22 october 2021 current affairs

1. CURRENT AFFAIRS
22 OCTOBER 2021
DR. A. PRABAHARAN
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2. Indian Army deploys Pinaka, Smerch rocket
system near China border
 The Indian Army has deployed Pinaka weapons system and Smerch Multiple
Rocket Launcher Systems (MRLS) at a forward position near the China border
to be prepared to counter any threat coming from across on the Line of
Actual Control (LAC).
 The Pinaka weapon system, named after the bow of Lord Shiva, has been
designed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
 It is a state of art and completely autonomous, indigenous multi-rocket
launcher system.
 The weapon system can engage targets up to 38km at mean sea level.
 The ranges are significantly enhanced at these altitudes, which further boosts
the deep strike capability of the weapon system.
 The weapons system is mounted on a Tatra truck for mobility.
 It was used during the Kargil War when it had successfully neutralised enemy
positions on the mountain tops.
 An upgraded version of Pinaka is already in production and it has a range of
over 90 km.
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3. Georissa Mawsmaiensis: New Snail species
discovered in Meghalaya cave
 A new micro snail species has been found from deep inside a
limestone cave at Mawsmai Village in the East Khasi Hills district of
Meghalaya.
 The news was shared by the scientists who discovered the species on
October 21, 2021.
 The newly found snails, the scientific name ‘Georissa
Mawsmaiensis’ are so small in size that an adult measures less than 2
millimeters in length.
 The latest discovery was made by NA Aravind and Nipu Kumar Das,
scientists of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the
Environment (ATREE), Bangalore.
 As per ATREE, “We have named this new species as Georissa
Mawsmaiensis’ after this limestone cave, Mawsmai.
 We collected the snails on the moist limestone rocks, 4-5m inside the
cave entrance. However, at present, we don’t know whether our
species is a true cave species or not.”
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4. Afghanistan Crisis: United Nations sets up
trust fund for ‘people’s economy’ in war-torn
country
 The United Nations announced on October 21, 2021, that it had set up
a special trust fund to provide urgently needed cash directly to the
people of Afghanistan through a system tapping into donor funds
frozen since the country was taken over by Taliban in August 2021.
 The global agency said that with the local economy of the war-torn
country imploding, the aim of the fund is to inject the liquidity into
Afghan households in order to permit them to survive this winter and
remain in their homeland.
 The Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), Achim Steiner said that Germany, a first contributor, had
pledged 50 million euros to the fund and that it was also in touch with
other donors to mobilise their resources.
 As per UNDP
, some 97% of Afghan households can be living below
the poverty line b
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5. Sandra Mason elected as the first-ever
president of Barbados
 Sandra Mason was elected as the first-ever President of Barbados on
October 20, 2021, with a two-thirds vote during a joint session of the
country's House of Assembly and Senate.
 The 72-year-old Mason will replace Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as head
of state of Barbados, in a decisive step towards abolishing the monarchy
and bringing the nation out of its colonial past. This is a major milestone
on its "road to republic", the government said in a statement.
 Mason will be formally sworn in as President on November 30, 2021, on
the occasion of the nation's 55th anniversary of independence from
Britain.
 Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called the election “a seminal
moment” in the country’s journey. Mottley said, "We have just elected
from among us a woman who is uniquely and passionately Barbadian,
does not pretend to be anything else (and) reflects the values of who
we are."
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6. 52nd IFFI: Martin Scorsese, Istvan Szabo to
be conferred with Satyajit Ray Lifetime
Achievement Award
 Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting,
has announced that the renowned film directors Martin Scorsese
and Istvan Szabo will be honoured with Satyajit Ray Lifetime
Achievement Award at the 52nd International Film Festival of India
(IFFI) to be held in Goa.
 The 52nd edition of the International Film Festival of India will take
place in Goa from November 20 to 28, 2021. This will also be for the
first time that IFFI has invited major OTT platforms to participate in
the international film festival.
 As per the Union Minister, India is a land of storytellers, and its tales
have captured the imagination of the world. India’s wide variety of
stories right makes us the content subcontinent.
 The 52nd International Film Festival of India will pay homage to
actors Sumitra Bhave, Dilip Kumar, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Surekha
Sikri, Sanchari Vijay, Bertrand Tavenier, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-
Claude Carriere, and Christopher Plummer.
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7. Earth Heroes Awards 2021: Parambikulam
Tiger Conservation Foundation wins Earth
Guardian Award
 NatWest Group India, the global capability center of the NatWest
Group, on October 20, 2021, announced the winners of the 11th edition
of the NatWest Group Earth Heroes Awards.
 The theme for Earth Heroes Award 2021 was “Biodiversity- a resilient
nature is a foundation on which all climate mitigation and adaptation
efforts must be raised”.
 The eight winners of the Earth Heroes Award were felicitated via a
virtual ceremony that was attended by the Chief Guest Ivonne Higuero,
Secretary-General, Convention on the International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Fauna (CITES), United Nations.
 In the latest announced awards, the Parambikulam Tiger Conservation
Foundation (PaTCoF) has won under the Earth Guardian Award
category.
 The winning foundation is the non-profit organization under the Forest
Department that strives to facilitate the conservation of tigers and
biodiversity in the Parambikulam tiger reserve.
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8. Turkey placed on FATF grey list, Pakistan
retained- How does ‘Grey Listing’ impact
countries?
 In a major blow to the two nations, the Financial Action Task
Force (FATF) on October 21, 2021 placed Turkey on its grey list for
failing to check terror financing and retained Pakistan as well.
 Overall, three countries were added to the grey list this time-
Jordan, Mali and Turkey. The decision was announced at the
conclusion of the FATF's three-day plenary session that was held
to discuss key issues in the fight against terror financing and
money laundering.
 FATF President Dr. Marcus Pleyer said, "Pakistan remains under
increased monitoring (grey list). The Pakistan government has
two concurrent action plans, with a total of 34 action plan items.
It has now addressed or largely addressed 30 of the items."
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9. PM Modi Speech: Highlights from PM Modi's
address on India crossing 100 crore
Vaccination mark
 PM Modi address to the nation: As India achieved the milestone of
administering over 100 crore vaccine doses, Prime Minister Modi on
October 22, 2021, addressed the nation and talked about the
challenging aspects of the World's largest vaccination drive which
commenced on January 16, 2021.
 Prime Minister Modi described the journey of reaching billion doses
from 'anxiety and assuance'. He said that the vaccination coverage
has made the country emerge stronger and he credited the success
to the people's trust in the vaccines despite the various efforts of
creating mistrust and panic.
 Prime Minister Modi in his address to the nation said that on
October 21, India accomplished the target of 1 billion vaccine doses
against COVID-19. He said th
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10. FIFA men's rankings October 2021: Belgium
retains top rank, Brazil ranked 2nd
 Belgium has retained top rank in FIFA Men's rankings
October 2021 with a total of 1832.33 points, followed by
Brazil at second rank with 1820.36 points.
 Defending World Champions France has moved up the FIFA
men's rankings list to the third position with 1779.24 points,
followed by Italy which has also moved up to the fourth rank
with 1750.52 points.
 England has dropped two positions to fifth rank with a total
of 1750.16 points, followed by Argentina at the sixth position
with 1738.79 points.
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