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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 25 October 2021

::NATIONAL::

Government notifies Indian Telegraph Right of Way (Amendment) Rules, 2021.
Right of Way (RoW)rules are considered as key enabler for expediting the deployment of underground (optical fibre) and over-ground (mobile towers) infrastructure in India.

Key highlights:

Incorporate the provisions related to nominal one-time compensation and Uniform procedure for establishment of Over-ground Telegraph Line in the Indian Telegraph Right of Way Rules,2016.
The amount of one-time compensation for establishment of overground telegraph line will be maximum ₹1,000 per km.
No fee other than administrative fee and restoration charges for establishing, maintaining,repairing, transferring or shifting the underground and over-ground telegraph infrastructure.
According to industry veterans, the desired clarity for laying overhead OFC is also available with this amendment in place now, which will go a long way in creating necessary infrastructure to cater to forthcoming 5G rollouts in the country.

ABHYAS- High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) was successfully flight-tested by DRDO for Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Bay of Bengal in Odisha.

About:

Designed and developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengalurufor autonomous flying.
It is a drone that will be used as a target for various missile systems.
Performance of target aircraft was monitored through telemetry and various tracking sensors including Radars and Electro Optical Tracking System (EOTS).
Powered by a small gas turbine engine and has MEMS (Micro-electromechanical) based InertialNavigation System (INS).

The rationale for Facebook is to see a transition from a social media company to a metaverse company.

About:

Metaverse refers to a virtual environment where you can be present with people in digital spaces.
It means instead of interacting with your friends online as is the case now, you can meet them in a digital universe in your respective digital avatars, using a virtual reality headset or other device.
What Facebook is aiming for is an Alphabet Inc.-like holding company for its family of apps that includes WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Oculus and the eponymous blue brand.
The Verge report comes at a time when the company is facing increasing US government scrutiny over its business practices.
Lawmakers from both parties have excoriated the company, illustrating the rising anger in Congress with Facebook.
It’s not uncommon among Silicon Valley firms to change their names as they bid to expand their services.
Google established Alphabet Inc. as a holding company in 2015 to expand beyond its search and advertising businesses, to oversee various other ventures ranging from self- driving vehicles and health technology to providing internet services in remote areas.

Pakistan will continue to be on ‘Grey List’ of FATF. Also,Turkey, Jordan and Mali have been added to the Grey List’ while Mauritius and Botswana have been taken off the list.

About:

Inclusion in the Grey List implies strategic deficiencies detected in a jurisdiction’s policies to prevent money laundering and terror financing.
It makes it difficult for a country to get financial aid from international organisations.
FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to integrity of international financial system.
India is a member of FATF.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry,has reviewed the Amended Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS).

About:

The scheme aims to boost the Indian textile industry by enabling the ease of doing business, bolstering exports and fuelling employment.
Apart from fixing the timeline for conduct of IMSC meeting quarterly, some significant decisions to resolve pending issues include reducing the compliance burden by accepting only single certificate from the concerned bank instead of multiple documents regarding evidence of payment for claimed machineries.
The Ministry of Textiles will simplify the procedure for joint inspection using a calibrated approach to linking joint inspect to subsidy support size by reducing burden on bracket lower than Rs 50 lakh instead of the current 100 per cent.

With the birth of first IVF calf of a Buffalo breed namely Banni in the country, India’s OPU - IVF work has reached to next level.

About:

This is the first Banni Buffalo IVF calf in the country.
This first IVF Banni calf is born out of 6 Banni IVF pregnancies established at the doorsteps of a farmer, Vinay. L. Wala of Sushila Agro farms, located at Dhanej in Somnath district of Gujarat.
Prime Minister Modi had talked about the Banni buffalo breed during his visit to Kutch region of Gujarat on December 15, 2020. The very next day, i.e. December 16, 2020, Ovum Pick-Up (OPU) and aspiration processes for the in vitro fertilization (IVF) of Banni Buffaloes were planned.