RAJASTHAN

• Rajasthan bans certain categories of pan masala

The Rajasthan government announced a ban on pan masala containing magnesium carbonate, nicotine, tobacco, mineral oil and flavoured ‘supari’ in the state.

With this, Rajasthan has become the third state after Maharashtra and Bihar to announce such a move.

All such products will now be banned in the state under the Food Safety Act.

Production, storage, distribution and sale of these products will not be allowed in the state.

INTERNATIONAL

India and Thailand sign trade agreements for Rs 2,400 crore

Thailand and India have signed agreements for Rs 2,400 crores

The goal is to boost trade ties between the two countries

The pacts were across segments including rubber, construction material, food and beverages, logistics. The breakup of the agreements, Laksana Visit on his first visit to India said the agreements signed in Mumbai total 4.45 billion Thai baht (about Rs 900 crore) while in Chennai, it was 7.623 billion Thai baht (about Rs 1,500 crore).

The total trade generated by this trip is 12.075 billion Thai baht.

The main objective of the visit was to strengthen strategic partnership with India, expand new business opportunities. The Indian domestic industry can meet about 40 per cent of rubber but India requires 60 per cent of the demand to import rubber.

• Palestine issues a commemorative stamp to honour Mahatma Gandhi on 150th birth anniversary

Palestine has released a commemorative postage stamp on Mahatma Gandhi, honouring his legacy and values, to mark the 150 birth anniversary of the world leader.

Palestine’s issuance of the commemorative stamp comes in honour of Gandhi’s memory, legacy, and values that guided and shall continue to guide humanity.

NATIONAL

• Lal Bahadur Shastri Jayanti: 02 October

Lal Bahadur Shastri, India’s second Prime Minister’s birth anniversary is celebrated on October 2, coinciding with Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.

Lal Bahadur Shastri dedicated his entire life towards the welfare of the poor.

Impressed with Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals, he became a loyal follower and joined the Indian independence movement in the 1920s.

A strong Congressman, Lal Bahadur Shastri held various portfolios and became India’s first Railway Minister in 1951.

• Smriti Irani inaugurates world’s largest Charkha in Noida

World’s largest Charkha (spinning wheel) made of used plastic waste was inaugurated in Noida on the eve of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.

The 1,650-kg spinning wheel was inaugurated by Union Minister Smriti Irani.

The spinning wheel has been installed in Sector 94 near the Mahamaya flyover.

The ‘charkha’, which symbolises Gandhi’s dream of Swadeshi (self-sufficing and self-reliance), measures 14ft, 20ft and 8ft and is made of 1,250 kg of used plastic.

●      National Launch of 10 Year Rural Sanitation Strategy 2019 to 2029

Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI launched the 10 Year Rural Sanitation Strategy (2019-2029)

To focus sustaining the sanitation behavior change that has been achieved under the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), ensuring that no one is left behind, and increasing access to solid and liquid waste management.

The SBM-G transformed itself into a jan andolan (a people’s movement).The 10 year strategy focuses on the need for States/UTs to continue their efforts to sustain the gains of the mission through capacity strengthening, IEC (Information, education and communication), organic waste management, plastic waste management, grey water management and black water management.

The launch of the SBM-G in 2014, over 10 crore toilets have been built in rural areas; over 5.9 lakh villages, 699 districts, and 35 States/UTs have declared themselves Open Defecation Free (ODF).

●      Mobile app to generate digital database of wetlands

A mobile app has been developed to collect complete datasets on smaller wetlands across the coastal region of the country.

The app was developed by the Space Applications Centre of Indian Space Research Organisation on a request from the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).

The mobile app is aimed to generate a centralized digital database of the smaller wetlands (2.2 ha or below) across the country.

Wetlands cover an area of more than five lakh hectares across the country, while Kerala has 2,592 smaller wetlands.

The app will be used to collect field-level data of the wetlands that include geospatial profile, size, water and soil quality, farmed species, pollution status, illegal construction and biodiversity specialities.