WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Lieutenant General Gurbirpal Singh has taken charge as the 34th Director-General of the National Cadet Corps (NCC). He succeeds Lt Gen Tarun Kumar Aich. He was commissioned into the PARACHUTE REGIMENT in 1987.
• An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun as well as NCC, he attended the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington and the National Defence College Course in New Delhi.
• Lt Gen Singh has been a Company Commander in the counter-insurgency environment in Nagaland and the Siachen Glacier.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

International day for Universal Access of Information is observed on September 28 every year by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
About:

• This day is observed because; torrential flow of information is the result of dominant paradigm considering the availability of information assign of the development. As a result, common perspective is that information is power.
• Thus, UNESCO realized the phenomenon induced by information and announced on November 17, 2015 that the International Day for Universal Access of Information will be observed on September 28.
• Various organizations and governmental bodies adhered to the declaration by UNESCO. Hence, UN General Assembly (UNGA) also decided to observe September 28 as the

Theme of the day in 2021

In the year 2021, the day was observed under the theme- “The Right to Know – Building Back Better with Access to Information.” This theme highlights the fact that need of public for accurate and reliable information has never been stronger than now, amidst struggle by countries to overcome COVID-19 pandemic rebuild communities and institutions.

Focus of the day

The International day for Universal Access of Information (IDUAI) mainly focus on making information accessible to all, in order to develop robust structure of sustainable policies in society. The day also ensures that “access to information is continuous” at times of crisis in a bid to make collectively informed decision to find solution to it.

Background

IDUAI was proclaimed on October 15, 2019 at the 74th UN General Assembly. Initially it was designated by the UNESCO General Conference. The day was inaugurated in November 2015 and was first observed on September 28, 2016. This day was recognised as “International Right to Know Day” since 2002.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

“Amrit Grand Challenge Programme” titled “जनCARE” was launched by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh.

About:

• This programme will identify 75 Start-Up Innovations in Telemedicine, Digital Health, Block Chain, mHealth with BIG Data, Artificial intelligence and other technologies.
• Launch of Grand Challenge coincides with the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, it has become more imperative for Young Start-ups and entrepreneurs to come out with Innovative Ideas and Solutions for healthcare challenges in India.
• Under this initiative, 75 Best Chosen Start-ups will be an asset for India to lead it in the next 25 years.

10th Biotech Innovators Meet

10th Biotech Innovators Meet was organised by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) in New Delhi under the theme- “Vigyan se Vikash”. While addressing the event, Dr Jitendra Singh pledged to provide full support to Start-ups from ideation to deployment stage. He directed the BIRAC to pro-actively reach out to Young Start-ups to help and support them. According to him, Young promising Innovations will get priority with respect to help, support and hand-holding than the established industrial hubs.

India’s Bio-Economy

Bio-Economy in India is on way to achieve 150-billion-dollar target and will contribute effectively to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a 5 trillion-dollar economy by 2024-25. Sunshine Biotech Sector is also set to become more than double from current 70 billion dollar to 150 billion dollar by 2025.

Contribution of BIRAC in Bio-Economy

BIRAC has established 60 world class Bio-incubators in India. It currently engages with more than 5000 Start-ups and young entrepreneurs.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Women’s rights activist and noted author, Kamla Bhasin, has passed away battling cancer. She started working on developmental issues in the 1970s and her work focused on gender, education, human development and the media.
• The noted poet and author has authored several books, especially on gender theory and feminism, many of which have been translated into more than 30 languages.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The Reserve Bank of India has allowed lenders/banks to transfer of loans that have been classified as fraud by these lenders to Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs).
• Stressed loans including fraud loans that are in default for more than 60 days or classified as NPA are permitted to be transferred to ARCs. This comes in the wake of banks reporting frauds aggregating Rs 3.95-lakh crore between FY19 and FY21.
• Under the new guidelines, loans can be transferred only after a minimum holding period (MHP) of three months in case of loans with tenor up to 2 years, and six months for those with the tenor of more than 2 years.

• In case of loans where the security does not exist or cannot be registered, the MHP shall be calculated from the date of the first repayment of the loan

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The Reserve Bank of India has issued guidelines regarding the Securitisation of Standard Assets. As per the guidelines, the minimum ticket size for the issuance of securitization notes will be Rs. 1 crore.
• Securitisation involves transactions where credit risk in assets are redistributed by repackaging them into tradeable securities with different risk profiles which may give investors of various classes access to exposures which they otherwise might be unable to access directly. It means securities issued by the special purpose entity as a part of a securitization.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The chief marketing officer of United Breweries, Debabrata Mukherjee, was unanimously elected chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for 2021-2022.
• Mukherjee, who has over 27 years of experience, was responsible for managing brands such as Kingfisher, Heineken and Amstel. A publisher member on the council, Pratap G. Pawar of Sakal Papers, was unanimously elected deputy chairman for the year.
• ABC is a non-profit circulation-auditing organisation. It certifies and audits the circulations of major publications, including newspapers and magazines in India.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Amit Shah has inaugurated and addressed the first-ever National Cooperative Conference (Sehkarita Sammelan) at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. The minister outlined the government’s vision and roadmap for the development of the Cooperative sector.
• This conference was India’s first such cooperative conference, to provide a platform for accelerating and strengthening Indian cooperatives on the global stage.
• The conference was organised jointly by the IFFCO, National Cooperative Federation of India, Amul, Sahakar Bharti, NAFED, KRIBHCO and all cooperatives together.
• Over 2,100 representatives from different states and various cooperative sectors across the country participated in the conference to contribute towards realizing the dream of a self-reliant India.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Nagaland’s “sweet cucumber” was awarded a geographical identification (GI) tag as an agricultural product under provisions of The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
• The cucumber is one of the most important crops in the Northeast region. Nagaland has the fifth-highest cultivation of this fruit area-wise and ranks third in production.
• Naga cucumber is recognised for its sweetness and unique green colour. It is rich in potassium and has low calories. The cucumber is not the first product from the small state to receive a vaunted GI tag. Both the regional variants of tree tomato (tamarillo) and the famed Naga king chilli are also GI tagged.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Supreme Court of India has approved an electronic system named FASTER (Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records). The FASTER system will be used for transferring e-authenticated copies from courts to prisons.
• A three-judge bench of Chief Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice Nageswara Rao and Justice Surya Kant has instructed state governments, Union territories, prison departments and other authorities concerned to make arrangements at prisons to accept e-authenticated copies.
• Under the FASTER system, courts can send e-authenticated copies of bail orders, stay orders, interim orders and proceedings through secured electronic communication to duty officers at prisons. The apex court was hearing a suo motu case which it took up in July this year after a news report indicated that inmates at a prison in Agra continued to be lodged in jail three days after they had been granted bail.