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By admin: March 21, 2022

14th India-Japan Annual Summit held in New Delhi

Tags: International News

The 14th India-Japan annual summit meeting was held in New Delhi on 19 March 2022. The Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Kishida Fumio visited India on 19 and 20th for a two day bilateral meeting with the Indian prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both the leader issued a joint statement titled “Joint Statement Partnership for a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous Post-COVID World”.

• This was the first visit of Mr. Kishida Fumio as a Japanese Prime Minister to India . He visited India as a foreign minister earlier. 

• The Summit between the Indian and Japanese PMs is taking place three and a half years after the last Summit in Japan in 2018.

• This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of India-Japan diplomatic relations (28 April 1952).

Highlights of the Visit 

• Japan will invest $42 billion (Rs 3.2lakh crore )in India in the next five years.

• Six agreements on cooperation between the countries were signed. These agreements are on cybersecurity, economic partnerships, waste-water management, urban development, a clean energy partnership and an agreement on promoting bamboo-based products from the northeast region.

• The Japanese Prime Minister Invited  the Indian Prime Minister for the QUAD summit 2022 meeting to be held in Japan.

• There was no agreement on Russian invasion of Ukraine. While the Japanese government has consistently criticised the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Russia, India has refrained from criticising Russian and has also abstained on any UN resolution criticising Russia.

Importance of Japan for India 

• Japan is the fifth largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India after Singapore, USA, Mauritius, Netherlands (April 2014 to August 2021). 

• It has invested $36.2 billion in India since 2000.

• Japan is the largest provider of assistance to India amongst all countries.

• There are 1,455 Japanese companies in India. Eleven Japan Industrial Townships (JIT) have been established, with Neemrana in Rajasthan and Sri City in Andhra Pradesh having the maximum number of companies.

• Japan is helping in setting up a High Speed Rail corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Fact File Japan 

• Japan is also called as Nihon or Nippon

• It is an archipelago in the western pacific ocean in East Asia.

• It is composed of four main islands Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Honshu is the largest island of Japan.

• It is separated from the Asian mainland by the Sea of Japan.

• Its highest mountain is Mount Fuji.

• It is the third largest economy in the world after the United States and China.

• It is the only country in the world where atom bomb was dropped. In 1945 the U.S. dropped atomic bomb on Hiroshima on 6 August (bomb name Little Boy) and Nagasaki on 9 August (Bomb name Fat Man).

The capital of Japan : Tokyo 

Currency of Japan : Yen

World's Longest suspension bridge inaugurated in Turkey

Tags: Popular International News

The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the world's largest suspension bridge on 18 March 2022 across Dardanelles Strait  in northwestern Turkey - which cuts travel time between Asia and Europe to six minutes.

•  The 1915 Canakkale Bridge was built by Turkish and South Korean firms with an investment of 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion),connecting Turkey's European and Asian shores.

• The 2,023 metre length of its midspan (distance between the two towers) is an allusion to the Turkish Republic's 100th anniversary in 2023.

• Its towers are 318 metres (347.8 yards) high and the total length of the bridge is 4.6 km (2.9 miles) including the approach viaducts.

• Now the second longest suspension bridge in the world is Japan’s Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, which has a 1,992-m-long main span.

• Ambassador Bridge on the river detroit, which connects Canada and the United States of America is the International suspension bridge in the world. 

Important for Exam 

Dardanelles Strait 

It links the Agean sea with the sea of Marmara . 

The Strait is a  narrow body of water which connects  two large bodies of water .

Dardanelles strait is one of the narrowest international straits and it separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey.

Turkey lies partly in Asia and partly in Europe .

It's currency :  Turkish Lira

Capital : Ankara 

President :Tayyip Erdogan

Russia uses Hypersonic Missile In Ukraine

Tags: Popular International News

Russia said on 19 March 2022 that it had used hypersonic Kinzhal (Kh-47M2)  missiles to destroy a large weapons depot in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk region. 

It was the first time Russia had deployed the hypersonic Kinzhal system since it sent its troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022. 

The Kinzhal missile can be fired from Mig-31 fighter aircraft. The missile can carry both conventional warheads or nuclear weapons.

Hypersonic Missile 

• Hypersonic missiles are those missiles which can fly five times the speed of sound in the upper atmosphere or about 6,200 km per hour.

• The main feature of the missile is its manoeuvrability which makes its detection by radar very difficult. 

• At present China has tested the missile and North Korea has also claimed to have tested it. The United States of America do not have these types of missiles.

Defence and Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is also working on developing this technology in India. In 2020 it successfully conducted the maiden test of the High-Speed Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) using an indigenously developed propulsion system.

International Days of Forest

Tags: Important Days

Every year 21 March is celebrated as the International Days of Forest. It has been observed since 2012. The International Day of Forests was established in 2012 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The Theme of the International Forest Days  2022: “Forests and sustainable production and consumption”.

For details about forests in India see 13 January 2022 Post.

Important for Exam 

Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO)

• It is a specialised agency of the United Nations .
• It was set up on 16 October 1945.
• Its Headquarters : Rome,Italy
• It was conferred with the Nobel Peace Prize 2020

World Poetry Day

Tags: Important Days

World Poetry day is celebrated every year on 21 March. World Poetry Day was adopted by UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) during the 30th General Conference in Paris in the year 1999. 

 Important for exam

UNESCO( United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) 

• It is a specialised agency of the United Nations.
• It was set up on 16 November 1945.
• Its Headquarters : Paris, France

Lakshya Sen settles for silver in the All England Badminton open

Tags: Sports Popular

Lakshya Sen lost the final of the All England Badminton championship 2022  to Viktor Axelsen of Denmark on 20 March 2022.   The tournament was held in the English city of Birmingham .The All England is one of the most prestigious badminton tournaments in the world. 

• So far only two Indians have won the tournament , Prakash Padukone in 1983 and Pullela Gopichand in 2000. 

Other Results 

Female singles  title 

• Akane Yamguchi of Japan won the gold medal  by defeating An Seyoung of South Korea in the finals.

Women's Doubles 

• Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida (both are Japanese ) defeated Zhang shu xian and Zheng Yu (both are Chinese ) in the final and won the Gold Medal .

• The Bronze medal was won by the Indian pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela  by defeating the South Korean pair of  Jeong Na Eun and Kim Hye Jeong .

Mens Double titles 

•  The Indonesian pair of  Muhammad Shohib Fikri and Bagas Mualana  defeated the Indonesian pair of Mohamad Ahsan and Hendra Satiwan to win the gold medal .

Mixed Doubles 

• The  Japanese pair of  Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higasano  defeated the Chinese pair of Wang Yi Lyu and Huang Dong Ping to win the gold medal .

All England Badminton Championship

• It is the world’s oldest badminton championship which was started in 1889 in England .

• It was considered unofficially as the world badminton title until 1977 . After that the International Badminton Federation started its own world championship in 1978. 

• No Indian female player  has ever won the women's single title at the All England championships .

Jay Shah term as ACC president extended by One year

Tags: Sports

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah's tenure as president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) was extended by one more year  till 2024 ,at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting held in Colombo on 19 March 2022.

• Shah had taken over as the president of the ACC in January last year from Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan, making him the youngest administrator to be re-appointed as ACC president.

Asian Cricket Council(ACC)

• It was set up in 1983 to promote cricket in Asia.

• All the test playing nations of Asia are its members namely. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

• Headquarters : Colombo, Sri Lanka 

BCCI

President: Sourav Ganguly

Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded:1928

Asia Cup Cricket 2022 will be held in Sri Lanka

Tags: Sports

At the annual Asian Cricket Council meeting held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 19 March 2022, decided that the Asia Cup 2022 (T20 Format) will be held in Sri Lanka from August 27-September 11 2022.

• All five Test teams - hosts Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh - will take part in the tournament while one more Asian side will be decided after a qualifying tournament which will be held from 20 August 2022.

• The Asia Cup, which usually alternates between ODI and T20I formats, was last played in 2018 and won by India. 

• The next edition in 2020 was postponed due to covid -19 and it will finally be held in 2022 in Sri Lanka.

•  Pakistan is scheduled to host the Asian Championship in 2023.

• Defending champions India are the most successful team in Asia Cup, winning it seven times including the lone T20I edition in 2016 while Sri Lanka have won the competition five times.