Current Affairs in Short: 22 October 2021

DRDO successfully test-fired ABHYAS – the High-speed Expendable Aerial Target

•The Defence Research and Development Organisation successfully flight-tested ABHYAS – the High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) on October 22, 2021 from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, off the coast of the Bay of Bengal in Odisha.

•The target was flown from a ground-based controller in a pre-designated flight path at subsonic speed during the trial. The vehicle can be used as an aerial target for the evaluation of various missile systems.

•The target demonstrated low altitude flight capability with radio altimeter in loop during the test launch.

Supreme Court resumes limited physical hearings

•The Supreme Court of India reopened for limited physical hearings on October 21, 2021 for the first time after March 2021. The court will decide on moving completely to a physical mode after November 6th, after a six-day Diwali break. 

•There is divided opinion on the full transition to physical hearing among lawyers, as per reports.  For now, the court will hold physical hearings from Tuesday through Thursday every week.

•The Apex court has resumed its hybrid setup after nearly seven months. The physical hearings were suspended in March due to the second Covid-19 wave during which several judges and court staff had contracted the infection.

Novavax to apply for emergency use approval of its COVID vaccine in US before year-end

•Maryland-based Novavax informed on October 20, 2021 that it will apply for emergency use authorisation (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in the US before the end of this year.

•The move could potentially push the emergency use approval for Serum Institute's version of Novavax's vaccine- Covovax- in India. The Pune- based institute had applied for emergency use authorisation of Covovax to the Indian drug regulator in August 2021. However, the approval has taken longer due to absence of regulatory approval for the vaccine in the US.

•Novavax is expected to complete multiple rolling regulatory submissions of its coronavirus vaccine candidate in key markets including Europe, the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand within the next couple of weeks.

Former Indian cricketers Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath honoured with life membership of MCC 

•Former Indian cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath were on October 19, 2021 awarded lifetime membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

•The veteran Indian cricketers have joined 16 other cricketers who were recognised with the honour this year. The MCC, which is based at Lord's, is the custodian of cricket laws.

•While Harbhajan Singh is India's third-highest wicket-taker in Tests, with 417 wickets in 103 Tests and over 700 International wickets across other formats, Javagal Srinath is one of the all-time greatest Indian fast bowlers with a total of 315 wickets in ODIs and 236 wickets in Test cricket. 

UK Foreign Secretary to meet EAM Dr. S Jaishankar

•UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss to scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav in Delhi on October 22, 2021.

•The UK Foreign Secretary is expected to announce a series of tech and infrastructure agreements with India in an effort to boost economies of both nations and help developing countries grow in a clean and sustainable way.

•During her 2-day visit to India, the UK Foreign Secretary will outline agreements to deepen investment ties between the two countries and also work together on finance and technical support packages for the developing world.