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By admin: Feb. 17, 2023

World Hindi Conference concludes in Fiji

Tags: Summits International News

The 12th World Hindi Conference concluded on 17 February in Nadi, Fiji. It was held from 15 to 17th February.

An overview of the news

• Fiji's Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra addressed the closing ceremony.

• The three-day conference was organised by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Government of Fiji.

• The main theme of the conference was "Hindi - Traditional Knowledge of Artificial Intelligence".

• In addition to the theme-based plenary sessions, 10 parallel sessions were held.

• Representatives of 50 countries participated in the World Hindi Conference.

• The conference was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar along with Fijian Prime Minister Sitwini Rabuka.

• This program will be used to promote Hindi as a global language.

World Hindi Conference

• The first World Hindi Conference was held in Nagpur in 1975 to popularise Hindi as a global language. At that time Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India.

• 11th World Hindi Conference was held at Port Louis, Mauritius between 18-20 August' 2018.

Hindi Diwas

• Every year 14 September is observed as Hindi Diwas in India. 

• On this day in 1949 the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi as the official language of the country.

Republic of Fiji 

• It is an archipelago consisting of around 300 islands in the South Pacific Ocean.

• Capital: Suva 

• Currency: Fijian Dollar 

• Prime Minister: Sitiveni Rabuka

Economic Times Global Business Summit

Tags: Summits National News

The Economic Times Global Business Summit 2023 was held in New Delhi on 17 February. 

An overview of the news

• The two-day Summit was held on 17-18 February.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Summit.

• The theme of the two-day Summit is 'Resilience, Influence and Dominance'.

• The summit brought together thought leaders, policy makers, academicians and corporate leaders on a common platform seeking to provide solutions to key economic challenges.

• More than 200 business leaders spoke in 40 sessions at the summit.

About Global Business Summit

• The Global Business Summit is hosted by The Times Group every year.

• Global Business Summit 2023 is the 7th edition.

• It brings together thought leaders, policy makers, academicians and corporate leaders on a common platform seeking to provide solutions to key economic challenges.

India International Seafood Show concludes in Kolkata

Tags: State News

Asia's biggest seafood show, India International Seafood concluded in Kolkata on 17 February.

An overview of the news

• The three-day event, organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) in association with the Seafood Exporters Association of India, began on February 15.

• It held a buyer-seller meet with special focus on G20 countries.

• The program was inaugurated by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel.

• India has set a target of $14 billion in marine products exports by 2025 and efforts are on to achieve the target.

• About five thousand delegates from India and other countries participated in this event.

• The government announced a new sub-scheme named Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samriddhi Saha-Yojana in the Union Budget 2023 and allocated six thousand crore rupees.

Importance of fisheries sector of India

• Fishing is one of the fastest growing primary producing sectors.

• India is the second major producer of fish through aquaculture in the world.

• India is the fourth largest exporter of fish in the world as it contributes to 7.7% of the global fish production.

• Presently this sector provides livelihood to more than 28 crore people within the country.

Blue revolution

• The Centrally Sponsored Scheme "Blue Revolution" was launched in the year 2016 for the integrated development and management of fisheries.

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana

• Sanctioned in 2020, it is a flagship scheme for the focused and sustainable development of the fisheries sector in the country.

• It seeks to provide direct employment to 15 lakh fishermen etc. which is almost three times this number in the form of indirect employment opportunities.

• It aims to double the income of fishermen and fish workers by the year 2024.

• Under this scheme, it has been envisaged to create 68 lakh jobs by the end of the year 2024-25.

Neil Mohan appointed as new CEO of YouTube

Tags: Person in news

Indian-American executive Neil Mohan has been appointed as the new CEO of YouTube.

An overview of the news

• He is working as YouTube's Chief Product Officer and Senior Vice President. 

• He will replace Susan Wojcicki, who has announced her decision to step down after nine years in the position.

• Mohan is joining an elite list of Indian-origin tech chiefs, including Alphabet's Sundar Pichai, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, IBM's Arvind Krishna and Adobe's Shantanu Narayen.

Who is Neal Mohan?

• He completed his studies in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

• He completed his MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 2005.

• He worked at DoubleClick Inc. from 1997 to 2003. Worked in

• At Microsoft, he served as Manager, Corporate Strategist from June 2004 to September 2004.

• He returned to DoubleClick as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Product Management.

• He joined Google in 2008.

• From 2008 to 2015, Mohan was in charge of Google's display and video advertising business.

• Mohan became the Chief Product Officer of YouTube in 2015.

Spanish government passes law providing 'menstrual leave' for the first time in Europe

Tags: International News

Spain's government approved a law providing paid medical leave for women suffering from severe menstrual pain, a first in any European country.

An overview of the news

• Such facilities are currently available in Japan, Indonesia and Zambia.

• According to the law, as much leave is needed for any female employee in case of illness, as much leave is required to deal with the pain during periods, no matter what field it is related to.

• According to the rules like paid leave found in other health related problems, approval should be given to get treatment from the doctor even during the period.

• However, the new law does not specify the number of days leave should be given by doctors during periods.

Other countries providing menstrual leave

• Indonesia passed a law in 2003 that gives women the right to two days of paid menstrual leave per month without prior notice.

• In Japan, a 1947 law states that companies must agree to provide women with menstrual leave if they request for it.

• In South Korea, women are entitled to one day of unpaid menstrual leave per month. Employers who refuse face fines.

• In Taiwan, the Gender Equality in Employment Act entitles women to three days of menstrual leave per year.

• Zambia passed a law in 2015 allowing women to take a day off without notice during menstruation.

UN recognised World Interfaith Harmony Week concludes in Ludhiana

Tags: State News Important Days

The “World Interfaith Harmony Week 2023”, an event recognised by the United Nations (UN) , concluded at SCD Government College, Ludhiana on 16 February.

An overview of the news

• The World Interfaith Harmony Week 2023 was organised by Team 1699 in association with NGO Cityneeds.

• Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains called upon the youth to spread the message of peace, love and harmony and stand up for the welfare of the society.

• More than 65 percent of the population in India is below 35 years of age. No other country in the world has such a large population of young adults.

• This generation has immense potential to spread love and unity which can bring revolutionary change in the society.

• Religious leaders and followers of Buddhism, Valmiki Samaj, Jainism, Christianity, Muslim, Hindu and Sikhism participated in the activities during the World Interfaith Harmony Week.

About World Interfaith Harmony Week

• World Interfaith Harmony Week is an annual event recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010.

• It is organised every year in the first week of February.

• The week, initiated to promote culture, peace and non-violence, was first proposed by King Abdullah II of Jordan at the United Nations in 2010.

Uttarakhand's New Anti-Copying Law

Tags: State News

The Governor of Uttarakhand recently gave his assent to an ordinance brought by the Pushkar Singh Dhami-led government to prevent the use of unfair means in examinations.

An overview of the news

• The name of the ordinance is Uttarakhand Competitive Examinations (Measures for Control and Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Ordinance, 2023. 

• It provides for a fine of up to Rs 10 crore and life imprisonment for the guilty.

• The ordinance aims to reduce cheating during examinations and promote fairness in the educational system.

• The ordinance comes after the UKPSC paper leak due to which the exam of around 1.4 lakh government job aspirants was cancelled.

Key provisions

• Candidates involved in cheating will be penalised and `10 years ban` will be imposed on them.

• In this, there is a provision to impose a fine of 10 crores along with life imprisonment or 10 years in jail to the copycat mafia.

• Apart from this, there is also a provision to attach the property of the copycat mafia.

AICTE and BPRD Jointly Launch KAVACH-2023

Tags: National National News

A national level  hackathon KAVACH-2023 was launched on 16 February to identify innovative ideas and technological solutions to address India's 21st century cyber security and cybercrime challenges.

An overview of the news

• KAVACH-2023 is a one-of-a-kind national hackathon jointly developed by AICTE, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) and Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.

• It identifies innovative ideas and technological solutions to address 21st century cyber security and cybercrime challenges faced by law enforcement agencies and common citizens.

• KAVACH-2023 will be organised in two phases.

• In the first phase, topics related to Fake News/Social Media, Dark Web, Women Safety, Phishing Detection, Video Analytics/CCTV, Obscene Content Detection, Spam Alerts, and Malware Analysis/Digital Forensics will be covered.

President of India inaugurates International Engineering and Technology Fair 2023

Tags: Festivals National News

President Droupadi Murmu on 16 February inaugurated the International Engineering and Technology Fair (IETF) 2023 in New Delhi.

An overview of the news 

• This event is being organised from 16 to 18 February at Pragati Maidan.

• The International Engineering and Technology Fair is organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

• The event is not only a celebration of India's growth story in engineering and manufacturing sectors, but also a testimony to collaboration with other countries in the best advanced technologies in the world.

• IETF-2023 covers 11 areas of emerging technologies that will have a profound impact on the economy and society.

• IETF-2023 is a determined effort to showcase engineering and technologies that promote harmony between nature and science.

Yakshagana Bhagavat Balipa Narayana Bhagavatha dies at 85 in Karnataka

Tags: Person in news

Famous Yakshagana singer and screenwriter Balipa Narayan Bhagwat passed away on February 16 in Karnataka.

An overview of the news

• He had mastered a unique style of singing, due to which fans have given it the name of 'Balipa Style'.

• Rich in voice, Bhagwat has written more than 30 Yakshagana 'Prasanga' (scripts).

• He was well versed in over 100 Yakshagana episodes, which he composed by heart.

• He had served in the field of Yakshagana for about 60 years.

• He was the chief Bhagwat of Kateel Durgaparameshwari Prasadita Yakshagana Mandali (Kateel Mela).

• Born on April 13, 1938 in Padre village of Kasargod district (Kerala), Bhagavata wrote several Yakshagana episodes.

• Bhagwat entered the Yakshagana field at the age of 13.

• He composed the five-day 'Devi Mahatme' episode, which was an important milestone in the history of Yakshagana literature.

• He was honoured with several other awards including the 'Karnataka Sri' award in 2002 for All India Kannada literature.