Current Affairs 8th October 2018

Current Affairs 8th October 2018 - Important Points

• Alphonso mango from 5 districts of Maharashtra gets Geographical Indication tag  by - Geographical Indication Registry and Intellectual Property India
• Pankaj Sharma appointed India’s Ambassador to UN Conference on -Disarmament
• NASSCOM unveils Centre of Excellence for - IoT in Haryana
• Indian Air Force observes 86th Air Force Day on - 8th October 2018
• CII, UN Environment sign MoU for environmental cooperation on - 4th October 2018

Current Affairs 8th October 2018 - Details

Alphonso mango from 5 districts of Maharashtra gets Geographical Indication tag  by - Geographical Indication Registry and Intellectual Property India

Chennai founded Geographical Indication Registry and Intellectual Property India has approved Alphonso mango from Five regions of Maharashtra gets Geographical Indication label. These 5 districts Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Palghar, Thane and Raigad are from western Konkan coastal area of State. With this recognition, Alphonso has linked to the list of 325 products from India with Geographical Indication
label.
More about Alphonso mango

• Alphonso, also known as “Hapus” in Maharashtra is known as king of mangoes. It is best recognised for its taste as well as for the pleasant fragrance and vibrant colour. It is in demand in domestic and
  international markets. It has long been world’s most popular fruits and is exported to different nations including Japan, Korea, Europe, United States and Australia.
  Geographical Indication
• Geographical Indication is indication utilised on products that have an exact geographical origin and hold qualities that are due to that origin. It is mainly given to agricultural, natural and manufactured goods having special quality and well-known reputation.
• The goods and products having label are known for their origin, quality and reputation and gives it needed edge in global market.
• It also makes sure that none can use their name, giving them exclusivity.
• Geographical Indication is enclosed as element of Intellectual Property Rights under Paris Convention for Protection of Industrial Property and this GI certification is valid for ten years after which it requires to be renewed.
• Violation of Geographical Indication labels is punishable offence under law. The motive of
  Geographical Indication label enables shareholders to validate their production while earning a premium and derive an improved income.
• Internationally, Geographical Indication is administered by World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
• In India, Geographical Indication label Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection Act), 1999 governs it which is directed by Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, who is also Registrar of GIs and is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It works under Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 
• The 1st Geographical Indication in India was issued to Darjeeling tea in 2004. Tirupathi Laddu, Kangra Paintings, Nagpur Orange and Kashmir Pashmina are also among listed Geographical Indications in India.
• Karnataka leads with 38 Geographical Indication items, after Maharashtra which has 33 Geographical Indication items.
• Tamil Nadu comes 3rd with 25 Geographical Indication items.

Pankaj Sharma appointed India’s Ambassador to UN Conference on -Disarmament

According to an official statement, Pankaj Sharma has been selected as ambassador and India’s Permanent Representative to UNs Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He will replace Amandeep
Gill. Pankaj Sharma is presently joint secretary (Disarmament and International Security Division) in
Ministry of External Affairs.
More about UN Conference on Disarmament

• United Nations Conference on Disarmament is not officially United Nations society.
• It is united to United Nations via personal representative of United Nations Secretary-General.
• It is multilateral forum recognized in 1979 by international community to negotiate multilateral arms control and disarmament agreements.
• Its HQ is in Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.
• The conference has 65 representatives represent all areas of the world, including nuclear-weapon nations India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea, Resolutions approved by United Nations General Assembly often appeal conference to consider specific disarmament matters.

NASSCOM unveils Centre of Excellence for - IoT in Haryana

Indian Information Technology industry’s top body National Association of Software and Services
Companies- NASSCOM has released its Centre of Excellence for the Internet of Things at Gurugram,
Haryana. This centre was initiated in co-ordination with Haryana government and is part of nationwide
cooperative initiative involving the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Centre of Excellence for IoT 

• Its objective to act as perfect cooperation for innovation and high-end technologies. It will deliver one of the largest innovation platforms for enabling Internet of Things revolution via connected devices using emerging technologies.
• It will deliver platform to best minds from industry, academia, start-ups and government to push culture of cooperation and co-creation to discover solutions to quicken India’s economic development.
• It will also work as platform for intelligence-sharing and technology cooperation between shareholders to shape collective Internet of Things abilities.
  More about NASSCOM
• National Association of Software and Services Companies is global non-profit business organisation of Indian Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing- BPO industry.
• It simplifies business and trade in software and services and inspires the development of research in software technology. It is listed under the Indian Societies Act, 1860.
• Its HQs are in New Delhi.
• It has regional offices in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune and
  Thiruvananthapuram.
• The global IT trade body has more than 2000 associates, of which more than 250 are organisations from the China, European Union, Japan, United States and United Kingdom.
• National Association of Software and Services Companies’ affiliate firms are in business of software development, software services, software products, IT-BPO facilities and e-commerce.

Indian Air Force observes 86th Air Force Day on - 8th October 2018

The Indian Air Force (IAF) celebrated 86th Air Force Day with an aim to pay rich tribute to the untiring efforts and supreme sacrifice made by veterans on 8th October 2018, who laid a strong foundation for the service.

More about events that marked 86th Air Force Day

• To mark this occasion and in keeping up with the tradition, the IAF performed a grand Parade cum Investiture Ceremony at the Air Force Station, Hindan based in Ghaziabad.
• Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa who is the Chief of the Air Staff also reviewed the parade.
• The parade was followed by a breath taking display by the Air Warrior Drill Team, wherein the team  showcased their weapon handling skills and carried  out diverse manoeuvers with their rifles followed by a stunning air display by wide range of Indian Air Force aircraft.
• Flag bearing sky divers of famous Akash Ganga Team, who jumped from An-32 aircraft carried out air display.
• Flypast comprised of Mi-17 V5 and Rudra helicopters, Dornier, C-130J and C-17 transport aircraft, Jaguar, Mirage-2000, Bison, MiG-29 and SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft.
• Dakota, Tiger Moth and Harvard of the IAF Vintage flight also participated in the flypast.
• Post flypast, LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) carried out aerobatic display in front of the audience.
• The Ambassadors of IAF, SKAT (Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team), comprising nine Hawk 132 aircraft and the Helicopter aerobatics team Sarang, charmed the  audience with breath taking formation aerobatics display.

CII, UN Environment sign MoU for environmental cooperation on - 4th October 2018

The Confederation of Indian Industry on 4th October 2018 signed a MoU with the UN Environment for coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development. This MoU was signed by Director-General of CII, Chandrajit Banerji and Executive Director at UN Environment, Erik Solheim at CII's headquarters in Delhi (India).

Important Highlights

• The agreement is aiming to cover all major areas of interest common to both UN Environment and CII.
• It is also aiming to provide a framework of cooperation and facilitate cooperation in areas including environment, renewable energy,climate change, resource conservation and management, water sanitation,energy efficiency, smart cities and urban infrastructure.
• The major activity planned under the MoU includes the #Un-plastic Initiative of the CII and UN Environment that will be beginning with a ‘Call to Action’, which will be including commitments by the industry to take action to curb plastic pollution.
• Further, the CII will be working towards voluntary codes in Indian industry on the issue of plastics.
  Outside India, the CII will be engaging with industry forums it is linked to in different countries, especially in Africa through its annual CII-Africa Conclave.
• Simultaneously India has also pledged to make 100 national monuments including the Taj Mahal, litter-free.