International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons 2022
The United Nations observes 26 September every year as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. The aim of the day is to enhance public awareness about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons and the necessity for their total elimination. It provides an opportunity to educate the public and their leaders about the real benefits of eliminating such weapons, and the social and economic costs of perpetuating them.
International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons 2022: History
In 1946, the General Assembly’s first resolution established that the Atomic Energy Commission has the mandate to make specific proposals for the control of nuclear energy and the elimination of not only atomic weapons but also all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction.
The General Assembly endorsed the objective of general and complete disarmament in 1959. The first Special Session of the General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament, held in 1978, further recognized that nuclear disarmament should be the priority objective in the field of disarmament. This goal has been actively promoted by every United Nations Secretary-General.
The international arms-control framework contributed to international security since the Cold War. It also acted as a brake on the use of nuclear weapons. On July 7, 2017, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted. This Treaty is so important since it is the first multilateral legally-binding instrument for nuclear disarmament to have been negotiated in 20 years. On August 2, 2019, the United States’ withdrawal spelt the end of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, though the United States and the Russian Federation had previously committed to eliminating an entire class of nuclear missiles. September 26 is commemorated by the General Assembly as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
On Track To 100 Billion $ FDI This Year: Commerce Ministry
The Central government said that India is on track to attract USD 100 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the current fiscal on account of economic reforms and ease of doing business. In 2021-22, India received the “highest ever” foreign inflows of USD 83.6 billion.
FDI Last Year:
“This FDI has come from 101 countries, and invested across 31 union territories and states and 57 sectors in the country. On the back of economic reforms and Ease of Doing Business in recent years, India is on track to attract USD 100 billion FDI in the current financial year,” the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement. The statement also mentions that the government has installed a liberal and transparent policy to attract foreign investment. Currently, most sectors of the Indian economy are open to FDI under an automatic route.
FDI Proceedings:
The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India can be made under two routes- automatic and government routes. Under the automatic route, the investor requires no or very less permissions from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or from the Government of India to invest. Under the government rules, permissions from the appropriate authorities of the government or the RBI are required to invest in the country. The reform measures include liberalization of guidelines and regulations, in order to reduce unnecessary compliance burdens, bring down costs and enhance the ease of doing business in India, the statement added.
FDI This Year Till Now:
Meanwhile, during the April-June quarter of the current fiscal, FDI equity inflows in India dipped by 6% to $16.6 billion.The government is also taking some strategic interventions in addressing the import of low-quality and hazardous toys and enhancing domestic manufacturing of toys, the statement added. The import of toys in 2021-22 have reduced by 70 per cent to USD 110 million ( ₹877.8 crore). On the other hand, exports rose by 61 per cent to USD 326 million.
FDI In India :
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is when a company takes controlling ownership in a business entity in another country. With FDI, foreign companies are directly involved with day-to-day operations in the other country. This means they aren’t just bringing money with them, but also knowledge, skills and technology. Generally, FDI takes place when an investor establishes foreign business operations or acquires foreign business assets, including establishing ownership or controlling interest in a foreign company.
FDI is an important monetary source for India’s economic development. Economic liberalisation started in India in the wake of the 1991 crisis and since then, FDI has steadily increased in the country. India, today is a part of top 100-club on Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and globally ranks number 1 in the greenfield FDI ranking.
Routes through which India gets FDI:
Automatic route: The non-resident or Indian company does not require prior nod of the RBI or government of India for FDI. Govt route: The government’s approval is mandatory. The company will have to file an application through Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal, which facilitates single-window clearance. The application is then forwarded to the respective ministry, which will approve/reject the application in consultation with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce. DPIIT will issue the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for processing of applications under the existing FDI policy. Sectors which come under the ‘ 100% Automatic Route’ category are: Agriculture & Animal Husbandry, Air-Transport Services (non-scheduled and other services under civil aviation sector), Airports (Greenfield + Brownfield), Asset Reconstruction Companies, Auto-components, Automobiles, Biotechnology (Greenfield), Broadcast Content Services (Up-linking & down-linking of TV channels, Broadcasting Carriage Services, Capital Goods, Cash & Carry Wholesale Trading (including sourcing from MSEs), Chemicals, Coal & Lignite, Construction Development, Construction of Hospitals, Credit Information Companies, Duty Free Shops, E-commerce Activities, Electronic Systems, Food Processing, Gems & Jewellery, Healthcare, Industrial Parks, IT & BPM, Leather, Manufacturing, Mining & Exploration of metals & non-metal ores, Other Financial Services, Services under Civil Aviation Services such as Maintenance & Repair Organizations, Petroleum & Natural gas, Pharmaceuticals, Plantation sector, Ports & Shipping, Railway Infrastructure, Renewable Energy, Roads & Highways, Single Brand Retail Trading, Textiles & Garments, Thermal Power, Tourism & Hospitality and White Label ATM Operations.
VP Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated Lok Manthan programme
Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar will inaugurate the third edition of the Lok Manthan program at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati. The event will be facilitated by the Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sharma.
This year’s theme for the Lok Manthan is Lokparampara (Lok Traditions) which will emphasize that the Lok Traditions have kept our culture and heritage alive and intact, and has strengthened our feelings toward National Selfhood.
The Chief Guest of the Lok Manthan will be the Governor of Kerala Arif Muhammad. The Lok Manthan is an occasion where artists, intellectuals, and academicians from different parts of the country converge and brainstorm on the topics that come out of the society to reshape the narratives of people and lead the nation to play its civilizational roles. The Lok Manthan will be a three-day event, and then it will focus on serious discussions, seminars, cultural events, and exhibitions that showcase the rich diversity of the nation.
World Contraception Day 2022 observed on 26th September
World Contraception Day is marked on September 26 with a focus on creating awareness about contraceptive knowledge and family planning. To educate the younger generation about contraceptive measures. In this program, people are told about the prevention of conception. It is a global campaign held annually to shed light on birth control methods by asserting the importance of reproductive health. World Contraception Day has become an important event to highlight the need for population control. The day underlines the need for better family planning which can indirectly also help families to lift themselves out of poverty.
World Contraception Day 2022: Significance
According to the World Health Organisation, the significance of World Contraception Day is captured in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It aims, “By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs.”
It is marked by the creation of effective online and offline campaigns to decipher the main goal and make it reach millions of people. Events that discuss maternal mortality, Unintended pregnancy, lack of contraceptives, family planning, and more are also organized.
World Contraception Day 2022: History
The first-ever World Contraception Day was observed on September 26 in 2007. On that day, 10 international family planning organizations pushed forward the idea of using contraceptives to enable a planned decision about starting a family, leading to the hope that every pregnancy becomes wanted. The day is now supported by a coalition of about 15 international NGOs, medical and scientific communities, and governmental organizations for imparting the right knowledge about sexual and reproductive health.
UCO Bank becomes first lender to get RBI’s approval for rupee trade
UCO Bank has received the approval of the Reserve Bank of India to open a special Vostro account with Gazprom Bank of Russia for trade settlement in Indian rupees. UCO Bank which is a Kolkata-based lender is the first bank to receive the regulator’s approval following the decision of RBI to allow Indian Banks to settle trade in Indian currency in July.
About UCO Bank
UCO Bank was formerly known as United Commercial Bank which was established in 1943 in Kolkata. It is one of the nationalized banks in India. It is under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
About Gazprom Bank
Gazprom Bank is a Russian lender, which was set up by World’s largest gas producer and exporter Gazprom to provide banking services for gas industry enterprises. The Gazprom Bank has been operating since 1990. It is one of the top three banks in Russia. It offers a whole range of banking and investment services to over 45,000 corporate and three million private clients.
TerraPay partnered with NPCI to enable cross-border transactions via UP
TerraPay, a Dutch payments infrastructure company has joined forces with India’s NPCI International Payments (NIPL) to facilitate cross-border transactions for Indian consumers and merchants. Indian consumers and merchants who have an active Unified Payments Interface Id (UPI Id) will be able to transfer money abroad. This service will utilize TerraPay’s infrastructure and the UPI network.
Key Points related to TerraPay
The UPI-enabled QR code-based service will allow Indian customers with active UPI IDs to make transactions through 350 million bank accounts across the globe.
The firms seek to expand the use of UPI payments and QR for international transactions by merchants.
The customer-initiative UPI payments and QR transactions require two-factor authentication.
The two-factor authentication is capable of minimizing disputes and issues related to grievance redressal.
TerraPay also expects to create interoperability among different financial instruments it drives as well as offer digital payments.
UPI which is real-time payments (RTP) system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India.
Nirmala Sitharaman to launch e-learning platform Bharat Vidya
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman will launch the Bharat Vidya, which is an online learning platform for Oriental and South Asian Studies. The Bharat Vidya is designed and developed by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI).
Bharat Vidya is a first-of-its-kind online platform, which will offer both free and paid courses covering various aspects of Indology about art, architecture, philosophy, language, and science. The Bharat Vidya will have six courses at the beginning including Veda Vidya, Bharatiya Darshanshastra, Sanskrit learning, 18 Parvas of Mahabharata, Fundamentals of Archaeology, and Kalidasa and Bhasha. BORI will collaborate with Indian and Foreign universities for awarding credits for its courses. During the inaugural event, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman announced that the courses offered complied with the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020.