21st September, 2023 Current Affairs

21st September, 2023 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
In a historic move, the Chairman constitutes all-women panel of Vice-Chairpersons in Rajya Sabha

• In a historic move, the Vice-President & Chairman Rajya Sabha, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, reconstituted the panel of Vice-Chairpersons comprising 13 women RS Members for the day as Rajya Sabha discusses the Nari Shakti Vandan Vidheyak Bill, 2023.
• The Vice-President emphasized that their presence on the chair would send a powerful message to the world at large and it would symbolize that they held a ‘commanding position’ during this epochal moment of change.
• The details of the women Rajya Sabha Members nominated to the Panel of Vice-Chairpersons are as under:

1.     Shrimati P. T. Usha
2.     Shrimati S. Phangnon Konyak 
3.     Shrimati Jaya Bachchan
4.     Ms. Saroj Pandey 
5.     Shrimati Rajani Ashokrao Patil 
6.     Dr. Fauzia Khan
7.     Ms. Dola Sen
8.     Ms. Indu Bala Goswami 
9.     Dr. Kanimozhi NVN Somu
10.  Ms. Kavita Patidar
11.  Shrimati Mahua Maji
12.  Dr. Kalpana Saini 
13.  Shrimati Sulata Deo  

INTERNATIONAL
Escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Azerbaijan Launches Military Operation

• Azerbaijan’s military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh has ignited concerns of a renewed conflict in the region. This long-standing dispute revolves around an ethnic Armenian region within Azerbaijani territory. The recent attacks have escalated tensions and raised international alarm.

Azerbaijan’s Offensive:

• Azerbaijan has initiated a military operation backed by artillery strikes in Nagorno-Karabakh.
• They have declared their intent to continue until Armenian forces surrender.
• The operation was triggered by landmine incidents, attributed to Armenian saboteurs, resulting in casualties.
• Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnically Armenian region, is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory.
• Separatist Armenian authorities control part of the region, considering it their ancestral homeland.
• The conflict has been a persistent flashpoint since the Soviet Union’s dissolution.

Azerbaijan’s Objectives:

• Azerbaijan’s defense ministry aims to disarm Armenian forces, secure their withdrawal from Azerbaijani territories, and neutralize their military infrastructure.
• They have reported the capture of over 60 military posts and destruction of numerous military vehicles.

UK PM Rishi Sunak Delays Ban on New Petrol and Diesel Cars by 5 Years in Net Zero Reset

• In a recent announcement, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has unveiled a shift in the UK’s strategy for achieving its Net Zero climate action targets. This strategy includes a significant delay of five years in implementing the proposed ban on petrol and diesel cars, pushing the deadline to 2035.
• Despite this delay, Sunak emphasized that the UK remains steadfast in its commitment to reduce carbon emissions and achieve its Net Zero target by 2050. The core objective is unchanged, but the approach is evolving to be more practical, proportionate, and realistic, particularly in light of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Also Read: Weekly Current Affairs (Important Dates) 12-18 August 2023 Bitbank: When is World Organ Donation Day 2023 celebrated?

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ECONOMY
ADB lowers FY24 GDP forecast to 6.3%, India Ratings raises it to 6.2%

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and India Ratings and Research have released contrasting forecasts for India’s economic growth in the fiscal year 2024 (FY24). While ADB has lowered its projection to 6.3%, India Ratings has raised it to 6.2%.
• ADB cites erratic monsoon patterns as a primary reason for revising India’s growth forecast down by 10 basis points to 6.3% for FY24. These patterns are expected to affect agricultural output.
• ADB also revised its inflation projection for India in FY24 to 5.5%, up from the previous 5%. Adverse weather conditions have led to food inflation, contributing to South Asia’s overall inflation rate. The continuation of the rice export ban could further escalate food price inflation.
• Despite the downward adjustment for FY24, ADB maintains its growth projection for FY25 at 6.7%. This optimistic outlook is based on expectations of rising private investment and industrial output driving economic growth.

AP
Andhra Pradesh Cabinet gives nod to Jagananna Civil Services Incentive scheme

• Several key decisions were taken by the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet which convened for a meeting at the Secretariat in Velagapudi. The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.
• Disclosing the details, Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Minister Chelluboyina Venugopala Krishna said that the Cabinet approved the Bills relating to the Guaranteed Pension Scheme for government employees and Regularisation of Contract Employees besides the amendment bills of A.P. Vaidya Vidhana Parishad, Endowments, PoT of assigned lands, Private Universities, APSSG, APGST and Bhoodan Acts.  It has also approved the Jagananna Aarogya Suraksha programme that will run for 45 days from September 30.
• the Cabinet has decided to introduce the Jagananna Civil Services Incentive Programme and allot 50 per cent seats to tribal youth in Kurupam Engineering College. Under the programme, the government will award incentives of ₹1 lakh and ₹1.50 lakh to candidates who pass the UPSC Preliminary and Mains examinations respectively.
• The Cabinet has also approved the MoU with the American educational agency International Baccalaureate (IB) and decided to provide house sites to government employees who do not own houses upon their retirement, make applicable fee reimbursement and Aarogyasri schemes to the children of the retired employees. The amendment to the Private Universities Act will make it compulsory for all private universities to have a tie-up with top-100 foreign universities to provide joint certification to the students. It will also help bring 35 per cent seats under convener quota in all private colleges, which will be transformed as universities.
• The Cabinet also gave approval to the zero vacancy policy and fill up 353 vacancies in cancer units of government hospitals in Visakhapatnam, Guntur and Kadapa and 34 teaching and 10 non-teaching posts in Adoni Government College. It has also decided to allot 10 cents of residential land to tennis player Jaffrin Syed and give her a job as a deputy registrar in the Cooperative Department.
• the Cabinet has approved proposals to fill up one assistant director’s post in the Sericulture Department, 13 special deputy registrar and six deputy registrar posts, two engineer posts in the Electricity Department, 40 office subordinate posts and 28 driver posts in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, 168 posts in the nursing colleges in Vijayawada, Ongole and Eluru, 99 posts in 11 government hospitals and medical colleges, 10 posts in Coastal Zone Management Authority, five posts in the Hazardous Activities Tribunal and existing vacancies in the Chief Electoral Office.
• The Cabinet has also decided to shift the bulk drugs factory from Kakinada to Nakkapalli and allot one acre of land to the State Bank of India (SBI) for setting up a rural self-employment training centre at China Mushidivada in Visakhapatnam, seven acres to Guntur-based Viswa Manava Samaikyata Sansad for the construction of a maternity and paediatric hospital and five acres to the Tourism Department for construction of a convention centre. It has also approved the decision to grant clemency to nine life convicts on the occasion of Azadi ki Amrit Mahotsav and also make all university recruitments through the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission.

Published date : 21 Sep 2023 04:29PM