To boost growth, cut aviation turbine fuel VAT: Jyotiraditya M Scindia

Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya MScindiaon Tuesday made yet another appeal toAssamand seven other states and UTs to bring downVATon aviation turbine fuel to the range of 1%-4%, so that barriers to Growth are removed.
He said currently 28 states and Union Territories have VAT on jet fuel in the range of 1-4%. New growth to come from Tier 2 and 3 cities, he said, underlining the need to bring down entry barriers in the context of high VAT on jet fuel in some states.

Almost a year ago, Scindia had appealed to states and UTs having VAT on ATF above 4% to bring it down, but eight states Assam, Goa, Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar and Nadustill have a high VAT on jet fuel.

U.S. House passes bill protecting marriage equality

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill protecting gay marriage rights, after The Supreme Court‘s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade imperiled similar precedents that protected rights to same-sex relations and contraception.

The bill, which passed the Democratic-controlled chamber by a vote of 267-157 with support from 47 Republicans, establishes federal protections for gay marriage and prohibits anyone from denying the validity of a marriage based on the race or sex of the couple.

Under the House bill, states could still restrict gay marriage if the Supreme Court overturns its prior ruling. But such states would be required to recognize marriages that occurred in states where they remain legal.

DART Mission To Be Launched by NASA

NASA is set to launch the Double Asteroid Redirection test (DART) spacecraft on November 24, 2021.

Highlights:

NASAs Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft will be launched in SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket

The Mission is set to launch on November 24, 2021, from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

NASA aims to build advanced technologies to protect the Earth from dangerous asteroid collisions.

There had been numerous warnings from astronomers and scientists that there might be an asteroid Collision without a proper DEFENCE system.

The DART mission is based on the idea of developing a defence system against asteroid collisions. It is in the final stages of advancement.

Under the mission, spacecraft will be sent towards the Didymos asteroid system, approximately 109.4 kilometres away from Earth.

Indian Council of Medical Research (Icmr) released Multilingual Dementia Research and Assessment (MUDRA) toolbox in five Indian Languages.

Toolbox was launched in order to expand the care and outreach to people suffering from dementia.

Toolbox has been launched in languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, and Malayalam.

MUDRA Toolbox project is led by the ICMR Neuro-Cognitive Tool Box (ICMR-NCTB) PARTNERSHIP. It seeks to improve dementia and mild cognitive impairment research & therapeutic practices in India. To implement this project, ICMR-NCTB has collaborated with Aiims (New Delhi), NIMHANS (Bengaluru), NIMS (Hyderabad), SCTIMST (Thiruvananthapuram), Manipal Hospital (Bengaluru), Apollo Hospital (Kolkata) and Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College.

Toolbox comprise of several cognitive tests which can be used to examine several aspects of Cognition such as executive functioning, speech, memory, and visuospatial functions. It is sensitive to the Elements affective cognitive test performance like language, Education, and culture.

Wada Kolam Rice Gets GI Tag

The Wada Rice is also known as Zini or Jhini rice, which is grown in Wada tehsil of Palghar.

The traditionally grown rice is off white in color, which gives it the GI Tag for having a unique identity.

The Wada Kolam rice costs Rs 60-70 per kg in the local market and has its demand overseas too.

It is known for its small grain, aroma, taste and for being Light for digestion.

It is gluten-free but a low yielding crop.

Anshu Malik The First Indian Women Wrestler To Reach World Championship Final

Anshu Maliki reached the world wrestling championship finals on 6 October to become the first Indian woman to reach the finals.

Highlights:

Anshu, a 19-year-old wrestler from India, is the ruling Asian champion.

She won by technical superiority within the 57 kg category.

Only four Indian Women wrestlers have won medals at the Worlds and have held the trophy.

World Cotton Day Is Observed On 7 October

launched World Cotton Day on 7 October 2019 at the Cotton-4 initiative.

World Cotton day was initiated by Cotton 4 countries Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali.

This day is aimed at celebrating many advantages of cotton as a natural fibre, how beneficial it is to people, trade and Consumption.

Cotton Sustains 28.67 million growers and benefits more than 100 million families in 75 countries all over 5 continents.

The World Cotton Day theme for 2021 is Cotton for Good

India is the largest producer of cotton in the world accounting for about 26% of the world cotton production.

According to WHO, Climate-change”>Climate Change increases the risk of water-related hazards such as floods and droughts.

Climate change will also increase the number of people affected by water scarcity.

As per report, in 2018, 3.6 billion people worldwide had inadequate access to water at least one month per year.

This number is expected to exceed five billion by 2050.

Report also notes that, this situation is worsening as only 0.5 per cent of water on the Earth is useable and available freshwater.

Water-related hazards have increased in past 20 years.

Flood-related disasters have increased by 134 per cent since 2000, as compared to past two decades. However, number & duration of droughts have increased by 29 per cent during the same period.

In Africa, about two billion people live in water-stressed countries. They suffer a lack of access for Safe drinking water and sanitation.

Centre for Development of Telematics – C-DOT

C-DOT celebrated its thirty eighth Foundation Day. C-DOT is the premier telecommunications technology improvement centre owned by the Government of India.

About C-DOT:

C-DOT, Established in 1984, C-DOT engages in creating intelligent computer Software program applications.

Initially, its purpose was to increase Telecommunication technology to meet the needs of the Indian telecommunication Network.

It designs, develops and produces telecom technologies particularly suitable to the Indian landscape.

Currently, it is a full-fledged independent telecom R&D group that complies with level 5 maturity on the CMMI Model.

Doppler Weather Radar and Pilot Sonde Based on Indigenous GPS

The Jammu IMDs Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) and a Indigenous GPS based Pilot Sonde were unveiled by the Union Minister of Science & Technology.

Highlights:

This is the latest upgrade of the most advanced Doppler weather radar (DWR) and Pilot Sonde based on Indigenous GPS by the Indian Meteorological office in Jammu.

The X-Band Doppler Weather Radar mounted will assist in supplying real-time monitoring and reporting of Climate occasions affecting the Jammu area and will be beneficial in imparting climate forecasts in different sectors consisting of Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and tourism forecasts.

Besides offering real-time monitoring, the X-Band Doppler Weather Radar stationed at Jammu will provide increased climate Services to the people of J and K and enter into numerical climate prediction models for producing better climate forecasts.

First Ever Medal by Archer in Paralympics

In Paralympics 2020, Indias ace archer Harvinder Singh has won the bronze medal in the mens individual recurve open.

The 31-year old has grown to be Indias first-ever archer to win a medal in the Paralympics. With this win, Indias medal haul at the ongoing Paralympics Games in Tokyo has reached thirteen [2G,6S,5B]. Harvinder defeated South Koreas Kim Min Su 6-5 in a shoot-off to win Indias 0.33 medal of the day at Tokyo 2020, taking Indias tally to thirteen Earlier, United States of Americas (USA) Kevin Mather defeated Harvinder by way of 6-4 in the semi-final.

India is the 3rd Largest Unicorn Ecosystem

Hurun Research Institute has released the Hurun India Future Unicorn List 2021, as per which India is the third-largest Unicorn/startup ecosystem in the world.

Highlights:

The USA is on top, followed by China on second. India has 51 unicorns according to the list. The USA has 396 and China has 277 unicorns. Zilingo is the pinnacle unicorn in the ranking in India with funding of USD 310. The headquarters of Zilingo is in Singapore. Bengaluru is the top Indian metropolis in terms of the variety of Unicorns headquartered in the city. Bengaluru has 31 unicorns followed by Mumbai which has 12 unicorns.