Contents: 1. PM Modi Dedicates Bidkin Industrial Area of DMIC to Nation (Economy) 2. National Centre of Excellence for AVGC-XR to be set up in Mumbai.(S&T) 3. 54th Dadashaeb Phalke Award Winner: Mithun Chakraborty.(AWARDS) 4. 8th edition of India -Kazakhstan military EX KAZIND 2024 Start in Auli.(Defence) 5. India deserves permanent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seat: Bhutan (International) 6. Karnataka Government Withdraws ‘General Consent’ to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) (POLITY) 7. The European Organization for Nuclear Research celebrated 70th Anniversary.(S&T) 8. PHILADELPHI CORRIDOR.(Maps) 9. Ukraine (Capital: Kyiv).(Maps)
1. PM Modi Dedicates Bidkin Industrial Area of DMIC to Nation:
• Context:
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually dedicated the Bidkin Industrial Area in Maharashtra to the nation.
• The Bilkin Industrial Area is part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
• The project is part of the central government’s “Make in India, Make for the World” programme
• Which aims to foster industrial growth, economic prosperity, and sustainable
development in the region.
• The government of India launched the Make in India programme on 25 September 2015, and it has been in operation for 10 years.
• Promoter of the Bidkin Industrial Area
• The Maharashtra Industrial Township Limited is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that was formed between the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT).
• The government of India owns the NICDIT.
• About the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme
• To develop the country’s industrial infrastructure and attract investment in the industrial sector, the government of India launched the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP).
• The NICDP is a central sector program jointly developed by the
• Central government in partnership with the state government.
• Later, it became part of the National Infrastructure Pipeline project, which the central government launched in 2019.
• Under NICDP, 11 Industrial Corridors, with 44 industrial nodes/areas/smart cities, are being developed in four phases.
• The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) Project, approved by the government in 2007, is the first Industrial Corridor.
• It is being developed with the help of Japan.
2. National Centre of Excellence for AVGC-XR to be set up in Mumbai:
• The Government of India has approved the establishment of a National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) in the country.
• The proposed NCoE will be in Mumbai, Maharashtra, the hub of the Indian film industry.
• The NCoE is being set up on the recommendation of the Task Force on Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics in 2022.
• 2022 Task Force on Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics
• The government of India set up a Task Force on Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) in 2022,
• The Task Force was established after budget speech for 2022-23.
• The Task Force recommended creating a National AVGC-XR (Extended Reality) Mission with a budget outlay for the integrated promotion and growth of the AVGC sector.
• Who will set up the NCoE?
• A company to be set up under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.
• Companies with charitable objectives are set up under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.
• The Company will be a joint venture of the Government of India in partnership with the private sector represented by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and Confederation of Indian Industry. • Indian Institute for Immersive Creators (IIIC)
• The name of the provisional National Centre of Excellence (CoE) will be the Indian Institute for Immersive Creators (IIIC).
• The IIIC will be set up on the model of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).
• The Indian Institute for Immersive Creators will create a manpower pool that will revolutionise the AVGC sector and foster innovation in immersive technologies.
3. 54th Dadashaeb Phalke Award Winner: Mithun Chakraborty:
• The Union Ministry for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on 30 September 2024 that the jury had selected veteran Hindi and Bengali film actor Mithun Chakraborty as the recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Awards for 2022.
• 54th recipient:
• Mithun Chakraborty will be the 54th recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award.
• Last year, Waheeda Rehman received the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Awards for 2021.
• Mithun Chakraborty will be conferred the award at the
• 70th National Film Festival award ceremony, which will be held on 8 October 2024.
• About Mithun Chakraborty
• Born as Gourang Chakraborty on June 16, 1950, in Kolkata, West Bengal.
• He won the National Film Award for Best Actor in his first film, Mrigayaa (1976).
• He won the National Film Award for his acting in the films Tahader Katha (1992) and Swami Vivekananda (1998).
• About the Dadasaheb Phalke Award
• The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was instituted by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in honour of Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke.
• He was the pioneer of cinema in India, having made the first film Raja Harishchandra in 1913.
• It carries a cash prize of Rs 10 lakhs, a Swarna Kamal medallion and a shawl.
• The Award was first given in 1969, and Devika Rani was the recipient. 4. 8th edition of India -Kazakhstan military EX KAZIND 2024 Start in Auli: • Context:
• India -Kazakhstan joint military exercise KAZIND -2024 commenced at the mountainous Surya Foreign Training node in Auli, Uttarakhand, on 30 September 2024.
• The 8th edition of KAZIND-2024
• The last edition of the annual bilateral military exercise was held in Otar, Kazakhstan, from 30 October to 11 November 2023.
• About KAZIND Military Exercise
• The bilateral India-Kazakhstan KAZIND was first held in 2016.
• It is an annual military exercise held alternately in both countries.
• In this year's exercise, the Indian contingent comprises 120 personnel, including a battalion of the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army and a contingent of the Indian Air Force personnel.
• Focus of the KAZIND 2024 Exercise
• The 8th edition of the KAZIND exercise will focus on counterinsurgency/counterterrorism
operations in the mountainous, semi-urban scenario under the United Nations mandate.
5. India deserves permanent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seat: Bhutan: • Context:
• Recently, US, France and UK have also supported for India’s bid to become a permanent member of UNSC.
• Reforming UNSC would require amendments in UN Charter.
• Amendment would come into force for all Members of UN when it is adopted by:
• Vote of two thirds of members of General Assembly and ratified by two thirds of Members of UN, including all permanent members of UNSC.
• About UNSC
• Established by UN Charter in 1945, UNSC is one of the six principal organs of UN with primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
• UNSC is composed of 15 members (refer infographic).
• UNSC has power to make binding decisions that member states are required to implement under Charter.
• Factors supporting India’s Permanent Membership
• Leader of Developing Countries. E.g. Global South
• Rapid Economic Growth (5th largest economy in world).
• India is most populous country in world.
• One of the largest contributors to United Nation Peacekeeping Forces.
• Hurdles in India’s Permanent Candidature
• China’s Opposition: All permanent members of UNSC have supported India’s
candidature except China.
• Opposition from Various Groups: E.g. Uniting for Consensus/Coffee Club opposes expansion of permanent seats in UNSC.
6. Karnataka Government Withdraws ‘General Consent’ to Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI): • Context:
• Many other states, such as West Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, etc., have also withdrawn their general consent in the past.
• West Bengal had withdrawn its general consent in 2018, which the Supreme Court upheld in the State of West Bengal v. Union of India case (2024).
• Consent to the CBI
• As per section 6 of The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, CBI must obtain the consent of the state government concerned before beginning to investigate a crime in a state.
• In this respect, CBI position is different from that of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is governed by The NIA Act, 2008, and has countrywide jurisdiction.
• Type of Consent
• General Consent:
• The CBI is not required to seek fresh permission every time it enters that state in connection with an investigation or for every case.
• Exception to General consent
• Cases ordered by the Supreme Court or High Court.
• Cases registered in other states or union territories.
• Cases registered before the withdrawal of the consent.
• Case-specific consent: The CBI would have to apply to the state government in every case. • About CBI
• Genesis: Established in 1963 on recommendation of Santhanam Committee on Prevention of
Corruption (1962-64).
• Status: Non-statutory & non-constitutional body. It is governed by Delhi Special Police
Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946.
• Ministry: Ministry of Personnel, Pension & Public Grievances.
• Types of cases investigated: Anti-corruption, Economic offences, sensational crime having inter- state/all-India ramifications etc.
7. The European Organization for Nuclear Research celebrated 70th Anniversary:
• Context :
• It is known by its French acronym, CERN and is an international scientific
organization established for the purpose of collaborative research into high-energy particle physics.
• About CERN
• Established: in 1954, as Europe’s first joint venture after World War-II.
• Location: outside of Geneva, Switzerland.
• Members: 23 Member States (10 Associate Member States)
• India is an Associate Member.
• Fundamental scientific character:
• Its convention states that it shall have no concern with work for military requirements.
• Key Achievements:
• Discovery of the Z Boson and W Boson Particles: Fundamental in understanding the weak force.
• The World Wide Web: invented at CERN in 1989 by British scientist Tim Berners-Lee.
• Study of Anti-Matter: with the help of the Antiproton Decelerator aiding in the study of the origin of the universe.
• The Higgs Boson Particle: also known as the God Particle was discovered at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
• The Higgs boson is the fundamental particle associated with the Higgs field, a field that gives mass to other fundamental particles such as electrons.
• CERN’s LHC is the world's largest particle accelerator.
• It collides protons or lead ions at energies approaching the speed of light.
• India’s contributions • Indian physicists through institutions like Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) are involved in CERN experiments like L3 experiment, LHC etc.
• Department of Atomic Energy cooperation with CERN on Novel Accelerator Technologies (NAT).
• India operates two Tier-2 centres for the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG).
8. PHILADELPHI CORRIDOR:
• Why in news:
• Israel to control the Philadelphi corridor to ensure stability in the region.
• About Israel-Palestine Conflict
• The conflict began during World War I when Britain took control of Palestine, which was part of the Ottoman Empire.
• The British promised support for a Jewish homeland in the Balfour Declaration of 1917, allowing many Jews to immigrate to Palestine.
• This influx led to tensions and violence between the Jewish immigrants and the local Arab population, who felt their rights were being overlooked.
• United Nations Partition Plan
• In 1947, Britain handed the issue to the United Nations (UN).
• The UN proposed a plan to create two states: one for Jews and another for Arabs, with Jerusalem as an international city.
• 1948 Palestine War
• The situation escalated in 1948 when the state of Israel was declared.
• This event is known to Palestinians as the Nakba, or "catastrophe," because it resulted in
the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs.
• Six-Day War
• In 1967, another significant conflict occurred—the Six-Day War—where Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
• Oslo Accords
• In 1988, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) declared independence.
• Which established limited self-governance for Palestinians in parts of the West Bank and Gaza through the Palestinian Authority.
• Origin of Hamas
• In 2005, Israel withdrew its military presence from the Gaza Strip.
• However, the area remains under tight control, and conflict continues. • In 2007, Hamas, a political and militant group, took control of Gaza after a power struggle with Fatah, the leading faction of the Palestinian Authority. This division has led to two separate Palestinian
• Philadelphi Corridor
• It is a narrow strip of land between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, it runs from the Mediterranean Sea to the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.
• It includes the Rafah crossing; the main entry and exit point between Gaza and Egypt.
• After Israel withdrew its troops and settlements from Gaza in 2005, the Philadelphi Corridor was designated as a demilitarized border zone; free of military presence and operations to promote peace.
• Since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, they have used this area to build tunnels for smuggling weapons and resources.
• This has allowed them to strengthen their military capabilities significantly.
• Recent Events
• Israel believes controlling the Philadelphi Corridor is essential to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons and rearming.
• Recently, Israel launched military operations in Rafah to secure this area from Hamas.
9. Ukraine (Capital: Kyiv):
• Context:
• Russian missiles attacked Ukraine’s Snake
Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, located in the Black Sea.
• Political Features
• Location: Eastern Europe and is the 2nd largest
country in Europe after Russia.
• Bordering Countries: Belarus (north), Russia (east),
Moldova & Romania (southwest), Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland (west).
• The Sea of Azov & Black Sea are located to the south of Ukraine.
• Geographical Features
• Mountain Ranges: Carpathians, Crimean Mountains, etc.
• Highest Point: Mount Hoverla.
• Climate: Temperate • Major Rivers: Dnieper, Danube, Dniester, etc.
