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By admin: Nov. 14, 2022

Table Tennis player Sharath Kamal Achanta chosen for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2022

Tags: Sports Awards Person in news

The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the National Sports awards 2022 on 14 November 2022.Table Tennis player Sharath Kamal Achanta has been selected for the country’s highest sports award   Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. 25 Sports persons will receive Arjuna Awards.

The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 30th November, 2022.

National Sports Awards 2022

Major Dhyan Chand Award 2022

Sharath Kamal Achanta, Table Tennis Player 

Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2022: 

• Seema Punia (Athletics), 
• Eldhose Paul (Athletics), 
• Avinash Mukund Sable (Athletics), 
• Lakshya Sen (Badminton), 
• HS Prannoy (Badminton), 
• Amit (Boxing), 
• Nikhat Zareen (Boxing), 
• Bhakti Pradip Kulkarni (Chess), 
• R Praggnanandhaa (Chess),
•  Deep Grace Ekka (Hockey),
•  Shushila Devi (Judo), 
• Sakshi Kumari (Kabaddi), 
• Nayan Moni Saikia (Lawn Bowl), 
• Sagar Kailas Ovhalkar (Mallakhamb), 
• Elavenil Valarivan (Shooting), 
• Omprakash Mitharval (Shooting), 
• Sreeja Akula (Table Tennis), 
• Vikas Thakur (Weightlifting), 
• Anshu (Wrestling), 
• Sarita (Wrestling), 
• Parveen (Wushu), 
• Manasi Girishchandra Joshi (Para Badminton), 
• Tarun Dhillon (Para Badminton), 
• Swapnil Sanjay Patil (Para Swimming), 
• Jerlin Anika J (Deaf Badminton).

Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games 2022 

Regular Category: 

• Jiwanjot Singh Teja (Archery), 
• Mohammad Ali Qamar (Boxing), 
• Suma Siddharth Shirur (Para Shooting), 
• Sujeet Maan (Wrestling).

Lifetime Category:

• Dinesh Jawahar Lad (Cricket), 
• Bimal Prafulla Ghosh (Football), 
• Raj Singh (Wrestling).

Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime achievement in Sports and Games 2022: 

• Ashwini Akkunji C (Athletics), 
• Dharamvir Singh (Hockey), 
• B C Suresh (Kabaddi), 
• Nir Bahadur Gurung (Para Athletics).

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2022: 

• Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent category: TransStadia Enterprises Private Limited, 
• Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility category: Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, 
• Sports for Development category: Ladakh Ski & Snowboard Association.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2022:

Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

Indian Sports Award 

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 

• It is the highest sporting award for a sports person in India. The Khel Ratna is awarded for outstanding performances in sports for over a period of four years.
• It was earlier called as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and its name was changed to Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021.
• The award was started in 1991 -92 and the first sportsperson to be awarded was the legendary Chess player Vishwanathan Anand.  
• Pistol shooter Abhinav Bindra, who won the first-ever individual gold medal for India at the Olympics at Beijing 2008, is the youngest sportsperson to win the Khel Ratna. He was 18 years old when he got the award.
• Karnam Malleswari was the first Indian woman to receive the Khel Ratna in 1994-95.

Arjuna Award 

It was instituted in 1961. It is given to sportspersons for consistent good performance over a period of four years. 

Hockey player Anna Lumsden was the first woman to win the Arjuna Award. She was conferred the prize in 1961.

Dronacharya Award for Coaches 

• It is officially called the Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, for coaches who help athletes achieve excellence over a period of four years.
• The Dronacharya Award was first given in 1985, and the first Dronacharya Award winner was wrestling Coach Bhalchandra Bhaskar Bhagwat.
• The first woman to win the Dronacharya award was athletics coach Renu Kohli in 2002.

Dronacharya Lifetime award 

• It was instituted in 2011. 
• It is given to coaches who have helped sportspersons achieve excellence over a period of 20 years or more.
• The first recipient(s) of the Dronacharya (Lifetime) Award were athletics coach Kuntal Roy and hockey coach Rajinder Singh in 2011.

Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime achievement

It was instituted in 2002. It is given to a sports person for good performance and contribution towards the promotion of sports in an individual capacity. 

The first recipients of the Major Dhyan Chand Award were Olympian boxer Shahuraj Birajdar, Indian men’s hockey team player Ashok Diwan and Aparna Ghosh, an accomplished player and coach with the Indian women’s basketball team.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy

• It is the oldest National Sports Awards in India which was instituted in 1956–1957.
• The award is given to the University for Top Performance in inter-university tournaments over the last one year.
• Bombay University was the first winner of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy. 
• Guru Nanak Dev University from Amritsar, Punjab has won it a record 23 times.

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 

 It was instituted in 2009 .It is awarded to organisations or corporates (both private and public) and individuals for playing a role in the area of sports promotion and development over the last three years.

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 

It was set up in 1994 in the memory of Tenzing Norgay. He is an Indian of Nepali origin who along with a New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary scaled Mount Everest on 29 May 1953.

The award is given in adventure sports like mountaineering, skydiving, and open water swimming.

Sri Lanka to host U-19 Men's T-20 World Cup 2024

Tags: Sports

The International cricket governing body International Cricket Council (ICC) on 13 November 2022, announced host countries for U19 events between 2024 and 2027. The name of the host was announced after the Board meeting of the ICC was held at Melbourne, Australia on 12 November 2022.

The ICC U19 Men’s ODI Cricket World Cup 2024 will be hosted by Sri Lanka while the 2026 edition will be staged in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025 will be held in Malaysia and Thailand, and the 2027 event will be jointly hosted by Bangladesh and Nepal.

The first ever ICC U19 Women’s T20 world cup will be held in South Africa in January 2023.

ICC also declared the qualification pathway for the 10-team 2024 women’s T20 World Cup to be hosted by Bangladesh.  Eight teams will qualify for the event automatically comprising the top three teams from each group from 2023, T20 World Cup.

The remaining two teams will be identified through the 10-team ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier.

The qualification pathway for the 14-team men’s World Cup 2027 was also decided with ten teams gaining automatic qualification. The remaining four teams will qualify via the ICC CWC Global Qualifier.

The ICC men’s World Cup ODI 2027 will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Mehran Karimi Nasseri who lived in Paris airport for 18 years dies

Tags: place in news Person in news International News

The 77-year-old Iranian refugee Mehran Karimi Nasseri, whose ordeal inspired the 2004 movie “The Terminal” starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones died on 13 November 2022, inside the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, where he had previously lived for 18 years.

Mehran Karimi Nasseri died around noon local time of a heart attack, a spokesperson for the Paris airport authority said on 14 November 2022.IR

Nasseri was born in 1945 in the Iranian province of Khuzestan. He left Iran in 1970’s to search for his British mothers. He was expelled from many European countries including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany for not having the correct immigration documents. 

In 1988, French authorities stopped him at the Paris airport as he tried to pass through without identity papers. Caught in an immigration trap, he soon set up a makeshift home of his own in the airport and lived for many years in Terminal 1 of Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport. 

He was offered a residence permit by France but was unable to adjust to life outside the airport. He eventually came back to the Airport’s Terminal 2F and died later.

Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande embarks on 4-day official visit to France

Tags: Defence Person in news

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Pande left on a 4 day (14-17 November) official visit to France on 14 November 2022. General Pande will hold a meeting with his French counterparts and senior military leadership with the aim to strengthen defence ties between the two nations.

His visit is aimed to give impetus to the ever growing Indo-French defence ties. During his visit he will lay a wreath at Neuve Chapelle Indian Memorial, which commemorates the sacrifices of 4,742 Indian soldiers during the First World War.

Earlier on November 7, Army Chief General Manoj Pande held a meeting with French Chief of Staff of Air and Space Force, General Stephane Mille. During the meeting, both sides discussed various aspects of defence cooperation between France and India.

The seventh edition of the bilateral exercise between the Indian Air Force and the French Air and Space Force,' Exercise Garuda-VII' concluded at Air Force Station in Jodhpur on 12 November 2022.

General Manoj Pande is the 29th Chief of Army Staff in India .He is the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to become the Chief of Army.

India and Finland agrees to enhance cooperation in Digital Partnership

Tags: Person in news

India and Finland have agreed to enhance cooperation in areas such as Digital Partnership in Future ICT, Future Mobile Technologies and Digital Education.  This was agreed by the visiting Finland's Minister of Education and Culture, Petri Honkonen and the Union Minister of Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh in a meeting in New Delhi on 14 November 2022.

Both the countries also agreed on having institutionalized joint working groups in areas of mutual interest and in the field of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Dr Jitendra Singh also recalled that following the signing of the Joint declaration during the visit of Mika Lintilä, Minister of Economic Affairs, and Finland on 18th April 2022, both sides have initiated collaboration in Quantum Technologies. 

The Indian side has already identified four premier institutes  IISER(Indian Institute of Science Education and Research)  Pune, IIT Madras, TIFR(Tata Institute of Fundamental Research) Mumbai and C-DAC(Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) Pune to work with Finnish institutions on joint development of Quantum Computer. 

 Republic of Finland 

It is located in Northern Europe. It forms a symbolic border between Eastern and Western Europe.

It is heavily forested and has around 56,000 lakes. It is also called the Land of Thousand Lakes.

Capital: Helsinki 

Currency: Euro

Prime Minister: Sanna Marin

The Pandemic Fund sponsored by World Bank and WHO officially launched at the G20 meeting

Tags: place in news International News

The Pandemic Fund sponsored by the World Bank and World Health Organisation was officially launched at Bali, Indonesia on 13 November 2022 at the sidelines of the G-20 Joint Finance and Health Ministers’ Meeting.

The high-level speakers included Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, World Bank Group President David Malpass, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen among others.

Pandemic Fund  

The Pandemic Fund has been established by the World Bank in association with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in September 2022.

The fund has been set up to provide assistance to the low and middle income countries to strengthen their preparedness and response (PPR) to the future epidemics and pandemics.

The fund will be used to build and strengthen infrastructure in these countries so that they are better prepared to face the risks of future epidemics and pandemics like covid.

Till date according to the World Bank the fund has received a commitment of $1.4 billion from 24 donor countries including India.

Structure of the Fund 

The World Bank will serve as the Pandemic Fund’s trustee and host the Secretariat, which will include technical staff seconded from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Governing Board of the Pandemic Fund will be advised by A Technical Advisory Panel headed by WHO. It will comprise leading experts to assess and make recommendations on the technical merits of proposals for funding, ensuring linkages to the International Health Regulations, as part of the broader global PPR architecture.

Google announces the winner of the Google for Doodle 2022 Contest

Tags: Awards

This year Google has declared Kolkata's Shlok Mukherjee as the winner of the Google for Doodle 2022 competition for his inspiring doodle titled 'India on the Center Stage' for India.

Important facts

• Shloka's doodle - 'India on the Center Stage' - expresses hope for India's scientific progress to gain further momentum in the years to come.

• The theme of the Doodle for Google contest 2022 was 'In the next 25 years, my India will be...'.

• Sharing his doodle, Shlok wrote, "Indian scientists will succeed in developing indigenous eco-friendly robots for the betterment of humanity in the next 25 years".

• India will travel regularly from earth to space. India will be stronger in the coming years with more development in Yoga and Ayurveda.

• This year's contest received over 115,000 entries from children in classes 1 to 10 from over 100 cities across India.

• Shloka's doodle will be shown on Google.co.in for 24 hours on November 14, 2022.

• This year's Doodle for Google judging panel included actor, filmmaker, and TV artiste Neena Gupta.

• The 20 finally selected doodles were displayed online for public voting. Apart from the national winner, 4 group winners were also selected.

Government announces Framework for issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds

Tags: Environment Economy/Finance

The Central government has issued a framework for its proposed Sovereign Green Bonds .Nirmala Sithraman in her budget speech had proposed the issuance of Sovereign Green Bond in the 2022-23 financial year. The government said later it proposes to issue Rs 16,000 crore worth of bonds in the second half of the current financial year.

What is a Sovereign Green Bond? 

Sovereign means Government of India. Bond means that it is a debt instrument which is issued to raise capital or fund and it creates debt on the issuer. Here Green means that the fund raised from the sale of the bonds will be used for environment friendly projects. 

Main features of the Sovereign Green Bond 

Committee to select eligible project

The government will set up a ‘Green Finance Working Committee' headed by the Chief Economic Advisor Dr V. Anantha Nageswaran. The committee will select eligible projects for financing.

The committee will meet at least twice a year and will include members from relevant ministries, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, NITI Aayog, and the Budget Division of the finance ministry's Department of Economics and others.

Projects to be financed 

The projects eligible to be financed or re-financed by the proceeds of Green Bond issuances fall under the following nine categories:  

• renewable energy, 
• energy efficiency, 
• clean transportation,
• climate change adaptation,
•  sustainable water and waste management, 
• pollution prevention and control, 
• green buildings, 
• Sustainable management of living natural resources and land use, and terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity conservation.

Projects which are not eligible 

• The funds raised through the green bonds, however, won’t be used to finance hydropower plants that are larger than 25 MW, 
• nuclear projects and 
• Any biomass-based power generation with biomass originating from protected areas.

Which type of government spending will qualify for the Green sovereign bonds?

Spending that will qualify for the green financing includes government expenditure in the form of investment, subsidies, grant-in-aids, or tax foregone or select operational spending and R&D expenditures in public-sector projects for reducing the carbon intensity of the economy. Investment in equity, by using the green bond proceeds, is allowed only in case of metro projects.

Expenditures directly related to fossil fuel won’t qualify for green financing. However investment or spending aimed at a relatively cleaner Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is allowed if it’s used in public transportation projects only.

The Framework has been rated Medium Green 

According to the Finance Ministry the framework has been termed “medium green” by CICERO. 

CICERO is a leading global independent reviewer of green bond investment architecture. 

This is the best grade after “dark green”, assigned by CICERO for a green bond that aligns with a low-carbon climate resilient future.

Points to remember 

First Green bond in the world was issued by the European Investment Bank in 2007.

The World Bank issued green bonds for the first time in 2008.

India’s first green bond was issued by Yes Bank in 2015.

Gaurav Dwivedi appointed as Prasar Bharati CEO

Tags: Person in news

Senior IAS officer Gaurav Dwivedi was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of public broadcaster Prasar Bharati on November 14, 2022.

Important facts

• Dwivedi, a 1995 batch officer of Chhattisgarh cadre, will have a tenure of five years from the date he assumes charge.

• Prior to this, Dwivedi was the Chief Executive Officer of MyGovIndia, the government's citizen platform.

• Shashi Shekhar Vempati was the CEO of Prasar Bharati from 2017 to 2022.

• Doordarshan Director General Mayank Agarwal was given the additional charge of CEO Prasar Bharati in June this year, after Vempati completed his five-year term.

• He has been awarded the Prime Minister's Award for his excellent work in administration.

Pakistan and Bangladesh will be among first to receive G7 'Global Shield' climate funding

Tags: Environment International News

Pakistan, Ghana, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Fiji, Philippines and Senegal will be among the first recipients of funding from a G7 'Global Shield' initiative to provide funding to countries suffering from climate disasters. It was announced by Germany on 14 November 2022 at the ongoing COP27 summit in Egypt.

Global Shield climate Finance 

It was launched by the G 7 countries (United States of America, Canada, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Japan) at the COP27 summit in Egypt on 14 November 2022.

The Global Shield will be coordinated by Germany and is being developed in collaboration with the 'V20' group of 58 climate vulnerable economies.

Aim of the fund 

• The fund will be used to help low-income and vulnerable countries to deal with climate induced calamities.
• It aims to strengthen social protection schemes and climate risk insurance so when an extreme weather event like flooding occurs, countries can access aid quickly and recover.
• Germany has announced that it will contribute USD 172 million to the fund. However the size of the fund has not been disclosed.

Demand for special Loss and Damage Fund 

• Global warming induced climate change has badly affected the developing countries who don't have the resources to deal with such natural calamities like floods, drought etc.
• The developing countries have been demanding that the polluting countries (Developed countries) shall pay for the loss and damage suffered by the poor developing countries due to climate change.
• After years of resistance by the developed countries, they  have agreed to discuss a special loss and damage fund in the COP 27 meeting being held in Sharm -el Sheik ,Egypt from 6-18 November 2022.
• The "Global Shield" initiative is being seen as one of step to address such funding.  

Wangala festival in Meghalaya

Tags: Festivals State News

In Meghalaya the three-day Wangala festival celebration concluded on 12 November, 2022. This 3 day festival started on 10th November and ended on 12th November.

About Wangala festival

• It is also known as the festival of ‘100 drums’, is a harvest festival celebrated by the ‘Garo Tribes’ in Meghalaya every year.

• It is celebrated with a variety of dances to the tune of folk songs played on drums and primitive flutes made of buffalo horns.

• This festival is celebrated in worship of the Sun God and marks the end of the long harvest season.

• The festival also marks the end of long working days in the field for the Garo tribe before the arrival of winter.

• The festival is a way to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the Garo tribe of Meghalaya and showcase their tradition.

About Garo Tribes

• The Garos are Meghalaya's second largest tribe. Khasi and Jaintia tribes are the other two major tribes of Meghalaya.

• The Garos are believed to have originated in Tibet.

• However, Christianity has had a significant impact on the culture of the modern Garo community.

• The Garos have many dialects and cultural groups. Each of them originally settled in a particular area of the Garo Hills.

Greg Barclay re-elected as ICC chairman

Tags: Person in news Sports News

Greg Barclay has been unanimously re-elected as chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a second two-year term on 13 November, 2022.

Important facts

• Barkley has been re-elected as independent president for a second two-year term. Barkley was elected unopposed after Zimbabwe's Tawengwa Mukuhlani withdrew.

• Barkley was appointed as the IIC President in November 2020. At the same time, BCCI secretary Jay Shah was elected as the head of the powerful Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee of the ICC.

• Greg Barclay-Hale was the President of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and also served as the Director of ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2015.

About International Cricket Council (ICC)

• It is the global governing body for cricket.

• It was founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa.

• In 1989, its name was changed to International Cricket Council (ICC).

• Representing 108 members, it regulates and administers the game of cricket and works with members to develop the game.

• It presides over the ICC Code of Conduct, playing conditions, decision review system and other ICC regulations.

• Headquarter - Dubai, United Arab Emirates

In Slovenia, Natasa Pirc Musar elected the country’s first female President

Tags: Person in news International News

In Slovenia, Natasa Pirc Musar has been elected the country’s first female President after beating her conservative rival in the second round of elections on November 13.

Important facts

• Ms. Pirak Musar got about 54 percent of the votes, while Logar got about 46 percent.

• He defeated Anze Logar, former foreign minister and a veteran of conservative politics.

• A prominent lawyer, Pirk Musser, represented former US First Lady Melania Trump in Slovenia on copyright and other matters.

• She campaigned on issues of human rights, rule of law and social welfare.

• Pirk Musser, 54, will be the first woman to serve as president after Yugoslavia broke up and Slovenia became independent in 1991.

• She will replace President Borut Pahor, a centrist politician who has already served two terms as president.

About Slovenia

• Prime Minister - Robert Golob

• Capital - Ljubljana

• Currency - Euro

• Official Language - Slovene

World Diabetes Day

Tags: Important Days

World Diabetes Day is being observed across the globe on November 14.

Important facts

• The day provides an opportunity to raise awareness of diabetes as a global public health issue and the efforts needed to diagnose, prevent and manage it.

• This year the theme of World Diabetes Day 2022 is 'Access to Diabetes Education' and underlines the multi-year theme of 'Access to Care'.

• According to the World Health Organisation, around 422 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes and 1.5 million people die each year due to diabetes.

• According to the World Health Organisation, cases of diabetes are increasing rapidly in India, with an estimated 8.7% of the population in the age group of 20 and 70 years suffering from diabetes.

• The government and the health department are making concerted efforts to spread awareness about the disease so that it can be managed in a better way.

Background of the day 

• The day is observed every year on 14 November to mark the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who discovered insulin in 1922 along with Charles Best.

• World Diabetes Day was first observed in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the growing concerns about the disease and to spread awareness about it. Since then it is celebrated every year.

What is Diabetes?

• Diabetes is a disease that occurs when blood glucose is too high.

• Blood glucose is the main source of energy and is obtained from food.

• Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas that helps glucose from food get into cells to be used for energy.

• Sometimes the body doesn't make enough insulin or doesn't use insulin well. This condition is called diabetes.

Types of diabetes

• Type 1 - In type 1 diabetes the body does not make insulin. It mostly affects children of 14-16 years of age.

• Type 2 - In type 2 diabetes, the body is unable to make or use insulin properly. Type 2 diabetes can develop at any age. However, this type of diabetes often occurs in middle-aged and older people. Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes.

National Children's Day

Tags: Important Days

Every year on 14 November,  National Children's Day is celebrated across the country.

Important facts

• The day commemorates the birth anniversary of the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. 

• Nehru was a great supporter of children's rights and an all-inclusive education system where knowledge is accessible to all.

• He believed that children are the future of the country and the foundation of the society, so their well-being should be taken care of.

• Children's Day is celebrated all over the country to raise awareness about the rights, care and education of children.

Background of the day 

• In India, it was celebrated as 'Universal Children's Day' on November 20, 1956.

• However, after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru, a resolution was passed in the Indian Parliament to mark his birthday as  National Children's Day.

• Along with being an efficient administrator, Nehru worked to build some of India's most prestigious educational institutions, such as AIIMS, IITs and IIMs.

About Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

• He was born on 14th November 1889 at Allahabad, United Provinces, his father was Motilal Nehru and his mother was Swaruprani Thussu.

• He moved to England at the age of 15 to study at Harrow School.

• He then studied natural science from the University of Cambridge.

• Nehru studied law and started his practice at the Allahabad High Court in 1912.

• When he met Mahatma Gandhi for the first time in 1916, he was very impressed by his teachings.

• He became the Indian National Congress’s General Secretary in 1923.

• He was the party president when Purna Swaraj was first announced at the Lahore session in 1929.

• He was a prominent face of the independence movement after Gandhi. He was jailed on several occasions.

• He headed the interim government in 1946.

• After the country got independence, he successfully integrated the country with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and his associate VK Krishna Menon.

• He initiated many projects for the development of the country like establishment of IITs, Defence academies etc.

• He was the first prime minister of India (1947–64). 

• He is the longest-serving prime minister of the country, having held this position for 17 years.

• He passed away on May 27, 1964.

• His birth anniversary is celebrated as National Children's Day in the country.

Some of Nehru's Works

• The Discovery of India

• Letters from a Father to His Daughter

• Glimpses of World History

• Toward Freedom (Autobiography)

  
  

India International Trade Fair begins at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi

Tags: Festivals Economy/Finance National News

The 41st India International Trade Fair (IITF) began on November 14, 2022 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

Important facts

• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated the fair, which will run till November 27.

• The theme of the year 2022 trade fair is 'Vocal for Local, Local to Global'.

• This 14 day mega event has a special significance as it coincides with the celebration of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'.

• Twenty nine states and union territories are participating in this program. Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra are the partner states in the fair while Uttar Pradesh and Kerala are participating as focus states.

• Twelve countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus, Iran, Nepal, Thailand, Turkey, UAE and UK are participating in the fair.

• Around 2500 domestic and foreign exhibitors are participating in the trade fair to showcase their products and services.

• The first five days (November 14-18) of the trade fair are exclusively reserved for business days.

• 'General public day' is reserved from 19 to 27 November.

About India International Trade Fair

• It is an annual fair organised by India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO) at Pragati Maidan, Delhi.

• This fair was first organised in Delhi in the year 1980 and since then, it is an annual event which is much awaited by the people all over the country.

• The fair provides a platform to the manufacturers, traders, exporters and importers of the country to showcase their products.

World Kindness Day

Tags: Important Days

World Kindness Day is celebrated across the world on 13 November every year.

Important facts

• It is a special day, when we celebrate one of the special characteristics of mankind i.e. kindness.

• The feeling of kindness helps to improve the life of every human being.

• This year the day is being celebrated with the theme ‘Be kind whenever possible.’

• World Kindness Day was started in the year 1998 by the World Kindness Movement organisation, which was founded by kindness organisations around the world at the 1997 Tokyo conference.

• It is celebrated in many countries including Canada, Japan, Australia, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.

• From the year 1998, this day started being celebrated annually.

• It is celebrated in many countries including Canada, Japan, Australia, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates. In the year 2009, Singapore celebrated the day for the first time.

• Australia started celebrating the day in 2012, France in 2015 and the USA in 2018. As of 2019, the World Kindness Movement had reached 27 different countries.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry launches carbon offset plan

Tags: Environment International News

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry on November 9 has unveiled a new carbon offset scheme called Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) for climate finance.

About Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA)

• Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) will be developed by the US along with the Bezos Earth Fund and the Rockefeller Foundation and receive inputs from public and private sectors.

• It would allow companies to finance clean energy projects in developing countries and earn carbon credits that they can use to meet their own climate goals.

• This will allow companies to have a financial edge over their competitors in the race to meet climate goals.

• Its objective is to put out of use coal plants and accelerate the use of renewable energy.

• This can certainly be good for renewable energy projects and for coal plants that are too old and unviable and which India wants to shut down.

• The ETA is projected to operate until 2030, potentially expanding to 2035.