KERALA

Backwater tourism is deep water
The land of backwaters and snakeboats is all geared up for the peak tourist season.
The houseboat cruise, one of the mainstays of the tourism sector in the State, was brought to its knees following last year’s deluge. In the following months, the backwater tourism sector showed great resilience to get back on track. Although floods returned to haunt Kuttanad this year too, albeit to a lesser extent, the sector remained largely unscathed.
A sewage treatment plant operated by the DTPC for houseboats registered in Alappuzha was shut recently after the Kerala State Pollution Control Board found fault with the plant’s functioning.

INTERNATIONAL

Interpol to hold the general assembly in India in 2022

India will host the 91st Interpol General Assembly in 2022 after a proposal received the overwhelming support of member countries at this year’s congregation at Santiago in Chile.

The 91st Interpol General Assembly in India in the year 2022 will be held as part of celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence.

The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) had hosted the General assembly, where representatives of all member countries converge, in India in 1997.

Based in Lyon, France, Interpol is an international police cooperation organisation with 194 member states and 100 years of experience of international cooperation in policing.

· Sri Lanka removed from FATFs Grey List

ð The international terror financing watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), removed Sri Lanka from the Grey List.

ð FATF said that Sri Lanka had made significant progress in addressing the strategic AML/CFT deficiencies identified earlier.
Sri Lanka will not be monitored under its on-going global anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance process.

ð International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) of FATF to assess the progress of AML/CFT effectiveness in the country.
ICRG reported that Sri Lanka had not made sufficient progress in four parameters, namely supervision, international cooperation, legal persons and arrangements, and targeted financial sanctions on proliferation.

Gk bit: FATF – Financial Action Task Force

ð FATF, an inter-governmental body, devices policy and sets standards to promote the implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

ð There are 38 member countries, including the US, UK, India, Japan, China, and France, among others in FATF.

NATIONAL

· Exercise Dharma Guardian 2019 commenced in Mizoram

The second editionof Exercise Dharma Guardian 2019, a bilateral annual military exercise, between the Indian and Japan Army commenced on 19 October at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) at Vairengte in Mizoram. The exercise is being held from 19 October to 2 November 2019.

The aim of the exercise Dharma Guardian 2019 is joint training of troops in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations in both mountainous terrain. The exercise will further strengthen the long-standing strategic ties between India and Japan.

Exercise Dharma Guardian is an annual military training between India and Japan. It is being conducted in India since 2018. Exercise Dharma Guardian with Japan is very important because of the security challenges faced by both India and Japan in the backdrop of global terrorism.

Defence exports soar by seven times in two years, reach 2 billion

India’s defence exports have grown seven times in the last two years, reaching a value of two billion dollars.

The country is working out modalities to become a hub in top-class defence production with efforts being made to increase defence exports to five billion dollars in the near future.

440 companies in the private sector have taken up defence production in the last five years.

· PM Modi unveiled the book Bridgital Nation

Prime MinisterNarendra Modiunveiled the book titled Bridgital Nation in New Delhi.He presented the first copy of the to Shri Ratan Tata.

The book was written by Shri N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, and Roopa Purushottam, Chief Economist & Head of Policy Advocacy of Tata Sons.

The book Bridgital Nation presents a powerful vision of the future where human beings and technology co-exist in a mutually beneficial ecosystem. The book argues that instead of accepting technology as a replacement of human labour, India can use technology as an aid to generate more jobs. Bridgital term refersthat the digital tools can act as a bridge between aspirations and achievements.

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