1) National logistics index 2021 released
•The Logistics Ease Across Different States 2021 Index was recently published by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. This is the third edition of Index. In the index, Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab were emerged as best performing states with respect to mobility of goods and efficiency of logistics chain. This index provide ranking to states on the basis of logistics infrastructure.
2) Srinagar joins UNESCO network of creative cities
•Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, is among the 49 cities selected worldwide to join the UNESCO creative cities network (UCCN). Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the inclusion as a “fitting recognition” for the vibrant cultural ethos of the old city. It has been designated as a creative city of craft and folk arts, UNESCO.
•These 49 cities were added to the network of 246 cities following their designation by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, in recognition of “their commitment to placing culture and creativity at the heart of their development and to sharing knowledge and good practices”.
3) Punjab became 1st Indian state to approve Tissue Culture-Based Seed Potato Rules
•The Punjab Cabinet headed by chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi approved the ‘Punjab Tissue Culture Based Seed Potato Rules-2021’ to develop Punjab as a standard potato seed centre. With this decision, Punjab has become the first Indian state to have the facility of tissue culture-based certification, which will develop the Jalandhar-Kapurthala belt of Punjab as the export hub of potatoes. The Cabinet also approved to introduce the ‘Punjab Horticulture Nursery Bill-2021’ by amending ‘Punjab Fruit Nursery Act-1961‘.
4) Morinari Watanabe re-elected as President of FIG
•Morinari Watanabe was re-elected as the President of the International Gymnastics Federation or Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) for a period of three years. Morinari Watanabe defeated Azerbaijan’s contender Farid Gayibov, in the FIG President election that was held during a conference in Turkey. Earlier, He was elected as the President of FIG in 2016 for a 4-year term.
5) Wang Yaping becomes first Chinese woman astronaut to walk in space
•China had launched the Shenzhou-13 spaceship on October 16, sending three astronauts on a six-month mission to the under-construction space station which was expected to be ready by next year. Wang Yaping became the first Chinese woman astronaut to walk in space as she moved out of the under-construction space station and took part in extravehicular activities for over six hours along with her male colleague Zhai Zhigang. The two moved out of the space station core module called Tianhe and spent 6.5 hours of the spacewalk in the early.
6) IHRF appoints Daniel del Valle as the High Representative for Youth
•The International Human Rights Foundation (IHRF) has appointed the Spaniard Daniel del Valle as the High Representative for Youth due to his achievements in the thematic area of youth empowerment and youth participation for the United Nations. IHRF, a non-governmental and non-profit institution.
7) IBM launched a client innovation center in Mysuru
•IBM Corp. launched a client innovation centre in Mysuru with support from the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) to attract companies to set up operations in cities beyond Bengaluru. This initiative aims at supporting the rapid, high-tech driven economic growth in tier-2 and -3 regions while providing comprehensive hybrid cloud and AI technology consulting capabilities.
