The UK government on Thursday added India to its vaccine-eligible countries list, which would mean vaccinated Indians will no long be required to quarantine on arrival from October 11

Key Points

• Eligible travellers vaccinated in over 37 new countries, including India and Pakistan, will be treated the same as returning fully vaccinated UK residents, so long as they have not visited a red list country or territory in the 10 days before arriving in England.
• Those arriving before the cut off date of October 11 would still need to follow the rules for unvaccinated travellers.
• Those not fully vaccinated with one of the four UK-recognised vaccines (Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen) or any formulation of these vaccines, including Covishield, must take a pre-departure test, and must take a Covid19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8, and self-isolate for 10 days.

A total of 31 candidates have been recommended as Joint Secretary, Director and Deputy Secretary in various Ministries and Departments of the Government on Contract and Deputation basis. Among the 31 lateral entries, three candidates have been selected for the post of Joint Secretary and 19 for the post of Director.

Key Points

• Department of Personnel and Training had requested the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in December, 2020 and February this year to select suitable persons to join the government at the level of Joint Secretary, Director and Deputy Secretary in various Ministries and Departments on Contract basis.

• The UPSC launched Online Recruitment Application for these posts and in response, a total of 295 applications for Joint Secretary Level Posts, 1247 applications for Director Level Posts and 489 applications for Deputy Secretary Level Posts were received.

• The UPSC shortlisted 231 candidates for the interviews. The interviews were conducted from 27th September to 8th October 2021.

India and the UK kickstarted a two-week military exercise at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries, the Indian Army said on Thursday. 

Key Points

• The edition of the ‘Ajeya Warrior’ exercise is part of an initiative to develop interoperability and sharing of expertise.
• An infantry company from Indian Army and an equivalent strength from UK Army would be sharing their experiences gained during the conduct of various military operations in their respective countries and during the overseas engagement.
• Both the armies would familiarise with each other's weapons, equipment, tactics and procedures for carrying out joint military operations.
• This joint military training will go a long way in improving bilateral relations and also will be a major step towards further strengthening the traditional bond of friendship between the two nations.

India and Japan held its fifth edition of JIMEX (India-Japan Maritime Bilateral Exercise), that was conducted in the Arabian Sea from October 6 to 8 with focus on maritime security cooperation.

Key points

• The exercise saw the ships and aircraft of Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) and Indian Navy (IN) engaging in a high tempo of operations focused on air, surface and sub-surface dimensions of maritime operations as well as the air domain.
• Indigenously built Guided Missile Stealth Destroyer Kochi and Guided Missile Frigate Teg, under the command of Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet, represented the Indian Navy in the three-day exercise from Wednesday to Friday.
• The Indian Navy fielded a P8I, a shore-based maritime reconnaissance aircraft, and MiG 29K fighters.

India celebrates Air Force Day on October 8 to raise awareness about the Indian Air Force (IAF) as an organisation that strives to strengthen national security and authority.

Highlights

• The day is marked in the presence of the IAF Chief and senior officials of the three-armed forces. Vintage aircrafts put up a magnificent show in the open sky.
• The motto of the IAF is ‘Nabha Sparsham Deeptham’, which means ‘touch the sky with glory’. It was taken from the 11th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, which comprises the discourse given by Lord Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
• Air Force Day is observed on 8 October every year because it was on this day in the year 1932 that the Indian Air Force was officially founded as a supporting force for the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday announced the October bi-monthly monetary policy statement, in which he said that the MPC has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 4% for the eighth straight meeting.

Key points

The reverse repo rate will also continue to earn 3.35% for banks for their deposits kept with RBI.

RBI has slashed the repo rate by a total of 115 basis points (bps) since March 2020 to soften the blow from covid crisis. This follows 135 bps worth of rate cuts since the beginning of 2019.

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency announced on  a new China-focused unit that underscored its view of Beijing as the country’s toughest long-term adversary.

Keypoints

• CIA Director William Burns said in a statement that the new China Mission Center will address the challenge China poses to all of the U.S. spy agency’s mission areas.
• According to Mr. Burns CMC will further strengthen our collective work on the most important geopolitical threat we face in the 21st century, an increasingly adversarial Chinese government.

Google will prohibit ads and monetisation on content that denies the existence and causes of climate change. The policy change will apply to advertisers, publishers and YouTube creators from next month.

Key points

• The policy change will apply to advertisers, publishers and YouTube creators from next month.
• Content creators will not be able to earn from content that "contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change".
• Content referring to climate change as hoax or scam, and other claims denying global warming and greenhouse gases emissions cannot earn ad revenue under the new policy.

October 9 is observed as the World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD), annually. It’s a global initiative to create awareness about the necessity to conserve migratory birds and their habitation.

Highlights

• Conservational theme for World Migratory Bird Day 2021 is ‘Sing, Fly, Soar – Like a bird!’ 
• The day originated in 2006, when the United Nations decided the need to make the global population aware of the migratory linkages between regions all over the world.
• Since then around 118 countries have participated and hosted the event.

World Post Day is celebrated each year on 9 October, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern.

Keypoints

• The theme of World Post Day 2021 is “Innovate to recover.” 
• The purpose of World Post Day is to bring awareness to the post's role in the everyday lives of people and businesses.
•  World Post Day marks the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union, which started in 1874 in Switzerland.
• The UPU was the start of the global communications revolution, introducing the ability to write letter to others all over the world.

The head of the International Monetary Fund has said a report alleging she had a role in data-rigging at the World Bank when she was a top official there was not an accurate representation of events.

Key points

• The head of the International Monetary Fund has said that a report alleging she had a role in data-rigging at the World Bank when she was a top official there was not an accurate representation of events.
• In addition to the statement, Georgieva's lawyers released the 11-page statement she delivered to the board on Wednesday in a meeting that lasted over five hours.

Background

Georgieva served as chief executive officer of the World Bank from January 2017 to September 2019, before taking the top job at the 190-nation IMF, succeeding Christine Lagarde, who is now head of the European Central Bank. 

The allegations of data-rigging come from a review conducted by the WillimerHale law firm that alleged Georgieva pressured the bank's economists to improve China's ranking at a time when she and other bank officials were attempting to persuade China to support a boost in the World Bank's funding resources.

International Monetory Fund - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington DC consisting of 190 countries "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." Formed in 1944, started on 27 December 1945,

The internal ombudsman at NBFCs will examine customer complaints related to deficiency in service that have been partly or wholly rejected by the NBFCs.

Key Points

• Over the last few years, RBI has initiated various measures for consumer protection and grievance redress for customers of NBFCs, which include requiring NBFCs to appoint Nodal Officers for grievance redress (2013) and the launch of the Ombudsman Scheme for NBFCs (2018).
• The IOS for NBFCs, which will be on the lines of IOS for banks and non-bank payment system participants, will require select NBFCs to appoint an Internal Ombudsman (IO) at the top of their internal grievance redress mechanism to examine customer complaints which are in the nature of deficiency in service and are partly or wholly rejected by the NBFCs.

CEA Krishnamurthy Venkata Subramanian has announced that he would step down following the completion of his three-year tenure.

Key points

• Dr. K V Subramanian, currently Chief Economic Advisor to Government of India, was a leading expert on economic policy, banking and corporate governance.
• A PhD from Chicago Booth and a top-ranking IIT- IIM alumnus, he authored the path-breaking Economic Survey that commends "Ethical Wealth Creation” for a prosperous India. By integrating India's rich economic and spiritual heritage with modern economic ideas, he advocates ethical wealth creation through a marriage of the invisible hand of the market with the hand of trust.
• He returned back to academia following the completion of his 3-year fulfilling tenure as the Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India.

The reserves had surged by USD 8.895 billion to a lifetime high of USD 642.453 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.

Key Points

• The country's foreign exchange reserves dipped by USD 1.169 billion to stand at USD 637.477 billion in the week ended October 1, RBI data showed on Friday.  
• In the previous week ended September 24, 2021, the reserves had declined by USD 997 million to USD 638.646 billion. The reserves had surged by USD 8.895 billion to a lifetime high of USD 642.453 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.  
• During the reporting week ended October 1, 2021, the dip in the forex kitty was on account of a fall in the foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves.
• FCAs declined by USD 1.28 billion to USD 575.451 billion, as per weekly data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).    
• Gold reserves were up by USD 128 million to USD 37.558 billion in the reporting week, the data showed.  

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia Friday announced a new helicopter policy under which dedicated hubs and corridors would be established and landing charges and parking deposits abolished to boost commercial operations.

Key points

• Under the new policy, the government is going to put together a dedicated helicopter-acceleration cell in the Civil Aviation Ministry that will look at helicopter industry’s issues, the minister mentioned.
• According to the new policy, there will be no landing charges or parking deposits for heliports or helicopter companies from now onward.
• Officers of Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Air Traffic Control (ATC) will engage with the helicopter industry stakeholders so that adequate training is given to all individuals regarding helicopter issues, the minister noted.

The Nobel Peace Prize 2021 was awarded jointly to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov "for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace."

Key points

• The journalists, Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitri A. Muratov of Russia, were recognized for “their courageous fight for freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”
• They are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.

About Maria Ressa 

Maria Angelita Ressa is a Filipino-American journalist and author, the co-founder and CEO of Rappler, and the first Filipino Nobel Prize laureate. She previously spent nearly two decades working as a lead investigative reporter in Southeast Asia for CNN.

About Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov

Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov is a Russian journalist, television presenter and the editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. He was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Maria Ressa for "their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace."

The deal aims to stop large firms booking profits in low-tax nations regardless of where their clients are, an issue that has become ever more pressing with the growth of 'Big Tech' giants that can easily do business across borders.

Key Points

• A group of 136 countries, including, on Friday set a minimum global tax rate 15% for big companies and sought to make it harder for them to avoid taxation in a landmark deal that US President Joe Biden said levelled the playing field.
• The deal aims to end a four-decade-long “race to the bottom” by setting a floor for countries that have sought to attract investment and jobs by taxing multinational companies lightly, effectively allowing them to shop around for low tax rate.
• The 15% floor agreed to is, however, well below a corporate tax rate which averages around 23.5% in industrialised countries.

• Journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for their fight for freedom of expression in countries where reporters have faced persistent attacks, harassment and even murder.
• “Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.“Without freedom of expression and freedom of the Press, it will be difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order to succeed in our time,” she said.
• The Nobel committee noted that Ressa in 2012 co-founded Rappler, a news website focused attention on President Rodrigo Duterte’s “controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign” in the Philippines.
• Muratov was one of the founders in 1993 of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

• USA finish second with 6 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze medals
• Indian shooters Anish Bhanwala, Adarsh SIngh and Vijayveer Sidhu combined to win the gold medal in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol team event as the country ended the ISSF Junior World Championship on top of the standings here.
• The Indian trio shot a total of 10 to finish ahead of their German counterparts Fabian Otto, Felix Luca Hollfoth and Tobias Gsoell (2) in the gold medal contest on Friday.
• India’s Manvi Soni (105) bagged the junior double trap gold medal ahead of compatriot Yeshaya Hafiz Contractor (90). The bronze was won by Hitasha (76) in an event that only featured Indians.
• Vinay Pratap Singh Chandrawat claimed the gold medal men’s double trap event with a score of 120, while the silver went to Sehajpreet Singh (114) and the bronze to Mayank Shokeen (/111).
• Ayushi and Aishwary shot 17 in the gold medal match to finish second to the 31 shot by the German pair of Max Braun and Anna Janssen. The Indian duo had topped the qualification round with a world record-equalling score of 590, with the eventual gold medallists finishing in second spot.
• Table-toppers India ended the tournament with 30 medals, including 13 gold, 11 silver and six bronze. USA finished second with 6 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze medals.

• Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) KV Subramanian on Friday said he has decided to return to academia after completion of his three-ye
• The government had appointed Subramanian, a ISB Hyderabad professor, as the CEA in December 2018. He had succeeded Arvind Subramanaian. In a statement, Subramanian thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for their support and inspiring leadership. “I have decided to return back to academia following the completion of my 3-year fulfilling tenure,” he said.
• ar term in the Finance Ministry.

• Buoyed by an increase in public investment and incentives to boost manufacturing, India’s economy is expected to grow by 8.3% in the fiscal year 2021-22, less than the previous projection early this year before the country was hit by the second wave of the Covid pandemic, the World Bank has said in its latest report.
• World Bank Chief Economist for the South Asia Region Hans Timmer said when one looks at the high frequency data, they see that as a result of the second wave of the Covid pandemic, the recovery paused, and some indicate that the recovery actually declined briefly.
• On March 31, the World Bank said India’s real GDP growth for fiscal year 21/22 could range from 7.5 to 12.5% in its latest South Asia Economic Focus report released ahead of the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
• The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. 
  Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
  President: David Malpass
  Founded: July 1944, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States.
  Motto: "Working for a World Free of Poverty"