World Migratory Bird Day 2021 – October 9

World Migratory Bird Day(WMBD) is annually observed across the globe on two peak days each year (second Saturday in May and in October) to create awareness of migratory birds and the importance of international cooperation to conserve the migratory birds and their habitats.

World Migratory Bird Day 2021 was celebrated on 8th May and 9th October 2021.

• World Migratory Bird Day 2020 was celebrated on 9th May and 10th October 2020.

• World Migratory Bird Day 2022 will be observed on 14th May and 8th October 2022.

The theme of the World Migratory Bird Day 2021 is “Sing, Fly, Soar – Like a Bird!”, which focuses on the phenomena of bird song and bird flight.

World Migratory Bird Day is a United Nations(UN) backed campaign organised by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), and the non-profit organization, Environment for the Americas (EFTA).

World Arthritis Day 2021 – October 12

World Arthritis Day(WAD) is annually observed across the globe on October 12th to create awareness about the existence and impacts of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases(RMDs).Arthritis is a term used for more than 100 joint-related diseases, which causes swelling in or around a joint, resulting in pain, stiffness, and sometimes difficulty moving.12th October 2021 marks the observance of the 25th WAD.

World Day Against the Death Penalty 2021 – October 10

World Day Against the Death Penalty is annually observed across the globe on 10th October with an aim to safeguard the health and rights of women and girls across the globe. The day unifies the global abolitionist movement and mobilizes civil society to support the abolition of capital punishment.

10th October 2021 marks the observance of the 19th World Day Against the Death Penalty.

Women Sentenced to Death: An Invisible Reality:

The World Day Against the Death Penalty 2021 is dedicated to women who risk being sentenced to death, who have received a death sentence, who have been executed, and to those who have had their death sentences commuted, exonerated, or pardoned.

Note:

The World Congress Against the Death Penalty will take place in Berlin from 16 November 2022.

Government set to Sell the Subsidiaries of Air India

Following the privatisation of Air India (AI), the Government of India (GoI) started its asset disposal programme for disposal of assets and liabilities of the subsidiaries of AI.

• Air India Asset Holdings Pvt Ltd (AIAHL), the wholly-owned regional subsidiary of AI consists of a company of ground handling, engineering, and Alliance Air to be privatised for clearing its assets.

• The details of privatisation were provided by Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).

Key Points:

i.Debt Take over: As of August 2021, AI has a total dept of around Rs 61,562 crore, in which Talace Pvt Ltd (the subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Ltd) will take over Rs 15,300 crore and the remaining Rs 46,262 crore will be transferred to SPV AIAHL.
ii.The non-core assets of AI including land and building, valued at Rs 14,718 crore and liabilities of Rs 15,834 crore towards dues to operational creditors, and for fuel purchases (as of August 31, 2021) would be transferred to SPV AIAHL.
iii.Alliance Air operates a fleet of 19 ATR planes that connect 48 destinations and made an operating profit of Rs 65.09 crore and a net loss of Rs 201 crore in FY20.
iv.The Air India brand and eight logos too would be transferred to the Tata Sons but it will have a 5-year lock-in and with the clause that they cannot sell them to a foreign entity.

Note – The terms of the disinvestment allow Tata to merge and sell up to 49 percent stake of AI after one year.

SNV Aviation Pvt Ltd gets NOC from MoCA to operate ‘Akasa Air’ by 2022

On October 11, 2021, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) gave NOC (No Objection Certificate) to SNV Aviation Pvt Ltd to operate commercial flights across India under the brand name ‘Akasa Air’ from summer 2022.

• This NOC will be followed by a security background check after which the airline will apply for AoP (air operator permit) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
• It should be noted that this proposed airline is backed by Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the Big Bull or Warren Buffett of India; and former Jet Airways CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Vinay Dube.
• Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has invested Rs 247.50 crore in the airline.

Key Points:

1. Akasa Air will have Vinay Dube as the CEO while Rakesh Jhunjhunwala will be represented by ex-IndiGo boss Aditya Ghosh in the proposed airline’s board.
• This troika is expected to be the co-founders of Akasa.
• Among other management members, Ankur Goel, former head of IndiGo’s treasury and investor relations will be its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Neelu Khatri is named as head of corporate affairs.

ii.As per SNV Aviation, it will be Ultra Low Cost Carrier (ULCC) which will be India’s most dependable, affordable and greenest airline.
iii.The airline is likely to place an order for about 100 Boeing 737 Max along with Airbus’ best selling A320 neo family of planes.

Quad Nations conduct 2nd Phase of Malabar 2021 Exercise in Bay of Bengal

On 12th October 2021, QUAD countries – India, Australia, Japan & USA started the second phase of the 25th edition of joint Naval exercise ‘Malabar 2021’ in the Bay of Bengal region. The 3-day long naval exercise is aimed at building coordination & interoperability among the navies that was established during the 1st phase.

i.In the 2nd phase the Indian side is represented by INS Ranvijay, INS Satpura, P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft, and a submarine.

ii.US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, USS Lake Champlain and USS Stockdale also marked their presence in the exercise.

iii.Japan marks its presence with JS Kaga & JS Murasame, while Australia was represented by HMAS Ballarat & HMAS Sirius.

Note – The 1st phase of 2021’s Malabar exercise was hosted by the US Navy in August near the Guam Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

EESL appoints Arun Kumar Mishra as Chief Executive Officer

The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of NTPC Ltd (formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd, Power Finance Corp. Ltd, and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) appointed Arun Kumar Mishra as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on deputation. He will be responsible for EESL operations. He will succeed the vice-chairperson of EESL, Saurabh Kumar.

Key points
i.EESL, an energy service company (ESCO), is among the earliest entrants in India’s energy efficiency market estimated at around INR 74,000 crore and is presently running the world’s largest domestic lighting programme.
ii.It was set up under the union Ministry of Power, it has been allotted the demand aggregation of electric three-wheeler and electric bus components under the INR 10,000 crore Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme of the central government.
iii.EESL is also collaborating for the smart metering programme in India with IntelliSmart, a joint venture of EESL and National Investments and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) (India’s quasi-sovereign wealth fund).
iv.It is working with the government’s UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All) scheme, which offers the world’s cheapest LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs in rural areas at INR 10.

Former SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar Appointed as Chairman of the Board of BharatPe

Rajnish Kumar, former chairman of the State Bank of India(SBI) has been appointed as the Chairman of the board of BharatPe, an ‘Indian’ leading fintech company.

• He will mentor the BharatPe team during its transition into a small finance bank.

• He will also take part in defining the short term and long term strategies of BharatPe.

Germany unveils world’s first driverless train

German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and industrial group Siemens unveiled the world’s first automated, driverless train in the city of Hamburg, Germany. According to them, it is more punctual and energy efficient than traditional trains.

• Four more driverless trains will join the northern city’s S-Bahn rapid urban rail network.

• These rails will start carrying passengers from December, using the existing rail infrastructure and will be sharing tracks with other regular trains.

• It is part of a 60 million euro ($70 million) modernisation of Hamburg’s rapid urban rail system.

• The automated trains can transport up to 30 per cent more passengers, improve punctuality and save more than 30 per cent energy.

• Although the train is fully automated, a driver will still be present to supervise journeys whenever there are passengers on board.

ITCA to launch 75 satellites made by students in 2022

Indian Technology Congress Association (ITCA) in Bengaluru, Karnataka, focuses on building synergies between academia, industry and research organisations.

• To commemorate the 75 years of India’s Independence, it has launched 75 Student made Satellites
Consortium: Mission 2022.

• Under this mission , ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) will launch these 75 satellites which made by Indian students in schools and colleges into space in 2022.

• To design and launch the student-built satellite, the ITCA has collaborated with various organisations such as TMISAT of Israel, CSPD of Serbia and UNISEC of Japan.

News in Detail