NATIONAL NEWS

100 Percent Household Tap Connections

• Gujarat has been declared as a 100 percent 'Har Ghar Jal' st DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 28-10-2022ate. All households in rural areas in the state have access to safe drinking water through taps.
• According to government data, all 91,73,378 households in the state now have water connections.
• Gujarat is the third largest state after Haryana and Telangana, which has now announced the completion of Jal Jeevan Mission.
• Jal Jeevan Mission comes under Jal Shakti Ministry.
• This mission ensures the functionality of existing water supply systems and water connections, monitoring and testing of water quality as well as sustainable agriculture.

C-295 Transport Aircraft for IAF

• On 27 October 2022, the Government announced that a consortium led by the Tata group and Airbus will manufacture the C-295 transport aircraft in Gujarat.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the transport aircraft manufacturing project for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Vadodara, Gujarat on October 30.

• The total cost of the project is ₹21,935 crore.

• As part of the contract, 16 aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition and 40 will be manufactured in India.

• It will be manufactured by the Indian Aircraft Contractor, Tata Consortium of Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) led by TASL.
• This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company.

Crop Insurance Scheme from 2023

• The Agriculture Ministry has set up two committees.
• One for nationwide implementation of technology-based crop yield estimation and the other for standardization and improvement of weather data infrastructure.
• The move will reduce the delay in crop loss or damage estimation and ensure timely settlement of claims by farmers.
• The panels will be headed by the director of Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC).
• Apart from experts drawn from different departments and agencies of the Centre, the committees will have representation from Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan governments.
• These studies will help analyze the issues to be dealt with when the pan-India rollout of technology-based yield estimation begins from 2023-24.
• The panel on yield estimation has been asked to submit its report within 45 days.

Aerodrome License to Odisha’s Jeypore Airport

• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) granted the aerodrome license to Odisha’s Jeypore airport.

• Jeypore became the “first” state-owned airport to get the license.

• The airport will now be able to handle scheduled commercial flights under the government’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik).

• The license would be liable to suspension, modification or withdrawal if the provisions of the Aircraft Act and the Aircraft Rules were violated.

One-Time Property Tax Amnesty Scheme SAMRIDDHI 2022-23

• Delhi Lieutenant Governor Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena launched a one-time property tax amnesty scheme “SAMRIDDHI 2022-23”.

• It will provide a major relief to lakhs of residential and commercial property owners in Delhi.

• SAMRIDDHI, an acronym for Strengthening and Augmentation of Municipal Revenue for Infrastructure Development in Delhi.

• The tax amnesty program envisages a ‘One Plus Five’ option for residential and a ‘One Plus Six’ option for non-residential properties.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Bilateral Air Exercise 'Garuda VII'

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) and French Air and Space Force (FASF) are to participate in a bilateral exercise named 'Garuda VIl' from 26 October to 12 November 2022 at Air Force Station Jodhpur.

• This year marks the seventh edition of the bilateral exercise.

• In this exercise, FASF will participate with four Rafale fighter aircraft, one A-330 Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft and a contingent of 220 personnel.

• The IAF is participating with Su-30 MKI, Rafale, Tejas and Jaguar fighter aircraft as well as the Light Combat Helicopter and Mi-17 helicopters.
• The exercise will promote professional interaction, exchange of experiences and enhancement of operational knowledge, besides strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.

Maritime Bilateral Exercise ‘Simbex’ – 2022

• TheIndian Navy is to host the 29th edition of the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) in Visakhapatnam from October 26 to October 30 2022.

• It will be conducted in two phases namely Port Phase at Visakhapatnam from 26 to 27 October 2022 and Sea phase in the Bay of Bengal from 28 to 30 October 2022.

• The exercise enhances the high level of cooperation between India and Singapore in the maritime sector.

• It also highlights the commitment and contribution of the two countries towards enhancing maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.

• Two ships from the Republic of Singapore Navy, RSS Stalwart (a Formidable Class Frigate) and RSS Vigilance (a Victory Class Corvette) arrived at Visakhapatnam on 25 October 2022 for participation in the exercise.

BANKING

Russia’s Gazprombank and UCO Bank

• Russia’s Gazprombank has opened a special Rupee account with UCO Bank for undertaking cross-border trade transactions in the Indian Rupee

• The move to open the special Vostro account clears the deck for settlement of payments in Rupee for trade between India and Russia, enabling cross-border trade in the Indian currency.

• The Kolkata-based lender was among the first banks to receive the regulator’s approval following the RBI’s decision to promote Rupee settlement.

• The RBI has allowed the special Vostro accounts to invest the surplus balance in Indian government securities to help popularize the new arrangement.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

Emissions Gap Report 2022: The Closing Window

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report named ‘Emissions Gap Report 2022: The Closing Window’.
• According to the report, India’s per capita greenhouse gas emissions were far below the world’s average per capita greenhouse emission average (including land use, land-use change and forestry—LULUCF) of 6.3 tCO2e (tonne carbon dioxide equivalent) in 2020.
• The report released on 27 October 2022 announced that India’s average greenhouse gas emission was 2.4 tCO2e (tonne carbon dioxide equivalent) in 2020.
• The highest per capita emission was of the United States of America at 14 tCO2e, followed by 13 tCO2e in the Russian Federation.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Union HM’s Award for Best Police Training Institution

• The Union Home Minister’s Trophy for the ‘Best Police Training Institution for Training of Gazetted Officers for the Year 2020-21’ was awarded to the National Industrial Security Academy (NISA) in Hakimpet, Hyderabad.

• This amazing milestone for this Academy was accomplished during the tenure of the present Commissioner of Police (CP) Hyderabad, CV Anand.

• The Ministry of Home Affairs screens several central police training institutes at the national level and BPR&D surveys to determine the top Police Training Institution for the year.

• In several categories, all central and state government police training academies in the country are being considered.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

‘Punch the Plastic’ Campaign

• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Tamil Nadu has launched a ‘Punch the Plastic’ campaign, on the event of World Sustainability Day.

• The aim is to deploy a new method to collect clean and dry plastic packaging for recycling options such as pyrolysis.
• As a part of the campaign students, faculty members and staff at IIT Madras have formed a ‘Sustainable Campus Collective’.
• The drive is to raise awareness among the campus residents on waste segregation and minimizing water and energy usage.