Daily Current Affairs Notes for 29 October 2022

12th World Hindi Conference: According to P S Kartigeyan, the Indian High Commissioner to the South Pacific island, Fiji will host the famous World Hindi Conference.

Overview

12th World Hindi Conference: According to P S Kartigeyan, the Indian High Commissioner to the South Pacific island, Fiji will host the famous World Hindi Conference for the first time next year as a new platform for the globalisation of Hindi. The governments of India and Fiji decided together to host the World Hindi Conference in Fiji.

12th World Hindi Conference: Key Points

• Over 1,000 experts in the Indian language, including academics, writers, and laureates, would attend the three-day conference in the Fijian city of Nadi with the goal of promoting Hindi around the world.
• The Indian and Fijian governments will co-host the event, according to P S Kartigeyan, who was appointed the island nation’s High Commissioner in January 2021.
• Speaking on the event’s schedule, he stated that approximately 1,000 delegates from all over the world will attend. He claimed there were a significant number of people from Fiji as well as from important Hindi-speaking nations worldwide.
• In Fiji, Hindi holds a very important significance. Fiji-Hindi is one of the three official languages, and because the Girmit brothers and sisters immigrated here 130 years ago, it has a very distinct history.
• Karthigeyan further appreciated the role that Fijian academics played in the advancement of Hindi not only in Fiji but also throughout the world thanks to the Fijian diaspora.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has launched a one-time property tax amnesty scheme "SAMRIDDHI 2022-23".

Overview

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has launched a one-time property tax amnesty scheme “SAMRIDDHI 2022-23”, which will provide a major relief to lakhs of residential and commercial property owners in the city. SAMRIDDHI, an acronym for Strengthening and Augmentation of Municipal Revenue for Infrastructure Development in Delhi, will start on October 26 and end on March 31, 2023, with no further extensions.

SAMRIDDHI 2022-23:

• The scheme aims at solving thousands of pending court cases since the unit area method for property tax calculation came into existence from 2004.
• The scheme will benefit both the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the city’s residents.
• Under this scheme, the residential properties will have to pay tax for 1+5 years (the ongoing financial year and last five years), while the commercial properties will be able to pay taxes for 1+6 years (current year + last 6 years).
• After this payment, there will be no liability of the taxpayer. This payment can be scrutinised for one year, after which the matter will be settled. The tax will be used for developing roads, parks and schools.

Important points under the scheme:

• Those who opt to participate in the SAMRIDDHI scheme will have to pay only the principal amounts for the current financial year, and 2017-18 to 2021-22 (residential units) or 2016-17 to 2021-22 (commercial units), following which 100% of the interest and penalty on the outstanding tax amount will be exempted and all dues prior to 2016-17 will be waived off.
• The amnesty scheme will also cover cases involving dishonoured cheques, including cases where the bank account and property have been attached, as well as those cases pending under litigation in courts. The MCD clarified that cases, where the principal, interest and penalty has already been paid before the launch of the scheme, will not be reassessed and reopened.

The Technology Development and Acceleration Cell of the Naval Innovation Indigenisation Organization (NIIO) under the Indian Navy and Drone Federation of India (DFI).

Overview

Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik has launched a common credit portal SAFAL' (Simplified Application for Agricultural Loans) for the welfare of farmers.

Overview

Odisha Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik has launched a common credit portal SAFAL’ (Simplified Application for Agricultural Loans) for the welfare of farmers. SAFAL is an abridged application for agricultural loans that will enable farmers and agri-entrepreneurs to access over 300 term loan products from more than 40 partner banks. It has also been integrated with Krushak Odisha and will have access to 70-plus model project reports. The application can revolutionise credit provisions for farmers and agri-entrepreneurs.

About the SAFAL:

• The application is a one-stop solution for farmers and agri-entrepreneurs to avail formal sector credit from public and private sector banks, Regional Rural Banks, State Cooperative Banks, and Small Finance Banks.
• The portal will ease the loan application process benefiting both the farmers and banks significantly, the chief minister said. It will also reduce information asymmetry by sending farmers real-time notifications at every stage of their loan application.
• SAFAL will also provide the government with complete visibility of demand and disbursal of formal credit across states and ensure schemes are designed in a data-backed manner. He hoped that SAFAL would be a facilitator of credit to spur the agriculture and allied sectors in Odisha and increase the economic prowess of farmers in the long run.

NIA to establish offices in every state: Amit Shah, the Union Minister of Housing and Cooperation, spoke today at the start of a two-day "Chintan Shivir" in Surajkund, Haryana.

Overview

NIA to establish offices in every state: Amit Shah, the Union Minister of Housing and Cooperation, spoke today at the start of a two-day “Chintan Shivir” in Surajkund, Haryana. The Chintan Shivir is being attended by Chief Ministers of the States, Home Ministers of States, Lieutenant Governors, and Administrators of Union Territories. Utilizing all internal security resources to their fullest potential is necessary in order to combat the issues facing the country.

NIA to establish offices in every state: Key Points

• In his speech, Shri Amit Shah stated that this Chintan Shivir, inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is being held to give the nation a unified platform to fight threats like cybercrime, the proliferation of drugs, and cross-border terrorism jointly.
• Because crimes are evolving and growing more international in scope nowadays, all States will need to come up with a coordinated approach to combat them.
• The areas impacted by left-wing extremism, including Jammu and Kashmir and the North East, which were once hotspots of violence and disturbance, are now hotspots of development, according to the Union Home Minister.
• Over the past eight years, the security situation in the North East has greatly improved. Since 2014, for example, there has been a 74% decrease in insurgency incidents, a 60% decrease in security force casualties, and a 90% decrease in civilian casualties.
• Additionally, by signing deals with the NLFT, Bodo, Bru, and Karbi Anglong, under which more than 9,000 militants have surrendered, efforts have been made to achieve a sustainable peace in the area.

Amit Shah on need of NIA in every State:

• A new era of peace and advancement has started in Jammu and Kashmir since Article 370 was repealed there on August 5, 2019.
• The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other agencies are being strengthened to achieve a resounding triumph over terrorism as part of the government’s zero-tolerance strategy against it, which is being led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• By establishing NIA branches in each state, attempts are being made to create an anti-terror network by the year 2024.
• The legal framework is being tightened, and as part of that, a mechanism has been developed to declare certain individuals terrorists by altering the NIA and UAPA legislation.