Important Dates & Festivities - Current Affairs for October, 2016

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage was observed across the globe on 27th Oct 2016.

• The theme for the day was It’s Your Story– Don’t Lose It.
• The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage works to create awareness of the need for urgent measures to be taken for safeguarding audiovisual document.
• It focuses on acknowledging the importance of audiovisual documents as part of the national identity.
• On this day, UNESCO works with organisations, governments and communities to promote the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage on Oct 27 each year.
• Logo competitions, local programs, panel discussions and special film screenings will be held as part of the world day for audiovisual heritage.
• Audiovisual documents such as films, radio and television programs are the common heritage as they contain primary records of the 20th and 21st centuries.
• This maintains the cultural identity of the people.
• Due to sound recordings, moving images and other audiovisual material being lost, the day was selected by the UNESCO to celebrate and preserve these audiovisual records.
• UNESCO General Assembly in 2005 approved Oct 27 as the World Day for Audiovisual heritage to raise awareness about the importance of audiovisual documents as integral part of national identities and draw attention to the vital need to protect these.
• The theme is observed this day each year by organising activities around a theme agreed by the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archive Associations, the UNESCO designated body to oversee the annual celebrations of the day.

The United Nations Day 2016 was observed across the world on Oct 24, 2016

• This day marks the anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Charter which is the founding document of the UNO in 1945
• In 2016, the UN day was observed to highlight concrete actions people can take to achieve SDGs
• The UN will also organise a concert to celebrate the reflect the work of the United Nations through music
• UN Charter of 1945 is the foundational treaty of the UN
• It was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Centre in the US on June 1945 by 50 of the original member nations
• As a charter, it is a constituent treaty which binds all members
• A103 of the carter states obligations to the UN shall prevail over all other treaty obligations
• The theme of the music concert celebrating UN day this year was Freedom First

PM Narendra Modi on 15^th Oct 2016 paid tributes to the former president and Missile Man of India, APJ Abdul Kalam on his 85th birth anniversary

• Kalam was born in Oct 15, 1931 in Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and died due to cardiac arrest on July 27 in 2015
• Kalam was a recipient of several awards including Padma Bhushan in 1981, Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997
• He was the 11th president of India, from 2002-2007
• He has authored several books such as Wings of Fire and India 2020.
• He has made a significant contribution as project director for developing the first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle in India SLV-3 which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the orbit of the earth in July 1980

In Uttar Pradesh, the Safe Motherhood Week is being observed from 14-21st Oct 2016

• The main aim of the Safe Motherhood Week is to decrease the maternal mortality and infant mortality rates
• Currently, the MMR in the state is 258 per lakh deliveries above the national average of 167
• For this purpose, the state has made the decision to bring down the MMR to 200 till the close of 2016
• During the campaign, the expecting mothers will be provided critical medical aid and assistance to the pregnant women and ensure safe delivery in the state
• High Risk Pregnancies will be identified and provided special care
• As part of this campaign, women with anaemic conditions are provided special care
• According to the state government, nearly 50 percent of the expecting mothers are anaemic, the single largest reason for maternal mortality.

The day was first observed in the year 2012. It was conceived by Rona Ambrose, minister of the status of women in Canada.

• The move was aimed to spread awareness about gender inequality young girls were subjected to especially in areas of education and health
• Observing 11th Oct as UN International Day of the Girl was also sown by Plan International, a child rights organisation based in 70 nations across the world. The organisation started the Because I am a girl campaign which attracted support from across the globe
• The theme for this year’s International Day of the Girl is Girl’s Progress= Goal’s Progress: What Counts for Girls
• Theme focuses on understanding the importance of data and regulating policies as per the issues girls face across the globe
• The UN holds that there is lack of systematic analysis to understand the problems young women and girls around the world face
• This year’ s International Day of the Girls is about making girls visible and giving them the recognition they deserve.

The Territorial Army celebrated its 67th Raising Day on Oct 9, 2016

• For the occasion, Chief of Army staff Gen. Dalbir Singh reviewed the TA parade
• Territorial Army had 10 marching contingents, 15 bands and 3 tableaus
• Tableaus of the Railway Engineers, Oil Sector and Ecological Territorial Army was displayed
• Territorial Army soldiers in their regimental attire showcased the immense contribution of the Departmental Territorial Army units to the nation in the field of environmental conservation and maintenance of essential services like Oil Production and Railways

This Vijaya Dashami marks the 95th birth anniversary of Krishna Chandra Gandhi, the RSS worker who played a vital role in starting the Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Lucknow.

• He worked in tandem with senior RSS functionaries Bahurao Devras and Nanaji Deshmukh
• Born in a Meerut family, he earned the sobriquet Gandhi for his humanitarian work.
• After completing the BA, he was initiated into the RSS.

The 16th raising day was celebrated by the Andaman and Nicobar Command on Oct 8, 2016

• This is the only ti-service operational command of the Indian Armed Forces commemorating its raising.
• Several events were conducted over a three day period to celebrate this day
• The Commander-In-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command is Vice Admiral Bimal Verma
• The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the unit citation to 5 units in recognition of their operational excellence- 20 Grenadiers, INS Bitra, Command Diving Unit, Coast Guard Air Enclave, 151 Squadron.
• CINCAN also attended the Barakhana organised by Brichgunj at the 7th Oct 2016 event
• Celebrations lasted from 7th–9th Oct 2016.

MoC is celebrating the Birth Centenary of Nanaji Deshmukh during the period 11th Oct 2016 to 2017

• Various programs will be organised during this period
• As part of the activities under commemoration, an inaugural program will be organised at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library New Delhi
• The social activist from RSS also supported Rajiv Gandhi’s government in 1984
• He retired from the Jana Sangh and politics in the 60s
• In Sept 2014, a six volume compilation of Deshmukh’s writings in the presence of RSS joint general secretary Dattatreya Posable was released.

The 84^th anniversary of the Indian Air Force was celebrated with pomp and splendour at the NDA, Khadakwasla near Pune

• The IAF is the world’s fourth largest air force with a main responsibility to secure the India airspace and conduct aerial warfare during conflict
• It was established on Oct 8, 1932 as an auxiliary force of the British empire
• The prefix Royal was added in 1945 in recognition of services during WW2
• After India gained freedom in 1947, the Royal Indian Air Force served the Indian dominion
• The prefix was Royal was dropped in 1950 when India became a republic. The IAF has been involved in wars numbering 4 with Pakistan
• It also fought the 1962 Indo-China war
• Commandment of NDA Air Marshall JS Kier was the chief guest of the traditional cutting of the cake
• An oath taking ceremony was also held by the IAF personnel
• NDA is a unique ti-service military training centre where all three armed forces’ cadets receive training
• There are close to 65 Air Force cadets enrolled in each course
• Cadets were given flying training.
• Air Force cadets also get trained in aviation related subjects such as Air Traffic and Flight, meteorology, aero-modelling, paragliding, skeet shooting and deflection shooting to sharpen their skills
• Distinguished IAF personnel have originated from the institute including Rakesh Sharma, India’s first and only Indian cosmonaut and Air Chief Marshall Arup Raha.

The International Day of Non Violence was observed on Oct 2nd, 2016 which is also the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi and called Gandhi Jayanti in India.

• In 2004, Iranian Novel laureate Shirin Ebadi had taken a proposal for an International Day of Non Violence from a Hindi teacher in paris teaching global students, to the World Social Forum in Bombay
• The idea was voiced by INC till a Satyagraha resolution was passed in Delhi initiated by Indian National Congress President and Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance Sonia Gandhi and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, calling upon the United Nations to adopt the idea.
• On 15th June 2007, UNGA voted to establish Oct 2nd as International Day of Non Violence
• The resolution by the General Assembly asks members of the UN system to commemorate 2nd October in an appropriate manner and spread the message of non violence

The nation and its people on 2nd October 2016 paid homage to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi on his 147th birth anniversary.

• Born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar Gujarat, Gandhi also known as Bapu or Father of the Nation preached tolerance and non-violence
• President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice President Hamid Ansari along with other dignitaries visited Rajghat, the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi to offer tributes
• An all religion prayer meeting was organised at Rajghat and several other events including Swachh and Samarth Bharat were organised across the nation
• Gandhiji was also known for his principles of non violence and satyagraha and spearheaded not only the civil rights movement in India, but across the world as well
• The nation also remembered former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary i.e 2nd Oct
• He was born in 1904 and joined the Indian independence movement in the 1920s
• He coined the slogan Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan during the Indo-Pak war of 1965 and held several important portfolios in the Nehru government before becoming PM
• A special programme was held at the Shastri Memorial at Shastri Street in Tashkent where floral tributes was paid at his statue.