International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2021 – October 17

The United Nations (UN)’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is annually observed across the globe on October 17th to create awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and to ensure that the human rights of those living in poverty are not violated.

The theme of the 2021 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is “Building Forward Together: Ending Persistent Poverty, Respecting all People and our Planet.”

Poverty:

i.Poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon that encompasses a lack of both income and the basic capability to live with dignity.

ii.People living in poverty do not realise their rights and perpetuate their poverty.

iii.These people experience dangerous work conditions, unsafe housing, lack of nutritious food, unequal access to justice, lack of political power, and limited access to health care.

National Security Guard(NSG) Observes 37th Raising Day on October 16

The National Security Guard (NSG) force celebrated the 37th Raising Day. It is observed on October 16 every year. The year 2021 marks the 37th anniversary of the establishment of the NSG. They are popularly known as ‘’Black Cats’’.

Key points
i.The NSG force was established in 1986 after the Union Cabinet decided to create a ‘Federal Contingency Force‘ in 1984 that was well trained to tackle various manifestations of terrorism.
ii.The SAG (Special Action Group) is formed of army personnel as well as the Special Ranger Groups (SRG), which comprise of personnel drawn from State Police Forces or Central Armed Police Forces.It has six operational centres and seventh one will be set up in Pathankot,Punjab.
iii.The Black Cats played a key role during the ‘Operation Black Tornado‘ of 2008, when NSG commandos stormed the Nariman House, Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the Oberoi Trident hotel, and coordinating with personnel of other forces, killed all terrorists who had laid siege to the sites during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.


Around USD 4 trillion required in clean energy investment to limit global warming: IEA

In accordance with the ‘World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2021 report’ by International Energy Agency (IEA), almost USD 4 trillion investment into clean energy is required by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement pledge to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

• The report is released ahead of the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference, or COP26, which will take place in Glasgow from October 31 to November 12, 2021. WEO 2021 will act as a guidebook to COP26.

Key Points:

i.The analysis in WEO-2021 is premised upon ‘Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector’, published earlier this year.

ii.The report has highlighted India’s efforts in financing projects catering to the Paris Agreement like rapid expansion of solar PV (photovoltaic) to achieve 450 GW (Giga Watt) target for renewable energy by 2030.

India’s Vidyut Mohan wins Inaugural ‘2021 Earthshot Prize’ under ‘Clean Our Air’ Category

An Indian Social Enterprise ‘Takachar’, under the leadership of Vidyut Mohan was named as the winner of inaugural ‘2021 Earthshot Prize’ that was created by the United Kingdom’s Prince William to reward people fighting to save planet earth. Takachar won the ‘Earthshot Prize’, also known as ‘Eco Oscars’, under the “Clean Our Air” category for its invention to recycle agricultural waste.

• The first-ever Earthshot Prize or 2021 Earthshot Prize awards ceremony took place at the iconic Alexandra Palace in London.
i.In the finals, Takachar invention went head to head with a Solar-powered ironing cart project developed by 14-year old Vinisha Umashankar from Tamil Nadu.

Takachar Invention – A Cheap, small-scale, portable technology that attaches to tractors and converts crop residues to bio-products like fuel & fertilizers.

• Thereby eliminates the need for burning crop waste, and reduces air pollution.

Prize for Winners:

• Money – 1 million Pound
• Medal – Inspired by ‘Earthrise’ photo from Apollo 8 mission (1968), designed by Christien Meindertsma (Netherlands). The medal is completely made of recycled materials.
• The award is given under 5 broad categories.

DRDO announces Winners of ‘Dare to Dream 2.0’ & ‘Young Scientist award-2019’

In October 2021, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh awarded the winners of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO)’s ‘Dare to Dream 2.0’ Contest & 2019’s DRDO Young Scientist awards. The minister also officially launched ‘Dare to Dream 3.0’ to promote innovators & startups.
i.The ‘Dare to Dream 2.0’ awards were issued to 40 winners (22 individuals & 18 Startups), where DRDO provides technical & financial support under Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme.
ii.16 Scientists under 35 years, were awarded with the 2019’s DRDO Young Scientist awards.
iii.During the award ceremony, Indian Armed Forces received 3-indigenously developed product developed by DRDO:

• ARINC 818 Video Processing and Switching Module – Developed for Indian Air Force

• Sonar Performance Modelling System – Developed for Indian Navy

• Bund Blasting Device Mk-II- Developed for Indian Army

Sahdev Yadav appointed as President of Indian Weightlifting Federation

In October 2021, Sahdev Yadav, former Secretary General of IWLF, was unanimously elected as the President of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF). He was appointed for a term of 4 years. The election also saw the appointment of S.H. Anande Gowda and Naresh Sharma as the new Secretary General & Treasurer of IWLF.

i.10 new Vice Presidents, 4 Joint Secretaries & 7 executive committee members were also elected, in the election conducted by Returning Officer Narinder Paul Kaushik, Delhi District Court.

• Rakesh Gupta, Joint Secretary, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was the IOA observer for the election.

Football: India Won Ooredoo SAFF Championship 2021 Held in the Maldives; 8th SAFF title of India

Indian Football team (nicknamed: The Blue Tigers) won the 2021 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, known as Ooredoo SAFF Championship 2021 for sponsorship reasons, against the Nepal national football team (nicknamed: The Gurkhas) at the National Stadium in Male, Maldives.

SAFF Championship 2021 is the 13th edition of the SAFF Championship.

• The 2021 championship title marks the 8th SAFF Championship title of India.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the book Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launches the book titled “Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition” authored by Uday Mahurkar and Chirayu Pandit at Ambedkar International Centre,New Delhi.

• Minister Rajnath Singh described Savarkar as an “icon of Indian history” and also described his contributions to a nation which was not yet considered and highlighted the prolonged controversies from time to time on the great leader Savarkar.

Professor Shafey Kidwai’s New Book ‘Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: Reason, Religion And Nation’

Sahitya Akademi awardee Professor Shafey Kidwai has authored a new book titled “Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: Reason, Religion And Nation”, which is an objective analysis of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan the founder of Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College that grew into Aligarh Muslim University.

• The book is published by Routledge India.

• The foreword of the book is written by professor Irfan Habib.

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