♠The Hindu Review♠

♦U.P. pension schemes to cover new beneficiaries

• P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to extend pension facility to over 14 lakh people, who despite fulfilling the required norms were not covered under the schemes.
• A spokesman said the CM has decided to extend the benefits to all widows,

farmers, the aged and specially-abled persons, who fulfill the required norms but were not covered under the schemes.

♦SC moves to make festivals less noisy

• The ban came on the basis of a petition filed by two infants — a six­month­old and 14­month­old — through their fathers in 2015.
• They said the air pollution caused by various factors, especially firecrackers, made Delhi a gas chamber.
• They pleaded for their right to life.The court banned the manufacture, sale and use of joined firecrackers (series crackers or ‘laris’), holding that they caused “huge air,noise and solid waste problems.”The sale of green and improved crackers would be only through licensed traders.
• Online sale banned-It banned online salecthrough e­commerce websites, including Flipkart and Amazon.

♦World’s oldest shipwreck found in Black Sea

• An ancient Greek trading ship dating back more than 2,400 years has been found virtually intact at the bottom of the Black Sea, making it the oldest known shipwreck, researchers said on Tuesday.
• The vessel is one of more than 60 shipwrecks identified by the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project.

♦Xi opens world’s longest sea bridge

• Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday inaugurated a 55­km bridge that 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 comprising 68 million people is expected to rival the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S., as well as the Tokyo Bay Area of Japan.

♦India, Myanmar sign MoU towards Sittwe Port operationalization

• On 22^ndOctober 2018, India and Myanmar signed a MoU for the appointment of a private Port Operator for the Operation and Maintenance of Sittwe Port, Paletwa Inland Water Terminal and associated facilities included in the Kaladan Multi Model Transit Transport Project in implementation of India’s Act East Policy.
• The MoU was signed by Vijay Gokhale, Foreign Secretary, India, and U Win Khant, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Myanmar.Once operations commence at this port, it will provide new infrastructure for trade between India and Myanmar.
• It will enhance job opportunities and development in the entire region, mainly in the Rakhine and Chin States of Myanmar.
• Vijay Gokhale also met Commander in Chief of the Myanmar Defence Services, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
• They discussed issues related to border security, bilateral cooperation, Myanmar’s peace process and the situation in Northern Rakhine State.
  About Myanmar:
  ♦Capital – Naypyidaw
  ♦ Currency – Kyat
  ♦ Official language – Burmese
  ♦ President – Win Myint

♦Iron Magic 19”: UAE, US kick off two-week joint military exercise On 21^st October 2018, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States (US) started a two-week military exercise named“Iron Magic 19” in the Arabian Gulf.

• Iron Magic 19 will be held till November 1, 2018. It is part of a series of joint military exercises throughout the year between the UAE armed forces and the armed forces of other countries.This exercise aims to enhance cooperation, joint actions and exchange of expertise in military areas.
• A major part of UAE military hardware, like F-16 fighter jets, Mirage jets and Apache Longbow attack helicopters, are manufactured by companies from the US, Britain and France.
  About United Arab Emirates (UAE):
  ♦ Capital – Abu Dhabi
  ♦ Currency – UAE dirham
  ♦ Official language – Arabic
  ♦ President – Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
  ♦ Prime Minister – Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

♦Ministry of Environment launches Harit Diwali-Swasth Diwali campaign

• Environment Ministrylaunched the 2^nd edition of Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali campaign
• It was initiated in 2017-18 and is aimed at pledging to minimize bursting of crackers. This edition has been merged with “Green Good Deed” movement for conservation and protection of environment.
• It has been extended Pan-India and will last till the 1^st week of November.

Environment Ministry:
♦ Union Minister: Dr.Harsh Vardhan.
♦ Minister of State: Dr. Mahesh Sharma.

♦TVS Motor gets a CEO

• TVS Motor president K.N. Radhakrishnan has been elevated as the whole­time director of the company.
• He will hold office as director and CEO for a period of five years. He has been largely responsible for the expansion of the company’s footprint into over 60 international markets.

♦Arun Lal named Bengal’s mentor

• The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) on Tuesday announced the appointment of former Test cricketer Arun Lal as the mentor of the Bengal team for the current domestic season.
• There was uncertainty over coach Sairaj Bahutule’s future following Bengal’s disappointing performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It is learnt that the former India all-rounder, who took up the job in 2015, will serve as the coach in the first two Ranji Trophy matches.

♦Centre’s refusal to provide IGST refund hurts exporters

• While exporters are saying that a large part of their working capital is tied up in the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) theyhave paid on inputs, the government in a recent circular said that it would not be refunding this amount to them since it has already paid them a drawback on the taxes they have paid.
• Exporters, however, say that the drawback amount paid back is only a fraction of the total amount they have paid and that most of it is locked in IGST. The system of drawback is such that exporters were eligible for two options: either an industry-wide drawback rate, or a higher brand rate.
• “Now, in the period when all of this was not very clear,what happened was that the companies ticked the higher refund box. But the problem is that where the drawback was say, Rs 40,000, the IGST paid was Rs 2 lakh.”