DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Jan. 24, 2023

Border Security Force (BSF) started a seven-day "Operations Alert'' exercise

Tags: Defence National News

The Border Security Force (BSF) has started an "Operations Alert'' exercise to enhance security along the Indo-Pak border in Kutch district of Gujarat and Barmer in Rajasthan in view of the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.

An overview of the news

• The 'Operations Alert' exercise commenced on January 21 and will continue till January 28 "all along the Indo-Pak international border from Sir Creek (marshy area) to the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat and Barmer district of Rajasthan.

• The BSF will carry out special operations in the depth areas as well as in the creek and 'Harami Nala' as part of the exercise.

• It has also planned public outreach programs as part of the exercise.

• The Indo-Pak border along Kutch in Gujarat is sensitive as several Pakistani nationals have been caught in the past after entering Indian waters on fishing boats.

• To enhance security, for the first time concrete "permanent vertical bunkers" are being built to deploy BSF troops in the strategically important Sir Creek and Harami Nala marshy areas.

Sir Creek

• Its original name is Baan Ganga which is named after a British representative Sir Creek.

• It is a 96 kilometre long strip of water disputed between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands.

• It opens into the Arabian Sea and divides the Kutch region of Gujarat from the Sindh province of Pakistan.

Harami Nala

• It is also known as the Sir Creek area.

• This area is a 22 km long and about 8 km wide marshy area which is navigable most of the time.

J&K govt to host its maiden SARAS Fair 2023 from February 4 to 14

Tags: Festivals State News

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is going to host the Saras Mela 2023 from February 4 to February 14 for the first time.

An overview of the news

• The fair would be organised at Bagh-e-Bahu, Jammu. 

• In the fair artisans and women self help groups from across the country will showcase their crafts, handcrafts, handloom and foods.

• The national level food and cultural fair will showcase unique and famous indigenous products from different states and union territories of the country.

• The event will provide a platform to the participants to sell and promote their self-made products.

• Another prominent feature of this national fair is that it will have cultural programs showcasing the cultural and traditional heritage of Jammu and Kashmir.

• It is organised under the guidance of the Ministry of Rural Development.

• The fair is organised jointly by the Centre-State Government as part of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in which entrepreneurs from across the country participate.

Union Petroleum Minister flags off low carbon cruise on Mahabahu Brahmaputra

Tags: National News

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep S Puri on 24 January inaugurated the demo-run of Inland Water Vessel powered by Methanol blended Diesel (MD15). 

An overview of the news

• The boat ride was conducted on a 50-seater motor launch marine vessel named 'SB Gangadhar'.

• The ocean liner is equipped with two Ruston-made diesel engines (105 hp engine each).

• The boat will be run on MD-15 (15% methanol mixed HSD).

• Methanol is a low carbon hydrogen carrier fuel produced from high ash coal, agricultural residues, CO2 from thermal power plants and natural gas.

• This is the best route to meet India's commitment to COP 21.

• Slightly lower in energy content than petrol and diesel, methanol can replace both these fuels in the transport sector (road, rail and marine), energy sector.

• NITI Aayog's 'Methanol Economy' program aims to reduce India's oil import bill, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and convert coal reserves and municipal solid waste into methanol.

• India Energy Week 2023 (IEW 2023) to be held in Bengaluru from 6-8 Feb 2023.

About India Energy Week

• It is the first major event under India's G20 Presidency, which follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledge at COP26 to cut India's emissions to net-zero by 2070.

•  Organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, India Energy Week is the only and all-encompassing international energy event supported at the highest level by the Government of India.

• The week is being organised with the participation of all Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

• It is officially supported by the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI).

NABH and HSSC Sign MoU for Skilling Initiatives of Healthcare Professionals Across the Country

Tags: National National News

National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) and Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 21 January.

An overview of the news

• The objective of the MoU is to accredit HSSC certification for NABH accreditation, develop training programs for essential skilling, reskilling and upskilling of healthcare professionals.

• The MoU was signed by Dr. Atul Kochhar, CEO, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) and with Ashish Jain, CEO, Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC).

• This collaboration will help in achieving the goal of enhancing the quality of healthcare in India.

Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC)

• It is a National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) recognized awarding body working under the ambit of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

• It aims to develop qualifications, learning resources, training programmes, assessment and certification mechanisms for skilling, reskilling and upskilling of professionals and facilitate placement and apprenticeship opportunities.

National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH)

• It is a constituent board of the Quality Council of India established to set up and administer programs for healthcare organisations.

• The board is structured to meet the desired needs of the consumers and to set benchmarks for the progress of the healthcare industry.

• The Board enjoys complete functional autonomy in its operations, despite being supported by all stakeholders including industry, consumers, and government.

Thailand's shuttler Kunlavut Witidson won men's singles title at India Open Badminton

Tags: Sports News

Thai shuttler Kunlavut Vitidsarn won the India Open title on 22 January.

An overview of the news

• He defeated World No.1 Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in the men's singles final of the India Open Badminton Championship 22-20, 10-21 and 21-12 at K. D. Jadhav Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.  

• Earlier, Korean sensation An Seyoung won the Women's singles final. She beat World No.1 Japanese Akane Yamaguchi 15-21, 21-16, 21-12. 

Other winners (doubles) 

• Men's : Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang (China)

• Women's : Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida (Japan)

Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar-2023

Tags: Awards National News

President of India, Droupadi Murmu conferred the “Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar” instituted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to 11 exceptional children on 23 January.

An overview of the news

• This year the award has been given to 11 children from 11 States/UTs, who represent the diversity of the nation for their exceptional achievements.

• This year's awardees include one in the category of bravery and social service, two in the category of innovation, three in sports and four in art and culture.

• Out of 11 awardees, 5 are girls and 6 are boys.

• Smriti Zubin Irani also released a book "Young Heroes of India" on Bal Veer during the ceremony, who presented the first copy to the President of India.

Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar

• Every year, the Government of India presents the 'Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar' for exceptional achievement to children in the age group of 5 to 18 years.

• The awards are given to the children for their achievements in 6 categories - Art & Culture, Bravery, Innovation, Scholastic, Social Service and Sports which are worthy of national recognition.

• Each awardee receives a medallion, a cash prize of Rs.1,00,000/-, a certificate and a citation.

Awardees of Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar -2023

International Education Day

Tags: Important Days

International Day of Education is celebrated every year on 24 January to spread awareness about education globally and to make education accessible to all.

An overview of the news

• The theme of the International Day of Education for the year 2023 is 'To Invest in People, Prioritise Education'.

• This year is the fourth edition of International Education Day.

• It was announced by the United Nations General Assembly on 3 December 2018 to celebrate International Education Day on 24 January every year.

• This proposal of International Education Day was prepared by 58 countries including Nigeria.

• UNESCO has decided to dedicate the International Day of Education for the year 2023 to Afghan girls and women.

National Education Day

• National Education Day in India is celebrated every year on 11 November.

• National Education Day in India is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the country's first education minister.

• National Education Day was started in the year 2008.

National Girl Child Day

Tags: Important Days

National Girl Child Day is celebrated across the country on 24 January.

An overview of the news

• National Women Child Day aims to highlight the prejudice and injustice towards girls.

• The day also encourages awareness of women's rights in our country.

• The main objective of this day is to change the attitude of the society towards the girl child, reduce female feticide and create awareness about the declining sex ratio.

• The Government of India has not officially announced the theme of National Girl Child Day 2023.

• An event is being organised with the theme "Self Defence Training for Girls". 

• 'Empowering Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow' was the theme of 2019.

• In 2020, the theme was 'My voice, our common future'. The theme of National Girl Child Day in 2021 was 'Digital Generation, Our Generation'.

Background of the day

• National Girl Child Day was first started in the year 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

• The main objective of this day is to raise awareness about the inequalities that girls face in education, employment, dress and various other fields.

• To mark the occasion this year, the Department of Women and Child Development is celebrating National Girl Child Week from 24 to 30 January.

Uttar Pradesh Day

Tags: State News

Uttar Pradesh State Day is celebrated on 24 January.

An overview of the news

• On 24 January 1950 itself, United Provinces or United Provinces was renamed as Uttar Pradesh.

• In 2017, the state government announced to celebrate January 24 every year as Uttar Pradesh Day.

• It was celebrated for the first time in 2018.

General information about Uttar Pradesh

• State Reorganisation - 1st November, 1956

Naming of the state

State Symbol

• Official language – Hindi (second Urdu)

• State Animal - Barasingha

• State Bird - Stork / Cronch

• State Flower - Palash (since 2011)

• State symbol - two fish inside a circle and an arrow bow

First in the state

• The first Chief Minister of the state – Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant

• First Deputy Chief Minister of the state - Chaudhary Narayan Singh

• The first woman Chief Minister of the state and the country - Sucheta Kriplani

• The first woman governor of the state and the country - Sarojini Naidu

• Current Chief Minister - Yogi Adityanath

• Current Governor – Anandiben Patel

Geographical Situation

• District - 75

• Area of Uttar Pradesh -2,40,928 sq km. (about 7.33% of the area of India)

• Largest district (in area) - Lakhimpur Kheri (7680 sq.km.)

• The smallest district (in area) - Hapur (660 sq.km.)

• Number of states adjacent to the state-9 (8 states and 1 union territory)

• Legislative Assembly Seats - 403

• Lok Sabha seats - 80

• Rajya Sabha seats - 31

• State Legislative Council Seats - 100

Census-2011

• Total population -19,98,12,341 (16.51% of the total population of the country)

• Population density -829 persons per sq km.

• Total Literacy -67.72%

• Male literacy -77.30%,

• Female literacy -57.20%

• Most populated district - (1) Prayagraj (2) Moradabad (3) Ghaziabad

• Districts with minimum population - (1) Mahoba (2) Chitrakoot (3) Hamirpur

US President Biden nominates Julie Turner as North Korea human rights envoy

Tags: Person in news International News

US President Joe Biden has nominated Julie Turner as special envoy for human rights in North Korea on 24 January. 

An overview of the news

• The move to fill the post, which has been vacant since 2017, comes amid debate over human rights issues as well as efforts to counter Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

• Julie Turner is currently the director for East Asia and the Pacific in the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

• Turner has served in the office for East Asia and the Pacific for more than 16 years, primarily focusing on initiatives related to the promotion of human rights in North Korea.

• The post of special envoy had become controversial in South Korea as the previous administration tried to bring North Korea to the negotiating table.

• Some activists said that human rights had been sidelined due to national security priorities.

• North Korea has repeatedly denied allegations of human rights abuses and blamed the sanctions for the dire humanitarian situation.

• A landmark 2014 United Nations report on North Korean human rights concluded that North Korean security chief and leader Kim Jong Un should face justice for Nazi-style atrocities.

Ministry of AYUSH ties up with ITDC to promote Medical Value Travel in India

Tags: National News

The Ministry of AYUSH has signed an MoU with India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), Ministry of Tourism, to promote Medical Value Travel in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine.

An overview of the news

• The MoU was signed by Dr. Shashi Ranjan Vidyarthi, Director, Ministry of AYUSH and Shri Piyush Tiwari, Director (Commercial & Marketing), ITDC.

• Under the MoU, the Ministry of AYUSH will provide training to ITDC officials to sensitise them about the medical value of travel in Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine.

• The implementation and progress of the MoU will be monitored by a Joint Working Group (JWG), which will be co-chaired by representatives of the Ministry of AYUSH and ITDC.

• JWG will also identify best practices adopted by Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand etc. to promote themselves as preferred destinations for medical value travel.

• The opportunities and challenges to promote Medical Value Travel in India were discussed by the G20 delegates at the recently concluded first G20 Health Working Group meeting under the chairmanship of India in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Medical Value Travel 

• Medical Value Travel is created to promote itself as a quality healthcare destination for patients around the world.

• According to the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) report 'The Global Wellness Economy: Looking Beyond Covid', the global wellness economy will grow at a rate of 9.9 percent annually.

• The AYUSH based healthcare and wellness economy is estimated to grow to $70 billion by 2025.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival

Tags: International News

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival will be organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting through the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) in Mumbai from January 27 to January 31, 2023.

An overview of the news

• The SCO Film Festival is being organised during the Presidency of India in the SCO.

• The festival aims to build cinematic partnership, act as a bridge between the cultures of different countries in the SCO and create harmony among the film communities of the SCO members through a collective cinematic experience.

• A total of 57 films from SCO countries will be screened at the SCO Film Festival. In which 14 feature films will be screened in the competition section and 43 films will be screened in the non-competition section.

• Marathi film Godavari directed by Nikhil Mahajan and Gujarati film 'The Last Film Show' directed by Pan Nalin have been nominated from India.

• Shoojit Sircar's Sardar Udham, SS Rajamouli's period film RRR SCO focus are included in the country.

About SCO

• SCO is a multilateral organisation, which was established on 15 June 2001.

• Headquarters - Beijing, China

• Member Country

• Eight member countries - China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan

• three observer states - Belarus, Iran and Mongolia

Indian Navy's flagship maritime exercise TROPEX 2023 held in the Indian Ocean

Tags: Defence

Amaritime exercise called TROPEX is being conducted by the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean region.

An overview of the news

• TROPEX-2023 is being organised over a period of three months from January to March.

• The TROPEX exercise is held once every two years.

• Apart from the Indian Navy the exercise will involve their participation with assets from the Indian Army, Air Force and Coast Guard.

• The aim of the exercise is to test the combat readiness of the Navy and safeguard national interests in the maritime domain and promote stability and peace in the Indian Ocean region.

• The first exercise of maritime surveillance was held in January 2019. It is also called the biggest war game of the Indian Navy.

R Vishnu Prasad Honoured as Most Eminent Scientist of the Year 2022

Tags: Awards

R Vishnu Prasad has been conferred with the most prestigious scientific honour Indian Achievers Award for the year 2022 by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.

An overview of the news 

• So far 69 patents have been registered in the name of R Vishnu Prasad.

• The award is given for outstanding contributions in various fields including culture, science, sports and innovation.

• Vishnu Prasad, who has contributed to smart cities, solid waste management, large scale water treatment, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, was selected by a jury headed by Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra.

• Apart from this, Paramveer Chakra Subedar Major Sanjay Kumar, hockey player late Major Dhyan Chand, film actress Shruti Haasan, Padma Shri Alok Mehta, boxer Vijender Singh, Olympic athlete and Padma Shri Sudha Singh, Paralympic coach Satyanarayan, IPS Yashasvi Yadav, Bhushan Kumar and actor Darshan 31 people including Kumar have been honoured with the Indian Achievers Award.

Border Security Force (BSF) started a special combat exercise "Ops Alert"

Tags: Defence

A seven-day 'Ops Alert' exercise is being conducted by the Border Security Force (BSF) from 21 to 28 January 2023 along the Indo-Pak International Border from Sir Creek to Rann of Kutch in Gujarat and Barmer district of Rajasthan.

An overview of the news

• The exercise has been started from the India-Pakistan border - Line of Control (LOC).

• Amid preparations for the Republic Day celebrations in the country, exercise 'Ops Alert' has been launched to thwart the nefarious designs of anti-India elements.

• During this exercise special operations will be carried out in forward and depth areas as well as in Creek and Harami Nala.

Border Security Force (BSF)

• The Border Security Force was established on 1 December 1965 after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

• It comes under the Union Home Ministry.

• It is a border force deployed along the international border with Bangladesh and Pakistan.

• BSF is also known as the 'first line of defence' of the country.