1) UAE’s visa rules: Under UAE’s new immigration laws, the five-year green visa will allow foreigners to sponsor themselves without any help from UAE nationals or their employers Now, green visa holders can sponsor their family members themselves.
- If the permit for a green visa holder expires, they will be given a period of up to six months to renew it.
- A 10-year expanded residency is also offered under the golden visa. Investors, entrepreneurs, and individuals with exceptional talents are eligible for a golden visa.
- According to the new immigration laws, golden visa holders will also enjoy the benefit of 100% ownership of their business.
- Tourist visas will allow the visitors to stay in UAE for 60 days, as per new rules.
- A five-year multi-entry tourist visa will allow visitors to stay in the UAE for up to 90 days in a row.
2) Light Combat Helicopter: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to induct its first batch of indigenously-developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) in a major boost to its combat prowess- Prachand.
- It is the only attack helicopter in the world which can land and take off at an altitude of 5,000 meters with a considerable load of weapons and fuel, meeting the specific requirements laid out by the Indian Armed Forces.
- The helicopter uses radar-absorbing material to lower radar signature and has a significantly crash-proof structure and landing gear. A pressurised cabin offers protection from nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) contingencies.
- The helicopter is equipped with a countermeasure dispensing system that protects it from enemy radars or infrared seekers of the enemy missiles.
- LCH is powered by two French-origin Shakti engines manufactured by the HAL.
3) Swachh Survekshan Gramin, 2022 award: Telangana won the first prize under the Large States category under Swachh Survekshan Gramin (SSG) 2022 followed by Haryana and Tamil Nadu.
- The Swachh Survekshan Gramin-2022 award: It ranks States and districts on the basis of their performance attained on key quantitative and qualitative Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G)
- Among the smaller States and Union Territories: Andaman and Nicobar secured the first position followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Sikkim.
4) Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II: SBM-U 2.0, announced in Budget 2021-22, is the continuation of SBM-U first phase. The government is trying to tap safe containment, transportation, disposal of faecal sludge, and septage from toilets.
- It will be implemented over five years from 2021 to 2026
- It focuses on source segregation of garbage, reduction in single-use plastic and air pollution, by effectively managing waste from construction and demolition activities and bioremediation of all legacy dump sites.
- Under this mission, all wastewater will be treated properly before it is discharged into water bodies, and the government is trying to make maximum reuse a priority.
- The fund sharing pattern between Centre and States will be 90:10 for the North-Eastern States and the Himalayan States and UT of J&K; 60:40 for other States; and 100% for other Union Territories.
- Implementation: SBM is being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (M/o HUA) and by the Ministry of Jal Shakti for urban and rural areas
5) Stockholm Convention: It listed ‘Dechlorane Plus’ (flame retardant) and UV-328 (stabilizer) under Annex A of the Stockholm Convention.
- Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from POPs. It is legally binding and ratified by India (2006). In view of this ratification, India notified “Regulation of POP Rules” (2018) under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
- Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) (also called “forever chemicals”) are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic processes.
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