Defence Ministry constitutes High Level Expert Committee to review NCC
The Ministry of Defence has constituted a High-Level Expert Committee, for a comprehensive review of the National Cadet Corps (NCC). Former Member of Parliament (MP) Baijayant Panda will be the Chairperson of the Committee. The 15-member committee will also include Cricketer MS Dhoni and Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra as members.
Terms of Reference of the Committee:
- Suggest measures to empower NCC cadets to contribute more effectively towards nation building
- Propose ways for gainful engagement of NCC Alumni for the betterment of the organisation
- Recommend best practices of similar international youth organisations for inclusion in the NCC curriculum.
About the NCC:
The NCC is the largest uniformed organisation that aims at developing character, discipline, a secular outlook and ideals of selfless service amongst young citizens. It also aims to create a pool of organised, trained and motivated youth with leadership qualities in all walks of life.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- NCC Founded: 16 April 1948;
- NCC Headquarters: New Delhi.
Power Finance Corporation issues India’s first-ever Euro Green Bond
The leading power sector NBFC, Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC), successfully issued its maiden Euro Green Bond. The 7-year Euro 300 million Bond has been priced at 1.841 per cent. This Euro Green Bond is the first-ever Euro denominated Green bond issuance from India. It is also the first-ever Euro issuance by an Indian NBFC. With the issuance, PFC has also forayed into the European market for its international fundraising.
PFC is witnessing a marked shift in its lending portfolio owing to stress in thermal power generation, with no new private investment in the sector. It is expected that renewable energy and transmission & distribution (T&D) would attract the bulk of the lending by PFC going forward, along with newer sectors such as lift irrigation, electric mobility and energy efficiency.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd Headquarters: New Delhi;
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd Founded: 16 July 1986;
- Power Finance Corporation Ltd chairman and managing director: R S Dhillon.
J&K Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha launches ‘One Gram Panchayat-One DIGI-Pay Sakhi’
In Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has launched a new mission called ‘One Gram Panchayat-One DIGI-Pay Sakhi’. The mission was launched at Jammu & Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Pampore. He outlined that DIGI-Pay Sakhi has introduced financial inclusion within the UT’s Self Help Group (SHG) ecosystem, creating much needed financial access points with greater transparency even in the remotest of the areas.
About the mission:
- Initially, the DIGI-Pay facility will be provided in 2,000 remote villages of UT. In the first phase, 80 women from self-help groups from across the Jammu and Kashmir divisions have been selected as DIGI-Pay Sakhis.
- On the occasion, the Lt Governor distributed 80 Aadhaar Enabled Payment Systems (AEPs) among the DIGI-Pay Sakhis under the Jammu & Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM).
- He also inaugurated a week-long training program for Krishi Sakhis and Pashu Sakhis on sustainable agriculture and livestock management. Terming the social and economic independence of ‘nari shakti’ (women empowerment) as the bedrock of any nation’s progress.
NITI Aayog Launches Report on ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India’
NITI Aayog has launched a report titled ‘Reforms in Urban Planning Capacity in India’ which presents measures to ramp up urban planning capacity in India. The report was released on September 16, 2021, jointly by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Shri Amitabh Kant and Special Secretary Dr K. Rajeswara Rao.
About the report:
- The report has made several recommendations that can unblock bottlenecks in the value chain of urban planning capacity in India. Some of them include programmatic Intervention for the Planning of Health, Re-engineering of Urban Governance, Revision of Town and Country Planning Acts.
- The report suggests that every city must aspire to become a ‘Healthy City for All’ by 2030.
- The report has also recommended a Central Sector Scheme named ‘500 Healthy Cities Programme’, for a period of 5 years. Under this priority cities and towns would be selected jointly by the states and local bodies.
What is Urban Planning:
Urban planning is the foundation for the integrated development of cities, citizens, and the environment. Unfortunately, it has received due attention so far. The existing urban planning and governance framework is complex, which often leads to ambiguity and lack of accountability.
Cabinet approves Rs 26,058 crore PLI Scheme for Auto and Drone Industry
The Union Cabinet has approved a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for auto, auto-components and drone industries to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities. The PLI scheme will incentivise the emergence of advanced automotive technologies’ global supply chain in India. Incentives worth Rs. 26,058 crore will be provided to industry over five years, the minister told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.
About the scheme:
- The PLI scheme for automobile and drone industries is part of the overall announcement of PLI schemes for 13 sectors made earlier during the Union Budget 2021-22, with an outlay of Rs. 1.97 lakh crore.
- The scheme for the auto sector envisages overcoming the cost disabilities to the industry for the manufacture of advanced automotive technology products in India.
- From the total budget of Rs 26,058 crores, an amount of Rs 25,938 crores has been sanctioned for the automobile industry and Rs 120 crores for the drone industry.
Cabinet approves 100% FDI under automatic route in Telecom Sector
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a number of structural and process reforms in the Telecom sector, to provide relief to ailing telecom service providers, struggling with high levels of debt. A total of 9 structural and 5 process reforms have been approved by the Union Cabinet.
The relief package is expected to protect and generate employment opportunities, promote healthy competition, protect the interests of consumers, infuse liquidity, encourage investment and reduce the regulatory burden on Telecom Service Providers (TSPs).
Some major reforms announced are as follows:
- Change in the definition of AGR: The definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) has been changed and now all non-telecom revenue will be removed from AGR.
- Rationalised Spectrum Usage Charges: The monthly compounding of interest on spectrum usage charges is replaced by annual compounding and the interest rate will come down, based on the formula MCLR + 2%. Penalty on payment of licence fees, spectrum user charges and all kinds of charges have been completely scrapped.
- Four-year Moratorium on dues: Moratorium has been announced on statutory dues of the telecom sector for four years. It will be applicable from October 1, 2021
- Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): The government has increased the FDI in the Telecom sector under the automatic route from 49% to 100%.
- Auction calendar fixed: Spectrum auctions will henceforth be held in the last quarter of every financial year.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Minister of Communications: Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Eminent Kashmiri Writer Aziz Hajini passes away
Noted writer and former secretary of Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages Aziz Hajini passed away. Hajini, born as Abdul Aziz Parray in north Kashmir’s Bandipora, was appointed Secretary J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages in 2015. He has over twenty books in Kashmiri to his credit including poetry and criticism.
Hajini won the Sahitya Akademi Award (criticism) in 2016 for his book ‘Aane Khane’ written in Kashmiri. He has also won the Sahitya Akademi Translation Award in 2013 for Za Gaz Zameen, Kashmiri translation of Abdul Samad’s Urdu novel Do Gaz Zameen.
2 times Olympic Gold Medalist Yuriy Sedykh passes away
Double Olympic hammer throw gold medallist Yuriy Sedykh, a Ukrainian track and field athlete who represented the Soviet Union until 1991, has passed away. He set the world record for the hammer throw with a throw of 86.74 metres at the European Championships in Stuttgart in 1986 which is still not broken. He won his first gold medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and his second gold at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
Former SC judge Indu Malhotra appointed DDCA Ombudsman
Former Supreme Court judge, Justice (Retired) Indu Malhotra will be the new Ombudsman cum Ethics Officer of Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) for a period of one year was made. The DDCA’s general body, headed by its president Rohan Jaitley, decided on 65-year-old Justice (Retd) Malhotra’s appointment.
In 2007, Malhotra was designated senior advocate by the Supreme Court and she became only the second woman to be designated by the apex court after a gap of three decades. She has been appointed amicus curiae by different benches of the Supreme Court in some matters. After serving as legal counsel in the Supreme Court for 30 years, she was unanimously recommended for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.
Ayaan Shankta named as “2021 International Young Eco-Hero”
A 12-year-old environmental activist from Mumbai, Maharashtra, Ayaan Shankta has been named as “2021 International Young Eco-Hero”. He won the 3rd prize under the Age Group: 8-14 for his project “Conservation and Rehabilitation of Powai Lake” and became one of the 25 global winners of the Young Eco-Hero Award 2021. The award presented by “The Action for Nature”, San Francisco based NGO, recognize young people (8 to 16 years old) for their environmental achievements.
Former India player and Mohun Bagan great Bhabani Roy passes away
Former India footballer and Mohun Bagan captain, Bhabani Roy passed away. He was joined Bagan in 1966 and played for the club till 1972. He represented India in the 1969 Merdeka Cup and played in three matches. Bhabani Roy helped Mohun Bagan win the Rovers Cup in 1968, 1970, 1971 and 1972 (Joint Winner). At the domestic level, he was part of the West Bengal team that won the Santosh Trophy in 1968 and 1971.
SBI’s Amit Saxena joins RBI Innovation Hub as CTO
Global Deputy CTO of State Bank of India, Amit Saxena has joined RBI Innovation Hub as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The Reserve Bank announced that it would set up Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) to promote innovation across the financial sector by leveraging on technology and creating an environment that would facilitate and foster innovation.
About the RBIH:
- The RBIH shall create an ecosystem that would focus on promoting access to financial services and products. This will also promote financial inclusion.
- The Hub will collaborate with financial sector institutions, the technology industry, and academic institutions and coordinate efforts for the exchange of ideas and development of prototypes related to financial innovations.
- It would develop internal infrastructure to promote fintech research and facilitate engagement with innovators and start-ups.
