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By admin: Nov. 21, 2022

Biggest Manipur festival Sangai commences in the state

Tags: Festivals State News

Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy inaugurated the biggest tourism festival of Manipur -Sangai festival on 21 November 2022 at Moirang Khunou in Bishnupur district of Manipur.

The 11th Sangai festival will be held from 21 -30 November 2022.  The festival which started in 2010 is being held after a 2 year gap due to covid. It is being held in 13 venues across six districts.

The festival is called Sangai festival to highlight the uniqueness of the shy and gentle deer popularly known as the Sangai in the region. It is a rare species of deer which is also the state animal of Manipur.

The theme of the Sangai festival 2022 is :‘ Festival of Oneness’.

The indigenous sagol kangjei, a sport that has now evolved into the modern game of polo, will also be featured during the festival in its very own birthplace. The Men’s International Polo Tournament will be held in Imphal and the CM’s Sagol Kangjei Tournament in Kangla as part of the festival.

Other major festivals of Manipur 

Gang-Ngai

Celebrated for five days in the month of December/January, Gang-Ngai is an important festival of the Kabui Nagas. 

Lui-Ngai-Ni

It is a collective festival of the Nagas observed on the 15th day of February every year. This is a seed sowing festival after which tribes belonging to the Naga group begin their cultivation. 

Yaoshang

Celebrated for five days commencing from the full moon day of Phalguna (February/March), Yaoshang is the premier festival of Manipur. The Thabal Chongba – a kind of Manipuri fold dance, where boys and girls hold hands together and sing and dance in a circle, is particularly associated with this festival. Yaoshang to Manipur is what Durga Puja is to Bengal, Diwali in north India and Bihu to Assam.

Cheiraoba: The Manipuri New Year

 It is celebrated during the month of April. Villagers climb the nearest hilltops in belief that it will enable them to rise to greater heights in their worldly life.

Kang: The Ratha Yatra of Manipur

One of the greatest festivals of the Hindus of Manipur, this festival is celebrated for ten days in the month of July. Lord Jagannath leaves his temple in a car known as “Kang” in Manipur pulled by devotees who vie with one another for this honour.

Heikru Hitongba

Celebrated in the month of September, Heikru Hitongba is a boat race. Long narrow boats are used to accommodate a large number of rowers. An idol of Lord Vishnu is installed before the commencement of the race.

Ningol Chak-kouba: A social festival of the Manipuris

It is a remarkable social festival of the Meiteis. Married daughters of the family come to their parental house along with their children and enjoy a sumptuous feast. It is celebrated on the second day of the new moon in the month of Hiyangei (November) as per Manipur Calendar system.

Kut: Festival of Kuki- Chin- Mizo

It is an autumn festival of the different tribes of Kuki-Chin-Mizo groups of Manipur. It is a happy occasion for the villagers whose food stock is bountiful after a year of hard labour. It is observed on the 1st November every year.

Chumpha: Festival of Tangkhul Nagas

Celebrated for seven days in the month of December, the Chumpha Festival is a great festival of the Rangkhul Nagas. The festival is held after harvest. 

13th bilateral naval exercise Naseem Al Bahr-2022, between Indian and Omani navy start off the coast of Oman

Tags: Defence

The 13th edition of bilateral exercise between the Indian and the Royal Oman navies, Naseem Al Bahr-2022, commenced off the coast of Oman on 20 November 2022. The exercise is being conducted in two phases: the Harbour Phase and the Sea Phase.

 Naseem Al Bahr naval exercise was started in 1993. The last edition was conducted off Goa in 2019. 

The Indian Navy’s guided missile frigate Trikand and Offshore Patrol Vessel Sumitra, with their integral helicopters, and the maritime patrol aircraft, Dornier, are participating in the exercise.

The exercise facilitates operational-level interaction between the two navies to foster mutual cooperation and enhance good order at sea.

The exercise also aims to strengthen the ancient maritime and cultural linkages between India and Oman.

Over 60 people dead in the Indonesian earthquake

Tags: place in news Science and Technology International News

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake killed more than 60 people and injured hundreds in Indonesia's West Java province on 21 November 2022. However the death toll is likely to rise further as many are still trapped under the rubbles.

The epicentre was near the town of Cianjur in West Java, about 75 km (45 miles) southeast of the capital, Jakarta.

Indonesia lies across the "Pacific Ring of Fire", a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the Earth's crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.

In 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake off Sumatra Island in northern Indonesia triggered a tsunami that struck 14 countries, killing 226,000 people along the Indian Ocean coastline, more than half of them in Indonesia.

Earthquake

Earthquakes happen when the plates of the earth collide with each other. The earth's lithosphere consists of 7 major plates and they float over the molten surface of the upper mantle. When they collide energy waves are released which causes vibration on the surface of the Earth known as Earthquake.

The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.

Earthquakes are recorded by instruments called seismographs. The recording they make is called a seismogram. 

The scale for measuring earthquakes is called the Richter scale. It is a mathematical scale used to measure the intensity of earthquake waves. It ranges from 0 to 9. However it can be more than 9. 

Shtrunash exercise conducted by the South Western command of the Indian Army in Rajasthan

Tags: place in news Defence

The South Western Command of the Indian Army conducted an Integrated Fire Power Exercise,“SHATRUNASH’’in Thar desert of Rajasthan on 21 November 2022.

The exercise witnessed use of multifarious firing platforms in an integrated manner involving both ground & aerial manoeuvres.

Various actions included insertion of troops, offensive ground actions involving comprehensive coordination incorporating contemporary technologies in a multi domain environment. 

Real time communication and sharing of common operating pictures amongst various participants to overcome emerging threats were practiced & skills were honed.

South Western Command of Indian Army: Jaipur

General Officer Commanding In Chief of the South Western Command : Lieutenant General A S Bhinder

India and European Union sign agreement for cooperation in high-performance computing

Tags: National Science and Technology

India and the European Union (EU) have signed an agreement on cooperation in hi-tech areas such as climate modelling and quantum technologies on 21 November 2022. This agreement seeks to implement the provision of the India-EU TTC (Trade and Technology Council) agreement signed during the visit of the European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 25 April 2022 at New Delhi.

The agreement named ‘Intent of Cooperation on High Performance Computing (HPC), Weather Extremes and Climate Modelling and Quantum Technologies’ was signed by the ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) during a virtual ceremony. The agreement was signed by MeitY secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma and DG CONNECT director general Roberto Viola.

The agreement aims to facilitate collaboration on high performance computing applications using Indian and European supercomputers in areas such as bio-molecular medicines, Covid-19 therapeutics, mitigating climate change, predicting natural disasters and quantum computing.

India-EU TTC (Trade and Technology Council) 

The India-EU TTC (Trade and Technology Council) was established between India and the European Union during the visit of the   European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 25 April 2022 at New Delhi.

The India-EU TTC (Trade and Technology Council) is a strategic mechanism that gives New Delhi access to advanced technologies and allows the two sides to set standards in crucial areas such as 5G and artificial intelligence. 

This is the first such trade and technology council set up by India with any of its partners. 

India is the second country after the United States of America with which the European Union has signed such an agreement.

European Union 

The European Union is a group of 27 European countries. 

The United Kingdom which was the founding member of the European Union has left the organisation.

It was founded on 1 November 1993 

Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium

Prof. Venu Gopal Achanta becomes the 7th Indian to be elected as a member of International Committee for Weight and Measures

Tags: place in news Person in news

Prof. Venu Gopal Achanta, Director, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), New Delhi, has been elected as a member of the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CIPM). The 27th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) meeting was held on 15-18 November, 2022 at Paris, France.

Prof. Achanta is among the 18 members elected from different countries and he is the 7th Indian to be elected to the CIPM.  The first Indian to be elected as a member of CIPM was Dr. K.S. Krishnan, the founder Director of CSIR-NPL. The last Indian to be elected was Prof. E. S. R. Gopal, the then Director, and CSIR-NPL (1991-1997).

At present, 64 countries are members of CGPM and it meets every 4 years at the International Bureau of Weight and Measure (BIPM), France.

The CIPM is a supreme international committee which functions under the authority of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM).

CGPM was set up under the Meter Convention signed on 20th May 1875 in Paris. It is responsible for development and implementation of International Systems of Unites, universally abbreviated as SI.

The CSIR-NPL, the National Metrology Institute (NMI) of India was established by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi on January 4, 1947. The Government of India enacted the “Standards of Weights and Measures Act” for the first time in 1956 to ensure that every citizen has access to uniform standards of weights and measures based on the SI units. India became the member of the CGPM in 1957.

Government to hold the 25th National e-Governance Conference in Jammu

Tags: place in news National Summits

The 25th National e-Governance conference will be held at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University at Kakryal in Katra town of Reasi district in Jammu region on 25 and 26 November 2022. The 24th National e-Governance conference 2021 was held on 7 &8th January  2021 at Hyderabad, Telangana.

The conference will be inaugurated by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Minister of State of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, Government of India.

26th November is celebrated as the Constitution Day in the country to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India. As part of the celebrations Union Minister, Dr. Jitendra Singh will administer reading of the Preamble to the Constitution with all participants on 26th November 2022.

Who is organising the Conference 

The Department of Administrative Reforms· & Public Grievances (DARPG) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), in association with the Union Territory Government of Jammu and Kashmir is organizing the conference.

Nearly 2000 officers from across the country are likely to attend the two-day long conference.

Theme of the Conference 

The theme of the 25th National e-Governance conference is “Bringing Citizens, Industry and Government Closer”.

The application and use of Information technology and communication (ICT) in governance is known as e-governance. It is makes governance transparent and efficient. Some of the examples of e-governance are Digital India, Aadhaar, and National Portal of India etc.

New Zealand Supreme Court rules voting age of 18 is discriminatory in the country

Tags: International News

The Supreme Court of New Zealand has in a decision delivered on 21 November 2022 ruled that the country's current voting age of 18 was discriminatory. The Supreme Court found that the current voting age of 18 was inconsistent with the country's Bill of Rights, which gives people a right to be free from age discrimination when they have reached 16.

The case which was filed by the advocacy group Make It 16 in 2020 welcomed the ruling of the court and termed it historic.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the government would draft legislation to reduce the age to 16, which could then be put to a vote in parliament.

Voting age in the world 

Maximum country in the world allow voting rights to citizens after completion of 18 years. However there are certain countries in the world which allows 16 years to vote. They are: Brazil, Ecuador, Austria, Cuba, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta, Nicaragua and Scotland.

Voting age in India 

The voting age in India was 21 years since the promulgation of the constituting in 1950. However by 61st constitution amendment act 1988 the voting age was reduced to 18 years.

New Zealand 

It is an island country in South Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people of New Zealand are called Maoris.

The island was discovered by Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman in 1642.

New Zealand is famous for its flightless bird Kiwi.

Its economy is dominated by agriculture (sheep raising).

It is a constitutional monarchy with the King of Britain being its Head of the State.

Prime Minister: Jacinda Ardern

Currency: New Zealand Dollar

Capital: Wellington

India to take over Chairmanship of the Global Partnership on AI from France

Tags: place in news Science and Technology Summits

India will take over the Chairmanship of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) from France during the third edition of the annual Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) being held in Tokyo, Japan on 21 November 2022. India will be chairman for the 2022-23 period.

France will symbolically hand over the chairmanship to the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar who is representing India at the 2day (21-22 November) Tokyo summit meet. 

AI which stands for artificial intelligence refers to systems or machines that mimic human intelligence to perform tasks and can iteratively improve themselves based on the information they collect. 

 Artificial Intelligence is expected to contribute   450 to 500 billion US dollars to India’s GDP by 2025 accounting for 10 per cent of the country’s 5 trillion dollar GDP target. It is expected to contribute 967 billion US dollars to the Indian economy by 2035. 

What is Global Partnership in Artificial Intelligence?

 It was launched on June 15, 2020, with fifteen members as its founding member. India is one of the founding member country of Global Partnership in Artificial Intelligence (GPAI).

The initiative facilitates international cooperation on artificial technology by bringing together on a single platform, experts from fields such as science, industry, civil society, governments, international bodies, and academia.

At present, GPAI has twenty-five member Countries. They are : Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union (EU).

India emerges as a top investment destination for Sovereign investors

Tags: Economy/Finance International News

According to a report of the American Asset Management company Invesco, India has emerged as the second most preferred investment market after the United States for sovereign wealth funds and public pension’s funds in 2022.

The Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management Study is based on the opinion of 139 Chief investment officers of the sovereign wealth funds and public pension’s funds.

According to Invesco, the United States remained the top destination for the sovereign wealth funds and public pension’s funds but to balance the risk many fund manager wants to invest in the emerging markets. The most beneficiaries of this shift to the emerging market is India. 

Among emerging markets India has overtaken China as the most popular emerging market. This year China has been ranked at 6th place. 

One main reason has been that many funds are reducing their exposure in China and they are attracted to India due to its positive economic reforms and strong demographic profile.

According to the report  Sovereign investors  manage some $33 trillion in assets. Average annual returns for sovereign investors over the past decade stood at 6.5%. However, 2022 could prove to be a turning point with higher inflation and tighter monetary policy hitting long-term expected returns.

Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF)

Sovereign means Government of a country. Thus sovereign wealth fund (SWF) is a fund owned by a Government of a country. It is normally a surplus money which a government has and it is used to invest in the stock or debt market of other countries for a better return on investment.

It is managed either by a company set up by the government or it is managed by the central bank of the country. 

There has been proposal to set up an SWF in India but till date no such fund has been set up.

SWF are considered as long term investors.

Some of the famous and largest SWF are: 

Norway Government Pension Fund Global, China Investment Corporation, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan re-elected as President

Tags: Person in news International News

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan has been re-elected as the President of Kazakhstan. According to the Kazakhstan Election Commission he has won 81.31% of the votes polled in the Presidential election held on 20 November 2022.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev became the President of Kazakhstan on 29 March 2019 after the resignation of the first President of Kazakhstan Nur Sultan Nazarbayev. 

On 6 September 2022 the Kazakhstan constitution was amended and the term of the President was extended to 7 years from 5 years and a person can become the president of Kazakhstan only once.  Since the constitutional amendment is being considered a new constitution, Tokayev became eligible to contest the Presidential election held on 20 November 2022. His earlier term as President is not being counted. 

Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union which gained Independence on 16 December 1991, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

It lies in Central Asia. It is the largest country in central Asia and 9th largest country in the world.

Capital: Astana 

Currency : Tenge

Novak Djokovic wins his record 6th ATP finals title

Tags: Sports Person in news

The Serbian Novak Djokovic won his sixth ATP finals title at Turin, Italy by defeating the Norwegian player Casper Rudd in the finals played on 20 November 2022.  The ATP finals marks the end of the ATP calendar for the year 2022. 

With this win Djokovic equalled the record of Swiss great Roger Federer of 6th ATP finals titles. The 21Grand Slam title winner also became the oldest champion of the ATP finals at the age of 35 Years.

Men’s Doubles title 

Rajeev Ram (United States) and Joe Salisbury (British) defeated the Tokyo Olympics 2020 champion’s Croatian pair of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain ended the season as the youngest ranked ATP no.1  player. 

ATP finals is the season ending men’s Tennis tournament which was played in a hard court in Turin from 13-20 November 2022.

This was the 53rd edition of the singles and 48th edition of the Doubles title. 

Top ranked players on the Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) ranking are invited to play in the event.

India's growth to slow down in 2023, Goldman Sachs

Tags: Economy/Finance

The American Investment Banker Goldman Sachs expects India's economic growth to slow to 5.9% in 2023, from an estimated 6.9% growth in 2022 as the boost from the post-COVID reopening fades and monetary tightening weighs on domestic demand.

The Indian economy was one of the fastest growing major economy in world in the first 7 months of this year due to the pent up demand in the economy due to covid led restrictions. However its effect are now fading and government in order to control inflation are following tight monetary policy by raising interest rates. This rising interest rates will reduce demand in the economy leading to a slower economic growth in the country. 

 According to the Santanu Sengupta, India economist at Goldman Sachs, "We expect growth to be a tale of two halves in 2023, with a slowdown in the first half and in the  second half, we expect growth to re-accelerate as global growth recovers, and the investment cycle picks up,"

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expects the Indian economy to grow by 7% in 2022-23.