1) Disarmament Week 2021
•Disarmament Week is observed annually to promote awareness and understanding of the issues of disarmament in several countries. The week aims to reduce the use of weapons, specifically nuclear weapons, to bring peace in society. This year, the disarmament week will be starting on October 24. The week-long observance will continue till October 30. Disarmament Week seeks to promote awareness and a better understanding of disarmament issues and their cross-cutting importance.
2) PM Modi launches 5,000-crore ‘Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission’
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the “Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission” on October 25, 2021, from his parliamentary constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission is one of the largest pan-India schemes for strengthening healthcare infrastructure across the country and is in addition to the National Health Protection Mission (Ayushman Bharat Yojana).
3) India’s 1st State-Wildlife DNA testing analysis lab inaugurated in Nagpur
•Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, inaugurated India’s 1st State government-owned Wildlife DNA testing analysis laboratory at Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL) in Nagpur, Maharashtra. On the occasion, he also launched 3 Fast Track DNA testing units in Mumbai & Pune under the Nirbhaya scheme.
•At present, there are 2 Wildlife DNA testing laboratories at Dehradun & Hyderabad, which are fully owned by the Central Government, whereas the newly launched is the 1st in India to be owned by a state government. The labs will be exclusively dealing with cases registered under Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The labs were developed at a cost of Rs 53 crore under Central Government’s Nirbhaya Scheme.
4) India’s first ‘test tube’ Banni buffalo calf born in Gujarat
•The first IVF calf of “Banni” breed of buffaloes, found primarily in Gujarat’s Kutch region, was born at a farmer’s house in the state’s Gir Somnath district. The process was carried out to enhance the number of genetically superior buffaloes to increase milk production. Banni buffalo is known for its resilience and higher milk-producing capacity in an arid environment.
•The breed had achieved six pregnancies from 18 recipient buffaloes at his farm, which were implanted with embryos through IVF technology, and the process was carried out by JKBovagenix of NGO JK Trust. India has more than 109 million buffaloes that are 56 per cent of the world’s buffalo population.
5) U.P. govt renames Faizabad station as Ayodhya Cantt
•The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to rename the Faizabad Junction to Ayodhya Cantt railways station. Opened in 1874, the Faizabad railway station comes under the Northern Railway zone. It falls under the Lucknow-Varanasi section. Earlier in 2018, the Yogi Adityanath government had renamed Faizabad Ayodhya on the occasion of Diwali. The BJP government also changed the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj and Mughalsarai railway junction as Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay junction.
6) NITI Aayog launches “Innovations for You” Digi-Book
•The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of NITI Aayog has launched a Digi-book named “Innovations for You”. The sector in focus in this Digi-book is Healthcare. “Innovation for you” is an initiative of Niti Aayog to share success stories of Atal Innovation Mission’s Startups in different domains.
•The Digi-book was launched with the aim of serving as an encouragement for upcoming entrepreneurs in order to work on the path of creativity and imagination for addressing some of the pressing challenges in India. It also aims to showcase the best innovations and entrepreneurs to bring them to the forefront.
7) Invest India elected as President of Geneva-based WAIPA
•Invest India, a young startup within the Government of India has been unanimously elected as the President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) for 2021-2023. Invest India is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency to help investors looking for investment opportunities and options in India.
