Bajram Begaj takes the oath as Albania’s President
The ninth President of Albania, Bajram Begaj, a retired military commander and politician, took the oath of office here in Parliament. The 55-year-old President said in his first speech before parliamentarians that he will support and respect both the work of the government and the opposition, advocating for cooperation between political parties rather than conflict.
KEY POINTS:
On June 4, 2022, Begaj won the presidential election. Begaj garnered 78 votes in favour, four politicians opposed, and one legislator abstained in the plenary session of Parliament, which was attended by a total of 83 MPs.
He served as the head of general staff of the Albanian Armed Forces and was a major general.
Begaj was joined by his wife Armanda and his two sons at his swearing-in ceremony.
Ilir Meta, a former president who served from July 2017 for five years, posted his final statement to the public on social media.
Russia decides to leave the International Space Station after 2024
President Vladimir Putin was informed by the newly appointed head of Moscow’s space agency that Russia has made the decision to leave the International Space Station after 2024. The declaration comes amid heightened hostilities between Moscow and the West over Moscow’s military action in Ukraine and several rounds of previously unheard-of sanctions against Russia.
KEY POINTS:
The International Space Station (ISS), which has been in orbit since 1998, has been jointly developed by Russia and the United States.
One of the few areas where cooperation between Russia, the United States, and its allies had not been ruined by tensions over Ukraine and other issues up until now was space exploration.
One of the Soviet space program’s major achievements and a significant source of national pride in Russia is the launch of the first satellite in 1957 and the sending of the first man into space in 1961.
Union Cabinet adopts a $1.6 billion BSNL revitalization plan
Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, said that the Union Cabinet approved the Rs. 1.64 lakh crore revival package for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Package announced by the government in 2019 has contributed to stabilising BSNL’s financial situation. The loss of clients has come to an end.
KEY POINTS:
Revenue that was declining has stabilised at Rs 19,000 crore thanks to a resuscitation package that the union cabinet authorised.
The proposed package includes three components:
Better services,
A de-stressed balance sheet,
Fibre network development.
The cabinet has accepted a proposal to convert Rs 33,000 crore in statutory dues into equity as part of the de-stressing of the balance sheet, and an equal amount of bank loans will be repaid through the issuance of low-interest bonds.
A plan to combine BSNL and Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) was also approved by the federal cabinet.
Through this merger, BSNL would have access to 5.67 lakh kilometres of extra optical fibre that have been installed throughout 1.85 lakh village panchayats nationwide with the help of the country’s Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
BSNL now operates an optical fibre cable network that spans more than 6.83 lakh kilometres.
Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar launched ‘Smart E-Beat’ system for Gurugram police
Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar has launched an app-based ‘Smart E-Beat’ system for police attendance and real-time monitoring of patrolling by personnel in Gurugram. CM Khattar launched the system at an event at the office of the Commissioner of Police and flagged off 119 motorcycle police riders connected with it. The app-based system has been introduced in Gurugram under the Smart Policing Initiative (SPI) and it will help these policemen to mark their attendance and in the monitoring of their rides.
About the Smart E-Beat system:
The Smart E-Beat system would cover the area of all the 33 police stations located in the urban area of Gurugram. As many as 119 motorcycle riders will be deployed, and 714 policemen will give duty on the rider in three shifts a day, Gurugram Police has identified 2,056 sensitive locations in the city, which mainly include ATMs, petrol pumps, residences of senior citizens, schools, colleges, religious places, and crime-affected areas for monitoring.
Cabinet authorises signing of guarantees for FIFA Under 17 Women’s WC in India
The signing of the guarantees for hosting the FIFA Under 17 Women’s World Cup in India in 2022 has been accepted by the Union Cabinet, which is presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 is slated to take place in India from October 11 to October 30. The seventh iteration of the biennial youth competition will mark India’s first-ever hosting of a FIFA women’s championship.
KEY POINTS:
The nation is getting ready for a historic time for women’s football, when the top young female footballers from across the world will be demonstrating their skills to lift the prized trophy, continuing the positive legacy from the FIFA Under-17 Men’s World Cup 2017.
The budgetary allotment for the Scheme of Aid to National Sports Federations will be used to cover the financial outlay of Rs 10 crore assistance to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for field of play maintenance, stadium power, energy & cabling, stadium & training site branding, etc.
Potentially strengthening women’s football in the nation is the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022. The nation is getting ready for a historic time for women’s football, when the top young female footballers from across the world will be demonstrating their skills to lift the prized trophy, continuing the positive legacy from the FIFA Under 17 Men’s World Cup 2017.
At the moment, Spain is the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup champion. The seventh iteration of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will take place in India in 2022 will include 16 nations, including India.
Three locations have been suggested by the AIFF for the competition matches, Bhubaneshwar, Navi Mumbai, and Goa. The FIFA Under-17 Men’s World Cup India-2017 was successfully held in India at six different locations.
To leave a lasting legacy, a number of goals have been thought of:
First and foremost, increasing the number of women in football leadership positions and decision-making bodies.
Encouraging more girls to play football in India.
Promoting gender-inclusive participation by mainstreaming the idea of the equal game from an early age.
The chance to raise football standards for women in India.
Raising the game’s commercial value.
Nifty Next 50 ETF and Nifty 100 ETF introduced by HDFC Mutual Fund
In an effort to broaden its selection of HDFC MF index solutions, HDFC Mutual Fund has announced the introduction of HDFC Nifty Next 50 ETF and HDFC NIFTY 100 ETF. These funds provide exposure to the large-cap market in India. The asset management firm claims that the HDFC Nifty Next 50 ETF’s benchmark, the Nifty Next 50 Total Returns Index (TRI), offers benefits for stock and sector diversification as well as the possibility for longer-term greater risk-adjusted returns compared to the Nifty 50. Additionally, this index has a greater chance of growth because it can include members of the NIFTY 50’s upcoming league.
KEY POINTS:
By concentrating on the top 100 firms based on entire market capitalization, the benchmark of HDFC Nifty 100 ETF—Nifty 100 TRI—offers exposure to the Indian large-cap area and improves market representation.
While tracking the behaviour of the combined portfolio of the Nifty 50 and Nifty Next 50 Indices, it offers more balanced diversification than the Nifty 50 Index.
The funds’ primary goal is to offer investment returns that, subject to tracking errors, closely match the total returns of the stocks represented by the Nifty Next 50 Index and Nifty 100 Index, respectively, before expenses.
With investments in securities covered by the underlying index, both funds will be passively managed.
Monkeypox vaccine IMVANEX approved by European Commission
European Commission has given permission for the Imvanex vaccine to be marketed as protection against Monkeypox, as recommended last week by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Globally, over 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported from 75 countries. This vaccine is developed by Danish biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic.
In the current outbreak in countries and amongst the reported monkeypox cases, transmission appears to be occurring primarily through close physical contact, including sexual contact. Transmission can also occur from contaminated materials such as linens, bedding, electronics, and clothing, that have infectious skin particles.
Important points of Imvanex vaccine:
Imvanex is a non-replicating smallpox vaccine developed in collaboration with the U.S. government to ensure the supply of a smallpox vaccine for the entire population, including immunocompromised individuals.
The vaccine gained regulatory approvals in Canada (marketed as Imvamune) and the U.S. (marketed as Jynneos) where the approvals have been extended to include the monkeypox indication as the only vaccine obtained this to-date.
The vaccine was approved by the European Commission in 2013 for immunization against smallpox in adults aged 18 years and older.
Imvanex can be used as active immunisation against smallpox, monkeypox and disease caused by the vaccinia virus in adults.
To Establish Center of Excellence for MSME, NSIC and LG Electronics sign an agreement
In the presence of Shri Narayan Rane, Honorable Cabinet Minister, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Honorable Minister of State, Shri B. B. Swain, Secretary MSME, Shri P. Udayakumar, CMD, NSIC, and Shailesh Kumar Singh, AS&DC, National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) signed an agreement with LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd. and the Electronics Sector Skills Council of India (ESSCI).
KEY POINTS:
The goal of this project is to train underprivileged youth in the fields of consumer electronics and appliances.
LG Electronics and the Electronics Sector Skills Council of India (ESSCI) will establish a “Centre of Excellence” at NSIC – Technical Services Center.
This will give young people new opportunities in the field of electronics and produce skilled labour for jobs in this industry.
600 youths would be served each year in the first year.
About NSIC Role:
Along with the sector skills council, the NSIC will assist graduates in finding employment at job fairs, and LG Electronics will give them preference for positions over graduates of the NSIC’s Technical Services Center (Okhla) programme.
The NSIC Technical Services Center, Okhla, has taken the lead in educating young people through entrepreneurship-based training programmes and numerous skill-based training courses.
The training programmes offered by NSIC are market- and industry-focused.
The NTSC (Okhla) has knowledge partnerships with a number of the industry’s top players, including Schneider Electric in electrical and solar energy solutions, Delta in PLC, SCADA, and distributed control systems, Mitutoyo in quality control, and Tally in accounting.
These technologies are used by NTSC (Okhla) to teach the trainees technical skills that are applicable to the industry.
MOU Signed:
Tae Jin Chang, Head of Customer Service, LG India, and Mr. O. P. Singh, Centre Head, NTSC(Okhla), signed the Memorandum of Understanding.