1) International Day of Non-Violence: 2nd October
•The International Day of Non-Violence is observed on 2nd October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. The International Day is an occasion to “disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness”. This day is referred to as Gandhi Jayanti in India.
2) NABARD launches special refinance facility for WASH programme
•The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has announced a special refinance facility of Rs 800 crore for Fiscal Year 2021. With this, NABARD will support the Government of India’s Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene (WASH) programme.
•NABARD will provide concessional refinance to all eligible financial institutions including commercial banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks with a repayment period of up to 36 months. The support will be channelised to fund WASH activities, a thrust area eligible for 95% refinance. The bank credit will also be extended to NBFCs-MFIs and other MFIs (Societies, Trusts).
3) Shri Arjun Munda launches Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Programme
•Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda has launched the Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Programme. The three-year initiative has been jointly launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), an apex industry body. The initiative will develop the potential of the tribal communities and building their capacities to enhance their contribution in socio-economic growth.
•To mark the ‘Launch of Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Programme’, ASSOCHAM also conducted a webinar titled, ‘Khadi: Symbol of independent Atmanirbhar Bharat’ to commemorate the birth of Mahatma Gandhi and to celebrate upliftment, inclusion and empowerment of our underprivileged, marginalized and impoverished communities.
4) Assam CM launches ‘Kritagyata’ for online pension submission and tracking
•Chief Minister of Assam has launched a portal “Kritagyata”, an online pension submission and tracking system. It has been launched to lend convenience to the pensioners to dispose off their pension related claims.
•With the help of the portal, the retired government employees will submit the pension related papers online and will also get opportunity to check the status of his pension. The portal has been launched in line with the “Bhabhisya” portal of Government of India.
5) West Bengal launches “Pathashree Abhijan” scheme for road repair
•West Bengal government has launched the “Pathashree Abhijan” scheme. It is a road repair scheme, where more than 7,000 stretches of roads comprising 12,000 kilometers across the state will be repaired in a mission mode and in a time-bound manner.
•The government of West Bengal has collated a list of the roads that will be repaired under the new scheme as the people of the state reached out to the Chief Minister through the ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ initiative of the government.
6) Indian Coast Guard Vessel Karnaklata Barua commissioned at Kolkata
•The Indian Coast Guard Vessel Karnaklata Barua was commissioned at Kolkata. It is the fifth and last in a series of Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd. The FPVs are upgraded versions of the inshore patrol vessels with a modified form of the hull and can achieve a speed of 34 knots. Such vessels have also been delivered to Indian Navy by GRSE.
•Indian Coast Guard Vessel Karnaklata Barua was named after a teenage freedom fighter who was shot dead in Assam during the Quit India Movement. The other four are ICGS Priyadarshini (named after Indira Gandhi), ICGS Annie Besant, ICGS Kamala Devi (after Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay), and ICGS Amrit Kaur. These ships are suited for patrolling, maritime surveillance, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching operations and also for fishery protection, and rescue and search missions.
7) 2nd edition of India-Bangladesh Navy Bilateral Exercise “Bongosagar”
•The second edition of Indian Navy (IN) – Bangladesh Navy (BN) Bilateral Exercise Bongosagar commences in Northern Bay of Bengal. Exercise Bongosagar, is aimed at developing inter-operability and joint operational skills through conduct of a wide spectrum of maritime exercises and operations.
•In the 2nd edition of Bilateral Exercise Bongosagar, ships from both navies will participate in surface warfare drills, seamanship evolutions and helicopter operations. This exercise will be followed by the 3rd edition of IN – BN Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) in Northern Bay of Bengal from 4 to 5 October 2020, wherein IN and BN units will undertake joint patrolling along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
