1) International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists: 2 November
•November 2nd has been observed as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI) since 2013. The day came into existence when the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution in December 2013. The day draws attention to impunity, i.e., culprits going unpunished, to crimes against journalists. It took a couple of years of work and extensive lobbying from IFEX (formerly International Freedom of Expression Exchange) and others to get the Resolution for marking the day passed.
2) Central Vigilance Awareness Week is observed from 31st October to 6th November 2022
•Central Vigilance Commission observes Vigilance Awareness Week during the week in which 31st of October, the birthday of the late Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel falls. This year, Vigilance Awareness Week is being observed from 31st October to 6th November 2022 with the following theme: “Corruption-free India for a developed Nation”.
•As a precursor to Vigilance Awareness Week 2022, the Central Vigilance Commission had carried out a three-month campaign highlighting certain preventive vigilance initiatives as focus areas for all the Ministries/ Departments/ Organizations.
3) Supreme Court Bans Two-Finger Test
•The Supreme Court on 31 October, reiterated the ban on the “two-finger test” in rape cases, warning that persons using such tests will be deemed guilty of misconduct. Observing that the test was based on a patriarchal mindset that assumed that sexually active women could not be raped, the bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli regretted that such a method of examination was being used even today.
4) Gujarat Government Set Up Committee To Implement Uniform Civil Code(UCC)
•With Gujarat headed to Assembly elections and awaiting the release of the poll schedule, state Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi announced that the cabinet had decided to form a committee for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state.
5) Arunachal Pradesh to get Northeast’s first fish museum
•A fish museum, the first of its kind in the Northeast, would soon be built in Arunachal Pradesh, Fisheries Minister Tage Taki. The museum in the NorthEast region (NER), with all fish species across the district from Tawang to Longding, to attract tourists, fish lovers and the museum will also serve as a training centre for fish farmers.
•The fish museum would be a part of India’s first Integrated Aqua Park (IAP), sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (MoFAHD). The existing Tarin Fish Farm (TFF), located at high-altitude Bulla village, would be upgraded as the IAP where the museum would come up. It will have all fish species of the state and serve as a training centre for fisherfolk. An amount of Rs 43.59 crores was sanctioned for the project in the current financial year as the first instalment.
6) Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina confers ‘Friends of Liberation War’ honour on Edward M Kennedy
•Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina conferred the prestigious ‘Friends of Liberation War’ honour on former US Senator Edward M Kennedy posthumously in Dhaka for his contribution to the liberation of Bangladesh. The honour was handed over to his son Edward M Ted Kennedy Junior.
7) Ghana to assume Presidency of UN Security Council
•West African country, Ghana assumes the rotating monthly Presidency of the United Nations Security Council. During the month of November 2022, Ghana shall preside over the meetings of the Council (adoptions, debates and consultations) and, under its authority, shall represent the Security Council in its capacity as an organ of the United Nations.
8) UPI Transactions Grow 7.7% To 730 Cr in October
•Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) using Unified Payments Interface BHIM-UPI recorded a new high, transactions rose by 7.7 per cent in October to 730 crore(7.3 Billion). The total value for the month stood at more than ₹12.11 lakh crore. In September, UPI transactions stood at 678 crore with a total value of ₹11.16 lakh crore.
9) SpaceX Launches First Falcon Heavy Mission, After 3 Years
•SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, the world’s most-powerful active rocket, lifted off for the first time in more than three years, from Florida’s Cape Canaveral, with Elon Musk’s company sending a group of satellites into orbit for the U.S. Space Force.
10) Government approved Electronics Manufacturing Cluster at Ranjangaon
•Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced that an Electronics Manufacturing Cluster is to be developed in the Ranjangaon area of Maharashtra. The Electronics Manufacturing Clusters will be developed for ₹500 crores. Electronics Manufacturing Clusters are expected to generate thousands of jobs in the coming years and will attract an investment of over ₹2,000 crores.
11) First Woman Director Dr G Hemaprabha Takes Charge at ICAR-SBI
•ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute (ICAR-SBI) got its first-ever woman director in over a century of the Institution’s existence. Dr. G Hemaprabha was appointed as the Director of the ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute up to 2024 on the recommendation of the Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board, New Delhi under the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
