National
Brand Ambassador of the ‘one district-one product’ programme
⇒ The Uttar Pradesh government on 01 October 2021 named actor Kangana Ranaut as the brand ambassador of its ambitious ‘one district-one product’ programme.
The UP government has launched the one district-one product (ODOP) programme with the aim to create product-specific traditional industrial hubs across 75 districts of the state.
GoI Approves Air India Disinvestment
⇒ The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs – empowered Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism approved the highest price bid of M/sTalace Pvt Ltd for sale of 100% equity shareholding of Government of India in Air India along with equity shareholding of Air India in AIXL and AISATS.
- M/s Talace Pvt Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of M/s Tata Sons Pvt Ltd.
- Empowered Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism is comprising of Union Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal and Union Civil Aviation Minister Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Winning bid:
- The winning bid is for Rs 18,000 crore as Enterprise Value (EV) consideration for AI (100% shares of AI along with AI’s shareholding in AIXL and AISATS).
» The transaction does not include non-core assets including land and building, valued at Rs 14,718 crore, which are to be transferred to GoI’s Air India Asset Holding Limited (AIAHL).
» The process for disinvestment of Air India and its subsidiaries commenced in June 2017 with the ‘in-principle’ approval of CCEA. It is expected that the transaction will be completed by December 2021.
GI Tag for Kuttiattoor mango and Edayur chilli
⇒ Kuttiattoor mango and Edayur chilli have got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the GI Registry at Chennai.
The GI status was received through the concerted efforts jointly undertaken by the Intellectual Property Cell of the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), the state department of Agriculture Development and Farmers’ Welfare as well as the farmers from Edayur and Kuttiattoor.
Cultivation of Kuttiattoor mango and Edayur chilli:
Edayur chilly is cultivated in Edayur, Athavanad, Marakkara, Irimbiliyam, Kalpakanchery and Valanchery panchayats in Valanchery block, as well as Moorkanad and Kuruva panchayats in Angadipuram block of Malappuram district. It has been cultivated in the area for the past 150 years.
Kuttiattoor mango is a popular and tasty traditional mango cultivated in Kuttiattoor and the nearby grama panchayats of Kannur district. This mango has maximum spread in the Kuttiattoor panchayat.
I-Sprint’21, the global FinTech Hackathon Series of IFSCA
⇒ International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and GIFT City launched I-Sprint’21, the global FinTech Hackathon Series of IFSCA on 7th October 2021.
Focus:
The first Sprint of the series “Sprint01: BankTech” is focussed on FinTechs for the Banking sector.
Host:
Sprint01: BankTech is hosted jointly by IFSCA and GIFT city in collaboration with NITI Aayog.
The Partners to the Hackathon are ICICI Bank, HSBC Bank, iCreate, Zone Startups and Invest-India.
The aim of the Hackathon is:
- To connect IFSCA and GIFT IFSC with FinTech Ecosystem
- To solve Business Problems for the Banking Units at GIFT IFSC
- To promote retail business for the Banking Units at GIFT IFSC
Major Rewards:
- The finalists of this Hackathon shall be allowed direct entry into IFSCA Regulatory/Innovation Sandbox.
- FinTechs will work directly with the Partner Banks on the problem statement who will provide the APIs, mentoring, guidance, etc.
- Business Support Solution Partner benefits of upto $25,000 per startup from Zone Startups India’s network.
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Southern Air Command
⇒ Air Marshal J Chalapati has taken over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Southern Air Command (SAC) in October 2021.
Chalapati is a recipient of the Vishisht Seva medal. He was commissioned in the IAF in December 1983.
International
Special Plenary with the Trade Ministers of the Region: Indo-ASEAN Business
⇒ The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal addressed the ‘Special Plenary with the Trade Ministers of the Region: Indo-ASEAN Business’ organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry.
Addressing the Special Plenary, Shri Goyal said:
- He has called upon ASEAN bloc to do away with the Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs).
- He also called for curbing the misuse of Free Trade Agreements by third parties often outside the ASEAN Region.
- Mr Goyal also called upon the ASEAN Bloc to allow reciprocal FTA concessions to imports from India to correct the skewed trade imbalance in favour of the ASEAN.
- He also added, the current trade of about $80 Billion makes Indo-ASEAN region one the largest trading areas globally. Despite increasing trade we are short of the target of $200 bn, which India & ASEAN were to achieve by 2022.
» This year marks the 25th Anniversary of India-ASEAN partnership.
» India’s bilateral trade with ASEAN has grown steadily. India’s merchandise exports to ASEAN increased from $ 23 bn in 2010 to $ 30 bn in 2020. While India’s imports from ASEAN have surged from $ 30 bn in 2010 to $ 44 bn in 2020.
Important day
World Heart Day 2021
⇒ World Heart Day is observed annually on September 29. The day is celebrated to increase public awareness of cardiovascular diseases, their prevention and their global impact.
Theme:
The theme of World Heart Day 2021 was “Use Heart to Connect”.
- The aim of the theme was to highlight the power of digital health to improve awareness, management and prevention of CVD globally.
History:
World Health Day was first founded in 1999 with the World Heart Federation (WHF) collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Originally, World Heart Day was observed on the last Sunday of September, with the first celebration taking place on September 24, 2000. However, from 2012 onwards, it is observed on 29 September.
Death
Renowned sculptor of Mysuru, B S Yogiraj
⇒ Renowned sculptor of Mysuru B S Yogiraj passed away.
Yogiraj had carved Yoganarasimha Swamy idol measuring 7.5 foot at Saligrama, Siddalingeshwara Swamy idol at Yediyuru, Shivabalayogi idol in Bengaluru, Venkateshwar idol measuring 8 ft, 7.5 ft statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed at Agriculture varsity in Bengaluru.
Yogiraj was conferred ‘Amarashilpi Jakanachari’ State level award by Karnataka Shilpakala Academy. Kannada and Culture department instituted the award on him in 2019-20.