World Cities Day 2021 – October 31

The United Nations(UN)’s World Cities Day(WCD) is annually observed across the globe on October 31st to promote the importance of community’s interest in global urbanization and to advance the cooperation among the countries in meeting opportunities addressing challenges of urbanization and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world.

• The global observance was co-hosted by UN-Habitat and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and it took place in Luxor, Egypt.

• The Global theme (Sub Theme) of World Cities Day 2021 is “Adapting Cities for Climate Resilience”.

• The General theme of World Cities Day 2021 is “Better City, Better Life” which remains same for every year.

• Each year a different sub-theme(Global theme or theme of WCD) and a location for its global observance is selected to promote the successes of urbanization or to address specific challenges of urbanization.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) 2021 – October 31

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) is annually observed across India on 31st October to mark the birth anniversary of Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel, endeared as ‘Sardar’, the First Deputy Prime Minister of India and the first Home Minister of India.

• The day aims to acknowledge and honour the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who was also known as the Iron Man of India.

• 31st October 2021 marks the 146th Birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Statue of Unity:

i.The Statue of Unity is a colossal statue of India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is the world’s tallest statue, with a height of 182 metres (around 597 feet).

ii.It is located in Kevadiya, Gujarat, on the Narmada River in the Kevadiya colony, facing the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Events of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas 2021:

Run for Unity:

Run for Unity is organised in various parts of the country to mark the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas 2021.

i.National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd., (NMDC) under the Ministry of Steel, India’s largest producer of iron ore, celebrated the day with the event ‘Run for Unity’.

ii.The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (FAHD) has also organised a Run for Unity to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who advocated the farmers’ cooperative, which marked the beginning of the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Limited, popularly known as Amul.

World Thrift Day 2021 – October 31

World Thrift Day, also known as World Savings Day, is annually observed across the globe on 31st October to create awareness about the importance of savings and financial security of individuals and the nation as a whole. India celebrates World Thrift Day on 30th October to ensure that the celebration of the day does not coincide with the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who was assassinated by her bodyguards on 31st October 1984.

Aim: To change our behaviour towards saving and remind the importance of wealth among the people.

Union Minister Amit Shah launched ‘Dairy Sahakar’ Scheme from Anand, Gujarat

On October 31, 2021, Union Minister Amit Anil Chandra Shah, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) launched the Dairy Sahakar scheme at Anand, Gujarat during the function organised by AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) for the celebration of its 75th foundation year.

• With an outlay of Rs 5000 crore, it will be implemented by National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), under the Ministry of Cooperation.

Objective:

i.To double the farmers’ income and Atmanirbhar Bharat

ii.To realize the vision of ‘from cooperation to prosperity’

3-day 2nd ‘National Tribal Dance Festival 2021’ held in Raipur, Chhattisgarh

The state of Chattisgarh observed a 3-days annual 2nd National Tribal Dance Festival 2021 on October 28-30. It was held at Raipur’s Science College ground as a part of the tourism development plan of the state. It was inaugurated by Chief Minister (CM) of Jharkhand Hemant Soren and CM of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel.

• This year’s event was clubbed with Chattisgarh’s Rajyotsava (state foundation day- November 1, 2021).

• The event showcased the performances by tribal dancers from 27 Indian states and six union territories.

Competition:
National teams competed for the top three positions with prizes worth Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively. The competition was in two categories viz. wedding dance and a traditional dance on the theme of harvesting or agriculture.

Winners:
i.Team Jharkhand won in both categories, winning cash prizes totaling Rs 10 lakh.
ii.Team Odisha was the runner-up in both categories,
iii.Team Assam stood third in the wedding dance category and Team Chhattisgarh won the third position in the traditional dance category.

PM Narendra Modi Visited Italy and Participated in 16th G20 Summit from October 30 -31

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Italy and participated in the 16th G20 (Group of Twenty) Leaders’ Summit, which was held in Rome, Italy from October 30 to 31, 2021.

• Theme: The 2021 G20 is under the Italian Presidency. It is focusing on three broad, interconnected pillars of action: People, Planet, and Prosperity.

• Other G20 leaders who have participated in the summit include US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and summit host Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

• The 1st session of the G20 Summit was held on Global Economy and Global Health.

• The next meetings of G20 summit were scheduled to be held in Indonesia in 2022, in India in 2023 and in Brazil in 2024.

-G20 Leaders Agreed to Global Warming Target of 1.5°c

i.The G20 committed to the Paris Agreement goal to hold the global average temperature increase well below 2°C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

• The G20 is the Group of 20 major economies which emit around 80 percent of carbon emissions.

ii.The G20 countries agreed to ‘accelerate actions’ in the 2020s, with their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and long-term net-zero strategies, for which they have committed to increasing the finance and promised to mobilise $100 billion annually through 2025.

iii.The G20 agreed to mobilise funds to support low emission power development and the leaders set pledge to stop – financing of overseas coal-fired power generation by the end of2021, and building new coal power plants before the end of the 2030s.

iv.India urged the developed nations to reduce their ‘luxurious and energy-intensive lifestyles’ so that the developing countries get the margin to meet their required targets for climate goals.

v.G20 nations pledged to vaccinate 70 percent of the world’s population against COVID-19 by mid-2022.

Support for FATF:

They have reaffirmed their full support for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Global Network and recognise that effective implementation of Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (AML/CFT/CPF).

• FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

2015-2021 Warmest Years on record – WMO State of the Global Climate 2021 report

As per the ‘State of the Global Climate 2021 report’ released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the past seven years from 2015 to 2021 (1st 9-months) set to be witnessed the Warmest years on record.This increase in temperature is caused mainly due to the increase in atmospheric Greenhouse Gas (GHG) concentrations.

• The report provides a detailed pictures of climate indicators such as greenhouse gas concentrations, temperatures, extreme weather, sea level, ocean warming and ocean acidication, glacier retreat and ice melt, as well as socio-economic impacts.

• 2021 will be between the 5 and 7 warmest year on record and that 2015 to 2021 will be the seven warmest years on record.

Record High GHG in 2020 – Carbon Dioxide (CO2) was 413.2 parts per million (ppm); Methane (CH4) – 1889 parts per billion (ppb); and Nitrous Oxide (N2O) – 333.2 ppb.

i. Temperature

The report is based on the data of first nine months of the year 2021 and the Global mean temperature in 2021 (1st 9-months) was 1.09°C above the 1850-1900 levels.

ii.Ocean Level

• Top 2000-meter layer of the ocean reached a record high temperature in 2020.

• Ocean absorbed around 23% of global anthropogenic CO2 to the atmosphere and so is becoming more acidic.

• Due to ocean getting heated, its pH level declines, making it more acidic & reducing its capacity to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

• Global mean sea level rise was 4.4 mm per year between 2013 and 2021 due to the constant increase in loss of ice mass from glaciers and ice sheets.

• Mass loss from North American glaciers accelerated over the last two decades, nearly doubling for the period 2015-2019 compared to 2000-2004.

iii.Weather

• Extreme rainfall affected parts of China, Western Europe, while in a similar time frame, there was severe drought in subtropical South America.

• The most significant hurricane of the North Atlantic season was Ida. Ida made landfall in Louisiana on 29 August with sustained 1-minute winds of 240 km/h, the equal-strongest landfall on record for the state,

• Increase in deaths due to heatwaves and extreme weather led to rise in global hunger levels.

PM of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev resigned his post

Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister(PM) of North Macedonia has announced his resignation after his governing party, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia(SDSM), was defeated in the local elections of North Macedonia. He resigned from the post of PM of North Macedonia and also the President of the SDSM.

India unveils online Climate Equity Monitor Dashboard

The Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav has launched an online dashboard- the “Climate Equity Monitor” (CME) to assess equity in climate action, inequalities in emissions ,energy and resource consumption across the world. It was launched in the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26 (Conference of Parties) 2021 in Glasgow (United Kingdom).

• The website included key features such as climate finance, technology transfer and adaptation.

• The URL to access the website is https://climateequitymonitor.in.

Objective

To monitor the performance of Annex-I Parties(developed countries) under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) based on

i.The foundational principles of the Climate Convention,

ii.The principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).

J&K Team for Deaf got 1st Position in 1st World Deaf Judo Championship

The Senior Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) team for deaf secured 1st position in 1st World Deaf Judo Championship 2021 organised in Paris Versailles, France from 26-30th October 2021 .The championship is organized by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD).

• From the Indian team, Rakshanda Mehak (J&K) won the Bronze Medal. She has defeated the South Korean team in the semifinal.

Indian GM Iyan wins Chess Tournament in Serbia

Indian Grandmaster (GM) P Inyan wins 5th Rujna Zora chess tournament held at Serbia.The tournament was a 10-player, all-play-all one with classical time control and featured three GMs.

• The second is placed by International Master (IM) Makarian Rudik of Russia.

• Another Indian Player V S Raaghul finished third and IM S.Nitin placed fourth.

Gujarat Govt Launches ‘e-Sarkar app’ on Pilot Basis for Paperless Administration

On October 31, 2021, the Gujarat government launched the ‘e-Sarkar’ app on a pilot basis to make administrative works paperless, quick and easy for citizens.
Key Points:
i.The state govt plans to launch the app on a full scale on December 25, 2021, the same day on which India celebrates
Good Governance Day.

• Good Governance Day – This day is celebrated annually on 25th December to mark the birth anniversary of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

ii.Integration: The e-Sarkar app was formed by combining the latest technology along with the existing IWDMS (Integrated Workflow and Document Management System) app, which was launched by the Gujarat government in 2005 for administrative purposes.
iii.The e-Sarkar app was made applicable to collector-DDO (Drawing and Disbursing Office) offices and various government departments of the state at the Secretariat, district and taluka levels.
iv.The app will also cover civic-oriented services like RTI (Right to Information) application, public complaints, and appointments for visits to various government offices.

Kalij Pheasant Declared as Bird of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir

Following the approval of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment issued the order declaring the Kalij Pheasant, also known as ‘Lophura Leucomelanos’, as the bird of the Union Territory(UT) of Jammu & Kashmir(J&K).

• Kalij Pheasant which is widely found in Mansar, Surinsar, Jasrota and Bhaderwah areas was declared as the bird of UT to prevent it from hunting.

• Before the bifurcation of the State, the State of J&K had Black-necked Crane as State Bird and Kashmir Stag (Hangul) as State Animal.