniform to establish ownership of the Indian Army.
Significance
The Indian Army now holds the exclusive “IPR” for the design and camouflage pattern.

• It makes any vendor who attempts to manufacture it without authorization violating the law and subject to legal consequences.

The Indian Army can take civil legal action before a competent court of law to enforce its exclusive rights to the design and file infringement lawsuits.

• Infringement remedies include interim and permanent injunctions, as well as monetary damages.

Key Points:
i.The new uniform fabric has a contemporary look and functional design, and it is lighter, stronger, breathable, and easier to maintain.
ii.It has been upgraded with gender-specific changes for women’s combat uniforms, adding to the uniqueness to the uniform.
iii.The bulk procurement of 11. 7 lakh sets for JCOs (junior commissioned officers) and other ranks as part of their individual kits is expected to begin in August 2023.

CBDT issues Draft Proposal for Common ITR form for all Taxpayers except ITR 7i.The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has proposed a merging of all Income Tax Return (ITR) forms except ITR 7 (applicable to charitable trusts, and Non-Profit Organizations-NPOs) in order to introduce a user-friendly common ITR form for taxpayers for saving their time.
ii.In this regard, CBDT has issued a draft proposal on November 1, 2022 for stakeholder comments by December 15, 2022.
iii.However, the current ITR 1 (Salaried individuals) and ITR 4 (Presumptive tax regime) will continue, and will be optional with the proposed common ITR form.
iv.At present, taxpayers are required to file their income tax returns in form ITR 1 to ITR 7 as per their legal classification and income slab.
v.New form will have a separate head for disclosure of income from virtual digital assets.
About Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT):
It is a part of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.
Chairman– Nitin Gupta
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
>> Read Full News

EPFO Coverage Chart: Delhi Tops while Tripura, Meghalaya & Assam at the BottomAccording to the vision document of Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) released in November 2022, Delhi topped the chart in terms of the EPFO coverage with 61.5% of their working population under the social security ambit of the organisation.

• EPFO coverage is at its lowest in Tripura(2.1%), Assam(2.8%), and Meghalaya(2.8%).

Top 5 of the list: 
i.Delhi is followed by Goa at 2nd spot with 51.4% and Haryana at 3rd spot with 35.3%.
ii.Karnataka has secured the 4th position with 29.6% followed by Uttarakhand at 5th place with 26.7%.
Top 5 and Bottom 5 on the list:

Key Points:
i.The % of EPFO coverage of the working population for 15 out of 26 states and Union Territories is below the national average of 13.5%.
ii.In terms of the absolute number of working-age population covered by EPFO, Maharashtra tops the list with 11.9 million EPFO subscribers, followed by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
About Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO):
EPFO under the Ministry of Labour and Employment is one of the World’s largest Social Security Organisations in terms of clientele and the volume of financial transactions undertaken.
Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Neelam Shami Rao
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi

Vadodara Becomes Second Indian City to Issue Municipal BondVadodara, a City in Gujarat, became the second Indian city to issue a municipal bond with assistance from the Office of Technical Assistance of the United States (US) Department of the Treasury.

• The bond will be used to fund infrastructure projects in Vadodara.
• The first Indian city to issue such a bond in 2017 was Pune in Maharashtra.

The successful issue of Vadodara’s first-ever municipal bond was commemorated by representatives from the US Embassy and US Treasury along with the city of Vadodara, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Key Points:
i.Vadodara’s bond offering, which took place in March 2022, was 10 times oversubscribed, with 33 bidders investing Rs 1007 crore. It was priced at a low yield of just 7.15%.
ii.A written case study will also be released, detailing lessons gained from Vadodara’s bond issuance that will assist future municipal bond issuances in Indian cities.
iii.Earlier in 2017, Pune became the first Indian city to issue municipal bonds, raising Rs. 200 crores for its smart city project.

• The offering received subscriptions totaling Rs. 1200 crore and was oversubscribed 6 times.

Indian Army Approves 5 Make II Projects Giving Boost to “Atma Nirbhaarta”The Indian Army has approved Project Sanction Orders (PSOs) for 5 Make II projects, providing a significant stimulus to the ongoing “Make Projects.”

• The Indian Army is driving initiatives to promote “Make Projects,” which are the key engines for the infusion of specialized technology through indigenous development.

Make II Projects
Make II projects are primarily industry-funded projects that involve the development of prototypes through design, development, and innovative solutions by Indian vendors.

• An assurance of order is given after successful prototype development.

The 5 projects with approved PSOs are as follows:
i.High Frequency Man Packed Software Designed Radio (HFSDR)
ii.Drone Kill System
iii.Infantry Training Weapon Simulator (IWTS)
iv.155mm Terminally Guided Munitions (TGM)
v.Medium Range Precision Kill System (MRPKS)
About Indian Army:
Chief of the Army Staff – General Manoj Pande
Founded – 1895
>> Read Full News

GoI Notifies IIPDF Scheme for Funding PPP Projects Development

On 3rd November 2022 The Infrastructure Finance Secretariat (IFS), Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India (GoI) notified India Infrastructure Project Development Fund Scheme (IIPDF Scheme), a Central Sector Scheme (CSS) for providing Financial Support for Project Development Expenses of Public Private Partnership (PPP) Projects.
Key highlights:
i.Background – The fund was originally stated in the 2007-08 budget, by the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram, who proposed setting up a revolving fund to fasten the process of PPP projects.

• Accordingly, a fund was set up in the Finance Ministry with an initial corpus of Rs 100 crore and later it was restructured with a total outlay of Rs 150 crore for a period of 3 years from 2022-23 to 2024-25.

ii.Under the IIPDF scheme, the Project Sponsoring Authorities (PSAs), both in the Central and State Governments, will be provided with an assistance up to Rs 5 crore.

• The funding includes expenses incurred by PSA in respect of feasibility studies, environment impact studies, financial structuring, legal reviews and development of project documentation.
• It also includes concession agreement, commercial assessment studies and grading of projects required to achieve the Technical Close of such projects, on individual or turnkey basis.

iii.The funding under IIPDF Scheme is in addition to the already operational Viability Gap Funding Scheme (VGF Scheme) for financial support to PPPs in Infrastructure, which was notified on 7th December 2022.
Under the VGF scheme, the infrastructure projects undertaken through PPP mode that are economically justified but commercially not viable are supported.

PM Launches New Complaint Management system portal of CVCOn 3rd November Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi launched the new Complaint Management System portal of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) during the Vigilance Awareness Week of CVC from 31st October 2022 to 6th November 2022 with the theme ‘Corruption free India for a developed nation’ in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

• PM will also release a series of pictorial booklets on ‘Ethics and Good Practices’; Compilation of best practices on ‘Preventive Vigilance’ and special issue ‘VIGEYE-VANI’on public procurement.
• The PM will facilitate 5 students at the occasion who wrote best essays during a nationwide essay competition conducted by CVC on the 2022 theme of Vigilance Awareness Week.

About Vigilance Awareness Week:
CVC observes Vigilance Awareness Week every year to bring together all stakeholders together to spread the message of integrity in all spheres of life.

• This coincides with the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who dedicated his life to honesty, transparency and building public service.

About Complaint Management System portal:
i.This portal will provide end to end information through regular updates on the status of the complaints.
ii.CVC is an institution that increases transparency and reduces corruption. The 3 ways to tackle corruption includes, technology, service saturation and Aatmnirbharta.
iii.Few solutions – The Public Distribution System (PDS) can be linked to the technology, for removing crores of fake beneficiaries and saving more than 2 lakh crores of rupees by adopting Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

• Similarly, the adoption of transparent digital transactions and transparent government procurement through Government e-Marketing (GeM) will reduce intermediaries.

Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Launches Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2023 Toolkit

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, launched the toolkit for Swachh Survekshan Grameen (SSG) 2023 during the  Technical Session on “Rural WASH Partnerships – the way forward’ conducted by the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti on 2nd November 2022, the 2nd day of the 7th India Water Week (1st to 5th November 2022).

• During the event, the Union Minister also launched the web portal for the ‘Twinpit to Retrofit Abhiyan’.
• SSG is an important initiative under SBM.

The Technical session, chaired by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, discussed how the partnership with academia, WASH experts and other partners can be harnessed to achieve the targets of DDWS – Jal Jeevan Mission(JJM) and the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen SBM(G) phase-II.
About SSG 2023 Toolkit: 
The Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2023 Toolkit comprises information on various stages of assessment, baseline rankings of the Panchayats and Districts based on their ODF(Open Defecation Free) Plus progress as reported on SBM(G) Integrated Management Information System (IMIS).
Key Points:
The DDWS has been conducting the SSG since 2018 to rank the states and districts on the basis of their performance attained on key quantitative and qualitative SBM(G) parameters and engaging rural communities to improve sanitation status through the Information, Education & Communication (IEC) campaign.
Retrofit to Twin-pit Campaign:
Retrofit to Twin-pit Campaign launched in October 2022 on Swachh Bharat Diwas targets to sustaining the ODF status. This also aims to create awareness about the safe disposal of faecal sludge in rural households.
Objective:  To promote simple on-site technologies by retrofitting the existing single-pit toilets into twin-pit toilets.

Government extends date of Quality Control Order for 2 Steel Grades till January 2023

The Government has extended the enforcement date of its Steel and Steel Products Quality Control Order for 2 grades of ferrosilicon and ferronickel by 3 months till 23rd January 2023.

• The date of enforcement of Indian Standards (IS) 1110:1990 Ferrosilicon specification and IS 4409:1973 Specification for Ferronickel was extended further by the Steel & Steel Products (Quality Control) Order 2020 dated 22nd December 2020 and subsequent order dated 26th April 2022.

Mangalore Airport to be renamed Mangaluru Airport with effect from 1st December

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has issued an official Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) supplement announcing the change of city and airport name from Mangalore to Mangaluru with effect from 1st December 2022.

• The purpose of the AIP supplement is to officially inform all the stakeholders about the name change of Aeronautical Information Service (AIS) products for Mangalore airport and Mangalore city.
• The name of the city is changed from ‘Mangalore’ to ‘Mangaluru’ and the airport ‘Mangalore International Airport’ to ‘Mangaluru International Airport, Mangaluru’.

Note: The AAI handed over Mangalore International Airport to Adani Group in 2020 to operate, manage, and develop for 50 years.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Adaptation efforts not consistent with climate risks: UNEPThe United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report titled ‘ The Adaptation Gap Report 2022: Too Little, Too Slow – Climate adaptation failure puts world at risk’ stating Adaptation efforts by nations are not consistent with climate risks.
Key Points:
i.The global efforts in adaptation planning, financing and implementation are not keeping pace with the growing risks.
ii.Adaptation needs require $340 billion a year by 2030 but currently it stands at less than one-tenth of that amount.

• The estimated annual adaptation needs are USD 160-340 billion by 2030 and USD 315-565 billion by 2050.

iii.According to recently released UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report ,Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement may raise global warming of 2.4-2.6°C by the end of the century.
iv.As per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate risks will intensify with each tenth of a degree.
v.One third of the 197 country Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have incorporated quantified and time-bound targets on adaptation. However, Combined mitigation and adaptation finance flows in 2020 fell short of the annual US$100 billion global goal pledged by developed countries.
What is adaptation?
Steps taken towards protection from already unavoidable climate change effects are called adaptation. It is one of the three major planks of climate action, others being mitigation, and loss and damage.

India ranks 31st in US News & World Report’s Best Countries 2022; Globally India Has Cheapest Manufacturing Cost According to the US News & World Report’s overall Best Countries 2022 ranking, India has bagged the 31st rank among 85 countries. Switzerland has topped the list followed by Germany and Canada.

• Best Countries 2022 is the 7th edition of the analysis released by US News & World Report.
• India has topped the list of nations with the cheapest manufacturing costs by global survey respondents, followed by China and Vietnam. The factors into the Best Countries rankings and Open for Business sub ranking.

About U.S. News & World Report:
Executive Chairman & Chief Executive Officer– Eric Gertler
Headquarters– Washington, D.C., United States of America
>> Read Full News

WBG Report Analysis – Climate and Development: An Agenda for Action 

  According to the analysis “Climate and Development: An Agenda for Action,” investing an average of 1.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) yearly could reduce emissions in developing nations by as much as 70% by 2050 and build resilience.

• The analysis, “Climate and Development: An Agenda for Action,” collects and harmonizes findings from the Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) of the World Bank Group (WBG), which cover more than 20 countries and are accountable for 34% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Major Findings from the Analysis:  
i.The research emphasized that developing and emerging economies have different investment needs.

• Low-income countries often have higher investment demands, requiring up to 8% of their GDP.

ii.Likewise, it is 5.1% in lower-middle-income countries and 1.1% in upper-middle-income countries.

• The report stated that both low-income and low-middle-income countries are unprepared to deal with the effects of climate change.

About World Bank Group (WBG):
Together, IBRD and IDA make up the World Bank (WB).
President – David Malpass
>> Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

MPC holds special meet to Draft Report to send to Central Govt for missing Inflation TargetOn November 3, 2022, a special off-cycle meeting was held by the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to discuss and draft the content of the report which the apex bank has to send to the Central Government for missing the inflation target.

• This report will be sent to the government under the provisions of Section 45ZN of the RBI Act, 1934 and Regulation 7 of RBI MPC and Monetary Policy Process Regulations, 2016.
• The Section 45ZN requires MPC mandates RBI to send an explanatory letter to the Central government if the former fails to meet its inflation mandate.

Reason behind this Report:
For three quarters, RBI has been lacking in meeting the inflation target. The consumer price based inflation (CPI), or retail inflation, has been above the target range of 2-6% for three consecutive quarters, or nine straight months (January to September 2022). It rose to 7.41% in September 2022.
So, as per the Section 45ZN mandate, RBI should send an Explanatory Letter (Report) to the Central government if the former fails to meet its inflation mandate. The report also consists of the remedial actions it proposes to take and an estimated time within which the inflation target will be achieved.
Key Points:
i.This meeting was not a part of the originally published schedule of the MPC.
ii.It was chaired by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and attended by all MPC members – Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra, Dr. Rajiv Ranjan, Dr. Shashanka Bhide, Dr. Ashima Goyal and Prof. Jayanth R. Varma.
iii.This is for the first time, since the adoption of a New Monetary Policy Framework in 2016, that a special MPC meeting was called under Section 45ZN of the RBI Act.

• It was the second out-of-turn MPC meeting in 2022, the first was held in May 2022.

iv.The MPC meeting was held a day after the US (United States) Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points amid inflation.

Unity Bank Launches Shagun 366 FD, Offers up to 8.30% ReturnUnity Small Finance Bank Limited (Unity Bank) has launched Shagun 366, a 1 year, 1 day fixed deposit (FD), which offers 7.8 % p.a. returns for retail customers and 8.30 % p.a. for senior citizens for a tenure of 366 days.

• This offer is valid for deposits made before 30th November 2022.

Key highlights:
i.Unity Bank has also raised its interest rates on both callable and non-callable bulk deposits, that are higher than Rs. 2 crores.
ii.Deposits in callable bulk can earn up to 7.75% interest p.a. while non-callable bulk deposits can earn up to 7.85% p.a.
Note – Bank of India has also introduced Start Super Triple Seven Fixed Deposit scheme, a special FD programme that offers an interest rate of 7.25% for retail investors and up to 7.75% for senior citizens for elderly persons on a deposit for 777 days.
About Unity Small Finance Bank Limited (Unity Bank):
Unity Bank is a Scheduled Commercial Bank promoted by Centrum Financial Services Limited with Resilient Innovations Private Limited as a joint investor.
Managing Director (MD) & CEO – Inderjit Camotra
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment – 2018

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

BEL signed MoUs with Bosch, INERY & Motorola for Cooperation Across Tech FieldsOn 3rd November 2022, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a Navaratna Defence Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), under the Ministry of Defence(MoD), signed Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) with Bosch Global Software Technologies, INERY Private Limited(INERY), Singapore, and Motorola Solutions India Private Limited (Motorola) for co-operation across a variety of technological fields.
MoUs Signed:
i.BEL signed an MoU with Motorola for co-operation in the field of broadband, push-to-talk (PTT) service.

• The objective of the MoU is to address the needs of professional mobile radio segment users to connect their teams with greater speed and efficiency using Motorola WAVE PTX, PTT service.
• WAVE PTX is a network-independent multimedia communication service that instantly connects cross-functional teams at the push of a button without any boundaries.

ii.BEL has also inked an MoU with INERY, Singapore, for cooperation in the field of Blockchain technology.

• Under the MoU, both sides would take advantage of the combined strengths and capabilities of INERY and BEL in the field of Blockchain technology.
• Integrating BEL’s complementary functionalities with INERY’s solutions will enhance the product offerings of both companies.

iii.BEL has also signed an MoU with Bosch Global Software Technologies Private Limited (BGSW) for jointly implementing projects in the areas of e-Governance, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Cloud solutions.
About Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL):
Chairman& Managing Director (CMD) – Bhanu Prakash Srivastava(additional charge)
Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka
Establishment – 1954

Indian firm MEIL to build Mongolia’s 1st Greenfield Oil Refinery to lessen Oil imports from Russia

On 3rd November, Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) received a Letter of Authorization (LOA) for the Mongol Refinery Project, which requires building Mongolia’s 1st greenfield oil refinery on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, capital city of Mongolia to lessen its oil imports from Russia.
Key Points:
i. MEIL planned to build Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC)-2 (Open Art Units, Utilities & Offsites, Plant Buildings) and EPC-3 (Captive Power Plants) for USD 790 million, using excellent capabilities in Mongolia.
ii. Mongol Refinery Project is a part of the Development Partnership Administration initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India.
iii. Engineers India Limited (EIL) is the Project Management Consultant (PMC) for this partnership project.
iv. Once the refinery project gets completed, it will be able to process 30,000 barrels of crude oil per day (1.5 million tonnes annually).

• This will reduce Mongolia’s oil imports from Russia and assist the country in managing its needs for petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

About Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited (MEIL):
Founder and Chairman- PP Reddy
Managing Director- P V Krishna Reddy
Head Office- Hyderabad, Telangana
Establishment- In 1989, MEIL was started as Megha Engineering Enterprises (MEE). In 2006, MEE evolved into MEIL, a private limited company.      

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS   

Byju’s Appoints Lionel Messi as 1st Global Brand Ambassador for its Social Impact ‘Education for All’On 4th November 2022, Byju’s, the world’s leading education technology company, roped in Argentinian Football player, Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccitini, as the 1st global brand ambassador of Byju’s social impact arm ‘Education For All’.

• Lionel Messi has joined hands with Byju’s to promote the cause of equitable education.

Note: Byju’s is also the official sponsor of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Education for All:
Byju’s launched its social impact initiative ‘Education for All’ in 2020 with an aim to educate 10 million children by 2025.
This aims to provide free learning content to students from disadvantaged sections of society.
About Lionel Messi:
i. Lionel Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina, and started his football career in 1995 by joining the Youth team of Newell’s Old Boys (a Rosario-based top-division football club).
ii. At the age of 13, he began playing for FC Barcelona’s Under-14 team. He made his La Liga debut for the club on October 16, 2004, against city rivals Espanyol, at the age of 17.
iii. He has earned 11 La Liga titles and 4 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League titles, while playing for Barcelona.
iv. He holds the record for the most number of appearances in official matches with 778 games for Barcelona and scored 672 goals and 266 assists.
v. After Lionel Messi left Barcelona because of financial constraints, he joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as a free agent on 10th August 2021.
vi. The PSG forward, Lionel Messi, has played 4 World Cups representing Argentina. The 2022 World Cup tournament in Qatar is his 5th World Cup, and he has confirmed that World Cup 2022 will be his last.
Awards:
i. Lionel Messi is the 1st footballer to receive FIFA Ballon d’Or 7 times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2021).
ii. He won the U-20 World Cup (2005) and the Beijing Olympic Games Gold Medal (2008) while representing Argentina.

Meta India head Ajit Mohan quits; Manish Chopra took over as Interim HeadOn 3rd November 2022, Ajit Mohan, Vice-President and Managing Director (MD), India at Meta Platforms Inc (formerly Facebook) resigns after a nearly 4 years stint. He is set to take over as Snap Inc(Snapchat)’s President of the Asia Pacific region (APAC) to lead its business in the APAC region.

• Manish Chopra, Director and Head of partnerships at Meta India, to take over as Interim Head of Meta India.

About Ajit Mohan:
i. Ajit Mohan launched Star India’s video-streaming business Hotstar in 2015.
ii. In 2019, Mohan joined Facebook (now Meta) in the newly-created role of Managing Director for India.
iii. He worked for McKinsey & Company for 5 years,

• 1st in New York in its media practice in New York, where he worked with media companies in North America, Europe, and Latin America.
• Later he became a Fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute, where he co-authored India’s Urban Awakening.

iv. He extensively served in the social sector, which includes,

• Initiatives in child nutrition in Bihar,
• Anti-sex selection programs in New Delhi, Delhi,
• Public school reforms in Cincinnati in the United States (US),
• Improving access to government welfare in New York, US, for a program run by the Robin Hood Foundation.

About Meta Platforms Inc India:
Interim Head- Manish Chopra
India Headquarters- Gurugram, Haryana 

Benjamin Netanyahu Becomes Israeli PM, Defeating Interim PM Yair Lapid

On 3rd November 2022, former Israeli Prime Minister(PM) Benjamin Netanyahu(Binyamin Netanyahu) (73 years old), head of the right-wing Likud party won the 25th elections of Israel’s parliament (Knesset) defeating the interim PM Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid, a centre-left political party.

• Benjamin Netanyahu won the election by capturing 64 seats in Israel’s 120-seat Knesset. Interim PM Yair Lapid won only 51 seats.
• President Isaac Herzog will begin consultations with politicians on forming a new government after results are officially announced on 9th November 2022.

About Benjamin Netanyahu:
i.Benjamin Netanyahu was born on 21st October 1949, in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was an Israeli politician and diplomat who twice served as Israel’s PM (1996–99 and 2009–21) and was also the longest-serving PM since Israel’s independence.
ii.He had held several ambassadorship positions before being elected to the Knesset as a member of the Likud party in 1988.

• He also served as deputy minister of foreign affairs (1988–91) and as a deputy minister in PM Yitzhak Shamir’s coalition cabinet (1991–92).

iii.In 1996, he won his first PM elections as the leader of the Likud party, succeeding Yitzhak Shami and he was the youngest person to become Israel’s PM.

• He served as the PM of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and was then re-elected from 2009 to 2021 after Naftali Bennett ousted him from his reign.
• He became popular when he opposed the 1993 Israel-PLO peace accords and in 1997, he withdrew troops from the West Bank and Gaza Strip after a fight broke out due to opening of an ancient tunnel near Al-Aqsa Mosque.      

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Agriculture Minister Launches Portal on National Mission on Natural FarmingOn 3rd November 2022, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, launched the NMNF portal(National Mission On Natural Farming (NMNF) Management And Knowledge Portal) during the first steering committee meeting of the National Natural Farming Mission held at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi, Delhi.

• The Meeting was chaired by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
• Giriraj Singh, Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj; Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister for Jal Shakti; Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi, Union Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja and senior officers of various ministries attended the meeting.

Key points:
i.The NMNF portal has been developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare(Mo A&FW), which contains information about the mission, implementation outline, resources, implementation progress, farmer registration, blog and others.
ii.In addition, the website will also help in promoting natural farming in India.
iii.More than 4.78 lakh hectares of the additional area have been brought under natural farming in 17 states from December 2021, through which, around 7.33 lakh farmers have taken initiative in natural farming.

• About 23 thousand programs have been organised for the sanitization and training of farmers.

Other initiatives:
i.The Ministry of Jal Shakti has made a roadmap by identifying 75 Sahakar Ganga villages in the first phase by signing an MoU with Sahkar Bharti and training has been given to the farmers.
ii.Under the Namami Ganga Project, the promotion of natural farming has started in Uttar Pradesh (UP) with a target of working in every block and mastering training.

ISRO’s RISAT-2 makes uncontrolled re-entry into Earth’s Atmosphere at predicted impact point

Radar Imaging Satellite-2 (RISAT-2) made an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere at the predicted impact point in the Indian Ocean near Jakarta, Indonesia.

• RISAT-2, weighing 300 Kg, was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV -C12 launch vehicle) in 2009.
• The RISAT-2 satellite carried 30 kg of fuel and was designed to last for 4 years.
• Because there was no fuel left in the satellite at re-entry, no contamination or explosion by fuel is predicted.

SPORTS

Praggnanandhaa R & Nandhidhaa P V became 2022 Asian Chess Champions in the Open & Women’s sections
Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa R and Women Grandmaster Nandhidhaa P V became the
Asian Champions by winning the Asian Continental Chess Championship 2022 in the
Open and Women’s sections respectively.

• Asian Continental Chess Championship 2022 was held from 25th October to 4th
  November 2022 in New Delhi, Delhi.
• Deputy President of the Asian Chess Federation(ACF) Bharat Singh Chauhan and
  General Secretary Hisham Al-Taher presented the trophies and cash prizes to the
  winners.

Note: The event also served as qualification for the World Cup 2023. The top four players
in the Open and two players in the Women category qualified for the World cup.

Results of Asian Championship 2022 in Open Section:
Praggnanandhaa won the title by defeating compatriot B Adhiban in the finals.

• Harsha Bharathakoti won the tie-breaker for the runner-up position and won the
  silver medal while B Adhiban won the bronze medal with a 3rd place finish.

Results of Asian Championship 2022 in Women's Section:
Nandhidhaa P V won the title by defeating Divya Deshmukh in the finals.

• Priyanka Nutakki, Divya Deshmukh and Thi Kim Phung Vo of Vietnam finished equal
  on 6 and 1/2 points.
• Following the tiebreaker, Priyanka Nutakki finished as the runner up and Divya
  Deshmukh finished 3rd.

Other Highights:
Grandmaster Rinat Jumabayev of Kazakhstan and Divya Deshmukh became the Asian Blitz
champions in the open and women categories respectively.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Solidarity Day 2022- 20th October

National Solidarity Day is annually observed across India on 20th October to honour the Armed Forces.

• On 20th October 1962, neighbouring China suddenly attacked India over a disputed Himalayan border. The war continued for a month until China declared a ceasefire in November 1962.
• After China’s humiliating defeat of the Indian Military, India proclaimed 20th October National Solidarity Day.

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