World Mental Health Day 2021 – October 10

World Mental Health Day is annually observed on October 10th to create awareness about the issues of mental health and educate the general public on the importance of Mental Health.

World Mental Health Day is a global initiative supported by the World Health Organisation(WHO), World Federation for Mental Health(WFMH) and its member organisations.

• The green ribbon is a symbol of mental health.

• The theme of World Mental Health Day 2021, as per WFMH, is “Mental Health in an Unequal World”.

International Day of the Girl Child 2021 – October 11

The United Nations(UN)’s International Day of the Girl Child has been annually observed across the globe on October 11th to highlight the need to address the challenges faced by girls across the globe.

• The day also promotes the empowerment and fulfilment of the human rights of girl children.

• The day is celebrated by the UN Women along with other UN Agencies, civil societies and girls across the globe.

The International Day of the Girl Child 2021 is celebrated under the theme “Digital generation. Our generation”.

Territorial Army Celebrates its 72nd Raising Day

On October 9, 2021 the Territorial Army (TA) commemorated its 72nd Raising Day by organising a cycle rally in New Delhi.This rally was flagged off by Director General of TA, Lieutenant General Preet Mohindera Singh from India Gate.

Highlights
i.The idea of the cycle rally was to spread the message of ”Swasth Bharat Abhiyan”.
ii.It signifies the importance of healthy living and sporting activities especially in times of global pandemic.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Launched ‘Desh Ke Mentor’ Programme to Provide Career Guidance to Students
Arvind Kejriwal Chief Minister(CM) of Delhi, has launched the “Desh Ke Mentor” programme, which enables the citizens who are successful in respective fields to provide guidance on career choices to the students of Delhi government schools.

Actor Sonu Sood is the brand ambassador of the “Desh Ke Mentor” Programme.

• As a part of the initiative, interested citizens can adopt 1 to 10 students of Delhi government schools and mentor them in an interested field.

PM Launched Indian Space Association; OneWeb Entered into Arrangement with NSIL

In October 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA), a private industry body to help boost space technology in India.

• ISpA will participate and work with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and other stakeholders of both government and its agencies, on the issue of policy around space domain and technology.

Key Points about ISpA:

i.Its founding members include Larson & Toubro, Nelco (Tata Group), OneWeb, Bharti Airtel, Mapmyindia, Walchandnagar Industries, and Ananth Technology Limited among others.
ii.Focus: It will focus on capacity building and space economic hubs and incubators in India.
iii.It will act as a single-window and independent agency on matters related to space technology
iv.4 pillars of Space technology: PM represented Freedom of innovation to the private sector, the government’s role as an enabler, preparing the youth for the future, and seeing the space sector as a resource for the progress of the common man, as the 4 pillars of Space technology.

OneWeb Entered into Arrangement with NSIL to Launch Satellite

OneWeb (a venture backed by Bharti Airtel), has entered into an arrangement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO, to use Indian-built PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and the heavier GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle)-MkIII as potential platforms to launch OneWeb’s satellites in India from 2022.

Key Points:

i.The arrangement was made through a non-binding letter of intent (LOI); could be converted into a binding one after board approval.
ii.OneWeb is building its initial constellation of 648 LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellites and has already put 322 satellites into orbit.
iii.It plans to start services to the Arctic region including Alaska, Canada, and the UK in 2021 and to India in the second half of 2022.
iv.On 14th October 2021, OneWeb has scheduled to undertake its 11th launch with a further 36 satellites on board.

India, Nepal collaborate to boost cross-border train services

India and Nepal have signed two agreements worth USD 3.15 billion, aimed at boosting cross-border train services and to improve regional connectivity and trade.

• The proposed rail line as counter to China’s bid to expand railways upto Kathmandu.
• A total of 136 to 198 km rail line will be laid to connect Raxual and Kathmandu.
• The construction of the Jaynagar-Kurtha railway line was funded by India.
• India and Nepal are mulling at least five different cross-border railway lines.
• The agreements were inked during the 5th meeting of a joint working group and the 7th meeting of a project steering committee between two countries held in New Delhi on October 6-7, to review the implementation of cross-border railway links and bilateral cooperation in the railways sector.

Indian Navy to Host its Largest Exercise Ex Milan in February 2022

India’s largest Naval exercise, Ex Milan, was scheduled to be hosted by the Indian Navy in February 2022. 46 countries have been invited to attend the exercise.

• The exercise will include the participation of all Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) countries.
• The Quad countries include India, USA, Australia, and Japan in which the USA is being invited for the 1st

India slips 6 ranks on Henley’s Passport Index Q4-2021 to 90th; Japan & Singapore Tops

According to the ‘Henley Passport Index (HPI) 2021’ released by Henley and Partners, India’s ranking has slipped by 6 places to 90th from 84th in Q2 2021 allowing its passport holders to travel 58 countries without visa.

• The index has been topped by Japan and Singapore as they allow visa-free travel to 192 countries to their passport holders.
• Notably, this is the 3rd consecutive year that Japan has grabbed the top spot.
• The toppers are followed by South Korea and Germany at 2nd position with visa-free travel to 190 countries.

Key Points:

i.India shares its 90th rank with Tajikistan and Burkina Faso.
ii.Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Yemen are among the least powerful passports.
iii.The index highlights the gap between the most powerful and least powerful passports which has increased due to COVID-19 related travel bans and restrictions.
iv.Expert insights regarding the latest ranking are available in the Henley & Partners’ Global Mobility Report 2021 Q4.

David Card, Joshua D. Angrist and Guido W. Imbens won the Nobel Prize in Economic Science 2021

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Science which is formally known as the ‘Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2021′ to David Card for his empirical contributions to labour economics and Joshua D. Angrist and Guido W. Imbens for their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships.

• The prize for economic science consists of a gold medal and a cash prize of 10 million Swedish kronor (SEK).

• The academy has decided to award one half of the prize(5 million SEK) to David Card(½) and the other half jointly to Joshua D. Angrist(¼) and Guido W. Imbens(¼), 2.5 million SEK each.

Facts on Prize in Economic Science:

i.Between 1969 and 2021, 89 individuals have been awarded with the Prize in Economic Sciences.
ii.Elinor Ostrom who won the prize in 2009 became the first female to win the prize in Economic science. In 2019, Esther Duflo became the 2nd woman.

President Ram Nath Kovind Approved Appointment of CJ of 8 High Courts & Transfer of 5 CJs

Ram Nath Kovind, President of India, has approved the appointment of the chief justices(CJ) to 8 high courts(HC) across India. He has also approved the transfer of 5 chief Justices to different high courts.

• The appointments have been made in the exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
• The new appointments and transfers were recommended by the Supreme court of India.

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