DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Nov. 10, 2022

India hosted the 2nd BIMSTEC Agriculture Ministers meeting

Tags: National National News

India hosted the Second Agriculture Ministerial-level meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) at New Delhi on 10 November under the chairmanship of the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar. 

Important facts

• Agriculture ministers of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand participated in the meeting.

• Tomar urged the member countries to develop a comprehensive regional strategy to strengthen cooperation for transformation in agriculture.

• Referring to the International Year of Millets - 2023, he urged for adopting a healthy diet for all.

• He asked the participating countries to actively participate in India's initiative to promote coarse cereals as food.

About 2nd BIMSTEC Agriculture Ministerial Meeting

• The meeting adopted the Action Plan for Strengthening BIMSTEC Agricultural Cooperation (2023-2027). 

• An MoU was signed between the BIMSTEC Secretariat and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and approval was given to bring the fisheries and livestock sub-sectors under the Agriculture Working Group.

About BIMSTEC

• BIMSTEC was established in 1997.

• It includes five countries of South Asia – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and two countries of South-East Asia – Myanmar and Thailand.

India joins MAC, at 27th session of COP27 in Egypt

Tags: National Summits National News

India has joined the Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC) at the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

Important facts

• After joining the alliance, India called for the integration of mangrove conservation with reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) programs for carbon sequestration.

• Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said studies have shown that mangrove forests can absorb four to five times more carbon emissions than landed tropical forests. 

What are Mangroves?

• These are small trees and shrubs that grow along the coast and thrive in salt water and develop into unique forests on land and sea shore.

• Mangrove ecosystems are one of the most productive and ecologically important ecosystems in the world.

• They offer significant climate change mitigation and adaptation co-benefits because they are able to store carbon up to 400 percent faster than land-based tropical rainforests.

• They protect coastal areas from rising sea levels, erosion and storms and provide breeding grounds for marine biodiversity.

• About 80 percent of the world's fish population depend on these ecosystems for their survival.

• India contributes about half of the total mangrove cover in South Asia and the Sundarbans in West Bengal has the highest percentage of mangrove cover in India.

• West Bengal has the highest percentage of mangrove cover in India. It is followed by Gujarat and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala also have mangroves.

About Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC)

• MAC is an intergovernmental coalition that seeks to accelerate the conservation and restoration of mangrove ecosystems.

• India is among the first five countries to join the MAC, which includes Australia, Japan, Spain and Sri Lanka.

National Fisheries Development Board receives "India Agribusiness Award 2022"

Tags: Awards

Dr. Sanjeev K Balyan, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying presented the 'India Agribusiness Award 2022' to the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) on November 10, 2022.

Important facts

• The award was presented at an event organised for the services and support of the fisheries sector.

• The award was given for supporting and playing a significant role in technology upgradation, species diversification in aquaculture, propagation of new and improved fish species, seaweed cultivation, ornamental fishes, training and capacity building on need based projects.

• Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) is organising 'Agro World 2022'-India International Agribusiness & Technology Fair-2022 from 9th to 11th November, 2022 at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa Campus, New Delhi.

• ICFA is a Government of India organisation having technical collaboration with a large number of National/ International Industrial Organizations and affiliated organisations.

• The National Fisheries Development Board was presented the India Agribusiness Award-2022 as part of the event.

• This award was given for outstanding work in the field of fisheries.

Kochi to host 18th International Telemedicine Conference

Tags: place in news Summits National News

The 18th International Telemedicine Conference organised by Telemedicine Society of India (TSI) in association with TSI Kerala Chapter will be held in Kochi, Kerala from 10-12 November.

Important facts

• More than 200 scientists and academic scholars from India and around the world are expected to come together in this three-day event.

• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman S Somnath will participate in this conference as the chief guest and deliberate on how the latest technologies in our country will improve telemedicine facilities.

• The conference will be held at Amrita Hospital, Kochi.

• “The core theme of the event ‘Strengthening Health Systems Through Sustainable Telemedicine and Digital Health’.

• The conference aims to build a platform involving health regulators, health funding authorities, service providers and international experts.

• The conference will examine emerging telehealth models, explore breakthrough technologies and entrepreneurship.

• The conference will also highlight the socioeconomic impact of telehealth on healthcare and equity.

About International Telemedicine Conference

• Telemedicine-2022 is an annual global conference for healthcare professionals, providers, health insurance providers, online pharmacy chains, industrialists, academic scientists, research scholars and scientists.

• The conference is organised in collaboration with government agencies, private organisations and national and international professional societies.

Urban Affairs Ministry launches Transport 4 All Challenge Stage-2 and Citizen Perception Survey 2022

Tags: National National News

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched the “Transport 4 All Challenge” Stage-2 and Citizen Perception Survey 2022 on 9 November, 2022.

About Transport 4 All Challenge Stage-2

• It is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, aimed at enhancing the mobility experience of citizens.

• The challenge focuses on digital innovation and invites cities, citizens and innovators to join hands to develop relevant digital solutions to improve formal and informal public transport to better meet the mobility needs of all citizens.

• More than 130 cities signed up for Phase 1 of the challenge launched on April 15, 2021.

Stages of Transport 4 All Challenge’ Stage-2 

1. Stage I - Problem Identification : Cities, with the support of NGOs, identify key recurring problems that citizens and public transport operators face.

2. Stage II - Solution Generation : Startups, develop prototypes of solutions to improve public transport with inputs from cities and NGOs.

3. Stage III Pilot Testing : Cities engage Startups for large-scale pilots and refine the solutions based on citizen feedback.

Citizen Perception Survey 2022

• The Citizen Perception Survey (CPS) is conducted as part of the Ease of Living Index. It was conducted for the first time in 2020.

• The Survey aims to understand citizens' perceptions about the quality of life in their cities.

• It tries to understand the perception of citizens on public transport, education facilities, health services, availability of water, cost of housing, employment opportunities, etc.

• Citizen Perception Survey 2022 will be conducted from November 9 to December 23 this year.

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the Urban Outcomes Framework 2022 in April 2022 as an initiative to conduct transparent and comprehensive assessment of cities based on cross-city outcomes in key sectors.

• The Ease of Living Index, in the form of a 360-degree assessment, evaluates India's cities on the basis of quality of life, economic potential and sustainability.

S Jaishankar holds bilateral talks with Foreign Minister of Belarus, Vladimir Makei

Tags: International Relations International News

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar held bilateral talks with his Belarus counterpart Vladimir Makei in New Delhi on 9 November, 2022.

Important facts

• The Foreign Minister of Belarus, Vladimir Makei arrives in New Delhi on November 9, 2022 for a two-day visit to India.

• Both leaders held talks on a range of issues including bilateral economic ties, Ukraine conflict and multilateral cooperation.

India - Belarus Relations

• India’s relations with Belarus have been traditionally warm and cordial.

• India was one of the first countries to recognize Belarus as an independent country in 1991.

• After formal diplomatic relations were established, the Indian diplomatic mission was opened in Minsk in 1992 and Belarus opened its mission in New Delhi in 1998.

• Cooperation between the two countries is reflected in several multilateral fora such as the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

• Belarus helped consolidate India's candidature for a temporary seat at the UNSC in July 2020.

• India has supported Belarus in various international fora such as membership of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and other international and multilateral groups such as the IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union).

• The two countries have established mechanisms for the exchange of views on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues through the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC), the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC), and the Joint Commission on Military Technical Cooperation.

• The two countries signed several MoUs on various subjects including defence and technical cooperation, trade and economic cooperation, culture, education, media and sports, tourism, science and technology, agriculture, textiles, avoidance of double taxation, promotion of investment.

• In the economic sphere, the annual bilateral trade turnover in 2019 is USD 569.6 million.

About Belarus

• President - Alexander Lukashenko 

• Prime Minister - Roman Golovchenko

• Capital - Minsk

• Currency - Belarusian ruble

Atal Innovation Mission launches women centric challenges under ANIC program

Tags: National National News

Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog launched the Women centric challenges under the 2nd edition of Atal New India Challenge (ANIC) on 9 November. 

Important facts

• Women centric challenges address the major issues faced by women from all walks of life.

• These include promoting women's hygiene through innovation, innovations to improve women's safety, professional networking opportunities for women, innovations that improve the lives of working mothers and make the lives of rural women easier.

• It aims to seek, select, support and nurture technology-based innovations that solve regional challenges of national importance and social relevance through a grant-based arrangement of up to Rs 1 crore.

• ANIC's women centric challenges address the major issues faced by women from all walks of life.

• These include promoting women's hygiene through innovation, innovations to improve women's safety, professional networking opportunities for women, innovations that improve the lives of working mothers and make the lives of rural women easier.

• NITI Aayog currently runs the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), which was launched in 2018, to help women become entrepreneurs, scale up their innovations and create sustainable, long-term strategies for their businesses.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)

• This is an important initiative taken by the Government of India to promote the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

Objective of AIM

• Developing new programs and policies to promote innovation in various sectors of the economy

• Providing forums and opportunities for collaboration for various stakeholders

• To create an umbrella structure to create awareness and monitor the innovation ecosystem of the country.

Bihari Puraskar to Madhu Kankaria and Dr. Madhav Hada

Tags: Awards State News

Famous litterateurs Madhu Kankaria and Dr. Madhav Hada were awarded the 31st and 32nd Bihari Puraskar for 2021 and 2022 respectively in a program organised in Udaipur on 9 November.

Important facts

• Prof. Indravardhan Trivedi, Vice Chancellor of Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, the chief guest of the program presented two and a half lakh rupees, citation and emblem to the litterateurs.

• The award was presented to Madhu Kankaria for his novel 'Hum Yahan The' and to Dr. Madhav Hada for his critical work 'Pacharang Chola Pahar Sakhi Re'.

• Kankaria, a recipient of Bihari Puraskar 2021, has written many prose, poems and books. His novel 'Hum Yahan The' is based on the struggle of tribals in Jharkhand.

• It also provides information about the culture, society and economic conditions of Kolkata.

• Literary critic and academic Madhav Hada was awarded the Bihari Puraskar 2022 for his extensive work in literature, media, culture and history.

• He has also been a member of the General Council of Sahitya Akademi and the Hindi Advisory Board.

About Bihari Puraskar

• Bihari Puraskar is one of the three literary awards instituted by the KK Birla Foundation in 1991.

• Named after the famous poet Bihari, the award for Rajasthani writers carries a cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakh, a plaque and a citation.

• It is given every year for an outstanding work published in Hindi or Rajasthani by a Rajasthani writer.

• The awardees are selected by a selection committee headed by Chairman Hemant Shesh.