NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Panel headed by V K Gupta to simplify decades-old direct tax laws: The revenue department in the finance ministry has formed a panel headed by V K Gupta, chief commissioner of income-tax (I-T), to simplify the decades-old I-T Act. In its preliminary discussions, the panel focused on rationalizing exemptions, raising the computation methods to global standards, and making the appeals system less cumbersome. During discussions over the past few days and supervised by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Ravi Agrawal, it emerged that more than 90 Sections of the 1961 law have lost their relevance.
2. Seventh Rashtriya Poshan Maah launched with a focus on nutrition and well-being: The 7th Rashtriya Poshan Maah was inaugurated at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, with a strong emphasis on enhancing nutrition awareness and overall well-being across the nation. Annpurna Devi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, emphasized the need to enhance the health of children and adolescents while combating malnutrition through a lifecycle approach. She outlined the four key pillars of Poshan 2.0 – good governance, convergence, capacity building, and community participation – as essential to the program’s success. The 7th Rashtriya Poshan Maah 2024 will focus on key themes including Anaemia, Growth Monitoring, Complementary Feeding, Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi, Technology for Better Governance, and Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam.
3. Vistara’s last Flight on November 11: Vistara Airlines will cease to operate under its brand name on November 11. The airline’s operations will be fully integrated with Air India starting from November 12, marking the culmination of a merger process initiated nearly two years ago. Vistara is a joint venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines. However, with Tata Group also owning Air India, the decision to unify the two airlines aims to streamline operations and offer passengers an enhanced travel experience. As a part of this merger, Singapore Airlines will acquire a 25.1 per cent stake in the newly consolidated Air India. The transition, approved by Centre, includes the green light for foreign direct investment (FDI) by Singapore Airlines in Air India.
4. Rajneesh Narang appoints as Interim CMD of HPCL: Rajneesh Narang has been appointed the interim Chairman and Managing Director of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for three months. He succeeded Pushp Kumar Joshi. Narang, a chartered accountant with over thirty years of experience, has managed a wide range of finance-related responsibilities for the company, including corporate finance, treasury, risk management, margin management, marketing finance, SBU commercial, refinery projects, etc.
5. V Satish Kumar given additional charge of IOC chairman: V Satish Kumar took over as the Chairman of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation’s largest oil firm. He will concurrently serve as chairman while continuing in his role as Director (Marketing), a position he has held since October 2021. He also held the additional charge of Director (Finance) for one year from October 2022, a period characterised by geopolitical tensions due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. With a career spanning 35 years, Kumar has served in various regions across the country and held key positions, leading IOC’s efforts to maintain its leadership in the marketing of petroleum products.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Maldives sign Charter and MoU for establishment of Colombo Security Conclave Secretariat: India, Maldives, Mauritius and Sri Lanka have signed the Charter and an MoU for the establishment of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC) Secretariat in Colombo to address security and stability challenges in the Indian Ocean Region. The signing ceremony was hosted in Colombo by the Government of Sri Lanka. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the representatives of the Maldives, Mauritius and Sri Lanka signed the documents on behalf of the respective Member States. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval emphasized the importance of the Colombo Security Conclave in addressing traditional, non-traditional, and emerging hybrid security challenges. He highlighted the need for sustained regional cooperation across various security pillars.
2. Saudi Arabia to host 19th Internet Governance Forum in December: Saudi Arabia will host the 19th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) from December 15-19, 2024, at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh. The five-day event is expected to gather over 10,000 participants from 160 countries, including more than 1,000 international speakers. The forum aims to reach consensus among governments, private sector, and non-profit organizations on policies for stronger internet governance worldwide. IGF is a global multistakeholder platform. The event, organized by the UN since 2006, fosters discussions on public policy issues related to the internet, facilitates sharing information, exchanging experience, and working to come up with solutions.
OTHER UPDATES:
DEFENCE
1. Air Marshal Tejinder Singh appoints Deputy Chief of Air Staff: Air Marshal Tejinder Singh took over as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force in New Delhi. Air Marshal Tejinder is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned in the fighter stream of the IAF on 13 June 1987. He is a Category ‘A’ Qualified Flying Instructor with over 4500 hours of flying, an alumnus of Defence Service Staff College and National Defence College. He has commanded a Fighter Squadron, a Radar Station, a premier Fighter Base and was Air Officer Commanding in Jammu and Kashmir. He was also awarded the Vayu Sena Medal in 2007 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2022.
SPORTS
1. Barinder Sran announces retirement from international cricket: Barinder Sran, the left-arm fast bowler, has called it quits from international and domestic cricket with immediate effect at the age of 31. He made his debut under MS Dhoni’s captaincy in January 2016 and played six ODIs and two T20Is until June 2016 before losing his place in the Indian team. He could never don the blue jersey and eight years later, has decided to step away from the game. Sran picked seven wickets in ODIs and six in T20Is apart from collecting 137 wickets across formats at the domestic level. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), the 31-year-old played for four teams – Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians – featuring in 24 matches and picking 18 wickets.
2. Himanshi Tokas clinches silver medal at Asian Cadet Judo Championships: Himanshi Tokas won a silver medal at the Asian Cadet and Junior Judo Championships. The event took place in Mungyeong, South Korea. Himanshi competed in the women’s 63-kilogram weight category. She is 19 years old and part of the Khelo Bharat program. 12 members from India participated in the competition.
3. 15-year-old International Master Mayank Chakraborty wins his 2nd Grand Master Norm in Greece: 15-year-old Chess International Master Mayank Chakraborty from Assam has won his second Grand Master Norm in a GM Norm Tournament being conducted in Greece. IM Mayank requires one last norm and to touch the FIDE Rating Point 2500 once to be a Grand Master, in fact the first Grand Master from entire North East India. His present FIDE rating is 2431. He had become International Master this year in April only, and right now he is the player with the highest number of Grand Master Norms and highest rating from the entire North East India.
4. Preethi Pal makes history with Bronze and Nishad Kumar wins Silver at Paris Paralympics 2024: At Paris Paralympics 2024, Indian Para Athlete Preethi Pal secured yet another medal for India, clinching a bronze medal in the Women’s 200 meters – T35 Final. She won the medal with a personal best timing of 30.01 seconds. With this win, she became the first track and field Indian Woman Para Athlete to win two medals at the Paralympics. On the other hand, Indian athlete Nishad Kumar also won a silver medal with an effort of 2.04 meter in Men’s High Jump – T47 event.
5. Yogesh Kathuniya wins silver in men’s Discus throw F56 final: India’s Yogesh Kathuniya clinched his second consecutive Paralympic silver medal in men’s discus throw F-56 event with a season’s best effort 42.22m at the ongoing Games in Paris. The 27-year-old hurled the discus to the podium-clinching distance in his very first attempt to add to the silver he won in the Tokyo Paralympics three years ago. Brazil’s Claudiney Batista dos Santos registered a hat-trick of Paralympic gold medals, creating a new Games record with an effort of 46.86m in his fifth attempt. Greece’s Konstantinos Tzounis won the bronze with 41.32m.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. IndiaFirst Life becomes 1st Indian life insurer to start ops in GIFT City: IndiaFirst Life has become the first Indian life insurer to commence operations in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). The company inaugurated its IFSC Insurance Office (IIO) at the country’s international financial gateway. IndiaFirst Life’s IIO will have a dedicated team of specialists who will cater to the needs of GIFT City’s global audience. The company offers a specially designed ULIP product for global Indians — IndiaFirst Life Wealth Wise plan.
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