CHHATTISGARH

While the Election Commission will discuss a suggestion from Chhattisgarh election office for doing away with the indelible ink-mark in Naxalism-hit constituencies of the state, sources in the poll panel indicated that time required for effecting the required change in Conduct of Election Rules is too little.

Exempting voters in Maoist-infested areas from having their forefinger inked would require an amendment to Section 49(K) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.

Incidentally, there were similar demands in the past from authorities in insurgency/militancy-prone areas of J&K, Left-wing extremism-hit states and the northeast to drop indelible ink mark for the sake of safety of voters, but the Election Commission never agreed to the same.

INTERNATIONAL

Invest India has received the top UN Investment Promotion Award in recognition of its efforts to boost investments in the renewable energy sector in India.

The Investment Promotion Awards, organized by UNCTAD, honors Investment Promotion Agencies and their governments for their achievements.

The Awards have been given annually since 2002 as part of UNCTAD’s investment promotion and facilitation programme.

· Xi inaugurated world longest sea bridge

Xi Jinping, Chinese President inaugurated a 55-km, world’s longest sea-crossing bridgeHong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge (HMZB).It will deepen the integration of Hong Kong and Macao with the rest of China.
The world’s longest sea-crossing bridge will be at the heart of an integrated Greater Bay Area (GBA)covering 11 major neighbouring cities, which include Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The giant GBA comprises of 68 million people.

NATIONAL

· SC announced ban on toxic and loud firecrackers

Supreme Court judgmentdeclared a ban on toxic and loud crackers during Deepavali. The ban has been declared to avoid the air pollution caused due to the burning of firecrackers which in turn deterioration of air quality.
The Bench acknowledges that there is a necessity to tackle the other contributory factors for air pollution. Unregulated construction activity which generates a lot of dust and crop burning in the neighbouring States are the two other major reasons. Vehicular pollution is also another cause.

Members of All India University Employees Federation have demanded that the University Grants Commission(UGC) be continued. The federation had strongly opposed the Union government’s draft Bill on setting up a Higher Education Commission of India (HECI). There are issues with the existing UGC that need to be addressed but not by replacing it with another body.
The federation is to discuss the HECI Bill at the All India University Employees Confederation’s 13th conference to be held at Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University from October 26 to October 28.

S.Swaminathan, an Agricultural scientist, will be receiving the first World Agriculture Prize instituted by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) in New Delhi. The award carries a cash component of $1,00,000.

Swaminathan has been hailed by the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) as ‘The Father of Economic Ecology’. He is Recognised worldwide for his basic and applied research in genetics, cytogenetics, radiation and chemical mutagenesis, food and biodiversity conservation. He is been awarded for his commitment towards the ever-green revolution movement in agriculture.

Nishtha Dudeja is the first Indian to have won any title at the Miss Deaf World Pageant.
She is the brand ambassador for Sivantos India Pvt Ltd. (Formerly Siemens hearing Instruments Pvt Ltd.), the world’s leading brand of hearing aids.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for creation of special Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF).

The approval entails an estimated fund size of Rs.7,522 crore, comprising Rs.5,266.40 crore to be raised by the Nodal Loaning Entities (NLEs), Rs. 1,316.6 crore beneficiaries contribution and Rs.939.48 crore budgetary support from the Government of India.