Kharge takes charge as Congress president

• Newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took charge of the post on Wednesday at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in Delhi.
• Kharge received the certificate from Congress’s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry at the AICC headquarters in Delhi.
• Former party president Sonia Gandhi, MP Rahul Gandhi and party’s General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were present at the program.v
• On October 19, Kharge became the first non-Gandhi Congress president in 24 years after defeating Shashi Tharoor by a huge margin in the race to the party’s top post.

About Indian National Congress (INC)

• Indian National Congress (INC) was formed by A.O Hume in the year 1885.
• It was originally known as the Indian Nation Union.
• The formation of the Indian National Congress in1885 was not a coincidental occurrence.
• It was the culmination of a process of political awakening that began in the 1860s and 1870s and reached a tipping point in the late 1870s and early 1880s.
• The year 1885 was a watershed moment in this process.
• Modern intellectuals interested in politics, who saw themselves as representatives of national interests rather than narrow group interests, saw their efforts bear fruit.
• The all-India nationalist bodythat they established was to serve as the platform, organizer, headquarters, and symbol of the new national spirit and politics.

Background of Foundation of INC

• The groundwork for the establishment of an all-India organization had been laid in the late 1870s and early 1880s.
• A retired English civil servant, A.O. Hume gave this idea a final shape by mobilizing leading intellectuals of the time.
• Hume obtained permission from the then-Viceroy of India, Lord Dufferin, for the first session. It was supposed to be held in Poona, but it was moved to Bombay due to a cholera outbreak in Poona.
• Hume had written an open letter to Calcutta University graduates in 1883, expressing his desire to establish a body for educated Indians to demand greater participation in government and to provide a platform for dialogue.
• In 1890, Kadambini Ganguly, the first woman graduate of Calcutta University, addressed the Congress session, symbolizing the freedom struggle’s commitment to granting women in India their due status in national life.

Features of INC

• The INC was India’s first national political movement, with the initial goal of involving more Indians in the country’s governance.
• Its purpose was later upgraded to complete independence. After independence, it grew into a major political party in the country.
• The INC was a moderate organization in its early years, limiting its methods to constitutional methods and dialogue.
• Its demands were restricted to increasing the number of Indians in the civil service and armed forces. It never mentioned independence.
• After a few years, the party’s demands and approach became more radical.
• By 1905, there was a clear schism in the party, which was now split between old moderates and the newer group, the extremists – so named because of their radical methods.
• The Nationalist activity was carried out through provincial conferences and associations, newspapers, and literature in addition to the Indian National Congress.

T.N. seeks NIA probe into Coimbatore car explosion case

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday decided to make a recommendation to the Union government to transfer the investigation into the Coimbatore car explosion case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

About National Investigation Agency (NIA)

• The NIA is the central counter-terrorism law enforcement agency in the country.
• It was created in 2008 after the Mumbai terror attack the same year.

1. The NIA can investigate terror cases across the country without having to get permission from the states.
2. The agency investigates terror offences, waging war against the country, offences on nuclear facilities, etc.
3. It came into force after the Parliament passed the National Investigation Agency Act 2008.
4. The agency’s aim is to become a professional investigating agency matching global standards.
5. It also aims at being a deterrent for existing and potential terrorists, apart from being a storehouse of information on terrorism.
6. The NIA functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
7. The agency is headquartered in New Delhi and has 8 regional offices across India.
8. It is headed by a Director-General (an IPS officer).
9. The NIA maintains the ‘NIA Most Wanted List’.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) – Regional Offices

1. NIA Hyderabad
2. NIA Guwahati
3. NIA Kochi
4. NIA Lucknow
5. NIA Mumbai
6. NIA Kolkata
7. NIA Raipur
8. NIA Jammu

NIA Mission

1. Investigate professionally the scheduled offences utilising the latest scientific methods.
2. Facilitating a speedy and effective trial.
3. Becoming a result-oriented and professional organisation, that upholds the Indian Constitution and the law of the land, and that gives utmost importance to human rights and dignity.
4. Creating a professional workforce through the means of regular training and best practices exposure.
5. Showing scientific temper and a spirit of progress while discharging their duties.
6. Ushering in the latest technology and modern methods in the activities of the NIA.
7. Having cordial relations with the central and state governments, and other law enforcement agencies of the country.
8. Helping the states and other agencies with the investigation of terror-related cases.
9. Create and share with states and other agencies a database of all information to terrorists.
10. Analysing terrorism-related laws in India and periodically reviewing them and suggesting any required changes.
11. Win the citizens’ confidence by means of fearless and selfless efforts.

Demand for images of Hindu gods on currency notes sparks war of words

 History of Coinage with images of gods and goddesses

• Coinage with images of gods and goddesses dates back to Kushans
• India has a long tradition of coinage with images of gods and goddesses.
• According to historians, the Kushans, who hailed from the Central Asian region and ruled till 3rd century AD, were the first to use the image of Goddess Lakshmi on their coins, along with Ardochsho, the Iranic Goddess of wealth.
• The Kushans also depicted Oesho (Shiva), moon deity Miro and Buddha in their coinage,” informs numismatist Amarbir Singh, who has a large collection of coins ranging from those minted by Mohammed bin Sam and Hyder Ali.
• Closer home, the Vijayanagara kings used coinage with Hindu idols. Harihara –II (1377-1404) introduced coins that had Brahma-Saraswati, Vishnu-Lakshmi and Shiva-Parvati.
• Some of these coins can be seen in the museum set up in Hampi by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at Kamalapur.
• The Vijayanagara coins continued in circulation even after the kingdom was snuffed out in 1565 and commanded a premium when French traveller Tavernier visited the region.
• The British East India Co. at Madras Presidency minted coins labelled as the Three Swamy Pagoda, which depicts Lord Balaji flanked by Sridevi and Bhudevi on either side. The coin in my collection weighs 3.4 gm and these were issued between 1691 and 1740,” Mr. Singh said.
• Not all the coins were freshly minted. Some were repurposed. Some were issued to show continuity. About the coins with Goddess Lakshmi issued by Mohammed bin Sam, known to us as Mohammed Ghori after defeating Prithviraj Chauhan in the battle of Terrain in 1192 AD.

Bird flu confirmed in Haripad, thousands of ducks dead

• An outbreak of bird flu was confirmed at Vazhuthanam in the Haripad municipal area of Kerala on Wednesday.
• District Collector V.R. Krishna Teja said the presence of the H5N1 subtype of the Influenza A virus was reported in the ducks.
• Two farmers who were raising around 20,000 ducks at the Vazhuthanam Padinjare and Vazhuthanam Vadakke paddy polders have lost around 1,500 birds in the past week.

About Bird flu

• Avian Influenza, also known as the Avian or Bird Flu, is a form of influenza caused by a virus found in birds.
• Avian Flu is similar to variants found in animals and humans-caused strains of influenza that have adapted to specific hosts.
• Avian influenza has been in the news recently when, in June 2021, the strain H10N3 was first reported in China to infect a human being.
• There are three types of influenza viruses labelled A, B and C. It is the ‘A’ variant which is found mostly in birds and is commonly referred to as Avian Influenza

Subtypes of the Avian Influenza

1. H5N1
2. H7N3
3. H797
4. H9N2

A significant decline in air pollution in the capital this Deepavali

• 64% percentage, the reduction in PM2.5 concentration during Deepavali this year, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) reported.
• The air quality index was 303 the day after Deepavali compared to 462 last year.
• DPCC said the better air quality was due to the reduction in stubble burning, better meteorological conditions and less firecracker bursting.

Second penalty on Google for abusing its position of dominance

• 936 ₹ crore, the Penalty imposed on Google by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in its second ruling against the internet giant in less than a week, for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies. On October 20, CCI had imposed a ₹ 1,337.76 crore penalty on Google.

Gold makeover of Kedarnathtemple’s sanctum completed

• The work of gold plating the Kedarnath temple was completed on Wednesday, a day before the portals of the temple are set to close for the winter.
• According to the temple committee, 560 gold sheets were used to cover the walls and ceiling of the temple’s sanctum and was funded by the Lakhi family from Maharashtra.
• A Sixmember team from the IITRoorkee’s Central Building Research Institute guided the process.

Jaxay Shah has been appointed as new chairman of Quality Council of India

State Level Awareness Program on Gender-Based Violence be organized on 27th October at jalandhar

India’s first ‘Migration Monitoring Systems’ inaugurated by Minister Mangalprabhat Lodha in Mumbai

Source : THE HINDU