1. G20 ambassadors blow conch shells to welcome India’s G20 Presidency at Swaraj Dweep, Andaman and Nicobar
Tags: place in news National
40 countries which included the G20 ambassadors and invited guests from friendly countries blew conch shells (Shankh), which is considered auspicious as per Indian traditions on 26 November 2022, to welcome India’s G20 Presidency at Swaraj Dweep in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Swaraj Dweep was earlier known as Havelock Island.
The Union External Affairs ministry had invited Resident Heads of Missions of the G20 member countries, guest countries and International Organizations at the islands to attend the G20 curtain raiser event and preparatory meetings ahead of India taking up the presidency officially on 1 December.
As part of the event, G20 India coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla and G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant organised a yoga session on Kala Patthar beach for the delegates.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo on 16 November 2022 had officially handed over the G20 presidency to India at the end of a summit of the bloc’s leaders in Bali.
Taking over the presidency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Prime said it was a matter of pride for every Indian citizen. He said that “We will organise G20 meetings in different cities and states of our country. Our guests will get a full experience of India’s amazing diversity, inclusive traditions, and cultural richness. We wish that all of you will participate in this unique celebration in India, the ‘Mother of Democracy’.
G20 is a group of 19 leading developed and developing countries and the European Union .G-20 members constitute 60% of the world population, 80% of the World economy and 75% of world trade.
Andaman and Nicobar Island
It is an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal. It consists of 300 islands of Andaman and 19 islands of Nicobar.
The Ten Degree channel separates Nicobar Islands from Andaman Islands.
It became a Union Territory in 1956.
India’s only active volcano is at Barren Island in the northern Andamans.
Cellular jail or Kala Pani is located in Port Blair is a National Museum where Britishers used to keep Indian freedom fighters like Veer Savarkar, Batukeshwar Dutt in isolation .
Capital of Andaman and Nicobar: Port Blair located on South Andaman Island.
Lieutenant Governor: Admiral D K Joshi
2. Union Minister Dr Sanjeev Balyan inaugurates Animal Quarantine Certification Services in Bengaluru
Tags: place in news National State News
The Union Minister of State, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal husbandry & dairying, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan inaugurated the Animal Quarantine Certification Services (AQCS) at Hessarghata, Bengaluru as part of the National Milk Day celebration 2022.
There are six AQCS in the countries under the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. These six AQCS are near International Airports in the city of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.
Purpose and scope of the AQCS
The purpose and scope of setting up of Quarantine Stations is to prevent the spread of dangerous exotic diseases into the country through imported livestock and livestock products.
There are many infectious diseases of livestock which are prevalent in other countries but not present in India. It is therefore necessary that such exotic diseases do not gain entry into our country through movement of livestock and livestock products from across the borders.
Thus there is a need to check the imported animals including pets like dogs and cats to be sure that they don't carry any such dangerous pathogens. Hence Quarantine stations are set up where they can be checked before being released in India.
To deal with this problem the Government of India initiated a central sector scheme namely “Animal Quarantine & Certification Services” (AQCS) during the Fourth Five Year Plan (1969-70).
3. First China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation held in China, India not invited
Tags: Summits International News
According to the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) a meeting of the China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation took place on 21 November 2022, in which 19 countries took part. India was not invited by the Chinese.
The meeting was held in a hybrid manner under the theme of “Shared Development: Theory and Practice from the Perspective of the Blue Economy” in Kunming, Yunnan Province of China.
According to CIDCA at the November 21 meeting, China has proposed to establish a marine disaster prevention and mitigation cooperation mechanism between China and countries in the Indian Ocean region.
Countries which participated in the Chinese forum
The following 19 countries participated in the meeting; Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Djibouti, Australia and representatives of 3 international organisations.
Maldives denies participating in the meeting
The Maldives Foreign ministry in a statement issued on 27 November 2022 has denied participating in the meeting .It said that it had officially communicated to the Chinese government its inability to participate in the forum.
Chinese attempt to counter Indian influence in the region
According to experts, the Chinese forum is apparently aimed at countering India’s strong influence in the Indian Ocean region where India-backed organisations like the 23 members Indian Ocean Rim Association, (IORA) have taken strong roots. China is a dialogue partner in the IORA formed in 1997.
The Indian Navy-backed Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), established in 2007, is a premier forum for cooperation and collaboration among navies of littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region.
Chinese effort to increase its influence in the Indian Ocean region
China is trying its influence in the strategic Indian Ocean region with substantial investments in ports and infrastructure investments in several countries, including Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
China has established a full-fledged naval base in Djibouti, its first outside the country. Beijing has acquired the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka on a 99-year lease besides building the port at Pakistan’s Gwadar in the Arabian Sea opposite India’s western coast.
4. US bans the use of Chinese companies Huawei, ZTE telecom equipment sales, citing national security risk
Tags: International News
The United States government has banned the use of telecommunication equipment from China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE because they pose "an unacceptable risk" to U.S. national security.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission in its order on 26 November 2022 also banned the sale or import of equipment made by Chinese surveillance equipment maker Dahua Technology Co ,video surveillance firm Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd and telecoms firm Hytera Communications Corp Ltd.
In March 2021 the American government had designated five Chinese companies Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications Corp Hikvision and Dahua on the "covered list" as posing a threat to national security under a 2019 law aimed at protecting U.S. communications networks.
Chinese companies dominate the telecom equipment market in the world and many countries fear that the use of Chinese equipment will comprise its national security.
US security officials have warned that equipment from Chinese brands such as Huawei could be used to interfere with fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks and collect sensitive information.
India has also indirectly banned the use of Chinese telecom equipment in the country.
5. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi virtually launches portals to read Preamble online on Constitution Day
Tags: National
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi virtually launched www.readpreamble.nic.in portals for Online reading of the Preamble and www.constitutionquiz.nic.in for Quiz on the Constitution of India on 25 November 2022 on the eve of the Constitution Day.
Constitution day is observed every year on the 26th November. On this day the Indian constitution was promulgated. .
Launching these portals, Mr. Joshi stated that all fellow citizens should read the Preamble of the Constitution in a language suitable to them out of the 23 languages.
He paid rich tributes to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar for his peerless contribution in the making of the country's Constitution which has guided the destiny of India as a great democracy so far.
6. Indian Navy and Royal Enfield organises motorcycling expedition across North east India
Tags: place in news National Defence
The Indian Navy Motor Bike team, ‘The Sea Riders, in partnership with Royal Enfield, the world’s oldest motorcycle brand, embarked on an motorcycle expedition, as part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Celebrations’, commemorating the 75th year of independence, across the seven states of North East India from 25 Nov - 14 Dec 22. Royal Enfield is the owner of the famous brand ‘Bullet’.
The expedition was flagged off by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar, by Video Conferencing from South Point School at Guwahati. Fifteen Sea Riders rode out on Royal Enfield Meteor 350 cc bikes on their journey to cover a total distance of 3500 kms over a period of 24 days across the seven states of NE India.
The expedition is being conducted over two phases across seven states with each phase covering some of the toughest and most breath-taking terrains in North East India. The riders will traverse along the Indo-Bangladesh border, visiting historical Unakoti sculptures, , the only floating national park in the world Keibul Lamjao National Park (Manipur) and witness the famous Hornbill festival (Nagaland). The expedition will pass through Guwahati (Assam), Shillong (Meghalaya), Aizawl (Mizoram), Imphal (Manipur), and Kohima (Nagaland).
North Eastern States
States | Capitals |
Assam | Dispur |
Manipur | Imphal |
Mizoram | |
Meghalaya | |
Sikkim | Gangtok |
Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar |
Nagaland | Kohima |
Tripura | Agartala |
7. PM Modi to participate in Constitution Day celebrations hosted in the Supreme Court on 26th November
Tags: place in news National Person in news
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will participate in the Constitution Day celebrations in the Supreme Court on 26th November, 2022. The day has been celebrated as Constitution Day since 2015, to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949.
During the programme, the Prime Minister will launch Virtual Justice Clock, JustIS mobile App 2.0, Digital court and S3WaaS Websites.
Virtual Justice Clock is an initiative to exhibit vital statistics of the justice delivery system at the Court level giving the details of the cases instituted, cases disposed and pendency of cases on day/week/month basis at the Court level. Public can access the Virtual Justice Clock of any court establishment on the District Court’s website.
JustIS Mobile App 2.0 is a tool available to judicial officers for effective court and case management by monitoring pendency and disposal of not only his court but also for individual judges working under them. This App is also made available to High Court and Supreme Court Judges who can now monitor pendency and disposal of all the States and Districts under their jurisdiction.
Digital court is an initiative to make the court records available to the judge in digitized form to enable the transition to Paperless Courts.
S3WaaS Websites is a framework to generate, configure, deploy and manage websites for publishing specified information and services related to district judiciary. S3WaaS is a cloud service developed for government entities to generate Secure, Scalable & Sugamya (Accessible) websites. It is multilingual, citizen friendly and divyang friendly.
8. MoU signed between Ministry of Ayush and Department of Science and Technology
Tags: National National News
The Ministry of Ayush signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 25 November with the Department of Science and Technology to explore cooperation, convergence, and synergy for evidence-based scientific intervention in the Ayush sector.
Important facts
The MoU was signed by Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush and Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar, Secretary, DST.
The MoU will identify the potential areas of research to explore cooperation, convergence, and synergy for evidence-based scientific intervention in the Ayush sector and further application of these into the public health care system.
Ministry of AYUSH and DST have agreed to jointly undertake research and development activities on scientific validation of AYUSH concepts, processes and products.
The ministry of Ayush would identify thrust areas involving Ayush-related systems that require understanding the basic concepts, procedures, development of newer tools, and so on in modern sciences.
DST, through the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), would coordinate the implementation of thrust areas through well-chartered plans and mutual concerted actions.
Union Minister of Ayush - Sarbananda Sonowal
9. MoU signed between Ministry of Ayush and Department of Science and Technology
Tags: National National News
The Ministry of Ayush signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 25 November with the Department of Science and Technology to explore cooperation, convergence, and synergy for evidence-based scientific intervention in the Ayush sector.
Important facts
The MoU was signed by Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush and Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar, Secretary, DST.
The MoU will identify the potential areas of research to explore cooperation, convergence, and synergy for evidence-based scientific intervention in the Ayush sector and further application of these into the public health care system.
Ministry of AYUSH and DST have agreed to jointly undertake research and development activities on scientific validation of AYUSH concepts, processes and products.
The ministry of Ayush would identify thrust areas involving Ayush-related systems that require understanding the basic concepts, procedures, development of newer tools, and so on in modern sciences.
DST, through the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), would coordinate the implementation of thrust areas through well-chartered plans and mutual concerted actions.
Union Minister of Ayush - Sarbananda Sonowal
10. India wins vice presidency of International Electrotechnical Commission
Tags: National National News
India has won the post of Vice-Chairman of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and Chairman of the Strategic Management Board (SMB) for the term 2023-25.
Important facts
The meeting of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) was recently held in San Francisco, USA, which was voted on by all the members of the IC. India got more than 90 percent votes.
India's representative in the IC and various technical committees of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) were elected.
Vimal Mahendru will be the IEC Vice President representing India.
BIS has representation in the policy and administrative bodies of the International Organization for Standardization (ISVO) and the IC.
BIS ensured that India's point of view was understood on important strategic and policy issues. It also provided opportunities for harmonisation with international best practices of national standardisation.
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
Founded in 1906, the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) is the world’s leading organisation for the preparation and publication of international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.
The Standardization Management Board is the apex administrative body of the IC, responsible for technical policy matters.
