The Daily Brief – 9th November 2019

A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict on the Ayodhya Ram Janma Bhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case on 9^th November, 2019. As per the judgement, the Central Government has to formulate a scheme under the Ayodhya Act, 1993 within 3 months and set up a trust and hand over the disputed site to it for the construction of a temple at the disputed site and a suitable alternative plot of land measuring 5 acres at Ayodhya will be given to the Sunni Wakf Board. Led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, the bench comprised of Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer.

The disputed Ayodhya Ram Janma Bhoomi-Babri Masjid land

The Union Ministry of Steel has issued the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy on 8^th November, 2019. The policy aims to reduce imports, conserve resources and save energy. The National Steel Policy 2017 (NSP-2017) aims to develop a globally competitive steel industry by creating 300 Million TPA Steel production capacity by 2030 with a contribution of 35-40% from EAF/IF route.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) launched the multiplayer version of its interactive mobile game named ‘Indian Air Force – A Cut Above’. The single-player version of the game was first launched by the then Chief of Air Staff (COAS), B S Dhanoa, on 31^st May, 2019. The game lets users experience the thrill of flying a combat aircraft.

The 11^th BRICS Summit is scheduled to be held on 13^th November, 2019 in Brazil under the theme ‘Economic Growth for an Innovative Future’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Brazil from 13^th November to 14^th November to attend the annual summit of BRICS. Formed in 2006, the BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Brazil is the current chair of BRICS.

The 2019 RBS Earth Heroes Awards (REHA) winners have been announced by the RBS India, the innovation and operations hub of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), for the significant role in combating climate change. The theme for the 9^th edition of awards was ‘Climate Change’. The REHA were institutionalized in association with the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) in 2011 to provide a national platform to those individuals and institutions that have espoused and undertaken actions to protect the endangered forests, wetlands and other natural ecosystems.

Tiger Triumph, the first ever tri-services India-US amphibious exercise is scheduled to be conducted from 13^th November to 21^st November, 2019 off the coasts of Visakhapatnam and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. This exercise will include events and field training that simulate moving humanitarian assistance and disaster relief force from ship to shore. It aims to build the capacity of both Indian and U.S. participants and improving their ability to operate together.

Samudra Shakti-II, a joint naval exercise between India and Indonesia was conducted in the Bay of Bengal on 6^th November and 7^th November, 2019. The joint exercises focused on surface warfare exercises, air defense exercises, weapon firing drills, helicopter operations and boarding operations. The first edition of the exercise was held in November 2018 at the port of Surabaya, Indonesia.

Regional Level Search and Rescue Workshop and Exercise 2019 (ReSAREX-19) was conducted by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) off the Goa coast on 5^th November and 6^th November, 2019 to test the efficiency and preparedness of the ICG. The exercise comprised a search and rescue workshop and tabletop exercise, followed by a search and rescue exercise at sea.

NASSCOM Foundation, the Indian IT industry body’s social arm, and software firm Mphasis announced seven organisations as the winners, across different categories, of the 11^th edition of the NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum (NSIF). Instituted in 2008, the NASSCOM Social Innovation Forum is a platform that fosters innovative use of technology to create sustained social impact. Established in 1988, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) is a trade association of the Indian Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.