Male and female cricketers will be paid the same amount

• In a landmark decision, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday announced equal match fee for both female and male centrally-contracted players in a bid to promote gender equality in the country’s most popular sport.
• According to the newly-introduced system, the Indian women’s cricketers will now receive Rs 15 lakh per Test, Rs 6 lakh per ODI, and Rs 3 lakh per T20I, the same as their male counterparts.
• Earlier, the women players received Rs 1 lakh each for ODIs and T20Is while the match fee for a Test match was Rs 4 lakh.
• This means that the players will see a 275% hike in Test fee, 200% hike in T20 fee and a whopping 500% hike in ODI fee.

 Sri Lankan Navy arrests 7 fishers from Tamil Nadu

• Six fishermen, who ventured into the sea, from Rameswaram fishing harbour on Saturday, were arrested by Sri Lankan Navy on charge of fishing in their waters after crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line.
• The mechanised boat in which they were sailing was also seized by the Navy.

Fisherman Issue with Sri Lanka

• Both Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen have been fishing into the Palk Bay area for centuries.
  • Palk Bay is a semi-enclosed shallow water body between the southeast coast of India and Sri Lanka.
• Problem emerged only after a maritime agreement was signed by India and Sri Lanka in
• In fact, initially the1974 border agreement did not affect fishing on either side of the border.
• In 1976, through an exchange of letters, both India and Sri Lanka agreed to stop fishing in each other’s waters.
  • In 1974 and 1976 treaties were signed between the two countries to demarcate the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).
  • The treaties also ended up making the Palk Strait connecting India and Sri Lanka a ‘two-nation pond’, under the relevant United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) rules to the exclusion of all third nations.
  • Simply put, the bilateral arrangement bans international fishing and shipping.
• However, the agreement could not stop the fishermen from fishing in these waters, as fishermen know no boundary.
  • Despite the signing of maritime boundary agreements, fishermen communities of both the countries continued their fishing in the Palk Bay area peacefully until the Eelam war broke out in 1983.
• Nonetheless, after the end of War in 2009, the Sri Lankan fishermen have been raising their objection to Indian fishermen fishing in their waters.
• Later, India and Sri Lanka agreed to set up a Joint Working Group (JWG)on Fisheries in 2016 between India and Sri Lanka as the mechanism to help find a permanent solution to the fishermen issue.

Coinage with images of gods and goddesses in India

• 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.

Coimbatore car blast case handed over to the NIA

• Decision comes a day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin recommended an investigation by the NIA into the October 23 blast near a temple in which a person was killed
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday handed over the probe in the recent 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.

Stubble burning incidents increase in Punjab from last year

• 9% rise in stubble burning incidents in Punjab between September 15 and October 26 this year in comparison to the corresponding period in 2021.
• The total number of farm fires in Haryana has, however, reduced by 26% as compared to the same period last year.
• The data was released by the Commission for Air Quality Management on Thursday.

Azam Khan gets 3 years in prison for hate speech

• The MP/MLA court in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur district on Thursday sentenced Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan to three years in prison and imposed a fine of ₹2,000 in connection with a hate speech case against chief minister Yogi Adityanath dating back to 2019

About Hate Speech

• According to the 267^thReport of the Law Commission of India, Hate Speech is stated as an incitement to hatred primarily against a group of persons defined in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, and the like.
  • Thus, hate speech is any word written or spoken, signs, visible representations within the hearing or sight of a person with the intention to cause fear or alarm, or incitement to violence.
• Related Data:
  • According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there has been a huge increase in cases registered to promote hate speech and foster animosity in society.
    • As there were only 323 cases registered in 2014, it had increased to 1,804 cases in 2020.

PM to lay foundation stone for C295 aircraft plant in Gujarat

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on October 30 lay the foundation stone of a manufacturing facility being set up by the  Tata-Airbus consortium at Vadodara in Gujarat for C-295 medium transport aircraft to modernise the Indian Air Force’s transport fleet, top defence ministry officials said on Thursday.
• The development is significant as a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private consortium for the first time.
• It comes more than a year after the defence ministry signed a ₹21,935-crore contract with Airbus Defence and Space for 56 C-295 planes to give push to the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India campaign).
• Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Airbus Defence and Space will jointly execute the programme.
• The C-295s will replace the IAF’s fleet of ageing Avro-748 planes that entered service in the early 1960s.
• Defence secretary Ajay Kumar said 16 C-295 aircraft will be delivered by Airbus in flyaway condition from Spain, and the remaining 40 will be manufactured in India by Tata consortium of TASL and Tata Consultancy Services.

Jeypore airport in Odisha has been granted the aerodrome license by the DGCA

Pather Panchal movie has been declared as best Indian movie by FIPRESCI

Jakson Green Pvt Limited investing Rs. 22400 crore in Rajasthan for a green project

Source : THE HINDU