NEW SCHEME TO SETTLE COMMERCIAL TAX DUES

With commercial tax dues to the State government touching ₹25,000 crore, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister announced a Samadhan Scheme to help traders settle their dues, penalty and interest.
The scheme will be in force between October 16, 2023 and February 15, 2024.
The government has come out with different payment options for five categories of traders, depending on the size of their dues.
As per the scheme, traders whose dues are below ₹50,000, including taxes, interest and penalty, are eligible for a complete waiver.
This is the first time in Tamil Nadu that the taxes to be paid by small traders are fully waived.
Other traders are divided into four categories.
Traders whose dues are between ₹50,000 and ₹10 lakh need to pay a flat 20% of their dues in a single instalment.
This payment option is also applicable to the category of traders whose dues are in the ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore range.
But they are not eligible for the flat rate of payment.
There is a different payment option for traders whose dues are between ₹1 crore and ₹10 crore.
In the case of traders whose dues are more than ₹10 crore, they have to pay 90% of their dues, 15% penalty and 30% interest.

FIRST TEST FLIGHT OF GAGANYAAN MISSION

The First test flight of Gaganyaan mission is scheduled on Oct. 21
The test will be conducted at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
It is intended to test the ‘crew module ’ or the part of vehicle where the Indian astronauts will be housed.
The test involves launching the module to outer space and bringing it back to earth and recovering it after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal.
Test Vehicle Abort Mission (TV-D1) module will be identical to the one deployed to space.
The payloads consist of the Crew Module [CM] and Crew Escape Systems [CES].
The success of this test will set the stage for the first unmanned “Gaganyaan” mission and ultimately manned mission to outer space in low earth orbit.
There will be a test flight next year.
It will carry “Vyommitra”, the female robot astronaut to space.

The government has taken several steps to address mental health issues of children and women.
The Centre’s Tele-Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) has provided counseling services for more than 350,000 people.
It receives over 1,000 calls on the helpline every day.
The Tele Manas Seva was launched in 2022 on the occasion of World Mental Health Day.
Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres have facilitated the integration of mental health services with primary health services.

Australia would be a partner country for Tamil Nadu’s Global Investors Meet (GIM) in January 2024.
It announced that the Australian Consulate-General in Chennai would participate in the IIT-Madras-led Hydrogen Valley Innovation Cluster in Tamil Nadu (HVIC-TN).

NEW ENSIGN OF IAF
- Every year, October 8 is observed as Indian Air Force (IAF) Day.
- Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief unveils new Ensign on the 91st anniversary.
- The new lAF ensign has witnessed inclusion of the Air Force Crest in the top right corner towards the fly side.
- The IAF Crest has the national symbol, the Ashoka lion on the top with the words “Satyamev Jayate” in Devanagari below it.
- Below the Ashoka lion is a Himalayan eagle with its wings spread, denoting the fighting qualities of the IAF.
- A ring in light blue colour encircles the Himalayan eagle with the words “Bhartiya Vayu Sena”.
- The motto of the IAF is Nabhaḥ Spṛśaṃ Deeptam.
- It is inscribed below the Himalayan Eagle in golden Devanagari.
- The IAF motto has been taken from verse 24, Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita and means “Radiant Thou Touchest Heaven” or in other words “Touching the sky with glory”.
- This is the first Air Force Day Parade to be commanded by a woman officer, GP Capt. Shaliza Dhami.

A New study has found that Overlapping prey availability or habitat suitability could have a positive association between dholes and tigers.
It may facilitate coexistence or even cooperative behaviours between the two species of carnivores.
The dhole or Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus) is the only endangered wild pack-living canid in the tropical Indian forests.
It is considered at high risk of extinction.
Sympatric refers to animals, plant species, and populations within the same or overlapping geographical areas.
Factors such as habitat loss, declining prey availability, persecution, disease, and interspecific competition have contributed to the fragmentation of its populations.
The global population of adult dholes are classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

Sri Lanka is hosting the 23rdIndian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) meeting.
It was established in 1997 as an intergovernmental organisation of States on the rim of the Indian Ocean.
The IORA has members from Africa, West Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Oceania.
The Association’s membership has expanded to 23 member states and 11 dialogue partners.

International Girl Child Day is observed every year on 11 October.
The day is dedicated to create awareness about the rights and empowerment of girls.
The United Nations General Assembly officially declared 11 October as International Girl Child Day.
The main motive behind recognising this day is to educate people about the rights of girls and promote a culture of gender equality.
The theme of International Day of Girl Child 2023 is “Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being”.

The Gaza Strip is a Palestinian enclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.