Lawmakers in the border state of Tamaulipas voted  on Oct 26 night to legalize same-sex marriages, becoming the last of Mexico's 32 states to authorize such unions.

The measure to amend the state’s Civil Code passed with 23 votes in favour, 12 against and two abstentions, setting off cheers of “Yes, we can!” from supporters of the change.

The session took place as groups both for and against the measure chanted and shouted from the balcony, and legislators eventually moved to another room to finish their debate and vote.

The president of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Arturo Zaldívar, welcomed the vote.

A day earlier, lawmakers in the southern state of Guerrero approved similar legislation allowing same-sex marriages.

In 2015, the Supreme Court declared state laws preventing same-sex marriage unconstitutional, but some states took several years to adopt laws conforming with the ruling.

Nearly 400 school districts spanning all 50 states and Washington, D.C., along with several tribes and U.S. territories, are receiving roughly $1 billion in grants to purchase about 2,500 “clean” school buses under a new federal program.

The Biden administration is making the grants available as part of a wider effort to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles and reduce air pollution near schools and communities.

The country’s insurance regulator – the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) – has formed a 15-member health consultative panel to suggest ways and means to increase health insurance penetration and look into various issues facing health insurance policyholders.

The committee, which will be chaired by IRDAI member Rakesh Joshi, also has Devi Prasad Shetty, Chairman, of Narayana Health and Dr Naresh Trehan, cardio-thoracic surgeon, Chairman and Managing Director of Medanta Heart Institute, as its members. The committee will also be represented by general and health insurance companies, TPAs, etc.

The terms of reference of the committee also include making recommendations regarding appropriate product designs including a universal standard product, identifying concerns related to policyholder servicing and identifying challenges in carrying out the health insurance business smoothly.

One of the objectives of the committee is also to make recommendations to put in place systems for servicing health insurance that can plug into the e-platform – Bima Sugam. 

Homegrown auto-major Hero MotoCorp has partnered with Terrafirma Motors Corporation (TMC), a part of the Columbian Group of Companies, to commence its operations in the Philippines. As part of the partnership, TMC will be the exclusive assembler and distributor of Hero MotoCorp motorcycles in the Philippines.

The company will set up an assembly facility of 29,000 sq. mtrs in its principal manufacturing facility situated in Laguna City and start its operations in the second half of fiscal year 2024.

While Hero’s global footprint spans 43 countries in Asia, Africa, Middle East, and South & Central America, its export numbers are much lower than that of Bajaj Auto and TVs. In September 2022, Hero exported just 12,290 units from India. Hero MotoCorp has 8 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, including 6 in India, and one each in Colombia and Bangladesh.

India will not impose anti-dumping duty on a Chinese chemical used in pharma industry as the Finance Ministry has not accepted the recommendations of DGTR for imposing the levy.

The Commerce Ministry's investigation arm DGTR had conducted a probe into the alleged dumping of "(4R-Cis)-1-1-Dimethylethyl-6-cyanomethyl-2, 2-dimethyl-1, 3-dioxane-4-acetate" from China, and in August it recommended the imposition of the duty.

While the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) recommends the duty, the Department of Revenue takes the final decision to impose it.

This chemical is also known as ATS-8, which is a key raw material for manufacturing Atorvastatin active pharmaceutical ingredient.

In international trade parlance, dumping happens when a country or a firm exports an item at a price lower than the price of that product in its domestic market.

Dumping impacts the price of that product in the importing country, hitting the margins and profits of manufacturing firms.

According to global trade norms, a country is allowed to impose tariffs on such dumped products to provide a level-playing field to domestic manufacturers.

The duty is imposed only after a thorough investigation by a quasi-judicial body, such as DGTR, in India.

The duty is aimed at ensuring fair trading practices and creating a level-playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis foreign producers and exporters.

In a revolutionary decision, the BCCI on Oct 27 announced equal match fees for its centrally-contracted female and male players in a bid to tackle gender discrimination.   BCCI secretary Jay Shah took to Twitter to announce the development.

As per the newly introduced system, the Indian women's cricketers will now receive Rs 15 lakh per Test, Rs 6 lakh per ODI, and Rs 3 lakh per T20I, the same as their male counterparts.

Earlier this year, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) had struck a deal with the country's players' association, which enabled the women cricketers to earn as much as the male players, while Cricket Australia (CA) is also working to do away with gender disparity.

Australia's football team on Oct 27 condemned human rights abuses in Qatar ahead of the World Cup, becoming the first participant to collectively criticise the host.

Sixteen members of the men's team -- the Socceroos -- appeared in a short video explaining their position.

The World Cup -- beginning on November 20 -- has been marred by controversy since Qatar was awarded the tournament 12 years ago.

Before making the statement, the Australian players spoke to labour organisations and advocacy groups such as Amnesty International.

The players acknowledged Qatar's attempts to improve working conditions for migrants but said these changes had been "inconsistent".

Q1. Name the state / UT which has postponed the 'red light on, gaadi off' campaign which was set to be launched in the national capital on Oct 28 ?

1. Goa
2. Chandigarh
3. Delhi
4. UP
5. None of These

Q2. Name the country whose  football team on Oct 27 has  condemned human rights abuses in Qatar ahead of the World Cup, becoming the first participant to collectively criticise the host ?

1. Australia
2. US
3. Germany
4. UK
5. None of These

Q3. Name the Muslim nation which has  a picture of Ganesha on its currency note ?

1. Malaysia
2. Indonesia
3. Bangladesh
4. Thailand
5. None of These

Q4. The homegrown auto-major Hero MotoCorp has partnered with Terrafirma Motors Corporation (TMC), a part of the Columbian Group of Companies, to commence its operations in the

1. Philippines
2. Vietnam
3. Malaysia
4. Indonesia
5. None of These

Q5. Name the chairman of 15-member health consultative panel formed by the  country’s insurance regulator – the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to suggest ways and means to increase health insurance penetration and look into various issues facing health insurance policyholders ?

1. Devi Prasad Shetty
2. Dr Naresh Trehan
3. Dr Ashok Sheth
4. Rakesh Joshi
5. None of These

Answers

1------------------3    Delhi

2-------------------1   Australia

3--------------------2  Indonesia

4---------------------1  Philippines

5-----------------------4     Rakesh Joshi